Smitten of God
The Bible says:
"Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. "
(Isaiah 53:4)
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OUR SUBJECT FOR THIS MESSAGE, taken from the above text, is: Smitten of God. As we meditate upon these words and as the message unfolds I trust that you, even as I, will have a sense of treading on Holy ground. Reverence, then, should be the attitude of our hearts in considering these thoughts. May each heart be opened to see, to know, and even to feel the sufferings of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross. As we see Him there, understanding to some degree His suffering, may we also, with the ears of faith, hear the voice of God as He smites His Son. Finally, may unbelievers believe unto salvation and may Christians draw nigh to Him in adoration and in service.
Let us first read from the Word of God, the Bible, two passages from the Book of Isaiah as an introduction to the message; Isaiah chapter fifty-two:
13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
14 As many were astonished at thee: his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
And then from Isaiah chapter fifty-three:
1 Who shall believe our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: He hath no form or comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the
transgressions of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquity.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Perhaps one of the most quoted scriptures today is: “...God is love.” (1 John 4:8). Christians, who are such not in name only, love to quote it because of a personal experience with God during which they were literally bathed in and saturated with that love. Others, who say they are Christians, claim this verse in an effort to cover-up or excuse the way they live. Sinners (unbelievers) love this verse, too, because they see in it a hope of going to heaven upon leaving this world. These people reason thus, "A God of love just couldn't send me to hell". But these two latter groups do greatly err and grossly misunderstand the love of God.
Today, with the popular conception of God as One who is love and will save all men in the end, we may fail to fully grasp the extent and the vastness of His love. Such great love must necessarily be accompanied by great jealousy; and the gates of hell are flung wide open in anticipation of the coming of those who, whether carelessly or deliberately, neglect that love. May we not forget that the God of love is the same God who smote His only Son. All men will not be saved in the end, for God will recognize only those who have believed in His beloved Son. God loves us so much that He turned His Son over to the smiters. Jesus, while rejected, forsaken, and afflicted, bore our griefs, carried our sorrows, and the sins of all men rested upon Him. For us he was smitten of God! He became our sin offering. While upon the earth Jesus said, "'Greater love hath no man than this, that he lay down his life for his friends." (John 15:13) Jesus, then, is a true friend, for while being Smitten of God, He poured out His life for us.
As we think about this One Smitten of God let us first consider
SMITTEN OF GOD IN PROPHECY
In Psalm 22 we are given a wonderful view of One Smitten of God. In this precious portion of God's Word we see the Smitten One rejected by God. In torment, anguish, and pain He cries out day and night, but no one helps Him. There are both flashes of light and periods of darkness which overcome Him, but still no one cares. The passers-by laugh at Him. All of His joints are dislocated: hands, arms, neck, spine, pelvis, legs, feet, and all other joints are out of p1ace. His body is literally bathed in the perspiration of His unprecedented suffering. His strength all drains out. His throat and mouth become very dry. This One, smitten of God, watches as those who nailed Him to the cross cast lots for His clothes. Truly, this is a great prophetic account of the suffering of Christ on the cross.
In Isaiah chapters fifty-two and fifty-three, which have already been quoted in full, we are given further details of this One being Smitten of God. He is bruised beyond recognition and His features so marred that He no longer resembles a human being. Reared in Nazareth, where “no good thing” (see John 1:46) was expected to be found, He was as a tender root come out of a dry land. He was a man who had experienced many sorrows and who knew the meaning of grief. He was completely innocent, but was punished as though guilty. There was no beauty about Him to attract or draw others to Him. His suffering was in quietness and was borne willingly. Although forsaken and rejected, He never complained in the least. Although without sin, and deceit was foreign to His mouth, He suffered the shame and humiliation of a criminal's death. In death, also, He was counted as a transgressor.
It pleased God, however, to bruise Jesus and to put Him to grief. God gladly made Him to be a sin-offering. Yes, God was pleased to smite Him.
We shall look to the fulfillment of these prophecies shortly. As we continue to think about this One Smitten of God, let us consider
SMITTEN OF GOD IN TYPE AND SYMBOL
In the Book of Leviticus we see the walk, the worship, and the service of God's people set forth. There, in His holiness, God speaks out from His dwelling place. He tells His people how to approach Him and how to communicate with Him.
God is holy! It is only reasonable, therefore, that He should require a holy offering. In the Old Testament these offerings were put .in categories: The sweet-savour offerings and The non-sweet savour offerings. There were five creatures acceptable as sacrificial offerings: 1) the bullock or ox, a patient and enduring servant; 2) a sheep, meek and submissive; 3) the goat, a type of the sinner; 4, 5) the turtle-dove or pigeon, innocent and associated with poverty.
The sin-offering is a non-sweet savour offering to atone for the guilt of sin. The sacrifice, depending upon the specific sin, could be either a young bullock, a goat, or a sheep. When slain, the fat was offered upon the altar, the blood was poured out, and the remainder was taken outside the camp to be burned. The sacrifice was burned outside the camp, not because it was full of sin but because a holy offering could not be offered in an unholy city. Thus atonement was made for sin and the worshiper received forgiveness. It was necessary, however, that this sacrificial offering be repeated time after time.
In giving further consideration to these things, let us think about
SMITTEN OF GOD IN REALITY
It is clearly evident that the One Smitten of God is none other than Jesus Christ. The events so vividly described in Psalm 22 were literally fulfilled in -the crucifixion, death, and burial of Christ. Please notice the following passage from Matthew chapter twenty-seven:
"And they crucified him, and parted his garments, casting lots: That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by the prophet. .... And they that passed by reviled him, wagging their heads, saying, Thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, save thyself. Likewise also the chief priests mocking him, with the scribes and elders, saying, He saved others; himself he cannot save. If he be the king of Israel, let him now come down from the cross, and we will believe him. He trusted in God; let him deliver him now, if he will have him: for he said, I am the Son of God... Now from the sixth hour there was darkness over all the land until the ninth hour... and about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?”. That is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me. "
Isn't it marvelous and doesn't it encourage our hearts to see the prophecies of Psalm 22 fulfilled in the events surrounding the crucifixion of Jesus!
Matthew has also recorded the fulfillment of many of Isaiah's prophecies, especially those which we read earlier. Continuing to read from Matthew 27, let us read verses 30 and 31:
"After they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him upon the head. And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him."
Now going back to chapter 26, let us read verse 67:
"Then did they spit on his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands ".
In Matthew 2 6:6 2, 63 and 27:12-14 we are told that when Jesus stood accused before the high priest, he answered him not a word:
"And the high priest arose and said unto him, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these witness against thee? But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God? And when he was accused of the high priests and elders, he answered nothing. Then said Pilate unto him, Hearest thou not how many things they witness against thee? And he answered him to never a word; insomuch that the governor marveled greatly. "
While upon the earth, Jesus was very poor. He had not so much as a place to lay His head. And, in death, He was buried in the tomb of another, a rich man, as recorded in Matthew 27:57-60: "When the evening was come, there came a rich man of Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus' disciple: He went to Pilate, and begged the body o f Jesus. Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered. And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock: and he rolled a great stone to the door of the sepulchre, and departed. "
In death Jesus was, :in reality, "numbered with the transgressors" in fulfillment of prophecy. Matthew, in 27:38, and Mark, in 15:28, say: "Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and one on the left... and the scripture was fulfilled which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors".
Earlier, we discussed briefly the sin offerings of Leviticus. As already pointed out, those offerings typify the offering made by Christ on the cross. That sacrifice was made necessary by our sins. The ox sacrificed typifies Christ who patiently “endured the cross” (Heb 12:2), and “humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Phil 2:8). The lamb sacrificed is symbolic of Christ “the lamb of God which taketh away the sins of the world” (John 1:29), and in meekness freely laid down His life. The goat speaks of Christ who “was numbered with the transgressors” (Mark 15:28), and was “made to be sin for us” (2 Cor 5:21).
The sin offering in reality is Christ. He gave His life for us, He bore our sin, He was our substitute on the cross, He poured out His life for us. .
Now let us summarize what has been said: Jesus is the One Smitten of God! He is the only begotten Son of God, yet God in His great love for us offered Jesus as a sin-offering upon an altar which took the form of a cross. The Bible says, “For God so loved the world (mankind), that he gave his only begotten Son (Jesus), that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16)
Isaiah, looking far into the future, saw this One, Smitten of God, hanging on a cross. (Isaiah 53:6) He saw God, as it were, reach out His hands from eternity to eternity, gather up all the sins of all men and place them on Jesus. Then God forsook His Son, literally turned His back upon Jesus, until the blood flowing from His pierced side had washed away all those sins. Jesus, in that terrible hour when He was rejected of men and forsaken by God, cried out, “My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” (Matt 27:46). It was because of our sins resting upon Him that God forsook Jesus during that hour of great suffering.
The death of Christ, by the will of God, was a sacrifice - once for all! None other sacrifice is needed. Indeed, none other can be made. Jesus was sacrificed once for all time. All that remains to be done is for the individual to personally appropriate the finished work of Jesus Christ.
The Bible says, “Who (Jesus) his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree (cross), that we, being dead to sin, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye are healed.” (1 Peter 2:24).
Let us, also, notice the following Scriptures:
“Be it known unto you therefore, that through this man (Jesus) is preached unto you the forgiveness of sins: and by him all that believe are justified from all things, from which ye could not be justified by the law of Moses.” (Acts 13:38,39)
“For if through the offense of one man many be dead, much more the grace of God, and the gift by grace, Jesus Christ, hath abounded unto many. Therefore as by the offense of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free 'gift came upon all men unto justification.” (Rom 5:15,18)
The Bible clearly teaches that “all have sinned and come short of the glory of God” (Rom 3:23), and that “the wages of sin :is death” (Rom 6:23). This is man's natural state. To do nothing about :it is to remain the same. Not to accept the sin offering God has provided is to reject His mercy and forgiveness of sin.
The Bible says of Jesus, “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheek to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting” (Isa 50:6). Jesus did not shrink from the shame of the cross, but bore it openly for us. Oh, may we never feel embarrassed to confess Christ as Saviour.
Jesus said, “I am the way, the truth, and the life; no man cometh unto the Father but by me.” (John 14:6). Come to the Heavenly Father now by placing your faith in His Son, Jesus Christ. Your sins will be forgiven, you will be justified - put in right standing with God.
Remember, God's love does not automatically save you; but He has, in love, provided a way by which you can be saved. That way is Jesus Christ! Accept Him Now.
Dale H. Breeden, ©1974,2007
Used by permission of owner