Isaiah – Substitute

Isaiah – (in the Hebrew) Jehovah has saved

substitute – (W) To put in the place of another.

The prophet Isaiah said in 1.18-20 “Come now and let us reason together, saith the Lord: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow: though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool. AND “If ye be willing and obedient, ye shall eat the good of the land: But if ye refuse and rebel, ye shall be devoured...the Lord hath spoken it.”

You are allowed to question and “reason” out anything you hear regarding His Word. However, if you refuse to believe you will be destroyed. “the Lord hath spoken it.”

Illustration: objects – medicine/honey, beets/cookies, peace globe/crown of thorns. Let students choose their preference. Ask why they chose one over the other.

• Sometimes things that are good for you are not the easiest to consume and
• things that seem easier are not the best for you.
• Honey is sweet and not bitter like the cough syrup but by itself will not help a cough.
• Cookies will keep you from getting hungry for a while but have no nutritional value or lasting benefit to your body.

Our bodies are sin sick and weak without the Lord and His Word to keep us spiritually healthy to thrive in His Will, Way and Work. If one would be completely honest, our flesh would rather have the easier part of God's ways – that is the blessings and abundance rather than sacrifice or pain. Can you really substitute the easier thing for lasting help?

Piece of paper:

Write “Isaiah 53/Substitute” at the top of the page – can you see a substitute as we read this key chapter?

• Read, then have students go back and write any words thought important and/or draw a pix of what the words make you think of as I reread and ask questions – particularly about the meaning of “substitute”

Isaiah 53

1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
Do you believe all that is written in scripture? Even the part about obeying and honoring parents, adults in authority and anyone that has rule over you?
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 nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
What does tender plant mean? (easily bruised) Do you say and do things deliberately that hurt others?

Why would the writer say there is no beauty in Jesus? Verse 3 will explain why

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.
Why was He despised, why did we “hide” from Him? It seemed that sorrow and grief followed Him, in spite of miracles shown in the NT – no one actively seeks out the sad way of life -
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Which two phrases indicate what He did for us? “borne our griefs, carried our sorrows”
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.
What did He suffer that we might know peace in spite of our “transgressions/sins? Wounded, bruised, beaten with stripes
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.
How many “went astray?” All Whose way was more important than His way? Everyone else's/”My way”
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 openeth not his mouth.
Did He cry out for mercy or vengeance when mocked, cursed and beat? No
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 transgression of my people was he stricken.
Do you want to “declare” Him? Isaiah asked the question “who shall declare...”
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.
So, even though He was innocent (no violence, deceit) He had to die?
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.
Why would God be pleased to allow His Son to suffer so? The only way back to God is thru a perfect man and we c/n be perfect. (Jn 14.6, 7) “I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me.  If you really know me, you will know my Father as well.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
Who was satisfied by His suffering? V10 says “it pleased the Lord”
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 sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
How far did He go to be your substitute? “death” - “He poured out His soul unto death”

The real question for today:

Is He YOUR substitute? Did He die for You? How do you know? (believed and was saved)