Yet He Himself Bore The Sin Of The Many And Interceded For The Transgressors!

Grace Bible Church

Pastor Robert R. McLaughlin

Tree Of Life

Week Ending 06-27-21

“Yet He Himself Bore The Sin Of The Many And Interceded For The Transgressors!!”

In this lesson, we will examine                                                                                                                              

-Prophecy #13 – Isa 53:12 – He was numbered among the transgressors

-We are all transgressors, He identifies with us all!

-Hypocrisy is the same yesterday, today, and tomorrow

-Prophecy #16 – Ps 69:21 – they gave Him vinegar to drink

-Separation from God is the unquenchable thirst

-We have a High Priest who has experienced our thirst and can sympathize

-Prophecy #23 – Isa 53:8-9 – the rich man’s tomb

-The rich man and the secret disciples revealed!

Let us first ensure we are filled with the Spirit be keeping the command of 1 John 1:8-9 as is our custom (if need be): If we say we have no sin we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us; If we confess (homologeo – cite or acknowledge) our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and cleanse us from all unrighteousness (unknown of forgotten sins).” Let us also, once having recovered our fellowship, ask God the Father that God the Holy Spirit grant us understanding and epignosis or metabolization of doctrine for spiritual growth, in the name of our Lord and High Priest Jesus Christ.

Now, we shall continue our study of the 29 prophecies of our Lord with number 13 (remember that these are not in normal numerical sequence):

13. Isaiah had prophesied that He was numbered among the transgressors or lawbreakers.

Prophesied: Isa 53:12

Fulfilled: LUK 23:32-33

Isa 53:12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death, and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many, and interceded for the transgressors.

This prophetic verse is explained in the context of the King conquering something and sharing the spoils of war. So much that He even gives up His life as a sacrifice. He was to take on the iniquities of the transgressors as a means to defeat the enemy and free the transgressors. Even so for His enemies’  own transgressions, which they are committing.

However, The transgressors cannot see that even the act He is performing in Victory on that Cross, (point to the Cross), is how He makes available their intersession and deliverance to them, even as they are living and carrying out in the carnality of their sin. The Rejection of the Son of God.

In the middle part of the verse, He not only exposed His life to death, but “poured out” Himself.

“Poured out” = he‛ĕrâh,(from ârâh)  means to strip or empty, or pour clean out, even to the very last remnant. And that very last remnant, by the acts of the Cross, was His life-blood pouring into death. Then also His Spirit poured out when He gave it up, by His own power.

The word Isaiah uses for transgressors, among who Christ was numbered with, does not refer to the usual run of sinners. It is used more of that of criminals, who were more openly transgressors of the law of God and man. In verse 12 that word, transgressor = pâsha‛ (paw-shah') a primitive root meaning to break away (from legitimate authority), that is, trespass, apostatize, quarrel: - offender, rebel(ion), one that revolts. A revolutionary. The word is found in the Hebrew scripture 41 times.

To all those that drove Him to the cross, by the evil inside themselves, and their blindness, seeing empirically but not spiritually in spiritual death, Jesus was a mere mortal man, and a felon, a criminal, just like the companions that were crucified next to Him. To death was the sentence, but they had Him placed in the center; perhaps the idea to drive out others from claiming to be Messiah. Being numbered among them namely, in the judgment of His countrymen, and in the unjust judgment (mishpât) by which the Suffering Servant (TLJC) was delivered up to death as a wicked apostate and transgressor of the law.

Now, let’s see The fulfillment and we can get a further insight to, How they viewed Jesus.

Lk 23:32-33 “Two others also, who were criminals, were being led away to be put to death with Him. When they came to the place called The Skull, there they crucified Him and the criminals, one on the right and the other on the left.”

He suffered Himself to be ranked not only with these 2 sinners, but voluntarily offered Himself to be an intercessor for ALL sinners (Isa 53:12). And in this particular case, as we will see, this included the thief that recognized and believed.

In His commentary on Isa 53:12, Barnes notes that, “It was a great aggravation of His sufferings that He was numbered with transgressors, that He was not only condemned as a malefactor [a criminal], but executed in the company with two notorious malefactors, and He in the midst, as if He had been the worst of the three, in which circumstance of his suffering, this prophecy was fulfilled:

Mk 15:27 “They crucified two robbers with Him, one on His right and one on His left. [And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, “And He was numbered with transgressors.”]

In ancient times, Capital or public punishment for breaking the law was a great deterrent to the people; especially those places under Roman rule! This meant that the victim was placed in a state of embarrassment or shame, to highlight the guilt of any such persons that may share similar sins and deter them from law-breaking acts, or committing crimes. Jesus was not only seen as a criminal, but as a most-wanted criminal, since Barabbas, who was an actual notorious criminal, and a murderer, was set free so that our Lord could be executed (Mat 27:11-26). They considered this just!

The legalistic and hypocritical Pharisees had smeared Jesus as a law-breaker, reprobate, troublemaker, and general no-good deadbeat since He began His ministry. They saw their enemy, and the used their influence and trusted status to defeat Him first with a public smear campaign, character assassination, just like many leaders do today, especially those who think they are righteous. They use the same tactics – exaggeration, misrepresentation, framing, twisting words, to make Jesus appear as a menace, even a demon-possessed lunatic (Joh 5:16, 9:16, Lk 6:2,7, Mat 12:2,10, Mat 11:19, Lk 7:34, Mat 9:34, 12:24, Mk 3:22, Lk 11:15, Joh 8:48, 52, 10:20). Political stagecraft!

Jesus had His orders from the Father, He was going to carry out whatever He had to, by obedience, which means He would take the title of being associated with the lowest of the lowlier. Humble and meek do not mean weakness. In fact, humility in the face of such malicious attacks and degradation is a demonstration of great strength and incredible self-restraint! Anybody can act tough and anybody can strike back at an attacker, but who can remain in a mindset of impersonal love and grace-orientation while being punched and kicked and spit on and mocked – when totally innocent – without losing their cool even once? I know I have failed under the most minimal assault… This is one thing that blows my mind about the Lord Jesus most of all! Paul nails it:

2Co 12:10 “Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.”

When we are weak, but we recognize it in humility, and choose to rely instead on His strength, then we appear mighty indeed! That is the way to do it.

Php 4:13 “I can do all things through Christ who pours out strength into me”

How do we actually DO it? We use the 10 problem-solving devices to stop outside pressure of adversity and unjust suffering from overrunning our soul defenses and causing stress, and ultimately sin, in the soul. Being “stressed out”, not just momentarily, but on a consistent and persistent basis, is the sign that you have stress in the soul and are out of fellowship and living in the emotional complex of sins. You need to rebound (1 Joh 1:9) to recover fellowship, practice the faith-rest drill (claim a biblical promise like 1 Pe 5:7, and employ a doctrinal rationale to gain faith in it, e.g. Rom 8:32 - “He who did not spare His own Son, but delivered Him up for us all, how shall He not with Him also freely give us all things?”) and REST in the knowledge that God will handle it, and in a much better way than we can! This is what the Lord did in His humanity. He trusted in God’s perfect plan – obedient even unto death, so while He had moments of sorrow or vexation, He did not give in to stress and sin. When we do sin we must isolate it by rebounding and faith-resting or it will cause an avalanche of sins and then subsequent guilt and frustration, like a chain-reaction, putting us in a dire situation.

When our Lord hung on the cross, He was numbered with the transgressors. In His ministry, He did not shun sinners. He ate with tax men and prostitutes. The self-righteous Pharisees with their phony piety couldn’t understand it. So they numbered Him among those “undesirables.” But Jesus told them that He came as a physician to the sick, He came for those who needed a doctor, a Savior, for those who recognized that they they were “like one who is unclean” (Isa 64:6). Why does Christ identify with us? He knew no sin, but we are sinners! Because He came to make intercession for us. He was innocent and still He identified with the sinners, for that is why he came to reconcile us to God and give us hope.

Rom 8:3 For what the Law could not do, weak as it was through the flesh, God did: sending His own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh and as an offering for sin, He condemned sin in the flesh,

2 Cor 5:21 He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him.

He took upon Himself our sin, and thus was identified with “the transgressors.”

We are all transgressors! Only Jesus is everyone’s Intercessor, the “go-between” between man and God. Jesus “always lives to make intercession” for us as the author of Hebrews wrote (Heb. 7:25).

Jesus Christ tells His followers that He would be “numbered with transgressors”. He was crucified between two thieves, but that is not the impact of what this fulfilled prophecy means. Not only would He be numbered with transgressors but also Jesus is telling His followers that He was about to die for the transgressors. A subtle but important point that you do not miss it. Jesus gave of Himself, the righteous for the unrighteous that the transgressor may be reunited with God.

This salvation is what the prophets longed to see come to pass.  They searched intently into the great mystery of whom they and the Lord spoke about to them.

Angels themselves are so intrigued that they too search in amazement and wonder at this great salvation. Oh, what an amazing love God has for mankind that He would go to such lengths to save us. For those who are called to salvation, these are some of the greatest truths we could ever hear.

However, to the unbeliever, they never see the truth of why Jesus suffered the way He did. They only see a man, that was killed with sinners. Just like the religious leaders, that turned the people against Jesus, and shouting “Crucify, crucify”, the depravity of man shows its evil face in an attitude through this statement:

Joh 15:18 “If the world hates you, you know that it has hated Me before it hated you. If you were of the world, the world would love its own; but because you are not of the world, but I chose you out of the world, because of this the world hates you.”

Maybe that is why Jesus wanted and allowed Himself to be numbered, to give us hope. In closing out this prophecy, what it boils down to or brings us to the point of two different views: the Cosmos  vs   Bible Doctrine, which are at eternal odds with each other.

Joh 16:33 “These things I have spoken to you, so that in Me you may have peace.

In the world you have tribulation, but take courage; I have overcome the world.”

There will always be trouble, trials, and tribulations and Jesus knew this, telling His disciples, and also us, to Be Bold in giving the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!

Jam 1:2 “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience.”

Now on to #16

16. David prophesied that they would give Him vinegar to drink.

Prophesied: Psa 69:21

Fulfilled: MAT 27:34, MAT 27:48, Joh 19:28

Ps 69:21 "They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink."

We are also going to look at two more passages that we believe go along with this prophecy…

This is an exact message that we studied back in 2004, taught by our Pastor, which was titled:

“Jesus Christ Thirsted On The Cross That We Might Never Thirst Again.” Psa 69:21; Joh 19:28-30; Mat 27:33-34,48; 1Jo 1: 1-3; Heb 4:14-16; Luk 16:23-24; Rev 7:16, 22:17. These are some of the passages we will take a look at in this study.

Let’s begin with John 19:28:

Joh 19:28 "After this, Jesus, knowing that all things had already (notice that word “already”) been accomplished, in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled, *said, 'I am thirsty.'"

Our Lord says “I am thirsty.” The first principle we are going to see is that:

1. His thirst was not just a desire for the relief of His body.

He had suffered for a while before this time, of course He would be thirsty. However, His thirst was not just a desire for the relief of His body, but as this verse says, -- that the scripture might be fulfilled because the scripture says in Ps 69:21

Ps 69:21 “They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

Please notice that the vinegar is extended here and the prophecy is fulfilled. What we also want you to notice is our 2^nd principle:

2. Our Lord’s extreme self-control under the most horrifying circumstances. We want to keep this in mind while we pursue this study, and we will see this prophecy is very pertinent to these principles.

Most Christians can’t handle the problems in their daily lives, because they lack doctrine and/or routine use of the spiritual skills, instead relying on human, emotional, physical, psychological, and chemical solutions, and it interferes with them taking in and metabolizing Bible doctrine daily, coming to bible class and ultimately from growing up spiritually in God’s grace and knowledge.

And yet here is One who suffered for hours and hours and hours and notice His extreme self-control under the most horrifying circumstances. We have definitely seen enough of our Lord’s suffering to recognize this principle through these prophecies.

By this time in John 19:28, He had hung on the cross for 6 hours, from 9am to 3pm, from 12-3 it was darkness. During that darkness --- He had passed through underserved suffering -- like never before, and we will never comprehend it.

By the way remember in

Lk 22:44 “Before our Lord’s abuse by the hands of man, He had sweat drops of blood in the garden of Gethsemane the night before because of spiritual and demonic pressure.”

This is highlights the humanity of Christ. He was human just as we are human, every millisecond of every moment - of every hour - of every day - of every week - of every month - of every year - of every generation - of His short life, I will give you that, His earthly life was short, it was temporary, -- but what He went through as a HUMAN BEING during His earthly life - was for all of eternity --- for US!

In fact, if you study the gospel of John chapter 12 before the garden of Gethsemane and before the Lord’s supper, He said His soul was agitated. It was troubled for the disciples because He knew they did not understand what was about to happen. He knew the prophecy of the scattering sheep which we studied. They didn’t understand it until after He suffered and rose again fulfilling the prophesies, that’s why John writes in his gospel

Joh 19:28 “in order that the Scripture would be fulfilled, He said, 'I am thirsty.'"

So, before His abuse by the hands of man, He had sweat drops of blood in the garden of Gethsemane the night before because of spiritual and demonic pressure. In fact He was in so much agony we are told in Lk 22:43 that He prayed very fervently to God the Father and that God the Father had to send an angel to strengthen Him, an angel from heaven to strengthen Him, Nevertheless, His mind, astoundingly, remained perfectly clear, --- His memory entirely unimpaired.

Our Lord knew what was about to take place and He even suffered before it took place. He truly had that Php 4:7 mental attitude, that spiritual peace and prosperity from the source of the God, which surpasses or rises above and beyond all comprehension. And by the way, this is the mental attitude we are told to have within us. Let us have this mental attitude, that spiritual peace and prosperity that comes from the God, -- which surpasses or is beyond all ordinary human experience or comprehension.

Every day, every little small problem and every big problem is an opportunity to practice! God gives us opportunities so that we can grow. So, adversity is really a gift! If we can learn to maintain such an attitude, being flexible in our RMA and embracing challenges with the attitude one has when playing a video game, or beginning a new exercise plan, i.e. this is going to raise my level and get me to the next stage - how do I apply doctrine to get through, and what is the lesson here? - think how it would change our lives! That is the challenge, to think divine viewpoint at all times instead of human viewpoint.

Our Lord, after stating that all things had already been accomplished, as we looked at earlier, is about to make that statement in John 19:30, using the Greek word tetelestai = entirely and fully completed in this moment: "It is finished."

Joh 19:30 “Therefore when Jesus had received (notice that word received) the sour wine, He said, “It is finished!” And He bowed His head and gave up His spirit.” 

Again, tetelestai = entirely and fully completed. No further work needs to be done, nor can it be done, Tit 3:5. There is no room for other actions, rituals, sacraments, sacrifices, or payments to accomplish salvation, 1PE 3:18; HEB 10:12-14.

Notice also - at this time, our Lord is still thinking about scripture, He still has His mind on the prophesies, of Ps 69:21,  and the one mentioned in Psalm 22. “In order that the scripture might be fulfilled, notice - He said “I am thirsty”

Ps 69:21 "They gave me poison for food, and for my thirst they gave me sour wine to drink."

Joh 19:29 “A jar full of sour wine was standing there; so they put a sponge full of the sour wine on a branch of hyssop and brought it up to His mouth.”

Please note: this is not the same incident as when He was offered gall and refused it. Do not be confused. Here, he “received” it. The word used indicates He drank it and swallowed it. Over in Matthew we have a similar sounding event but this is not the same occasion.

Mat 27:33-34 “And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means Place of a Skull, they gave Him wine mixed with gall to drink; and after tasting it, He was unwilling to drink it.”

Gall was a bitter poison to speed up or accelerate the speed of death. It was also for the purpose of deadening pain. Because He knew the medication would have deadened His senses and hindered His ability to fulfill the plan of God and have a clear mind, our Lord refused the drink here.

In Joh 19:28, our Lord said “I thirst.” This one word reveals the heart of our Lord Jesus Christ, as we see His love in a deeper way. That word reveals that He is doing something for us.

He has just already satisfied God the Father and the judgment of God the Father, but He wanted us to know something: our Lord wanted us to know that the result of being separated from God is being thirsty. Look at unbelievers in the frantic search for happiness, trying to fill the void in their souls with everything and anything. It is so desperate. Unfortunately many believers never leave that life either. But we have harkened to the voice of the Lord! We have sought to discover everything that God is and all that He has done for us!

That’s why our Lord Jesus Christ said in

Joh 4:13-14 “Jesus answered and said to her, “whoever drinks of this water (whatever satisfies the body) will thirst again; but whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life.”

Most people are living in ignorance in the cosmic system, seeking the temporary pseudo-happiness that comes from satisfying the body and it’s various needs and desires, and the sin nature, while utterly neglecting and depriving the soul of its nourishment. So they are always thirsting and never satisfied!

I have endeavored to illustrate that our Lord is true humanity and undiminished deity in one person forever. This is known as the doctrine of the hypostatic union in theology. Hypostatic comes from the Greek hupostasis and refers to two distinct natures or states that are bound together but without mixing or merging. I will not go deep into this here but Pastor has tapes and books that cover this topic in great detail, available free of charge. If anyone is interested, I suggest availing yourself of them here on this site!

What is important here, to stay on topic, is that Jesus Christ experienced all of these experiences a human can experience, and He did so sinlessly. But remember, Hebrews 7:26 tells us that Jesus Christ who is our High Priest is said to be holy, innocent, undefiled, separated from sinners and exalted above the heavens. It makes sense that God's ultimate plan for our salvation would involve a high priest who is eternal, exalted, and without sin. This verse summarizes the overall point, our 3^rd principle, that

3. Jesus is the perfect, complete fulfillment of God's promised role of high priest.

Jesus is "holy," meaning "set apart" (JOH 6:69).

He is "innocent" and "unstained" by sin (2CO 5:21).

He is "separated" from sinners, in the sense that He was tempted without falling into sin (HEB 4:15).

And, Jesus is "exalted" by God (PHI 2:9).

Further in Heb 10:10, "By this will (the will of God the Father), we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all time."

Keep in mind that word sanctified. God's plan was always to use O.T. sacrifices as a temporary measure, pointing towards the eventual ministry of the Messiah. Ps 40:6-8 shows how God's intent for His will involves a physical body, not offerings. The work Jesus did on the cross, then, becomes the fulfillment of that promise. Earlier passages in Heb 9:8-10 point out that animal sacrifices were inferior and temporary, and could not provide salvation. The very fact that priests offered the same sacrifices over and over was proof that God never intended them to fully pay for sin. Why would they have to be repeated? Our "sanctification" comes only by the blood of Christ, not the sacrifice of animals. Instead of being offered over and over, Jesus was sacrificed "once for all."

Jesus did all this “for the joy set before Him” - US! It wasn’t pleasant, He didn’t do it easily or while whistling a happy tune. Jesus Christ did not feel good when He hung dying on the cross, -- when He was being punched in the face, scourged, whipped, mocked, ridiculed and going through all of that undeserved suffering. This brings out our 4^th principle

4. Our Lord Jesus Christ, when He died on the cross, was in perfect control of His faculties; He did not seek to escape pain in any way.

The high priest in the old testament were warned about something when they went inside the tabernacle or the temple. And this is not saying do not drink alcohol ever, or that drinking alcohol is a sin. Please notice it specifically says “when you come into the tent of meeting”, there is a time and a place for things. We have to be aware of context and use discernment. Part of growing up, mentally as well as spiritually, is learning situational awareness, and what behavior is appropriate in certain situations. This is stated to ensure we abstain from legalistic ideas that come from taking scripture out of context.

Lev 10:8-9 “The Lord then spoke to Aaron, saying, “Do not drink wine or strong drink, neither you nor your sons with you, when you come into the tent of meeting, so that you may not die – it is a perpetual statute throughout your generations”

The reason for this - was because the high priesthood pointed toward the Messiah and He would not do anything to dull His senses. Our 5^th point:

5. Jesus Christ is able to empathize completely with us, to identify with our pain and our need and our hurt.

If I am going to have the mind of Christ, I better be able to identify with other people, -- not put them down in their pain - and their need - and their suffering, -- and then tell other people about their pain - and their need - and their hurt…

Heb 4:14 “Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let’s hold firmly to our confession.” For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things just as we are, yet without sin.

We have a High Priest who experienced our thirst and He quenched our thirst…He did not want to be identified with anything humanly possible that would make it easier for Him. Not only did our Lord suffer the same temptations as us, but He suffered temptations that none of us ever will, temptations involving the use of His divine power for example, and pressure we never will – the fate of all humanity rested on His shoulders!

6. Our Lord Jesus Christ, to become our merciful High Priest, endured that suffering and paid the full price.

7. Our Lord, the suffering Son of Man, who cried, “I thirst,” has identified Himself with our every need.

That should encourage us to go on, encourage us to pray, to pick up our cross and keep moving forward in the plan of God. Mercy is for your past mistakes, grace is now for your present and your future.

The 2^nd portrait,

2. The obedient servant of God

The second portrait, which we see in the words “I thirst”, is that of the obedient servant of God. Everything our Lord did was in obedience to God. When our Lord hung on the cross His physical strength was drained right out of Him.

Ps 69:20-21 “Reproach has broken my heart, and I am so sick. They also gave me gall for my food, And for my thirst they gave me vinegar to drink.”

The gall He refused but the vinegar is that which He drank. If you do a study on Psalm 69 you will see a portrait of Jesus Christ as the suffering Son Savior and the obedient Servant of God. Our Lord was more concerned with fulfilling the will of God than to satisfy His own needs. He followed every part of God’s plan for His life to the letter. He never entertained any notions of living for Himself. Yet many of us can’t find the time to even study His word more than a few hours a week, and many believers do not study at all. Even sacrificing one hour a week to go to church is too much to ask!

Ask yourself that question: are you more concerned with fulfilling the will of God, honoring God, using your time talent and treasure to glorify God? or are you more concerned with your physical needs? That’s a question we all have to answer and maybe more often than most, for some of us…

Eph 6:6 “doing the will of God from the heart. Imitate the obedient Servant of God.”

So, we have noted

1. 1. The suffering Son of Man.
2. The obedient servant of God.

Now we have the third portrait –

3.The loving Savior of sinners.

Jesus was thirsty - to be sure, - because of the physical agony that He was experiencing,

but I want to remind you that He had just come through those 3 hours of darkness when even the sun had veiled its face, it was completely dark and it was in that time of darkness when He cried out in Mat 27:46 …“Eli, Eli, lema sabaktanei?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

And when the Lord Jesus Christ was made sin FOR US, He completed that great transaction for our salvation, He endured our hell as it where! Remember, hell is a place of outer darkness as we have seen in MAT 8:12, our Lord experienced darkness for us. Why? Why did He do this for us? Because of Love!!! Remember this love, every day as you live out your life, this is true love, this is the love that surpasses all other love, this is the love that we are to imitate. When we honor the Lord’s supper, we are commanded to remember Him, that he was broken, and poured out. As we grow toward occupation with Christ, the 10^th and greatest Problem-Solving Device (PSD), we should be more and more occupied with these portraits of our awesome Lord and Savior, and through His word, His mind and thinking and love circulating in our stream of consciousness, walking in the Spirit, we can imitate Him and walk more like He walked. He is the alpha and the omega, the author and finisher of our faith!

For review, we have noted three portraits:

1. The suffering Son of Man
2. The obedient servacnt of God
3. The loving Savior of sinners

and eight principles:

1. His thirst was not just a desire for the relief of His body.

2. Our Lord’s extreme self-control under the most horrifying circumstances.

3. Jesus is the perfect, complete fulfillment of God's promised role of high priest.

4. Our Lord Jesus Christ, when He died on the cross, was in perfect control of His faculties; He did not seek to escape pain in any way.

5. Jesus Christ is able to empathize completely with us, to identify with our pain and our need and our hurt.

6. Our Lord Jesus Christ, to become our merciful High Priest, endured that suffering and paid the full price.

7. Our Lord, the suffering Son of Man, who cried, “I thirst,” has identified Himself with our every need.

8. As the loving Savior of sinners - the Lord Jesus Christ thirsted for us, so that we would never have to thirst again.

Now we will move on to the next prophecy involving the rich man’s burial for the Servant King.

27. Jesus’ burial in the tomb of a rich man was foretold by the Prophet Isaiah.

Prophesied: ISA 53:8-9

Fulfilled: MAT 27:57-60

Isa 53:9 His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

He allowed Himself to be humble, ridiculed, persecuted, scourged, mocked, forsaken, betrayed, and rejected. - all that and much more as we have seen through this study for us, to the obedience to the Father. He took our place as a sinner, offering Himself to God and permitting His enemies to heap upon Him all that abuse and hatred. Yet remained sober in mind, making sure He completed the work of His Father.

Heb 12:2 “fixing our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of faith, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.”

Through the last few prophecies, we have tried to give you a picture from multiple persons point of view, of how they saw the events playing out in their own time, as the Scriptures unfold. Today we are going to look at an exception to those viewpoints. And look at 2 characters in a glorious act they performed from Divine viewpoint. What I want you to consider this morning is this: We need to put on the Mind of Christ.

Rom 13:14 “But put on the Lord Jesus Christ, and make no provision for the flesh in regard to its lusts.”

1 Co 2:15,16 “But he who is spiritual appraises all things, yet he himself is appraised by no one.  For WHO HAS KNOWN THE MIND OF THE LORD, THAT HE WILL INSTRUCT HIM?

But we have the mind of Christ.”

In Matthew’s gospel, after Jesus had returned from being tempted and left Nazareth, settled in Capernaum (to fulfill a prophecy in Isa 9:1-2) by the sea (region of Zebulun and Naphtali), and began His ministry it says,

Mat 4:17 From that time Jesus began to preach and say, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is at hand.”

We have studied before that “repent” in the original Greek is ‘metanoeo’ (meh-ta-know-EH’-oh) which means change (meta) mind or thinking (noeo). This is important because while many religious churches emphasize outward actions, the word of God always emphasizes the thinking which produces the outward action, and that inner change must precede outward change (Rom 12:2), or outward change is just phony hypocrisy, which is exactly what the Scribes and Pharisees were guilty of. Superficiality and legalistic works systems without motivational virtue (personal love for God, impersonal love toward mankind) are mere facades to mask inner corruption, or what we refer to as “mental attitude sins” (Mat 23:27).

We know and have seen, in the first part of this verse that Jesus was going to die in the company of the two thieves or criminals, (transgressors) and also being seen as one Himself. It was the intention of those supervising His execution to cast Him into a common grave with the wicked.

Never was Jesus found in any way an aggressor to commit violence against another, but Jesus always showed care and love towards everyone, even His enemies (1Ti 1:14, Joh13:1).

“Nor was there any deceit in His mouth”

Jesus spoke Truth because He is Truth. (Ex 34:6  Ps 25:5, 31:5, 40:11, Pro 12:19, Dan 9:13,   

John 1:14,17, 8:45,46, 14:6, 17:17, Luke 20:21, Gal 4:16, Eph 1:13, 4:21, 1Ti 2:4, 15, Jam 1:18, 2Joh 1:4)

Actually, it was the opposite, they spoke deceit of Him, as David said in psalm 109:2.

Ps 109:2 For they have opened the wicked and deceitful mouth against me; They have spoken against me with a lying tongue.

In verse 9 of our prophecy verse:

“Yet He was with a rich man in His Death.”

Who is the rich man? This can be found in Mat 27:57:

Mat 27:57 “When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.”

Joseph of Arimathea is an interesting character of the Bible. He also had a secret which we will reveal. I have made a few points to highlight what the Scriptures tell us.

1. Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man (Mat 27:57).

We know that He became a rich man, from the village of Arimathea, which is located east of Joppa on the coast (NW of Jerusalem, near current day Tel Aviv). Joseph was said by historians to be a tin, metal dealer to those in the European lands, and had earned his wealth there. But God also had a plan for him.

2. Joseph of Arimathea was a prominent member of the Council of Sanhedrin (Lk 23:50).

Lk 23:51 also tells us that he was a “good and righteous man” who “did not go along with the council”, regarding Jesus). This was one of the good guys, who took his leadership role seriously but also clearly had integrity.

3. Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple of Jesus (Mat 27:57, Joh19:38).

In Joh 19:38 we discover that Joseph was a secret disciple, “for fear of the Jews.” You have to wonder how many were there like him? Of course we think of another who visited Jesus secretly and spoke with him… Fear is lack of thinking under pressure and certainly these leaders  have Joseph under its thumb at this time. Most of the Jews at that time lived in fear of persecution by the high and mighty Sanhedrin (Joh 7:13, Joh 9:22-23, Joh 12:42-43).

Joseph had a lot to lose (reputation, wealth, position) and probably had much inner turmoil, building courage or waiting for “the right time” to demonstrate his faith. That is where the challenges come in for all of us, especially in these times: are we going to stand up for what we believe or just have the “everyone is doing it” attitude, go along with the herd? The way you choose, determines your heart for God. And Jesus taught this very principle:

Mark 8:34 “For whoever wishes to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake and the gospel’s will save it.”

This applies to you and me, and every believer in Jesus Christ! We see it in all four gospels (Mat 10:39, 16:25; Mk 8:34; Lk 9:24, 17:33; Joh 12:25)

We also see a statement of his faith in Mark and Luke:

4. Joseph of Arimathea was waiting for the Kingdom of God. Mark 15:43, Luke 23:51

So, Continuing in the fulfillment Mat 27:58,

Mat 27:58 “This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.”

Now at this time, right after Jesus gave up His Spirit and they knew He had died. Those around the Cross looked from a distance, they were bewildered not moving or knowing what to do. The women, who had gathered, did not move in, they just mourned. I think this is when Joseph was stirred up by God. God had a plan for him, and that is the fulfillment of this prophecy. After witnessing the piercing in the side from the Roman soldier’s spear to Christ body, blood and water gushed from His side, no other person touched Him. Finally, having confirmed the death of Jesus, Joseph went to Pilate. The time has come, the moment of truth for Joseph. Now He is courageous in showing a change of mind. Pilate was the person in power to grant the release of the body. Joseph musters up the courage to approach Pilate and asked for permission to take the body away.

“Asked” here Mat 27:58 is the Greek word ‘etes aiteō’ (eetes-eye-TEH’-o) meaning to beg for, call for, to plea for with desire. It is in the middle voice, denoting he asked for himself, personally. Only someone that cares or loves someone that much would do it in this manner, He was requiring a purpose. That is just what Joseph had intended to do. It has been speculated that Pilate had granted the request as a way to assuage his guilt or remorse over what happened to Jesus.

Mat 27:59 “And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth”

Here is the only issue – but one that has a solution. Joseph might have been able to take down the body on his own, but highly unlikely. He would need assistance with the body and to make the proper preparation that were to be made for burial. It seems he had help from another “secret admirer” or secret believer in Jesus among the Jewish leadership: Nicodemus (Joh 19:38-41).

Nicodemus helped carry, wrap, and place the body, even gathering the spices to Joseph’s empty tomb, where no one had ever been laid. The touching and removal of the body shows the honor and respect they had for Jesus. No one would want to touch or remove a body of one that had been put to death as such a criminal. Especially, ones of ranking officials in the Council.

Mat 27:59-60 “And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it (Jesus’ body) in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled a large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away.”

The wrapping was to be as is customary in Jewish burials. The body was entirely swathed in long fine linen strips, not covered with only a shroud. A single sheet wrapping for a corpse to conceal the body. Some care had to be taken in moving the body around to completely prepare and cover it. He was laid in a new tomb, which Joseph, it is likely, designed for himself, and because of the lack of time before the sabbath began, they used this one as it was close to the spot of the crucified body. The ground about Jerusalem was generally rocky and God the Father ordered it that Christ's tomb should be in a solid entire rock. This preempts claims that the disciples had removed the body through a secret tunnel or “back door.” There also were guards assigned to ensure (for posterity) that no one was able to remove the body, and that there would be record of this. The rolling of a great stone to seal the tomb was a matter of Jewish custom, as seen in a few places, such as when Jesus went to revive Lazarus:

Joh 11:38 “So Jesus, again being deeply moved within, came to the tomb. Now it was a cave, and a stone was lying against it.”

The stone was rolled closed against the tomb, it was signifying that those who are dead, are separated and “cut off from all the living”, giving us a conclusion to the Isa 53:8 prophecy explanation.

The Jews designed that Jesus should have made his grave with the wicked men,

He should have been buried with the thieves with whom He was crucified,

but God over-ruled it, so as that Jesus should make it fulfilled, “Yet He was with the rich man in his death”, as written some 700 years before the Isa 53:9 fulfillment. Yet another Scripture fulfilled exactly to prove He was the Son of God, The long-awaited Messiah, Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ!

THANK YOU TO OUR LORD AND SAVIOR JESUS CHRIST, WHO HAS THE VICTORY and IS WORTHY OF HONOR and PRAISE!

See you next time! Replace fear and worry with spiritual skills, rebound and the faith-rest drill, put on the full armor of God, and walk in the light as Jesus walked in the light! If you truly make Bible doctrine #1 priority in your life, so that you will love it and delight in it, it will become in you a fountain of water springing up to eternal life (Joh 4:13-14)! You will grow in grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ (2Pe 3:18).

2Pe 1:10-11 Therefore, brethren, be even more diligent (make PMA of Bible doctrine #1 priority) to make your call and election sure, for if you do these things you will never stumble; for so an entrance will be supplied to you abundantly into the everlasting kingdom of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.