The Lamb for the Whole World - Isaiah 53:8

Isaiah 53:8 reads like this: "He, Jesus, 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." Now during these days we've been looking at the growing, enlarging circle of influence in the death of our Lord Jesus Christ. Genesis 22, a sacrifice for the individual, the ram died for Isaac. And Jesus Christ died for you and for me. Paul said he loved me and gave himself for me. Exodus 12, the sacrifice for the household as they were meeting together in those little households around the lamb, the blood on the doorposts protected them from the death that was coming at midnight. Now we have a lamb, a sacrifice for a nation, and that nation is the nation of Israel. Twenty-six times in the book of Isaiah the prophet uses the phrase "my people." And in each case, it refers to Israel. The Father sent the Son to be the Savior of the world, but he also in a very special way died for the people of Israel. 

First of all, the substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus Christ is pictured in Israel's ceremonies. It's hard to believe that this nation could not recognize their own Messiah. It's hard to believe that even the disciples, who were Jewish men, could not understand his sacrificial death on the cross. The Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister and to give his life a ransom for many—ransom, that means you're paying a price to set somebody free. And yet when Jesus first mentioned the cross to his disciples, Matthew 16, Peter opposed what he said. "Far be it from you, Lord, pity yourself, Lord," said Peter. You're not going to go to a cross and die. And yet Peter and the other disciples and the religious leaders should have recognized the truth of substitutionary sacrifice simply by looking at their own ceremonies. The daily sacrifices: a lamb was sacrificed in the morning, a lamb was sacrificed in the evening. In the book of Leviticus, you have described the peace offering, the trespass offering, the burnt offering, the various sacrifices that were brought. Now Jesus is pictured in all of these sacrifices. Hebrews 10 makes that very clear: "A body you have prepared for me." And when the sacrifice was laid on the altar, when the blood was shed, it was a picture that one day a final and complete sacrifice would be made, for by one offering he, Jesus, has perfected forever those who are being sanctified. 

Secondly, the substitutionary sacrifice of the Lord Jesus on the cross was made possible by the Jewish nation. You see, Jesus was a Jew. God called Abraham, Genesis 12, he said, "Through you, Abraham, all of the world is going to be blessed." How is that possible? Well, Sarah gave birth to Isaac, and then Isaac had two sons, Jacob and Esau, and God chose Jacob. And then Jacob had twelve sons, and one of them, Judah, was chosen to be the tribe through which the Messiah would come. And Jesus was born of the family of David of the tribe of Judah in Bethlehem. And you see, Israel provided the body for the Lord Jesus. Mary, that beautiful young girl, said, "Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to your word." She gave her body to the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit performed a miracle, and the virgin birth, prophesied in Isaiah 7:14, the virgin birth was made possible. Israel was looking for a king, not for a humble Savior, because they did not understand their Old Testament Scriptures. 

Thirdly, the substitutionary sacrifice of Christ was prophesied in Israel's Scriptures. Not only pictured in the types and the ceremonies, but prophesied. Isaiah talks about it here in Isaiah 53. David talks about it in Psalm 22. In fact, Isaiah 53 is quoted so often in the New Testament: in John 12, in Matthew 8, we could go on and on, Romans 10, 1 Peter 2. The Holy Spirit of God reaches back into Isaiah 53 and says, "This is a picture of the sacrificial substitutionary death of the Lord Jesus Christ." Well, a lamb not just for the people of Israel, not even just for Isaac, but a lamb for the whole world. "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." 

Heaven is a place of worship. When you read Revelation 4-22, you find a great deal of worship going on up in heaven. In fact, the book of Revelation really operates on two levels: on earth warfare, in heaven worship. Heaven's not the least bit worried about what Satan and all of his hosts are doing down on earth. Revelation 4, they worship the Creator. In Revelation 4:11: "You are worthy, O Lord, to receive glory and honor and power; for you created all things, and by your will they exist and were created." So heaven is worshiping and praising the Creator. Revelation 11:15-19, heaven is worshiping and praising the King, the Sovereign who takes his throne. You are the one who has taken your great power, you have reigned. Revelation 19, heaven is worshiping the Conqueror. It's heaven's great Hallelujah Chorus as the Conqueror comes to claim his kingdom. 

But here in Revelation 5, they're worshiping the Savior, the Lamb. In Revelation 5:1-7, John tells us we worship Jesus Christ because of who he is. He's the Lion. I saw a strong angel proclaiming with a loud voice, "Who is worthy to open the scroll and to loose its seals?" And they couldn't find anybody, so John wept. And one of the elders said, "Do not weep. Behold, the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, has prevailed to open the scroll and to loose its seven seals." You see, if nobody could be found to open that scroll, then God could not fulfill his purposes on this earth. That scroll represents the fulfillment of God's purposes. And throughout the book of Revelation, as these seals are opened and the scroll is unrolled, various events take place leading to the coming of the Lord Jesus Christ to this earth to establish his kingdom. So John's weeping, and the elder says, "Don't cry. Look!" And I looked, and behold, in the midst of the throne and of the four living creatures and in the midst of the elders stood a Lamb. Now the elder had said the Lion of the tribe of Judah, but the Lion here is a Lamb. 

Now there stood the Lamb as though it had been slain. Notice the description here: seven horns, seven eyes, which are the seven Spirits of God sent out into all the earth. Seven is the number of perfection. Seven horns, perfect power, he's omnipotent. Seven eyes, perfect wisdom, he's omniscient. The sevenfold Holy Spirit, perfect presence, he's omnipresent. Here is Jesus Christ God, with perfect power, perfect wisdom, perfect presence. We worship him because of who he is: he is the Lamb. The Old Testament question was raised by Isaac, "Where is the lamb?" John the Baptist said, "Behold the lamb!" And now heaven is saying, "Worthy is the lamb!" 

We worship him because of who he is. Who is he? He is the Lamb that was slain. Now in Revelation 5:6, we worship him because of where he is. He's in heaven. He's in the midst and he's at the throne. Now throne is one of the key words in the book of Revelation. In fact, Lamb is one of the key words—twenty-eight times you find the word Lamb. Seventeen times in Revelation 4 and Revelation 5, you'll find the word throne. In fact, the word throne is found forty-six times in the book of Revelation. The book of Revelation is the book of the throne. We're taken into the throne room of heaven. Revelation 4, they are worshiping the Creator. Revelation 5, they're worshiping the Savior, the Lamb who is enthroned far above all. He's in the midst. When our Lord was on earth, he was in the midst. Luke 2, you find him in the midst of the religious leaders in the temple when he was twelve years old, amazing them with his questions and answers. Matthew 18, Jesus says, "Where two or three are gathered together in my name, there am I in the midst." He's available and accessible to all. Revelation 1:13, he's in the midst of the churches, in the midst of the lampstands. Now he's in the midst of the throne. And when they crucified him, they crucified him in the midst—he was between those two thieves. 

Oh, we worship him because of who he is. He is the Lamb. Humility, innocence, perfection. The Lamb without spot, without blemish. The Lamb who has perfect power and perfect wisdom, who is always present. "Lo, I am with you always." And he reaches out and takes the scroll in Revelation 5:7 because he is the one who is worthy. Where did he get that worthiness? Well, he's worthy because he's God, but he's also worthy because he died for us. Were it not for the death and burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, there could be no gospel. There could be no salvation. If there's no gospel, then there is no hope. And if there's no hope, then there's no future. Ah, but he takes that scroll and says, "I am the one who will see to it that God's perfect plan is worked out in this world." 

So we worship and praise him because of who he is, and because of where he is, and because of what he does. Notice now in Revelation 5:8: "Now when he had taken the scroll, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb, each having a harp and golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of the saints." Now John is not suggesting here that we can pray through people up in heaven. No, we pray to the Father through the Son and in the Holy Spirit. What are the prayers of the saints? Well, for centuries the saints have been praying, "Thy kingdom come." And now that kingdom is going to come. The prayers of the saints are going to be fulfilled when the Lord Jesus Christ brings the consummation of the work of God on this earth. 

Now they sing to him, they sing a new song. That's going to bother some people up in heaven. Some of us, the older we get, we don't like new songs. Well, we're going to have some new songs up in heaven; better get used to it. Here's what they sing: "You are worthy to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain." Now that's an emphasis that's being given in this passage. The Lamb was slain. The Lamb saves us because he gave his blood. Oh, let's worship him: "Worthy are you to take the scroll." A gospel hymn: "You were slain, you've redeemed us to God by your blood." They say people today don't want to sing about the blood. Friend, if you don't want to sing about the blood, you don't understand salvation. You don't understand the grace of God. And if you get to heaven, you're going to sing about the blood: "You have redeemed us to God by your blood." 

"You were slain"—that Greek word means violently slain; you could translate it "butchered." They whipped the Lord Jesus unjustly. They nailed him to a cross. A Roman soldier pierced his side. He was slain. He was slain for you and for me. "You've redeemed us to God by your blood out of every tribe and tongue and people and nation." It's a missionary hymn, isn't it? Every tribe, every tongue, every people, every nation. Are you seeing to it that the gospel is getting out to the ends of the earth? "You have made us kings and priests to our God." A kingdom of priests—that's what Israel was; the book of Exodus tells us that. "I'm going to make you a kingdom of priests." And we are kings and priests unto him who loves us and freed us from our sins in his own blood, and has made us kings and priests unto God. What a privilege it is to belong to the Lord. A worship hymn, a gospel hymn, a missionary hymn, "And we shall reign on the earth." It's also a prophetic hymn. See what he's done for us: he has redeemed us because he died for us. He has made us to be kings and priests unto our God. He one day will return and we shall reign with him. Oh, what a marvelous song this is. What he does for sinners: he redeems. What he does for the whole world: he gets the gospel out to the whole world. And he does this for his glory. 

Revelation 5:11-14, they continue their praise of the Lamb, and they praise him not only because of who he is and where he is and what he does, but they praise him because of what he has. Notice now, here we have many angels around the throne, and the living creatures and the elders. Now the number in the choir is getting bigger and bigger. You choir directors who have a hard time getting people in your choir, listen to this: "And the number of them was ten thousand times ten thousand, and thousands of thousands." Here we have a whole universe. Look at Revelation 5:13: "Every creature which is in heaven and on the earth and under the earth and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, I heard." Here we have a vast universal choir praising our Lord. 

"Worthy is the Lamb"—there it is again. "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain." Oh, please, it's not admiring the Lamb that saves you. It's not watching the Lamb or imitating the Lamb or studying the Lamb. It's receiving the sacrifice that he made for you on the cross. "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power." When he was here on earth, he was weak. He was crucified in weakness. He was poor. "To receive riches." "Wisdom"—they laughed at him, they said he was foolish, the foolishness of the cross. "Strength, honor"—they didn't give him much honor here on earth. They lied about him, they said he was a glutton, they said he was a friend of publicans and sinners. He was crucified between two thieves and would have been buried out on the garbage heap had it not been for Joseph and Nicodemus who buried him in Joseph's new tomb. "Glory and blessing"—they cursed him, and he became a curse for us. Notice that second verse of the song in Revelation 5:13: "Blessing and honor and glory and power be to him who sits on the throne"—that's the Father—"and to the Lamb forever and ever." And the four living creatures said, "Amen." 

Do you say amen to this song? Really? When you contemplate heavenly worship, what is your picture of heaven? Is your picture of heaven just a paradise where there'll be no work and no sickness and no death and no tears? Or is your picture of heaven a place of service and worship? Now some people don't like to worship here on earth. They want to go to church and have entertainment. They don't want the Lamb to be praised. They want entertainment. They've watched so much entertainment on television, including religious entertainment, that when they go to church, they don't want to worship God. My friend, you are going to spend eternity worshiping God. And I suggest that you start getting accustomed to it now. Putting out of your mind and heart those things that distract and deceive and defile, and learn what it means to say, "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain. Blessing and honor and glory and power be to him who sits on the throne and to the Lamb forever and ever." 

Well, here's the Lamb for a whole universe. There's going to come a time when all of the universe is going to acknowledge that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God the Father. And I wonder, are you going to be there bowed before the Lamb? Can you today say, "Worthy is the Lamb. You are worthy, for you were slain. You were slain for me." Do you admire Jesus Christ? Do you adore Jesus Christ because of who he is: the Lion of the tribe of Judah, the Root of David, the Lamb, the little Lamb, the Lamb who was slain for you? Do you worship him because of where he is: the glorified Lamb up in heaven? Do you worship him because of what he does: he has redeemed, and he will one day give us to share in his reign? Do you worship him because of what he has: power and riches and wisdom and strength and honor and glory and blessing? Oh, worthy is the Lamb. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain. Worthy is the Lamb that was slain for you and for me. 

Now have you trusted this Lamb? "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world." We've talked about a sacrifice for the individual: the ram died for Isaac, Jesus died for you. A sacrifice for the household: Exodus 12, the lamb died to save the household, the firstborn from death. Your household can be transformed if those in your household will trust Jesus Christ. A lamb for the nation of Israel: Isaiah 53:8, "for the transgressions of my people was he smitten, stricken." But oh, we have a lamb for the whole world: "Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world," John 1:29. A lamb for the whole universe. And heaven is rejoicing, and heaven is praising, and heaven is worshiping because of the greatness of the Lamb. You aren't saved by Jesus the teacher, Jesus the miracle worker; you're saved by Jesus the Lamb, the sacrifice for your sin.