Jesus Who Came to Earth Isaiah 53:1-6, NIV Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. I would like to share the grace of God under the title, “Jesus Who Has Come to Us,” based on Isaiah 53:1-6. Please repeat after me, “Jesus who has come to us: Jesus who has come to us.” Without exception Christmas comes every December. According to the church calendar, the four weeks before Christmas is observed as the Advent. The Advent is a period during which Christians, with joy and thanksgiving, make preparations for the coming of the Lord. During worship today, we must prepare our hearts for the coming of the Lord Jesus, who came to give atonement for human nature. In America people begin to celebrate Christmas and start singing Christmas carols shortly after Thanksgiving Day, the fourth Thursday of November. People decorate their streets with a Christmas theme and Christmas sales abound all over the world. I went to Japan last week and saw all streets decorated with a Christmas theme. Even though Japanese people are thrilled about Christmas for over a month, Christmas is not a national holiday in Japan. They observe December 23rd as a national holiday instead of the 25th. What day is December 23rd? It is the birthday of a Japanese King. Surprisingly most Muslim countries celebrate Christmas as a national holiday, but Japan does not. I pray that Japan will receive the Gospel and celebrate Christmas as a national holiday. What was Jesus like when He came to earth? I want to think about Jesus who has come to us as prophesied in Isaiah. First, Jesus came in weak flesh. Isaiah 53:2 says, “He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.” Many prophets of the Old Testament prophesied the coming of Jesus, the Messiah. Isaiah had prophesied what the Messiah would be like 700 years before Jesus actually came. He said the Messiah would be like a tender shoot, and like a stem or a root out of dry ground. A tender shoot symbolizes that Jesus came to earth in the weak flesh which could be easily smashed. A stem or a root out of dry ground symbolizes that Jesus’ outer appearance would not be admirable or likable when He came to earth. People had thought that the coming of their Messiah would be a grand event. Since the Messiah was supposed to be in the line of King David, the Jews had expected great fanfare and the announcement of the birth of their King would be in a splendid palace, with enthusiastic reception by the Jews. But it was not like that at all. It was rather quite the opposite. Jesus was conceived by the Holy Spirit and was born of an ordinary woman, Mary, a virgin. Mary was a descendant of David and was living in Nazareth, a poor area like dry ground. He was not born in comfortable surroundings, either. Mary and Joseph had to go to Bethlehem to register and while they were there, the time came for the baby to be born. He was born in a shabby and smelly stable because there was no room for them in the inn. Although Jesus was sinless, in order to save humankind from sin, He had to come to this world in weak flesh just like us. He took our sin, sickness, and sufferings on His body and died on the Cross. Since Jesus took upon himself weak flesh and lived the same way as we do, He knows all our pain. He knows our sorrows. Hebrews 4:15 says, “For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are?yet was without sin.” The Lord underwent the same sufferings and temptations exactly the same way as we do. He was often hungry. He sometimes got tired and lay down to sleep. One time Jesus was so tired, he slept on the deck of a boat when a great storm came on the lake and almost submerged the boat. Our Lord Jesus also wept in front of the tomb of Lazarus. He felt the same feelings as we do. He wept. He felt hungry. He as well felt sadness. People persecuted and humiliated Jesus before He was crucified. They spat at Jesus, insulted, slandered, ridiculed, and hit Him. They took his clothes off His body, and finally made Him die on a Cross. Throughout Jesus’ public ministry, many social outcasts came and followed Him. People who could not find hope anywhere else listened to Jesus and found hope in Him. Therefore, the social outcasts, the sick, the lonely?those who had nothing to trust?gathered around Jesus. Jesus had great compassion on all these people. Matthew 9:36 says, “When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.” He had compassion on them. He had mercy on them and embraced them with His great love. This is the Gospel. Even today, Jesus knows our sorrows. He knows our pain, and our loneliness. He sees our teardrops. He comes to us and comforts us. He tends our wounds and wipes away our teardrops. Although we are unrighteous and filthy, He has compassion on us. He blows the spirit of repentance into our hearts. He forgives all our sins when we kneel down and repent of our sins before Him. We often feel lonely while we are living in this world. Those who have made a fortune by their own efforts are known to be particularly lonely. Generally these people had rushed towards their success with total concentration, leaving them always alone?without friends or family. Often a successful person finds himself surrounded by people who are apt to be envious, jealous, and offensive. He is always lonely?he will sleep alone and he will go through trouble alone. Loneliness is a part of human life. Jesus was the loneliest person who has ever lived. Jesus comes to us when we feel lonely. How lonely was Jesus? No one understood Jesus correctly. Mary used to live in Nazareth. But she went somewhere to register and two years later came back with a son. Could anyone in Nazareth understand this? It was certain that Mary was pregnant before she got married. They may have wondered what had happened. Only Mary knew that the baby was conceived by the Holy Spirit, since the angel had appeared to her and told her that she would give birth to the Messiah. No one else could understand it. That is why our Lord Jesus was always lonely. He prepared Himself for His time, praying to God in the fields and mountains. At age 30, Jesus started His public ministry. He said, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near.” When He identified Himself as the Messiah, His relatives could not understand Him. They may have thought, “He always kept to Himself. He must be out of his mind.” Mark 3:21 says, “When his family heard about this, they went to take charge of him, for they said, ‘He is out of his mind.’ ” People thought Jesus was crazy. Let us think. He looked like a normal person in the flesh. One day He declared that He was the Son of God. Would you think it is normal? Even though Jesus indeed was the Son of God, people could not understand it. Jesus was very lonely. Matthew 8:20 says, “Jesus replied, ‘Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.’ ” In today’s terminology, Jesus lived like a homeless person. He slept in the wilderness, going about from one place to another to preach the Good News to people. Why did He do that? He did that because He loved us. He experienced all the sufferings because He wanted to give hope and courage to those who live in pain, despair, and agony. Our Lord knows everything. He knows your pain and sorrow when you are unable to sleep with your pillow soaked with your teardrops. The Lord loves us. Therefore, we must look unto the Lord and trust in Him, saying, “I love You, Lord Jesus. I trust in You. I will hold on to You no matter how hard and depressing the situation is. I will never leave You no matter how lonely I may become.” The Lord knows everything about us. Hallelujah! He came in weak flesh and experienced our pain and suffering. Second, Jesus was afflicted on our behalf. Isaiah 53:3 says, “He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.” He was despised. He was ridiculed and looked down upon by others. The Scripture also says that He was rejected by men. He was described as a man of sorrows. Indeed, our Lord Jesus suffered great pain and sorrow. The Scripture also says that He was familiar with suffering. The Lord knew our diseases. The life of Jesus was full of suffering. He took the life of suffering for us and took all the painful consequences of our sin on Himself. There is no record about Joseph, Jesus’ father, in the Bible after Jesus was 12. It may be because he died when Jesus was young. If it is so, Jesus must have taken care of his brothers and sisters as the head of the house, doing carpenter’s work, before He started His public ministry at 30. His brothers and sisters were born of Mary and Joseph. His neighbors, however, did not think highly of His family. They may have said, “That family is not respectable. Do not give them some work to do.” They did not have enough work to support themselves. Our Lord was poor. Why should He be poor? He took the life of poverty because He wanted to take our poverty, suffering, sorrow, and sickness. The Jewish religious leaders at that time?the Priests, the Sadducees, and the Pharisees?wanted to trap Jesus. They fiercely accused, blamed, slandered, and persecuted Jesus, trying to put Him into trouble. We may look strong but we are likely to be brokenhearted when somebody speaks ill of us. Therefore, we always need to speak good things. One word can destroy or revive a person’s destiny. Parents of adolescent children should be careful with their words. Even when our children act rebelliously, we should never say, “Get out. I do not want to see you.” It will shock them. They may leave home, thinking, “I am not wanted here. I need to get out. They hate to see me.” While I was in the United States, in the 1980s, a report said that more than 3 million children a year leave home in the States. 3 million children a year! Can you guess what happens after they leave home? We must guard our hearts above all else. Even though Jesus was insulted and humiliated, He patiently took the Cross. His suffering was beyond description. According to scripture, He was despised like one whom men hide their faces from. In those days, lepers were supposed to hide their faces from other people. They were also supposed to shout, “I am unclean. I am unclean. I have leprosy. I am unclean. Do not come near me.” They had to stay away from other people, far enough so that they would not be hit when people threw a stone at them. Jesus was despised and humiliated like the one who had that terrible disease. Why? It was because He was going to take our sin and die. He was going to take our sin and die! Jesus came to the earth to die instead of us. He came to sacrifice Himself for us. Sacrifice is the greatest and noblest form of love. A Chinese mother, named Inglee, brought her baby out to a field in a town called KuiJu, China. She accidentally hit a wasps’ hive, and angry wasps rushed out of their hive to attack her and her child. She fell. Her neighbor brought a fire extinguisher and drove the wasps away. After hundreds of wasps were driven away, a man could hear a baby’s cry. He turned over the mother’s body and saw a baby. She had been holding her baby and fell face down. The baby was safe from wasps’ attack. Gasping forth breath, the mother asked whether her baby was okay. The neighbor replied that the baby was fine. The mother smiled at the man’s word. She was taken to a hospital but shortly died. She saved her baby at the expense of her own life. The mother’s love was a sacrificial love. As the mother sacrificed herself to save her baby, Jesus took all the sins of humankind and died. Jesus died for you. Jesus died for me, too. Therefore, if we do not give thanks to the Lord after believing in Jesus, we should be ashamed. We must live with overflowing thanksgiving. Why can’t we give thanks? Why should we complain over small things? Why should we be easily discouraged over trivial things, forsaking the Lord in disappointment? Isaiah 53:4 says, “Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted.” Jesus suffered because of all humankind but people thought He was being punished by God because He had done something wrong. They condemned Him and crucified Him. However, Jesus endured all false accusations and insults. Jesus suffered instead of us. The night before His Crucifixion, Jesus offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears at Gethsemane. Hebrews 5:7 says, “During the days of Jesus’ life on earth, he offered up prayers and petitions with loud cries and tears to the one who could save him from death, and he was heard because of his reverent submission.” Look unto the Lord when you go through a dark night of utter hopelessness, wailing, and tears. I want you to look unto our Lord who suffered and wept in our place. When we approach the throne of grace, the Cross, the Lord will change us, pouring His marvelous grace upon us. Hebrews 4:16 says, “Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Let us approach the Cross of our Lord, the throne of grace, with confidence. As precious children of God, let us gain victory by overcoming all suffering with faith. Suffering in the Lord is beneficial to us. There is not any single successful person who has not gone through suffering. As we cannot participate in the Resurrection of the Lord without the suffering of the Cross, we can receive God’s miracles and blessings only after we pass through various suffering. John Sebastian Bach is called the Father of Music. His parents died when he was ten years old. Since he was poor he had to work to support himself. Since he was gifted in music he would play the violin or the organ to make a living but his earnings were never enough. There is an old Korean saying, “Musicians do not make enough money.” It is not true these days, though. Bach worked very hard but could not make much money. Later he married but his wife died after 13 years. He remarried. He had 20 children between his two marriages but 10 of his children died. In his late years he lost his eyesight and suffered from cerebral hemorrhage until he died. However, he composed his masterpieces in times of his suffering. Every composition, sacred and secular, was “in the name of Jesus” and “to the glory of God alone.” People hear his masterpieces and become amazed at them. People look at his achievement only, failing to see his sufferings behind them. Remember that there is suffering and sacrifice behind all success. Therefore, do not despair in times of trouble but focus on the Lord. I urge you to march forward with faith. St. Augustine said, in his masterpiece “The City of God,” that suffering came equally to everybody but those who suffered had different reactions. In times of trouble, an evil person insults and slanders God; but a good person seeks, knows, and ultimately praises God. As people of faith, we must seek the Lord and praise Him in the midst of suffering. Suffering is the short cut to blessings. Praise the Lord in times of suffering and give glory to Him. Psalm 119:71 says, “It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees.” The Psalmist declared that he understood the Word of God through his affliction and that he turned to be a valuable servant for the Lord. Hallelujah! Do suffering and persecutions come upon you in serving the Lord? Look unto the Lord. Never step backward. We may have to suffer when we do the work of the Lord. However, when we overcome suffering with faith, we will receive greater blessings from God. Our faith will grow. We will receive deeper grace of God. Look unto the Lord in times of suffering. Hold onto the Cross and march forward. Never step backward. Jesus suffered indescribably on the Cross for six hours. He took all our sins, sufferings, diseases, and curses on His body and died on the Cross. He must have felt as if his heart had burst. Just picture this. His head was pierced by thorns. His both hands and feet were also pierced by nails. Romans soldiers pierced Jesus’ side with a spear, bringing forth a sudden flow of blood and water. His back was whipped and torn apart, bleeding. He was bleeding practically from all over His body. Since His bleeding body dehydrated him, causing him to be thirsty. That was why He said, “I am thirsty.” Since Jesus took all the sin of humankind on Himself, He looked so terrible that people turned their faces from Him. He cried out to God, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” He had never called God “God” before because He always called Him “Father.” Only once at this time, when He was dying on the Cross, taking all the sin of humankind, He called, “My God, My God, why have you forsaken me?” Then He said, “It is finished” and died. Why did He have to die? He died because of our sin. Romans 3:23 says, “…for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” We must give thanks to the Lord for this marvelous grace. When we give thanks, God blesses us for this. When we endure sufferings with patience, God will pour His wonderful grace upon us. Third, Jesus brought us forgiveness, peace and healing though His suffering. Isaiah 53:5 says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed.” He was pierced for our transgressions. His whole body was pierced by thorns, nails, and a spear. He shed His blood. He was crushed by the whips of Romans soldiers. He was crushed by the painful cross. Why was He crushed? He was crushed for our iniquities. He was punished to bring peace to us. By His wounds we are healed. In those days, the Roman soldiers used whips made of leather with iron attached at one end. When a person was whipped, the iron end would pluck out pieces of flesh. So Jesus’ back was torn apart with streams of blood flowing from each wound. Why did He have to suffer so severely? That was because He wanted to forgive us of our sin. He was punished to bring atonement to us. Isaiah 53:6 says, “We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” We all are like sheep, Isaiah said. Sheep are so near-sighted that they cannot see even one meter ahead. Shepherd-less sheep are bound to go astray. When they go astray they will be attacked and killed by wild animals. They will be in despair without a shepherd. We all, like sheep, have gone astray. Consequently, we have all ended up without a shepherd. We have sinned. We have degenerated. We have gone into the world, living in debauchery, without realizing that we were captured by the devil. Sheep do not have enough power to protect themselves. Since they cannot see well or protect themselves, they would be as lifeless as dead without a shepherd. Nevertheless, the Lord Jesus died on the Cross for us who are as clueless as these imprudent sheep. God showed His grace of salvation to us by putting our sin on Jesus. Romans 5:8 says, “But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us.” Scripture clearly declares that God demonstrates His own love for us through the death of Christ for us while we were still sinners. The door to marvelous blessings is open to us through the suffering of the Lord Jesus. His shed blood has brought the atonement of sin to us. The death of Jesus reconciled us to God, recovering the peace relationship between God and us. Through His torn body and shed blood, all our diseases are healed. By His wounds we are healed! By His wounds we are healed! When we come to the Lord, He will heal the diseases of our minds and hearts as well. He knows loneliness, pain, and sorrows and heals us. When we are aged, we are easily heartbroken. Some people have raised their children as best as they could; but the children are too busy with their own children to take good care of their parents. Some children never visit their parents. I visited nursing homes while I was living in the States and met a lady who had been there for 20 years. She had children but they never came to visit her. I cannot imagine how lonely and painful she felt. However, our Lord Jesus knows. He knows. He felt even more severe pain and loneliness. He embraces us with His love, saying, “Do not feel lonely. Do not be dismayed. Do not feel sad. I will be your friend forever.” Hallelujah! The Lord heals the diseases of our minds and our bodies, removing the curses from our surroundings. He will bless us so that our bodies and spirits will be well and strong and everything will go well with us. Remember that we are healed by His wounds. What kind of disease afflicts you? The Lord will heal you from it. Leave all your sickness under the Cross. Leave the curses in your surroundings under the Cross. Leave the pain of your heart under the Cross. And ask for the help of the Lord. Mr. Jae-chul Bae was a gifted and promising tenor. He was highly recognized as a top singer, only emerging once in a century in Asia. He won prizes at various competitions. He sang the leading parts in famous operas such as Tosca, La Boheme, Madama Butterfly, Lucia di Lammermoor, Rigoletto, and so on. He was widely known in Europe and in Japan. He especially had many Japanese fans. Then while he was singing as the tenor soloist at the Saarbrucken Opera of 2005, he felt something wrong in his throat. He could not speak well and his voice got hoarse. He got his throat checked. He had thyroid glandular cancer. A singer’s voice is his life; but now he had cancer in his throat! He underwent an eight hour surgery at the Maintz University Hospital, Germany. The doctors had expected a short surgery but while they were removing the cancer, they accidentally cut a nerve on his vocal chords. He lost his voice. After the surgery, he tried to talk but he could not speak well at all. He could not make proper conversation, let alone use his voice for singing. He used to be considered as one of the greatest tenors like Placido Domingo. In fact Domingo and Bae had performed together before. Now Bae had lost his voice. Mr. Bae had been singing at the church choir from his childhood. He cried to the Lord with wailing. He prayed, “Lord, recover my voice. Recover my voice so that I will praise you with my voice.” He prayed to the Lord with all his heart. Someone came and told him that there was vocal chords’ restoration surgery. He researched it and found out that there were three specialists in vocal chords’ restoration. The inventor of this surgery was a Japanese doctor, Dr. Itsiki Nobuhiko, Professor at Kyoto University who was living in Japan. Bae’s Japanese friend Mr. Wazima Dotaro, a music producer, introduced him to Dr. Nobuhiko. Mr. Bae did not have enough money for the operation, so his Japanese fans raised enough funds for the surgery. After the restoration surgery, when Mr. Wazima Dotaro heard Mr. Bae sing, he came to believe in Jesus. Mr. Bae had the vocal chords’ restoration surgery in 2006. After the surgery, the doctors asked Mr. Bae to say something if he could speak. The first thing that came out of his mouth was praise to God. He sang Hymn No. 40 in our hymnal, “O, Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder.” On his surgery bed, he opened his mouth for the first time and sang a hymn. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee; How great Thou art, how great Thou art! O, Lord my God! When I in awesome wonder, Hallelujah! I see the stars, I hear the rolling thunder. Let us give glory to God. Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee; How great Thou art, how great Thou art! Then sings my soul, my Savior God to Thee; How great Thou art, how great Thou art! Today Mr. Bae’s voice has not recovered 100%. But he praises the Lord with his partially restored voice. He sings praises to the Lord wherever he goes. He participates in many Christians campaigns in Japan, inspiring many Japanese to come to the Lord through his praises. The Lord has healed him. The Lord has restored his voice. The Lord is healing and recovering us even today. By His wounds, we are healed! We all are healed in the Lord. We all are renewed in the Lord. I pray that you will give glory to the Lord for the rest of your life. Let us pray. Our Father of infinite love, grace, and mercy, we praise You. We exalt You. May Your name be glorified. Jesus came to this lowly place in the weak flesh. You suffered and died on the Cross. You took sin, diseases, poverty, and curse. We praise You, Lord. Pour Your grace upon us so that we will praise You, serve You, and give glory to You throughout our lives. I pray in the name of Jesus. Amen. 1