“The Man of Sorrows: The Real Jesus”
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“The Man of Sorrows: The Real Jesus”
“The Man of Sorrows: The Real Jesus”
Text: Isaiah 53:2–12
After the empty tomb, we must remember the road that led there—the suffering, humility, rejection, and ultimate victory of the Servant-King.
I will not assume that everyone listening to this message has read Isaiah 53 so i want to give some background.
Faith that isn’t growing is shrinking.
Knowledge that isn’t deepening is drifting.
Isaiah ministered during a time of national crisis for Israel and Judah (around 740–680 B.C.).
The northern kingdom (Israel) was facing destruction by Assyria; the southern kingdom (Judah) was rebellious and spiritually corrupt.
God's people had broken the covenant — they were idolatrous, oppressive, and unfaithful.
Isaiah was called to proclaim two main things:
Judgment because of their sin
Hope because of God's coming salvation
Chapters 1–39 – Warnings of judgment because of Israel’s rebellion; hope glimpses (Messiah hinted at in 7:14, 9:6).
Chapters 40–55 – A shift to comfort and hope for a future generation — especially for those who would live in Babylonian exile.
These chapters promise a coming Deliverer, a Servant who would bring salvation not just to Israel, but to the entire world.
Isaiah 53 falls inside what scholars call the "Servant Songs" (Isaiah 42, 49, 50, and 52–53).
Isaiah 52:13–15 begins the introduction: the Servant will act wisely but be "marred beyond human semblance."
Isaiah 53 then explains in deep detail how the Servant would save — through suffering, rejection, and sacrifice.
Why?
Isaiah was revealing a shocking, Spirit-given vision:
Salvation would not come through political power, kings, or armies.
Salvation would come through one Man’s suffering and death.
This was radical:
Israel expected a conquering Messiah who would crush enemies.
Instead, Isaiah describes a suffering Messiah who would be crushed for them.
In other words:
Before the crown, there must be a cross.
Before the reign, there must be rejection.
Isaiah 53 is God revealing the heart of His redemption plan centuries before Christ came:
The Servant would bear the sins of many.
He would be despised and rejected.
His death would be substitutionary — He would suffer in our place.
Yet His suffering would result in victory, justification, and eternal life for His people.
700 years before Christ
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
I. The Humanity and Humility of Christ
I. The Humanity and Humility of Christ
1. He Had No Form or Majesty (Verse 2)
1. He Had No Form or Majesty (Verse 2)
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.
“He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.”
He didn’t come with outward splendor.
He didn’t draw men by power or physical attraction.
He came in poverty, in simplicity, in flesh and blood.
Memorable Line:
Jesus wasn’t the king people expected. He was the Savior we needed.
2. He Was Despised and Rejected (Verse 3)
2. He Was Despised and Rejected (Verse 3)
3 He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Ways Jesus Was Despised and Rejected (Expanded with Scripture):
Ways Jesus Was Despised and Rejected (Expanded with Scripture):
1. He Was Viewed as Insignificant
1. He Was Viewed as Insignificant
John 1:46 – “Can anything good come out of Nazareth?”
Mocked because of His background.
Looked down upon as a nobody from a nowhere town.
2. He Was Accused of Blasphemy
2. He Was Accused of Blasphemy
John 10:33 – “It is not for a good work that we are going to stone You but for blasphemy, because You, being a man, make Yourself God.”
They hated Him not for doing evil—but for claiming the truth about His divinity.
3. He Was Hated Without Cause
3. He Was Hated Without Cause
John 15:24–25 – “They hated Me without a cause.”
Even after performing undeniable miracles of love, healing, and restoration—He was still hated.
4. He Was Mocked Publicly
4. He Was Mocked Publicly
Matthew 27:28–31 – Soldiers spit on Him, beat Him, mocked Him with a fake robe and crown.
Luke 23:35 – “And the rulers scoffed at Him, saying, ‘He saved others; let Him save Himself.’”
5. He Was Abandoned in His Suffering
5. He Was Abandoned in His Suffering
Matthew 26:56 – “Then all the disciples left Him and fled.”
Even those closest to Him abandoned Him when standing beside Him would cost them.
Jesus didn’t just suffer physically—
He suffered emotionally.
He was not a distant, unfeeling God.
He felt everything we feel — rejection, loneliness, heartbreak, betrayal — but to a depth we cannot imagine.
1. He Was Betrayed by a Close Friend
1. He Was Betrayed by a Close Friend
Matthew 26:14–16 – Judas, one of the Twelve, sold Him for thirty pieces of silver.
Matthew 26:49–50 – “Judas came up to Jesus at once and said, ‘Greetings, Rabbi!’ And he kissed Him. Jesus said to him, ‘Friend, do what you came to do.’”
Jesus called him friend even as He was being betrayed.
Imagine the heartbreak of loving someone who hands you over to death.
2. He Was Denied by a Loyal Disciple
2. He Was Denied by a Loyal Disciple
Luke 22:61–62 – “And the Lord turned and looked at Peter. And Peter remembered the saying of the Lord… and he went out and wept bitterly.”
Peter, who swore, “I’ll never deny you!” denied Him three times.
At Peter’s final denial, Jesus turned and looked at him.
That moment — eye contact with a friend who abandoned Him — would have pierced the deepest parts of His human heart.
Memorable Line:
A broken heart broke His silence before a broken world.
3. He Was Deserted by All His Followers
3. He Was Deserted by All His Followers
Matthew 26:56 – “Then all the disciples left Him and fled.”
The ones He prayed with, ate with, walked with—they ran.
When He needed them most, He stood completely alone.
4. He Was Mocked by the Crowds He Had Helped
4. He Was Mocked by the Crowds He Had Helped
Matthew 27:39–40 –
“Those who passed by derided Him, wagging their heads...”
The very people who had cried “Hosanna!” days before now spat and jeered.
Jesus wasn't a stone-faced Savior.
He felt betrayal like you feel betrayal.
He felt abandonment like you feel loneliness.
He felt the sting of rejection not just as God—but as a man.
He didn’t harden His heart to survive it.
He let it break so ours could be healed.
The crown of thorns pierced His brow, but the betrayal pierced His heart.
The whip tore His back, but abandonment tore His soul.
He carried your sin—but He also carried your sorrow.
6. He Was Stripped of Dignity
6. He Was Stripped of Dignity
John 19:23–24 – Soldiers gambled for His clothes as He hung exposed on the cross.
Stripped publicly, shamed openly.
7. He Was Considered Cursed by God
7. He Was Considered Cursed by God
Deuteronomy 21:23 – “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree.”
Hanging on a cross in Jewish culture meant you were cursed by God.
Many saw His death as proof that He was a fraud.
They didn’t just reject His teachings—they rejected His heart.
They didn’t just turn from His hands—they turned from His love.
The Man of Sorrows stretched out His arms to save us—and we turned our faces away.
"But Jesus didn’t just suffer rejection. He carried something even heavier.
He bore something that wasn’t even His to carry—our griefs, our sorrows, our sins. Let’s look at Verse 4..."
Even today, the real Jesus is still rejected because He calls people to surrender, not self-glorification.
3. He Bore Our Griefs and Carried Our Sorrows (Verse 4)
3. He Bore Our Griefs and Carried Our Sorrows (Verse 4)
“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…”
He didn’t suffer for Himself.
He carried our pain, our shame, our punishment.
The cross didn’t happen to Jesus—it happened because of us.
II. The Suffering for Our Salvation
II. The Suffering for Our Salvation
4. He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions (Verse 5)
4. He Was Pierced for Our Transgressions (Verse 5)
“But He was pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities…”
Pierced – The nails, the spear.
Crushed – Under the full weight of God’s judgment.
It wasn’t injustice—it was mercy in action.
5. We All Turned Away (Verse 6)
5. We All Turned Away (Verse 6)
“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way…”
Humanity collectively and personally rejected God.
Rebellion isn't just a global problem—it's a personal problem.
You weren’t just a victim of sin—you were a volunteer.
6. He Was Oppressed, Afflicted, and Silent (Verse 7)
6. He Was Oppressed, Afflicted, and Silent (Verse 7)
“He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth…”
He didn’t defend Himself.
He didn’t fight back.
He stood silent, absorbing the full fury of human and divine wrath.
7. He Was Arrested, Crucified, and Treated as a Criminal (Verses 8–9)
7. He Was Arrested, Crucified, and Treated as a Criminal (Verses 8–9)
“By oppression and judgment He was taken away…”
“They made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man in His death…”
Falsely accused.
Wrongfully executed.
Buried in a borrowed tomb.
Jesus, the sinless Son of God, was treated worse than a thief.
III. The Purpose of It All: The Will of God to Save the Lost
III. The Purpose of It All: The Will of God to Save the Lost
8. It Was the Will of the Lord (Verse 10)
8. It Was the Will of the Lord (Verse 10)
“Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush Him…”
Jesus didn’t die because He lost control.
It was the plan before the foundation of the world (Revelation 13:8).
Memorable Line:
God did not spare His own Son, because sparing His Son would have meant losing you.
9. He Will See His Offspring (Verse 10–11)
9. He Will See His Offspring (Verse 10–11)
“He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong His days…”
His death wasn’t defeat—it was the birth of a new family: sons and daughters of God.
His reward is us—redeemed lives.
10. He Makes Many to Be Accounted Righteous (Verse 11)
10. He Makes Many to Be Accounted Righteous (Verse 11)
“By His knowledge shall the righteous one, My servant, make many to be accounted righteous…”
Through the cross:
Our guilt is removed.
Our record is wiped clean.
His righteousness is credited to us.
11. He Bore the Sin of Many and Intercedes for Transgressors (Verse 12)
11. He Bore the Sin of Many and Intercedes for Transgressors (Verse 12)
“He bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”
Jesus didn’t stop working when He rose.
He lives to intercede—praying for us even now.
IV. Conclusion: The Cross Defines Jesus—and It Defines Us
IV. Conclusion: The Cross Defines Jesus—and It Defines Us
He was despised so we could be accepted.
He was crushed so we could be made whole.
He was silent so we could shout, “I’m forgiven!”
He was slaughtered so we could live.
The empty tomb is proof that the suffering was not defeat—it was victory.
And the real Jesus—the man of sorrows, the Lamb of God—is still saving, still healing, and still calling people today.
Invitation:
Invitation:
If you've known a religion that only celebrated a risen Christ without understanding the price of the suffering Christ, today is the day to see both—and respond with your heart.
Come to the Man of Sorrows.
Come to the Savior who still bears the scars for your salvation.
