The Testimony of Suffering

The Sacrifice of the Servant

We tend to admire those who are willing to sacrifice their own concerns, dreams, careers, and finances for the good of others. When we hear about a soldier who takes a bullet for another or covers a land mine with his own body to save someone else’s life, we understand that this depth of sacrifice—sacrifice to the point of death—enables others to live. There is a moving and powerful book entitled One Day in October: Forty Heroes, Forty Stories, by Yair Agmon and Oriyea Mevorach, which tells the stories of Israeli heroes who died protecting others from the marauding Hamas fghters who had entered villages and homes on October 7, 2023.

We all admire a self-sacrificial leader. Although we understand that leadership has its rewards—financially and otherwise— we generally look up to leaders who work diligently for the benefit of their co-workers and subordinates. We are impressed with a leader who does not take all the perks, stock options, or other benefits to which they might be entitled, but rather seeks the good of the company and its people. As for selfish leaders, we may fear them, but we do not admire them.

Yeshua was a self-sacrificing leader willing to die for the salvation of those He cared for and served. The Old Testament predicted His sacrifice.

The text of Isaiah chapter 53 introduces us to the Servant of the Lord who was not admired for His charismatic personality, good looks, popularity, or great wealth:

He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. (Isaiah 53:2)

Rather, the prophet depicted the person as marginalized by society and misunderstood:

He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. (Isaiah 53:3)

Yet the Servant exemplifies extraordinary altruism as He willingly suffered for the benefit of those who rejected Him and treated Him poorly. He was willing to part with His limited worldly possessions, good health, reputation, and self-respect for the sake of those who were undeserving and ungrateful. Compare the following passages, and I am sure you will be more deeply moved by what He did for us!

But God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8)

Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well-being fell upon Him, and by His scourging we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. (Isaiah 53:4–6)

According to Isaiah, the Servant of the Lord somehow bears all the problems and pain we bring upon ourselves that result from living according to our own principles and not God’s. This person takes upon Himself the punishment that would otherwise befall us; He receives the judgment brought on by our moral failures:

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 for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? (Isaiah 53:8)

There is no question that the individual described by the prophet in Isaiah 53 is a Servant hero to all humanity! The Servant endured the pain, suffering, and judgment that you and I should have borne because of our ignoring God and living according to our own standards. Because He endured the guilt of our moral failure, God forgives our sins. Because He experienced intolerable pain, we are healed. Because He bore our punishment, we will not be judged.

The Motivation of the Servant

Love is the motivating force that has driven some to sacrifice their lives for the sake of others. A soldier’s love for country, a mother’s love for her child, or a leader’s love for his or her community can make them willing to lay down their own lives for the sake of those they love. Yeshua Himself spoke to the issue when He said, “Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends” (John 15:13). There is no doubt that the greatest act of selfsacrificing heroism is to lay down one’s life for another person.

We might be tempted to be cynical and say to ourselves, “Nothing is worth the price of one’s own

life,” but in the depths of our souls, we know that a willingness to die for the greater good is the zenith of self-sacrifice and ennobles all of humanity. Isaiah’s 53rd chapter elevates the ideal of noble selfsacrifice to a new level. The Servant of the Lord is described as one who willingly suffered for the sins of others. His suffering is far more than an example of self-sacrificing altruism; rather, there is an unbreakable connection between His death and God’s provision of atonement for our sins. He forgives us on the basis of the Saviour’s suffering. The death of the Servant of the Lord was redemptive.

Redemption is a term that means to be purchased out of slavery and liberated. The Israelites understood redemption as every Jewish person was familiar with the annual observance of Passover. A lamb, innocent and undeserving of death, was sacrificed so that the firstborn males of the Jewish people could be set free from judgment (redeemed), and the Israelites were able to flee Egyptian bondage for the freedom to be found in the promised land.

This sacrificial death is described in the following verses in Isaiah 53. Notice the emphasis on the Servant’s death on behalf of the sins of others.

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. But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. (Isaiah 53:9–10, emphasis added)

Isaiah 53 is a prophecy detailing how our loving and merciful God would remove the “sin barrier” between Himself and humanity so we could have an intimate and personal relationship with our Creator. How can you have a close relationship with anyone—mother, father, child, spouse, friend—when there are seemingly unforgivable offenses creating a barrier between you? To renew a relationship, you must remove the offense(s). God accomplished this through the suffering and death of the Servant of the Lord; God Himself acted on our behalf to remove the barrier.

Suffering Testifies to God’s Love & Mercy

This past summer, God allowed some of our staff and supporters to participate in the sufferings of Israelis during the Twelve-Day War with Iran. Our president, Mitch Glaser, led a dedication tour of about seventy Jesus-followers to Israel. It was unforgettable, as the tour visited some of the memorials to October 7, including the Nova music festival site, the Gaza border city of Sderot, and a memorial filled with burnt and otherwise destroyed vehicles. These were cars that Israelis tried to use to escape the invading hordes of Hamas terrorists ruthlessly attacking innocent sons and daughters, grandmothers and grandfathers, in the Holy Land on that tragic day.

Sirens continually awakened the tour members. Running to bomb shelters and witnessing the destruction caused by ballistic missiles—including damage to our new Tel Aviv ministry centre—created a deeply felt link to the sufferings of Israel. Together, our staff families and those on the tour have a better understanding today of what Israelis go through. In a way, this has also helped us all better understand what Paul meant when he called upon believers to more deeply identify with the suffering of the Saviour. We hope and pray that Israelis will see this co-suffering as an expression of His love.

But to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing, so that also at the revelation of His glory you may rejoice with exultation. (1 Peter 4:13)

But if anyone suffers as a Christian, he is not to be ashamed, but is to glorify God in this name. (1 Peter 4:16)

 Therefore, those also who suffer according to the will of God shall entrust their souls to a faithful Creator in doing what is right. (1 Peter 4:19)

Sharing in their sufferings brought a feeling of closeness to the Lord and the Jewish people… especially Israelis who suffered the most that first day of bombing and afterwards. Spending time with Israelis in the bomb shelter gave us the opportunity to share the hope we have in the Messiah, who suffered for us all. His suffering encourages us to follow His example by sharing in the sufferings of others, for the sake of the gospel—to the Jew first and also to the Gentile (Romans 1:16).