Tell It To Jesus (Hymn)

Tell It To Jesus
Edmund Lorenz (1876)

Are you weary, are you heavy hearted?
Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus.
Are you grieving over joys departed?
Tell it to Jesus alone.

Refrain

Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus,
He is a Friend that’s well known.
You’ve no other such a friend or brother,
Tell it to Jesus alone.

Do the tears flow down your cheeks unbidden?
Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus.
Have you sins that to men’s eyes are hidden?
Tell it to Jesus alone.

Refrain

Do you fear the gathering clouds of sorrow?
Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus.
Are you anxious what shall be tomorrow?
Tell it to Jesus alone.

Refrain

Are you troubled at the thought of dying?
Tell it to Jesus, tell it to Jesus.
For Christ’s coming kingdom are you sighing?
Tell it to Jesus alone.

This is a great hymn.  We really should “tell it to Jesus.”  We should take all of our cares to Him.  We should lean on Him.  It is true that “we’ve no other such a friend or brother.”  No matter what our problem or trouble, we should be “telling it to Jesus.”

Isaiah 53:12

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 53:12

We end Isaiah 53 with this great verse that glorifies and magnifies the Lord Jesus Christ.  He did “pour out his soul unto death.” (for me)  He was “numbered with the transgressors.” (including me) He did “bear the sins of many.” (including me)  And he does make intercession for the transgressors.”  (that includes me too)  This verse reminds me of a passage in the New Testament:

Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus:

Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:

 But made himself of no reputation,and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men:

And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.

Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name:

That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;

And that every tongue should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.

Philippians 2:5-11

Jesus humbled Himself.  He came to earth, walked among me, and lived a sinless, perfect life.  He died on a cross, bearing my sins and yours.  He was buried in a borrowed tomb.  And, three days later, he rose from the dead.  And now God has highly exalted Him.  His name is above every other name.  He is the Saviour.  He is my Saviour!

Isaiah 53:11

He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Isaiah 53:11

The first ten verses of Isaiah 53 are mostly negative, dealing with the suffering, pain and agony that our Saviour went through on the cross for us.  They give us a graphic and honest picture of what He did for us.  It also gives us a graphic and honest picture of what we are by nature.  We despised and rejected Him.  We hid our faces from Him.  We ignored Him.  All of us have “gone astray.”  We have all gone our own way, away from the Lord.  Those first ten verses paint a sad picture of the suffering that Christ went through for us and they paint an awful picture of what we are on the inside.  But then we get to verse eleven and what may be to me the most glorious words in the entire Bible:

“He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied…”

Sometimes I think of all my sin and rebellion against God and His law.  There is no way that I could pay for all of that sin.  Sometimes the thoughts of those sins almost overwhelm me with a feeling of hopelessness.  But then I read this verse: “…and shall be satisfied.”  While there is nothing that I can do to merit God’s favor or forgiveness, Jesus has already done all that was needed. 

As this verse says, He truly “bore my iniquities.”  And it really is “by his knowledge” and through Him that we are justified in the sight of God.

My dad has said before that his eternal soul is hanging on those few words: “He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied.”  And I agree.  If the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross did not satisfy a holy God, then there is nothing that will.  If not for the death, burial and resurrection of Jesus Christ, then we are “yet in our sins.” (I Corinthians 15:17)

What a verse and what a Saviour!

Isaiah 53:10

Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

Isaiah 53:10

In reading and thinking about the first nine verses of this chapter, it is easy to see the suffering of our Lord.  We can see how He was “despised, wounded, bruised, rejected, chastised, oppressed, afflicted, cut off, and stricken.”  And we can maybe begin to fathom that He went through all of that for us.  He did all of that for people who despised Him, rejected Him and went their own way.  But now we come to verse 10:

“Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief…”  How could that be?  How could it “please the Lord” to punish His own perfect and holy Son in that way?  The answer is a terrible truth.  The answer is that it shows us just how much God hates sin.  II Corinthians 5:21 tells us that He became “sin for us, who knew no sin.”  Jesus Christ, on the cross, actually became sin for us.  He bore our sins in His body on the cross. 

While this verse shows us just how much God hates sin, it also shows us just how much He loves us.  All of that suffering was for us.  We are, by birth and by choice, sinners who are the enemies of God.  But through this one sacrifice – Jesus Christ on the cross – all of our sin was taken away.  After the Lord was “pleased to bruise Him and put Him to grief,” notice what happens next:  “…he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.”  When His soul was made an offering for sin, then the pleasure of the Lord would prosper.  We are the recipients of that pleasure of the Lord.  Anything good that we have is because of Him. 

These verses just keep me thinking about what a wonderful Saviour that we have and they make me even more thankful to Him for all that He has done in and to me.

“…

Isaiah 53:9

And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

Isaiah 53:9

This verse continues the chronicles of Jesus’ suffering for us on the cross and beyond.  As we read this chapter and see the awful things that He went through, it is important to remember that He did it all for you and me.  Every horrible thing that He suffered as He was rejected of His own people, scourged and tortured, crucified and buried was done with you and I in mind. 

“He made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death…”  Our Lord Jesus Christ was crucified between two common thieves.  I have read that the “thieves” who were crucified in Roman times were not just your ordinary, run of the mill thieves.  They were usually professional “bandits” or “marauders,” as we would call them today.  They were often guilty not just of stealing, but of assault, murder, rape, etc.  We might be able to compare them to violent gangsters.  They were among the lowest criminals of the day.  They were truly “wicked.”  And that is how our Saviour died.

“…And with the rich in his death.”  He was killed with wicked criminals, but He was buried in the tomb of a rich man, Joseph of Aramathea.  To me, this apparent contradiction speaks to the fact that ALL men need a Saviour.  Whether you are in the condition of the thieves who died on either side of Him, or in the condition of a prosperous upstanding citizen, you need the Saviour.  No matter where you find yourself, He came for you. 

“…Because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.”  He had done no violence, as the murdering thieves had done.  He had never deceived anyone, as many of the “rich” had likely done.  He was innocent.  He was “holy, harmless, and undefiled.”  There was no reason that He should have suffered and died on the cross.  Except one.

That reason was me.

What a Saviour!

Isaiah 53:8

He 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.

Isaiah 53:8

This verse continues the story of the sacrifice of our Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  He came to Earth as a man.  He lived a perfect life.  The Bible tells us that He “went about doing good.”  How could the people of Earth not accept Him?  Has there ever lived a man who was perfect and who always “went about doing good?”  There never lived a man like Him.  Yet the people to whom He came hated Him.  They rewarded His doing good by killing Him.  They would rather have a convicted criminal walking among them than the Son of God. 

This verse tells us that He was “cut off out of the land of the living.”  He was killed.  He was killed by the people He came to save.  The Bible tells us that is was “for the transgression of my people” that He was stricken.  It’s easy to look back and place the blame for His death on those who chanted “crucify Him, crucify Him,” but in truth, had I been there, I likely would have been among that same mob.  There is a song that says “it was for me He died.”  That is true.  It was for me and for my transgression that He “was stricken.”  It really was for me He died.

“For the transgressions of my people was he stricken.”  Are you among “His people?”  If you are, it was for your transgression that He was stricken.  What an amazing thought and what an amazing Saviour!

 

Isaiah 53:7

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.

Isaiah 53:7

After telling us in verse 6 that “all we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every on to his own way…”, but that “the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all,”  the Bible goes on to further explain that substitution.  That glorious substitution was His suffering for our iniquity.  It was His stripes for our healing.  It was His pain for our peace.  It was His death for our salvation; His death for our life. 

In verse 6, we are the sheep.  We are the sheep that have gone astray.  We are the sheep that have turned our backs on God.  We are the sheep that have gone our own way.  In verse 7, Jesus is the “sheep.”  He is pictured as the Lamb.  He is the “Lamb slain from the foundation of the world.”  (Revelation 13:8) 

As “sheep,” we have gone our own way.  We have made our decision to reject the Lord.  As the “Lamb,”  He was innocent.  He did not “go astray.”  He did not “turn to his own way.”  He was the pure, holy, perfect and blameless Son of God.  But, as an innocent Lamb, He was brought to the slaughter. 

The innocent Lamb did not deserve to die.  The sheep that had gone his own way deserved to die.  Why was He oppressed?  Why was He afflicted?  Why was he brought to the slaughter?  “The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  He suffered all of those horrible things for me.  I Peter 3:18 tells us that “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God…”

I am so thankful for Jesus, a wonderful Saviour.  MY wonderful Saviour.  Our hearts should overflow with gratitude when we think of all He has done for us.

Isaiah 53:6

All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:6

We have seen several verses about Jesus in this chapter.  We have seen the fact that, while He loved us and gave Himself for us, we despised Him.  While He was wounded and bruised for us, we hid our faces from Him.  He loved us while we hated Him.  The first five verses of the chapter deal mostly Jesus Himself.  Verse six shines an awful light on us and our hearts.

“All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way…”  That is the great inclusive.  “All.”  Every single one of us has gone astray.  Every single one of us has sinned against God.  Every single one of us has “gone his own way.”  There is not a person on the Earth who is exempt from this statement.  We have all rejected Jesus.

“And the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”  This verse starts out with the most awful truth in the world- we have all sinned and gone our own way.  The verse ends with the most glorious and wonderful truth in the world- God laid all of our sin and iniquity on Jesus.  We are great sinners, Jesus is a great Saviour!  We are sheep going astray, He is the great Shepherd!  We are full of sin and guilt, He is full of grace and mercy!  What a truth!

I once heard the story of a great preacher who was boarding a train.  A man rushed up and asked how to be saved as the train was pulling away.  The preacher told him to go to Isaiah 53:6 and start at the first “all” and come out at the last “all”.  That really is the gospel in a nutshell: “All we like sheep have gone astray”, and “the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” 

What an amazing verse and an amazing Saviour!

Isaiah 53:5

But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

Isaiah 53:5

This verse continues the thought from verse 4: “surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.”  He did everything for us: He went to the cross, enduring the shame and rejection of it all to save us from our sins.  We were His enemies.  We despised Him just as much as those who crucified Him.  But He did it for us.

Everything He suffered was for us.  He did not have sin that needed to be paid for.  He did not deserve the punishment He received.  He did not deserve the agony.  We did.  We deserved to suffer for our sins.  We would have been the just recipients of such punishment.  We were guilty.  He was not.  He did it all for us.  I would just like to take a minute to think about the things listed in this verse.

“He was wounded for our transgressions.”  He was wounded for my transgressions, not His own.  “He was bruised for our iniquities.”  He had not sinned; we have sinned.  “The chastisement of our peace was upon him.”  He is the author of peace.  He has peace.  We do not- it is something that we seek for and desperately need.  “With his stripes we are healed.”  He did not need to be healed.  We were in need of the Great Physician.

All that we have and all that we are or ever will be is because of Him and His sacrifice for us.  I am so thankful that He took on Himself all of my shame and guilt and punishment.  What a wonderful Saviour!

Isaiah 53:4

Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

Isaiah 53:4

Again, this is a verse that should cut us to the quick.  It is a tiny glimpse of what Jesus did for us on the cross.  It is also a tiny glimpse of the depravity of our own souls.  Ultimately, it is the story of His unfailing love for us.

“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows.”  What a powerful statement!  He took all the grief and sorrow that was rightly mine on Himself.  I have sinned mightily and rightfully deserve the just punishment for it.  I should be the one bearing my own grief and sorrow and shame and punishment.  But I do not bear it.  “Surely He hath borne it.” He took it on Himself.  He took everything that I deserve and bore it to the cross for me.  Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows!  Hallelujah, what a Saviour!

Yet.  “Yet” is a humbling word.  As good as He was to us and as much as He loved us, “yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.”  All He did for us, and we despised Him.  He is truly a wonderful Saviour, but I am truly a vile sinner.  He loved even those who crucified Him, pleading “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do.” (Luke 22:34)  As vile as we are, He still loved us.  I think of the old hymn:

“Jesus paid it all.  All to Him I owe.  Sin had left a crimson stain; He washed it white as snow.”  It takes a wonderful Saviour to save a sinner like me.  He is a wonderful Saviour!