I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle. Sermons | Contumely Endured in God's Service | R. Tuck | Isaiah 50:6 | | Plucking Off the Hair | Prof. J. Skinner, D.D. | Isaiah 50:6 | | The Back Given to the Smiters | Prof. J. Skinner, D.D. | Isaiah 50:6 | | The Roman Lash | | Isaiah 50:6 | | The Shame and Smiting | | Isaiah 50:6 | | The Shame and Spitting | Charles Haddon Spurgeon | Isaiah 50:6 | | Voluntary Suffering | John Newton | Isaiah 50:6 | | The Mediator: Divine and Human | C. Stanford, D. D. | Isaiah 50:2-6 | | The Redeemer Described by Himself | | Isaiah 50:2-6 | | Jehovah and His Servant | E. Johnson | Isaiah 50:4-9 | | A Word in Season to the Weary | E. Johnson, M.A. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | A Word to the Weary | J. Parker, D.D. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | A Word to the Weary | E. Mellor, D. D. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | A Word to the Weary | J. Hamilton, D.D. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | Christ Speaking a Word in Season to the Weary | J. Matheson. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | God's Day School | H. C. Leonard, M.A. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | God's Voice Heard in Stillness | | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | Morning Communion with God | | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | Noble Gifts for Lowly Uses | W. Baxendale. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | The Gift of Consolation | F. Delitzsch, D.D. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | The Inspiration of Noble Ideas | C. S. Robinson, D.D. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | The Lord's Servant Made Perfect Through Sufferings | Prof. J. Skinner, D.D. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | The Messiah an Instructed Teacher | R. Macculloch. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | The Ministry of Preaching | R, Roberts. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | The Tongue of the Learned | C. Ross M. A. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | The Weary | F. B. Meyer, B.A. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | The Weary World and the Refreshing Ministry | Homilist | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | Weariness | E. Mellor, D. D. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | Weary Souls | W.Birch. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | Words in Season for the Weary | F. B. Meyer, B.A. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | Words to the Weary | E. Mellor, D. D. | Isaiah 50:4-11 | | Signs of Faithful Service | W. Clarkson | Isaiah 50:5-10 |
This is part of a soliloquy of Messiah, and in it he dwells upon the sufferings which would attend his effort to carry out obediently his Divine mission; and upon his confidence that God would uphold his Servant through all the suffering and shame. This passage should be compared with Psalm 22 and ch. 53. The point more especially presented in this verse is the insult offered to Christ in the closing scenes of his life. This insult seems the strangest part of our Lord's life-experience; but, if he had not known it, he could not have been "in all points tempted like us." The scenes here prophesied are narrated in Matthew 26:67, 68; Matthew 27:26-30; Mark 14:65; Mark 15:15-20; Luke 22:63-65; Luke 23:11; John 18:22, 23; John 19:1-3. Three forms of indignity are mentioned - smiting, or scourging; plucking of hair; and spitting. Each must be estimated in the light of historical descriptions and Eastern sentiments. I. SCOURGING. The severity and barbarity of a Roman scourging has been brought out by Dr. C. Geikie, who says," Jesus was now seized by some of the soldiers standing near, and, after being stripped to the waist, was bound in a stooping posture, his hands behind his back to a post, or low pillar, near the tribunal. He was then beaten till the soldiers chose to stop, with knots of rope or plaited leather thongs, armed at the ends with acorn-shaped drops of lead, or small sharp-pointed bones. In many cases, not only was the back of the person scourged cut open in all directions; even the eyes, the face, and the breast were tern and cut, and the teeth not seldom knocked out. The judge stood by, to stimulate the sinewy executioners by cries of 'Give it him!' but we may trust that Pilate, though his office required his presence, spared himself this crime. Under the fury of the countless stripes, the victims sometimes sank, amidst screams, convulsive leaps, and distortions, into a senseless heap; sometimes died on the spot; sometimes were taken away, an unrecognizable mass of bleeding flesh, to find deliverance in death, from the inflammation and fever, sickness and shame." Few New Testament readers duly appreciate the sufferings which Messiah endured in the judgment-hall. The cross so fills their vision that they fail to see how much he endured before the cross and its final strain and agony were reached. II. PLUCKING THE HAIR. Easterns have great respect for the beard, and plucking it was as extremely insulting as it was extremely painful. Eastern sentiment on this matter may be illustrated by the treatment of David's ambassadors, one-half of whose beards were shaven off (2 Samuel 10:5). See also David's action when he would feign madness (1 Samuel 21:13; comp. 2 Samuel 19:24; Ezra 9:3). III. SPITTING. This was the Eastern expression of contemptuous abhorrence; and so Job poetically expresses his sense of the treatment he had received, by saying, "They abhor me, they flee far from me, and spare not to spit in my face" (Job 30:10). Hanway, in his book of travels, says, "This instance of contempt and reproach offered to Christ was at the same time an expression of malice and a compliance with custom. The practice has descended to later generations; for in the year 1744, when a rebel prisoner was laid before Nadir Shah's general, the soldiers were ordered to spit in his face - an indignity of great antiquity in the East." And Gadsby tells us that "spitting in the face is still practised as a mark of contempt. An officer in Cairo had two Circassian concubines who died suddenly. He charged his wife with being the cause of their death, when she spat in his face. He drew his sabre and killed her. Mehemet All once spat in the face of one of his officers, because he used his wife badly." The practical application of the fact that Messiah bore such insults in doing his work may be made on the following lines. 1. God's message, sent by us, may be an offence to men. 2. If it is, they will be very likely to persuade themselves that we are the offence. 3. And when they take up that notion, they will be sure to vent on us the feeling which they have against the message. But this is apostolic consolation: "If ye be reproached for the Name of Christ, happy are ye; for the Spirit of glory and of God resteth upon you." - R.T. I gave My back to the smiters. I. AS THE REPRESENTATIVE OF GOD. In the person of Christ Jesus, God himself came into the world, making a special visitation to Jerusalem and the Jewish people, but at the same time coming very near to all mankind. When our Lord came into this world as the representative of God, He came with all His Divine power about Him (ver. 2). He did equal marvels to those which were wrought in Egypt when the arm of the Lord was made bare in the eyes of all the people. It is true He did not change water into blood, but He turned water into wine. He did not make their fish to stink, but by His word He caused the net to be filled even to bursting with great fishes. He did the works of His Father, and those works bare witness of Him that He was come in His Father's name. But when God thus came among men He was unacknowledged. What saith the prophet? "Wherefore when I came was there no man? when I called was there none to answer?" A few, taught by the Spirit of God, discerned Him and rejoiced; but they were so very few that we may say of the whole generation that they knew Him not. Yet our Lord was admirably adapted to be the representative of God, not only because He was God Himself, but because as man His whole human nature was consecrated to the work, and in Him was neither flaw nor spot. This is especially the sin of those who have heard the Gospel and yet reject the Saviour, for in their case the Lord has come to them in the most gracious form, and yet they have refused Him. II. I want to set the Lord Jesus before you AS THE SUBSTITUTE FOR HIS PEOPLE. III. AS THE SERVANT OF GOD. 1. Christ was personally prepared for service (ver. 4). 2. This service knew no reserve in its consecration. Our blessed Master was willing to be scoffed at by the lewdest and lowest of men. 3. There is something more here than perfect consecration in the mere form of it, for its heart and essence are manifest in an obedient delight in the will of the Father. The words seem to express alacrity. It is not said that He reluctantly permitted His enemies to pluck His hair, or smite His back, but "I gave My back to the smiter, and My cheeks to them that plucked off the hair." 4. There was no flinching in Him. They spat in His face, but what says He in the seventh verse? "I have set My face like a flint." Oh, the bravery of our Master's silence! Cruelty and shame could not make Him speak. 5. And do you notice all the while the confidence and quiet of His spirit! He almost seems to say, "You may spit upon Me, but you cannot find fault with Me. You may pluck My hair, but you cannot impugn My integrity. You may lash My shoulders, but you cannot impute a fault to Me," etc. Be calm then, O true servant of God! In patience possess your soul. Serve God steadily and steadfastly though all men should belie you. 6. The last two verses of the chapter read you a noble lesson. "He gave His back to the smiters;" if, then, any of you walk in darkness, this is no new thing for a servant of God. The chief of all servants persevered, though men despised Him. Follow Him, then. Stay yourselves upon God as He did, and look for a bright ending of your trials. IV. AS THE COMFORTER OF HIS PEOPLE. 1. Our blessed Lord is well qualified to speak a word in season to him that is weary, because He Himself is lowly, and meek, and so accessible to us. When men are in low spirits they feel as if they could not take comfort from persons who are harsh and proud. The comforter must come as a sufferer. Your Master "gave His back to the smiters, and His cheek to them that plucked off the hair," and therefore He is the Comforter you want. 2. Remark not only His lowliness, but His sympathy. Are you full of aches and pains? Jesus knows all about them, for He "gave His back to the smiters." Do you suffer from what is worse than pain, from scandal and slander? "He hid not His face from shame and spitting." Have you been ridiculed of late? Jesus can sympathize with you, for you know what unholy mirth they made out of Him. In every pang that rends your heart your Lord has borne His share. Go and tell Him. 3. In addition to His gentle spirit and His power to sympathize, there is this to help to comfort us — namely, His example, for He can argue thus with you, "I gave My back to the smiters. Cannot you do the like! Shall the disciple be above his master?" 4. His example further comforts us by the fact that He was calm amid it all. 5. Our Saviour's triumph is meant to be a stimulus and encouragement to us. () In Psalm 129:3 the same figure is applied to the sufferings of Israel as a nation. () () Of the beard (Ezra 9:3; Nehemiah 13:25); an extreme insult to an Oriental, to whom the beard is the symbol of dignity.()
People IsaiahPlaces ZionTopics Beard, Beat, Blows, Checks, Cheeks, Cover, Covered, Didn't, Face, Hair, Hid, Hide, Humiliation, Marks, Mocking, Offering, Pluck, Plucked, Plucking, Pulled, Pulling, Shame, Smiters, Smiting, Spitting, Strike, StrikersOutline 1. Christ shows Israel's Sin is not to be imputed to him,
2. by his ability to save
5. By his obedience in that work
7. And by his confidence in that assistance
10. An exhortation to trust in God, and not in ourselves
Dictionary of Bible Themes Isaiah 50:6 1670 symbols
2354 Christ, mission
2570 Christ, suffering
5127 back
5130 beard
5141 cheeks
5180 shaving
5281 crucifixion
5313 flogging
5879 humiliation
6231 rejection of God
8797 persecution, attitudes Isaiah 50:4-6 2036 Christ, humility Isaiah 50:4-7 8422 equipping, spiritual Isaiah 50:4-9 2230 Messiah, coming of
7160 servants of the Lord Isaiah 50:5-6 2057 Christ, obedience Isaiah 50:6-7 5496 revenge, examples Isaiah 50:6-9 6233 rejection, experience Library September 14. "For the Lord God Will Help Me, Therefore Shall I not be Confounded; Therefore, have I Set My Face Like a Flint, and I Know I Shall not be Ashamed" (Isa. L. 7).
"For the Lord God will help me, therefore shall I not be confounded; therefore, have I set my face like a flint, and I know I shall not be ashamed" (Isa. l. 7). This is the language of trust and victory, and it was through this faith, as we are told in a passage in Hebrews, that in His last agony, "Jesus, for the joy that was set before Him, endured the cross, despising the shame." His life was a life of faith, His death was a victory of faith, His resurrection was a triumph of faith, His mediatorial …
Rev. A. B. Simpson—Days of Heaven Upon Earth The Name of God
ISAIAH l. 10. Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth the voice of his servant, that walketh in darkness, and hath no light? Let him trust in the name of the Lord, and stay upon his God. To some persons it may seem strange advice to tell them, that in the hour of darkness, doubt, and sorrow, they will find no comfort like that of meditating on the Name of the Ever-blessed Trinity. Yet there is not a prophet or psalmist of the Old Testament who does not speak of 'The Name of the Lord,' …
Charles Kingsley—Discipline and Other Sermons Dying Fires
'Behold, all ye that kindle a fire, that gird yourselves about with firebrands: walk ye in the flame of your fire, and among the brands that ye have kindled. This shall ye have of mine hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.'--ISAIAH l. 11. The scene brought before us in these words is that of a company of belated travellers in some desert, lighting a little fire that glimmers ineffectual in the darkness of the eerie waste. They huddle round its dying embers for a little warmth and company, and they …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The Servant's Words to the Weary
'The Lord God hath given me the tongue of them that are taught, that I should know how to sustain with words him that is weary; he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as they that are taught.'--ISAIAH l. 4. In chapter xlix. 1-6, the beginning of the continuous section of which these verses are part, a transition is made from Israel as collectively the ideal servant of the Lord, to a personal Servant, whose office it is 'to bring Jacob again to Him.' We see the ideal in the …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The Servant's Obedience
'I was not rebellious, neither turned away back'--ISAIAH l. 5. I. The secret of Christ's life, filial obedience. The fact is attested by Scripture. By His own words: 'My meat is to do the will of My Father'; 'For thus it becometh us to fulfil all righteousness'; 'I came down from heaven not to do My own will.' By His servant's words: 'Obedient unto death'; 'Made under the law'; 'He learned obedience by the things which He suffered.' It is involved in the belief of His righteous manhood. It is essential …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The Servant's Inflexible Resolve
'For the Lord God will help Me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set My face like a flint.'--ISAIAH l. 7. What a striking contrast between the tone of these words and of the preceding! There all is gentleness, docility, still communion, submission, patient endurance. Here all is energy and determination, resistance and martial vigour. It is like the contrast between a priest and a warrior. And that gentleness is the parent of this boldness. The same Will which is all submission …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The Servant's Triumph
'He is near that justifieth Me; who will contend with Me? let us stand together: who is Mine adversary? let him come near to Me. 9. Behold, the Lord God will help Me; who is he that shall condemn Me? lo, they all shall wax old as a garment; the moth shall eat them up.'--ISAIAH l. 8, 9. We have reached the final words of this prophecy, and we hear in them a tone of lofty confidence and triumph. While the former ones sounded plaintive like soft flute music, this rings out clear like the note of a …
Alexander Maclaren—Expositions of Holy Scripture The Great Shepherd
He shall feed his flock like a shepherd; He shall gather the lambs with His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those that are with young. I t is not easy for those, whose habits of life are insensibly formed by the customs of modern times, to conceive any adequate idea of the pastoral life, as obtained in the eastern countries, before that simplicity of manners, which characterized the early ages, was corrupted, by the artificial and false refinements of luxury. Wealth, in those …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 Voluntary Suffering
I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting. T hat which often passes amongst men for resolution, and the proof of a noble, courageous spirit, is, in reality, the effect of a weak and little mind. At least, it is chiefly owing to the presence of certain circumstances, which have a greater influence upon the conduct, than any inherent principle. Thus may persons who appear to set death and danger at defiance in the hour …
John Newton—Messiah Vol. 1 Deepening Shadows.
We shall perhaps understand better some of the remaining prayer incidents if we remember that Jesus is now in the last year of His ministry, the acute state of His experiences with the national leaders preceding the final break. The awful shadow of the cross grows deeper and darker across His path. The hatred of the opposition leader gets constantly intenser. The conditions of discipleship are more sharply put. The inability of the crowds, of the disciples, and others to understand Him grows more …
S. D. (Samuel Dickey) Gordon—Quiet Talks on Prayer The Shame and Spitting
Of whom else, let me ask, could you conceive the prophet to have spoken if you read the whole chapter? Of whom else could he say in the same breath, "I clothe the heavens with blackness and I make sackcloth their covering. I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair" (vv. 3, 6). What a descent from the omnipotence which veils the heavens with clouds to the gracious condescension which does not veil its own face, but permits it to be spat upon! No other could thus …
Charles Haddon Spurgeon—Spurgeon's Sermons Volume 25: 1879 Ninth Day. Prayerfulness.
"He continued all night in prayer to God."--Luke, vi. 12. We speak of this Christian and that Christian as "a man of prayer." Jesus was emphatically so. The Spirit was "poured upon Him without measure," yet--He prayed! He was incarnate wisdom, "needing not that any should teach Him." He was infinite in His power, and boundless in His resources, yet--He prayed! How deeply sacred the prayerful memories that hover around the solitudes of Olivet and the shores of Tiberias! He seemed often to …
John R. Macduff—The Mind of Jesus The Mat
Heinrich Suso Is. l. 6 It was on a winter's morning In the days of old, In his cell sat Father Henry, Sorrowful and cold. "O my Lord, I am aweary," In his heart he spake, "For my brethren scorn and hate me For Thy blessed sake. "If I had but one to love me That were joyful cheer-- One small word to make me sunshine Through the darksome year! "But they mock me and despise me Till my heart is stung-- Then my words are wild and bitter, Tameless is my tongue." Then the Lord said, "I am with thee; …
Frances Bevan—Hymns of Ter Steegen, Suso, and Others Truth Hidden when not Sought After.
"They shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables."--2 Tim. iv. 4. From these words of the blessed Apostle, written shortly before he suffered martyrdom, we learn, that there is such a thing as religious truth, and therefore there is such a thing as religious error. We learn that religious truth is one--and therefore that all views of religion but one are wrong. And we learn, moreover, that so it was to be (for his words are a prophecy) that professed Christians, …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII A Composite Picture.
It may be helpful to make the following summary of these allusions. 1. His times of prayer: His regular habit seems plainly to have been to devote the early morning hour to communion with His Father, and to depend upon that for constant guidance and instruction. This is suggested especially by Mark 1:35; and also by Isaiah 50:4-6 coupled with John 7:16 l.c., 8:28, and 12:49. In addition to this regular appointment, He sought other opportunities for secret prayer as special need arose; late at night …
S. D. (Samuel Dickey) Gordon—Quiet Talks on Prayer The Wilderness State
"Ye now have sorrow: But I will see you again, and your heart shall rejoice, and your joy no man taketh from you." John 16:22. 1. After God had wrought a great deliverance for Israel, by bringing them out of the house of bondage, they did not immediately enter into the land which he had promised to their fathers; but "wandered out of the way in the wilderness," and were variously tempted and distressed. In like manner, after God has delivered them that fear him from the bondage of sin and Satan; …
John Wesley—Sermons on Several Occasions Humility is the Root of Charity, and Meekness the Fruit of Both. ...
Humility is the root of charity, and meekness the fruit of both. There is no solid and pure ground of love to others, except the rubbish of self-love be first cast out of the soul; and when that superfluity of naughtiness is cast out, then charity hath a solid and deep foundation: "The end of the command is charity out of a pure heart," 1 Tim. i. 5. It is only such a purified heart, cleansed from that poison and contagion of pride and self-estimation, that can send out such a sweet and wholesome …
Hugh Binning—The Works of the Rev. Hugh Binning Twenty-Second Lesson. My Words in You. '
My words in you.' Or, The Word and Prayer. If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ask whatsoever ye will, and it shall be done unto you.'--John xv. 7. THE vital connection between the word and prayer is one of the simplest and earliest lessons of the Christian life. As that newly-converted heathen put it: I pray--I speak to my father; I read--my Father speaks to me. Before prayer, it is God's word that prepares me for it by revealing what the Father has bid me ask. In prayer, it is …
Andrew Murray—With Christ in the School of Prayer Scriptural Poems; Being Several Portions of Scripture Digested into English Verse
viz., I. The Book of Ruth II. The History of Samson III. Christ's Sermon on the Mount IV. The Prophecy of Jonah V. The Life of Joseph VI. The Epistle of James BY JOHN BUNYAN Licensed According to Order. London: Printed for J. Blare, at the Looking Glass, on London Bridge, 1701. ADVERTISEMENT BY THE EDITOR. This very interesting little volume of poems, we believe, has not been reprinted since the year 1701, nor has it ever been inserted in any edition or catalogue of Bunyan's works. This may have …
John Bunyan—The Works of John Bunyan Volumes 1-3 Synagogues: their Origin, Structure and Outward Arrangements
It was a beautiful saying of Rabbi Jochanan (Jer. Ber. v. 1), that he who prays in his house surrounds and fortifies it, so to speak, with a wall of iron. Nevertheless, it seems immediately contradicted by what follows. For it is explained that this only holds good where a man is alone, but that where there is a community prayer should be offered in the synagogue. We can readily understand how, after the destruction of the Temple, and the cessation of its symbolical worship, the excessive value attached …
Alfred Edersheim—Sketches of Jewish Social Life Pastor in Parish (I. ).
Master, to the flock I speed, In Thy presence, in Thy name; Show me how to guide, to feed, How aright to cheer and blame; With me knock at every door; Enter with me, I implore. We have talked together about the young Clergyman's secret life, and private life, and his life in (so to speak) non-clerical intercourse with others, and now lastly of his life as it stands related to his immediate leader in the Ministry. In this latter topic we have already touched the great matter which comes now at …
Handley C. G. Moule—To My Younger Brethren Josiah, a Pattern for the Ignorant.
"Because thine heart was tender, and thou hast humbled thyself before the Lord, when thou heardest what I spake against this place, and against the inhabitants thereof, that they should become a desolation and a curse, and hast rent thy clothes, and wept before Me; I also have heard thee, saith the Lord. Behold therefore, I will gather thee unto thy fathers, and thou shalt be gathered into thy grave in peace; and thine eyes shall not see all the evil which I will bring upon this place."--2 Kings …
John Henry Newman—Parochial and Plain Sermons, Vol. VIII Its Meaning
Deliverance from the condemning sentence of the Divine Law is the fundamental blessing in Divine salvation: so long as we continue under the curse, we can neither be holy nor happy. But as to the precise nature of that deliverance, as to exactly what it consists of, as to the ground on which it is obtained, and as to the means whereby it is secured, much confusion now obtains. Most of the errors which have been prevalent on this subject arose from the lack of a clear view of the thing itself, and …
Arthur W. Pink—The Doctrine of Justification Links Isaiah 50:6 NIV
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