When I got sick in the winter of 2012, and Cheryl & Michael & I moved to Oklahoma, as difficult as that time was, much good came out of it. One of those good things was that I discovered that my old 7th grade Sunday School teacher, Don Givens, was in the VA nursing home there in Norman where we were living. So from time to time I would go over and see him. Don was a great guy, and I remember that as a teacher he would always say “All means ALL.” When God says “ALL” of something in the Bible, He means “ALL!” 

Last Sunday we saw how, because of Jesus’ death on the cross, we can claim I John 1:9, that He will cleanse us from “all” unrighteousness — and “all means all”! We can know that if we bring our sins to Him, He will cleanse us from ALL our sin.  This morning we come across this word “all” again in Isaiah 53:6, which says: 

“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.”

This word “all” here in :6 is important. And it’s actually even more significant in Hebrew, as the first word and the last word of Isaiah 53:6 are the same: “Kulanu”: “ALL of us … ALL of us.” “ALL of us like sheep have gone astray,” and “He has laid upon Him the iniquity of ALL of us.” Beginning and ending the verse with that very same word really emphasizes that this is talking about ALL OF US. There are some things in life that apply to “some of us,” and there are some things that apply to “ALL of us.” God is making it very clear here that what Isaiah 53:6 says applies to “ALL of us … ALL of us.”  As my old Sunday school teacher said, “All means all!” What is it in this verse that God says is “For All Of Us”?

I. “ALL of us” Have Gone Astray

“All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way.” 

This is a very picturesque description of the condition of every single one o us apart from God. It says we have “gone astray;” we have each “turned to his own way.”

“His own way” This is our whole problem. We each want to do “our own way” instead of God’s way. This has been Mankind’s problem since the beginning, and it continues to be our greatest problem today. God has told us how to live, what to do — but we rejected that to go “our own way” instead. God gave us His word. He’s said HERE is the road; HERE is the path; HERE is the way. But instead we’ve listened to the devil, who tempts us like he did Eve in the Garden and says “Has God said ….?”; and tells us we can go our “own way” which we all think we’ll like better than we do God’s plan. So we go our own way instead.

And we have ALL done that. The Bible goes to great lengths to show us how we have ALL sinned and “gone astray”. 

Romans 3 is one of those places.  It says in :10-11, “There is NONE who does good; there is NONE who understands, there is NONE who seeks for God. ALL have turned aside. Together they have become useless. There is none who does good — there is NOT EVEN ONE.” As :23 says “For ALL have sinned and fall short of the glory of God.” 

In describing how we have all gone astray, God chose to use the illustration of sheep. He said “all of us LIKE SHEEP have gone astray.” God compares us to sheep — which is NOT a flattering comparison! Sheep are not particularly smart animals. They are always running off from the flock and from the shepherd who’s trying to lead them, and they get caught in ditches, or they get attacked by wolves and other predators. It’s foolish, but that’s what sheep do. They are known for foolishly going astray.

This video shows a sheep, that has fallen into a ditch, and a man struggling to get it out. With great effort the man finally gets the sheep out — and the moment he is free, what does he do? HE JUMPS RIGHT BACK INTO THE DITCH! Why does he do that? He does it because he is a sheep! This is what sheep do! 

They wander off; they go astray; they do dumb things. 

And isn’t it telling that God compares US to sheep here in Isaiah 53 and throughout scripture? He says “all we like SHEEP.” That sheep is US. This is OUR story!  “The Lord is our Shepherd” like Psalm 23 says; God is the Shepherd who loves us, who wants to guide us to green pastures and provide us with still waters and help us take the best paths.  But like sheep, we’ve left our Shepherd. And where do we go? We go “our own way.” 

This is in fact one of the “banners” of our modern age: “go your own way”; “do your own thing.” Many people “celebrate” that, like it’s some really great thing to “go your own way.” When I was in high school, the Fleetwood Mac song, “Go Your Own Way” was a top hit — and it is now in the top 40 rock songs of all time! “Go Your Own Way” sounds great; it sounds like what we all want to do — but the Bible says that “going our own way” is actually a recipe for disaster! 

Proverbs 14:12 says “There is a way which seems right to a man, but its end is the way of death.” 

Yeah that sounds good: “Let’s go our own way! We don’t need God; we don’t need the Bible; we can ‘go our own way;’ we can do our own thing!” That SEEMS good; it SEEMS right — but Proverbs says it will end in death. 

You know what happens when you go your own way? Just like that sheep, when you “go your own way,” you end up in a DITCH! Away from the Shepherd; on your own; with no way to get yourself out. And it’s ALL OF US the Bible says. It’s not like “some of us” are in the ditches but others aren’t. No, we’ve ALL been in the ditches. There’s all kinds of “ditches” but we like sheep we pretty much manage to find all of them! 

There’s all kinds of “ditches”:

— In the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15, the younger son got in the “ditch” of debauchery; he wasted his inheritance on loose living, and literally ended up in the “ditch” of a pig pen! Some are in “ditches” like he was: “ditches” of addictions, or drugs or alcohol, or immorality, or gambling, or strife, or constant enmity with others.

— Some people like to point at these folks and say “Well, I’m sure glad I’m not in a ditch like that!” But the truth is, they’re in a ditch too — it’s just a different kind of ditch!  Many people are like the Prodigal Son’s older brother. He felt really good about himself, but the truth is, he was “in a ditch” too: he was in a “ditch” of self-righteousness, a broken relationship with his brother — and most importantly, still “in a ditch” in his relationship with his Father. He too was going “his own way” — just like so many people today. You might look at them and think they’re outwardly “successful,” but they’re NOT: they’re still going “their own way”: they’re self-centered, self-confident, self-sufficient — self, self, self — is ruling their life. Many of us would have to admit: “That’s ME!” I’ve been going “my own way,” not God’s way. And in my heart, I am “in a ditch.” 

The truth is, we ALL are. The Bible makes it very clear here: ALL of us have gone astray like sheep. Every one of us has turned to “his own way.” We’ve ALL gone into a “ditch,” ALL of us. That’s the problem. So what’s the solution? Thankfully we see the solution here in Isaiah 53:6 too:

II.  Christ Bore the Sins of “ALL of us”!

“But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all to fall upon Him.”

The second part of this verse begins with the word, “BUT …”. Here we see again the “but God” that is all through scripture. We had ALL gone astray, we had all gone our own way — “BUT GOD” had amazing grace and still loved us, and planned to send the Messiah that Isaiah 53 talks about, to save us from our sins. How did He accomplish that? It says He did it by “causing the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.” 

“Fall on” is a Hebrew word that means to “meet, strike, fall upon.” Our iniquities — all the things we had done wrong — or rather the punishment for all these things — fell upon Jesus. 

One of the early life lessons we learn — or that we SHOULD learn! — is that there is punishment for sin. That punishment will fall upon the wrongdoer is one of the basic lessons of society. It’s one of the most important lessons we need to impart to our children. When evil is done, punishment will come; it will strike; it will fall. This is one of the most fundamental life lessons. 

But here, the Bible says, something entirely different happened: OUR sins, our iniquities, struck not us, but HIM! Here we find again this doctrine that is woven throughout the whole text of Isaiah 53: the doctrine of the “Substitutionary Atonement” of Jesus, that the punishment that should have been ours, fell on HIM, instead.

In Mark Twain’s classic book, Tom Sawyer, he tells how Tom Sawyer and Becky Thatcher’s schoolteacher, Mr. Dobbins, was a wannabe doctor, and he kept a copy of an anatomy book locked in his desk drawer. But one day, when no one else was in the room, Becky saw that Mr. Dobbins had left the key in the drawer. She knew she shouldn’t, but she turned that key, opened the drawer and looked in the book, where there was a picture of a human body. Just then, Tom came up behind Becky and startled her, and in her hurry to close the book, she tore the picture. Later, while they were all in class, Mr. Dobbins got his book out, and when he saw the torn page, he was furious. He demanded of the class, “Who tore this book?” One by one, he looked each student in the face and asked them if they were the one. Just as he came to Becky Thatcher, who was so upset she was about to confess, Tom suddenly stood up and shouted, “I done it!” Mr. Dobbins gave Tom the most merciless thrashing he had ever given anyone.  Becky Thatcher was the one who tore the page — but the whipping that should have been hers, fell upon Tom instead. (pp. 178-183)

That’s what Isaiah 53:6 says Jesus did for us: the punishment for “the iniquity of us all” did not fall on us, who deserved it, but upon HIM. “OUR griefs/HE bore; OUR sorrows/HE carried; OUR iniquities/fell upon HIM.” As I Peter 2:24 says, “He Himself bore OUR sins in His body on the cross.” 

And notice: it specifically says “THE LORD CAUSED” this. Some translations just say “the Lord LAID on Him …”. But this is a Hiphil verb in Hebrew.  A Hiphil verb indicates “causative action;” it means the person CAUSED this to happen. Here it indicates that God CAUSED our sins to fall on Jesus.  It didn’t “just so happen” that our sins came upon Jesus. It wasn’t just an “accident.” This was God’s work; this was His purposeful plan. As the Apostles said in Acts 2:23, “by the predetermined plan and foreknowledge of God, you nailed Him to a cross.” It was God’s plan from the beginning, to CAUSE our iniquity to fall upon Jesus on the cross.

III. This Salvation is for “All of Us”

And WHO did He do this for? It says here “the iniquity of US ALL” fell upon Him. “Us all.” The same “ALL of us” who went astray, are the same “ALL of us” whose sin Jesus bore! It’s the same Hebrew word. The same people. All of us have sinned, and Jesus died for the sins of us all. 

I John 2:2 says “And He Himself is the propitiation for our sins; and not for ours only, but also for those of the whole world.” THE WHOLE WORLD! 

Do you consider yourself part of “the whole world”? If so, then this is for YOU!  Are you part of the “all of us” who have sinned? If so, then you are part of the “all of us” for whose sin Jesus died! He did it for ALL OF US — for all of us; which means that His salvation is for YOU!

The other day I was reading the news, and I saw where some Congressmen in Washington were putting together a new tax cut plan. From time to time we read about these kinds of plans, sometimes they come to pass, sometimes they don’t. But whenever I see a headline about one of those, I will often look into the article to see: “Is this something that will benefit ME?” I’m sure a lot of people do that. Because often the proposed benefit is NOT for just anyone; if you read it you will see that it was only designed to benefit some specific group of people (most likely votes that the Congressmen are targeting): sometimes it is just a tax cut for people with dependent children; other times it may be only for people who are in college; sometimes it may be only for senior adults. Sometimes — like the recent Texas property tax cut — it is only for homeowners. Many times these bills contain benefits that are only for certain people; they are not for everyone.

But the great thing about the Atonement of Jesus, is that the Bible says it is “for ALL of us.” As I mentioned earlier, this verse begins with the Hebrew word for “ALL of us.” And it ends with that same Hebrew word: “ALL of us.” “ALL of us … ALL of us.” First and last, this is the emphasis of Isaiah 53:6; it’s saying in such an emphatic way: THIS IS FOR ALL OF US! 

ALL of us have sinned, but God loved ALL of us (as John 3:16 so clearly says, “For God so loved the WORLD that He gave His only begotten Son”) and He sent this Messiah that Isaiah 53 predicted, to die bearing ALL of our sins, so that ALL of us might be saved. 

That’s why Romans 10:13 says “Whoever will call upon the name of the Lord will be saved.” Because it’s for all of us. You don’t have to “look into this” like we might do with a tax cut, to see if you might be included; to see if this might be for you. IT IS FOR YOU. IT IS FOR ALL OF US! 

The question is: have you responded to it? Have you received the forgiveness and salvation that Jesus bought “for all of us”? See, Jesus made this great sacrifice for all of us — but we have a responsibility to respond to Him, and accept that sacrifice He made for us. The Apostle Paul outlines the response God wants from us in Acts 20:21, where he speaks of “repentance towards God and faith in our Lord Jesus Christ.” Here we see two basic elements of the response which will lead to our salvation: 

1) Repentance

2) Faith

1) The first part of our response to God is to REPENT. To “repent” means to turn around. Our whole problem is that we left God’s way, to go our own way. In order to be saved, first we have to admit that we have been going the wrong way. We have to admit that “our own way” has not been working, and be willing to come back and do things God’s way. We must repent.  Let me make this clear: IF YOU DON’T REPENT, YOU CANNOT BE SAVED. 

This the point that so many people today just don’t “get.” They want to be “good Christians” and worship Jesus, but they don’t want to repent of their sins. They just want to keep on doing what they’re doing, without any repentance. This is where many LGBT folks are missing it. They want to come to the church, and say “We worship Jesus” — but they will not admit that the Bible clearly calls their lifestyle SIN. In fact they want the church to “celebrate” what they are doing, as if it were a legitimate, Biblical lifestyle. Listen, we should take all kinds of sinners in the church — the church is for sinners — we just saw that we’ve ALL sinned — and “ALL means ALL!” But we don’t CELEBRATE ANY of our sins! We regret our sins, we repent of our sins; we hate our sins, and with God’s help we strive to change and turn from our sins. But we don’t “celebrate” them!  Repentance is admitting that what you have been doing is wrong, and asking the Lord to help you turn back from it. And as we’ve seen, repentance is an essential element in salvation. You can’t be saved unless you repent.  Sadly, repentance is a missing ingredient in many “gospel” presentations today, but Jesus and the Apostles did not omit it. Jesus Himself said, “Unless you repent, you will all likewise perish.” (Luke 13:3)  And that is true of every sin. You can’t say “I’m coming to God, but I won’t change this sin.” You can’t do that and be saved. Jesus said, you must repent. You must be willing to say, “I have been going ‘my own way,’ but with God’s help, I will turn back from it.” You must repent in order to be saved. There is no genuine salvation without it.

2) The second part of our response to God is FAITH. “Faith in our Lord Jesus Christ,” Acts 20:21 says. This means personally trusting the sacrifice that Jesus made for “ALL of us,” for YOU yourself, personally. This is a vital step in your salvation. It’s not enough to just know that Jesus died for “all of us.” You have to trust that He did it for YOU, and ask Him to save YOU! 

James Hastings, a Scottish minister in the early twentieth century, told a story about a German artist named Sternberg. One day Sternberg was painting a portrait of a little gypsy girl in his studio, and the girl noticed that he had on his wall a half-finished portrait of Christ on the cross. The little girl asked him who it was. He told her, it is Jesus. The little girl said, He must have been a very wicked Man to have been nailed to a cross like that. “On the contrary,” Sternberg told her, “Christ was the best man who ever lived, and He died on the cross that others might live.” The little girl looked at him with childlike innocence and asked, “Did He die for you?”  Sternberg later said that question haunted him day and night, because although he knew a lot about Christ — all the things he’d told that little girl and more — he had still not personally trusted Him as his own Lord & Savior. He was satisfied until he personally answered that question, “YES. He died for ME, He is MY own Lord & Savior.” 

That artist Sternberg knew all about Jesus; he could even tell that little girl about Him. But he had never really made salvation personal in his own life, by putting HIS own trust in Jesus.  Have YOU?  Some of us here today may be just like Sternberg: you know all about it. You could even tell someone else about it. But have you ever done it for yourself? Have YOU ever repented of YOUR sins, and trusted Jesus as YOUR Savior? If not, I hope this will “haunt” you just like it did Sternberg, until you do give your life to Jesus. Because this is for “ALL of us”: ALL of us have sinned; Jesus died for the sin of “ALL of us” — but “ALL of us” also have to make our own personal decision for this to happen in our own life. If you never have, why don’t you do it right now? 

INVITATION:

Every single one of us today needs to ask ourselves some very important questions:

— First of all, do I realize that I am part of the “all of us” who have sinned?

— And then, do I know that I’m part of the “all of us” Jesus died for?

— And if so, have I personally responded to Jesus:

Have I repented: have I ever admitted that “going my own way” was wrong; and confessed my sins to God, and asked Him to help me change?

Have I myself put MY faith in Jesus, as MY Savior, and asked Him to save ME? 

If you’ve never made it personal, do it right now!