Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Healing came down at Christmas”
December 1, 2013
Scripture
Isaiah 53:1-5
Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been
revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry
ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his
appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their
faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he took up our
infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was
crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
Core Idea, challenge, and summary
Core idea: We can look to Jesus as healer because sin is the root cause of all
our ailments and Jesus took away our sins. Healing came down at Christmas.
Challenge: To help people go to Jesus with confidence with their healing needs.
Summary: In this prophecy about Jesus, Isaiah clearly states that Jesus will heal
us (Isaiah 53:5). He also states that Jesus will take away our sins (Isaiah 53:4-5).
The two are connected. The root cause of all our ailments is sin. Take away the
root cause and we see healing. This is why we can go to Jesus with confidence
when we pray for healing. He became the one necessary sacrifice to take away
our sins and that paved the way for us to receive emotional, mental, relational,
and physical healing.
In a very real way, healing came down at Christmas. This is why we can express
genuine hope during the season of Advent. This hope is not dependent on our
situation but on God’s faithfulness and steadfast love. We have this hope
because Jesus took away our sin, the root cause of all our troubles and ailments.
Hope, therefore, is not wishful thinking but a surety of God’s healing touch. With
this hope, go to God with confidence and ask for healing as you surrender to the
loving authority of Jesus.
Sermon
I.
Introduction: Approximately 500-700 years before the birth of Jesus, Prophets
brought hope to Israel with prophecies about the coming Messiah. One such
prophet was Isaiah.
A. The Prophet Isaiah
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Healing came down at Christmas”
December 1, 2013

Isaiah began his public ministry c. 740 BC

He warned the southern kingdom of Judah of their destruction at
the hands of the Babylonians if they didn’t repent.

But he also gave hope with his prophesies about the Messiah and
the Kingdom of God which will eventually be fully established over
all the earth.

Isaiah’s prophecies about the Messiah were fulfilled with the birth,
life, death and resurrection of Jesus.
B. Isaiah’s prophecies about the Messiah (Jesus)

The Messiah will be born to a virgin. (Isaiah 7:14)

The Messiah (Jesus) will be known by many names: Wonderful
Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
(Isaiah 9:6)

Jesus quotes Isaiah and declares Himself to be the fulfillment that
prophecy.
 Isaiah passage quoted is Isaiah 61:1-2
 Jesus quotes Isaiah 61:1-2 and declares Himself to be the
fulfillment of that prophecy in Luke 4:18-19.

Within Isaiah, there are 4 ‘Servant Songs’ describing a servant of
God that will bring about salvation for all people. The servant in
these ‘Servant Songs’ is identified as Jesus by the early Christians
(Acts 8:26-33). When you compare the ‘Servant Songs’ with the
life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the parallels between the two
becomes obvious. The 4 servant songs are:
 Isaiah 42:1-12 – First Servant song
 Isaiah 49:1-13 – Second Servant Song
 Isaiah 50:4-9 – Third Servant song
 Isaiah 52:13-53:12 – Fourth Servant Song
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Healing came down at Christmas”
December 1, 2013

Today’s passage, Isaiah 53:1-5, comes from the fourth ‘Servant
Song’ and it is a prophecy about Jesus.
II.
Isaiah 53:1-5 - Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the
LORD been revealed? 2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a
root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing
in his appearance that we should desire him. 3 He was despised and rejected by
men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men
hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4 Surely he took up
our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted. 5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was
crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
A. This passage makes two interesting statements

First statement: He died for our sins

Second statement: We receive healing from His wounds

The two statements are connected. The second is dependent upon
the first.
B. The connection between the above two statements

Sin is the root cause of all our ailments, whether they be emotional,
mental, spiritual, relational or physical.
 Our emotional, mental, spiritual and physical states are all
connected. When sin corrupts one state, it affects the other
three.
 The sin of covetous (jealousy) causes bitterness and hatred
which leads to relational problems between family and
friends. Emotional and spiritual ailments then arise. As a
result, the person doesn’t eat properly or worries about
his/her relationships. Things like ulcers and high blood
pressure begin to appear.
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Healing came down at Christmas”
December 1, 2013
 The sin of not trusting God causes worry which causes
things like ulcers, high blood pressure and heart disease.
 The sin of being mean and hateful to a child causes the child
to develop relational issues and to think of him/herself as
being worthless (a spiritual ailment). If you think you’re
worthless, you won’t be motivated to take care of your
physical body which leads to physical ailments.

Jesus Christ took care of our sins.
 With His perfect life and sacrificial death, He became the
one necessary sacrifice to pay for our sins.
 His resurrection proved that He conquered death on our
behalf. Since sin is the root cause of death, He must have
taken care of sin. The resurrection, therefore, proves that
Jesus was the one necessary sacrifice to take away our
sins.

If Jesus took away our sins and if sin is the root cause of all our
ailments, then Jesus also provided healing for all our ailments.
C. With this in mind, we can have hope for healing through faith in Jesus.
III.
The hope for healing
A. God’s kind of hope

Not dependant on circumstance – Not a wishful thinking of
something you would like

It’s dependant on God’s faithfulness and steadfast love. – It’s a
surety of receiving what’s best for us from God.
B. Our hope for healing

God wants to heal us

Jesus made healing possible by taking care of our sin

When we pray for healing, we can be sure that God will hear and
answer our prayer.
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Sermon Outline
First United Methodist Church of Sanford
“Healing came down at Christmas”
December 1, 2013
 We will receive healing.
 It may be in accordance with God’s way and with God’s
timing but it will happen
IV.
Healing came down at Christmas

By coming to this earth as a human named Jesus and taking care of sin,
God brought healing to individuals and the world.

Jesus, healer of nations.
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