Tag: Bible Teaching

Text: Isaiah 53:1-12

“(1) Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?  (2)  For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.  (3)  He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.  (4)  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.  (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.  (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.  (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.  (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.  (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.  (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.  (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.  (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.”

I want to focus your attention this morning on this question from verse 8:

“He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation?

Who shall declare His generation?

I will teach/preach this morning on this topic:

A Generation That Speaks

Organizations, education centers and businesses are constantly trying to find ways to reach, influence and motivate people.

In fact, much time and money is invested in the field of sociology to study the particular ways that each generation in the last 100 years are similar and different.

This “generational analysis” is of particular interest to the church as well because “unless we learn how to understand, engage, communicate, and connect [with these] different generations, [we]will edge towards irrelevancy and extinction.”[1]

Social analyst and demographer, Mark McCrindle, Has defined these generational demographics. Where do you fit?

1. The Builders generation describes those born before 1946.
   1. This generation built much of the society we know today.
   1. This generation has also displayed their resilience through some tough times: starting life after a Depression, hearing stories of World War I from their parents and living through World War II.
   1. Today, we refer to them at “Senior Citizens,” but weren’t always seniors. They are the generation that built our suburbs, institutions, and infrastructure, and continue to build in their own ways to this day.
   1. They uphold much of the values, principles and commitments that built our society.
   1. They are also a very understanding and adaptable generation, who appreciate the younger generations who have grown up in a world so different from the one in which they were born.
2. The Baby Boomers were born between 1946 and 1964.
   1. They get their generational label from the baby boom that occurred post-World War II (the fertility rate was 3.5 babies per woman)
   1. This increase in population resulted in a boom in the economy, housing, construction, and infrastructure to accommodate this population that was almost doubling in their early years.
   1. This empowered generation shaped society and the social context.
   1. They pushed back on political decisions, participated in protests, saw the rise of feminism, and had a desire for equality. They were the social justice warriors of their time.
   1. Whether good or bad, the Baby Boomers brought about massive cultural, social, and economic change, and continue to have impact our society today.
   1. Their high net-worth has helped build our economy and lend a hand to the next generation – “the bank of mom and dad.”
3. Generation X was born between 1965 and 1979.
   1. This generation sings the tunes of anti-establishment and have a mindset of pushing back on authority figures.
   1. Until COVID-19, Generation X benefited from a time of economic prosperity and property ownership. As a result, they experienced and embraced small business and entrepreneurial opportunities.
   1. Generation X have done well through this era, despite their early angst and now they are doing things differently to the generations that went before them.
4. Generation Y, or Millennials, were born between 1980 and 1994.
   1. They have been known for their love of smashed avocado, specialty coffee and travelling abroad.
   1. Because of accelerating house prices and flat wages growth many in this generation have been locked out of buying their own homes.
   1. There are events, experiences, and political drama that molds each generation, and for the Millennials, this all occurred on September 11, 2001.
   1. When 9/11 took place they were in their formative years and much of the next decade defined and shaped their global outlook.
   1. Millennials get a lot of negative press, but like Generation X, they are gaining stability that comes with maturity. Today, this generation are entering the parent and family life stage as they move into their 30s and 40s.
5. Generation Z describes those born between 1995 and 2009.
   1. Shaped in a COVID-19 era, this generation has experienced economic and social upsets, and they have adapted and become more conservative as a result.
   1. This also means they are more resilient, focused on education and recognise the importance of it in their foundational years. They know that in a competitive environment, they need to up-skill and retrain, and can’t just rely on job-for-life for stability.
   1. Lifelong learning is their mindset.
   1. This generation is conscious that they need to work hard to achieve the things they want in their life, and this mindset goes against some of the stereotypes of young people.
   1. Generation Z volunteer at a higher rate and are more likely to work for a non-profit than any prior generation.
   1. They focus on values, fulfilment and making a difference with their life. That matters more than just what they can earn. But at the same time, they’re financially conservative.
   1. They are diligently saving for a home, they want a place of their own.
6. Generation Alpha were born between 2010 and 2024.
   1. The start of something new, Generation Alpha are the start of something new. This Alpha cohort is the first generation to be fully born in the 21st Century and to be shaped in this new era.
   1. The year they began being born (2010), Instagram launched, and the iPad became available, which says a lot about how technology has shaped them.
   1. COVID-19, increasing globalization, connectivity and empowerment also says a lot about them.
   1. We need to recognize that it’s a whole new landscape in which they have been born into and which is shaping them.[2]

Mark McCrindle writes, “When we look at the times and technologies that shaped us, it helps us to understand ourselves and how we are different to others. Hopefully, that then helps to bridge gaps rather than point out those gaps. Because until we can understand the difference, have warmth across that difference, see the reasons for it and the context of why we’re seeing those different behaviors or responses, we’re just going to point the finger rather than appreciate the strengths of other generations. Understanding always precedes empathy, and empathy is essential for community and cohesion among people of different generations.”[3]

The point is, every generation has a voice, influence and effect on the times and culture around them. Sometimes, that voice can be heard loudly, and other times it is silent.

• A generation can either “speak truth to power,” as the Quakers did when they spoke out against the injustice of their time, or as the non-violent demonstrations espoused by Martin Luther King, Jr. and the Civil Rights Movement did in theirs.
• A generation can also stay silent, “Silence is Consent.” World War II witnessed the silence of some in Europe, and even in the USA, and that silence made them complicit in the Holocaust where 6 million Jews were exterminated.
  • Albert Einstein, “If I Were to Remain Silent, I’d Be Guilty of Complicity.”
  • Martin Luther King, Jr.
    • “There comes a time when silence is betrayal.”
    • “Our lives begin to end the day we become silent about things that matter.”
    • “In the end, we will remember not the words of our enemies, but the silence of our friends.”

A Generation That Speaks

The silence was deafening the day Jesus stumbled under the burden of the roughhewn cross beam, bloodied, bruised and edging closer to His death at Calvary.

700 years before that fateful day, Isaiah posed the prophetic question, “He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation?”

This is no mere idle question, no futile query taking up space on the pages of the Holy Writ.

In that generation, “It is said that before anyone was punished for a capital crime, proclamation was made before him by a crier in these words, ‘Whosoever knows anything about his innocence, let him come and make it known.’”[4]

And nobody spoke up. Yes, noise filled the streets, but no one shouted the innocence of Jesus.

Not one voice was lifted to cry out, “He is Innocent.”

Silence from the crowd that was surely dotted with faces of those He had healed, delivered, comforted and taught.

SILENCE!

Jesus may have been referencing this custom when he said to Caiaphas, “I spake openly to the world; I ever taught in the synagogue, and in the temple, whither the Jews always resort; and in secret have I said nothing. Why askest thou me? ask them which heard me, what I have said unto them: behold, they know what I said.”[5]

No one spoke for Him.

No one spoke up about His impeccable life.

Everyone present on the road to Calvary and at Calvary was guilty of silent complicity on that day, Roman, Jew, man, woman, citizen, visitor, disciples, scribes, Pharisees.

Philip declared the generation of Jesus to the Ethiopian:

“(26) And the angel of the Lord spake unto Philip, saying, Arise, and go toward the south unto the way that goeth down from Jerusalem unto Gaza, which is desert.  (27)  And he arose and went: and, behold, a man of Ethiopia, an eunuch of great authority under Candace queen of the Ethiopians, who had the charge of all her treasure, and had come to Jerusalem for to worship,  (28)  Was returning, and sitting in his chariot read Esaias the prophet.  (29)  Then the Spirit said unto Philip, Go near, and join thyself to this chariot.  (30)  And Philip ran thither to him, and heard him read the prophet Esaias, and said, Understandest thou what thou readest?  (31)  And he said, How can I, except some man should guide me? And he desired Philip that he would come up and sit with him.  (32)  The place of the scripture which he read was this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; and like a lamb dumb before his shearer, so opened he not his mouth:  (33)  In his humiliation his judgment was taken away: and who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken from the earth.  (34)  And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaketh the prophet this? of himself, or of some other man?  (35)  Then Philip opened his mouth, and began at the same scripture, and preached unto him Jesus.”[6]

Paul declared His generation on a hilltop in Athens, and identified all believers as His offspring:

“(22) Then Paul stood in the midst of Mars’ hill, and said, Ye men of Athens, I perceive that in all things ye are too superstitious.  (23)  For as I passed by, and beheld your devotions, I found an altar with this inscription, TO THE UNKNOWN GOD. Whom therefore ye ignorantly worship, him declare I unto you.  (24)  God that made the world and all things therein, seeing that he is Lord of heaven and earth, dwelleth not in temples made with hands;  (25)  Neither is worshipped with men’s hands, as though he needed any thing, seeing he giveth to all life, and breath, and all things;  (26)  And hath made of one blood all nations of men for to dwell on all the face of the earth, and hath determined the times before appointed, and the bounds of their habitation;  (27)  That they should seek the Lord, if haply they might feel after him, and find him, though he be not far from every one of us:  (28)  For in him we live, and move, and have our being; as certain also of your own poets have said, For we are also his offspring.  (29)  Forasmuch then as we are the offspring of God, we ought not to think that the Godhead is like unto gold, or silver, or stone, graven by art and man’s device.  (30)  And the times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent:  (31)  Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in that he hath raised him from the dead.”[7]

The Lord Jesus Christ, in His role of sonship will judge the world in righteousness one day:

John 5:21-23  For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will.  (22)  For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son:  (23)  That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.

We are His generation:

• Isaiah wrote, “…who shall declare his generation?” Then he added, “…He shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days…”
  • We are that seed, the Children of God, a generation of men and women born of the Spirit.
• “A seed shall serve Him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation.”[8]
• 1 Peter 2:9-10, “(9) But ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation, a peculiar people; that ye should shew forth the praises of him who hath called you out of darkness into his marvellous light:  (10)  Which in time past were not a people, but are now the people of God: which had not obtained mercy, but now have obtained mercy.”

He speaks for us and declares for us what no one did for Him:

• “He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us all, how shall he not with him also freely give us all things? Who shall lay any thing to the charge of God’s elect? It is God that justifieth. Who is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died, yea rather, that is risen again, who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh intercession for us” (Romans 8:32-34).
• Hebrews 7:25, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.”
• “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2).
  • Advocate = Helper, Adviser, Counselor who pleads our case.
  • Propitiation = Jesus is the atoning sacrifice for our sins. He puts us at one, reconciles us, declares us innocent.

Jesus is A Generation That Speaks and He declares for all that will receive Him:

Innocent – Innocent – Innocent

[1] Mark McCrindle. (2024). How generational analysis is helpful. Accessed: Feb. 1, 2025. https://mccrindle.com.au/article/topic/demographics/the-generations-defined/.

[2] Ibid.

[3] Ibid.

[4] Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible. Isaiah 53:8.

[5] John 18:20-21

[6] Acts 8:26-39

[7] Acts 17:22-31 

[8] Psalm 22:30