“Man of sorrows, Lamb of God. By His own betrayed. The sin of men and wrath of God has been on Jesus laid.”
Scripture references: Isaiah 53:3, 6. Mark 14:22-25, 27, 29-31, 51-52, Mark 15:46, Mark 16:5-6, 8, Amos 2:6-16.
Introduction:
“Man of sorrows, Lamb of God. By His own betrayed. The sin of men and wrath of God has been on Jesus laid.”
On this communion Sunday, we come together to remember what Jesus accomplished in His death, burial and resurrection. This song that we will be singing during communion has so much theology packed into it, that we could give each verse or chorus its own devotional.
The title itself: ‘Man of sorrows’ comes from Isaiah 53. This is a familiar, but key Old Testament passage that foreshadows Jesus.
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. – Isaiah 53:3 ESV
Not only could we take weeks dissecting the theology in this song, but we could spend months, years, and let’s be honest…a lifetime trying to fully grasp the truth revealed in Isaiah 53. So here, we are going to zoom in on one line that I seem to come back to frequently…the very first line of the song…
Devotional:
“Man of sorrows, Lamb of God. By His own betrayed. The sin of men and wrath of God has been on Jesus laid.”
“By His own betrayed” …There is a vivid picture of this in Mark 14. In this chapter, Jesus celebrates Passover with His disciples, and we see what we celebrate as ‘The Lord’s Supper’ (Mark 14:22-25). On either side of this passage, Jesus foretells his betrayal and Peter’s denial. The literary structure looks something like this:
A: Jesus foretells Judas’ betrayal (10-21)
B: The Lord’s Supper (22-25)
A’: Jesus foretells Peter’s denial (26-31)
The disciples are in disbelief. Never would they think that one of them would betray or deny Jesus…and it is not just Judas and Peter. Jesus tells them in verse 27:
And Jesus said to them, “You will all fall away, for it is written, ‘I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.’” -Mark 14:27 ESV
Peter and the other disciples reject this:
Peter said to him, “Even though they all fall away, I will not.” And Jesus said to him, “Truly, I tell you, this very night, before the rooster crows twice, you will deny me three times.” But he said emphatically, “If I must die with you, I will not deny you.” And they all said the same. –Mark 14:29-31 ESV
‘They all said the same’…Mark does something profound with how he writes this section of chapter 14. As we have shown in the structure above, Mark recalls Jesus’ foretelling of betrayal and denial. This is highlighted by Judas and Peter, and followed by the rest of the disciples (including himself) …
But at the center of these prophecies of betrayal and denial by his own followers…is The Lord’s Supper…
And as they were eating, he took bread, and after blessing it broke it and gave it to them, and said, “Take; this is my body.” And he took a cup, and when he had given thanks, he gave it to them, “This is my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many. Truly, I say to you, I will not drink again of the fruit of the vine until that day when I drink it new in the kingdom of God.” -Mark 14:22-25 ESV
In the words of the prophet Isaiah…
All we like sheep have gone; astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all – Isaiah 53:6 ESV
We ALL have gone astray. Everyone…but at the center of it all, we see Jesus and His body, broken for us. His blood, shed for us. “The sin of men and wrath of God has been on Jesus laid”.
What happens next? Just as Jesus said…Judas Betrays (Mark 14:43-45), the disciples fall away (Mark 14:50) and Peter denies (Mark 14:66-72). But the disciples were not the only ones to fall away. One last profound literary image that Mark uses in this chapter comes in a peculiar verse immediately after the disciples flee during Jesus’ arrest…
And a young man followed him, with nothing but a linen cloth about his body. And they seized him, but he left the linen cloth and ran away naked. -Mark 14:51-52 ESV
This detail of an unnamed ‘young man’ is something that we only see in Mark’s gospel. At first glance, this seems like an odd interjection to the story. So why does Mark include this? Well, there is a ‘method to the madness’ as we might say when it comes to Mark. Like any question we have in the Bible…we must read on! Let’s look at the key elements of this verse:
-A young man followed him
–Wearing nothing but a linen cloth
-He left the linen cloth and ran away naked
The next time we see a mention of linen comes after Jesus’ death. Joseph of Arimathea asks Pilate for the body of Jesus for burial…
And Jospeh bought a linen shroud, and taking him down, wrapped him in the linen shroud and laid him in a tomb that had been cut out of the rock. And he rolled a stone against the entrance of the tomb. -Mark 15:46 ESV
A linen shroud is put on Jesus in death. Mark’s gospel is also unique when it comes to the description of the angel at the tomb. Mark is the only gospel writer to refer to the angelic figure as ‘a young man’. When the women come to anoint Jesus’ body at the tomb…
And entering the tomb, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, dressed in a white robe, and they were alarmed. And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him. -Mark 16:5-6 ESV
How do the women leave the tomb?
And they went out and fled from the tomb, for trembling and astonishment had seized them, and they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid. -Mark 16:8 ESV
Do we see what Mark is doing here?
-A young man, a follower, dressed in nothing but linen runs away naked (a common symbol of shame.)
-Jesus is then wearing that symbol of shame in death.
-When Jesus is resurrected, we see a young man…this time clothed in white, sitting on the right side (a common symbol of honor/favor).
-And now it is the women who run away from the tomb in fear and astonishment!
This is exactly the picture of redemption that Mark is capturing in his gospel. At the center, between betrayal and denial is the broken body and shed blood of Jesus.
When we ran away in sin and shame, Jesus wore our sin and shame in death. Rising again, He clothed us in white and restored us to favor with God…redeeming us! Hallelujah!
“Man of sorrows, Lamb of God. By His own betrayed. The sin of men and wrath of God has been on Jesus laid.”
Note: for further study, compare these passages to Amos 2:6-16.
Sean Wagner