Isaiah The Gospel in the Old Testament ~ Part 3 Isaiah 52:13-53:12

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1 Isaiah The Gospel in the Old Testament ~ Part 3 Isaiah 52:13-53:12 O ver the last few weeks we have been discussing the application of this section of Isaiah. It clearly presents the Suffering Servant. We know from the text itself, and how it is applied in the New Testament, that it is calling us to look at Jesus as the Messiah. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases. (Matthew 8:17). We have also noted that until around 1090 A.D., the Jewish understanding of the passage was consistent with the Christian. It is referring to the Messiah. Re-quoting Buksbazen:, at the end of the 11th century A.D., Jewish commentators began to assert that Isaiah had in mind Israel who suffers innocently for the sins of all nations. What caused this radical change in the rabbinical position? Behind this change lies the tragic Jewish experience during the Crusades. After the end of the First Crusade in 1096 A.D., when the Crusaders, in their misguided zeal attempted to wrest the Holy Sepulcher from the Muslims, became aware that the infidels were not only the pagan Muslims in far away Palestine, but also the Christ-killing Jews who were living in their very midst, in so-called Christian Europe. Encouraged by their fanatical leaders and frequently incited by high-ranking clerics, the Crusaders massacred the Jews, especially those who lived in France, Italy, and Germany. Thousands were butchered, their synagogues burned and their possessions pillaged. Another compelling reason for the abandonment was the fact that many Jews themselves became convinced that there is a cogent and strong argument for the Christian position. In fact many Jews actually converted to the Christian faith as a result of the Christian-Jewish disputations of the Middle Ages. 1 Here is how this reworking presents itself: The prophet Ezekiel declares, (18:20) As son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son. Surely, one person shall not bear another s sins, and certainly not one nation for another. If so, how do we reconcile this verse and the following one? Jeremiah s plaint in Lamentations 5:6: Our fathers sinned and they are no more, and we have borne their iniquities, is not relevant. It follows (Ex. 34:7) He visits the iniquity of the fathers on their sons, meaning that if they continue to sin as their fathers did, they will be punished both for their own sins and their fathers. Jeremiah, however, quotes the expression of the lamenters, who, because of their extreme anguish, did not word their lamentations properly, but lamented that they were suffering solely because of their parents sins. Our verse, however, is the statement of the nations who believe that Israel suffers for their sins, not that Israel does, in fact, suffer for them. When they see at the time of the redemption, that their faith is false, they ask, Why did Israel, the believers in the true faith, suffer in exile all these years? Their suffering was surely not due to their sins, since they adhere to the true religion. Paradoxically, we, who believed in a false religion, live in peace and tranquility. Apparently, the afflictions that rightfully should have befallen us, befell Israel. That was surely for our sins, not for theirs. [Redak] 2 1 Buksbazen, Victor, The Prophet Isaiah, In Two Volumes, The Spearhead Press, Collingswood, NJ, 1971, p Rosenberg, Rabbi A., Isaiah, Vol. 1, Vol. 2, The Judaica Press, Inc., New York, NY, 1992, p. 425.

2 As you can see, it takes some serious scripture-twisting to remove the obvious references to the Messiah and try to find Israel in His place. Nevertheless, it will be helpful to go back and look at the context of the passage as it relates to a Jewish view of sin and Israel as the lost sheep. I Introduction II Future Glory Verses III First Coming Verses 1-3 A. Incarnation Verses 1-3 B. Sacrifice and Healing Verses 4-6 C. His Trial Verses 7-9 D. Scapegoat Verses IV Conclusion Introduction: For this reason I wanted to go back and re-examine verses 4 through 6, considering them in light of the Jewish context. This means we will go back to Mills. Verse 4: One of the reasons some have been able to misuse these verses as relating to Jesus providing physical healing is an ignorance of the Jewish concept of sin. Mills points out: The Jewish mind equates sorrow, grief, pain, and illness, with sin. The Old Testament bears this out. Job s comforters accused him of sin: that his trials were the result of sin. Moses predicted that griefs and sorrows would come upon Israel as the result of sin (in Leviticus 26 and Deuteronomy 28). Jeremiah predicted the time of Jacob s trouble (30:7). Malachi uttered many warnings of griefs and sorrows as the cause of sin. He calls for repentance, and promises that those who revere the name of Jehovah will have healing. Thus did the Old Testament prophets equate sin with sorrow and grief. 3 Interestingly enough, even long after the change in interpretation, objective Jewish scholars understand the context of the passage. In the Targum of Isaiah by Jonathan ben Uzziel, edited by J. F. Stenning, published by Oxford, page 180, the author admits that the people of Israel equate sin with sorrow and grief, and states that, Then he (Jehovah s righteous servant) shall pray on behalf of our transgressions; and our iniquities shall be pardoned for his sake, though we were accounted smitten, stricken from before the Lord and afflicted. 4 Verse 5: The imagery of illness, sin, and healing are all intertwined here. By the way, this certainly is consistent with other Old Testament parallels. One of the most obvious ones relates to leprosy. Under ceremonial law, the leper was kept from access to the tabernacle and the sacrifice. Leprosy symbolically stands for sin. It starts as a small spot, and within the Old Testament context, except for the intervention of God, is incurable. So healing primarily is focusing on spiritual healing, healing from sin. This being the case, when Jesus brought physical healing, it was a demonstration of His deity and Messianic identity. It was a promise of redemption. Redemption is Isaiah s point here, not physical health. This is the context of verse 5. Again quoting ben Uzziel: 3 Mills, Sanford C., A Hebrew Christian Looks at Isaiah Fifty-Three, American Board of Missions to the Jews, New York, NY, 1971, p Ibid. ) 396 (

3 But he shall build the sanctuary that was polluted because of our transgressions and given up because of our iniquities; and by his teaching shall his peace be multiplied upon us, and by our devotion to his words our transgressions shall be forgiven us. 5 Of course you can see where ben Uzziel misses the point. While Jesus words are vital to our understanding of God s truth, it is His being pierced and by the shedding of His blood we are saved. For God was pleased to have all his fullness dwell in him, and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether things on earth or things in heaven, by making peace through his blood, shed on the cross (Colossians 1:19-20). Verse 6: Keeping in mind the context, the Messiah is coming to find the lost sheep of Israel. It isn t surprising He is called the Good Shepherd. While we can certainly correctly apply this verse to all mankind, it is first applicable to Israel. There is nothing more forlorn than a sheep without a shepherd. It cannot protect itself. It has no sense of direction and must always be led, guided, and protected. This is a vivid portrayal of Israel. Since Israel wandered as a lost sheep without a shepherd, all sense of unity was lost. She fell apart nationally and each fragment went its own way, which proved to be catastrophic. This had happened to Israel before on several occasions, under Moses (Deuteronomy 12:8) and under the Judges (17:6). It is true today and will continue until the day when Israel accepts her true Messiah, the Lord Jesus Christ. 6 Of course for all individuals, as long as they continue to walk in their own way, they will also remain lost. It is only by turning to the Good Shepherd they can be saved. Salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved (Acts 4:12). Matthew Henry summarizes the verses this way. In these verses is an account of the sufferings of Christ; also of the design of his sufferings. It was for our sins, and in our stead, that our Lord Jesus suffered. We have all sinned, and have come short of the glory of God. Sinners have their beloved sin, their own evil way, of which they are fond. Our sins deserve all griefs and sorrows, even the most severe. We are saved from the ruin, to which by sin we become liable, by laying our sins on Christ. This atonement was to be made for our sins. And this is the only way of salvation. 7 And so, with an understanding of the substitutionary nature of the work of the Suffering Servant, Isaiah moves backwards to the trials of the Messiah. Verses 7-8: We should start by noting just how powerfully God has used these words over the centuries. These were the words read by the Ethiopian Eunuch when Phillip found him. The eunuch was reading this passage of Scripture: He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is silent, so he did not open his mouth. 5 Ibid., p Buksbazen, p ). 7 Henry, Matthew, Commentary On The Old Testament, Isaiah, The Master Christian Library, AGES Software, Albany, OR, Version ) 397 (

4 In his humiliation he was deprived of justice. Who can speak of his descendants? For his life was taken from the earth. (Acts 8:32-33). The silence is the pattern of the trials. Pilate, Herod, Annas, and Caiaphas all tried him to the point where He was crucified. Yet He was guilty of nothing. And Isaiah told us that He would not defend Himself, which was certainly the case. The martyrdom thus forced upon the Messiah was unopposed by any of His own people. Not one word of defense was uttered by one of them during His entire trial. Everything that transpired, to the minutest detail, throughout the Saviour s trail was all according to God s plan 8 From that time on, Jesus began to explain to his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests and teachers of the law, and that he must be killed and on the third day be raised to life (Matthew 16:21). He will be handed over to the Gentiles. They will mock him, insult him, spit on him, flog him and kill him. On the third day he will rise again (Luke 18:32-33). They did what your power and will had decided beforehand should happen (Acts 4:28). I think Wiersbie does such a good job of summarizing these two verses that I want to quote him here. Isaiah 53:7 speaks of His silence under suffering and verse 8 of His silence when illegally tried and condemned to death. In today s courts, a person can be found guilty of terrible crimes, but if it can be proved that something in the trial was illegal, the case must be tried again. Everything about His trials was illegal, yet Jesus did not appeal for another trial. The cup which my Father hath given me shall I not drink it? (John 18:11 KJV). 9 When he was accused by the chief priests and the elders, he gave no answer. Then Pilate asked him, Don t you hear the testimony they are bringing against you? But Jesus made no reply, not even to a single charge to the great amazement of the governor (Matthew 27:12-14). Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you? But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer. Again the high priest asked him, Are you the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One? (Mark 14:60-61). When Herod saw Jesus, he was greatly pleased, because for a long time he had been wanting to see him. From what he had heard about him, he hoped to see him perform some miracle. He plied him with many questions, but Jesus gave him no answer (Luke 23:8-9). 8 Mills, p Wiersbe, Warren W., The Bible Exposition Commentary, Old Testament The Prophets, Zondervan Publishing House, Grand Rapids, MI, 1971, p. 61. ) 398 (

5 It is not by accident the imagery here is again of the sheep, referring to the sacrificial nature of the Messiah s death. The Servant is compared to a lamb which is one of the frequent symbols of the Savior in Scripture. A lamb died for each Jewish household at Passover (Ex. 12:1-13), and the Servant died for His people, the nation of Israel. Jesus is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (John 1:29 nkjv), and twentyeight times in the book of Revelation, Jesus Christ is referred to as the Lamb. 10 The reader/hearer of Isaiah s prophecy would have understood the implications of his identifying the Messiah with the lamb. And so the Messiah is cut off, that is, killed. And He dies without heirs, without descendents, at least in the physical sense. This of course would have been considered a great tragedy. During his lifetime Absalom had taken a pillar and erected it in the King s Valley as a monument to himself, for he thought, I have no son to carry on the memory of my name. He named the pillar after himself, and it is called Absalom s Monument to this day (2 Samuel 18:18). Verse 9: It is amazing just how much information Isaiah has here, hundreds of years before the fact. There are two aspects to this verse. First, information regarding the Messiah s death and burial. And second, we are reminded the Messiah was being executed without being guilty of any crime. Again we are astounded at the accuracy of the prophetic prediction which found its fulfillment in the events of the crucifixion. Jesus body, considered by Jewish and Roman officialdom as that of a rebel, would normally have been assigned together with the two other criminals who died on the two other crosses, and would have been buried, where criminals usually were buried, in an unmarked grave, except for divine intervention. The rich man, Joseph of Arimathea (Mt. 27:57), intervened with the Roman authorities and had Jesus buried in private grave in his garden, wherein never man before was laid (Lk. 23:53). 11 As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid (Matthew 27:57; Luke 23:53). And we have seen the Suffering Servant, the Messiah who provides atonement for sin. Henry concludes the section by stating: Our sins were the thorns in Christ s head, the nails in his hands and feet, the spear in his side. He was delivered to death for our offences. By his sufferings he purchased for us the Spirit and grace of God, to mortify our corruptions, which are the distempers of our souls. We may well endure our lighter sufferings, if He has taught us to esteem all things but loss for him, and to love him who has first loved us Ibid. 11 Buksbazen, p Henry ) 399 (

6 Conclusion: Lewis Sperry Chafer presents the following in his study on Hosea: The Confession of Israel s National Sin Hosea 6:1 3 states: Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds. After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence. Let us acknowledge the LORD; let us press on to acknowledge him. As surely as the sun rises, he will appear; he will come to us like the winter rains, like the spring rains that water the earth. The Jewish leaders call upon the nation to repent and confess their national sin (vv. 1 2). Only then will God restore the physical blessings Israel once enjoyed (v. 3). Israel s leaders will finally realize why the Tribulation has fallen on them. Just as the Jewish leaders once led the nation to the rejection of the messiahship of Jesus, they will now lead the nation in accepting His messiahship by issuing Hosea 6:1 3 s call. Israel s confession of national sin will last for two days as the entire nation becomes regenerated and saved. Isaiah 53:1 9 states the actual words of the confession. They will admit that the nation had looked upon Jesus as nothing more than another man, a criminal who had died for his own sins. However, they will recognize that He was no ordinary man, but the perfect Lamb of God, the Messiah Himself. Furthermore, it was not for His own sins that Messiah died, but for theirs, so that they need not be stricken for their sin. Thus, national regeneration will come through the national confession of Isaiah 53:1 9. The nation as a nation will be saved. 13 And just as the nation will one day be saved by turning to their Messiah, so people today are also be saved by looking towards the Messiah, the Lamb of God upon the Throne. Your only Son, no sin to hide, but You have sent Him from Your side, to walk upon this guilty sod, and to become the Lamb of God. Your gift of love, they crucified, they laughed and scorned Him as He died, the humble King they named a fraud and sacrificed the Lamb of God. I was so lost, I should have died, but You have brought me to Your side, to be led by Your staff and rod, and to be called a lamb of God. O Lamb of God, sweet Lamb of God, I love the holy Lamb of God O wash me in His precious blood my Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God Chafer Theological Seminary Journal, This product is produced by permission of Chafer Theological Seminary, which holds the copyright on Chafer Theological Seminary Journal. 14 Paris, Twila, Praise Chorus Book, Lamb of God, Maranatha! Music, USA, 1990, #7. ) 400 (

7 Isaiah The Gospel in the Old Testament ~ Part 3 Isaiah 52:13-53:12 I Introduction II Future Glory Verses III First Coming Verses 1-3 A. Incarnation Verses 1-3 B. Sacrifice and Healing Verses 4-6 C. His Trial Verses 7-9 D. Scapegoat Verses IV Conclusion I Introduction: (Matthew 8:17; Ezekiel 18:20; Exodus 34:7) Verse 4: (see Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28; Jeremiah 30:7) Verse 5: (Colossians 1:19-20)

8 Verse 6: (Acts 4:12; see Deuteronomy 12:8; Judges 17:6) Verses 7-8: (Acts 8:32-33; Matthew 16:21; Luke 18:32-33; Acts 4:28; John 18:11; Matthew 27:12-14; Mark 14:60-16; Luke 23:8-9; 2 Samuel 18:18; see Exodus 12:1-13; John 1:29) Verse 9: (Matthew 27:57; Luke 23:53) Conclusion: (Hosea 6:1-3) Personal Application: This week focus your meditations on Jesus as the Lamb of God and the implications for us as God s children and for those who do not yet know Him. Prayer for the Week: Lord thank You for the one time sacrifice for our sins, the spotless Lamb. In Jesus name, amen.