THE SERVANT: ISAIAH 52:13-53:12 Before getting into the specifics of the Scriptures, it would be helpful to briefly examine how the religious Jews have historically understood Isaiah 53 and how they interpret it now. Obviously, they don t want to admit it is a perfect picture of Christ Jesus. Isaiah revealed the concept of the Suffering Servant. This has caused a large amount of confusion among Jewish theologians. The Scriptures clearly reveal the Messiah to be not only a Suffering Servant but also a Conquering King. By the time of Christ s First Advent, the Jews were clearly looking only for the Conquering King; they rejected the Suffering Servant. For nearly 1700 years, many Jewish theologians knew and taught Isaiah 53 was a revelation of the Messiah who would suffer and die on behalf of the Jewish people. In the second century Targum of Jonathan ben Uziel, Isaiah 52:13 is interpreted in Aramaic this way: Behold my servant Messiah shall prosper; he shall be high, and increase and be exceedingly strong. An eighth century Yom Kippur prayer referenced Isaiah 53 and related it to Messiah. We are shrunk up in our misery even until now! Our rock hath not come nigh to us: Messiah, our righteousness, hath turned from us; we are in terror, and there is none to justify us! Our iniquities he will bear, for he was wounded for our transgressions: he will carry our sins upon his shoulder, that we may find forgiveness for our iniquities, and by his stripes we are healed. But many other Jewish theologians, including those teaching during the Lord s First Advent, taught the suffering applied to 1
Israel and that the Messiah would not suffer but would instead bring in the Messianic Kingdom as the Conquering King saving the suffering nation. Today, the Jews have reinforced their interpretation of Isaiah that makes the Suffering Servant mean Israel the nation rather than Messiah the person. Why would they do that? The church had persecuted Jews for centuries, but with the First Crusade in the 11 th century, the Crusaders not only killed Muslims but they massacred what they called the Christ killer Jews along the way. Jews in Europe and in Israel were massacred, their synagogues burned, and their possessions stolen. This lasted for nearly two hundred years around the time of the Crusades and persecution to some degree never stopped for long. Needless to say, the Jews became very wary of Christians and this caution persists to this day. Whether we consider Roman Catholic Crusaders to be Christians or not, the Jews consider them Christians and they developed a deep fear and distrust of Christianity that still exists. The Crusades were a crushing blow to Jewish/Christian relations and we still feel the effect of it today. After the Reformation, it wasn t unheard of for Protestants to persecute Jews either. Martin Luther being just one example. The Roman Catholic Spanish Inquisition also poisoned relations with the Jewish people. As Christians used Isaiah 53 as Scripture to prove the Messiah was Jesus, which is still a useful tool to use today, the Jews began reinterpreting the Scripture in order to negate the Christian argument. The problem the Rabbis wanted to combat was the fact that many Jews thought the Christian argument had 2
merit and as a result many Jewish people were converting to Christianity based on the truth presented in Isaiah 53! Making the Scripture seem to refer to Israel instead of being a reference to the Messiah that clearly points people to Christ Jesus served the Rabbinic purpose to keep the Jewish people in unbelief. Rabbis began reinterpreting the Scripture to say that Israel was the persecuted and suffering servant rather than a person, the Messiah. Many Jews today understand Isaiah 53 this way. Many others know nothing of Isaiah 53 because the Rabbis will not teach it in the synagogues since it so clearly describes what happened to Jesus Christ. Most religiously observant Jewish people do not know the Scriptures; they rely on their rabbis to tell them what the Scriptures mean. The problem is, the rabbinical understanding of the Scriptures is based on tradition and ritual rather than on an exegetical understanding of the Hebrew Tanakh. A few Jews have always understood the Messianic nature of this Scripture, but most have changed their interpretation in response to the Christian interpretation. Another problem modern Jews have in understanding this Scripture is the fact that most of them no longer believe there is a substitutionary, Messianic atonement. After the Temple was destroyed in 70 A.D., Judaism became a religion of atonement by self-effort via good works, charity, and study of the Torah. Many of them think of the Messianic Kingdom as a kingdom of peace wherein all good people work together to create and maintain a peaceful state of affairs. 3
After Christ s death, one of the ways they dealt with the concept of both a suffering servant Messiah and a kingly Messiah was to claim two Messiahs would come. The first Messiah was thought to be Messiah ben Yosef, Joseph, who would fight Israel s enemies, suffer, and be killed. Then the second Messiah, Messiah ben David, would deliver Israel and inaugurate the Messianic Kingdom foretold by the seers. This concept began to be taught as early as the second century A.D. This is an argument against the doctrine that the Messiah suffers and dies, is resurrected, and who is also the Messianic deliverer in the line of David. In this way, they are arguing that Christ Jesus cannot be the Messiah because He suffered and died. They now claim the Messiah is not supposed to do that; He is only supposed to conquer and rule. Isaiah 52:13 13 Behold, My servant will prosper,[שׂ כ ל] He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. Isaiah has already introduced and talked about the Servant. At this point in Isaiah, the concept of the Servant is not new to them. For one such example, see Isaiah 42:1. The word translated prosper means to act wisely or to have success. He is going to act wisely in the performance of the work He has been assigned to do and He will successfully accomplish His mission. Isaiah 42:1 1 Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations. Once He has performed the work He has been assigned, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. This is not referring to His death on the cross, 4
although it is easy for us to interpret it that way. It is referring to what will happen after He has finished His work. These are words that are used elsewhere to describe God the Father; therefore, these words are indicating equality with God. He is both man and God. Due to progressive revelation, we know that Christ is now exalted and sitting at the right hand of God the Father. Acts 2:33 says He has been exalted to the right hand of God and Colossians 3:1 says He is seated at the right hand of God. Philippians 2:9 informs us that God highly exalted Him. Isaiah 52:14-15 14 Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men. 15 Thus He will sprinkle [נ ז ה] many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; For what had not been told them they will see, And what they had not heard they will understand. The question here is to whom is you referring? The NASB added the words My people to indicate Israel is the object. The thinking behind that translation is the Servant would experience the same kind of terrible treatment the Israelites received from the nations throughout their history. In Hebrew literature, it is possible that the Father is directly addressing You, the Servant. It seems best to understand that this refers to the Servant and not to persecuted Israel as a means of comparison with the Servant which is what the NASB is doing. This is what the Jews have also done. For example, Amsterdam s Rabbi Manasseh ben Israel wrote As many of the nations were astonished at thee, O Israel People will be astonished because of the transformation from this brutally disfigured man to One who is exalted. Many refers to the nations and their people on 5
whose behalf He is suffering. The treatment the Servant will endure is so inhumane that it is almost incomprehensible. Throughout history, man has done terrible things to his fellow man, but what will be done to the Servant will surpass that. He will be so disfigured that He will hardly any longer resemble a human being. Sprinkle in this context refers to the sprinkling of blood for the expiation of sins. This Servant who was so despised that He was disfigured beyond the point that He no longer even resembled a man, will, by His own blood, sprinkle people and nations to cleanse them for service in the Messianic Kingdom. He who was considered impure will provide expiation for the sins of the world. Those who accept what He has done for them will enter the Kingdom cleansed of their sins. This word can also be translated as startle and that would make sense in the context, people will be startled at these amazing things, but the connection with sprinkling sacrificial blood is probably too strong to ignore. The Kings of the world will be awe struck at what He is going to do. Those who had so firmly rejected Him and counted Him worthless, will be silenced at the revelation of His true identity. When they see who He really is and understand what He really did, they will be speechless. Seeing and understanding seem to imply belief because they are connected with the expiation connotations of the sprinkling. Isaiah made other predictions about some of the kings of the nations one day coming to faith. 6
Isaiah 49:7 7 Thus says the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, To the despised One, To the One abhorred by the nation, To the Servant of rulers, Kings will see and arise, Princes will also bow down, Because of the LORD who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen You. These three final verses of Isaiah 52 (Is. 52:13-15) are a summary statement of what follows in Isaiah 53 and they are an introduction to that chapter at the same time. Isaiah 53:1 1 Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? This verse begins the confession of the remnant Jews who are lamenting the fact many Jewish people have not believed the revelation of God. It is important to understand this is the believing remnant Israel of the end times speaking. Paul used this verse when he was writing about the unbelief of the Jewish people in his day. Romans 10:16 16 However, they did not all heed the good news; for Isaiah says, LORD, WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR REPORT? Israel knew these things long before the time of the First Advent and long before Paul wrote Romans and they knew of them from the writings of Moses and the prophets. They didn t believe the message that had been so faithfully provided to them and for them over the historical life of the nation. They have shamefully rejected their Messiah and those who have come to faith are few in number. Israel s history has been out of step with the revelation they have been privileged to receive. Part of what they have not believed is the humble origins of the Messiah, His suffering, and His eventual exaltation. 7
The arm of the Lord represents the power of God and His wisdom as He has revealed Himself to the Israelites and worked through them to bring about His plan for history which includes the redemption and restoration of Israel. It is reminiscent of the time when God brought the people out of Egypt with an outstretched arm (Ex. 6:6). It also includes salvation for the Gentiles which is another truth the Jews resisted. Many Gentiles have believed in the redemption God provides for the many, meaning the Gentiles living in Gentile nations. The Jewish remnant is lamenting the fact that so few Jews have believed. Isaiah 49:6 6 He says, It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth. The mighty arm of Yahweh had performed miraculous feats in time and space and revealed His incredible plan for redemption and it will only be at the end of this dispensation and after undergoing serious divine chastisement that the nation will be converted after rejecting their Messiah at first and opening the door for the Gentiles to be redeemed. Only a few of the Israelites will recognize and believe the revelation the mighty arm of God has brought to pass. At the end, the nation will repent and believe and they will still be few in number. Only then will this prophecy penned by Isaiah so long ago, be completely fulfilled. Isaiah 53:2 2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,[יוֹנ ק] And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. 8
The idea behind a tender shoot is to identify the inauspicious and humble beginnings of the Servant. Isaiah had earlier predicted this shoot springing forth from the stem of Jesse, King David s father. Isaiah 11:1 1 Then a shoot will spring from the stem of Jesse, And a branch from his roots will bear fruit. The Messiah was also compared to a root or a branch. This too is an indication of His Davidic descent Isaiah had predicted. Isaiah 11:10 10 Then in that day The nations will resort to the root of Jesse, Who will stand as a signal for the peoples; And His resting place will be glorious. The root, the branch, and the stem are metaphors suggesting that the line of David had nearly died out and the Davidic monarchy was certainly absent but the Servant would be nourished from these remnants of Jesse. The picture is one of the Davidic line just barely hanging on but this shoot, this branch, will gather peoples and nations together because it didn t completely die out and it will come back and be restored. Further, based on Isaiah s prophecies, it should not have been a surprise to the Jews that God intended Gentile salvation. The metaphor of the dry ground refers to the spiritual vacuum and corrupt character that existed at the time of the First Advent. There had been no prophets, no word from the Lord, for four hundred years. Judaism had devolved into a burdensome, legalistic set of unbiblical, humanistic, religious rituals rather than blossoming as a relationship with the Living God. 9
There was nothing about the beginning of His life or His appearance that would excite or draw the people to Him in terms of their human emotions, their rational thought processes, and the human proclivity to respond to beauty and attractiveness. Human beings depend on how things look rather than on how they really are. We are no different today. If Jesus came today in modern dress and looking as He looked nearly two thousand years ago, we wouldn t give Him a second glance either. We might recognize His words as being worthy of following as the Twelve and others did but that would come by hearing after seeing Him. The Jews were looking for a conquering king and they imagined a man with a majestic and royal countenance who was going to impose peace on the world. Because they ignored the Scriptures, they no longer understood the concept that their Messiah must first suffer and die. That s why, on the road to Emmaus, the Lord rebuked those two disciples for their failure to know about the suffering of the Servant before He would enter into His Kingdom glory all of which was clearly spelled out in the Scriptures. Luke 24:25 27 25 And He said to them, O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! 26 Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory? 27 Then beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures. What a criticism of these disciples! Foolish men and slow of heart to believe constitute a serious rebuke. We are not any better today. How many Christians today do not know the Scriptures well enough to understand God s plan for the 10
King and His Kingdom? How seriously will these people be rebuked at the judgment seat of Christ for their foolish failure to understand the Scriptures? Isaiah 53:3 3 He was despised [בּ ז ה] and forsaken [ח ד ל] of men, A man of sorrows And like one from whom men hide their ;[ח ל י] and acquainted with grief [מ כ א ב] face He was despised,[בּ ז ה] and we did not esteem Him. This verse twice says He was despised,,בּ ז ה which means pertaining to feeling of contempt for an object because it is regarded to be bad or of little value, often with behaviors toward an object including speaking scorn and ridicule which corresponds to the contempt held for that object. This is a strong word indicating just how much the Lord was hated. Forsaken,,ח ד ל means to be rejected and pertains to being forsaken by people and so to be in a state of desertedness, of being alone. He was a man of pain, א ב,מ כ translated sorrows by the NASB, and he knew affliction and trouble,.ח ל י This word refers to illness. As a prophet, He identified with His people and He felt the pain their sin wracked existence imposed upon them. Generally speaking, people won t look at someone they hate or loathe. He was not only hated then but He is still hated among the Jews today. They won t even say His name; they refer to Jesus as that man or as the hanged one. His name is Yeshua but they have distorted that into Yeshu because those letters stand for a sentence that reads, Let his name and his memory be blotted out. We can t emphasize too strongly how hated and despised He was and still is and not just by the Jews but by the world. 11
Isaiah 53:4 4 Surely our griefs [ח ל י] He Himself bore,[נ שׂ א] And our sorrows א ב] [מ כ He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,[נ ג ע] Smitten [נ כ ה] of God, and.[ע נ ה] afflicted The next three verses reveal the truth that the Jewish people will one day recognize the substitutionary truth of the Lord s work on their behalf. First, as He healed them during His public ministry and then on the cross as He paid the sin debt for them they could never pay for themselves. Griefs refers to illness and disease and sorrows refers to pain and suffering. The signs He worked among them, especially the healing signs, were predicted to be the work of the Messiah the people were supposed to recognize when He appeared. Matthew applied Isaiah 53:4 to the healing ministry the Lord performed. Isaiah identified the works the Messiah was to perform so they would know Him when He came to them. Isaiah 35:4 6 4 Say to those with anxious heart, Take courage, fear not. Behold, your God will come with vengeance; The recompense of God will come, But He will save you. 5 Then the eyes of the blind will be opened And the ears of the deaf will be unstopped. 6 Then the lame will leap like a deer, And the tongue of the mute will shout for joy. For waters will break forth in the wilderness And streams in the Arabah. Matthew 8:16 17 16 When evening came, they brought to Him many who were demon-possessed; and He cast out the spirits with a word, and healed all who were ill. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: HE HIM- SELF TOOK OUR INFIRMITIES AND CARRIED AWAY OUR DISEASES. The problem is the people did not acknowledge the Messianic signs Jesus performed and they rejected Him. At least, that is part of the problem. The other part of the problem is they did recognize the Messianic signs and they rejected 12
Him anyway. Isaiah is predicting that national acknowledgment will come by a future generation of Jews who will believe. All of this is not suggesting that physical healing was accomplished on the cross. That is an erroneous teaching propagated by the Word of Faith health & wealth gospel preachers of today. Illness and disease are a consequence of sin; the healing of sin is a spiritual healing; it is not a physical healing. Our spiritual healing will one-day result in a glorified body that will never again experience illness or disease but that is still in the future. The word bore means to lift, carry, or take away and it is used to refer to a substitutionary bearing of guilt by one person for another s sins. This is the concept expressed by the use of the scapegoat. Leviticus 16:22 22 The goat shall bear [נ שׂ א] on itself all their iniquities to a solitary land; and he shall release the goat in the wilderness. The Servant took the sins of the people on Himself, sins He did not deserve to bear and sins the people did deserve to bear, but they were relieved of that burden. Stricken means to strike but is a word used to indicate being struck as a consequence of God s judgment. 2 Kings 15:5 5 The LORD struck [נ ג ע] the king, so that he was a leper to the day of his death. Smitten means to be struck, beaten, or wounded and in this context it refers to being smitten by God. The Jews thought, and still think, Jesus deserved to be killed for His own sin but the reality is He was killed for their sins and the sins of the whole world. Maimonides, Rambam, the famous rabbi of the twelfth century 13
said Jesus deserved His fate. The Talmud claims that Jesus of Nazareth is in hell with the Roman Emperor Titus and Balaam where He, Jesus, is experiencing the worst punishment possible. Only in the future will they realize, on a national level, the horrific mistake they made. God imposed the punishment on Jesus that the Jews deserved to have inflicted on themselves. and repent. Afflicted means to suffer oppression. He was bowed down with suffering. But there will be a future generation of Jews that will recognize this error Isaiah 53:5 5 But He was pierced [ח ל ל] through for our transgressions,[פּ שׁ ע] He was [שׂ לוֹם] for our well-being [מוּס ר] The chastening ;[ע וֹן] for [דּ כ א] our iniquities crushed.[ר פ א] we are healed [ח בּוּר ה] fell upon Him, And by His scourging At this point, the believing remnant recognizes that Jesus was killed for their sins and not for any other reason. By His death, reconciliation with God was made possible not only for the Jews but, as Isaiah will again make clear, for the many. Pierced through means to pierce or wound physically resulting in death and this was for the transgressions of the Jews. We now know this is an obvious reference to Christ on the cross; He was pierced with nails and His side was pierced with a spear (John 19:34). Transgressions means rebellion, crime, or sin which is something that is contrary to a standard, human or divine, in this case divine, with a focus on the rebellious nature of the act. Crushed or harmed focuses on the wounds to His body resulting from the violence to which He was subjected. It refers to a violent pressing action; the Lord was crushed under the 14
weight of sin that was placed on him. We can probably safely say the pain inflicted upon Him by being made sin for us (2 Cor. 5:21) was more excruciating for Him than the physical wounds He suffered. Iniquity refers to sin or wickedness with the focus on the liability or guilt for the wrong incurred. The Lord suffered and was crushed under the liability for sin under which the Jews should have been crushed. By application, the sins of the world crushed Him and not only the sins of the Jews. The remnant will also realize the punishment inflicted on Jesus was rightfully theirs to bear but they will also understand it will be the instrument that will bring about their healing. Chastening means discipline or punishment inflicted as a judicial penalty based on a standard. Well-being, shalom, means peace and prosperity; it is an intact state of favorable circumstances. Scourging refers to a damaging blow to the body causing a wound. Healed means to cause or promote restoration of health or a right state after being sick, diseased, injured, or in a bad state. The context here refers to spiritual issues; by His scourging, and all that implies in His death on the cross, we are healed and that is not referring to physical healing. It is spiritual healing. The words of these verses, taken together, clearly express the substitutionary nature of the work Christ did on behalf of the Jewish people. Ultimately, this work is extended to the many, that is, the Gentile people of the world. He was crushed for our sins. He received the judgment we should receive but by His work we are afforded the opportunity to be healed and all people without ex- 15
ception may be healed by His work. Many rabbis teach that vicarious suffering is morally objectionable; in other words, they believe it is a moral evil for one person to suffer that which another person deserves to suffer. Many atheists believe that as well. In this way, they are seeking to deny the reality of Jesus death. Ordinarily, they would be correct. God specifically revealed that people are responsible for their own sins. Ezekiel 18:20 20 The person who sins will die. The son will not bear the punishment for the father s iniquity, nor will the father bear the punishment for the son s iniquity; the righteousness of the righteous will be upon himself, and the wickedness of the wicked will be upon himself. The problem with this reasoning is that it is just that human reasoning imposed on a specific, divinely designed situation. These Scriptures in Isaiah are not identifying an ordinary situation; they are revealing the truth about an extraordinary, one time, divine, eternal event. Christ is not just a man; He is the God-man and this Scripture is revealing truth about what only He can do on behalf of first the Jews and then mankind in total. The sinless God-man is paying the sin debt that sinful mankind, Jew and Gentile, cannot pay. God s ways are not man s ways. That s why the Scriptures say this human reasoning is foolishness and a stumbling block to the world. 1 Corinthians 1:18 25 18 For the word of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19 For it is written, I WILL DESTROY THE WISDOM OF THE WISE, AND THE CLEVERNESS OF THE CLEVER I WILL SET ASIDE. 20 Where is the wise man? Where is the scribe? Where is the debater of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? 21 For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not come to know God, God was wellpleased through the foolishness of the message preached to save those who believe. 22 For indeed Jews ask for signs and Greeks search for wisdom; 23 but we 16
preach Christ crucified, to Jews a stumbling block and to Gentiles foolishness, 24 but to those who are the called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God. 25 Because the foolishness of God is wiser than men, and the weakness of God is stronger than men. Unsaved groups, atheists, unbelievers in general, and Jews, using human reasoning and logical thought processes do not understand the only remedy for their sin is for God to pay their sin debt. It is very ironic and apparently somehow escapes the notice of the Jews that the Jewish, Mosaic, sacrificial system was based on substitutionary sacrifice; the innocent for the guilty. Again, the scapegoat comes to mind. Trying to apply human reasoning and philosophy to understanding Messiah s work is a very foolish venture. Belief and revelation are the keys to comprehending God s work. His work results in well-being which is full reconciliation with God, peace in the human soul, and peace with other people. The sin problem was resolved on the cross. Isaiah 53:6 6 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. Going astray is characteristic of sheep and this is a picture of fallen man who is completely estranged and alienated from God; he has gone astray. Man s way is the wrong way; man s way is not God s way. Sheep have no excuse for wandering because they don t know any better; man knows better and because of that he is held accountable. Romans 1:18-32 makes it perfectly clear mankind knows God, mankind deliberately suppresses the knowledge they have of God, mankind rejects God s ways, and mankind worships gods of his 17
own making. Humanity, not just the Jews, has gone astray and each individual person has turned to his own way. Everyone lives their lives as though they are autonomous and God is not a factor. By God s grace, however, the Suffering Servant has assumed the iniquity and the guilt of man and paid the sin debt in full to the complete satisfaction of God the Father. In the next three verses, this future remnant of Jews will acknowledge that Jesus was killed for their sins; He died on their behalf. Isaiah 53:7 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, Yet He did not open His mouth; Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, So He did not open His mouth. The terrible, torturous, inhuman treatment of Jesus is reiterated here. But He did not protest; He willingly submitted Himself to the plan that was in place from before the foundation of the world. Matthew 16:21 21 From that time Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised up on the third day. Matthew 26:62 63 62 The high priest stood up and said to Him, Do You not answer? What is it that these men are testifying against You? 63 But Jesus kept silent. Revelation 13:8 8 All who dwell on the earth will worship him, whose names have not been written in the Book of Life of the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. [NKJV] Sheep are apparently helpless, docile creatures. The Lord went willingly and without resistance to His slaughter. He did not argue against the conspiracy that was in operation to send Him to His death. The comparison with the slaugh- 18
ter of the Lamb is obviously a reference to and a comparison with the Passover Lamb first identified in the Exodus story of the Israelite s redemption out of Egypt as recorded in Exodus 12. Isaiah 53:8 8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away; And as for His generation, who considered That He was cut off out of the land of the living For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? Jesus was arrested, bound, and placed in custody. He was given a mock trial that violated every standard of decency, fairness, and judicial propriety and He was sentenced to death after which He was taken away and executed. Let s not forget that Judas told the religious authorities Jesus was innocent and that Pilate found no fault in Him. This was not a trial and an execution according to law; it was corrupt and it was state sanctioned murder. Matthew 27:3 4 3 Then when Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that He had been condemned, he felt remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders, 4 saying, I have sinned by betraying innocent blood. But they said, What is that to us? See to that yourself! Luke 23:13 14 13 Pilate summoned the chief priests and the rulers and the people, 14 and said to them, You brought this man to me as one who incites the people to rebellion, and behold, having examined Him before you, I have found no guilt in this man regarding the charges which you make against Him. The Jews of Jesus generation didn t care that He was crucified. They simply assumed He deserved it. It was unimportant to them. But, in the context of Isaiah to this point, it was for the Jewish people that Christ died. We know from later revelation that He died for all the people of the world but that isn t quite in view in this Scripture yet. It will be. 19
The Rabbis changed the meaning of Isaiah 53:8 to deny that it is about Jesus. They claim it is the Gentile nations speaking and it is not a believing remnant of Jews speaking. In that way, they can say it is the Gentiles who will one day realize the Jews have suffered without cause and have voluntarily subjected themselves to God s punishment that is due the Gentile nations. Isaiah 53:9 9 His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth. It was customary for the Roman authorities to leave crucified bodies on the cross to rot as a deterrent for other would be law breakers, but in this case, the Jews wanted the bodies down because it was a Sabbath. Pilate consented to their request. The intent was to bury Him with the wicked which is a possible reference to the two men crucified alongside Him. Possibly, the body would have been disposed of among the heaps of burning garbage in the Hinnom Valley. At any rate, it would have been a burial place of shame and disgrace. But Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for His body and Nicodemus assisted Joseph in burying the Lord in Joseph s tomb. Joseph was a prominent member of the council (Mark 16:43) and Nicodemus was a Pharisee, a teacher and a ruler of the Jews (John 3:1) both of whom had a lot to lose by being associated with the Lord. The end result is the Lord was buried in this rich man s tomb just as Isaiah said He would be. Jesus had done nothing to deserve this fate. He had committed no crime of violence and during His ministry He preached only truth. 20
Isaiah 53:10 10 But the LORD was pleased [ח פ צ] To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,[א שׁ ם] He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure [ח פ צ] of the LORD will prosper in His hand. It was God s desire that Jesus was put to death on that cross to take the stroke that was due the people of Israel. Pleased,,ח פ צ means to delight in, to have pleasure, or to be pleased. It refers to the direction of a person s heart or passion. The word can refer to being favorably disposed to someone or not. There is a paradox in this verse because the word is used both ways. It s the Lord s desire to crush Him on the one hand, and then, afterwards, to take pleasure in exalting Him. After the Lord crushes with pleasure this innocent one, the pleasure of the Lord prospers in his (the one who is crushed) hand. An act apparently unjust becomes in the end a delight for the one treated unjustly. [New International Dictionary of Old Testament Theology & Exegesis, s. v.,חפצ p. 2:232]. The guilt offering,,א שׁ ם is an offering presented to the Lord as the means for absolution for the person guilty of the offense against God or against another person. Leviticus 5:5 6 5 So it shall be when he becomes guilty in one of these, that he shall confess that in which he has sinned. 6 He shall also bring his guilt offering to the LORD for his sin which he has committed, a female from the flock, a lamb or a goat as a sin offering. So the priest shall make atonement on his behalf for his sin. Jesus became the guilt offering for every individual person who has ever lived. All have sinned and all have offended the righteous, holy God and there- 21
fore compensation must be made for the offense. But Christ Jesus was not the guilty party; mankind is the guilty party. By offering Himself as the guilt offering, He became the appropriate sacrifice to provide for the forgiveness of mankind s sin. He will see His offspring refers to the people who will be redeemed by His sacrifice and He can t see His offspring if He isn t resurrected. He will prolong His days is the promise of resurrection for the Lord after He gives up His life as the guilt offering. God s purpose is accomplished in the death of the Servant. Isaiah 53:11 11 As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied;,[ר ב] the many [צ ד ק] By His knowledge the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify As He will bear their iniquities. The Lord will look upon the work He accomplished and despite the suffering this life afforded Him, both physical and spiritual as He bore the sins of the world, He will know how much His sacrifice accomplished in working out the plan of God for Israel, for the church, for history, and for mankind. He will see multitudes come to faith, He will see Israel restored, He will see His church established and the body and bride of Christ built, and He will assume the throne of His father David and rule the earth as its King for 1,000 years. All of these things and much more will flow from the work He did on that cross nearly two thousand years ago. The Righteous One, My Servant, identifies the Servant as the preeminent and unique One. He stands alone in a class of His own; there is none like Him. 22
There has never been one like Him and there will never be another one like Him. He alone is righteous and the many will be justified and made righteous not because of any righteousness that is inherently mankind s by nature, but because He is righteous and His righteousness can become theirs through faith in Him. At this point, the Jewish remnant recognizes that justification will not only be for the Jews but it will be for all people, the many, Jew and Gentile alike. Justify,,צ ד ק means to be righteous, innocent, or vindicated; it is to be in a state in accordance with a standard. The standard here is the same standard God has always set for justification salvation and that is by His grace alone through faith alone. The faith now required is to believe in the person and work of Christ Jesus and that is exactly what this remnant of Jews will do by the time of the Second Coming of Christ. The justification He will provide is based on the fact that He has borne the iniquities of every person and His death on the cross was the guilt offering that paid their sin debt to God. The only thing left to do is for a person, any person, to place their faith in Him for the work He did on their behalf on that cross. Isaiah 53:12 12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors. The interpretation of the first clause here is in dispute but the text seems to be saying He will be given many as His portion. This continues the doctrine that 23
all people can be justified and not just the Jews. He will sprinkle many nations (Is. 52:15) and the many will be justified (Is. 53:11). This verse also presents the truth that He bore the sins of many. Many refers to mankind; it doesn t just refer to the Jewish people and it isn t confined to just the so-called elect. It refers to all people. Then, all who come to faith belong to Him. Two other translations that probably have a more accurate reading of this first clause are: Assuredly, I will give him the many as his portion [Jewish Publication Society, Hebrew- English Tanakh]. So I will assign him a portion with the multitudes [NET Bible] The point is the Servant will share the spoils of victory with the many who are saved. The many, or the multitudes, will share in the blessings, both now and in the Kingdom, that the Servant won through Yahweh s victory and the Servant s suffering. Because Jesus paid the sin debt of the world, He is worthy to receive all the Father bestows on Him. Because He was thought to be a sinner and bore the sin of the many, He is exalted and He will share all that means with those are in Him. Having paid the debt, He lives now to intercede for sinners. 24