Isaiah 53 Man of sorrows

 

The LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all Isaiah 53

This is my final post in this Advent Series. And what a great chapter it is! Isaiah 53 is quoted three times in the New Testament. The entire chapter is speaking about the servant of the LORD, Messiah. It’s theme actually begins in chapter 52

52:13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.
14 As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men:
15 So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

my servant shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high – The Jews of old said: exalted above Abraham, extolled above Moses, very high – higher than the angels.*

his visage was so marred – this leads us to ch 53, The Suffering Servant

53:1  Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

King Messiah, a suffering servant of the LORD? Who has believed our report?

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.

"He hath no form, nor any beauty, that we should regard him; nor is his countenance such that we should desire him." (Septuagint, Symmachus)

He was not one of the beautiful people.

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.

Messiah. Despised, rejected, and esteemed not.

Man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief – sorrows and grief, these two words occur again in v 4. In Hebrew the words are even stronger: sorrows - pain, both physical and mental; sorrow; grief - sickness, disease. As the Tanakh (modern Jewish translation) puts it, “a man of suffering, familiar with disease.” More on this in v 4

He was despised and we esteemed him not – Jesus was and still is utterly despised by many.

4  Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

As full of grace as this verse is, the literal translation of griefs and sorrows is even more powerful.

"Surely our sicknesses he hath borne, And our pains -- he hath carried them." (Young's Literal Translation)

"Yet it was our sickness that he was bearing, Our suffering that he endured." (Tanakh)

"Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses." (Matthew 8:17)

Sickness, disease, infirmity, pain, sorrow, grief, all are the fruit of sin - they are not part of the original creation. I’m not saying each and every time I get sick it is because of a particular sin I’ve committed; but I am saying that all these things are because sin is in the world. This is all traceable to the fall, when Adam ate of the fruit of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil. Jesus suffered, bore our sicknesses and pains that we might be healed.

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.

He suffered for our sin: Wounded for us, bruised for us, chastised for us.

With his stripes we are healed – Hallelujah! Healed of sin; healed of sickness and disease; healed of death.

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.

This is why it was necessary for Christ to suffer – we have all gone astray, we have all sinned. Here is the essence of sin, turned every one to his own way.

The LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all – As Peter puts it, Who his own self bore our sins in his own body on the tree… by whose stripes ye were healed. (1 Pet 2:24)

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.

He was despised, rejected, and abused. Why? For the transgression of my people was he stricken. There is no salvation without the cross.

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.

Christ was bruised, he was made sick, he was an offering for sin.

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.

He shall see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied - What a verse! Bless the LORD, O my soul! The Father is satisfied. I can be right with God by believing in Jesus Christ, Who was delivered for our offences, and was raised again for our justification. (Rom 4:25)

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 bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great – Christ was raised him from the dead and exalted at the right hand of God because

He poured out his soul unto death, was numbered with the transgressors, bore the sin of many, made intercession for the transgressors – Yes, it was necessary for Christ to suffer, he willingly died on the cross, bearing our sin and shame, that our sins might be forgiven and we might be restored to God.

Therefore my righteous servant shall justify many (v 11) – Oh, the suffering servant of the LORD has become His righteous servant, the one who makes us right with God, because he bore our iniquities! Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God. (1Pet 3:18)

You see how it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and rise from the dead? “And the Christ is this Jesus whom I am proclaiming to you.” (Acts 17:2)

As we celebrate Christmas, let's remember that the Son of God became a man so that he could suffer for us, die on the cross for us, shed his blood that we might be redeemed, forgiven, restored to God.

Have you believed in Jesus?

 

 

 

* Who art thou, O great Mountain? (Zech. iv. 7.) This refers to the King Messiah. And why does he call him ‘the great mountain?’ because he is greater than the patriarchs, as it is said, ‘My servant shall be high, and lifted up, and lofty exceedingly’–he will be higher than Abraham, who says, ‘I raise high my hands unto the Lord’ (Gen. xiv. 22); lifted up above Moses, to whom it is said, ‘Lift it up into they bosom’ (Num. xi. 12); loftier than the ministering angels of whom it is written, ‘Their wheels were lofty and terrible’ (Ez. i. 18). And out of whom does he come forth? Out of David. (Yalqut) you can read the article here