Isa 53:1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? Isa 53:2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. Isa 53:3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was dispised, and we held him in low esteem.
Isa 53:4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
Isa 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
Isa 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
Isa 53:8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.
Isa 53:9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Isa 53:10 Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
Isa 53:11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
Isa 53:12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong, because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
1 The prophet, complaining of incredulity, excuses the scandal of the cross, 4 by the benefit of his passion, 10 and the good success thereof.
Isa 53:1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
Who has believed?
Modern Jewish expositors deny that the graphic picture of the suffering “servant” (see on ch. 52:13) set forth in this chapter is in any sense a prediction, or that it applies to the Messiah. Modern Christian commentators generally tend to agree with this position. The tendency of both is to apply Isa. 53 to the sufferings of the Jews at the hands of their enemies, or to the pathetic experience of an individual Jew of Isaiah’s own time.
Some have suggested that the prophet here describes his own experience. Such NT passages as Matt. 8:17 and John 12:38 clearly apply Isa. 53 to Christ.
Isa 53:1 Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
The arm. The instrument by which a man accomplishes his purposes. Here God’s “arm,” or power, is revealed at work for the salvation of men.
Isa 53:2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He. That is, the “servant” introduced in ch. 52:13, Messiah (see on ch. 41:8).
Before him. Probably meaning “before God,” in the sense of being submissive to His will, and subject to His care (see on Luke 2:49).
A tender shoot. Christ grew to manhood—physically, mentally, and spiritually—in harmony with the natural laws of human development (see on Luke 2:52). As a plant draws nourishment from the soil, so He was to draw on the wisdom and strength of God. The figure of a “tender ” seems to be an allusion to the “Branch” of Isa. 11:1.
Dry ground. A plant growing in dry ground appears stunted and unattractive. The Jewish leaders found the character of Jesus unappealing.
A root. Heb. shoresh. Though the word is used in its literal sense, it appears much more often in the OT in a figurative sense. The figure is based on the fact that in many instances a plant or tree may be cut down to the root, but that if the root remains the plant will grow up again. Here the word for “root” is equivalent to “tender plant.”
Nothing in His appearance. That is, nothing to attract the attention. Men were not to be attracted to Christ by a display of supernatural glory, but by the beauty of a righteous life (see DA 23, 27, 43). He walked among men as a man—a perfect Man.
Isa 53:3 He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
Despised and rejected. Throughout His life Christ knew what it was to be hated, reviled, and rejected.
A man of suffering. In taking upon Himself the form of a man, Christ became sensitive to all the pain, sorrow, and disappointment known to man. Through the humanity of Jesus, divinity experienced all to which mortal men have fallen heir. All the ill treatment and malice that wicked men and evil angels could bring against Him were His constant lot, and reached a climax in His trial and crucifixion.
Hide their faces. Instead of sympathizing with Christ in His affliction, men turned from Him with bitterness and contempt. They took no pity on Him, but reproached Him for His unhappy lot. See Matt. 26:29–31; 27:39–44. Even His disciples forsook Him and fled (Matt. 26:56).
Isa 53:4 Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.
Verses 4–6 emphasize the vicarious nature of Christ’s sufferings and death. The fact that it was for us, and not for Himself, that He suffered and died is reiterated nine times in these verses, and again in vs. 8, 11. He suffered in our stead. The pain, humiliation, and abuse that we deserve, He took upon Himself (see DA 25).
Punished of God.
The enemy made it appear that the sufferings of Jesus were punishment inflicted upon Him by a vengeful God because He was a sinner (see DA 471). If that were true, He could not be the world’s Redeemer.
Isa 53:5 But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
The punishment. That is, the pushment necessary to make us at peace with God (see Rom. 5:1).
Isa 53:6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Like sheep. This seems to have been a proverbial expression (Ps. 119:176; cf. Zech. 10:2; Matt. 18:11, 12). For comment on the rescue of the “lost sheep,” see on Luke 15:1–7, and on relations between the Shepherd and His “sheep,” see on John 10:1–18.
Isa 53:7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth.
Did not open his mouth. That is, in protest or complaint or in self-defense. Silence was evidence of complete and unquestioning submission (see Matt. 26:39–44). What Messiah did, He did voluntarily and cheerfully, in order that doomed sinners might be saved. For the fulfillment of this prophecy see Matt. 26:63; 27:12, 14.
Isa 53:8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away. Yet who of his generation protested? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was taken. That is, by death, meaning, “He died.”
Messiah was not given a fair hearing, despite the pretence of correct judicial procedure. The verdict was biased.
This section of Isaiah is poetic in form. Accordingly, the second clause of the first poetic parallelism of v. 8 is normally related in meaning to the first clause. An entirely valid interpretation of the Hebrew rendered “who of his generation protested?” and one also in harmony with the poetic content, would be, “for the transgression of my people he was punished?” that is, “with what befell Him.”
The first clause clearly refers to the trial and condemnation of Jesus, and the second, thus translated, to the fact that no one took His part or stood to defend Him. “He bore it all alone.”
For the transgression. For the vicarious nature of Christ’s sufferings and death see on vs. 4–6.
Isa 53:9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death, though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
The righteous Servant (see on ch. 52:13) was given the burial of a sinner, not of a saint. Having given up His life for transgressors, He was placed with them in death. Christ suffered the fate of a sinner though He had done nothing to deserve that fate.
Isa 53:10 The LORD says, “It was my plan to crush him and cause him to suffer. I made his life a guilt offering to pay for sin. But he will see all of his children after him. In fact, he will continue to live. My plan will be brought about through him.
Lord was not delighted that His Servant (see on ch. 52:13), Messiah, should suffer, be crushed. but rather, in view of the eternal welfare of men and the security of the universe, it was best for Him to suffer. “It pleased the Lord” in the sense that “it was the will of the Lord.” Only thus could the plan of salvation succeed. The sufferings of Christ were part of the eternal plan (Acts 2:23; 3:18).
His life substituted for our lives (see on Isa. 53:4; see DA 25).
As a result of sin, man had lost his innocence, his capacity to love and obey God, his home, his dominion over the earth, and even his life. Christ came to restore all things permanently, not only in this earth but throughout the universe.
A guilt offering to pay for sin.
Heb. ’asham, usually translated “trespass offering” (see Lev. 5:6). This offering was presented when restitution was required, either to man or to God. The death of God’s Servant provided an acceptable and effective atonement for sin which was responsible for the loss. This sacrifice was essential to man’s redemption and restoration (John 1:29; 17:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Peter 2:24).
His children. That is, “his offspring,” or “his descendants”—those willing to receive Him, to “believe on his name” (John 1:12), and to “be born again” (John 3:3). He “endured the cross” in view of this “joy that was set before him” (Heb. 12:2). That Christ would “see” His seed clearly implies His resurrection from the dead.
Isa 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You 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.
Prolong his days. Here the resurrection is even more clearly affirmed (see Heb. 7:16, 25; Rev. 1:18).
The pleasure of the Lord. That is, “the will of the Lord” (cf. “it pleased the Lord”). Christ took delight in performing the will of His Father (Matt. 26:39, 42; John 4:34; 5:30; 6:38), and through Him God’s will would once more prevail among men (Matt. 6:10; 7:21; John 17:6). Messiah’s mission would be successful.
Isa 53:11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.
The travail. That is, the “labour,” meaning the results of His labours. The LXX and the two Dead Sea Isaiah scrolls here contain the additional word “light,” so that the first clause reads, “From the travail of his soul he shall see light.”
His sacrifice would not be in vain. Because of His death many would live; because of His sufferings many would find peace and joy eternal (see DA 25; cf. Heb. 12:2). The result would fully justify the sacrifice necessary to achieve it.
My righteous servant.
The Father here speaks of His Son, the Messiah (see on chs. 41:8; 52:13).
He shall bear their iniquities. This is a restatement of the vicarious nature of Messiah’s sacrifice stressed in vs. 4–6, 8, 10.
Isa 53:12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He 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. (Hebrew Paralelism)
God will reward His triumphant Servant with a place of high honor before all the universe.
The spoil. All that had been lost because of sin (see on v. 10) would be restored. Christ became “heir of all things,” and shares His inheritance with those He has rescued from the hand of the enemy (Heb. 1:2; Rom. 8:17; Col. 1:12; etc.).
They share in His triumph, not as vassals or slaves, but as men and women redeemed by His blood and destined to reign with Him forever (2 Tim. 2:12; Rev. 5:10; 22:5). He will receive a “name which is above every name,” one before which “every knee should bow” (Phil. 2:9, 10).
Made intercession for the transgressors.
Here the intercessory ministry of Christ is clearly foretold (Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25; 9:24; 1 John 2:1).