Isaiah chapter 53
The Servant of the LORD.
NOTE
This chapter includes one of the “Songs of the Suffering Servant” from Isaiah:
Isaiah 42:1-17. Servant Song #1. The Servant will bring justice to the earth.
Isaiah 49:1-7. The LORD’s Servant will will evangelize the Gentiles. The Servant’s pre-natal calling to lead both Israel and the nations.
Isaiah 50:4-6. The life of the Suffering Servant. The Servant is both a teacher and a learner who follows God’s path.
Isaiah 53:1-12. The Servant of the LORD. The suffering servant bears the punishments and afflictions of others.
Isaiah 61:1-3. Some scholars regard this as a fifth servant song, although the word “servant” is not mentioned
The Servant Songs were first identified by Bernhard Duhm in his 1892 commentary on Isaiah.
THE SERVANT OF THE LORD
VERSE 1. Who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD’s arm been revealed?
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Book of Isaiah and from the entire Bible.
Who has believed our message? The prophets lament that very few people accept their message. Read more »
VERSE 2. For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no good looks or majesty. When we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
NIV translation. He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Book of Isaiah and from the entire Bible.
BBE translation. For his growth was like that of a delicate plant before him, and like a root out of a dry place: he had no grace of form, to give us pleasure;
he had no grace of form. Jesus Christ was not beautiful or handsome or majestic-looking.
Of course, artists ignore this verse. They portray him as handsome.
When we see him. Most artists portray Jesus Christ as a caucasian with blond hair and blue eyes.
However, he was actually a Jewish man born in the Middle East.
VERSE 3. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering and acquainted with disease. He was despised as one from whom men hide their face; and we didn’t respect him.
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despised and rejected. Because he suffered, he was regarded as a sinner. Therefore he was despised and rejected.
a man of suffering. Most translations say he was “a man of sorrows.”
The life of Jesus Christ was not happy-happy. He was despised and rejected. He was familiar with sorrow and grief. He was rejected.
Hebrews 5:8. though he was a Son, yet learned obedience by the things which he suffered.
VERSE 4. Surely he has borne our sickness and carried our suffering; yet we considered him plagued, struck by God, and afflicted.
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Book of Isaiah and from the entire Bible.
NLT translation. Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!
BBE translation. But it was our pain he took, and our diseases were put on him: while to us he seemed as one diseased, on whom God’s punishment had come.
he has borne our sickness. He carried our pain.
The real weight of the cross was the sins of all humanity: of every person who ever has lived in the past, of all people who are alive right now, and of all people who will ever live.
carried our suffering. If you are free from sin, does Jesus deliver you from illness? And if you are not freed from your illness, are you still in sin?
Matthew 8:17. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, “He took our infirmities, and bore our diseases.”
VERSE 5. But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. The punishment that brought our peace was on him; and by his wounds we are healed.
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NLT translation. But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
he was pierced for our transgressions. A fancy name for this idea concept is “substitutionary atonement.”
There are many theories of the atonement. The theory of Substitutionary Atonement is just one of the theories.
It goes like this:
The Lord Jesus Christ suffered and died as a substitute for those who deserved it. The atonement he won is applied to us.
Here are 19 phrases in this chapter that support the theory of Substitutionary Atonement:
- despised and rejected by men
- despised as one from whom men hide their face
- we didn’t respect him
- he was pierced for our transgressions
- He was crushed for our iniquities
- The punishment that brought our peace was on him
- by his wounds we are healed
- the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all
- He was oppressed
- taken away by oppression and judgment
- it pleased the LORD to bruise him
- He has caused him to suffer
- the suffering of his soul
- My righteous servant will justify many by the knowledge of himself
- he will bear their iniquities
- he poured out his soul to death
- was counted with the transgressors
- he bore the sins of many
- made intercession for the transgressors
by his wounds we are healed. The Bible seems to promise healing of our illnesses. We should expect miraculous healing. It should be commonplace. But it is not. Why? Read more »
VERSE 6. All we like sheep have gone astray. Everyone has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
NIV translation. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Book of Isaiah and from the entire Bible.
the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. To sin is to violate God’s will for us. It harms our relationship with God. We all have missed the mark and sinned. Here are the verses we’ve found »
VERSE 7. He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he didn’t open his mouth. As a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he didn’t open his mouth.
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Book of Isaiah and from the entire Bible.
The Lord Jesus Christ was led to the cross like a lamb to the slaughter. Read more »
VERSE 8. He was taken away by oppression and judgment. As for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living and stricken for the disobedience of my people?
This verse is fantastic! Would you consider memorizing it? More great verses to memorize from the Book of Isaiah and from the entire Bible.
BBE translation. They took away from him help and right, and who gave a thought to his fate? for he was cut off from the land of the living: he came to his death for the sin of my people.
who gave a thought to his fate? Actually, “he died without descendants.”
Jesus Christ did not have children.
However, many people imagine he did. In our day there is a popular novel by Dan Brown. It says Jesus Christ had children with Mary of Magdala.
Acts 8:33. In his humiliation, his judgment was taken away. Who will declare His generation? For his life is taken from the earth.”
VERSE 9. They made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
with a rich man in his death. The body of Jesus was placed in a donated tomb. It had been carved into a rock. Essentially it was a cave. Some other people in the Bible were buried like that. Read more »
1 Peter 2:22. who didn’t sin, “neither was deceit found in his mouth.”
VERSE 10. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him. He has caused him to suffer. When you make his soul an offering for sin, he will see his offspring. He will prolong his days and the LORD’s pleasure will prosper in his hand.
NLT translation. But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush him and cause him grief. Yet when his life is made an offering for sin, he will have many descendants. He will enjoy a long life, and the LORD’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
the LORD … caused him to suffer. God the Father planned and carried out extensive abuse on his Son. Is God the Father a child-abuser?
he will see his offspring. Jesus Christ did not have children, not with Mary of Magdala or anyone else.
However, he has countless billions of “children.” They are his billions of spiritual believers in every land.
He will enjoy a long life. The Lord Jesus Christ did not have a long life.
VERSE 11. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light and be satisfied. My righteous servant will justify many by the knowledge of himself; and he will bear their iniquities.
NLT translation. When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish, he will be satisfied. And because of his experience, my righteous servant will make it possible for many to be counted righteous, for he will bear all their sins.
He will bear all their sins. This is another example of the idea of substitutionary atonement.
Jesus Christ took upon himself our sins, and then gave the benefits to us.
VERSE 12. Therefore I will give him a portion with the great. He will divide the plunder with the strong; because he poured out his soul to death and was counted with the transgressors; yet he bore the sins of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
he bore the sins of many. Jesus Christ bore the sins of “many.” But what does the word “many” mean? Here are the two main opinions:
Many means All
In the Greek language of the New Testament, the word “many” is the opposite of “one.”
This view is consistent with the overwhelming majority of other Bible verses.
Many means Some
In the Latin language of the Roman church, the word “many” does not mean “all.” It means “some.”
This view says Jesus Christ died for “some” people, but not “all” people. It is based on the assumption that the Bible was written in Latin, which it was not.
This idea has two implications, neither of which are consistent with a Christian worldview:
- The suffering and death of Jesus Christ was impotent. It cannot save all people.
- Some people cannot be redeemed.
Mark 15:28. The Scripture was fulfilled, which says, “He was counted with transgressors.”
Luke 22:37. For I tell you that this which is written must still be fulfilled in me: ‘He was counted with transgressors.’ For that which concerns me has an end.”
ISAIAH
CHAPTERS: 01, 02, 03, 04, 05, 06, 07, 08, 09, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38, 39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48, 49, 50, 51, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59, 60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65, 66
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