Welcome to Week Eight of our series from the book of Isaiah, the fourth of the servant songs, and Isaiah chapter 53. This is one of the most remarkable chapters in the Old Testament. It contains a series of prophecies about the Messiah so specifically fulfilled in the life and death of Jesus that they can’t be referring to anyone else.
My wife Tracy once worked in a bookstore that catered to a Jewish community in West Broward and recalls picking up a book written by Jewish scholars that covered Isaiah chapter 53. Their explanation of all these prophecies was the same: they’re talking about David. We will go through five different examples this week and you can make up your own mind.
The complete passage this week is Isaiah 52:13–53:12 (Bible scholars agree that the last three verses in chapter 52 belong with chapter 53). We strongly encourage you to read the entire passage at least once, if not every day, as we will be highlighting specific prophecies with just a verse or two in each of our five days.
Before we move on, let me call your attention to one verse in this passage that is not a prophecy of the Messiah but rather it is a prophecy concerning us, Isaiah 53:6:
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
Truer words have never been spoken.
Thank you once again to my wife Tracy, who shares her wisdom in the prayer guides.
Index to Days 2 through 5
Day 1
Ordinary
Observe
The prophecy of Isaiah 52:14 saying the servant’s appearance was “…so marred, beyond human semblance…” refers to his appearance during his trial and execution. Today we consider the prophecy in Isaiah 53:2 and what that might tell us about the appearance of Jesus when he lived as one of us.
Isaiah 53:2
John 1:10-11
10 He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. 11 He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him.
John 18:4-8
4 Then Jesus, knowing all that would happen to him, came forward and said to them, “Whom do you seek?” 5 They answered him, “Jesus of Nazareth.” Jesus said to them, “I am he.” Judas, who betrayed him, was standing with them. 6 When Jesus said to them, “I am he,” they drew back and fell to the ground. 7 So he asked them again, “Whom do you seek?” And they said, “Jesus of Nazareth.” 8 Jesus answered, “I told you that I am he. So, if you seek me, let these men go.”
This verse has been the centerpiece of many a sermon or Bible study, and the usual explanation is that Jesus was an ordinary looking man. There was nothing about him that identified him as the High King of Heaven. This verse is probably not so much a commentary on his physical appearance (prophesying about the Davidic king, Psalm 45:2 says “You are the most handsome of the sons of men”). Instead, this verse more likely proclaims the humility of the servant. He had every right to come with great fanfare and be flanked by a legion of angels from heaven, but he chose to arrive as an infant—helpless and in need of his mother, just as we all are. Jesus knows us so well because he chose to live as one of us, without embellishment or advantage. What a comfort to have a Savior who understands us!
Deeper dig: The phrase “like a root out of dry ground” may point to the Davidic line at the time of Christ, which had dwindled. His supposed father, a carpenter, and his mother, a poor virgin from Nazareth, were both of the lineage and house of David, and neither were of high stature.
- Name someone with whom you are completely honest and transparent about yourself?
- What is it about them that makes this possible?
- If your answer to #1 wasn’t Jesus, why do you think it’s easier to be honest and transparent with someone else rather than him?
Dear Lord, What incredible humility, that you would come, born as an infant, having the form of an ordinary human! Thank you, Lord, for meeting me here, for becoming like me so I would never feel alone. And your birth, life, death and resurrection was not an after-thought; it was not a back-up plan. You established it hundreds of years in advance, even before the foundation of the earth, to reclaim a relationship with me. What a wonder. Thank you, Lord.
Day 2
Rejected
Observe
God’s servant will suffer the rejection of men. His life is characterized by sorrow and grief; people turn their backs on him even as he devotes himself to them.
Isaiah 53:3
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Matthew 26:37-38
37 And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. 38 Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.”
Luke 19:41-44
Jesus Weeps over Jerusalem
41 And when he drew near and saw the city, he wept over it, 42 saying, “Would that you, even you, had known on this day the things that make for peace! But now they are hidden from your eyes. 43 For the days will come upon you, when your enemies will set up a barricade around you and surround you and hem you in on every side 44 and tear you down to the ground, you and your children within you. And they will not leave one stone upon another in you, because you did not know the time of your visitation.”
Let’s give some thought to the sort of life Jesus led on earth. At its start, he was born in a stable instead of a warm, comfortable home. While only a toddler, the king sought to put him to death and he fled to Egypt with his family, becoming a first century political refugee. He worked as a carpenter, a hard trade of manual labor. His public ministry began with a baptism by John, immediately after which he went without food forty days before being tempted by his great adversary. Although many crowds embraced his message, Jewish religious leaders did not, leading to his arrest and execution. His closest friends and followers doubted him until after they’d seen him rise from the dead. Jesus had sorrows aplenty and knew grief intimately. All on our behalf.
- We just considered some ways in which Jesus was despised and rejected in the first century, in what ways is he despised and rejected by people today?
- Do his followers contribute to this or mitigate it? Why?
Dear Jesus, Although I will never understand the pain of rejection as you endured, I have experienced rejection. I have known sorrow. And you have walked beside me in that suffering. You understand suffering, and I am not alone. I know, Lord, that you will be with me throughout my life, in joy and in sorrow. What mercy you show me in this. Thank you for this amazing grace. Amen.
Day 3
Heroes
Observe
More than any other, this prophecy makes it plain that the suffering servant died for our sins, not his own.
Isaiah 53:4-5
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
Matthew 8:17
17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases.”
1 Peter 2:24
24 He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.
Romans 4:25
25 who was delivered up for our trespasses and raised for our justification.
1 Corinthians 15:3
3 For I delivered to you as of first importance what I also received: that Christ died for our sins in accordance with the Scriptures,
The substitutionary death of Christ is one side of the coin at the center of the gospel (the other being his resurrection from the dead). If we cannot perceive that Jesus actually suffered and died for our actual sins, we will not enter heaven when we die. This is not abstract, it isn’t theoretical, and it’s not some stale point of theology. Each and every sin you have committed in the past or will commit in the future is part of his suffering. Consider the language in this verse: stricken, smitten, afflicted, pierced, crushed, chastised, and wounded. In our allegedly enlightened era, we debate this idea of being sorry for our sins. Sorry to whom, and for what? Friends, this man, a just and righteous man, was cruelly beaten within an inch of his life, hammered to a wooden cross with huge metal spikes and left to hang there until he suffocated, and did that for me and for you. He didn’t do it gladly, but he did do it willingly. Modern philosophers call Christianity a violent faith and God a child abuser for doing this to his own Son. Nothing could be further from the truth. His chastisement brought us peace, his wounds heal us from the sickness of sin.
- Every first responder who runs into danger to save someone else and every soldier who gives their life for the freedom of others is hailed as a hero, and rightly so. In terms of heroic acts, how should the death of Jesus be regarded?
- Those who have been saved by a heroic first responder often speak of not wasting the second chance at life they’ve been given. What might change about your life if you believed you’d been given a second chance by another’s heroic act?
Heavenly Father, This is the pivot point of all things, Lord. Don’t let me turn away. Your son, perfect and holy, took on human form and entered this corrupt world to pay the price of my sin. He was stricken, wounded and crushed to save me. Keep this truth ever before me Lord. Strengthen me to speak of my salvation to those in my life who need to know. Thank you, dear savior.
Day 4
Silent
Observe
The servant does not defend himself as he suffers, nor does he complain. He silently accepts judgment.
Isaiah 53:7
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
Matthew 26:63-64
63 But Jesus remained silent. And the high priest said to him, “I adjure you by the living God, tell us if you are the Christ, the Son of God.” 64 Jesus said to him, “You have said so. But I tell you, from now on you will see the Son of Man seated at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”
Matthew 27:12-14
12 But when he was accused by the chief priests and elders, he gave no answer. 13 Then Pilate said to him, “Do you not hear how many things they testify against you?” 14 But he gave him no answer, not even to a single charge, so that the governor was greatly amazed.
1 Peter 2:23
23 When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.
Acts 8:30-35
30 So Philip ran to him and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet and asked, “Do you understand what you are reading?” 31 And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he invited Philip to come up and sit with him. 32 Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this:
“Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter
and like a lamb before its shearer is silent,
so he opens not his mouth.
33 In his humiliation justice was denied him.
Who can describe his generation?
For his life is taken away from the earth.”
34 And the eunuch said to Philip, “About whom, I ask you, does the prophet say this, about himself or about someone else?” 35 Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus.
Matthew’s Gospel records Jesus remaining silent before Caiaphas the high priest and Pontius Pilate the Roman governor. Jesus did not answer any of the charges made against him. The only time Jesus answered was when Caiaphas asked him directly if he was the Christ, the Son of God. The answer Jesus gave to that question caused the high priest to tear at his robes and declare Jesus had uttered blasphemy. Why was Jesus silent? Although accused before the high priest and the Roman governor, Jesus knew those men were not his judge. The only judge whose verdict mattered was the one looking down from heaven. Too often we argue our case in the court of public opinion when God’s judgment is the only one that matters. Like a sheep that is shorn, Jesus allowed himself to be stripped of all that he had. Like a lamb that is slaughtered, Jesus willingly surrendered his life. Today, we are the sheep.
- We are not on trial for our lives for crimes we did not commit (at least I hope we’re not!), but can you think of circumstances when we modern day sheep should remain silent?
- Jesus did answer one of the questions he was asked by Caiaphas, so under what circumstances should we speak up?
Dear Lord, I confess that I often speak when I should listen, and I often remain quiet when I should speak. Your silence when approaching your crucifixion was unique; it precisely fulfilled this prophecy. I don’t want to neglect to proclaim the gospel. Nor do I want to be an angry voice, driving others away from your peace. Guide my voice Lord, to speak and to remain silent, according to your plan. Tune my heart to that guidance, and show me the way to live in peace. Amen.
Day 5
Graves
Observe
The servant will have a grave with the wicked and be buried with the rich. This seeming contradiction again points to Jesus.
Isaiah 53:9
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Matthew 27:57-60
Jesus Is Buried
57 When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. 58 He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. 59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud 60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away.
Luke 23:33
33 And when they came to the place that is called The Skull, there they crucified him, and the criminals, one on his right and one on his left.
1 Peter 2:22
22 He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.
1 John 3:5
5 You know that he appeared in order to take away sins, and in him there is no sin.
The wicked men who executed Jesus wanted to discredit him as well. This explains the method of execution (crucifixion, Jewish doctrine was that anyone hanging on a tree must be cursed by God), killed with criminals (the two thieves on crosses next to Jesus), and they intended to bury him with criminals (the phrase “made his grave” is more accurately rendered “assigned his grave”). That last part was thwarted when a wealthy believer named Joseph of Arimathea (a member of the Sanhedrin, in fact) allowed Jesus to be buried in a tomb he had constructed for himself. Tombs in those days were frequently reused, to have a new one cut in the rock for yourself would have been quite expensive. The seemingly paradoxical description of a grave with both the wicked and the rich cannot be realistically said to be speaking of David, but it was fulfilled exactly by Jesus.
- These prophecies of the life and death of the servant, who we believe is Jesus, were written more than 700 years before Jesus was born. Do you find it easy to believe they are referring to Jesus, or is there some doubt?
- What does it mean that this chapter of Isaiah is so frequently quoted by New Testament writers when speaking of Jesus?
Dear Lord, I know that my life here is fleeting and it will end in a grave. This is universally true, so this prophecy of your death and burial speaks to me, as to everyone. But the grave did not hold you, dear Jesus. It was not the final chapter of your story, and it is not the final chapter for me. Thank you, Lord, for the rest of your story of resurrection and redemption and hope. I hope in you, dear Lord! Thank you for not leaving me in the grave. Amen.