Isaiah 53

Images for Christ

Arm of the LORD

Young plant

Root out of dry ground

A Leper (‘grief’/’sickness’) “We thought Him to be a leper” [JEROME, Vulgate]

Lamb to the slaughter

Righteous One

My Servant

What He Was Not

Beautiful

Desired

Esteemed (except we esteemed him ‘stricken’)

Vocal

Violent

Deceitful

What He Did

Was despised

Grieved

Carried our griefs and sorrows

Was smitten and afflicted

Pierced for our transgressions

Crushed for our iniquities

Chastised for our peace

Wounded for our healing

Burdened with our iniquities

Led like a lamb to the slaughter

Taken away

Cut off from the land of the wicked

Stricken

Buried

Crushed

Put to grief

Makes his soul an offering for guilt

Will see his offspring… and be satisfied

Justify many

Bear iniquities

Poured out soul to death

Numbered with the transgressors

Distributes spoils of his victory, as a conqueror dividing the spoil after a victory (Ps 2:8; Lu 11:22).

Makes intercession

What Are We Like

Sheep — straying sheep

Wrongly esteeming (him)

High, Lifted up, Exalted (cf Isaiah 6; John 12)

The King lifted up… on an altar. You’ve never seen anything more divine that the LORD bleeding out as a torture victim.

HOW? The LORD is our Source — the Fountain of life. He is seen truly to be the Fountain when He pours Himself out (v12)

Imagine going to the temple, queueing up for the sacrifice. The LORD says “Get out”, then climbs down off the throne, is sacrificed, and as the blood pours down the altar, you go home, free, forgiven and filled.

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 53

He was not merely a sin offering (which would destroy the antithesis to “righteousness”), but “sin for us”; sin itself vicariously; the representative of the aggregate sin of all mankind; not sins in the plural, for the “sin” of the world is one (

Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible Chapter 53

opened not … mouth—

We think we know what we’re doing and that the Hero is the active agent.

In truth, we don’t know what we’re doing and the great Hero is passive

We think we see and we act.

But HE sees and He is acted upon FOR US.

Marvelous exchange. But NOT “He suffers over there, we succeed over here.”

Substitution BECAUSE Representation

Taking responsibility — being the true Israel.

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

2  For he grew up before him like a young plant,

and like a root out of dry ground;

he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire him.

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.

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.

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.

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.

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,

stricken for the transgression of my people?

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.

10  Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;

he has put him to grief;

when his soul makes an offering for guilt,

he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

11  Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

12  Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

because he poured out his soul to death

and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors.