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308. The Image of the Suffering Servant

Isaiah 52:13-53:12, 1 Peter 2:19-25
Key Verse: "He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; by His wounds you have been healed."
1 Peter 2:24

As I read testimonies of Jews who have come to accept and believe in Yeshua, (Jesus), as Messiah, this passage of scripture, Isaiah 53, is credited, by them, more often than any other as the most convincing portion of Old Testament scripture that Jesus is The Christ, the anointed One, who was destined to suffer to enable the forgiveness of sin. There is rabbinic tradition that tries to explain Isaiah 53 as referring to the suffering of Israel, collectively, as a nation. However, when one is faced with the clear descriptions of the Suffering Servant in this text and then compares that description with what actually took place at the cross, the conclusion is hard to deny.

There is debate over when, exactly, this passage of scripture from Isaiah was written. More conservative scholars, who believe that Isaiah authored the entire book, would place this passage of scripture more than seven hundred years before Christ. More liberal scholars, who believe that the book of Isaiah actually had more than one author, will put this portion of Isaiah later, closer to the exile. Whether it was seven hundred or six hundred years ago is not as important as the fact that either way, it was written more than half a millennia before Jesus walked the earth and it is a prophecy of the Suffering Servant as Messiah for Israel and the world. This passage, more than any, may explain Jesus' frustration with the Jewish leadership, because they knew this passage well, yet, as it states what they would do, "He was despised and rejected," by them. (Isaiah 53:3)

On the cross, He was dying for us, yet the crowd mocked Him as cursed by God. (Is. 53:4) "His appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and His form marred beyond any human likeness." (Is. 52:14) From the beatings and the flogging, scholars believe that Jesus face had been reduced to a bloody, swollen mass, making Him unrecognizable. Before Pilate He was silent, much to Pilate's frustration. He was despised and rejected by us, yet we esteemed Him not. (Is 53:3) He took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we justified our actions against Him by claiming that He was "stricken by God, smitten by Him and afflicted." (Is 53:4) (Is. 53:7) As we shall see, He was buried with the wicked and the rich." (Is. 53:9) "Though He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth."

Yet, as with Psalm 22, Isaiah does not leave us without hope. It explains, "Yet it was the Lord's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though the Lord makes His life a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, (the church), and prolong His days, and the Will of the Lord will prosper in His hand." (Is. 53:10) Again, though it looked bleak, He is in control. He wins in the end. He is the conqueror over death and sin. "After the suffering of His soul, 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." (Is. 53:11) That was the point. That's why He came to exchange His peace for our sin.

Hymn: Come To Calvary's Holy Mountain"

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