Isaiah 53:1-12
Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? 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 was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. 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. 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 her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people he was stricken. 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. 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 and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand. 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. 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.
It was common knowledge nearly 60 years ago that the pre-medicine curriculum at the University of Tennessee had a danger sign. This sign was the course of Physics and a very demanding professor. Surprisingly, her field was not one of physics but chemistry. The chemistry department had gifted her to Physics when she failed all of a class of students one quarter. The story was the she kept other universities thriving during the summer sessions with students who could not pass her course of Elementary Physics. If 150 students filled three sections in the fall, the number had been whittled down to 50 by spring and only one session was necessary. One of my classmates in medical School was her only student to ever garner three As in a year’s study. Could some of this be legend? Perhaps, but physics under this lady was a challenge and daunting task. She gave a test every class period. She smoked a cigarette during the test. When she completed the “smoke,” the papers were due. Some said the course became easier when King-sized cigarettes arrived.
A story previously circulated was the complaint of a premed student who asked why he needed to pass physics to be a physician. The professor responded that it made medicine safer. The student didn’t understand so the professor clarified the issue. His reply was, “It keeps the idiots out of medical school.”
The question before us for the past few weeks is “Why the necessity of a Suffering Servant?” Since we have knowledge of both the Old and New Testaments before us, we can better solve this problem than those who first pondered this issue hundreds of years before.
I’m not certain when I first discovered Isaiah 53 but I am fairly sure it was from personal reading. I don’t recall someone unfolding this topic from a pulpit nor have I ever been in a Bible Study that has tackled the Book of Isaiah. The Christology of this particular chapter is striking. It precedes the life of Jesus by several hundred years but shows striking details that are found in the Gospel accounts. So, it is clearly a marvelous work of prophecy with exacting detail. This is clearly an inspired work for only a God standing outside of time could provide us a miniature biography of His Son in such intricate detail. The initial three verses give us a personal description of Jesus that is in contrast to the paintings of Him over the centuries. We envision Jesus as tall and physically handsome but Isaiah makes no such mention. It is reasonable to expect him to look like a Middle Eastern Jew. His attractiveness would not be in His personal appearance but in His character. His drawing power would be in His teaching and His compassion. Despite His brilliance and His miraculous ability, He was not given accolades but was pierced (crucified) at the insistence of the leaders and common man of His people.
But in the midst of this rejection of this man, Isaiah gives us not a glimpse but a panoramic view of the mind of God. In the barbaric actions of evil men, the actual purposes of God are fulfilled. He was pierced for our transgressions (sins) and the iniquity of us all was placed upon Him. This is not chance or happenstance but a fulfillment of God’s will. The Suffering servant is crushed and wounded for the purpose of healing sinners. This suffering is vicarious. The Servant willingly is punished to completion in death, not because he is guilty but because we are. Not just me, you, or us but everyone. Verse 10 (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 and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.) confirms that He is a guilt offering for others and not Himself. Until He ascended that cross, He had been sinless. All of sin is punished on His person for the potential health of all. Verse 11a (after the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life) alerts us to the fact that His suffering is not merely physical but involves His soul as well. It is as if He had personally committed all of the sins for which HE is punished. He who knew no sin became sin. He who knew no guilt became guilty. The enormity of this concept is overpowering. But in the wrath and gloom of dealing with sin, the light of resurrection breaks forth. It is by this means that mankind can be made right with God.
Why must the Messiah die? He conquers mankind’s sin for those who desire to be free, not just in eternity but in this world as well.
There is no escaping the implications of this message. Why did ancient man have so much difficulty in seeing what is revealed? Before we rise to condemn those of Jesus’ day for not seeing the light of life, perhaps we should pause to evaluate the confusion of our day. We seem to have no clear idea when life begins. We seem to desire to redefine the family by distorting the idea of marriage. We have disregarded the Biblical prohibition concerning sexual intimacy outside of marriage. We are led by leaders who embrace laws and programs defined in laws they haven’t even read. Satan is alive and well up to this point.
