The Coming Messiah - Isaiah 53

Though this series of blogs is primarily focused on the prophecies yet to be fulfilled as recorded by Isaiah, I cannot leave out the amazing prophecy of the coming Messiah, Jesus, the Son of God, found primarily in Isaiah 53. At the end of chapter 52 the prophet directs our attention to one who is identified by God as “My servant.” God declares that though this servant will be highly exalted, He will first suffer to the point that He will be disfigured beyond recognition (v14).

In chapter 53 we are told that this servant will “grow up…as a tender plant,” in other words, He will come to earth as a child and grow into manhood. In fact, He won’t be an especially attractive man (v2). He will be “despised and rejected of men,” and will experience sorrow and grief as a result.

Rather than reinventing the wheel, I am going to use some excerpts from my journal on this chapter.

Is. 53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

“borne” = lift, suffer, carry (away), forgive, pardon, wear -- Webster: Carried; conveyed; supported; defrayed..........“defray” = 1. To pay or discharge; to serve in payment of; to provide for, as a charge, debt, expenses, costs, etc. 2. To avert or appease, as by paying off; to satisfy; as, to defray wrath.

“griefs” = anxiety, disease, sickness, weakness

I thought the definitions from the Hebrew and Webster were especially helpful. The word borne not only included the idea of carrying and suffering, but the idea of forgiveness and pardon. The word defray was particularly specific. Jesus averted God’s wrath from us by paying our sin debt and satisfying God’s justice. As I continued to think on this verse, I realized that our griefs, anxieties, diseases, sicknesses, weaknesses and sorrows are a result of sin. This thought immediately led me to a verse in 1Peter.

1Pet. 2:24 Who his own self bare our sins in his own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

By baring our sins in His body on the cross, He was also baring our griefs and sorrows. The main point being—Christ died in my stead. He sacrificed Himself to give me an abundant life.

Although I am making personal application (which I can’t help but), I am reminded that Isaiah is speaking to the Jewish people specifically. The Jewish leaders and all those that supported them in their determination to crucify the Lord felt justified in their actions. They assumed that He was getting His just punishment and judgment from God.

“esteem” = “to plait or interpenetrate, i.e. (literally) to weave or (gen.) to fabricate; figuratively, to plot or contrive (usually in a malicious sense); hence (from the mental effort) to think…”

This certainly wasn’t what I expected when looking up the Hebrew for esteem. This seems to paint a very descriptive word picture of what was going on in the minds of the Pharisees in particular as they sought to get Jesus killed. They were weaving a fabricated story with malicious intent to bring about the death of an innocent man. In doing so they positioned themselves as defending God by judging the One they considered a blasphemer.

Is. 53:5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

The wounding, bruising and stripes are all physical inflictions upon the body of Christ before He ever got to the cross. The Hebrew for bruised was very graphic—to beat to pieces, break in pieces, crush. Transgressions are acts of willful rebellion and disobedience to God; iniquities are a reference to the moral evil and wickedness that are a result of our sin nature.

Chastisement speaks of reproof, instruction, correction, and discipline; Webster goes on to add punishment through the inflicting of pain. I thought the second definition from Webster was very applicable—“To reduce to order or obedience; to correct or purify; to free from faults or excesses.” Christ was punished to bring us to a position of obedience and purity—to make us righteous, free from faults. Because of His sacrifice, we can have peace (safety, happiness, health and prosperity). Because of His sacrifice, we are healed (spiritually). This again brings to mind the verse from 1Peter referenced above.