The following is borrowed from, “JSM Ministries Commentary, on the book of Isaiah, Chapter 53.”
To even attempt Commentary on this Chapter, because of its sublime Text and yet awful descriptions, leaves one speechless! It is doubtful that any Text, anywhere in the Bible, can compare with this which the Holy Spirit gave to the Prophet Isaiah concerning the Sufferings and the Exaltation of Christ.
Polycarp, one of the ancient divines, calls this Chapter “ The golden passional of the Old Testament Evangelists.” Delitzsch, another theologian, said, “It is the most central, the deepest, and the loftiest thing that the Old Testament Prophecy, outstripping itself, has ever achieved.”
Another said, “Here we seem to enter the Holy of Holies of Old Testament Prophecy___that sacred chamber wherein are pictured and foretold the Sufferings of Christ and the Glory which would follow.”
That it applies to Christ is so obvious that to any honest heart any other argument is unthinkable.
JESUS
Until the First Advent of Christ, the Jews interpreted this Prophecy in connection with the Messiah. Only with the Advent of Christ did they change their interpretation.
In fact, their interpretations are many and varied; it would not be worth the time to examine and refute their arguments here.
We must be content to repeat what we have briefly alluded to above, namely that the account of “The Servant of the LORD in this Prophecy has so strong an individuality and such marked personal features that it cannot possibly be a mere personified collective___whether Israel, or faithful Israel, or ideal Israel____or the collective body of the Prophets, and that it goes infinitely beyond anything of which a mere man was ever capable, so that it can only refer to the Unique Man___the God-Man, the Lord Jesus Christ.
THE NEW TESTAMENT
Moreover, this Prophecy is applied to Christ in the following New Testament Scriptures (Mat. 8:17; Mk. 15:28;Lk. 22:37;Jn. 12:37-38; Acts 8:32-33; Rom. 10:16; 1Peter 2:24-25).
Isaiah was given this Prophecy by the Holy Spirit not too much short of 800 Years before Christ. As well, this description of the events is so minute, so detailed, so accurate, and so particular that what is here given could not possibly be guesswork or a fabrication, but rather the fulfillment of a prearranged Divine Plan.
As well, considering that personal pronouns are used throughout the Prophecy, this means it must refer to an individual, not to a nation, or to a group, or to a nationality of people, etc.
Hopefully, if our comments, even in some small way, can help you to see a little deeper into the Sufferings of Christ, and thereby more fully appreciate the price that was paid for our Salvation, then you time spent in studying these remarks will not have been wasted. Prayerfully, they will be a blessing!
The following has been borrowed from the Expositors Study Bible produced by JSM Ministries. The expositions are well thought out and beautifully stated. I do however recommend the full Commentary on Isaiah produced by JSM Ministries. This Commentary is well worth the investment.
ISAIAH, CHAPTER 53
(712 B.C)
THE SUFFERING SERVANT: THE MESSIAH, JESUS CHRIST
1. Who has believed our report? And to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? (The phrase, “Our report,” refers to this very Prophecy, as well as the other Messianic Prophecies delivered by Isaiah. To Israel was ‘the arm of the Lord revealed.” And to Israel is ascribed the “unbelief,” which destroyed them.
The Revelation of “the arm of the Lord” requires the eye of faith to see it. Unbelief can always assign the most plainly providential arrangements to happy accident. It takes faith to believe the report that is revealed.)
2. For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a
Dry ground: He has no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him. (To God’s Eye, Israel, and the entirety of the Earth for that matter, were a “dry ground,” but that Eye rested with delight upon one tender plant which had a living root. It was Jesus!
The Hebrew verbs in these Verses [through Verse 7] are to be regarded as “perfects of prophetic certitude.” This means that in the mind of God all has been finished before the foundation of he world and done so in the Divine Counsels [1 Pet. 1:18-20].
The words, “Before Him, ”mean “before Jehovah”___under the fostering care of Jehovah. God the Father had His Eye fixed upon the Son with a watchfulness and tenderness and love.
This “sapling” from the house of David shall become the “root” out of which His Church will grow. The Messiah will be a fresh sprout from the stump of a tree that had been felled, i.e., from the destroyed Davidic Monarchy.
The words, “He has no form nor comeliness,” refer to the fact that He had none during His sufferings, but now He has it more than anyone else except the Father and the Holy Spirit [Eph. 1:20-23; Phil. 2:9-11; Col. 1:15-18; 1 Pet. 3:22].
The words, “There is no beauty that we should desire Him, ”refer to His sufferings, which include His peasant upbringing and, as a consequence, His poverty, as well as His lack of association with the aristocracy!)
3. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with
grief: And we hid as it were our faces from Him; He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. (Him being “rejected of men” means “One from Whom men held themselves aloof.” Why? He was pure Holiness and they were pure corruption.
The phrase, “A man of sorrows,” refers to Jesus taking all the sorrows of humanity upon Himself.
The phrase, “Acquainted with grief,” actually refers to diseases and sicknesses, for that’s what the word “grief” in the Hebrew means.
The phrase, “And we hid as it were our faces from Him,” describes the treatment of the Servant by His fellowmen. Again, Why? He was not the type of Messiah they wanted!
The phrase, “He was despised, and we esteemed Him not,” refers to the fact that the religious leadership of Israel esteemed Him not at all. He came to deliver men from sin, but that wasn’t the type of deliverance they desired!)
4. Surely He has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem
Him Stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. (Twelve times within the space of nine Verses the Prophet asserts, with the most emphatic reiteration, that all the Servant’s sufferings were vicarious; i.e., borne for man to save him from the consequences of his sins, to enable him to escape punishment. In other words, Jesus did this all for us.
The phrase, “Yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted,” proclaims the fact that because He died on a Cross, Israel assumed that He died under the curse of God, because Moses had said, “For he who is hanged is accursed of God” {Deut. 21:23].
What they did not understand was that He was not accursed, neither in Himself was cursed, but in fact was “made a curse for us.”
Israel assumed He was “smitten of God,” and, in a sense, He was. He suffered in our stead, actually as our Substitute, which means that the blow that should have come to us instead went to Him. But yet, it was not for His sins, because He had none, but instead was for our sins. He was “afflicted” for us. As stated, He was our Substitute.)
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 phrase, “He was wounded for our transgressions,” pertains to the manner in which He died, which was the price He paid for the Redemption of humanity.
The phrase, “He was bruised for our iniquities,” means that what He suffered was not at all for Himself, but all for us. It was for our iniquities. Look at the Cross, and then say, “My sin did this.”
The phrase, “The chastisement of our peace was upon Him,” means that if peace between God and man was to be restored, all which Adam lost, then Jesus would have to bring it about. Here is the simple doctrine of the Gospel___the death of Christ. All other founders of religions base their claims upon their life and their teaching___their death was a calamity, and without significance. But the death off Christ was His Glory, and forms the imperishable foundation of the one and only Salvation. His purpose in coming was to die.
The phrase, “And with His stripes we are healed,” definitely pertains to physical healing, but is far greater in meaning than that. Its greater meaning refers to being healed of the terrible malady of sin.)
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. (Sheep without a shepherd get lost easily. Man as sheep has wandered from the right path; he has become so hopelessly lost that it it impossible for him, within his own means, to come back to the right path. Therefore, the Lord had to come from Heaven down to this wilderness called Earth and, thereby, seek and save man, who is lost.
The Phrase,
We have turned every one to his own way,” refers to the fact that the whole world, collectively and individually, has sinned and come short of the Glory of God. This “erroneous way” has led to death, suffering, sorrow, heartache, loneliness, despair, and pain. This is the reason that everything that man touches dies! Where as everything that God touches lives! So man desperately needs God’s Touch, i.e., “the Atonement of Calvary.”
The phrase, “And the LORD has laid on Him dthe iniquity of us all,” refers to the total price He paid for our total Salvation. The penalty for every sin for all of humanity and for all time was laid on Christ. God the Father, as the primary disposer of all things, lays upon the Son the burden which the Son voluntarily accepts. Te comes into the world to do the Father’s Will, and the Father’s Will is to secure the Salvation of man, at least for those who will believe.)
7. He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth: He is Brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so He opens not His mouth. (The first phrase refers to all that was done to Him in His humiliation, suffering, and agony. He could so easily have vindicated Himself from every charge; therefore, He selfabased Himself.
It seemed like an admission of guilt, and in fact was, but not His guilt, but the guilt of those who were accusing Him, as well as the entirety of the world.
Of all the Levitical Offerings [five total], the “lamb” was the animal most used; hence, John the Baptist would say, “Behold the Lamb of God, which takes away the sin of the world” [Jn. 1:29].)
8. He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare His
Generation? For He was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of My people was He stricken. (The phrase, “He was taken from prison and from judgment,” refers to a violence which cloaked itself under the formalities of a legal process.
The phrase, “And who shall declare His generation,” refers to the fact of Him being “cut off” [Dan. 9:26], which means that He would have no posterity.
The phrase, “For the transgression of My people was He stricken,” can be summed up in what He suffered, and all on our behalf. This must never be forgotten: Every single thing He suffered was not at all for Himself, or for Heaven in any capacity, but all for sinners.)
9. And He made His grave with the wicked, and with the rich in His death; because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. (The phrase, “And
He made His grave with the wicked,” means that he was appointed such by the religious hierarchy of Israel, but Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man, asked that Jesus be buried in his personal tomb instead, and so He was. The phrase, “Because He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth,” proclaims the sinlessness of Christ, and forms the main argument in the Epistle to the Hebrews for the superiority of the New Covenant over the Old [Heb 7:26-28; 9:14].
As no other man was ever without sin, it follows that the Servant of this present Chapter is, and can be no other than, Christ.)
10. Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief: when You
Shall make His soul an offering for sin, He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand. (The phrase,
“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him,” refers to the sufferings of Christ, which proceeded from the “determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God.” [Acts 2:23], and which, being permitted by Him, were in some way His doing. It “pleased Him” moreover that they should be undergone, for the Father saw with satisfaction the Son’s self-sacrifice, and He witnessed with joy man’s Redemption and Deliverance effected thereby.
The phrase, “He has put Him to grief,” actually says “He has put Him to sicknesses” or “He has made Him sick.” This spoke of the time He was on the Cross bearing out sins and “sicknesses” [Mat. 8:16-17; 1 Pet. 2:24]. And yet, while all sin and sickness were atoned at the Cross, the total effects of such will not be completely dissipated until the coming Resurrection {Rom. 8:23].
The phrase, “When You shall make His soul an offering for sin,” is powerful indeed! The word “offering” in; the Hebrew is “Asham,” and means “a Trespass Offering,” an “offering for sin.”
Offerings for sin, or “guilt offerings,’ were distinct from “sin offerings.” The object of the former was “satisfaction”; of the latter, “expiation.” The Servant of Jehovah was, however, to be both. He was both the “Sin Offering” and the “Guilt Offering.”
This completely destroys the idea that Jesus died spiritually on the Cross, meaning that He became a sinner on the Cross, and died and went to Hell as all sinners, and was born again in Hell after three days and nights of suffering, etc. None of that is in the Word of God. While Jesus definitely was a ”Sin Offering,” He was not a sinner, and did not become a sinner on the Cross. To have done so would have destroyed His Perfection of Sacrifice, which was demanded by God. In other words, the Sacrifice had to be perfect, and He was perfect in every respect.
The phrase, “He shall see His seed,” refers to all His “true followers,” which include all who have ever been Born-Again.
The phrase, “He shall prolong His days,” refers to His Resurrection.
The phrase, “And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand,” refers to the great victory that He would win at Calvary, which will ultimately restore everything that Adam lost.)
11. He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied: by His knowledge
Shall My righteous Servant justify many; for He shall bear their iniquities.
(The “travail of His soul” pertains to His Sacrifice for sin, which has resulted in the Restoration of man, at least for those who will believe.
The phrase, “And shall be satisfied,” refers to the fact that even though the price was high, actually beyond comprehension, still, it was worth the Redemption it accomplished.
What Jesus did at the Cross made it possible for man to be fully and totally “justified” in the Eyes of God, which comes about by man exhibiting Faith in Christ and what Christ did at the Cross.)
12. Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the
Spoil with the strong; because He has poured out His soul unto death: and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. (To be appointed with the great and to divide the spoil with the strong is figurative language expressive of full victory. It means here that Christ, by His Death, delivers from Satan mankind who was held captive.
The Phrase, “Because He has poured out His soul unto death,” means that Christ not only died for man, but, as it were, “poured out His soul” with His Own Hand to the last drop. The expression emphasizes the duration and the voluntariness of the Messiah’s sufferings. In other words, he laid down His Own life and no man took it from Him [Jn. 10:18].
The phrase, “And He was numbered with the transgressors,” refers to the actions of the Jews toward Him. He was crucified between two thieves. He was condemned as a “blasphemer” [Mat. 26:65], crucified with malefactors [Lk. 32:32], called “that deceiver” [Mat. 27:63], and regarded generally by the Jews as accursed [Deut. 21:23].
The phrase, “And He bore the sin of many, and made Intercession for the transgressors,” is, in the Hebrew, an act, though begun in the past, not yet completed. The “Intercession for transgressors” was begun on the Cross with the compassionate words, “Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do” [Lk. 23:34]. This Intercession for Believers has continued ever since and will ever continue {Rom. 8:34; Heb. 7:25]; such Intercession is made possible by what Christ did at the Cross.)
