The Book of Isaiah is a prophetic book written approximately 760 BC. Chapter 53 is dedicated solely as a messianic prophecy written approximately eight centuries before the coming of Christ. Verses 1-3 foretell the messiah’s reception by man. Verses 4-8 show his pain and suffering on our behalf, and verses 9-12 reflect his death and the purpose for it.
Isaiah 53:2 “For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.”
The prophet Isaiah refers to Christ as “a root out of dry ground.” The dry ground could refer to the city of Nazareth, the Galilean city where Jesus was raised (Luke 4:16). Why is Nazareth referred to as dry ground? Nathaniel puts it best in John 1:46, “And Nathanael said unto him, Can there any good thing come out of Nazareth? Philip saith unto him, Come and see.” The city of Nazareth was nestled in the mountains half way between the Mediterranean Sea and the Sea of Galilee. Although Nazareth was located on the well-traveled road connecting Egypt and Mesopotamia, there was nothing special about it. The prophet likened the town to dry ground because Nazareth was an ordinary town.
Other than Isaiah 53:2, there is no physical description of Jesus. All we know is that he was in the form of a man while he walked this earth. “But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross” (Philippians 2:7).
Isaiah 53:3 “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.”
The Gospels document the birth, life and death of our Savior. Throughout these books, we can read of the human emotions of Jesus as foreseen by Isaiah. Mark 7:34 shows that our Lord was indeed a man of sorrows when he looked up to heaven and sighed before healing a deaf mute. Again in Mark 8:12, he shows his sorrow and the reason for it, “And he sighed deeply in his spirit, and saith, Why doth this generation seek after a sign? Verily I say unto you, There shall no sign be given unto this generation.” The shortest verse in the Bible (John 11:35) shows Jesus’ grief by simply stating, “Jesus wept.” Prior to that in John 11:33 we read, “When Jesus therefore saw her weeping, and the Jews also weeping which came with her, he groaned in the spirit, and was troubled.” His grief is again shown through tears in Luke 19:41 when he wept over an entire city. These verses show that Jesus had human emotions while walking this earth. He felt sorrow and grief.
Isaiah 53:3 also foretells man’s reaction to Jesus during his life on earth. In Luke 4:28-29, the Lord’s teachings filled the people with so much wrath that they threw him out of the city and planned to cast him from the top of the hill on which the city was built. Later, at his crucifixion, the spite and mockery of the people is shown in Mark 15: 29-30, “And they that passed by railed on him, wagging their heads, and saying, Ah, thou that destroyest the temple, and buildest it in three days, Save thyself, and come down from the cross.” These actions show the value, or lack thereof, given to our Lord. Isaiah 53:3 uses the word esteemed, which could be replaced with the words valued, considered or knew. John 1:10 says, “He was in the world, and the world was made by him, and the world knew him not.” In John 1:26, Jesus is not even known when standing among the people. Christ’s teachings were rejected so much that he was despised and unvalued to the point of bodily harm.
Isaiah 53:4 “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.”
From this verse, we read that the grief and sorrow suffered by our Lord was not over self, but others. Returning to John 11:33, let me point out that Jesus was troubled when he saw Mary and other Jews weeping over the death of Lazarus. In John 11:35, Jesus does the same. Luke 19:41 states, “And when he was come near, he beheld the city, and wept over it.” Both accounts show Jesus weeping over the souls of others. In Mark 7:34 and Mark 8:12, Jesus showed his sorrow over the unbelief of the people. Our Savior weeps with grief and sighs with sorrow over the pain and concern of others, not his own.
Isaiah 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.”
Christ was indeed wounded and bruised. We read in John 19:1-3 of the suffering Christ endured. In verse one, he was whipped. Then in verses two and three, it is recorded that the soldiers placed a crown of thorns on his head and beat him with their hands. Later in John 19:17-18, our Lord bore the burden of the cross. He first carried it to Golgotha and was then crucified.
Why was our Lord crucified? He shed his innocent blood on the cross to bring us to peace with God (Colossians 1:20). Romans 5:1 reads, “Therefore being justified by faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” The peace we are given is the forgiveness of sins. We are reconciled to God into one body through the cross (Ephesians 2:16). In Colossians 1:14 we read, “In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins.”
Isaiah 53:6 “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
Here the prophet compares the people who stopped following God to sheep without a shepherd. Sheep without shepherds tend to go their own ways as God’s people have frequently done throughout the ages. We, like all sheep, need a shepherd. Who better to shepherd our souls than the Son of God? Jesus said in John 10:11, “I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life for the sheep.” We are the sheep and Christ is our Shepherd.
Isaiah 53:7 “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 openeth not his mouth.”
Matthew, Mark, Luke and John record that Jesus was silent during his trial. Matthew 26:62-63 records Christ’s silence before the high priest. Our Lord then appeared before Pilate and it is recorded in Matthew 27:14 that the governor marveled in his silence. Finally, Christ appeared before Herod in Luke 23:9, “Then he questioned with him in many words; but he answered him nothing.”
Jesus was also silent during his affliction. We read in John 19:1-9 of the many tortuous burdens Christ endured. First of all, he was scourged, or whipped (verse 1). In verse two we read of the crown of thorns placed on his head and verse three records that the soldiers “smote him with their hands.” Skipping down to John 19:9 we read, “And went again into the judgment hall, and saith unto Jesus, Whence art thou? But Jesus gave him no answer.”
Isaiah 53:8 “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.”
Christ was cut from the land of the living in a very physical manner. He suffered crucifixion, the most horrible form of death. A person sentenced to death by crucifixion dealt with more than the agony of hanging on a cross. It began with a scourging, but our Lord had already received his scourging before the sentence (John 19:1, 14-16). The next affliction was that the condemned person was to carry his own cross to the crucifixion site as our Lord did (John 19:17). As with traditional Roman crucifixions, our Lord was led to a conspicuous place outside the city where he would then be offered a mixture of vinegar, gall and myrrh. This was to deaden the sudden, sharp pains induced by the crucifixion. Jesus denied this drink (Matthew 27:34). The condemned would then be nailed to the cross and hung for all to see during his slow and painful death. Since Christ refused the vinegar mixture, his mind was clear and therefore suffered great mental anguish to accompany his physical afflictions. Our Lord died much quicker than most men who suffered crucifixion due to the added mental sufferings. As you recall, the thieves beside him had their legs broken to quicken the death process, but our Lord did not because he was already dead (John 19:32-33). Christ suffered and died on the cross, thus separating him from the living. “When therefore Jesus had received the vinegar, he said, It is finished; and having bowed his head, he delivered up his spirit” (John 19:30).
As quoted above in Isaiah 53:8, our Lord was stricken for the transgressions of the people. In Isaiah 53:5, we read that he was “wounded for our transgressions” and “bruised for our iniquities.” First Peter 2:24 states that he bore our sins in his body on the tree. First John 3:5 states, “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin.”
Isaiah 53:9 “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.”
“Then were there two thieves crucified with him, one on the right hand, and another on the left” (Matthew 27:38). This is what the prophet refers to by stating that he made his grave with the wicked. He was also rebuked during his life for keeping company with publicans and sinners (Matthew 9:11; 11:19). In Matthew 27:57-60, we read that Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man, begged for the body of Christ. He then prepared the body for burial and laid it in his own new tomb. Christ made his grave with the wicked when crucified between thieves and with the rich when buried in a rich man’s tomb.
Isaiah 53:10 “Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt 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.”
To understand why it would please God to bruise his own son, we must look at the whole story. “And I will put enmity between thee and the woman, and between thy seed and her seed; it shall bruise thy head, and thou shalt bruise his heel” (Genesis 3:15). God desired to bruise Christ’s heel by his death in order to bruise Satan’s head through Christ’s resurrection. Christ demonstrates his victory by his own resurrection. “Concerning his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed of David according to the flesh; And declared to be the Son of God with power, according to the spirit of holiness, by the resurrection from the dead” (Romans 1:3-4).
Christ was an offering for sin. First John 3:5 says that Christ had no sin, but died to take away our sins. “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” (1 Peter 2:24). He bore our sins on the cross by using his own physical body. He offered himself as a sinless sacrifice so we, the sinners (Romans 3:23), can be brought to righteousness.
After his death, Christ’s life was prolonged by his resurrection. “Him, being delivered by the determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God, ye have taken, and by wicked hands have crucified and slain: Whom God hath raised up, having loosed the pains of death: because it was not possible that he should be holden of it” (Acts 2:23-24). Christ is eternal, so it is impossible for death to hold him. In John 8:58 Jesus said he was here before Abraham, who died approximately 2000 years before Christ was born. In Revelation 22:13 Jesus says, “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last.” Jesus always was, is and always will be.
Isaiah 53:11 “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.”
Christ was satisfied because he knew his job was to die on the cross and also knew he had fulfilled that job. In Mark 8:31 Christ foretold his own sufferings, rejection, death and resurrection. According to John 6:64, Jesus knew from the beginning who would betray him. Christ was satisfied after suffering on the cross because he knew he accomplished his duty. “After this, Jesus knowing that all things were now accomplished, that the scripture might be fulfilled, saith, I thirst” (John 19:28).
This righteous servant, the Son of God, justified many by bearing their iniquities. “But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man” (Hebrews 2:9). By tasting death for every man, Jesus put a stop to animal sacrifices. In the Old Testament, high priests made several animal sacrifices to purge the sins of the people, but it was not enough. Christ sacrificed himself one time to purge the sins of all man for all time (Hebrews 10:10-12).
Isaiah 53:12 “Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Christ poured his soul into death by dying on the cross for us. Christ could have called on legions upon legions of angels to rescue him (Matthew 26:53), but he did not. Instead, he humbled himself and was obedient (Philippians 2:8). “Who gave himself for our sins, that he might deliver us from this present evil world, according to the will of God and our Father” (Galatians 1:4).
At his death, Christ was “numbered with the transgressors” by being hanged on a cross between two thieves. Mark 15:27-28 records fulfillment of this prophecy, “And with him they crucify two thieves; the one on his right hand, and the other on his left. And the scripture was fulfilled, which saith, And he was numbered with the transgressors.”
Through his death, our Savior bore the sins of many. Refer to 1 Peter 2:24 which was quoted earlier in this article. There it states that Christ bore our sins in his own body so that we could come to righteousness. He himself was sinless, but died to take our sins away. “And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins; and in him is no sin” (1 John 3:5). His blood justified us so that we could be saved from wrath through him (Romans 5:9).
Our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ came to this evil world, lived a life of rejection and was afflicted with grievous pain before his crucifixion. He conquered death by rising from the grave and ascending to heaven. He is coming back to reward his faithful servants (Luke 12:37). We do not know when he will return, so we must be ready. “Watch therefore, for ye know neither the day nor the hour wherein the Son of man cometh” (Matthew 25:13). Are you watching? Are you ready?
