Promises of a Messiah: Isaiah 53

We come at last to a promise so amazing that it has been a battleground for many different reasons.  Two of the biggest questions are – who exactly is Isaiah talking about?  Is it the Messiah, or someone else?  And if it is the Messiah, what exactly is His suffering supposed to accomplish?

This is the passage we were leading up to last week – one of the most famous prophecies in Scripture – Isaiah 53.

Today, Jewish Rabbis generally deny that this passage refers to the Messiah.  A while ago I listened to a debate between a Jewish man and a Christian man.  The Christian insisted that the passage could only be talking about Jesus Christ.

The Jew, on the other hand, insisted that the suffering servant was – the Jewish people.  There’s no doubt that the Jewish people have suffered – and there’s no doubt that parts of Isaiah speak of the nation of Israel (or parts of) as the servant.

It hasn’t always been this way.  Many ancient rabbis believed this passage spoke of Messiah, and the Talmud also speaks of this passage as Messianic:

What is his [the Messiah’s] name? — The school of R. Shila said: His name is Shiloh, for it is written until Shiloh come (Gen 49:19)… The Rabbis said: His name is ‘the leper scholar,’ as it is written, Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God, and afflicted (Isa LIII,4).
» The Babylonian Talmud

Could Isaiah 53 be talking about Isaiah himself, or the people of Israel?

One major problem with this view can be seen in Isa 53:8:  By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? (Isa 53:8)

My people?  Who is my referring to?  It seems most reasonable that it’s Isaiah.  So he can’t be the subject of the chapter.  Who are my people?  Well, it makes sense that it’s Israel (see Isaiah 52:9).  So Israel can’t be the subject.

It’s someone else – someone who suffers for the people.

Why in the world would God plan so far in advance for this Person to suffer?  The passage says,…it was the will of the LORD to crush him (Isa 53:10)  Why was this suffering necessary?

It’s clear that God Himself not only planned this suffering – He would inflict it!

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. (Isa 53:4)

Smitten by God!  A willing servant, submitting to being afflicted by God!

WHY?

Photo courtesy of Markus Kison

The Messiah would in fact be a substitute for the people.  Notice how He takes the sins and grief of others:

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…(Isa 53:4a)

But he was wounded for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. (Isa 53:5)

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. (Isa 53:6)

…as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? (Isa 53:8b)

The concept of the Substitute in this passage – the innocent for the guilty – is so crystal clear, that even some who reject the whole idea have to admit that this is what Isaiah was teaching.

Otfried Hofius is a professor of theology in Germany.  He strongly rejects the idea of Christ dying as a substitute for the wicked.  He wrote this regarding Isa 53 in 2004:

What this song says about the Servant’s substitutionary death is theologically incomprehensible as it stands and as it is meant . . . being freed up from sin and guilt through human substitution is theologically simply unthinkable!
» Otfried Hofias in The Fourth Servant Song in the New Testament Letters

The prophecies of Isaiah are so remarkable, I would suggest that it’s clear that it’s the Word of God – and it’s clear what Isaiah is saying.  But let’s note one thing about this quote – as we’ve seen in these promises, Jesus was not just human.

Interestingly, in Isaiah 52:13, the Messiah is said to be high and lifted up – a phrase used three other times in Isaiah, and nowhere else in the Old Testament – and every time it refers to the Most High God.  (See Isa 6:1, Isa 33:10 and Isa 57:15)

Here are some of the other things Isaiah 53 says about the Messiah, and examples of their fulfilment:

• The message of the Messiah was not believed (Isa 53:1; John 12:37-41)
• He was rejected and despised by people (Isa 53:3).
• He bore our griefs and sorrows – He healed people (Isa 53:4; Mat 8:16-17).  (Note – the healing ministry of Christ was a part of the announcement of the entrance of the Kingdom – a Kingdom possible because of His death, which would eventually destroy the curse.)
• He was wounded, crushed, and had "stripes" (blows, scourgings) (Isa 53:5; Mat 27:39).
• He was silent before His persecuters (Isa 53:7; Mat 26:63).
• He died (Isa 53:8-9; Mat 27:50).
• He was innocent (Isa 53:9; 1Pet 2:20-25).
• He was buried as a wicked man, and yet a rich man (Isa 53:9; Mat 27:38, Mat 27:57-60).
• Even though he died without offspring, God would give Him offspring and extend His life (Isa 53:10-12; John 12:24, 1Pet 1:20-21)!

It was planned by the Triune God that the Messiah would suffer (by God’s hand) as a substitute for His people.  …yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors. (Isa 53:12)

This passage, and many others, leave no doubt as to the identity of the Messiah, and why He died.  The sacrifices mandated in the Old Testament laid the groundwork for what the Messiah would accomplish in perfection.

This great purpose is woven throughout the Promises of the Messiah in the Old Testament.  An eyewitness of the Messiah – His ministry, His death, and His resurrection, explains it to believers in this way, as he spoke to servants who would sometimes suffer unjustly:

For to this you have been called, because Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example, so that you might follow in his steps.

He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth.  When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly.

He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

For you were straying like sheep, but have now returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

(1Pet 2:21-25)

Once again we have been confronted by the truth of the Messiah, who came as a Baby in Bethlehem over 2000 years ago.  The question is, have you returned to the Shepherd?  What better time than now?  What better reason to celebrate the coming of the Messiah?

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This concludes our 12 part series on the Promises of a Messiah.  Later this week we’ll summarize them all and wrap it up!

Especially helpful in this post were:  Behold Your King by William Webster, and Pierced for Our Transgressions by Steve Jeffery, Mike Ovey and Andrew Sach.  Some of the quotes above were taken from these books.  These are great resources if you want to continue your study on the prophecies about Christ and the purpose of His death.