{"id":1088,"date":"2009-12-20T16:42:37","date_gmt":"2009-12-20T22:42:37","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/cottrillcompass.com\/blog\/?p=1088"},"modified":"2013-12-09T11:26:57","modified_gmt":"2013-12-09T17:26:57","slug":"promises-of-a-messiah-isaiah-53","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/cottrillcompass.com\/blog\/2009\/promises-of-a-messiah-isaiah-53.html","title":{"rendered":"Promises of a Messiah: Isaiah 53"},"content":{"rendered":"

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

This is the passage we were leading up to last week<\/a> – one of the most famous prophecies in Scripture – Isaiah 53.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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:<\/p>\n

What is his [the Messiah’s] name? — The school of R. Shila said: His name is Shiloh, for it is written until Shiloh come<\/i> (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<\/i> (Isa LIII,4).
» The Babylonian Talmud<\/p><\/blockquote>\n

Could Isaiah 53 be talking about Isaiah himself, or the people of Israel?<\/b><\/p>\n

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? <\/font>(Isa\u00c2\u00a053:8)<\/i><\/green><\/p>\n

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

It’s someone else – someone who suffers for<\/i> the people.<\/p>\n

Why in the world would God plan so far in advance for this Person to suffer<\/i>?  The passage says,…it was the will of the LORD to crush him<\/i><\/font> (Isa\u00c2\u00a053:10)  Why was this suffering necessary?<\/p>\n

It’s clear that God Himself not only planned<\/i> this suffering – He would inflict<\/i> it!<\/p>\n

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.<\/i><\/font> (Isa\u00c2\u00a053:4)<\/p>\n

Smitten by God<\/i>!  A willing<\/i> servant, submitting to being afflicted by God!<\/p>\n

WHY?<\/p>\n\n\n
\"Wounded
Photo courtesy of Markus Kison<\/a><\/i><\/font><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/table>\n

The Messiah would in fact be a substitute<\/i> for the people.<\/b>  Notice how He takes the sins and grief of others:<\/p>\n

Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows…<\/i><\/font>(Isa\u00c2\u00a053:4a)<\/p>\n

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.<\/i><\/font> (Isa\u00c2\u00a053:5)<\/p>\n

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.<\/i><\/font> (Isa\u00c2\u00a053:6)<\/p>\n

…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?<\/i><\/font> (Isa\u00c2\u00a053:8b)<\/p>\n

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.<\/p>\n

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:<\/p>\n

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<\/i> substitution is theologically simply unthinkable!
» Otfried Hofias in The Fourth Servant Song in the New Testament Letters<\/i><\/p><\/blockquote>\n

The prophecies of Isaiah are so remarkable<\/b>, 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<\/i> human.<\/p>\n

Interestingly, in Isaiah 52:13, the Messiah is said to be high and lifted up<\/i> – 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)<\/p>\n

Here are some of the other things Isaiah 53 says about the Messiah, and examples of their fulfilment:<\/p>\n