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WHERE IS THE BEAUTY THAT
WE SHOULD DESIRE HIM?
Discovering the Glory of Jesus Christ
through a Closer Look at Isaiah 53
A discussion and devotional
(Second Edition)
Jerry Smith
Faith Missionary Publications.
Gruelti-Laager, TN USA
ii
Other Books by Jerry Smith
Christ Ed. in the Church (2014)
Why Use the King James Bible (2012)
65 Real Conversations for the ESL Classroom (2011)
American Accent Training Book 1 (2011)
Available locally (Philippines) or through Lulu.com
To order locally, send an email to: jfrsmth@gmail.com
Where Is The Beauty That We Should Desire Him?
Copyright © 2012 by Jerry F. Smith
All rights reserved.
Published in the USA
By Faith Missionary Publications. Gruetli-Laager, TN USA
Unless otherwise indicated, all Biblical texts are taken from the King James Bible.
Cover picture source: http://www.flickriver.com [open domain]
Printed in the Philippines
ISBN: 580-0-086695-76-4
iii
In loving memory of Lee F. Smith, Mary Ann
Smith, Eleanor Chituras, Frank Chituras,
Marion L. Smith, Emily Sousa, Alfred Sousa,
Frank Jones, Charlotte Picentine, Richard
Limbaugh, and all the loved ones of my youth.
To Babi, Shanon, and Jer-Jer who have
endured so much to see this through.
Dedicated to the Lord Jesus Christ, may it be
pleasing to Him, and may He be pleased to use
it to bless the lives of many.
iv
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Chapter Page
Preface 1
How to Use This Book 3
Introduction to Isaiah 53 4
Orientation to Isaiah 53 7
Verse 1: The Arm of the LORD 11
Verse 2: No Beauty… 17
Verse 3: Man of Sorrows 27
Verse 4: He Carried Our Sorrows 35
Verse 5: He Was Wounded 44
Verse 6: We… Have Gone Astray 52
Verse 7: He Opened Not His Mouth 60
Verse 8: He Was Cut Off 68
Verse 9: Because He Had Done
No Violence 76
Verse 10: It Pleased the LORD
To Bruise Him 82
Verse 11: He… Shall Be Satisfied 90
Verse 12: He… Shall Divide the
Spoil 97
Conclusion 103
About the Author 105
1
PREFACE
In my personal Bible reading in 2010, I was going
through the book of Isaiah. It was a splendid time which
took a few months to conclude. It took me two weeks to
finish reading chapter 53, as I was enjoying every verse,
and in some cases, each clause in a verse. It was then
that a deep longing to preach this chapter began to arise.
I besought the Lord repeatedly, sometimes in profound
heaviness of heart, to grant me that blessed privilege to
proclaim His Son and work in Isaiah 53. Then, true to His
ways, in January of 2011, the Lord had providentially
arranged it so that I was given the wonderful opportunity
to preach a series of messages from Isaiah 53.
Originally, I had planned to preach maybe three or four
messages to cover the chapter. But as I began to take a
closer look at the individual verses, I saw that they could
stand alone, apart from the whole, and still be a message
in itself, each proclaiming an aspect of the glory of Jesus
Christ and His work 2,000 years ago. I realized that it
would be a shame on me (or any man) if I treated this
exquisite chapter in 3 or 4 sermons. Therefore, I went with
the verse-by-verse expository approach, in order to dig
deeper, for buried treasure. I was not disappointed.
What you, the reader will encounter in this book, is the
culmination of my longing to preach Isaiah 53. It is the
compilation and editing of each of the twelve sermons
which God granted me the privilege to preach in my
church. These messages are inherently evangelical, but
also inspirational, as the believer is provided a different
aspect of one of the most beautiful passages on the Lord
Jesus Christ in the Bible. The purpose of sharing these
writings is because the message is too precious to keep
buried; to stay locked away somewhere never to be heard
from again. The Lord reveals to us so that we may share
with others. My desire is that you the reader would walk
away blessed from this book, and share the same message
with others: that there is yet undiscovered great beauty in
the Person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ.
How often, we as believers read through the Bible, or
perhaps hear a message from the pulpit, or sit in a Sunday
2
school class and almost yawn when hearing about Jesus
Christ. How often we fail to see and enjoy His beauty in
His ministry and sacrifice. How many Christians have lost
their First Love because their eyes have become clouded
by external dressings? Sometimes, we just need to be
reminded what the Lord has done for us.
This work is in no way an exhaustive theological,
academic examination of Isaiah 53, it was not meant to be.
I prefer to keep things simple. But it is more inspirational
in its purpose with the expressed design of aiding, if the
Lord be so pleased to, the believer in re-discovering the
beauty of Christ which once attracted us to Him without
delay, after it was revealed in our hearts; that same
beauty and more, as we dig deeper to know Him to a
greater degree, and our heart fire for Christ rekindled,
recovering that passion we once had for the Saviour. This
work may also be used, God be pleased, to draw the non-
Christian reader to know more clearly about Jesus, and
subsequently bring them to a point of acknowledgement
and confession of the Jesus Christ of Isaiah 53 as his only
sufficient hope of salvation and righteousness (goodness)
before God.
The following is the result of reading and reflection,
meditation and quiet time, as well as searching the
Scriptures, studying through the old commentaries, and
seeking the Lord to guide me into all truth. It is indeed an
original work guided, directed, corrected, and injected by
the Holy Spirit. Thus to God be the glory. And may it be
used of God for the reader to see the beauty and glory of
the Lord Jesus Christ once again, or for the very first time.
Jerry Smith
3
HOW TO USE THIS BOOK
It is my deep desire to know that the Lord would be
pleased to use this book in the lives of the readers. When I
first started this work, it did not occur to me HOW it might
be used, other than the fact that I had something that I
wanted to share based on the series of messages the Lord
was pleased to allow me to preach. Only later did I realize
that this book could be used in the very same manner
which the Lord gave me the messages: by taking Isaiah
53 piece by piece.
That being the case, the design of this devotional
provides the reader with a step-by-step, verse-by-verse,
phrase-by-phrase approach to this wonderful chapter and
hopefully, the beauty of the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore,
my simple suggestion is that the reader take one phrase
at a time as part of daily devotions. Read the page/-s
associated with each phrase one day at a time. Read,
consider, meditate, and ask the Lord to reveal more to
you; the next day, another phrase. There are a total of
forty-four phrases discussed in this devotional; enough for
well over a month's worth of devotions as you take a
closer look into the depths of Isaiah 53 and I pray, the
beauty of Jesus Christ, the Saviour of sinners. May God
richly bless you as you partake on this journey.
4
INTRODUCTION TO ISAIAH 53
We read it, we know it, and some can even quote it.
We may read it occasionally to find some comfort, to
review history, to examine the sufferings of Christ, but
how much do we really appreciate or consider His
sacrifice? Do we just glance over it, or do we ever dig
deeper? Be assured, the more we examine this passage of
Scripture, the more beauty is revealed. It offers one of the
most vivid descriptions of the passion of the Christ 1 in
Scripture, not Hollywood. It was remarkably prophesied
about 700 years before it happened. That in itself is a
miracle which demonstrates the inspiration of Scripture.
However, it not only depicts His PASSION, but also offers
descriptions of His PERSON, His PASSIVITY, and His
PORTION; each of which gives us a different perspective in
which to view the Jewel, the believer’s Precious
Treasure . . . the Lord Jesus Christ.
The author offers no attempt to prove that the Person
spoken of in the fifty-third of Isaiah is none other than the
Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of God come down from heaven
to do a specific redeeming work. It is clear from Scripture
that is who is being spoken of, and any effort to
demonstrate otherwise would only distract us from the
purpose at hand which is seeking the beauty of the Lord in
Isaiah 53. In fact, as one writer put it, if one were to read
it without knowing it was an Old Testament text, they
might say it sounds like a Gospel account.2
Read this:
(2) … he hath no form nor comeliness … no beauty that we
should desire him. (3) despised and rejected of men; a man
of sorrows, acquainted with grief … we esteemed him not.
(4) … he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows … (5)
… wounded for our transgressions … bruised for our iniquities
… with his stripes we are healed. (6) … the LORD hath laid on
him the iniquity of us all. (7) He was oppressed, and …
afflicted … he opened not his mouth … (9) … he made his
1 Not His “feeling” but His “suffering.” 2 Unknown internet source
5
grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death …he had
done no violence, neither deceit in his mouth. (12) … he was
numbered with the transgressors … bare the sin of many,
made intercession for the transgressors.
As we examine Christ in this text and if you are a
believer reading this, you have been given sacred, holy
eyes to behold His beauty. The world is not able to see it
(53:2). Therefore, to the believer, God forbid that it should
be dull. If you are a Christian and cannot see the beauty of
Christ anymore, then there is certainly something wrong,
because God reveals that beauty to His people at the time
of salvation, and as we grow in grace, so that we would
desire Him more and glorify Him. To the seeker, this
passage of the Bible explains our condition as man(kind),
our need of a Saviour, and what He did to redeem sinners.
When God reveals our condition before Himself as a
thrice holy God; 3 He makes Christ attractive to us.
Remember your first love? How beautiful he/she was?
Everything about them was beautiful; but as the years go
by (perhaps if you’re younger, the months) maybe now,
not so much beauty or attractiveness. So, we need to be
reminded at times of what we first saw in our beloved
which drew us to them. It is the same with Christ. He
ought to be precious to every believer. But often, as the
years go by, our eyes get cloudy, and we no longer see
the beauty that we once saw in our First Love. We just
mechanically go through the motions of Christianity
without stopping to be refreshed, to smell the Rose of
Sharon, the Lily of the Valley,4 and remember the sweet-
smelling Savior of sinners.
Colossians 2:3 tells us that in Christ is hid all the
treasures of wisdom and knowledge. Did you ever hear
about buried treasure as a kid? How do you get to it? You
must dig. We can apply that to Christ: He is our greatest
Treasure, so let’s dig deeper. The further we dig, the more
glorious Christ becomes. Let Christ be exalted, and He will
draw men to Himself;5 let man be exalted and men will be
drawn away from Christ. One way we benefit, the other
3 Isaiah 6:3 4 Song of Solomon 2:1 5 John 12:32
6
way we suffer. So, let’s dig and have a closer look at
Isaiah 53, one of the most beautiful images of the Person
and work of the Saviour in the entire Bible.
7
ORIENTATION TO ISAIAH 53
Isaiah was a prophet of Judah, whose ministry lasted
about 60 years from, 6 and included the reigns of five
kings. 7 Much of his ministry was directed towards the
idolatrous practices of the nation at that time, her
alliances with alien nations, warning of the inevitable
invasion of Babylon, the accompanying Judean captivity,
and her future restoration and glory.
However, Isaiah has been called the evangelical
prophet because he says so much about the redemptive
work of the Messiah. Other prophets also speak of a
Messiah: Moses, the Psalmist, Jeremiah, Daniel, Amos,
Micah, Zechariah, Malachi; but Isaiah says more about the
Person, His coming, His work, and future Kingdom of
Christ than any other Old Testament book.8 As a matter of
fact, our text has been called the Old Testament Gospel,
and one early writer speaks of God using this chapter
alone to convert people:
It is so undeniable a proof of the truth of Christianity, that
the bare reading of it, and comparing it with the Gospel
history, has converted some unbelievers, and brought them
home to the faith and religion of Jesus Christ.9
Isaiah 53 foretells: The sufferings of the Messiah; the
end for which he was to die and why He suffered and died;
and the benefits to man resulting from that amazing event
and the results of His suffering.10
Among the many divisions the author has examined,
Charles Ryrie has divided the chapter into bite-sized
portions. According to Ryrie, Isaiah 53 can be divided into
four parts: The Suffering Servant: His PERSON, (1-3) His
PASSION, (4-6) His PASSIVITY, (7-9) and His PORTION
6 740 B.C. – 680 B.C 7 Kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, Hezekiah, and Manasseh Ryrie, Charles. 1994. Comparison of the Four Major Prophets, p 1090. Ryrie Study Bible, KJV. Moody Publishers, Chicago. 8 Ryrie, Charles. 1994. Introduction to Isaiah, p 1008. Ryrie Study Bible, KJV. Moody Publishers,
Chicago. 9 Lowth, Wogan, W. Quoted in Isaiah 53, Verse 1 Introduction. British Family Bible Commentary. PowerBible CD [Open Domain]. 10 Isaiah 53, Verse 1 Introduction. Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary. PowerBible CD [Open
Domain]
8
(10-12). 11 And it is this sectioning that we will follow
through the remainder of this discussion.
Isaiah 53 is a continuation of Isaiah 52:13-15
which mentions the great acceptance of the gospel among
the Gentiles:
(v13) Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be
exalted and extolled, and be very high. (14) As many were
astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any
man, and his form more than the sons of men: (15) So shall
he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths
at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see;
and that which they had not heard shall they consider.
Here in verses 13-15, Isaiah speaks of: (a) The
positive reception which the gospel of Christ would find
among the Gentiles; (b) That nations and their kings
would welcome it; (c) That those who had not seen him
should believe in him. In the book of Acts, the Apostle Paul,
and his epistles fulfill this prophecy.12
Now here, almost in amazement, Isaiah foretells
the unbelief of the Jews toward their own Messiah, even
though they had been told of Him repeatedly in Scripture,
from Genesis to Malachi. The Lord spoke of this in John
5:39-40:
Search the scriptures; for in them ye think ye have eternal
life: and they are they which testify of me. (40) And ye will
not come to me …
The Lord speaking to the unbelieving Pharisees13 who
spent hours and years studying the Scriptures, tells them
that everything they had been studying points to Him. Yet
they did not believe.14
Now bring that here to us today and we may observe
that those who study the Bible for the sake of knowledge,
perhaps the case in many a seminary, may well know the
Bible, but may have missed the whole point of the Bible:
11 Ryrie, Charles. 1994. Notes on Isaiah 53, p. 1071-1072. Ryrie Study Bible, KJV. Moody
Publishers, Chicago. 12 Acts 13:46 13 The spiritual leaders of Israel in the days of Christ, who would spend a lifetime mastering the
Law (the Scriptures), even being called “lawyers.” 14 Compare with Matthew 16:15-17.
9
But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the
Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life
through his name (John 20:31).
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded
unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself
(Luke 24:27).
The whole point: Jesus Christ. May we learn then to
put our confidence in Christ the Person, and His finished
work as revealed to us in His Word, and not in our Bible
knowledge.
Now yes, we should know what the Bible says, we are
commanded to study and be ready,15 but we ought not to
seek to simply fill our heads with knowledge in order to
get a passing grade or meet a certain requirement. The
Bible was written for us to know Christ. The well known
verse in 2Peter 3:18 says grow in grace, and in the
knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ: Grace
means sitting at the Lord’s feet, learning of and from Him;
following Him, bearing fruit; obeying His commands;
enduring trials and purgings. Knowledge here, is
knowledge of what? Look at the rest of the verse; of our
Lord and Saviour; of Jesus Christ: His work, His attributes,
His glory, His beauty.
It is not merely knowledge of the Bible, law, doctrine,
theology, church, alone for their own sake, apart from
Christ, isolated from Christ. They cannot be separated
from Christ. Indeed, they are all under Christ. Thus
Hebrews 12:2 says:
Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith …
What does the rest of the verse say?
… who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the
throne of God.
15 2Timothy 2:15 and 1Peter 3:15
10
For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners
against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds
(Heb 12:3).
It’s about Christ: Christ and Him crucified; Him
resurrected; Him interceding. It’s about Christ: our
strength and the power of God, not just Christian living;
because if our lives, hearts, and minds, are centered on
Jesus Christ, everything else will fall into place, and we will
most certainly live Christian lives. We won’t have to
emphasize our ability; we will naturally follow Him, be
more like Him. As we learn at Christ’s feet, we will
naturally learn the doctrine, the Bible, the theology,
because we will be so consumed with knowing Him more
intimately. Hence the Lord tells us that we are to, “love
the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul,
and with all thy strength, and with all thy mind.” 16 If
everything in us is centered on Him, everything else
around us will fall into place.
Getting back to our text: Here in 52:15, surprisingly,
the Gentiles (those of us who are not Jews), having no
prior knowledge of this event, of this Person, would believe
on Him, while the Jews, who had the Scriptures which
testified of a coming Messiah, would not. John 1:11 makes
reference to this as well as Acts 13:46:
He came unto his own, and his own received him not.
[Paul and Barnabas speaking to unbelieving Jews in Galatia]
lo, we turn to the Gentiles.
Therefore, in awe, Isaiah writes 53:1 . . .
16 Luke 10:27
11
VERSE 1
THE ARM OF THE LORD
Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of
the LORD revealed?
Who hath believed our report?
Believed. Isaiah is incredulous that his people, the
Jews, would not believe. As wondrous as the miracles were
which Jesus wrought, and as powerful as the doctrine was
he taught; very few embraced it, and in general they shut
their eyes against all evidence, and refused to hear or
understand. Thus, the Lord speaks to His people in John
10:38 and 14:10 in order to confirm the Scriptures:
But if I do, though ye believe not me, believe the works: that
ye may know, and believe, that the Father is in me, and I in
him.
Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in
me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself:
but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works.
Now, while Gentile nations have heard and believed
the gospel, the Jews, to this day lie in unbelief, having
rejected the Wisdom of God, Jesus Christ. 17 Most Jews
today are still waiting for their Messiah, their deliverer,
their King, even though He has already come. Report,
speaks of the Old Testament prophets’ prophecies that a
Messiah, a Deliverer, would come. It is the message they
preached, and the implication is the same today: Just as
we have the Gospel today, so too, they had the Gospel
then. Our report as Christians is the Gospel. Our command
is to share it with others.18 That is what we are called to
do as believers. That’s our part.
But, we cannot believe the Gospel unless GOD first
does a work in our hearts:
17 1Corinthians 1:24 18 Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 1:8
12
But if our gospel be hid, it is hid to them that are lost: … (6)
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2Corinthians
4:3)
In the beginning, the Spirit of God moved upon the
void and darkness giving life in Genesis 1. And it is the
same today. His Spirit must also move upon the void and
darkness in the heart of a lost (dead) soul:
And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses
and sins (Ephesians 2:1).
The Gospel is hid to the lost who sit in darkness, thus
ours is to preach,19 but the saving part, the giving of sight;
the giving of a heart to desire, seek, and know Jesus
Christ, is of God, because salvation is of the LORD,20 lest
anyone should boast in their own ability.21
Therefore as Christians, we must do what God calls us
to do which is share the report, the Gospel, and humbly
plead to God to grant understanding. It is all of God, and it
is God who must bring us to see our need of Christ:
No man can come to me, except the Father which hath sent
me draw him: and I will raise him up at the last day (John
6:44).
That’s why GOD gets the glory in HIS salvation,
because He works in us:
But as many as received him, to them gave he power to
become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his
name: (13) Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of
the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God (John 1:12-13).
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of
his good pleasure (Philippians 2:13).
And to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
19 Teach, share, witness, give out tracts, Bible study, and the like 20 Jonah 2:9 21 Ephesians 2:9
13
In the Bible, a reference such as this to the arm speaks
of power. In this verse, the arm of the LORD is His power
to deliver, His power to deliver the Jews from their past
circumstances22 and His power to save.
The arm of the LORD is:
1. The Messiah, Jesus Christ:
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God, and the wisdom of God (1Corinthians
1:24).
2. The Gospel:
For I am not ashamed of the gospel of Christ: for it is
the power of God unto salvation to every one that believeth;
to the Jew first, and also to the Greek (Romans 1:16).
The reference here in Isaiah is to Jesus Christ and His
Gospel. The arm of the LORD is His power to save in
overcoming sin and our condemnation by it. The arm of
the LORD is Jesus Christ; His power in salvation in
overcoming the darkness of the human heart.
Thus it is clear: Wherever Christ and His Gospel are
not preached, there is no power. And where Christ is not
preached, there is nothing for God to reveal. That is why
where salvation is the matter at hand, Christ must be
preached, must be taught, and must be shared:
But unto them which are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ
the power of God … (1Corinthians 1:24).
But God hath revealed them unto us by his Spirit …
(1Corinthians 2:10).
No Christ in preaching, teaching, sharing, visitation,
Bible studies, etc. means no Life, no Light, no Bread, no
Way, no Truth, no Door, no Shepherd, no True Vine, no
22 Egypt, their wanderings, their enemies
14
Lamb of God, no blood.23 If we desire to see people saved,
how can we neglect Him in teaching and preaching?
Everything must relate to Christ where souls are
concerned.
How about you today? Have you ever believed the
report? Has the Lord ever revealed His arm to you? Have
you ever seen yourself as needing the arm of God, Jesus
Christ, to save you? Have you ever looked to Him with
eyes of faith and trusted Him for your soul’s salvation from
sin and its eternal consequences? Isaiah 59:1 says:
Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot
save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: (2) But your
iniquities have separated between you and your God, and
your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear.
The report is this: We are separated from God because
of sin, condemned, doomed. And if God left us to
ourselves, we would rightfully perish. Every one of us is a
sinner in the eyes of God: We are born sinners; none of us
are righteous; all of us have sinned and come short of the
glory of God; we are sinners from head to toe, and even
our hearts are wicked: The heart is deceitful above all
things, and desperately wicked; even our good works are
filthy in the eyes of God: all our righteousnesses are as
filthy rags; and we are already condemned from birth.24
We must understand this in order to see the beauty of
Christ (verse 2). God could have left us to ourselves, dead
in trespasses and sin, but He did not. Out of his love, and
for his glory, God made a way:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life (John 3:16).
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
He made a way – the only way that we could come to
Him; that we could be forgiven; that we could be righteous
23 See John 1:4; 8:12; 6:48; 14:6; 10:9; 10:11; 15:1; 1:29; Ephesians 1:7 for these descriptions
of the Lord. 24 John 3:18; Psalm 51:5; Romans 3:10; Romans 3:23; Jeremiah 17:9; Isaiah 64:6; John 3:18
15
in His sight . . . to start again; to be clean before Him; to
have an eternally blessed relationship with Him as it was
in the beginning before Adam’s sin.25
If you see yourself as an unholy sinner, the BAD NEWS
is that you are condemned, you are helpless and hopeless
of yourself, and you must look outside of yourself for
salvation. The GOOD NEWS however, is that Christ died
for you!
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners … (1Timothy
1:15).
God says:
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him
(2Corinthians 5:21).
This is the message of the hour. The Bible says
come, rest in His Word on the finished work of God
through Jesus Christ:
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).
When Jesus therefore had received the vinegar, he said, It is
finished… (John 19:30).
He did the work. He suffered for us. He took our guilt
and shame so you need not!
If you have already believed and are resting on the
finished work of Jesus Christ for your soul’s salvation, be
faithful and continue sharing the report, the Gospel. God
will do His will, and it is not for us to know who will believe
our report, for the secret things belong to the LORD.26 Of
the many that hear the report of the Gospel there are few
that believe it or even listen to it, so don’t be surprised or
discouraged dear Christian when you share the Gospel and
people don’t respond. It’s because it has not been
25 Compare with Genesis 3:8. God was walking in the Garden calling out for Adam. 26 Deuteronomy 29:29
16
revealed to them yet. Just keep sharing. God looks for
faithfulness from you not results:27 leave those to Him.
27 Matthew 25:23
17
VERSE 2
NO BEAUTY…
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.
Last chapter we saw how Isaiah 53 could be divided
into four parts: His PERSON, (1-3) His PASSION, (4-6) His
PASSIVITY, (7-9) and His PORTION (10-12). We learned
that the events in Isaiah 53 were written approximately
700 years before they actually happened; and that they
were written in such great detail, as if they were written
by an eyewitness: a testimony to the inspiration of
Scripture. It also offers one of the clearest descriptions of
the Passion of the Christ in the Bible. Isaiah 53 can also be
considered the Old Testament Gospel. For this cause,
Isaiah was known as the evangelical prophet of the Old
Testament, since much of His writings cover the coming,
the work of, and the future kingdom of the Messiah.28
Isaiah 53 is preceded by Isaiah 52:13-15 which speaks
of the Gentiles’ acceptance of the Messiah which the book
of Acts testifies to as the fulfillment of this prophecy. Thus,
when we get to Isaiah 53:1, he offers a statement of
shock or amazement that who among his people, the Jews,
has believed their (the prophets’) report; and then, to
whom is the arm of the Lord (going to be) revealed.
We also saw just what the arm of the Lord is: the
power of God through Jesus Christ and His Gospel 29 to
save souls. From verse one we may see at least two
implications:
1. That a person can read and study the Bible their
whole lives (as the Pharisees did) and still miss the
point: Jesus Christ;30 the Jews had Isaiah 53, as well
28 Ryrie, Charles. 1994. Introduction of the Book of Isaiah, p 1008. Ryrie Study Bible, KJV. Moody Publishers, Chicago. 29 1Corinthians 1:24; Romans 1:16 30 John 5:39, 40
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as other Scriptures, yet they did not see Christ. A
person may have great knowledge of the Bible, of
theology, of doctrine but never know the Author (and
Finisher of our faith). Not just know about the Author,
for Eternal life is knowing God through His Son Jesus
Christ.31 It is a relationship not acquired information.
Having a degree, a title, or reading many books does
not guarantee spiritual understanding, only God
reveals spiritual things.
2. That since Christ and His Gospel are the power of
God unto salvation, we must be faithful in preaching,
teaching, and sharing Him if there will be any power,
or anything for God to reveal
That brings us now to our current text a
continuation of verse one. Having expressed his shock at
the Jews lack of belief of their Messiah; under the Holy
Spirit’s leading Isaiah goes on to express why. As we
examine the PERSON of the Suffering Servant which
describes the Messiah: (a) what the Jews were to expect;
(b) what He would be like; (c) what they (the Jews) should
look for in their Saviour; and (d) why they rejected Him. If
you are familiar with the last days of the Lord’s earthly
ministry, you know that He was crucified at the almost
unanimous consent of His people. Isaiah 53:2 gives us the
reason why (humanly speaking).
For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant,
and as a root out of dry ground
A new, baby, tender plant is pretty weak, easily
damaged, and fragile. Have you ever seen one? And so
are we humans. The frailty of the human body is clear in
Scripture.32 We are only an illness, heartbeat, or injury
away from death; the weakness of the flesh: and the Lord
took upon Himself this frail fleshly frame33 to accomplish
His work: He had to become a man in order to take our
place and suffer what we suffer. That He might also be an
31 John 17:3 32 “He knoweth our frame…” (Psalm 103:14); “we are as the grass” (1Peter 1:24) 33 John 1:14
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effective High Priest, “For we have not an high priest
which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities;
but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without
sin.”34
A root out of dry ground is coarse, rugged, not
worth a second glance, or even thought. Have you ever
seen one? It just looks like a dried stick in the ground.
Who cares?
This speaks of the Lord’s lowliness, and lowly
background:
At the time of His arrival, the Jewish nation was
conquered and enslaved by the Romans, poor, and
despised;35
The line of David had decayed and become poor, and
perhaps even forgotten;36
He came from Nazareth of Galilee, where nothing good
was expected to come from;37 Nazareth was considered the
bad part of town, a slum or low-income housing area, filled
with crime, shady characters, and poor education (like the
reputation the Bronx, Harlem, or East LA had in the US);
He was a poor itinerant teacher with no place to lay His
head38 with no formal education, from a poor family, whose
followers were poor “fisherman”39;
He did not come into the world as a King, the way one
would have thought the God of the Universe would have. No
riches, no position, no glory, no fame: Just lowly. Not what
we’d expect.40
He hath no form nor comeliness and when we shall
see him, there is no beauty that we should desire
him
He did not look like superman, a super-male model, an
actor, or even royalty; not physically appealing or
34 Hebrews 4:15 35 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 2. Thomas Haweis Commentary. PowerBible CD [Open Domain]; Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 2. Thomas Scott Commentary. PowerBible CD [Open Domain] 36 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 2. Matthew Poole’s Commentary. PowerBible CD [Open Domain];
Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 2. Thomas Haweis Commentary. PowerBible CD [Open Domain] 37 John 1:46 38 Luke 9:58 39 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 2. Thomas Scott Commentary. PowerBible CD [Open Domain] 40 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 2. Thomas Scott Commentary. PowerBible CD [Open Domain]
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attractive by our standards;41 He was, humanly speaking,
a disappointment to the Jews who many years later would
say, “we will not have this man to rule over us;”42 He did
not fit the expectations of the Jews for the God-Man. No
physical attractiveness, no appeal, not what they imagined
a Saviour should look like.
Sadly, the Pharisees were (theologically) educated but
missed the point.43 They neglected the lessons of the past:
King Saul looked like a king, but failed miserably; David’s
son Absalom, a prince was a very handsome young man,
but came up short; Samson was given strength, but used
it selfishly
On the other hand: The apostles were fishermen and a
tax collector but God used them to build His church. Paul
was not an impressive man physically, or in speech, but
God used Him mightily to preach the Good News to the
world of his day. God became a lowly Carpenter from
Galilee to redeem His people
So, what, according to verse 2 is the reason (humanly
speaking) for the Jews rejection of their Messiah? Look at
the first word: For (Because) it was the failure of His
appearance to impress anyone:
He did not look the part.
He did not look like the Son of God.
He did not look like a King.
He did not look like a mighty Deliverer.
Yet, He healed the sick and lame, raised the dead, cast
out demons, bore our sins, and brought salvation. He did
not fit the Jews’ image of a national Saviour, so they
rejected Him, based on appearances alone, the outward
man. They crucified Him because He did not appeal to
their flesh. He did not look good.
And it is the same today: These days our minds are
filled with the mighty warrior mentality. We’ve been
conditioned through computer games, comic books, toys,
and movies that a king a god, a deliverer must be some
41 He didn’t look like that pretty picture we often see hanging on many church walls. He wasn’t deformed either. There is nothing in Scripture to indicate that. 42 Luke 19:14 43 As is the case in with many-a seminary graduate today.
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muscular, intelligent, handsome/beautiful specimen with
sword in hand, ready to kill everyone that threatens. We
prop up handsome, chiseled actors and beautiful, curved
actresses, singers, and movie stars as leaders; people who
appeal to our images: comely, beautiful, people. God told
the Jews 700 years before Christ came what to look for: a
lowly Servant, but they missed it because of vanity
(looking for an impressive figure). They were looking for
great things, but missed the important things.
Let us then beware that in looking for great things we
miss what God says:
That we walk by faith and not by sight . . . but the
world seeks appearances, and aesthetics;
That it is not by might or by power, but by God’s
Spirit . . . but the world seeks physical strength;
That in our flesh dwelleth no good thing . . . yet the
world seeks to reform or improve a hopelessly
corrupted flesh;
That our righteousnesses are as filthy rags . . . but
the world seeks to boast in good deeds;
That it is finished . . . but the world seeks to work
for salvation;
That we are saved by grace, through faith . . . but
the world seeks salvation as a reward for hard work or
good effort.44
And if we bring that to church: Perhaps we too look
to do great, highly visible, and aesthetically acceptable
things to appeal to the opinions of other members, but we
neglect simple acts or opportunities of service in the
church of spiritual value and worth: visitation, cleaning,
texting a brother or sister, praying for the pastor and the
church, loving one another, edifying one another, small
jobs, preparing and or serving food, tract distribution,
giving time/money . . .; OR Perhaps we neglect our lowly,
humble positions in life. Things such as being a good
husband/wife, being a good father/mother, good
son/daughter, good employee, good neighbor . . . because
44 2Corinthians 5:7; Zechariah 4:6; Romans 7:18; Isaiah 64:6; John 19:30; Ephesians 2:8-9
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we want greater things: job success, higher education,
career, a nicer car, more money, more power.
We as people of flesh imagine greater things, but
God doesn’t cater to our wicked imaginations.45 He sent
His Son in humility, meekness, and lowliness (spiritual
qualities), with no beauty, no attractiveness, no
comeliness, no appeal (physical qualities) to please us. If
God were trying to please us with an outward beauty,
maybe everybody would follow Christ, but without
changed hearts; without sincerity; without truth. God
looks on the inward man – the heart.
Christ is God in the flesh, yet his appearance was
unappealing to us . . . why? Because we are flesh and He
is Spirit. He is Good and we are not. Thus it is natural for
us NOT to see His beauty, we are blind to it, because His is
a spiritual beauty, an eternal beauty, a holy beauty.46 But
we do not naturally like holiness. It does not appeal to our
flesh. We run from it. 47 Only God doing a work in a
person’s heart can get us to enjoy it. That is a fruit of
righteousness: that you enjoy holiness, not that you
tolerate it; but that you actually enjoy it!
The Lord’s beauty can be seen in one brother sharing
with another the wonderful things the Lord has shown him
in his Bible reading; or rejoicing because the Lord showed
you how the Old Testament sacrifices more clearly relate
to Christ’s sacrifice; or delighting in the attributes of Jesus
Christ as they are the same as the Father’s; to give a few
examples. How many of us have read something in the
Bible and just rejoiced because it was so beautiful? That is
enjoying beauty that the world cannot see.
Now because they cannot see it, the world often tries
to make Jesus acceptable, and appealing by painting
pretty, femininely-handsome pictures of Jesus. But that’s
only physical appeal, NOT Biblical appeal. The world needs
the eternal-spiritual beauty of Christ, not an appealing
picture of Him. Those pictures are of another Jesus as
spoken of by Paul in 2Corinthians 11:4, not the uncomely
Christ presented in Isaiah 53:2. Psalm 31:30 says,
45 See Genesis 6:5 46 Psalm 29:2 “Give unto the LORD the glory due unto his name; worship the LORD in the beauty
of holiness” 47 John 3:20
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“beauty is vain.” Matthew 23:27 says, “Woe unto you,
scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto
whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward,
but are within full of dead men's bones, and of all
uncleanness.” These verses and more tell us that physical
beauty, attractiveness; appeal is not what we ought to be
focusing on.
Christ’s is a real, true, and lasting beauty: His
holiness; the fact that He cannot/does not/will not lie; His
self-sacrificing love; His righteousness; the peace He
brings; perfect in His ways; merciful; full of grace and
truth. That is the beauty the world cannot see, because it
is blinded to it.48 Therefore Dear Reader, praise God if He
has enlightened your understanding to see it. And not just
to see it, but to adore it, and to adore Him.
God sent His Son to earth in humility, meekness, and
lowliness (spiritual qualities), no beauty, no attractiveness,
no comeliness, no appeal, (physical qualities) to show us:
that His ways are not our ways, that His thoughts are not
our thoughts; that He looks at the inward man (the heart),
while we look at the outward man (appearances); that He
has chosen the weak things, and lowly things, and base
things to confound the wise, so that He would be glorified
by the demonstration of His power, and not man’s.49
How often, we as humans look for some grander way
to enter heaven; some outstanding effort or work to earn
the right to enter heaven, but miss Christ because He
doesn’t fit our opinion of a Saviour (too lowly, too simple,
too easy), so we say, “I’ll do it my way,” but to an eternal
regret. Few in Jesus’ day expected a Saviour such as He
even though God foretold of it in Scripture, they did not
get it, and many people today don’t get it either. Many
don’t respond to humility, meekness, and lowliness.
Though the Lord had in His power, legions of angels50 to
destroy earth, He demonstrated an uncharacteristic-to-
mankind, godly meekness, that only He could, because
none of us are God.
People do however respond to beauty (physical,
temporal), degrees, money, force and fierceness, violence,
48 2Corinthians 4:4 49 Isaiah 55:9; 1Samuel 16:7; 1Corinthians 1:27 50 Matthew 26:53
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arrogance and pride. The movies, books, and computer
games portray these things. But this is not God’s way. God
tells us to be meek, live peacefully with all men. This is
what glorifies Christ, not the behavior of the flesh.51 And
here in verse two we see Christ as our Example.52 This is
Christ-like, and may HIS beauty, not the world’s version of
it, be reflected in us and from us as Christians (Christ
ones). May we then learn therefore to follow the Lord’s
example and not strive for or be consumed with fleshly
appeal, but cultivate and nurture the inner man in Christ.
Nobody naturally desires Christ. Nobody can
naturally see His beauty. We’ve seen that there is no
beauty that we should desire Christ (humanly speaking).
Now as was presented last chapter, if you are a believer,
at some point, God has revealed the beauty of His Son
from Scripture and given you a desire for Him.53
However, as happens over time, we lose that first
attraction, that appeal, that affection we once had as new
believers, because we change over time. But Jesus Christ
never changes. His Word says so: “Jesus Christ the same
yesterday, and to day, and for ever.” 54 Therefore, if
someone has changed, it is us, you and me. Our eyes
have become dim, our thinking clouded, and our hearts
cold. Why? Because the things of this world compete with
that affection for the Lord in our hearts:
Our desires; our possessions; our money, and how to
make more; our pursuits; our promotion; our
education; our family; our friends; our “priorities;" or
other “more important things”
We give them higher importance, pre-eminence if you
will in our hearts, minds, and lives. But the Lord says, “set
your affections on things above, on heavenly places where
Christ sits at the right hand of God the Father.”55 If we do
that, we just might see more of His beauty.
51 Let this mind be in you… (Philippians 2:5) 52 Compare with 1Peter 2:21 53 For me it was in 2001, in Philippians 3:9, “And be found in him, not having mine own righteousness…” 54 Hebrews 13:8 55 Colossians 3:1-2
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Dear Reader, you may be reading this book
and . . . Be religiously seeking to promote your own
righteousness instead of trusting in Christ’s, or have never
seen the beauty of Christ, or have never had a radical
change in your life: no time in your life when your
direction has changed; or you have never been led by the
Spirit of God, and never had fellowship with others who do.
Perhaps you enjoy the sins of the world without conviction
or fear of God. Or maybe you have never had a desire for
the things of God, or do not understand the Scriptures,
and or you are aware that you are not saved, and may be
seeking God. It may be that you are a Christian who
cannot see the beauty of Christ anymore, or who comes to
church as a tradition or as an obligation, who has little
interest in Isaiah 53, and or who no longer shares the joy
of other believers in knowing Christ more.
As we study Isaiah 53 out, Lord willing, we will see
more beauty in Christ and His worthiness of your utmost
affections, but please allow me to share a little more of His
beauty in closing this chapter:
The Bible says, “He came unto His own, and His own
received him not:” that by Him were all things created: by
Him and for Him; that the Word, the Creator God, became
flesh, and that God was manifest in the flesh to take away
sins.56 Creator God came to us, but there was no warm
welcome, no parade, no comforts, without wealth, to
suffer at the hands of men and take our punishment upon
Himself. He left Glory. Why? He did not have to. Why did
He? Because of love. Why else would He do it? John 3:16
says it all, “For God so loved the world …” Now, the Bible
also says, “When we were yet without strength, Christ
died for the ungodly.57”
When we were yet without strength. We had no
power with God, nothing to boast about, unable to reach
the glory of God; beggars . . .
Separated from God (our strength)
Dead in sin
Sinners from birth
56 John 1:11; Colossians 1:16; John 1:1, 14; 1Timothy 3:16 57 Romans 5:6
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Cursed
Guilty
Condemned
Unrighteous
Could not possibly inherit the kingdom of God.
When we were yet without strength, Christ died
for the ungodly. We had no perfection before God; not
just beggars, but filthy beggars . . .
We are liars from birth (Psalm 58:3);
We are all under sin (Galatians 3:22);
We fall into lust, fornication, idolatry, wrath, strife,
disobedience, envy, murder, reveling, drunkenness,
hatred (Galatians 5:19).58
When we were in this condition, HE came to US. . .
When WE had no power, no strength, easily broken,
nothing to boast about; When WE were dead in sin,
wretched sinners, in a world of sin, condemned, poor,
beggars, abominable, ungodly; When WE were
unappealing and unattractive; When WE had no beauty
that HE should desire US!
HE took our punishment, our just reward, for our sin,
our wages of sin upon Himself. He was made sin for us:
the just for the unjust so that we might be forgiven; that
we might be reconciled to God; that we might be made
righteous in Him; that we might have peace with God; that
we might not be condemned; and that we might have
eternal life.59
Now that is beautiful! That is praiseworthy! That is
worth our undying devotion! May God grant unto each of
us to see Christ’s beauty whether to be refreshed, to be
reminded, or for the first time. Lowly and meek He came,
but very able to save.
58 Maybe you say, “oh, I’ve never done those things” but do you take pleasure in them that do
them while watching television dramas or movies? Then you are also guilty (Matthew 5:28;
Romans 1:28). Do you imagine them at times? Then you are also guilty (1John 3:15). 59 2Corinthians 5:21; 1Peter 3:18; 1John 2:12; 2Corinthians 5:18; Romans 10:4; Romans 5:1;
Romans 8:1; John 3:16
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VERSE 3
MAN OF SORROWS
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.
In the previous chapter we looked at verse 2. We
looked at the reason for Israel’s rejection of their Messiah
and the implications for us today. But, before we proceed
further let us review some key points as we build up to the
climax of this wonderful chapter in the Bible:
First, we saw that the Lord’s PERSON as portrayed in
Isaiah 53:2 is one of a tender plant, which refers to His
human frailty, that he took upon Himself the form of a
man. God tabernacled Himself in the flesh, and dwelt
among us.60
Next, we saw the Lord’s PERSON described as “a root
out of a dry ground,” which refers to His lowliness and
lowly background.
We also read that He had “no form or comeliness,”
making reference to the fact that the Lord was not
physically attractive or appealing, dispelling the myths that
He was effeminate, almost girlish in appearance as
portrayed in many-a picture in churches and on house
walls.
Fourthly, according to 53:2, what was the reason
(humanly speaking) for Israel’s rejection of her Messiah?
It was because he was not physically attractive or
appealing. He was lowly. He was not what they wanted in
a Saviour. That should remind us that God does not look
on the outward man, but the heart is where the Lord
looks.61
So, what is the beauty of Christ? It is a spiritual beauty,
an inward beauty, hidden from men’s eyes, to be revealed
only by God.62 And as Christians, what so often clouds our
60 John 1:14 61 1Samuel 16:7 62 Compare with Galatians 3:23 and Ephesians 3:5
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view of Christ’s beauty? We so often get distracted by the
things of this world.
From these things, we saw at least two implications
for us: (a) That we as people so often judge by the
physical, and neglect the spiritual; (b) That the beauty of
Christ is not something we naturally see.
That brings us now to our current text, verse 3 a
continuation of verse 2. As we conclude our examination
of the Suffering Servant: His PERSON, which describes the
Messiah – what Israel was to expect, what He would be
like, and what they (the Jews) should look for in their
Saviour. The result of verse 2 (His appearance) leads to
verse 3 (His treatment):
He is despised and rejected of men
Despised, is synonymous with scorn; contempt; to
look down on; loathed; detested; unloved. The Lord was
hated, especially by the scribes and priests who should
have known better. He was sent out of synagogues, faced
angry mobs who wanted to kill Him, townspeople sent Him
out of their towns, there were plots to kill Him, He was
betrayed by a friend, and traded for a murderer. The
prophetic Psalm 22:6 describes the Lord’s emotions:
But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and
despised of the people.
His own people cried out, “Crucify Him, Crucify Him!”63
Yet, He was innocent of any evil.64
He was rejected, forsaken of men, discarded,
unwanted, no longer regarded as a man. But the Stone
rejected by the Jews has become the Chief Cornerstone to
those who believe:
“This is the stone which was set at nought of you builders,
which is become the head of the corner" (Acts 4:11)
He is become the Rock of our salvation – for all those who
believe on Him.
63 Luke 23:21 64 As testified by Pilate, Herod, and Judas, His enemies
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Nevertheless, these days He is still rejected: He is
rejected in public schools and public education; rejected in
science; rejected in prayers of public office; rejected in
religious organizations; rejected at Christmas-time; and
yes, even rejected in some churches. Very few speak of
Him. Very few want to.
A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief
Sorrow, speaks of deep distress and or mental
anguish. His deep anguish over the results of sin upon His
perfect Creation; upon the beloved people He created. He
cried over Jerusalem and He wept,65 and Hebrews 5:7 says,
Who in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers
and supplications with strong crying and tears…
He was no stranger to tears, which would have been a
constant companion for the Man of sorrows. He wept for
the effects of sin, for the fallen creation, not because He
was thwarted, but because He is compassionate!
He became a man of sorrows seeing the sorrows
of sin: The disease, the pain, the suffering, the misery,
the death, and its effects upon people; the anger, the
wrath, the lust, the fornication, the strife, the idolatry, the
covetousness, the envy, the thievery, the murder, the
drunkenness, His sorrow at the consequences of
unholiness in His once Holy Creation, contrary to His holy
nature, and on and on the list of sin goes. Holy God
entered a fallen creation and beheld as a man, firsthand
the cruelty and grotesqueness of sin. Thus we have a High
Priest who CAN be touched with the feeling of our
infirmities.66
We do not read of Him laughing in Scripture. Some
Christian materials present Him as a happy walking around
with a grin on His face but that’s not the Jesus of the Bible,
it is another Jesus. 67 He was a Man of sorrows whose
distinguishing characteristic was sorrow. Why else would
65 Luke 19:41 and John 11:35 66 Hebrews 4:15 67 2Corinthians 11:4
30
He be given that title? He bore the sorrows of the world:
the effects of sin, in this world of sinners.
He was also acquainted with grief. Grief is an
emotional suffering from bereavement such as the loss of
a loved one or disaster: in other words, the pain of sin.
Sorrow and grief go hand in hand: Sorrow is the woe of sin,
while grief is the pain of sin. The Lord was in constant
contact with grief. He was acquainted with it. He was
familiar with it. He had intimate first-hand knowledge of it
from others whose grief He shared. He sympathized and
was compassionate; and not only that, He helped ease the
suffering by healing the lame, the lepers, the blind, the
dumb, the sick with palsy, casting out demons, raising the
dead. He knew well the grief of the people around Him,
and He helped them.
But, He also sweat drops of blood for His own
sorrow and grief: That He would be brutally treated:
beaten, smitten, whipped, spit on, carry His cross, and
crucified. A lamb to the slaughter, bearing the sins of
many upon Himself, finally separated from the Father
before death! God the Father could no longer look upon
His Son who became sin for us, who knew no sin, that we
might be made the righteousness of God in Him.68 Jesus
Christ was separated from His Father from eternity, crying
out, “My God, My God, why hast Thou forsaken me!” He
alone could bear it, the God-Man, our God-Man. He shared
our grief, but He bore His own alone, for you and for me.
O, so great a salvation which came at such a high price!
Now Christian, the next time you are tired, look to
Christ:
For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners
against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds
(Hebrews 12:3).
Looking at Christ, should take our minds off of our
griefs, and place them properly, squarely, upon the
precious work of the Saviour on your behalf.
68 2Corinthians 5:21
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But for all that . . . we hid as it were our faces from
him
We speaks of the Jews, including Isaiah himself; but
WE, the children of Adam are included here; you and me
by default.
Hid. Why do we hide our faces from people? Because
we don’t want them to see us or look directly at them in
acknowledgement; we don’t want to talk to them or be
near them; we’re trying to ignore them; trying to avoid
them; embarrassed to be seen with them. The Lord was
treated as a leper. People hid their faces from Him, out of
shame to know Him; Even His disciples ran away and
forsook or denied Him.69 It’s the same today. Mention the
name of Jesus Christ and many people’s faces will change,
or they will change the subject; or walk away, or get quiet.
People don’t want to talk about Him, don’t want to know
Him, do not want to be seen with Him. So the Lord says in
John 3:20, “every one that doeth evil hateth the light.”
The Lord is the light, and we naturally avoid it, because
our deeds are naturally evil from birth:70
And this is the condemnation, that light is come into the
world, and men loved darkness rather than light, because
their deeds were evil (John 3:19).
The natural man doesn’t even want to be around the
Name of that Light.
But to the believer, it is a precious name:
…there is none other name under heaven given among
men, whereby we must be saved (Acts 4:12).
Worthy of honor and praise to whom all will bow the
knee:
That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things
in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth
(Philippians 2:10).
69 Mark 14:50 70 Psalm 58:3, “The wicked are estranged from the womb: they go astray as soon as they be born,
speaking lies.”
32
And there ought to be NO shame in His Gospel: …for it is the power of God unto salvation to every one that
believeth (Romans 1:16).
Not only did we hide our faces from Him, but …
we esteemed him not. He was not given the glory due
His name. He wasn’t valued for who He was. The Jews
preferred a murder, Barabbas, over Him.71
And the natural man today thinks little of Him too.
To the lost He is only a man, a teacher, a prophet, part of
a religious collection, just the Son of God, just Jesus my
buddy; just a picture on a wall, window dressing, just an
ingredient to salvation;72 just someone I read about in the
Bible, just someone I hear about on Sunday mornings,
just a guy who died on a cross, just someone in a movie I
saw.
Hollywood tries to portray characters like Braveheart,
or Joan of Arc who suffered terribly for their causes, but
nevertheless perhaps Hollywood, the world, the devil are
trying to indirectly reduce Jesus’ sufferings to the same.
However, none of these people either real or make believe
EVER carried the sins of the world on themselves. No one
has suffered the physical, mental, or spiritual anguish that
the Lord suffered. And we esteemed Him not.
But thankfully, He did not come for our esteem. He did
not need it. He is God. And He does not need our pity
either. Don’t feel sorry for God. We ought to weep for
ourselves:
And as they led him away, they laid hold upon one Simon, a
Cyrenian, coming out of the country, and on him they laid
the cross, that he might bear it after Jesus. (27) And there
followed him a great company of people, and of women,
which also bewailed and lamented him. (28) But Jesus
turning unto them said, Daughters of Jerusalem, weep not
for me, but weep for yourselves, and for your children (Luke
23:26).
71 John 18:40 72 I.e. Christ + my work = heaven
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Be sorrowful for what we did to the Lord, that is
needful, but don’t pity Almighty God. He did not come for
our esteem: He came to save. Even without our regard for
Him, He did what He had to do. He came and He finished
the work. How often do we look for someone to watch us
do something so that we can be applauded for our efforts?
But, the Lord did not look for men’s esteem because, “that
which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in
the sight of God."73
Scripture tells us the world, the natural man, hates
Christ:
“If the world hate you, ye know that it hated me before it
hated you” (John 15:18).
But this cometh to pass, that the word might be fulfilled that
is written in their law, They hated me without a cause (John
15:25).
Naturally we despise and reject Him, hide our faces
from Him, and esteem Him not. How about you Dear
Reader – Who is Christ to you?
Is He worthy of your esteem? Is He precious to you
or is He despised? Are you rejecting Him, or have you
received Him in your heart? Is He worthy of your worship?
There is a difference between the Christian and the non-:
To one, Christ is worthy of esteem, precious, acceptable,
worth worshipping. To the other, Christ is not attractive,
not worthy, not desirable, and cause to hide his face from.
So, from verse 2, we learned that Christ was not appealing
to the flesh, which led to verse 3, the results of this lack of
appeal to the flesh. But His doctrine was good, He
performed miracles and healed the sick as an
authentication of His ministry and Godhood. He was the
Messiah prophesied in Scripture, but the flesh prevented
them then, and people now from coming to Him.
He did not come in glory and majesty; His Gospel,
His story, is not preached with “enticing words of man’s
73 Luke 16:15
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wisdom but in demonstration of the Spirit and of power”74
with “plainness of speech.”75
Now Christ came in plainness, but He will return in
power, majesty, and glory, and will be worshipped:
Thus saith the LORD, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy
One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation
abhorreth, to a servant of rulers, Kings shall see and arise,
princes also shall worship, because of the LORD that is
faithful, and the Holy One of Israel, and he shall choose thee
(Isaiah 49:7).
And He will judge the world. Revelation 20:11-15 gives
a troubling account of the end:
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there
was found no place for them. (12) And I saw the dead, small
and great, stand before God; and the books were opened:
and another book was opened, which is the book of life: and
the dead were judged out of those things which were written
in the books, according to their works. (13) And the sea gave
up the dead which were in it; and death and hell delivered up
the dead which were in them: and they were judged every
man according to their works. (14) And death and hell were
cast into the lake of fire. This is the second death. (15) And
whosoever was not found written in the book of life was cast
into the lake of fire.
In the end, the Lord will be the only one worth
esteeming. The Lord says:
For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the
unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in
the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit” (1Peter 3:18).
If you haven’t already, trust Him. Turn and come, seek
His grace to turn from sin and self, to see His worthiness,
His glory, and rest in Him, even now.
74 1Corinthians 2:4 75 2Corinthians 3:12
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VERSE 4
HE CARRIED OUR SORROWS
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:
yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and
afflicted.
How often Christ and His work are tacked on to the
end of messages. But what preachers forget is that Jesus
Christ IS the message. According to Paul, Christ was all he
wanted to know:
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save
Jesus Christ, and him crucified (1Corinthians 2:2).
But we preach Christ crucified … (1Corinthians 1:23).
Unto him [God] be glory in the church by Christ Jesus
throughout all ages, world without end. Amen (Ephesians
3:21).
So it shouldn’t be an unusual thing to hear Jesus Christ
exalted, magnified, praised, honored and preached in HIS
churches. Yet, there are some Christians who think it
unnecessary because of course, everybody’s a Christian in
church, or so people think. Some church members are
even offended when Christ is preached. But the truth is, if
you want a powerful message, if you want a message that
will save souls and transform lives, preach Christ:
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto
me (John 12:32).
Maybe you already know about Jesus. Maybe you have
already heard about what He did. Maybe you have even
studied it; read it in your Bible several months ago, or
even saw it in a movie. I’m not talking about a movie
review here, the question is, what does the Passion of the
Christ mean to YOU? Is it boring to hear about again? Is it
old news or good news? Do you enjoy hearing about it or
are you tired of it?
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How we answer these questions is a good measure of
how and where we are spiritually. To every Christian this
ought to be a precious, honored, and even a joyful event
in our hearts, minds, and mouths. Sadly though, to many,
it is just an old story. So, as we begin to uncover the
PASSION of the Suffering Servant, examine yourself, and
see what it means to you.
Surely he hath borne our griefs
Last chapter, we saw that the person of the Lord was
despised, rejected of men, and esteemed not. These first
three verses conclude the narrative of Jesus Christ, his
PERSON. The next three verses (4-6) cover his PASSION
(suffering): what he endured at our hands and why.
Surely, that is certainly He bore our griefs and carried
our sorrows because He had NONE of His own to bear. The
Lord is perfect, blameless, righteous, without sin, “a lamb
without blemish and without spot.”76
Surely he hath borne our griefs. Borne, means to
endure. Our, pertains to us, not His own griefs, but ours.
Griefs, are our sicknesses, infirmities, diseases (physical
and spiritual). So in Matthew 8:17 the Lord quotes this
verse using the word sicknesses:
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the
prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our
sicknesses.
He bore our griefs; that is: (a) He endured them in
removing them, in healing them; and (b) He endured
hardship and fatigue in healing our miseries of the flesh.
We read of Him healing people from day until night.77
He bore our griefs and … carried our sorrows:
There are at least four sorrows the Lord carried for us
which we can relate here:
76 1Peter 1:19 77 Compare with Mark 1:29-34
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1. Sorrow of a WASTED LIFE
A life spent on sin and self. How many people are there
who wish they had done something different with their
lives? How many regrets are there at the end of a life
wasted on vanity? The Bible says all in this life is vanity:78
Our lives and this world79 and that one day everything is
going to be burned up.80 Yet, how much of our lives are
spent chasing vain things; things that will burn up; things
that will bring us no eternal pleasure. Hebrews 11:25 says,
the pleasures of sin is but only for a season. That is, sin
has no lasting value.
But Jesus Christ came that we need not experience the
sorrow of a wasted life: In Christ we are new creatures,
instead of the old corrupted people we are originally. In
Christ we are created unto good works, not fleshly works,
not wasted efforts. In Christ we can bear much fruit,
instead of fruitlessness. In Christ we can have an
abundant life, instead of a life of misery. Christ offers us
eternal life in Him, an eternally blessed, sins-forgiven
relationship with the God of the universe. In Christ life is
not wasted: “and the world passeth away, and the lust
thereof: but he that doeth the will of God abideth for ever.
O, what a wasted life is one spent on sin and self; one
filled with ungodly sorrows.81
2. Sorrow of CONDEMANTION
Jesus Christ suffered that we need no longer sorrow
over our own personal sins which condemn us. Before one
sees the beauty of Christ there is a time of sorrow,
whether brief or prolonged, but it is a godly sorrow that
brings us to Christ:
For godly sorrow worketh repentance to salvation not to be
repented of: but the sorrow of the world worketh death
(2Corinthians 7:10).
78 Ecclesiastes 1:2 79 “Man is like to vanity: his days are as a shadow that passeth away” (Psalm 144:4); “all is
vanity and vexation of spirit” (Ecclesiastes 1:14). 80 2Peter 3:10 81 2Corinthians 5:17; Ephesians 2:10; John 15:8; John 10:10; 1John 2:17
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It is a sorrow over sin, your sin, your sin before God,
and His judgment upon you, your condemnation. Have you
ever suffered this sorrow? If you have, or if you are
experiencing it now, praise God! Because Christ carried
your sorrow, it means that He carried your SIN. Acts
13:39 says, “And by Him [Jesus Christ] all that believe are
justified from all things.”
The Doctrine of Justification is a truly blessed study,
but not for the pages of this text. Nevertheless,
justification simplified is this: Every person who trusts in
the finished work of the Lord Jesus Christ alone is counted
righteous; 82 that in the eyes of God, your standing in
Christ is just as if your had never sinned. You are declared
legally not guilty of breaking the law of God; declared
legally righteous by the judge himself . . . GOD!
Hence Romans 10:4 puts it this way, “For Christ is the
end of the law for righteousness to every one that
believeth.” Therefore, all who believe, are justified by faith
in Christ, and need not sorrow over our sinful standing
before God. Of course, we sorrow over our daily sins; this
is part of the process of sanctification, as long as we are
on this earth. But, the sorrow of condemnation need no
longer plague you. It is replaced by joy at the time of
conversion.
3. Sorrow of FINAL JUDGMENT
One day, all those who lived life outside of Christ,
whatever their status in life, whatever their educational
attainment, whatever their problems in life were, will
stand before the Great White Throne of judgment:
And I saw a great white throne, and him that sat on it, from
whose face the earth and the heaven fled away; and there
was found no place for them (Revelation 20:11).
Sadly, it will be too late then. Great people, strong
people, famous people, mighty people, poor people,
everyone not found in Christ will stand before God and
82 Romans 4:3
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give an account of their lives. There will be no more
boasting, no more haughty looks, no more laughing, no
more rebellious attitudes, God alone will be exalted. Isaiah
2:11-22 offers a vivid description of that day:
11 The lofty looks of man shall be humbled, and the
haughtiness of men shall be bowed down, and the LORD
alone shall be exalted in that day. (12) For the day of the
LORD of hosts shall come upon everyone that is proud and
lofty, and upon everyone that is lifted up; and he shall be
brought low: (13) And upon all the cedars of Lebanon, that
are high and lifted up, and upon all the oaks of Bashan, (14)
And upon all the high mountains, and upon all the hills that
are lifted up, (15) And upon every high tower, and upon
every fortified wall, (16) And upon all the ships of Tarshish,
and upon all beautiful vessels. 17 And the loftiness of man
shall be bowed down, and the haughtiness of men shall be
made low: and the LORD alone shall be exalted in that
day.(18) And the idols he shall utterly abolish. (19) And they
shall go into the caves of the rocks, and into the holes of the
earth, for fear of the LORD, and for the glory of his majesty,
when he arises to shake mightily the earth. (20) In that day
a man shall cast away his idols of silver, and his idols of gold,
which they made, each for himself to worship, to the moles
and to the bats; (21) To go into the clefts of the rocks, and
into the tops of the ragged rocks, for fear of the LORD, and
for the glory of his majesty, when he arises to shake mightily
the earth. (22) Turn away from man, whose breath is in his
nostrils: for of what account is he?83
Based on works, no man can stand before God and say
he is righteous. 84 However, God will judge them by
works,85 so they may know that their condemnation is just,
and deserved. It ought to trouble the lost soul to know
that God keeps a record of our deeds, if that’s the method
one prefers to be judged by. The Bible says that in our
flesh dwells no good thing 86 and that all our
righteousnesses are as filthy rags.87
83 Couric, Robert A. 2003. King James 2000 Bible, The. Online [Open source]. Accessed
September 20, 2014. 84 See Romans 3:20; Galatians 3:16 85 Revelation 20:12 86 Romans 7:18 87 Isaiah 64:6
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Dear Reader, you don’t want to stand before GOD
in judgment, you will lose! It will be the lowly Christ, who
was rejected of men, despised, and unesteemed who will
judge:
… and whosoever was not found written in the book of life
was cast into the lake of fire (Revelation 20:15). But Jesus Christ suffered that we need never
experience this sorrow.
Condemnation is certain because we are already
condemned.88 But God gives us His Word which tells us
that, “we may have boldness in the day of judgment:
because as he [Jesus Christ] is, so are we in this world.”89
There is only one way to escape the Great White Throne
Judgment, and that is through Jesus Christ. Romans 8:1
tell us, “There is therefore now no condemnation to them
which are in Christ Jesus…”
Believers will also be judged, 90 but not for
punishment, because Christ already took our just
punishment on the cross:
For we must all appear before the judgment seat of Christ;
that every one may receive the things done in his body,
according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad
(2Corinthians 5:10).
So may believers seek to reduce any sorrow then by
abiding in Christ, and walking in the Spirit:
I am the vine, ye are the branches: He that abideth in me,
and I in him, the same bringeth forth much fruit: for without
me ye can do nothing (John 15:5).
This I say then, Walk in the Spirit, and ye shall not fulfil the
lust of the flesh (Galatians 5:16).
88 John 3:18 89 1John 4:17 90 2Corinthians 5:10
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4. ETERNAL Sorrow
The final sorrow Jesus came to bear for us, so we
would not have to, is eternal sorrow in hell, and ultimately
the Lake of Fire,91 where there is no hope of release.92
There will be eternal regret, 93 eternal darkness, 94 and
eternal torment. 95 But those who find themselves there
will bear the eternal sorrow of knowing that Christ suffered
that we need not experience this sorrow. If you are born
again, God revealed to you from His Word that Christ took
your place, and by God-given faith you looked to Him for
your soul’s salvation, so you would not suffer this
sorrow. . . isn’t that praiseworthy?!
If you have not yet looked to Christ and reading this,
you will experience this sorrow if you do not turn to Him.
That’s the bad news. These things await those who neglect
Christ. A person does not have to do anything to obtain
this sorrow: any bad deed, any crime, any evil because we
are already born into this path:
… he that believeth not is condemned already (John 3:18).
Psalm 51:5 implicitly implies that in sin we are
conceived; Romans 3:23, tells us in no uncertain words
that all have sinned; and Romans 3:10, makes it clear that
there is none righteous. BUT there is good news:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but
have everlasting life (John 3:16).
God could not allow us to be with Him in heaven in our
corrupt condition, because He is holy, but in love, He sent
His Son to bear the sorrows that rightfully belong to us.
91 Revelation 20:15 92 Revelation 20:10 – forever 93 Matthew 13:49 – weeping and gnashing of teeth 94 Jude 13 – The blackness of darkness for ever 95 Luke 16:22 – rich man in torments
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He carried our sorrows yet … we did esteem him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
The Jews despised Jesus so much that they presumed
He was being punished by God for some evil that He had
done. John 5:18 tells us:
Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he
not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was
his Father, making himself equal with God.
Instead of grieving over His suffering, they were glad
about it. Isaiah 53 tells us that they did not consider that
He was innocent; they did not consider that He spoke the
truth, which was authenticated by His miracles. They did
not even consider that He was the Messiah of Scripture.
If they had put to heart Isaiah 53, instead of just
reading it for knowledge alone, or if they had studied the
Scriptures instead of just memorizing them, they may
have realized (humanly speaking) that the man before
them was indeed the Saviour, come from God, the
Messiah. Luke 24:25 states it even better:
… all that the prophets have spoken: (26) Ought not Christ
to have suffered these things …
And here it is over 2,000 years later and it is still the
same: Who considers that Christ died for them, for their
sins? Many know about Jesus Christ, but they do not know
Him. Many try to proclaim their own righteousness; many
do not consider Romans 3:10 seriously: there is none
righteous. And many do not look at Jesus Christ as bearing
their sins.
Our spiritual disability is that we are blind to our sin.
But when God reveals it to us, it will trouble us; it will
disturb us enough to seek God’s mercy in the face of Jesus
Christ, our only hope. How about you Dear Reader? Has
He carried your griefs and your sorrow? The Lord says
believe; Believe on Him, that HE has carried your griefs
and your sorrows. But it means that you must first
conclude that they are rightfully your griefs and YOUR
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sorrows HE bore and carried; that YOU deserve them and
NOT the LORD.
The Lord says that we are ALL guilty, and the only just
reward for our guilt is eternal separation from God in a
place called the Lake of Fire. This is the only way we can
properly pay for our own sins. But God made a way, one
way out of our sorrows through faith in His Son Jesus
Christ and his finished work.
There is nothing we can do to be saved. We cannot
work enough; we cannot earn enough good points to
outweigh the bad. Only Christ could bear our burdens, the
God-Man. The Lord did for us what we could not do for
ourselves. He did it on His cross 2,000 years ago, out of
love. It was for sinners that He suffered and died, and that
Saviour is beautiful!
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VERSE 5
HE WAS WOUNDED
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.
Verse five is the second verse continuing the PASSION
of the Christ. Last time, we saw in verse four His afflictions
of soul; that though He bore our griefs and carried our
sorrows, and that we presumed that He was being
chastised by God for His own evil, without realizing that
surely he carried ours, and so we esteemed Him stricken,
smitten of God and afflicted. Now, as we continue on, we
see the afflictions of body. Four words are used to describe
the pains of the Lord in this passage: wounded, bruised,
chastisement, stripes. “How many, how varied, and how
acute were his pains none of us can tell.”96 More is said
here, of the very low condition to which he abased and
humbled himself, to which he became obedient even to
the death of the cross.
But…
We are met by a profound but, a correction of thought.
But is a contrasting thought from the preceding clause. It
is a connector that says, wait, do not think that way
anymore (the previous verse). It is a correction; a change
in perspective; consider this instead of that.
But, this was a most false and unrighteous sentence.
And it is from here we springboard into verse 5:
… 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.
Now look at it again from verse four:
96 Spurgeon, Charles. Spurgeon Devotional Commentary. Isaiah 53, Verse 1. Power Bible CD
[Open Domain]
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Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet
we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted …
(v5) 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.
But (verse 5) is an interjection of a correction of
thought. But He was wounded, bruised, chastized, and
endured stripes . . . not for Himself but for others; for us:
Isaiah to the Jews, and by grace to us, the Gentiles).
He was given a fourfold punishment for our sins; a very
thorough, a very fierce recompense for the sins of many. For
the guilt of their sins, which he had voluntarily taken upon
himself, and for the recompense of their sins secured by
God; the Lord was wounded with thorns, nails, and spear;
bruised with strokes and buffetings: his back ploughed up
with stripes and scourging. For our transgressions; for or
because of them, as this particle commonly signifies?97
He was wounded
These wounds were not just mental sorrows, but also
physical. A wound is a physical injury that leads to death,
and it signifies the totality of the Lord’s physical anguish.98
It literally means "pierced.”99 We can see the relationship
between wounding and piercing in the prophetic Psalm
22:16:
For dogs have compassed me: the assembly of the wicked
have inclosed me: they pierced my hands and my feet.
Compare that with Luke 23:33:
And when they were come to the place, which is called
Calvary, there they crucified him …
97 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 5. Matthew Poole’s Commentary. PowerBible CD [Open Domain] 98 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 5. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary. PowerBible CD [Open Domain] 99 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 5. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary. Power Bible CD [Open
Domain]
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The Lord was not only wounded (pierced) by the nails
in his hands and feet, but also wounded by the thorns in
His head, and the spear in his side.
He was wounded for our transgressions
The word transgression means to pass over or beyond
(God’s commands) as taught by Scripture:
Whosoever committeth sin transgresseth also the law: for sin
is the transgression of the law (1John 3:4).
And our transgressions required wounding, a just
recompense for our collective breaking of God’s laws:
… the soul that sinneth, it shall die (Ezekiel 18:4).
But God shall wound the head of his enemies, and the hairy
scalp of such an one as goeth on still in his trespasses (Psalm
68:21)
The beauty of Christ is revealed in His work, when we
see that because all of us are guilty of sin, we shall die.100
As a consequence of our fallen state, we are naturally
enemies of God,101 whom God shall wound the heads.102
Jesus Christ took upon Himself the wounds meant for US.
He was bruised for our iniquities
He was bruised. A reference in Genesis 3:15 gives us
the first prophecy of a coming Saviour. In it we read of the
Serpent bruising the Lord’s heel. When the nails went
through His feet, they were not only wounded (pierced)
but bruised; a crushing inward and outward suffering, as
from a beating.103 Add to this the fact that the Lord was
buffeted and others smote Him.104 Isaiah 30:6 also speaks
of Him giving His back to the smiters. And why did the
Lord endure this form of suffering? Because . . .
100 Ezekiel 18:4 101 Romans 5:10, Colossians 1:21 102 Psalm 68:21 103 Comments on Isaiah 53:5. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary. Power Bible CD [Open
Domain] 104 Matthew 26:67; 27:30
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He was bruised for our iniquities. Iniquity speaks
of:
crookedness, perverseness, i.e. evil regarded as that
which is not straight or upright, moral distortion;
naughtiness, mischief; lawlessness;
unrighteousness.105
It is differentiated from sin, though they are often
grouped together as we read in Hebrews 10:17:
And their sins and iniquities will I remember no more.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him
Chastisement, speaks of correction, disciplinary
correction; discipline by punishment.106 Chastisement, as
one old commentator put it is
Literally, the correction inflicted by a parent on children for
their good (Hebrews 12:5-8,10,11). Not punishment strictly;
for this can have place only where there is guilt, which He
had not; but He took on Himself the chastisement whereby
the peace (reconciliation with our Father; Romans 5:1;
Ephesians 2:14,15,17) of the children of God was to be
effected (Hebrews 2:14).107
Other commentators describe it:
The chastisement of our peace; those punishments by which
our peace, i.e. our reconciliation to God, and salvation, or
happiness, was to be purchased.108
The chastisement of our peace -"The chastisement by
which our peace is effected;” that by which we are brought
into a state of peace and favor with God. 109 [Compare that
with the words of 1Peter 3:18, “… the just for the unjust,
that he might bring us to God.”]
105 Iniquity. Edwards, Miall. International Standard Bible Encyclopedia. Power Bible CD [Open
Domain] 106 Unknown reference 107 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 5. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary. Power Bible CD [Open
Domain] 108 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 5. Matthew Poole's Commentary. Power Bible CD [Open Domain] 109 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 5. Bp. Lowth. British Family Bible. Power Bible CD [Open
Domain]
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To purchase our peace with God, he, who was holy and
beloved, consented to bear our punishment as if it had been
a fatherly chastisement.110
“Upon” him – as a burden; parallel to "hath borne" and
"carried."111
Hence in the New Testament we can read that from the
Lord’s chastisement on behalf of believers, “we have peace
with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” 112 Also
2Corinthians 5:19:
To wit, that God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto
himself, not imputing their trespasses unto them; and hath
committed unto us the word of reconciliation.
That reconciliation so costly paid for by the Lord
Himself made peace between an angry, holy God, and
sinful, condemned mankind. But not only was he wounded
for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, and
chastised for our peace, but . . .
And with his stripes we are healed.
Stripes is a reference to being scourged.113 The Lord
was likely scourged or whipped with what the Romans
referred to as a scorpion. This scorpion was a multi-
stripped device with metal hooks at the end of each strip
of the whip which when applied to the receiver, would
actually hook into the skin and pull, tear, or rip the flesh
from the person. It would be no surprise to have pulled off
muscle also, as well as inflict bone-deep lacerations.
Roman law prohibited more than forty lashes of a scorpion
because it was such a brutal punishment, people could die
from it, which is why they normally stopped at thirty-nine,
just to be safe.
However, in the case of a criminal, condemned to die
by crucifixion, the Roman soldier had the liberty to inflict
as much damage as they wanted to without limitation.114
110 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 5. Thomas Scott Commentary. Power Bible CD [Open Domain] 111 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 5. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary. Power Bible CD [Open
Domain] 112 Romans 5:1 113 Comments on Isaiah 53:5. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary. Power Bible CD [Open
Domain]; Matthew 27:26; 1Peter 2:24 114 Ancient Torture part 3/3. History Channel: Ancient Discoveries. You Tube [Open Domain]
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This means that the Lord was probably scourged to within
an inch of His life (humanly speaking), as we read in
Matthew 27:26:
Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had
scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.
This point is further driven home when we read Isaiah
52:14:
As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred
more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men.
It makes sense then, that from the account in this
verse, that the Romans certainly whipped Him to an
incredible extent. But, no man could take His life. He lays
it down and takes it back up again,115 and so He endured
what was handed Him for our sakes. What we see in the
pictures and statues so often found in certain churches of
Jesus with a crown of thorns and some blood, a little gash
in His side, while hanging on the cross, is a weak
representation of the physical suffering the Lord suffered.
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. (1Peter 2:24).
With his stripes we are healed, that is, by his
sufferings we are saved from our sins, and from the
dreadful effects thereof.116 From Psalm 41:4, we can see
that all of our souls are in need of healing:
I said, LORD, be merciful unto me: heal my soul; for I have
sinned against thee.
Healed, spiritually: restored to what we ought to be, in
Christ. This indicates that before Adam’s sin, having been
created in God’s image117 Adam was spiritually healthy:
He was righteous, truly holy, and knowledgeable. 118
However, after the fall we lost that image and only in
115 John 10:17-18 116 Comments on Isaiah 53:5. Matthew Poole's Commentary. Power Bible CD [Open Domain] 117 Genesis 1:27; compare with 2Corinthians 3:18
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Christ can we be restored to it, though in this world we
can only change from glory to glory, but “we know that,
when he shall appear, we shall be like him; for we shall
see him as he is.”119 Christ was that Perfect Man that we
were supposed to be.
All of these sufferings the Lord bore for US.
Another commentator puts it this way:
He bore them, and blamed not his lot; he carried them, and
did neither shrink from them, nor sink under them until he
said, It is finished.120
Jesus Christ, God’s Suffering Servant, was a Man of
sorrows who suffered afflictions of soul but who was also
wounded, bruised, chastised, and scourged, suffering
afflictions of the body, a most complete punishment of
soul and body, and for what? He was an innocent Man. He
suffered these torments for us; for our transgressions, our
iniquities, our peace, and our healing. This is how we can
read in the New Testament and be refreshed and joyful at
words such as we find in 1John 2:12:
I write unto you, little children, because your sins are
forgiven you for his name's sake;”
And in 1John 3:5:
And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins;
and in him is no sin.
Believer, this is the essence of what we read in
Hebrews 12:1-3,
Wherefore seeing we also are compassed about with so great
a cloud of witnesses, let us lay aside every weight, and the
sin which doth so easily beset us, and let us run with
patience the race that is set before us, (2) Looking unto
Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy
that was set before him endured the cross, despising the
shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of
God. (3) For consider him that endured such contradiction of
118 Ephesians 4:24, without sin; Ephesians 4:24, not an outward, but an inward purity; Colossians 3:10, an understanding of the mind of God, His will, and of His Creation 119 1John 3:2 120 Unknown source
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sinners against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your
minds.
Consider Him … lest ye be wearied and faint … He
endured so much more than we could ever possibly
imagine; so much more than what we could possibly be
experiencing now. This is why we are told to consider Him,
who suffered anguish of soul and body, yet innocent. He
did not have to take this punishment, for it wasn’t His. If
we will but consider HIS sacrifice, instead of our own
suffering, perhaps ours will not be as overwhelming. Keep
going on!
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VERSE 6
WE HAVE GONE ASTRAY
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.
Verse six is the last of the passion verses, and it
includes a common Bible illustration of sheep and people.
It is a reminder for us, as we go throughout our lives, of
the behavior which often entraps us in sin and unhealthy
behaviors, and which leads us away from the Lord rather
than toward Him. Nevertheless, we read that though we
have behaved this way from the beginning by the sin of
our corporate head Adam, and continue to this day, the
Lord carried this, but additional indictment upon the cross.
All we like sheep have gone astray
Sheep have a flocking instinct. They tend to go with
the flow, and do what the other sheep in the flock do.
They have even been known to follow others off a cliff.121
We too like sheep are followers of evil, bent to sin,
because everyone else is doing it; so God, in His infinite
understanding tells His people in Exodus 23:2, “Thou shalt
not follow a multitude to do evil.” Sheep operate
mostly by sight. They go where the scenery appeals to
them; a marked similarity between us and sheep. Thus in
1John 2:16, we read about the three categories of sins, of
which the lust of the eyes, is one of them. So far, there is
an unmistakable similarity between us and sheep. This is
surely one reason why the Lord often refers to His people
as sheep in Scripture.
Sheep have excellent hearing. They can distinguish
a specific voice among many; they can distinguish or
recognize their shepherd’s voice from others.
They are generally considered dumb animals.
Sheep do what they want to do without regard for injury.
121 One news report from Turkey several years ago had 1,500 jumping off a cliff.
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They’re prone to wander away from the shepherd and go
places that would endanger them. We are already born
astray, all non-believers are still astray, and believers can
go astray, even doing things that harm them spiritually122
and even physically.123
Sheep often go astray; spiritually speaking, from the
path of righteousness into wickedness. Starting with Adam,
who was created in righteousness, we went astray by
disobeying God’s command to Adam not to eat of the fruit
of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil; and now we
all follow the same path (remember the flocking instinct).
So the Lord uses terms like, wander,124 gone astray, 125
and shepherd126 to describe our attitudes, behaviors, and
condition: Our thoughts (lustful) … attitudes (arrogant) …
ways (away from God) … eyes (look upon evil) … ears
(listen to evil) … hands (commit evil) … feet (run to evil) …
heart (is evil) … tongues (speak evil) … have all gone
astray. Compare this with the words of James 1:14:
But every man is tempted, when he is drawn away of his own
lust, and enticed.
Drawn away from God, from the path (of
righteousness), path of life, path of the just, path of God’s
commandments. We so easily get distracted from the
eternal things by the temporal: So says the Lord, “Seek ye
first the kingdom of God” (Matthew 6:33); So says the
Lord, “Looking unto Jesus” (Hebrews 12:2); So says
the Lord, “look not to the left or to the right” (Joshua 1:7).
Stray believers have the Holy Spirit who convicts, who
restrains, who leads, who brings God’s Word to
remembrance, who keeps us in the path of righteousness.
And if that doesn’t work, the Lord uses His rod of
correction, or chastisement, to bring us back into the
way.127
122 E.g. unhealthy attitudes, not feeding on the Word, not breathing the oxygen of prayer,
separating themselves from the group (church, fellowship) 123 E.g. unhealthy habits or activities 124 See Numbers 14:33, 32:13; Psalm 119:10 125 See Psalm 119:176; Jeremiah 50:6; 2Peter 2:15 126 Numbers 27:17; 1Kings 22:17; Psalm 23:1; Isaiah 40:11; Ezekiel 34:8 ... 127 Psalm 23:4; Hebrews 12:4-17
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We have turned every one to his own way
Everyone seeks his own way, not the things of God.
Don’t agree? Why do we have these attitudes: envy …
pride … lust … covetousness … hatred … bitterness … and
the like? They are all selfish conditions, ungodly attitudes.
When the Lord speaks of our own way, I think of the old
Frank Sinatra song, My Way, and we can add to that, my
will … what I want … what feels good … and what seems
right in my eyes, which leads to death.128 But only Christ
did it God’s way; seeking not His own but that of others.
Only He could truly say, “For I came down from heaven,
not to do mine own will, but the will of him that sent
me.” 129 He alone obeyed the Father’s will perfectly. We
drink evil like iced tea on a scorching summer afternoon.
But Christ’s meat was to do the Father’s will:
Jesus saith unto them, My meat is to do the will of him that
sent me, and to finish his work (John 4:34).
His sustenance, His pleasure, His satisfaction, His
delight was to do what God wanted Him to do.
Reader how about you? How about me? This is why
we need to look to Christ, our Perfect Example130 of how to
operate in this world. He did not pursue His own desires,
but left it to the Father to give Him His desires. His desire
was the Father’s desire.
And the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Wait! Stop . . . WHO laid on Him the iniquity of us all?!
The LORD?! Yes, this was a transaction between Father
and Son; between God and God alone. We had no part in
it: Its planning, its completion, its results! It was the
Lord’s plan, not ours. We weren’t even asking Him
either. 131 Not even the Devil had any part in this
transaction. Many mistakenly think this ransom was paid
to the Devil; but he has no power to hold us apart from
128 Proverbs 14:12, 16:25 129 John 6:38 130 1Peter 2:21 131 Compare with Romans 5:6-10; “Without strength … dare to die … yet sinners … enemies …”
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God’s permission.132 This holy ransom was paid to a holy
God by a loving God. The Lord initiated it, calling to Adam
in the Garden of Eden saying “Where art thou?”133 As far
back as eternity past, God had it planned.134 God sent His
Son to us:
But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth
his Son (Galatians 4:4).
Even when we weren’t looking for Him, or even asking
for Him, not knowing our terrifying condition or
predicament, God gave His Son to suffer what we read in
great detail in Isaiah 53:
For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten
Son (John 3:16).
God gave His Son a Ransom for many.135 Ransoms are
given as payment for the freedom of a captive (i.e. a
prisoner). We are born captives of God’s wrath,
condemned to die but on the Cross: God’s justice met
God’s mercy: When we were yet condemned met not
getting what we deserved; Truth met grace: The law met
a way out for the undeserving, for lawbreakers,
disobedient, wicked; Holiness met the Perfect Sacrifice for
unholiness on the cross of Christ.
Hebrews 9:28 says, “So Christ was once offered to
bear the sins of many...” A debt was paid; a sin debt for
our going astray. Our disobedience required punishment,
and it was paid by Jesus Christ alone. And not only was it
the Lord’s plan, but it was the Lord’s work. So said the
Lord “It is finished” in John 19:30 on the cross before He
gave up the ghost. There is nothing left for us to do but
believe, because:
This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes (Psalm
118:23).
God did for us what we could not do for ourselves:
132 Compare with Job 1:12 133 Genesis 3:9 134 Ephesians 3:11 135 See Matthew 20:28; Mark 10:45; 1Timothy 2:6
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For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ
died for the ungodly (Romans 5:6).
We already learned what it means to be without
strength: No righteousness of our own; Beggars;
Prisoners.136 The RESULT is that God made a way for us to
be freed from His wrath; to escape it; to be saved! No
works of man, angels, or any other creature in this
transaction; which is why the Lord’s redeemed can in
sincerity proclaim:
Not unto us, O LORD, not unto us, but unto thy name give
glory (Psalm 115:1).
…let such as love thy salvation say continually, Let God be
magnified (Psalm 70:4).
And the Lord laid on Him . . . the iniquity of us all.
We have already seen how iniquity is wickedness. That
iniquity is not necessarily a transgression of the law, but
an evil work of our corrupt flesh. But in order to help us
appreciate the beauty of the Lord’s work, His suffering, it
would behoove us to face the mirror and see specifically
what some of the wickednesses are that we do. Romans 1,
Galatians 5, and Revelation 22 provide pretty clear
observations:
unrighteousness, fornication, wickedness, covetousness,
maliciousness; full of envy, murder, debate, deceit,
malignity; whisperers, backbiters, haters of God, despiteful,
proud, boasters, inventors of evil things, disobedient to
parents, without understanding, covenant-breakers, without
natural affection, implacable, unmerciful
adultery, fornication, uncleanness, lasciviousness, idolatry,
witchcraft, hatred, variance, emulations, wrath, strife,
seditions, heresies, envyings, murders, drunkenness,
revellings
sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters
136 Children of wrath (Ephesians 2:3)
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Is there any one of us who does not fall into any one of
these wickednesses? Are we not all guilty?! But here’s the
praise-worthy application: And the Lord hath laid on
Him . . . All our wicked deeds. To whosoever believes, all
wicked deeds are forgiven in Christ!
I write unto you, little children, because your sins are
forgiven you for his name's sake (1John 2:12).
Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that
come unto God by him … (Hebrews 7:25).
So, Dear Reader, if you think that you’ve done too
much evil to be forgiven, think again. As I understand it,
ALL manner of forgiven sinners will be found in heaven,
except one: The unbeliever. The one who says my sins are
too great even for Christ’s blood, so I will take my chances,
I will do it my way, or I don’t care; he who will not obey
the Lord’s command to “repent ye and believe the
gospel.”137 This is the person spoken of in 2Thessalonians
1:8,
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God,
and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
However, the Lord still extends His invitation of
forgiveness for these wickednesses and more through the
blood of His Son Jesus Christ:
That whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have
eternal life (John 3:15).
Have you ever seen yourself as helpless, as gone
astray: evil, wicked, ungodly, unholy, a sinner)? A wicked
sinner? Having gone your own way and lost to sin?
Hopeless, helpless, at the end of yourself? In
desperate need of forgiveness? Do you loathe your sin and
self? Then Christ bore YOUR sins! If you haven’t already,
run to Him for salvation, for . . .
137 Mark 1:15
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… the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all (Isaiah
53:6).
Christ the Good Shepherd gave His life for His sheep:
I am the good shepherd: the good shepherd giveth his life
for the sheep (John 10:11)
He laid down His life for His sheep which were lost to
sin (dead in sin):
As the Father knoweth me, even so know I the Father: and I
lay down my life for the sheep (John 10:15)
His sheep hear His voice . . . the Lord says:
My sheep hear my voice, and I know them, and they follow
me (John 10:27)
Have you ever heard His voice and followed Him? It is
not an audible voice from heaven, like some say. God
speaks to us today from His Word. In fact, Peter
considered the Word of God more reliable than his own
experience.138 Many people say, Jesus is my friend; God is
my buddy; I know the Lord; but the question is, does HE
know YOU?139 Matthew 7:23 says that it is not whether we
know Him, but that He knows us,
And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart
from me, ye that work iniquity.
Christianity, eternal life, forgiveness of sins is found in
a relationship, not deeds.140 It is the working of God in a
person, rather than a person working for God. Romans
8:16 tells us that:
…the Spirit itself beareth witness with our spirit, that we are
the children of God.
138 2Peter 1:16-21 139 Compare with Galatians 4:9 140 John 17:3
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Does the Spirit bear witness in you of this relationship; in walk, in conviction, in song in your
heart, in self-examination of the Word, in fellowship, in prayer?
Are you following Jesus Christ as a sheep that has been found by his shepherd, the Good Shepherd? Do you follow His voice? Do you obey His commands?
First John 2:3 teaches us:
…hereby we do know that we know him if we keep his
commandments.
Later in the epistle (5:3), John reiterates:
For this is the love of God, that we keep his
commandments: and his commandments are not
grievous.
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VERSE 7
HE OPENED NOT HIS MOUTH
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.
We are now entering the passivity verses (7-9) which
describe the Lord’s humility, His submissiveness, and His
obedience. But before we continue, let us review the
previous verses (4-6). In them we saw the suffering of the
Lord, His passion. We saw how He bore our griefs… carried
our sorrows… was wounded for our transgressions (sins)…
bruised for our iniquities (wickednesses)… chastised for
our peace… scourged for our healing… and how the iniquity
of us all was laid on him. It was a complete and thorough
suffering, of the soul and body for sinners.
Prior to this, we examined His Person in verses 1-3,
which described Him as the arm of the LORD… who had no
form or comeliness… no beauty that we should desire
Him… who was despised and rejected of men… a man of
sorrows… and acquainted with grief. Most accurately says
the Lord of Himself in Matthew 11:29, “I am meek and
lowly in heart.” GOD of all Creation willingly lowered
Himself, to become a man, in this filthy place, that He
might suffer and die a sinner’s death in order to “save His
people from their sins.” 141 He came in lowliness, and
behaved Himself in meekness.
His passivity is seen in verses 7-9. Passivity means,
not active, but acted upon. The Lord did not act but He
was acted upon. He became a sacrifice for the sins of
many: a lamb to the slaughter. Passivity speaks of the
Lord’s submissiveness and obedience to the Father’s will
unto death as a lamb to the slaughter; submissive unto
death; obedient to the death of the cross.
141 Matthew 1:21
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And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself,
and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.
(Philippians 2:8).
How about us? Are we willingly submitted to God’s will?
Yes you say? How about unto death? Have any of us
obeyed God’s will to suffer to that extent? The Lord says
Christ was innocent. Hebrews 12:3 puts it in perspective
for us:
For consider him that endured such contradiction of sinners
against himself, lest ye be wearied and faint in your minds.
The contradiction here is the fact that He was included
with sinners, though He was not one. We are to consider
His submissiveness and obedience in the face of such
heinous contradiction, to be punished a most miserable
death on the cross, and suffer such anguish of soul for
naught of Himself. We are instructed to think about what
He did for us, enduring the shame of being lumped
together with sinners, for our sakes, so that we won’t give
up, or become weary and faint.
Consider Him…
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he
opened not his mouth: he was brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb so
He did not open his mouth.
Consider Him…
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he
opened not his mouth: he was brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so
He did not open his mouth.
YET (but; nevertheless; even though), He was
oppressed and afflicted … yet … he opened not his
mouth:
And when he was accused of the chief priests and elders, he
answered nothing (Matthew 27:12).
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But neither so did their [false] witness agree together. (60)
And the high priest stood up in the midst, and asked Jesus,
saying, Answerest thou nothing? what is it which these
witness against thee? (61) But he held his peace, and
answered nothing (Mark 14:59).
And the chief priests accused him of many things: but he
answered nothing. (4) And Pilate asked him again, saying,
Answerest thou nothing? behold how many things they
witness against thee. (5) But Jesus yet answered nothing; so
that Pilate marveled (Mark 15:3).
Yet he opened not his mouth, to curse or revile.
First Peter 2:21 says:
For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also
suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow
his steps: (22) Who did no sin, neither was guile found in his
mouth: (23) Who, when he was reviled, reviled not again;
when he suffered, he threatened not; but committed himself
to him that judgeth righteously.
How often, when we are spoken against do we give a
sharp retort? People say something bad against us, and
we answer back, tit for tat! Sometimes we are right, but
probably most of the time we are wrong. Nevertheless, the
Lord showed us by His example that even to death, it is
not acceptable with Him to curse or revile. Compare that
with the New Testament Christian principle:
Let your speech be alway with grace, seasoned with salt, that
ye may know how ye ought to answer every man (Colossians
4:6).
How much more did the Lord have a right to answer
these people who sought to crucify Him. He did no evil,
from birth until that point. We could all surely learn from
Christ’s example:
For even hereunto were ye called: because Christ also
suffered for us, leaving us an example, that ye should follow
his steps (1Peter 2:21).
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Consider Him…
Yet he opened not his mouth, in defense. Though He was
guiltless; He did not try to defend Himself. How often we try to
defend ourselves from accusations, when we should just be quiet,
follow Christ’s ultimate example, and wait on the Lord to work it
out:
Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee
to inherit the land: when the wicked are cut off, thou shalt
see it (Psalm 37:34).
Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD,
and he shall save thee (Proverbs 20:22).
Christ’s passivity left us the Christian’s definitive
example which commits all things to God’s hands:
For this is thankworthy, if a man for conscience toward God
endure grief, suffering wrongfully. (20) For what glory is it, if,
when ye be buffeted for your faults, ye shall take it patiently?
but if, when ye do well, and suffer for it, ye take it patiently,
this is acceptable with God. (21) For even hereunto were ye
called: because Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an
example, that ye should follow his steps: (22) Who did no sin,
neither was guile found in his mouth: (23) Who, when he
was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he
threatened not; but committed himself to him that judgeth
righteously (1Peter 2:19).
Consider Him…
Yet he opened not his mouth, to complain. It was
the Father’s will that He endure this.142 And for us, the
things that happen to us fall under the Lord’s Sovereign
will,143 so may we learn to follow the Lord’s example and
not use our mouths to complain.
Consider Him…
Yet He opened not His mouth, to call down angels
to destroy the world:
142 See Mark 14:36; Luke 22:42 143 See Ephesians 1:11; 1Thessalonians 5:18
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Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he
shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels
(Matthew 26:53)?
His concern was for the Father’s will to be
accomplished. His concern was for the salvation of His
people. His motivation was love; love for the Father, love
for the sinner. It also demonstrates His meekness in that
though He is Creator God, King of Kings and Lord of Lords,
who could have commanded approximately 72,000
angels144 to destroy the earth . . . He submitted to this:
“yet he opened not his mouth;” “leaving us an example [of
meekness] that ye should follow his steps.”145
Consider Him…
He did however open His mouth to answer direct
questions of His Person.
… the high priest asked him, and said unto him, Art thou the
Christ, the Son of the Blessed? (62) And Jesus said, I am:
and ye shall see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of
power, and coming in the clouds of heaven (Mark 14:61-62).
And Pilate asked him, Art thou the King of the Jews? And he
answering said unto him, Thou sayest it (Mark 15:2).
He did not open His mouth to defend Himself, or curse,
or complain, or call down angels, but He did open His
mouth to answer who He is in truth. And may we as
believers open our mouths to speak the truth when we are
asked, as 1Peter 3:15 tells us to do:
But sanctify the Lord God in your hearts: and be ready
always to give an answer to every man that asketh you a
reason of the hope that is in you with meekness and fear
144 12 legions x 6,000 145 1Peter 2:21
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He is brought as a lamb to the slaughter
Why is the Lord compared to a lamb? The Old
Testament offerings were only a picture of the perfect
Sacrifice to come:
And if he bring a lamb for a sin offering, he shall bring it a
female without blemish (Leviticus 4:32).
Which was a figure for the time then present (Hebrews 9:9).
For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not
the very image of the things (Hebrews 10:1).
So says John the Baptist:
…Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the
world (John 1:29).
God provided Himself a lamb.146 And though this Lamb
was oppressed, and He was afflicted, “yet he opened not
his mouth.”
And as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he
openeth not his mouth.
Why shearers? Shearers take the wool off the sheep.
They remove the glory of the sheep. It illustrates the
Lord’s humiliation at the hands of men (the shearers).
Unlike our harsh use of the word today, in biblical times,
the word dumb meant speechless. Thus, the Lord was
quiet, He did not speak: “he openeth not His mouth.” God
of all, lowered Himself to become a man, despised of men,
rejected of men, to bare our griefs and carry our sorrows,
to suffer the abuses of men, wounded for our
transgressions and bruised for our iniquities, to be
punished for crimes that He had not done … so “he
openeth not his mouth.” He did not open His mouth
because it was the Father’s will that He endure it.
And until now He still opens not His mouth to condemn,
even though we are already condemned from birth.147 He
did not come to condemn us:
146 Genesis 22:8
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For God sent not his Son into the world to condemn the
world; but that the world through him might be saved (John
3:17).
He receives and delivers all sinners:
… him that cometh to me I will in no wise cast out (John
6:37)
there is therefore now no condemnation to them which are in
Christ Jesus … (Romans 8:1)
He did not come [then] to judge us either, because
“the Son of man is come to seek and to save that which
was lost.”148 Yet there will come a day when He will judge
everyone, great and small as Acts 17:31 points out:
Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge
the world in righteousness by that man whom he hath
ordained; whereof he hath given assurance unto all men, in
that he hath raised him from the dead.
Now the risen Lord Jesus Christ sits at the right hand
of God the Father, His work finished, He has entered His
rest, and He opens His mouth to say:
Come
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I
will give you rest (Matthew 11:28).
Whosoever will
And the Spirit and the bride say, come. And let him that
heareth say, come. And let him that is athirst come. And
whosoever will, let him take the water of life freely
(Revelation 22:17).
Believe on Him for eternal life
147 John 3:18; Romans 5:12
148 Luke 19:10
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Verily, verily, I say unto you, He that believeth on me hath
everlasting life (John 6:47).
You don’t have to do anything to be saved except
believe the Lord Jesus Christ.149 But it does mean that you
will naturally turn from your way and come to Christ for
His free gift of eternal worth.
149 Acts 16:31
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VERSE 8
HE WAS CUT OFF
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.
As we approach the eighth verse of Isaiah 53, and the
second verse of His PASSIVITY (verses 7-9), we must first
break it down since this particular verse is somewhat
difficult to grasp at first reading. By way of analysis, there
are four clauses in verse eight:
1. He was taken from prison and from judgment:
2. And who shall declare his generation?
3. For he was cut off out of the land of the living:
4. For the transgression of my people was he stricken.
He was taken from prison and from judgment
In this first clause, let us look at the two nouns prison
and the grave, and then look at their actions. First is
prison. Have you ever read of Christ being imprisoned in
the Gospel accounts? There is no biblical record of Him
being held in prison while He awaited trial. It all happened
fast, within hours: He was arrested, taken to the high
priest, to Pilate, then Herod, and back to Pilate, then
crucified, and His body placed in a tomb. His prison was
the grave; and the grave represents death. Job 30:23
sheds some light on this:
For I know that thou wilt bring me to death, and to the house
appointed for all living.”
The house spoken of here is figurative of death. The Lord’s
house of confinement was the grave.. prison.. death. By
way of personal application, we may also take note that it
is the end for everybody, and so may we view the
worthiness of our pursuits in light of that.
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Pilate, an instrument of God’s sovereign will, delivered
Christ to His death on the cross, and He was buried in a
tomb (grave) where His body lay for three days. Yes, there
is speculation as to where the Lord was during this time
and what He was doing,150 but we know clearly that His
body lay in a tomb (a house) for three days. He was in the
grave, i.e. He was dead.
The second noun is judgment, which speaks of
condemnation, a sentence pronounced. Judgment fell on
us in the Garden of Eden when Adam sinned,151 and sin
was passed on to all of us. Scripture verifies this:
There is none righteous, no, not one (Romans 3:10).
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God
(Romans 3:23).
For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in
one point, he is guilty of all (James 2:10).
The scripture hath concluded all under sin (Galatians 3:22).
Behold, I was shapen in iniquity; and in sin did my mother
conceive me (Psalm 51:5).
… condemned already (John 3:18).
But why as we have already seen was He wounded …
bruised … chastised … scourged … and put to death … as a
lamb to the slaughter… He alone who knew no sin; He
alone who is just; He alone who is righteous?152
Why was He condemned for the crimes of failing to
follow God’s commands and failure to meet God’s standard
of holiness?
Why did God the Son willingly allow Himself to be
judged by the Father and condemned for crimes He had
not done, nor even ever thought of doing? Remember,
Christ was completely holy within and without. That means
He never even had an impure thought! Who among us
could say that?
150 Refer to 1Peter 3:18-20. 151 Genesis 2:17 152 2Corinthians 5:21; 1Peter 3:18; 1John 2:1
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Because . . . someone must be punished for sin. God’s
justice demands it. When there is a crime committed, we
cry out for justice (that sometimes doesn’t come to pass).
But God’s is a perfect justice that not only requires
punishment but will also get it. There is no escape. And
the only way we can pay for our sin debt, our crimes
against God, is an eternity in the Lake of Fire. And that is
what will naturally happen to each person not found in
Christ, because we are born condemned already and we
are born sinners as we have already seen.
But consider Christ . . . who humbled Himself and
became a man that He might save US: He suffered, was
condemned to die in our place, crucified and buried. That
was his judgment: to be put to death in our place. To be
separated from God because of crimes that WE have done.
He was judged and sent to prison. This was not only
physical judgment, but also spiritual that led Him to cry
out “my God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me!” And
why did He endure separation from the Father, you may
ask? Romans 5:8 explains it: But God commendeth [showed] his love toward us, in that,
while we were yet sinners [condemned], Christ died for us.
But it did not end there . . . we still must see the
action of the clause: “He was taken from prison [the
grave] and from judgment [condemnation].” To be taken
from is to be removed out of; to be released from. His
sentence was reversed and He was set free. The Lord had
been put to death, condemned and made an offering for
our sins, laid in a tomb, judged by the Father for our
offences but . . . He arose from the grave, taken from
prison and from judgment. He was released from prison
(the grave, the hold of death) and from condemnation, as
Scripture foresaw:
For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou
suffer thine Holy One to see corruption. (Ps 16:10).
The angel rolled back the stone from the tomb – and
Christ went free! 153 Some religions keep Christ on the
153 Matthew 28:2
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Cross, but He is risen. . . Payment was made . . . the
transaction was finished! Mark 16:6 proclaims:
Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen;
he is not here …
And Luke 24:5 asks:
Why seek ye the living among the dead?
Why was He set free? Because the Father was
pleased with the Son’s sacrifice. And only the Son pleases
the Father, in life and in death. Matthew 3:17 indicates
this:
This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.
Dear Reader, this is the urgency of being found in
Christ; apart from Christ, we are in the flesh:
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is
born of the Spirit is spirit. (7) Marvel not that I said unto
thee, Ye must be born again (John 3:6).
…they that are in the flesh cannot please God (Romans 8:8).
We are born into this world spiritually dead in sin,
separated from God. That’s why we must be born again
(spiritually).
Dear Reader, if you are NOT trusting in Christ, do
you really believe that it is possible to please God
yourself? We cannot please God outside of CHRIST, as
Isaiah and the Psalmist tell us:
…all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags, in the eyes of God
(Isaiah 64:6).
Thou art my Lord: my goodness extendeth not to thee
(Psalm 16:2).
He was taken from prison and from judgment…
Why? Because Christ’s sacrifice was sufficient. As for us,
no matter what we do, we can never reach the standard of
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God because “all have sinned, and come short of the glory
of God." Compare that with what we read about the Lord
in John 1:14,
… we beheld his glory, the glory as of the only begotten of
the Father,) full of grace and truth.
Who among us can exemplify this? Only the work of
Christ (God in the flesh) is sufficient.
Dear Reader, if you are NOT trusting in Christ, do
you really believe you are self sufficient? The Bible tells us
that “our sufficiency is of God."154
He was taken from prison and from judgment…
Why? Because Christ met the perfect requirements of the
law, and holiness. The Lord lived a perfect life, was pure
inside and out, He should not be held any longer because
it was enough. He paid our debt it in full. He gave his life;
He gave his soul; all perfect. No mere man could have
accomplished this. Only God in the flesh on earth could
meet the requirements of God above. This must quiet all
teaching that says Christ was not God, that He was only a
man because no one else but the Son of God, from the
Father Himself would have been good enough for the
Father, for “there is none good but one, that is, God."155
Dear Reader, if you are NOT trusting in Christ, do
you really believe that you are good enough to go to
Heaven? To not go to hell? Consider what the great man of
faith, the Apostle Paul wrote of himself in Romans 7:18, “I
know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good
thing.” How much more each of us?
He was taken from prison and from judgment…
Why? Because the Father accepted his Son’s offering on
our behalf, “a lamb without blemish and without spot,"156
the Perfect offering. Jesus Christ the Righteous, the only
person who could ever say that, died in our stead; took
our shame our judgment: our crimes, our wickednesses,
our offences . . . He became an offering for our offences,
so we would not have to stand before God as sinners . . .
and be sent to prison for eternity, without parole, the
ONLY other way to pay this sin debt. Is that not beautiful?
154 2Corinthians 3:5 155 Matthew 19:17 156 1Peter 1:19
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And He was raised, so that we may know that the Father
accepted Christ’s sacrificial offering on our behalf, for our
justification (“just – as – if – I – had – never – sinned”):
Who was delivered for our offences . . . and was raised again
for our justification (Romans 4:25).
NOW every believer can stand before God with
boldness in the day of judgment, because as He is
[righteous], so are we in this world [righteous now],
according to 1John 4:17. Every believer is righteous in
God’s eyes, not just in heaven, but here on this earth. You
don’t have to die to be a saint, in Christ, you are a saint.
Reader, if you are NOT trusting in Christ, do you
really believe that you can make yourself acceptable to
God? You might be able to make yourself respectable to
the people around you, but Romans 2:11 tells us that
“there is no respect of persons with God." God is not
impressed with our status, ability, accomplishments,
degrees, or any other thing. He only considers the sacrifice
of His Son as acceptable, and anyone who rests in Jesus
Christ’s finished work is looked upon with favor:
But to him that worketh not, but believeth on him that
justifieth the ungodly, his faith is counted for righteousness
(Romans 4:5).
The glory belongs to Jesus Christ alone who has “made
us accepted in the beloved." 157 God will not share His
Son’s glory with another.158
And who shall declare his generation?
This particular clause does not have a definite
interpretation that I am aware of. Even the early writers
were not perfectly clear on the meaning of His generation.
It may however mean at least a couple of ideas. First, it
may be speaking of the eternality of the risen Christ; His
age, His life i.e. “Who can know His years, or how long His
age shall last." The fact that death has no hold on Him,
and that He that was dead is alive forevermore, therefore
157 Ephesians 1:6 158 Compare with Isaiah 42:8
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ever to remain untouchable to death, for He paid the
dues:
… Christ being raised from the dead dieth no more (Romans
6:9).
Secondly, it may also mean His Spiritual children; the
vast numbers of the saved over the centuries; the
multitudes . . . who can declare it, or who can express it?
It certainly verifies that Christ’s death was not unfruitful,
and ties into Hebrews 2:13,
And again, I will put my trust in him. And again, Behold I and
the children which God hath given me.
But, in the end, it is basically saying “is there anyone
who can explain this?” Who shall or who can; who is able
to; no words can say; Declare or say; tell; explain.
Compare this with Psalm 118:23,
This is the Lord's doing; it is marvellous in our eyes.
And we see that the Lord’s work is beyond our
understanding. Thus Isaiah, under the leading of the Holy
Spirit, was likely expressing a wondrous admiration in this
comment.
For he was cut off out of the land of the living
Use of the term cut off indicates it was a violent death
the Lord suffered. For (or because) He was cut off… who
could understand (i.e. who shall declare his generation).
He was supposed to be dead but He is alive. Who can
explain it (i.e. count His years or count His spiritual
children); “Who shall declare His generation,” because
(for) He was supposed to be dead (for He was cut off out
of the land of the living), yet He lives again. Compare this
with Revelation 1:18,
I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive
for evermore, Amen …
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For the transgression of my people was he stricken
Stricken, speaks of the Lord being smitten to death.
This clause is a reminder that Christ died not for His own
sins, but for the sins and salvation of His people. This was
a reminder for the Jews then, to remember: They would
errantly esteem Him “stricken, smitten of God, and
afflicted” (v3), so they needed to hear it again and again,
and again. We too need to hear it again because many
esteem Him not, many despise him, many reject Him,
many see no beauty that they should desire Him, and
many hide their faces from Him, whether Christians in
their behaviors and attitudes, or those not trusting in
Christ.
Have you partaken in this wonderful work of the Lord
on your behalf? Then there is great beauty in Isaiah 53 to
be revealed, if you will look closer. I pray the Lord would
be pleased to use this study to reveal more of the beauty
of Jesus Christ, His PERSON, His PASSION, and His
PASSIVITY. If you have not partaken, will you neglect such
a perfect, great and wonderful salvation?159 It is free for all
who will look to the Lamb of God who takes away . . . our
sin.
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that
we might be made the righteousness of God in him
(2Corinthians 5:21).
159 Hebrews 2:3
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VERSE 9
BECAUSE HE HAD DONE NO VIOLENCE
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.
In order to get a fuller understanding of verse nine, we
need to examine it in context of following verse eight . . .
(v8) for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the
transgression of my people was he stricken. (v9) 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 and… that connects the two verses indicates that
not only was He cut off out of the land of the living; and
not only was He stricken for the transgression of my
people; but He was also prepared to endure the shame of
being buried with the wicked. Even in His death the Lord
was willing to suffer humiliation for us by being buried with
wicked men.
He made His grave with the wicked
Who are the wicked spoken of here? These are
those who were put to death for various crimes: thieves,
murderers, conspirators, and other criminals. The Romans
did not give honor to those who were unworthy enough to
be crucified. They simply threw them in graves with the
other criminals as another way of disgrace in death for
those who broke Roman law. In Bible times, this was
considered a great dishonor. Compare with Jeremiah
26:23:
And they fetched forth Urijah out of Egypt, and brought him
unto Jehoiakim the king; who slew him with the sword, and
cast his dead body into the graves of the common people.
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Remember, the Lord was crucified between two thieves.
The Romans considered Him no different than any other
dishonored offender. Consequently, the Lord was going to
be put in a grave right next to those lawbreakers.
Note the Lord’s willingness to endure this additional
affliction and insult: “he made his grave with the wicked.”
This means that He was willingly ready to put Himself
among the graves of the wicked, because He prepared
(made) Himself a place there. It doesn’t say that this was
forced upon Him, but rather He chose to allow Himself to
be put in an unmarked, common grave. He came, dwelt
among us, carried our sorrows, bore our griefs; and in the
end was ready to make His grave with the wicked; a
complete and thorough humiliation. From birth, in life, in
death, and even after death, the Lord was ready to
humble Himself for our sakes.
A more generalized implication of this humiliation is
that “He made his grave with the wicked” of Adam’s race,
us. Need evidence that we are wicked? Jeremiah 17:9 says
that our hearts are desperately wicked. We are wicked
people, doing wicked things . . . are we not thieves? Are
we not murderers? First John 5:19 says, “…the whole
world lieth in wickedness.” Isaiah 53:9 is saying that He
was prepared to make His grave with us, Adam’s evil race.
Proverbs 11:21 tells us that, “Though hand join in
hand, the wicked shall not be unpunished.” Therefore,
since Jesus Christ took the sinner’s place on the cross,
became sin for us, receiving their just due, He must
therefore of necessity be punished. In that, the Lord made
His grave with the wicked race of men.
His grave was appointed with the wicked;160 for this
would have been the natural course of action for the Lord
who had died a criminal’s death. This would have been the
natural course, if it were not for Divine providence; Christ
would have been buried with wicked men. But a rich man
named Joseph of Arimathaea humbly went to Pilate and
begged him for Christ’s body:
160 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 9. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary. PowerBible CD [Open
Domain]
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When the even was come, there came a rich man of
Arimathaea, named Joseph, who also himself was Jesus'
disciple: (58) He went to Pilate, and begged the body of
Jesus (Matthew 27:57-58).
God had providentially already inclined Pilate’s heart to
grant that request so that Isaiah 53:9 might be fulfilled:
The king's heart is in the hand of the LORD, as the rivers of
water: he turneth it whithersoever he will (Proverbs 21:1). We can learn from this that we must go to God first,
before approaching an authority. It is God who can
prepare their heart to grant your desire. And so Pilate,
who had declared Jesus a just man, before His crucifixion,
granted Joseph’s request:
When Pilate saw that he could prevail nothing ... washed his
hands ... saying, I am innocent of the blood of this just
person... (Matthew 27:24).
...Then Pilate commanded the body to be delivered (Matthew
27:58).
And Joseph laid the body of Christ in his tomb, a new
tomb, for a rich man
And when Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a
clean linen cloth, (60) And laid it in his own new tomb...
(Matthew 27:59).
Such care and tenderness for the body of the Lord,
that gave it a more honorable and loving burial. And so
the Scripture was fulfilled, that “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.
Why is this point so important and repeated? Because
people must understand that Jesus Christ is more than
just a man, but God-Man. Then and now it must be
proclaimed: He was the Perfect and Complete Sacrifice.
Because; for the reason of, that Christ had done no
violence, neither was there deceit in His mouth. It sounds
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like an odd way of saying something, but what this phrase
is doing is reinforcing the fact that the Lord was an
innocent man. It is in effect saying that: Because He was
just; Because He was righteous; Because He was
good.161
He was guiltless of any crime or evil against God or
man; because of this He went from making His grave with
the wicked, to being buried with the rich in His death.
Remember, Pilate declared Jesus an innocent “man.” The
fact that He had done no violence, nor was He found a liar,
warranted His proper burial. Just as God the Father would
not allow His Son to endure complete obscurity in His birth,
bringing shepherds to visit Christ as a babe and wise men
bringing gifts in His infancy;162 neither would He allow a
complete dishonoring of His Son in death.
He made His grave with the wicked; and with the rich
in His death because . . .
He had done no violence
He had done no evil, no wrong, no harm. He did only
good:
He healed the nobleman’s son; the woman with the
issue of blood, the lepers, the blind, the lame, the
palsy, and on it goes; that’s only what is written (John
20:30)
He fed 5,000 men, out of compassion
He taught the Word of God in the synagogues; blessed
are the peace makers; forgiveness of sins; love for
enemies; treat others as you would be treated; love
the Lord
He preached repentance toward God and faith in the
Gospel: Get right with God, our Creator; respond to His
message of redemption, for our own good
161 1Peter 3:18; 2Corinthians 5:21; Matthew 19:16-17 162 Luke 2:16; Matthew 2:11
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Are these things that warrant a death penalty? No,
certainly not. But may we be reminded, that all who will
live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution.163 The
world hated Christ then, and still hates Him now; and will
hate us too, if we are openly letting Him live through us.
Christ lived peaceably with all men. And so are we
commanded to follow our Good Shepherd’s example, not
to attack, but to live peacefully. Sometimes as Christians,
we get caught up in causes which lead us to look like wild
extremists. That’s not what the Lord taught us:
Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my
kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight,
that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my
kingdom not from hence (John 18:36).
If it be possible, as much as lieth in you, live peaceably with
all men (Romans 12:18).
Follow peace with all men, ... (Hebrews 12:14).
But I say unto you, Love your enemies, bless them that curse
you, do good to them that hate you, and pray for them which
despitefully use you, and persecute you (Matthew 5:44).
There is nothing wrong with voicing a concern, but as
Christians, we are supposed to be different. Christians are
Christ-like; Christ-ones. There should be something in us
that is different than the world:
… how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive
him? … (22) Jesus saith unto him, I say not unto thee, Until
seven times: but, Until seventy times seven (Matthew 18:21-
22).
Who gave himself for us, that he might redeem us from all
iniquity, and purify unto himself a peculiar people, zealous of
good works (Titus 2:14).
We are to be forgiving, and do good works, not be
involved in violence. The Lord had done no violence, and
163 2Timothy 3:12
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for all this He was traded for a murderer, Barabbas; the
just for the unjust.164 What a poignant illustration of our
depravity. The Jewish spiritual leaders who stirred up the
crowd did not see Christ in the Law and the Prophets,
which point to Him. They did not want to admit their need
for his righteousness because they thought they had
enough of their own.
Neither was any deceit in his mouth
No trickery. No fakeness. No cheating. No scams. The
Lord is not guilty of these things, “Who did no sin, neither
was guile found in his mouth."165 What you hear is what
you get. He speaks only the truth,166 for He is the truth.167
How do we use our mouths? To praise God; to edify
brethren; to share Christ; to teach the Word of God? Or do
we use our mouths to tell dirty jokes; to gossip; to sow
discord; to yell at our neighbors? Our Perfect Example
showed us how to use our mouths; to speak truth,
“neither was any deceit in His mouth.” Well speaks 1John
3:5 about our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ:
And ye know that he was manifested to take away our sins;
and in him is no sin.
Isaiah 53:9 reminds us of the beauty of the Lord’s
conduct and speech. May we as believers learn to yield
ourselves to the Spirit of Christ more, so that we may walk
as He lived while on earth: Doing good; living peacefully;
proclaiming the truth. And may we see more clearly His
worth, His value, and His loveliness from this verse.
164 Luke 23:18-25; 1Peter 3:18
165 1Peter 2:22 166 Titus 1:2 167 John 14:6
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VERSE 10
IT PLEASED THE LORD TO BRUISE HIM
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.
Who killed Jesus?
As we begin the final section of Isaiah 53, we enter
into His PORTION, which speaks of the Lord’s reward for
His labors; the result of His PASSION and PASSIVITY.
Verse 10 is a deep verse that reveals something about the
transaction that took place between Father and Son, on
our behalf. Nearly ten years ago I preached a message
asking that same question. Since of course readers of this
book were not in attendance that night, I ask it again. If
you want to know the answer to that intriguing question,
please read on. But you may get a surprise.
Yet…
This word is related to the end of the previous verse:
“(9) he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his
mouth, which speaks of the purity of the Lord, who made
His grave with the wicked and the rich in His death.” So,
even though (“Yet”), “He had done no violence, neither
was any deceit in His mouth,” . . .
It pleased the LORD to bruise him
The Scriptures do not say that God merely allowed
men to afflict His Son, but God, the LORD, the Father
Himself, bruised Him! He Himself put Christ His Son to
death. Not only that, but it even pleased the Father to do
it! Why (you may ask)? I’ll attempt to illustrate why the
Father did it, and why it pleased Him to do it, by way of
example:
Imagine, one quiet August evening, innocent people
are sleeping soundly in a house, and a small group of
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people sent by their leader breaks in, and attacks the
residents. They beat, torment, shoot some in their faces,
stab repeatedly, one 16 times another 51 times, and on
and on; and mercilessly murder the people in the house
with knives. There is blood everywhere, and the murderers
even wrote evil words on the walls of the rooms in the
blood of their victims. Even more hideous, the woman of
the house was several months pregnant, they killed her
unborn baby too; a very, very violent scene. How does
that make you feel? Does it make you sick? It is a true
story.168 Many years ago this really happened. How do you
feel about the leader of that group who ordered it; or the
people who committed this act? Is he, are they worthy of
death? You would probably even take pleasure in seeing
him and them get the electric chair.
Now, let’s look at things from a different perspective:
God created man and Adam disobeyed His command not
to eat of the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, and
sin entered the world, corrupting everything, and all
human-kind became evil: Evil creatures, corrupt, wicked,
and abominable:
And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the
earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart
was only evil continually (Genesis 6:5).
As a fallen human race, we kill whether in heart, in
mind, or in hand; we lie, we rape, we worship idols, we
steal, we covet, we fornicate, we are haters of God, proud,
selfish, drunken, revelers, full of hatred, use witchcraft,
are rebellious, vile, filthy, full of envy, despise the holiness
of God, are filled with all unrighteousness, and on and on
it goes! And in the sight of God, our wickedness, our sin,
our evil is appalling, abominable, and worthy of death.
Consider the many atrocities that are committed each day,
the rape, the incest, the abuse, the slaughter of people
and animals, the pillaging, the wrongdoing, the bloodlust,
the false religions, and the like. But God is purely holy,
and “of purer eyes than to behold evil, and cannot look on
iniquity." 169 He cannot excuse sin. It is offensive, and
168 Charles Manson, L.A., 1969, Tate-Labianco Murders 169 Habakkuk 1:13
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abominable, repulsive, horrible, vile in His sight. It must
be punished. God hates sin.
We (mankind), God’s creation, have broken God’s laws
and gone against His holiness, and do evil and all manner
of wickedness. Which laws have you broken? Which laws
have you not broken? Break one and you are guilty of
them all.170 What evil have you done? What evil have you
thought? Our hearts are evil; We have unholy
imaginations; We are unrighteous in our behavior; and We
are naturally enemies of God.
It pleased the LORD to bruise him because:
The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will
magnify the law, and make it honourable (Isaiah 42:21).
God says that righteousness pleases Him and that He
will make sure His law is upheld, and not trampled,
because God is honorable. We have committed crimes
against holy God and are worthy of death, which is eternal
separation, in the Lake of Fire.
It pleased the lord to bruise him because the evil
which we have done, we do, and yes will do, was laid upon
Christ, and it delighted the Father to punish someone for
it! Not just any someone, but the Perfect Someone, Jesus
Christ, the only Person who could be punished for it and
yet still save men. The perfect way to pay for our sins
without destroying us: To administer justice yet show love.
It pleased the LORD to bruise him because it
meant the salvation of sinners. One day, God is going to
let loose his full wrath but He sent His only begotten Son
to save people from it by putting our guilt and shame upon
Him. It pleased the Lord to punish our evil, because it
pleased the Lord to provide a way to save us from His
wrath, all at the cost of his Son, who gave his life a
ransom for many. And you and I had no part in it. God
made all the plans in eternity past, 171 and God carried
them out.
170 James 2:20 171 Ephesians 3:11
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He hath put him to grief
The Father, made Christ to suffer for crimes that we
have done. Man’s sin, our need, was the cause, but the
Lord was the means: punishing Christ instead of us
brought us salvation.
When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin
Not just His body, but His soul was tormented, as
indicated by Matthew and Mark’s account. His whole being
was troubled from a sense of God’s wrath coming upon
Him:
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed,
saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from
me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt (Matthew
26:39).
And saith unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto
death: tarry ye here, and watch (Mark 14:34).
The Holy fire of God was to come upon His soul on the
cross. Like the fire from heaven which consumed the
sacrifice on the altar in the Old Testament typified:172
And there came a fire out from before the LORD, and
consumed upon the altar the burnt offering… (Leviticus 9:24).
But His was the substance; the true and real: The end
of all sacrifices:
For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are
sanctified (Hebrews 10:14).
All other offerings in the Old Testament were only
shadows of Christ’s sacrifice. 173 Only Christ’s offering
would suffice.
If you are not trusting Christ Dear Reader, do you
really think you can offer anything better than the Son of
God, to God, for your sins?
172 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 10. Thomas Scott Commentary. PowerBible CD [Open Domain]. 173 Hebrews 10:1
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…if righteousness come by the law, then Christ is dead in
vain (Galatians 2:21).
Why did Christ have to die if you could satisfy God’s
demands yourself; if you could offer something better than
Christ? What can a man give in exchange for his soul?174
Nothing we have can satisfy God. Nothing we can do of
ourselves can satisfy God’s righteous demands: not good
deeds, not money, not trying to follow the Ten
Commandments, not praises, not success, not reading ten
chapters a day in your Bible, not being a member of
church. Only Christ pleases the Father. Is there anything
better than Christ? However, though he was offered, Jesus
Christ would live again to see his seed . . .
He shall see his seed
He is Christ, the Lord, the Second Person of the Trinity.
His is Christ. His seed are the multitude of redeemed
resulting from His work. Compare with Psalm 22:30
A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a
generation.
See is a reference to the resurrection of Jesus Christ.
He was dead, now alive, cut off out of the land of the
living; yet He shall see His seed. In other words, He will
see the fruit of His sacrifice. And what is that fruit?
Revelation 7:9-10 describes it:
After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man
could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and
tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb,
clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; (10) And
cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which
sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.
Jesus did not sacrifice Himself vainly. There was a
definite result from His selfless act. It was not a hail Mary.
Yet, everything WE do of the flesh is vanity.175 The Lord
bought a great multitude of redeemed, reconciled, saved
174 Mark 8:37 175 Ecclesiastes 1:2
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people, with his blood. This is His seed, this is the fruit of
His labor, and "in all labour there is profit."176 Christ’s was
the ultimate labor, for the ultimate profit, our profit.
He shall prolong his days
He is God. His is the risen Christ, raised to immortal
life, death having no more rule over Him, who shall reign
eternally:
Knowing that Christ being raised from the dead dieth no
more; death hath no more dominion over him (Romans 6:9).
And His kingdom shall have no end . . .
And he shall reign over the house of Jacob for ever; and of
his kingdom there shall be no end (Luke 1:33).
And the pleasure of the lord shall prosper in his
hand.
What is that pleasure? The conversion and salvation
of sinners through Christ according to the pleasure of his
good will. 177 Therefore, Christ endured His passion and
passivity:
... who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross,
despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the
throne of God (Hebrews 12:2).
God delights in saving His people . . .
The LORD thy God in the midst of thee is mighty; he will
save, he will rejoice over thee with joy; he will rest in his
love, he will joy over thee with singing (Zephaniah 3:17).
Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the
angels of God over one sinner that repenteth (Luke 15:10)
And the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His
hand, means that God’s will, and His salvation will not be
176 Proverbs 14:23 177 Ephesians 1:5
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thwarted. People shall be saved. None can resist His will.
He will save. Daniel 4:35 says that,
... he doeth according to his will ... and none can stay his
hand ...
So, who killed Jesus? . . . The Father did! Not men,
not Pilate, not the Jews, not the Romans. These were only
instruments. It was not an accident, it was not plan B, nor
was it “oops, what will I do now?” This all happened
according to God’s Divine plan. Why? Because our sin
MUST be punished, but God sent His only begotten Son to
be punished in our stead; when we could not help
ourselves, when we were without strength. And it was for
you and me that He was punished, for all who believe.
Justice met love, and Love made a way. First John
4:10 tells us:
Herein is love, not that we loved God, but that he loved us,
and sent his Son to be the propitiation for our sins.
Propitiation is synonymous with appeasement, or
satisfaction, specifically towards God. Propitiation is a two-
part act that involves appeasing the wrath of an offended
person and being reconciled to him.
Love goes back to God
But God commendeth his love toward us, in that, while we
were yet sinners, Christ died for us (Romans 5:8).
Yet here means that we are worthy of death, because
we are still sinners178 when the Lord came to redeem us.
Reader, if you haven’t already looked to the Lamb of God
for your soul’s salvation, will you neglect, or will you
respond to the love of God, Jesus Christ, the manifestation
of God’s love, God’s expression of His love for us.
He that spared not his own Son, but delivered him up for us
all … (Romans 8:32)
178 Sin is the transgression of the law, which the only penalty thereof is death.
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Dear Reader do not neglect the gift of God, Jesus
Christ, or one day you will experience the wrath of God
because you ignored the suffering of His Righteous
Servant for sinners. What a waste that would be, because
someday, every knee shall bow and every tongue confess
that Jesus Christ is Lord.179 It’s better to do it now, than to
do it then.
Dear Reader, if you are a sinner, not just someone who
does bad things sometimes; but if you see yourself as
someone whose sinful condition is beyond hope of self,
and you know your only hope is to look outside of
yourself. . . Jesus Christ died for you:
This is a faithful saying, and worthy of all acceptation, that
Christ Jesus came into the world to save sinners… (1Timothy
1:15).
179 Philippians 2:10
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VERSE 11
HE… SHALL BE SATISFIED
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.
He who was dead; He who was cut off out of the land
of the living; who made His grave with the wicked and the
rich in His death; who was led as a lamb to the slaughter;
He who was bruised of the LORD; who was offered for sin,
will live again to see the fruit from His travail. 180 The
blessed fruit from all His labors and sufferings (v10):
His seed (Believers from all generations)
The pleasure of the LORD (In fulfilling His purposes)
The salvation of sinners (The condemned shall be
redeemed)
The glory of the LORD (God is glorified – the ultimate
priority).
He shall see of the travail of his soul and be satisfied
What was the travail of His soul you may ask? The
afflictions mentioned previously in Isaiah 53: (4) Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows:
yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
(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. (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.
It was of such anguish that, “He sweat … great
drops of blood…” before His arrest and subsequent
crucifixion.181
180 Painful work; toil; agony; labor 181 Luke 22:44
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It was travail as of a woman with child, ready to
give birth:
A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her
hour is come: . . . but as soon as she is delivered of the
child,. . . she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy
that a man is born into the world (John 16:21).
This points to . . .
And be satisfied
The Lord came to earth, as a man, born of a virgin, in
humble beginnings, bore our griefs, carried our sorrows,
taught, preached, healed, saying, I have finished the work
in His High-Priestly prayer of John chapter 17 (verse 4);
and He bore our sins on the cross of Calvary declaring it
finished in John19:30.
The results: The salvation of all for whom Christ died:
Because He is satisfied and He will not be disappointed,
because none of His redeemed shall be lost: All that the Father giveth me shall come to me (John 6:37).
Christ’s satisfaction means that God the Father is
satisfied, so He is satisfied. And His satisfaction is
demonstrated in the eternal security of every believer:
And I give unto them eternal life; and they shall never perish
(John 10:28).
By his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify
many
By his knowledge. Knowledge in the biblical sense
means a personal, intimate familiarity; an understanding;
an awareness; a belief on. It is not a head knowledge but
knowledge applied by the Holy Spirit using Scripture to a
heart that has been granted faith. It is knowing Him as a
Person, as one intimate friend knows another friend. It is
not knowing about Him. Biblically, it is the same thing as
believing in him:
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And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only
true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent (John 17:3).
For God, who commanded the light to shine out of darkness,
hath shined in our hearts, to give the light of the knowledge
of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ (2Corinthians
4:6).
And what is that knowledge? Peter said it well in
Matthew 16:16, “Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living
God." Quite simply, it is believing that Jesus Christ is
exactly who He says He is.
And how do we come to know Him? Through the
Gospel:
And without controversy great is the mystery of godliness:
God was manifest in the flesh, justified in the Spirit, seen of
angels, preached unto the Gentiles, believed on in the world,
received up into glory (1Timothy 3:16).
His Gospel makes known his Person, His love, His
righteousness, His atonement, and His salvation; and thus,
by the knowledge of him, the Messiah would justify many.
And it is only the Gospel that God is pleased to use to
bring men to Christ for a personal saving relationship. That
is why Paul preached it, and why we need to share it as
well:
For we preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord
(2Corinthians 4:5).
For I determined not to know any thing among you, save
Jesus Christ, and him crucified (1Corinthians 2:2).
But we preach Christ crucified (1Corinthians 1:23).
Whom we preach, warning every man (Colossians 1:28).
But the true Gospel can only be heard from the
Scriptures:
So then faith cometh by hearing, and hearing by the word of
God (Romans 10:17).
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This is why we as Christians need to be sure that
wherever we share Christ, the Word of God must be
present. Believers can rejoice in true knowledge:
And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us
an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and
we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This
is the true God, and eternal life (1John 5:20).
But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth
and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise
lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth:
for in these things I delight, saith the LORD (Jeremiah 9:24).
And once saved, believers are not to just stop there:
But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and
Saviour Jesus Christ (2Peter 3:18).
Therefore leaving the principles of the doctrine of Christ, let
us go on unto perfection (Hebrews 6:1).
My righteous servant. Jeremiah 33:16, declares the
LORD our righteousness, and Isaiah 42:1 says of Him, “…
in whom my soul delighteth.” This was a statement made
to dispel false accusations182 of the Jews as well as show
the Lord’s fitness for this great work of justifying sinners
of all men:
For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless,
undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the
heavens (Hebrews 7:26).
Remember, He had no fault and no guilt. He carried
our sorrows; 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; 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; for the transgression of my people was he
stricken; he had done no violence, neither was any deceit
in his mouth. He is, was, and ever will be righteous.
182 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 11. Matthew Poole Commentary. PowerBible CD [Open Domain]
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Justify many. Justify is a legal term 183 meaning to
treat one as if he is legally righteous. In the court of God,
the believer has been declared not guilty; innocent
(justified); righteous (pure, holy), clean of any and all
crimes, in Christ. But if you are not in Christ, your are still
guilty, condemned. If you desire to be justified by your
good deeds, by following the commands of God, we cannot
be justified by the law trying to follow the Ten
Commandments:
Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be
justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin
(Romans 3:20).
The law will condemn you. It will lead to your
condemnation. Do not put your faith in the law to enter
heaven, because no one but Jesus Christ could ever fulfill
it: every jot and tittle. For all of us, all men and women,
boy or girl, born into this world, hell is before us, and
judgment upon us, condemnation sure. But Christ, the
Righteousness of God came that we might be acquitted
from the guilt of our sins, and all the dreadful
consequences thereof:184
… [we are] justified by his blood, [and] saved from wrath
through him (Romans 5:9).
… justified by faith, [and] have peace with God through our
Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1).
So who is he that condemns us? No one can, it is
Christ that died for you Dear Reader. 185 No one can
condemn you if you are in Christ. It is God who justifies.
The Judge has dismissed your case, because of what the
Lord has done for us. Now that is a Gospel worth sharing!
This is why we must be:
183 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 11. Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Commentary. PowerBible CD [Open Domain] 184 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 11. Matthew Poole Commentary. PowerBible CD [Open Domain] 185 Romans 8:34
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…found in him, not having [our] own righteousness, which is
of the law, but that which is through the faith of Christ, the
righteousness which is of God by faith” (Philippians 3:9).
And it’s why the LORD says, “seek ye first the kingdom
of God, and his righteousness” in Matthew 6:33, because
it is the most needful thing for all of us to do.
Many. This is clearly written here that Christ will not
justify all but, “all that believe are justified from all
things."186 There is a saying that I have heard over the
years which is applicable here:
One thief [on the cross next to Jesus] was saved that
none need despair, but only one, that none would
presume.
However, it was not a shotgun approach God used for
the salvation of sinners. We have a human responsibility
to respond to the Gospel in faith; but, without God’s gift of
faith, we cannot believe.187 This is why we must give God
the glory in every part of salvation. This statement also
tells us that the LORD already knew you before you even
responded to the Gospel. He knew who you were, because
He said many, and not all, indicating He already knew who
was going to respond to the message of salvation in Christ.
We love Him because He first loved us, and we know Him
because He first knew us. Which is why in Heaven we will
sing, “Thou art worthy …” because “salvation is of the
LORD."188
For he shall bear their iniquities
He shall satisfy the justice of God, by bearing the
punishment due to their sins;189 the sinner's Substitute of
Matthew 20:28, who came to, minister, and to give his life
a ransom for many. But who is their in “their iniquities?”
Those who have received knowledge of Him: The many:
[The] All that the Father giveth [Christ, who] shall come to
186 Acts 13:39 187 Ephesians 2:8-9 188 Revelation 5:9; Jonah 2:9 189 Comments on Isaiah 53 verse 11. John Wesley's Notes on the Old and New Testaments.
PowerBible CD [Open Domain].
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[Him] of John 6:37. For those visual, systematic,
mathematical readers, Isaiah 53:11 looks like this:
He shall see [His resurrection]
(+) Of the travail of his soul [His finished work]
(+) And shall be satisfied [His glory]
(+) By His knowledge [His Gospel, which people
will hear, know, and understand]
(+) Shall my righteous servant[His sufficiency]
(+) Justify many [His righteousness means that
many are made righteous]
(=) For he shall bear their iniquities [His suffering:
For those who received knowledge; those given an
understanding].
However, the opposite is true:
[The Lord will] Pour out [His] wrath upon the heathen that
have not known [Him], and upon the kingdoms that have not
called upon [His] name (Psalm 79:6).
In flaming fire taking vengeance on them that know not God,
and that obey not the gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ: (9)
Who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the
presence of the Lord, and from the glory of his power
(2Thessalonians 1:8-9).
Dear Reader, if you haven’t already, go to Jesus
Christ. Humble yourself before God. Become as a little
child, a helpless sheep and seek the mercy of God in the
face of Jesus Christ: the WAY of God; the TRUTH of God;
the LIFE from God.190 And believe on the Lord Jesus Christ
and be saved.191
190 John 14:6 191 Acts 16:31
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VERSE 12
HE… SHALL DIVIDE THE SPOIL
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.
It is the END of the matter. The conclusion of what
began in verse one. God reached out to man: when we
were yet dead in our sins, separated from God because of
sin, in the kingdom of Satan, without hope of ourselves.
We saw the PAST. His incarnation: the Word became
flesh.
The PRESENT, our condition: All we like sheep have
gone astray. How we as sheep follow sin, flock to evil, and
go the way which seemeth right but ends in death, like
sheep getting food on a slippery slope.
And the FUTURE: He shall be satisfied: the glory of
God in the salvation of sinners.
All as it relates to Jesus Christ. And now our final verse,
twelve, wraps it all up, and it begins with His glory.
Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great
Portion. What do great people receive? Glory, honor,
riches, and praise.192 That’s their portion. However, it is a
temporal, fading portion for them. Where is Alexander
now? Where is Julius Caesar? They are dead. Michael
Jordan’s time in the limelight has passed. But this clause is
speaking of eternal glory, honor, and praise unto Jesus
Christ our Lord and Saviour:
And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and
under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are
in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and
power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto
the Lamb for ever and ever (Revelation 5:13).
192 e.g. Alexander the Great, Julius Caesar, Michael Jordan
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This is Christ’s portion for His awesome work, which no
man can approach. So, why will the Father divide Him a
portion with the Great? Therefore. When you see a
therefore, stop and see what it is there for. It is going to
refer to a preceding statement. Here, it refers to the end
of the previous verse: “He shall bare their iniquities” (v11).
But it is also the result of all the previous verses; the
whole of the chapter.
We see the same idea in Philippians 2:9, “Wherefore
God hath highly exalted Him.” Why? Because He made
Himself of no reputation, He humbled Himself, and became
obedient unto death… on the cross.193
And he shall divide the spoil with the strong
Spoil is a term that relates to war, the riches of the
enemy, his treasures, valuables, important items, are his
spoil. The LORD did not come the first time for physical
warfare which is what the Jews expected, liberation from
Roman rule. First was spiritual the more needful, because
though our outward man dies, our soul lives on. Spoil
referred to here are spiritual spoils. Satan had the
treasures because of the consequences of man’s sin:
Death is our curse for eternity, and the fear of death
troubles us; Fear of hell torments us; Depravity ruined us,
causing us to do unspeakable things.
These things are the consequence of sin, our fall,
which put us into the kingdom of Satan, because we
naturally cannot be with God. And the Devil is glad. These
are his treasures, his pleasures, his valuables, because
these things keep us from a right relationship with God,
our Creator. But God made a way and set us free and we
see it in Isaiah 53 through Christ’s sacrifice. Christ came
to proclaim liberty to the captives, and open the prison to
them that are bound, 194 freeing us from the Devil’s
kingdom. That’s the Good News. That’s the Gospel.
The Father was satisfied with Christ’s sacrifice,
and we no longer have to live in the fear of death and hell,
193 Philippians 2:5-8 194 Isaiah 61:1
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and suffer from the effects of sin because those people in
Christ are no longer a part of the kingdom of Satan.
God could not have us the way we are naturally,
and the Devil had free reign over us, because we were
dead in trespasses and sins,195 but God took His people
out of the kingdom of Satan and translated them into the
Kingdom of His dear Son:
Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath
translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son (Colossians
1:13).
The Lord spoiled the strong man’s house, Satan’s
domain, the god of this world , the prince of the power of
the air as well as his powers and principalities, angels and
authorities and powers were all made subject to Jesus
Christ as a result of His sacrifice.196
He made a show of them openly,197 putting them to
shame, removing their power, their control, their authority
over us. Christ ended the power of death, despair, and
fear over His people, and set His people, believer, sinners
saved by grace, free. And the best thing is that He did it
alone. That’s why He gets the glory. If you or I had
anything to do with it, we would have messed it up. But
Jesus Christ became our Hero, the Hero of every believer.
And the Lord not only got the spoils, but He shared the
blessings.
He shall divide the spoil
Ephesians 4:8 says,
Wherefore he saith, When he ascended up on high, he led
captivity captive, and gave gifts unto men.
He not only put under His subjection evil powers, but
He also gave gifts unto men; that is He shared the
benefits, and treasures. He divided the spoil with His
people. What are those benefits you may ask?
195 Ephesians 2:1 196 Matthew 12:29; 2Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; 1Peter 3:22 197 Colossians 2:16
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In Christ believers have: Instead of death, life; instead
of eternal death, eternal life; instead of hell, heaven;
instead of condemnation, justification; instead of
corruption, incorruption; instead of transgression and
iniquity, righteousness; instead of being enemies of God,
a personal relationship with Him; instead of being
children of the Devil, children of God; instead of being
lost in sin, found in Christ; instead of religiousness,
worship in spirit and truth; And the list could go on and
on!
Strong. Who are they? The strong in the Lord are
those who are more than conquerors through him that
loved us.198 First John 4:4 tells us:
Ye are of God, little children, and have overcome them [the
spirit of antichrist in the world]: because greater is he that is
in you, than he that is in the world.
First Corinthians 15:57 says:
But thanks be to God, which giveth us the victory through
our Lord Jesus Christ.
Why did the Lord have these spoils? They were His
portion. Because He hath poured out his soul unto death:
and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare
the sins of many, and made intercession for the
transgressors. Because he gave all that he could give: His
holy life, a ransom for many. Because He became a man
and He was identified with transgressors: He did not avoid
publicans and sinners; He died on a cross between two
thieves;199 He grew up in Nazareth of Galilee;200
From the beginning to the end of His life, He was
associated with, identified with, counted with
transgressors, lawbreakers, US, for all men are
lawbreakers; but He was not one of them; Because He
became the sinner’s Substitute; Because He rescued,
made intercession for His people.
198 Romans 8:37 199 Mark 2:16; Mark 15:27; Isaiah 53:2 before Him as a tender plant… 200 See chapter two for more explanation of Nazareth of Galilee.
101
Intercession means that He came to our rescue. The
Lord came between us and an angry, holy God. He stood
in the gap made by sin201 when wrath was ready to come
upon us. When we were yet without strength, Satan’s
trophies, rotting in prison, waiting to be executed, one
heartbeat away from final damnation, in the fullness of
time, Christ died for the ungodly. And He still intercedes
for the believers today, at the right hand of God:
…if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus
Christ the righteous (1John 2:1).
… who is even at the right hand of God, who also maketh
intercession for us (Romans 8:34).
He rescued us (our position) and now He intercedes for
our sanctification, because we still sin while we are in this
flesh. When we sin, the nail prints in His hands and feet
are there, for us.
Dear Reader, if you are not in Christ, you must
know your situation right now: NO ONE is standing
between you and God’s wrath, and you are a heartbeat
away from it. NO ONE is interceding for you before God
right now. Flee to Jesus Christ!
Isaiah 53:12 says this:
Therefore [for all He endured for OUR sake]
will I divide him a portion with the great, [His
glory, His praise]
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; [He
will share His treasures with His people]
because he hath poured out his soul unto death:
[He gave ALL that He could give]
and he was numbered with the transgressors;
[He became a man among wicked men]
201 Compare with Isaiah 59:2
102
and he bare the sin of many, [He became OUR
Substitute – the sinners’ Substitute]
and made intercession for the transgressors. [He
delivered His people AND His present ministry].
103
CONCLUSION
We have come to the end of a very precious chapter in
the Bible. May it be that we have seen a clearer glimpse of
the beauty of the Lord, His value, and worthiness. We
have seen the Gospel written in the Old Testament, 700
years before it happened: A testimony to its inspiration. It
is also quite an evangelistic, and poetic account of the
Lord Jesus Christ and what He endured for every sinner,
sufficient of itself to be used of the Lord to bring a person
to saving faith.
In verse 1 we saw the arm of the LORD (His Deity)
and to whom He reveals it (by grace are ye saved…).
In verses 2-3 we saw His lowly entrance into this
world from His home in glory (His PERSON) a tender plant
(human frailty), a root out of a dry ground (not wealthy,
from Nazareth), no form or comeliness (not impressive),
no beauty that we should desire Him.
In verses 4-6 we saw how He suffered for us (His
PASSION) bore our griefs, carried our sorrows, wounded,
bruised, chastised, whipped.
In verses 7-9 we saw how He did not condemn (His
PASSIVITY) opened not His mouth, as a lamb to the
slaughter.
In verses 10-12 we saw His reward for all these
things; the fruit of His labor, and His future (His PORTION)
His seed, the pleasure of the Lord, prolong His days; and
that even though He died, He would see His seed. In other
words, He would rise again!
Isaiah fifty three ends on the twelfth verse. After that,
is an eternal bliss for those who have trusted the Lord,
those who have believed on Him, His name, His work, His
blood.
And May it be a refreshing reminder to every believer
of His beauty that we might come to adore Him more than
ever before, and cause us to return to our First Love, and
a sweet fellowship with Him once again. It is not a duty
but a joy to tell someone about a person you adore, a
person whom you spend so much time with. How many
people these days spend their time talking about the news,
104
current events, gossip, a famous movie star or singer they
don’t even know, but how little time is spent talking about
the Lord whom we are supposed to love and adore more
than all others.
Isaiah 53 tells us of the Person who died on the
cross for sinners 2,000 years ago: What He ENDURED for
sinners; The WORK that He did for sinners; His BEAUTY; It
tells us the MESSAGE He gave for believers.
Isaiah 53 paints a detailed picture of the work of
the Lord. And o, may it be such a beautiful picture in our
hearts of Jesus Christ the Righteous, and may He be so
adored in our hearts that we would burst if we could not
share Him with someone! That it would be a pleasure, not
an obligation; that it would be our blessing, not a duty;
that He would be adored so much in His people that we
would NOT want to break fellowship with Him over sin;
that our eyes would be upon Him, not this life or its
worldly pleasures.
Dear Reader, Jesus Christ endured all of this for
you. Is He not praiseworthy? He left glory for you. He
suffered for you. He suffered and died for you. He rose for
you. Rejoice dear Christian in the beauty of the Lord!
And if you haven’t already, He says come:
Come. … let him that is athirst come. And whosoever will, let
him take the water of life freely (Revelation 22:17).
Lay aside your pride, your enjoyment of worldly
pleasures, bitterness, laziness, business, that which keeps
you from Christ. Bring your sinful self, and your sinfulness
which burdens you with great conviction and grief, and
come, look to the Lamb of God, “which taketh away the
sins of the world.”
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About the Author
Jerry Smith is an American missionary pastor-teacher
with Faith Missionary Church, Gruetli-Laager, TN USA.
currently serving in Dasmarinas, Cavite, Philippines; and
an evangelist of Creation-Ed Ministry. His ministry is
working with local churches and Bible schools to train
church leaders and edify all brethren. He has been active
in ministry as a layman for six years, and pastor for four,
and has authored three Christian books: Where Is the
Beauty That We Should Desire Him, Why Use the King
James Bible, and Christ Ed. in the Church; all available
from Lulu.com. He supports his family and ministry as an
English Language Teacher-Trainer and TESOL Trainer and
as an English language teacher (offline & online). Dr.
Smith is an adjunct faculty member with three Bible
schools and holds a PhD in Christian Education and a ThD
(Apologetics). He is also a guest lecturer in colleges and
universities, a public speaker, writer, and a seminar
speaker on a variety of topics such as leadership, ministry,
education in churches and schools, Bible & science,
teacher-training, and more.
Please visit his blogs at:
http://c-ed.blogspot.com/
http://fmcoutreach.blogspot.com/
http://ptrjerrysblog.blogspot.com/
http://meditationsfromscripture.blogspot.com/
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