36c The Suffering Servant [Isaiah 52:13—53:12]

The Bible passage: [Isaiah 52:13—53:12]

The Story:

The prophet Isaiah, directed by God, wrote/said the following to the people of Judah:

Wake up and get yourself ready. Get dressed for a victorious journey. Shake off the dust that has collected while you waited. Your exile is about to be over.

The Lord says, “You were taken without being sold, and you will be returned without money changing hands. First, there was slavery in Egypt. Then there was oppression by Assyria. What do we have now? My people were taken away for nothing. My name is blasphemed all day long. My people will know my name. When they are freed, they will know that I am the one that says, ‘Here I am.’”

There is one coming who will proclaim that there is peace, who brings news of good things, who proclaims salvation. He tells God’s people, “Your God reigns!”

Everyone will shout for joy together, for every eye will see the Lord return to Zion. The Lord brings comfort to his people because He has redeemed them from their exile. The Lord has shown His power to the nations. All the earth will see His salvation.

Leave your exile and leave for home. Purify yourselves. You will not leave in a hurry. You will not have to flee. The Lord is leading you out; the God of Israel is your rear guard.

Look, My servant acted wisely; He was raised up and greatly exalted. His appearance was so disfigured that He didn’t look like a man; his form didn’t resemble a human being. He has silenced kings; for they have seen what they haven’t been told about, and they have understood what they haven’t heard.

He grew up like a young plant; like a root out of dry ground. He didn’t have a form or splendor that we should look at him. His appearance did not make him look desirable. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of suffering who knew what it was to be sick. People turned away from Him; He was despised, and we didn’t value him.

He Himself bore our sickness; He carried our pain. We considered him struck down by God and afflicted. He was pierced because of our bad behavior, crushed because of our sin; payment for our peace was put on Him, and we are healed by His wounds.

Like sheep, we all went astray; we all turned to our own way; and the Lord punished Him for all of our sins. He was oppressed and afflicted, but He never opened His mouth. Like a lamb being led to slaughter and like a sheep is silent before her shearers, He did not open His mouth.

He was oppressed and judged. He was cut off from the land of the living. He was struck down because of the rebellion of God’s people. They gave Him a grave with the wicked, and with a rich man at His death, although he had committed no violence and had not spoken deceitfully. 

The Lord was pleased to crush Him and made Him sick. 

When you make Him your restitution offering, He will see you as his child, He will prolong His days. The will of the Lord will succeed by His hand.

He will see all this through His anguish. He will be satisfied with the knowledge of what He is accomplishing. God’s righteous servant will justify many sinners; He will carry the weight of their sins. The Lord will give Him many children as a portion, and He will receive the mighty as spoil, because He submitted Himself to die and was put with the rebels; yet He bore the sin of many and took the place of rebels.

The Lessons:

  • Isaiah refers to Jerusalem as Zion in this passage.
  • Isaiah said of the Messiah, “His appearance did not make him look desirable.” This is in contrast to what the Bible says about Moses [Exodus 2:2] and David [1 Samuel 16:12], that they were very attractive.
  • This is a partial list of New Testament passages that reference this prophecy (all quotes CSB):
    • [Romans 2:24] “God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.”
    • [Romans 10:15] “How welcome are the feet of those who announce the gospel of good things!”
    • [2 Corinthians 6:17] “Do not touch any unclean thing, and I will welcome you.”
    • [Romans 15:21] “Those who had no report of Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”
    • [John 12:37-38] “Though He had performed many signs… they did not believe in Him”
    • [Romans 10:16] “Lord, who has believed our message?”
    • [Matthew 8:16-17] “He Himself took our weaknesses and carried our diseases”
    • [Hebrews 9:28] “Offered once to bear the sins of many”
    • [1 Peter 2:24-25] “He Himself bore our sins”; “By His wounding you have been healed”; “You were like sheep going astray”
    • [Acts 8:32-33] “He was led like a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb is silent before its shearer, so He does not open His mouth.”; “His life is taken from the earth.”
    • [Matthew 26:62-63] “Jesus kept silent.”
    • [Matthew 27:12-14] “He didn’t answer… He didn’t answer him on even one charge”
    • [1 Peter 2:22] “He did not commit sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth”
    • [Matthew 27:57-60] “A rich man… took the body… and placed it in his new tomb”
    • [Mark 15:27-28] “They crucified two criminals with Him.”; “He was counted among outlaws”
    • [Matthew 27:38] “Two criminals were crucified with Him”
    • [John 1:12-13] and [Romans 8:16-17] “children of God”


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