Isaiah 52:13 – 53:3

Wednesday Evening Bible Study

February 22, 2004

Introduction

Today, a new movie hits the screens, The Passion of The Christ. One of the passages behind this film is the passage known as the “Suffering Servant”.

52:13-15 The Servant

What’s so amazing is that a Jewish person could read these Scriptures and not see that it is Jesus. Even more amazing is the fact that up until the 12^th century A.D., the Jewish Rabbis interpreted these Scriptures to be speaking of an individual, the Messiah. But by the 12^th century, the interpretation began to be held that it was somehow speaking about the nation of Israel instead of the Messiah.

:13 Behold, my servant

As we go through the passage before us, we’ll see that this “servant” is clearly an individual, not a nation.

:13 shall deal prudently

prudently – sakal – to be prudent, be circumspect, wisely understand, prosper

:13 shall deal prudently

deal prudently

Lesson

Live a life of Wisdom

Moses said to Israel –

:13 he shall be exalted and extolled

extolled – nasa' – to lift, bear up, exalted

Though this word may indeed be talking about a person who is lifted up in the idea of being praised or glorified, it also can simply mean “lifted up”.

Jesus said,

(John 12:32-34 KJV) And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. {33} This he said, signifying what death he should die.

Jesus talked about Himself being “lifted up” in reference to going to hang on a cross.

:13 and be very high

:14 As many were astonied at thee

astonied – shamem – to be desolate, be appalled, stun. The idea isn’t that people would be amazed (or, “astonished”), but more that they would be horrified by what they saw. At least after they saw what would happen to Him.

:14 his visage was so marred more than any man

visage – mar'eh – sight, appearance

marred – mishchath – disfigurement (of face), corruption

more than any man – another translation, “so that it was no longer that of a man”

Jesus was beaten for us. Take a moment to see what He went through before going to the cross.

Jesus faced several trials. Before being on trial with the Sanhedrin he was beaten (Luke 22:63-65)

(Luke 22:63-65 KJV) And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him. {64} And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? {65} And many other things blasphemously spake they against him.

We refer to this practice with the blindfold as “blind-man’s buff”. If you can see a person’s fist coming at your head, you can at least brace yourself and go with the punch. But if you’re blindfolded, you have no idea when the next blow is coming. Jesus’ face would have looked like Rocky’s at the end of a fight.

After being put on trial before the high priest –

(Mark 14:63-65 KJV) Then the high priest rent his clothes, and saith, What need we any further witnesses? {64} Ye have heard the blasphemy: what think ye? And they all condemned him to be guilty of death. {65} And some began to spit on him, and to cover his face, and to buffet him, and to say unto him, Prophesy: and the servants did strike him with the palms of their hands.

More hitting. Spitting. Mocking.

After being before Pilate –

(Mat 27:26-31 KJV) Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

The whip the Romans used for scourging was called a “cat-o-nine-tails”. It was made of leather straps with pieces of metal or sharp objects embedded in it for the purpose of tearing your flesh. While the Jews had a limit of 40 stripes for their beatings, the Romans had no such limit. Jesus was scourged by Roman soldiers. The practice of the Roman scourge was to make each successive lash harder, with the object being to make the prisoner confess. Each time the prisoner was whipped and he didn’t confess, the next lash would be harder. Yet Jesus was silent. It has been suggested that Jesus’ back was like raw hamburger after the scourging.

{27} Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. {28} And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. {29} And when they had platted (wove) a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! {30} And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head. {31} And after that they had mocked him, they took the robe off from him, and put his own raiment on him, and led him away to crucify him.

Keep in mind, the Roman soldiers have no reason to be nice to this guy. He’s going to die. He’s as good as dead.

They whipped him with reeds, marking up his face.

Isaiah suggested that they may have also plucked out handfuls of His beard.

(Isa 50:6 NASB) I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.

When you think of Jesus hanging on the cross, don’t think of a pretty face that has a few drops of blood coming from the crown of thorns and a little clean slit in his side. It was far worse than that.

Why would the God who created the universe ever allow Himself to face treatment like this at the hands of His own creation?

:15 the kings shall shut their mouths at him

Perhaps this is talking about the astonishment of the world when they finally “get it”, when they see this great King of Glory, one who willingly humbled Himself unto death for us.

Micah writes,

:15 So shall he sprinkle many nations

sprinkle – nazah – to cause to spurt, sprinkle upon. It is used throughout the Old Testament to talk of sprinkling either blood, water, or oil.

Why did Jesus allow Himself to be beaten?

Lesson

Jesus died to pay for your sins.

Jesus didn’t have to die. He could have called it off at any time. In the Garden, He said,

(Mat 26:53 KJV) Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

He went through such great pain for one purpose, to pay for your sins and to offer you complete forgiveness.

The Bible says that our sins separate us from God (Rom. 6:23). And if we are going to remove the thing that separates us from God, then somebody will need to pay the consequences of our sins. What is the cost of our sins? It’s death.

(Isa 53:6 KJV) 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.

When we think of the scourging and crucifixion, we may get a little fixated on the physical pain involved.

But Jesus went through something much more than physical pain. Jesus endured the Father heaping upon Jesus all of our sins.

When you do some horrible, stupid, sin, what does it feel like? Do you recall the weight and darkness of the guilt that surrounds you in your sin? When Jesus hung on the cross, all of your sin was laid upon Him. All of your sin. All of the world’s sin.

Jesus died on the cross, taking the penalty of our sins upon Himself, to purchase our forgiveness.

Who is responsible for the death of Jesus? In a sense, we are. In a sense, God is (because it was His plan to send Jesus to die for us).

:15 for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

The idea seems to be that those who didn’t know about the Lord will be told about Him.

Paul used this verse in his life to help give guidance to his ministry –

(Rom 15:20-21 KJV) Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation: {21} But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.

This was a guiding principle for Paul in wanting to keep moving around the world and preaching to people who had not heard the gospel before.

Some churches grow by attracting people from other churches. Others grow because they are reaching out to people who don’t know the Lord. I hope that as our church continues to grow, that we might grow more and more by reaching those who don’t know the Lord.

Lesson

Lots of people still don’t know.

For some of us who have been Christians for a long time, we can start thinking that everyone around us must have heard about Jesus. Yet I believe that the way our country has gone the last 25 years, with every possible reference about God being removed from our schools and our society, that it’s very possible to grow up in the United States and not really have a clue about who Jesus is.

It’s okay to want your Christian friends to come to church with you, but I think it would be wonderful if more and more we began to yearn to bring along those who don’t yet know Jesus.

Isaiah 53:1-3

:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

arm of the LORD – referring to God’s power. The idea is that people wouldn’t believe what was being said about the Messiah, neither would they pay attention to the power demonstrated through His miracles.

Paul quotes this verse in Romans 10:16.

(John 12:37-38 KJV) But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:

This statement occurs after the people had seen Lazarus raised from the dead. You would think that raising someone from the dead would cause everyone to believe, it didn’t. After Jesus had raised his friend from the dead, people were even trying to kill Lazarus to keep others from believing in Jesus.

{38} That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?

John is saying that our passage in Isaiah was fulfilled because even though it was obvious who Jesus was, people still didn’t believe.

(John 12:42-43 KJV) Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: {43} For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

Even though some believed in Jesus, many did not. They were more concerned about what others thought than what God thought.

Lesson

People reject Jesus for all kinds of reasons.

Some people truly have intellectual questions. We need to be ready to answer their questions.

Sometimes it’s the matter of the “will”. They just don’t want do believe.

Much of what people will believe is not a matter of what’s true, but a matter of what they simply want to believe. We may pride ourselves on being such rational people, but the truth is, much of our life we make decisions based on the flimsiest reasons.

Illustration

During election season, some people will carefully study the issues and the candidates. But there are many people who choose a candidate because he looks good, has a nice name, or went to a certain school.

There was an article in Sunday’s Register talking about how the candidate with the right looks has an edge over the other candidates.

The article was called “What you see is what you elect”, and followed a study made of candidates, their faces, and their appearance. A study was made of candidates in a Romanian election, and faces where shown to people in a completely different country and the people chose the person who was actually elected, purely by looking at their picture.

When it comes to buying a car, some people will gather up all the Consumer Reports and study their options. Others buy a car because it’s red and it looks fast.

When it comes to our faith, and what we choose to believe about God, some will take the time to study the Scriptures, and examine the evidence. But for others, it’s a matter of, “Well that’s what my father believed.” or, “I’ve always been a Catholic”.

Sometimes it’s a matter of peer pressure. They don’t want to lose their friends and so they do what they think is cool, and that means not following Jesus.

:2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground:

grow up before him – Jesus growing up before God.

tender plant – yowneq – sucker, suckling, sapling, young plant. It’s a picture of weakness and frailty.

root out of a dry ground – you aren’t going to grow very large, strong roots in a land stricken with a drought.

The picture here is of a great person that would come from nothing special.

(“One Solitary Life”) - Here is a young man who was born in an obscure village, the child of a peasant woman. He grew up in another village. He worked in a carpenter shop until He was thirty, and then for three years He was an itinerant preacher. He never wrote a book. He never held an office. He never owned a home. He never had a family. He never went to a college. He never put His foot inside the big city of His day. He never traveled two hundred miles from the place He was born. He never did one of the things that usually accompany greatness. He had no credentials but Himself.

While He was still a young man, the tide of public opinion turned against Him. His friends ran away. He was turned over to His enemies. He went through the mockery of a trial. He was nailed to a cross between two thieves. While He was dying, His executioners gambled for the only piece of property He had on earth, and that was His coat. When He was dead, He was laid in a borrowed grave through the pity of a friend. Nineteen centuries wide have come and gone, and today He is the central figure of the human race, and the leader of the column of progress.

I am far within the mark when I say that all the armies that ever marched, and all the navies that ever sailed, and all the parliaments that ever sat, and all the kings that ever reigned, put together, have not affected the life of man upon this earth as has that One Solitary Life. - Anonymous

:2 he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.

form – to'ar – shape, form, outline, figure, appearance. The words seems to carry the idea of beauty or handsomeness perhaps in physical shape or form.

Jesus wasn’t one of the “beautiful” people.

comeliness – hadar – ornament, splendour, honour; majesty; glory

When Jesus took on human flesh, He veiled His glory. (Phil. 2:6-8)

Jesus didn’t come in a manner so that we’d be impressed with His “pizzazz”.

beauty – mar'eh – sight, appearance, vision; what is seen. Kind of summing up, Jesus wasn’t impressive in His initial, outward appearance.

Lesson

Looks aren’t everything.

You kind of get the idea that Jesus wasn’t exactly the town basketball star. As His ministry began, the people that knew Him from His hometown of Nazareth were surprised at what was going on. After all, it was just “Joseph’s boy” (Mat. 13:54-58). They didn’t say, “Well, we always knew He’d make it big!”

We tend to place WAY too much emphasis on looks. It’s hard in a world where looks are everything.

Warren Wiersbe writes, “While few people deliberately try to be unattractive, modern society has made a religion out of physical beauty. It is good to remember that Jesus succeeded without it.”

Lesson

Don’t judge by the outer appearance.

:3 He is despised and rejected of men

despised – bazah – hold in contempt; (Niphal) to be despicable; to be vile, worthless

:3 a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief

sorrows – mak'ob – pain, sorrow.

acquainted – yada` – to know; learn to know; to know by experience; familiar by constant contact with

grief – choliy – sickness; (NIV) “suffering”

:3 and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

despised – same as above, vs. 3

Lesson

Jesus understands

If you’ve ever tried sharing a problem or concern with someone who can’t relate to what you’re talking about, you know the frustration.

(Heb 4:15-16 KJV) 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. {16} Let us therefore come boldly unto the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy, and find grace to help in time of need.

Jesus has been there. He knows what pain and sorrow are all about. And He knows how to help too.

(John 1:11 KJV) He came unto his own, and his own received him not.

Jesus came for the Jews, but they would reject Him.

Yet even in rejection, Jesus would not become bitter, but would forgive. On the cross, after having been betrayed and crucified by His own people, He would say,

(Luke 23:34 KJV) …Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do…

If you are struggling with the feeling of rejection, let it go. Don’t become consumed with anger. Choose to forgive.

Introduction

Today, a new movie hits the screens, The Passion of The Christ. One of the passages behind this film is the passage known as the “Suffering Servant”.

52:13-15 The Servant

:13 Behold, my servant

As we go through the passage before us, we’ll see that this “servant” is clearly an individual, not a nation.

:13 shall deal prudently

prudently – sakal – to be prudent, be circumspect, wisely understand, prosper

:13 shall deal prudently

deal prudently – sakal – (Hiphil) to look at or upon, have insight; to give attention to, consider, ponder, be prudent; to have insight, have comprehension; to prosper, have success

(Isa 52:13 NIV) See, my servant will act wisely

Lesson

Live a life of Wisdom

Knowledge as the accumulation of facts, but wisdom is knowing what to do what all that information.

Moses said to Israel –

(Deu 29:9 KJV) Keep therefore the words of this covenant, and do them, that ye may prosper in all that ye do.

:13 he shall be exalted and extolled

extolled – nasa' – to lift, bear up, exalted

Though this word may indeed be talking about a person who is lifted up in the idea of being praised or glorified, it also can simply mean “lifted up”.

Jesus said,

(John 12:32-34 KJV) And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me. {33} This he said, signifying what death he should die.

Jesus talked about Himself being “lifted up” in reference to going to hang on a cross.

:13 and be very high

What can be confusing for some, and a possible reason why some of the Jews in Jesus day couldn’t see it, was that the passage often will bounce back and forth from Jesus’ glorified state, to His suffering state.

In the light of eternity, it’s all the same. We have a glorious King who was a suffering servant. But in Jesus’ day, when He came to be the suffering servant, some missed Him because they were expecting a glorious King.

:14 As many were astonied at thee

astonied – shamem – to be desolate, be appalled, stun. The idea isn’t that people would be amazed (or, “astonished”), but more that they would be horrified by what they saw. At least after they saw what would happen to Him.

:14 his visage was so marred more than any man

visage – mar'eh – sight, appearance

marred – mishchath – disfigurement (of face), corruption

more than any man – another translation, “so that it was no longer that of a man”

(NIV) his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness--

Jesus was beaten for us. Take a moment to see what He went through before going to the cross.

Jesus faced several trials. Before being on trial with the Sanhedrin he was beaten (Luke 22:63-65)

(Luke 22:63-65 KJV) And the men that held Jesus mocked him, and smote him. {64} And when they had blindfolded him, they struck him on the face, and asked him, saying, Prophesy, who is it that smote thee? {65} And many other things blasphemously spake they against him.

After being put on trial before the high priest –

More hitting. Spitting. Mocking.

After being before Pilate –

(Mat 27:26-31 KJV) Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified.

Keep in mind, the Roman soldiers have no reason to be nice to this guy. He’s going to die. He’s as good as dead.

They whipped him with reeds, marking up his face.

Isaiah suggested that they may have also plucked out handfuls of His beard.

(Isa 50:6 NASB) I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.

When you think of Jesus hanging on the cross, don’t think of a pretty face that has a few drops of blood coming from the crown of thorns and a little clean slit in his side. It was far worse than that.

Why would the God who created the universe ever allow Himself to face treatment like this at the hands of His own creation?

:15 the kings shall shut their mouths at him

Perhaps this is talking about the astonishment of the world when they finally “get it”, when they see this great King of Glory, one who willingly humbled Himself unto death for us.

Micah writes,

Mic 7:16 The nations shall see and be confounded at all their might: they shall lay [their] hand upon [their] mouth, their ears shall be deaf.

:15 So shall he sprinkle many nations

sprinkle – nazah – to cause to spurt, sprinkle upon. It is used throughout the Old Testament to talk of sprinkling either blood, water, or oil.

Why did Jesus allow Himself to be beaten?

Lesson

Jesus died to pay for your sins.

Jesus didn’t have to die. He could have called it off at any time. In the Garden, He said,

(Mat 26:53 KJV) Thinkest thou that I cannot now pray to my Father, and he shall presently give me more than twelve legions of angels?

He went through such great pain for one purpose, to pay for your sins and to offer you complete forgiveness.

The Bible says that our sins separate us from God (Rom. 6:23). And if we are going to remove the thing that separates us from God, then somebody will need to pay the consequences of our sins. What is the cost of our sins? It’s death.

(Isa 53:6 KJV) 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.

When we think of the scourging and crucifixion, we may get a little fixated on the physical pain involved.

Jesus died on the cross, taking the penalty of our sins upon Himself, to purchase our forgiveness.

Who is responsible for the death of Jesus? In a sense, we are. In a sense, God is (because it was His plan to send Jesus to die for us).

:15 for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

The idea seems to be that those who didn’t know about the Lord will be told about Him.

Paul used this verse in his life to help give guidance to his ministry –

(Rom 15:20-21 KJV) Yea, so have I strived to preach the gospel, not where Christ was named, lest I should build upon another man's foundation: {21} But as it is written, To whom he was not spoken of, they shall see: and they that have not heard shall understand.

This was a guiding principle for Paul in wanting to keep moving around the world and preaching to people who had not heard the gospel before.

Some churches grow by attracting people from other churches. Others grow because they are reaching out to people who don’t know the Lord. I hope that as our church continues to grow, that we might grow more and more by reaching those who don’t know the Lord.

Lesson

Lots of people still don’t know.

It’s okay to want your Christian friends to come to church with you, but I think it would be wonderful if more and more we began to yearn to bring along those who don’t yet know Jesus.

Isaiah 53:1-3

:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?

arm of the LORD – referring to God’s power. The idea is that people wouldn’t believe what was being said about the Messiah, neither would they pay attention to the power demonstrated through His miracles.

Paul quotes this verse in Romans 10:16.

(Rom 10:16 KJV) But they have not all obeyed the gospel. For Esaias saith, Lord, who hath believed our report?

(John 12:37-38 KJV) But though he had done so many miracles before them, yet they believed not on him:

{38} That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?

John is saying that our passage in Isaiah was fulfilled because even though it was obvious who Jesus was, people still didn’t believe.

(John 12:42-43 KJV) Nevertheless among the chief rulers also many believed on him; but because of the Pharisees they did not confess him, lest they should be put out of the synagogue: {43} For they loved the praise of men more than the praise of God.

Even though some believed in Jesus, many did not. They were more concerned about what others thought than what God thought.

deal prudently