By Eugene Garner

ISAIAH - CHAPTER 52:13 - 53:12

THE VICARIOUS SUFFERING OF THE MESSIANIC
SERVANT

    The "Servant of Jehovah" is, at all times, described in individual terms. Though the figure sometimes refers to the nation, it is clear that it often surpasses all that Israel, or any individual in Israel, ever was - being descriptive of an Ideal Figure. He is to be Israel's Redeemer - whose suffering will make the fulfillment of her task possible.
    Few, in ancient Israel, considered "the Servant" to be a Messianic figure; but this does not justify one in rejecting an abundance of prophetic testimony which indicates that He was! The nation's passionate desire for a political Messiah effectively blinded her to the possibility of a Messiah whose very suffering would be the organ through which His task would be accomplished!
    It is quite evident that some in Israel (though unable to harmonize Messianic glory and humiliation) DID regard "the Servant" as a Messianic figure; thus, the formulation of the "two-Messiah philosophy". Messiah ben Joseph would suffer in humiliation (falling in battle), while Messiah ben Daid would conquer and rule the earth in righteousness. But, in retrospect, the prophecies concerning "the Suffering Servant," Who will yet be triumphant, are perfectly harmonized in the person and life of Jesus, the Christ!

   Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: 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.

    1. These three verses introduce and summarize the entire prophesy concerning the Suffering Servant.
    2. Speaking through the prophet, God calls Israel to "BEHOLD" His servant, (vs. 13a; comp. 49:1-7; Jn. 1:29; 19:4-7).
      a. He will "deal prudently": the very personification of wisdom and knowledge, He will, in all things, act in such a way as to glorify God - while providing indescribable and eternal blessing for mankind, (vs. 13b; 11:2; Lk. 2:40; Matt. 13:54; Col. 2:3).
      b. Though acquainted with the deepest humiliation, He will arise to a place of exaltation wherein He stands exceedingly high, (vs. 13c; Acts 2:36; Rom. 14:9; Eph. 1:19-23; Col. 1:18; Lk. 22:69; Phil. 2:9; Mk. 16:19; Rev. 5:12).
    3. He is foreseen as being a perpetual astonishment to men, (vs. 14; Malt. 7:28; Mk. 5:42; 7:37; Acts 9:6).
      a. From His virgin birth to His vicarious death - His sinless life to His substitutionary sacrifice for sinners - men were amazed and astonished regarding Him, (Jn. 7:46; Lk. 5:26).
      b. By the brutality which He suffered at the hands of men, His appearance was disfigured beyond the semblance of humanity!
      c. But, through that very suffering, the Servant is triumphant! (vs. 15).
        1) By means of this He is able to "sprinkle (cleansing by His blood) many nations", (Num. 19:17-19; Ezek. 36:24-25; Psa. 51:7; Titus 3:5-6; Heb. 9:13-14, 19-22; 10:19-23).
        2) Kings will stand in reverent and awed silence before Him, (Job 21:5; 29:9-10).
        3) And the mystery of the Suffering Servant will be unfolded in the glory that follows His humiliation, (Phil. 2:5-11; Rom. 15:8-21; I Tim. 3:16).

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

    1. For the most part, the message of the prophets, as that of the Servant (and later of His apostles), went unheeded, (vs. la; II Kings 7; Isa. 6:9-12; Matt. 21:31-32; Lk. 22:68; Jn. 3:11; 10:24-26; Acts 13:46; 18:6; 28:25-28; Rom. 10:16-17; 11:7-8; I Thess. 2:14-16).
      a. Isaiah is evidently speaking here as a representative of the covenant-nation (at the time of their future restoration) when they, in astonishment, reverent awe, and deep remorse, inquire, in essence: "Who would have BELIEVED that such an one was truly the Messiah?"
      b. It is an admission that they formerly DID NOT BELIEVE!
    2. The "arm of the Lord", His strength, personified in the Christ, was revealed only to those whose ears were opened to His voice, and whose hearts were open to the exercise of His rightful lordship over their lives, (1b; 51:9; Deut. 4:33-35; 5:15; 26:8; II Chron. 32:7-8; Jer. 17:5).
      a. The figure is suggestive of the authority by which righteous judgment is executed, (Jn. 5:22, 27).
        1) That "arm" was revealed in the incarnation, life, miracles, voluntary death, resurrection, and ascension of the Christ.
        2) The same arm of strength that brings deliverance to His people will be a crushing force of destruction to their enemies.
      b. It also suggests the power by which He opens eyes to perceive, and hearts to understand, the word of the Lord, (Lk. 24:25-32; Acts 16:14).
        1) If one believes the message concerning the Servant, it is because God has enabled him to do so, (Eph. 2:8-10).
        2) Every true believer bears evidence that the arm or strength of the Lord has been revealed, (Phil. 2:12-13).
    3. Such as were moved only by APPEARANCE would never have recognized the reality and identity of His person and mission (vs. 2) - "form" referring, not so much to His personal appearance, but to the state of humiliation in which the nation viewed Him.
      a. "As a "tender plant", He grew to the maturity of a perfect manhood under the Father's watchful, guiding, guarding, and loving eye.
      b. The "dry ground" depicts Israel (an enslaved and degraded nation) as a spiritual desert that brought forth no fruit to the glory of God.
      c. The mention of "root" (or "shoot") suggests that it was from the long humiliated and cast down "stump" of the Davidic house and kingdom that the Servant came forth, (11:1; Ezek. 21:26-27; Lk. 1:30-35; Matt. 4:17; Lk. 19:14).
      d. To the debased and perverted senses of a fallen humanity (and this refers to Israel first), there was nothing so attractive about His appearance as to make Him desirable; there was "no beauty that we should desire him", (vs. 2b).
      e. Thus was He despised and rejected of men, (vs. 3; 49:7; Psa. 22:6-8; Matt. 13:55; Mk. 15:29-30; Lk. 18:31-33; 16:14; Jn. 10:20).
        1)He was a "man of sorrows" - sore afflictions, (vs. 3b).

"Man of Sorrows"! What a name!
For the Son of God Who came
Ruined sinners to reclaim!
HALLELUJAH! What a Saviour!

        2) And He was intimately acquainted with grief - a grim companion to walk beside a man all His days! (vs. 3b).
        3) As one from whom men hid their faces, he was shunned; nor was he esteemed, valued, or shown the slightest respect (Jn. 1:10-11) by those who despised Him, (vs. 3c; Mk. 10:33-34; contrast Isa. 50:6).

   Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 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. 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.

    1. Here is the confession of a repentant Israel - not yet fulfilled; it describes the heart-attitude that is essential before they can be restored to the covenant. In the blindness of unbelief the nation viewed their rightful Messiah as:
      a. "Stricken" from above, (comp. Gen. 12:17; II Kings 15:5); so strong is this word that many have viewed the Servant as a leper - His disease so far advanced that men were horrified by His very appearance!
      b. "Smitten of God" - an expression that is used elsewhere of the infliction of disease as a divine chastisement, (I Sam. 5:12; Psa. 102:4; Hos. 9:16; John 19:7).
      c. "Afflicted", wrapped about with suffering - which they regarded as a consequence of His own sin, (comp. Acts 3:13-21; I Cor. 2:8).
    2. In the day of enlightenment Israel will recognize the truth: here the idea of divine substitution is perfectly expressed; it is FOR US that He suffered!
      a. He has "borne OUR griefs" (sickness, weakness and distress), "and carried our sorrows" - involving the pain and punishment due OUR SINS, (vs. 4a; 63:9; Heb. 4:15). The word "borne" is clearly connected with sacrifices and expiation, (Lev. 5:1, 17; 16:22).
        1) Though Matthew sees in this a reference to our Lord's healing of physical ailments (Matt. 8:17), its main emphasis is on the spiritual.
        2) The Lord did not heal everyone during His personal ministry; nor does he do so today, (comp. II Cor. 12:7-10; II Tim. 4:20; I Tim. 5:23).
      b. It was for OUR transgressions (those who have so wretchedly misjudged the truth concerning Him) that He was "pierced through". (vs. 5a, 8; Psa. 22:16; Heb. 9:28); for OUR "iniquities" He was smitten, crushed, bruised or broken, (vs. 5-b, 10; Rom. 4:25; 5:6-8; I Cor. 15:3; Eph. 5:2; comp. Gen. 3:15); Isaiah uses the strongest words possible to describe a violent and agonizing death!
      c. The divinely-administered chastisement that fell upon the Suffering Servant was the very thing that provides our PEACE - not only our general well-being, but our salvation and restoration to a relationship of peace with God, (vs. 5-c; Heb. 5:8; Phil. 2:7-8).
      d. It is by, or through, His "stripes" that we are healed (from our rebellion and backslidings) - restored to spiritual soundness and fellowship with the heavenly Father, (vs. 5-d; I Pet. 2:24-25).
      e. Like wandering sheep, WE are ALL GONE ASTRAY - each one demanding freedom and independence for working out his own destiny, (vs. 6-a).
        1) Created with the power of self-determination, mankind has persistently demonstrated a spirit of self-will - rejecting, even failing to consider, the will of God, Eph. 5:18.
        2) Made in the image of God, and destined to share His very nature and deity, rebellious man has become self-centered instead of God-centered.
        f. But, instead of destroying the rebel race, God has caused the total weight of our wretchedness and sin to fall, with terrific impact, upon His obedient and faithful Servant - sparing not His own beloved Son, but freely delivering Him up FOR US ALL!! (vs. 6-b; Rom. 5:16-17; II Cor. 5:21; Rom. 8:32).
    3. Under the influence of the Holy Spirit, Peter uses this passage to remind the household of faith that the suffering Servant is the "Shepherd and Bishop" of their souls, (I Pet. 2:24-25). He is:
      a. The Good Shepherd - who lays down His life for the sheep (Jn. 10:11).
      b. The Great Shepherd - risen from the dead and interceding at the Father's right hand, (Heb. 13:20-21).
      c. The Chief Shepherd - whose glorious second coming, to rule righteously over all the earth, is the blessed expectation of His believing people, (I Pet. 5:4; Titus 2:11-14).

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. 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. 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.

    1. Though perfectly innocent, the Suffering Servant is unresisting and uncomplaining, (vs. 7).
      a. See what oppression and afflictions are heaped upon Him! (Isa. 50:6; Matt. 26:68-69; Jn. 19:1-7; Matt. 27:27-31). Yet, He utters no word of complaint, and offers no resistance, (vs. 7a).
      b. Brought as a lamb to the slaughter, He is silent as a sheep before her shearers - opening not His mouth, (vs. 7b).
      c. Only when "adjured by the living God", and when silence would have implied the withdrawal of His claim to deity, did He speak before the Council (Matt. 26:63-64), and before Pilate (Jn. 18:33-37; 19:10-12a); Herod heard not a single syllable from His lips! (Lk. 23:8-9).
      d. Thus, it is evident that He accepted the cross willingly - out of love for His Father and for a lost world, (Psa. 40:8; Heb. 5-8-9; Gal. 1:4; 2:20).

    2. The grand purpose of the Servant's suffering was misunderstood by all, (vs. 8).
      a. With a solemn prophetic reticence, the treatment He is to receive, at the hands of sinful men, is described as being: "taken away", "cut off" and "stricken" - carefully veiled language which suggests the sudden and violent end that He is to meet.
      b. Though it is clear that His death will involve nothing short of judicial murder, Isaiah leaves in obscurity the actual agents through which it is to be accomplished; it is sufficient to know that man's end will be accomplished only through such wresting of the law as is flagrantly unjust, and through the blind instruments of a higher, over-ruling and providential power, (Acts 2:22-24; I Pet. 1:18-21; Rev. 13:8).
      c. And Isaiah clearly foresees a wholesale blindness as to the PURPOSE of the Servant's death; He will die misunderstood, despised and alone - that we might not have to take that journey in lonely solitude, (Matt. 26:56; Mk. 14:50; Psa. 22:1; Matt. 27:46; Mk. 15:34; Psa. 23:4; Heb. 13:5-6).

    3. In such minute detail, and with such unwavering precision, does the prophet describe the crucifixion and burial of Jesus Christ that He could only have written under the power of divine illumination and direction, (vs. 9; II Pet. 1:21).
      a. It was as a sinner, and with sinners, that He was to be crucified - and so did wicked men intend to deal with His corpse.
      b. But, because He had never sinned (in word or deed), divine providence so over-ruled their wicked designs that loving hands took Him down from the cross and laid him in a rich man's new tomb, (Matt. 27:57-60).

    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. 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. 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.

    1. The prophecy concerning the Suffering Servant reaches its glorious climax in these last three verses.
    2. The perplexing mystery of God's treatment of His righteous Servant is solved ONLY when it is understood that the sinless One is offering His LIFE (soul) as an OFFERING for our sins, (vs. 10).
      a. Here is the prophetic explanation of what the suffering is all about.
      b. God has purposed that His Servant should be bruised and put to grief - His soul (life) sacrificed as an offering for the sin of a fallen race, (Jn. 3:16; I Jn. 4:10).
      c. Here is the prophetic explanation of what the suffering is all about.
      d. God has purposed that His Servant should be bruised and put to grief. His soul (life) sacrificed as an offering for the sin of a fallen race, (Jn. 3:16; I Jn. 4:10).
      e. But such an ignominious death will, by no means, be the END of the Servant; His work will have only begun. Following the voluntary sacrifice of His own life:
        1) He will see His seed (offspring) - those who are redeemed and set in positions of divine sonship through His sufferings and death, (Rev. 1:5-6; 5:9-10; Gal. 3:26).
        2) He will prolong His days - being made alive FOREVERMORE, (John 10:15; 17-18; Rev. 1:18).
        3) And the eternal purpose of the Father will progressively move forward under His control; this involves His present mediatorial work as our great High Priest, and will ultimately involve His exercise of universal dominion as King of kings and Lord of lords in His coming Kingdom of righteousness, (Phil. 2:9-11; Heb. 4:14-16; Dan. 7:13-14; John 5:26-27; Matt. 28:18; I Cor. 15:24-26).
    3. It is a heavenly voice that one hears in verse 11; the Father declares His pleasure in, and the reward that is to be bestowed upon, His obedient Servant and Son!
      a. It is the Servant Himself who shall see the realization of that for which His soul was in travail - the glorious FRUITION of His suffering, wherein He will find great satisfaction.
      b. By His knowledge (or, through the knowledge of Himself; Jn. 17:3; I Jn. 5:20; comp. II Pet. 1:3) the Servant will "justify many"; that is, He will positively DECLARE them to be RIGHTEOUS.
        1) It is strange that both translators and commentators are so careless and inconsistent in their dealings with the word "justification" - often forcing upon it the idea of "making righteous" or a bestowing of righteousness.
        2) However, it is primarily a JUDICIAL word - contrasted with, and set as the very antithesis of, "condemnation", (Rom. 5:18).
        3) Instead of being something that HAPPENS to a person, it involves a DECLARATION CONCERNING HIM - concerning the character of his living; justification is "of life" (Rom. 5:18), and is always God's response to the attitudes and actions of men which spring from faith, (Rom. 5:1; Gal. 2:16; 3:24; etc.)
        4) Justification is possible because the righteous Servant has borne our iniquities - being "made sin" for us, that we might "be made the righteousness of God" IN HIM, (II Cor. 5:21; Rom. 3:20-30).
    4. In whatever way one may choose to explain the first two clauses of verse 11, it is the glorious climax of this prophecy; He who was despised, rejected and crucified of men is to be so divinely exalted that the whole earth will see His glory and acknowledge His rightful lordship - as He leads a host of captives (delivered through His blood) in His train!
    5. The foundation of such exaltation and dominion is in the faithful fulfillment of His Servant-role wherein He:
      a. Poured out His soul (life) unto death, (Lk. 9:23-25; Jn. 12:23-26, 31:33; 19:30; comp. (Luke 2:48-52).
      b. Was numbered (reckoned, counted) with the transgressors, (Luke 22:35-38).
      c. Bare the sins of many.
        1) Symbolically previewed in the "scapegoat" which, figurately, carried the sins of the covenant nation into a solitary land, (Lev. 16:7-10).
        2) But, John the Baptist recognized Him, at the very beginning of His earthly ministry, as "the Iamb of God" who would take away "the sin of the world"! (John 1:29).
      d. Yet, He is now ALIVE FOREVERMORE to "make intercession FOR THE TRANSGRESSORS! (Heb. 4:14-16; 7:25).