Commentaries and Other Bible Study Helps - Prayer Tents - Prayer Tents

52:13-15 The servant appeared repulsive but achieved redemption.

52:13 act wisely. Succeed at his task (cf. ESV footnote). high and lifted up. See note on 6:1. In John 12:38-41, John brings the vision of Isaiah 6 together with the fourth Servant Song and says that Isaiah saw Jesus' glory; this repeated phrase justifies John's reading.

52:14-15 As the servant was rejected by many (in his passion, Jesus was beaten into a shockingly inhuman mass of wounded flesh), so he will sprinkle many nations to make them clean (see the ministry of sprinkling in Ex. 29:21; Lev. 4:1-21; 14:7; 16:14-19; Heb. 9:13-14, 19-22; 10:19-22; 12:22-24; 1 Pet. 1:2). Kings (representing the nations) shall shut their mouths, awed by his wretched humiliation and exalted glory (cf. Rom. 15:21). that which has not been told them. I.e., until revealed uniquely in the gospel.

53:1-3 The servant lived in rejection.

53:1 Us refers to the believing remnant of Israel (quoted in John 12:37-38; Rom. 10:16). The arm of the Lord is the power of God in action (cf. Isa. 40:10; 51:9; 62:8).

53:2 Unbelief in the servant was natural because he was an obscure, outwardly unimpressive person in a failed culture. "His generation" was blind (v. 8).

53:3 See 49:7; cf. John 1:10-11. Rejection of the servant reveals how misguided the human mind is. a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. Jesus experienced sorrow and grief of various sorts throughout his whole life. "Acquainted" could also be rendered "knowing" (ESV footnote; see note on Isa. 53:11).

53:4-6 The servant bore the sins of other people; he was himself innocent. This paragraph is the heart of the passage.

53:4 Surely introduces the truth about the servant's sufferings. Acting as his people's substitute, with no support or understanding from them, the servant took upon himself the bitter consequences of their sin: griefs, sorrows (cf. Matt. 8:14-17). The sufferings of the servant would show the consequences that sin brings to fallen humanity, though he himself would not sin (Isa. 53:9). smitten by God, and afflicted. God would be the ultimate source of the sufferings of this faithful servant.

53:5 But contrasts with "our" incomprehension in v. 4b. The servant's anguish was "our" fault, not his own. our transgressions, our iniquities. His sufferings went to the root of all human woe (cf. Matt. 8:17; 1 Pet. 2:24). wounded, crushed, chastisement, stripes. Isaiah emphasizes how severely God punished the rejected servant for the sins of mankind.

53:6 All we . . . every one. The servant, who alone was sinless, was uniquely qualified to bear the sins of others, and all people contributed to his pain. like sheep. Stupid and helpless. the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. See Lev. 16:21-22; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 2:25.

53:7-9 The servant dies in innocence.

53:7 like a lamb. I.e., innocent, submissive, not complaining (cf. John 1:29, 36; Acts 8:32-33; 1 Pet. 2:22-23).

53:8 By oppression and judgment. I.e., oppressive judgment. The servant was wrongly condemned. who considered . . . ? Those who condemned Jesus did not understand what they were doing (cf. Luke 23:34; Acts 3:14-18; 1 Cor. 2:8).

53:9 they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man. The numerous parallels between the description of the servant in this verse and the death of Jesus have led Christians through the ages to see this as fulfilled by the events surrounding Jesus' death. Although the servant was condemned as a criminal ("with the wicked"), he was buried in an expensive garden tomb belonging to a rich man. Likewise the servant is presented as someone who was completely innocent, both in deed (having done no violence) and in word (there was no deceit in his mouth). The servant is thus described as a person of total moral purity, the true substitute for sinners (cf. v. 7). See Matt. 27:57-60 for the fulfillment of this prophecy.

53:10-12 The servant was crushed but victorious.

53:10 the will of the Lord. A divine purpose underlay the human oppression of the servant (cf. Luke 24:26; Acts 2:23; 4:27-28). his soul. He suffered not just in his body but in his deepest inner self. an offering for guilt. The servant's sacrificial death compensated for human sin by setting sinners free from their guilt before God (cf. Lev. 5:15-16). The Septuagint translates "offering for guilt" as "offering for sin," which explains why Paul could say that Christ's death "for our sins" was "in accordance with the Scriptures" (1 Cor. 15:3). he shall see his offspring. Those who strayed like sheep (Isa. 53:6) return as children. he shall prolong his days. Death is not the servant's end; he will receive everlasting life. Although resurrection is not explicit here, it is the natural inference (hence 1 Cor. 15:4 can speak of the resurrection as being "in accordance with the Scriptures"). the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. The servant becomes the executor of God's will and plan.

53:11 he shall see and be satisfied. The outcome of the servant's sufferings is not regret but the satisfaction of obvious accomplishment. by his knowledge. His experiential knowledge of grief (v. 3, see ESV footnote). many. His triumph, which does not secure the salvation of every individual without exception (universalism), spreads out beyond the remnant of Israel to "a great multitude that no one could number" (Rev. 7:9; cf. Rom. 5:15). to be accounted righteous. See Rom. 4:11-12.

53:12 Therefore. The sacrificial death of the servant explains his subsequent glory and the eternal blessings of those who believe in him. a portion . . . the spoil. The imagery is that of a conqueror sharing his victory with his allies. numbered with the transgressors. The servant is identified with rebels (cf. Luke 22:37). makes intercession. This is the servant's priestly work on behalf of those he represents, securing their acceptance before God.