Note: This chapter (Isaiah 53) was originally written as an evangelical tract. We have preserved it in this same form. Please feel free to print it out and give it to others.
What is the forbidden chapter?
"So Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the Ethiopian eunuch reading from the prophet Isaiah." (Acts 8:30a)
Since there was no television or radio in the days after the resurrection of the Lord Jesus Christ, the Holy Spirit began to prepare human witnesses to carry the good news across the Roman Empire. The Holy Spirit wanted the Africans to hear about these historical events, so He chose the deacon Philip to witness to an Ethiopian eunuch. This Ethiopian eunuch was reading from Chapter 53 of the Book of Isaiah, which is currently a “forbidden chapter” in modern Judaism. It is omitted from The Haftorah, the weekly Sabbath reading in the Synagogue of the appointed portion from the prophetic writings. On one Sabbath, Isaiah 52 is read. However, on the next Sabbath, Isaiah 53 is skipped, and Isaiah 54 continues in its place.
Why do the modern Jews skip and forbid the reading of this chapter in the divine Word of God? Keep reading!
Who was God's Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53?
"Behold, my Servant shall prosper; He will be exalted and extolled, and be very high." (Isaiah 52:13)
About 705 B.C., God had a little talk with His prophet, Isaiah. God predicted that one day in the future, His Servant would “prosper” in three different ways. First, He would be “exalted,” or in Hebrew, “to be high.” This is a reference to Christ's resurrection. Second, He would be “extolled,” or in Hebrew, “to be lifted up.” This is a reference to Christ's ascension. Third, He would “be very high,” or in Hebrew, “greatly exalted.” This is a reference to Christ's exaltation at the right hand of God, as His name is “the name above all names.”
It is interesting to note that Isaiah recorded in a historical document that the Messiah, God's Servant, would be resurrected, ascended, and exalted 700 years before Jesus was even born or crucified! How did Isaiah know these things?
God knows the future, and He recorded it in the Scriptures so that everyone would know that He is God.
Why was the Suffering Servant disfigured?
"Just as there were many who were appalled at him, his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness." (Isaiah 52:14, NIV)
In 705 B.C., God told His prophet Isaiah that His future servant would not only prosper, but He would also be “raised and lifted up and highly exalted.” (Isaiah 52:13) Jesus Christ fulfilled this prophecy 700 years later as He was raised on the cross, resurrected from the dead, and then He ascended into heaven.
However, in the very next prophetic statement to Isaiah, God predicted that many would be appalled at his Servant's appearance. His appearance would be “so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness.” Think about this! The Creator of the universe finally came to visit His earth as a Servant, and His own creation brutally disfigured Him and mutilated His physical body so that He no longer even looked like a human being! This Servant also bore all of the sins of the world into His own personal body, so that He literally became corruption (the Hebrew meaning of “marred”).
This is the reason that God placed a three-hour cloak of darkness over the cross 1900 years ago. He would not allow His own horrible mutilated body to satisfy the morbid curiosity of sinful men. Instead, He had His prophet record these events in writing 700 years before the crucifixion. He wanted men all over the world to know that as a Servant, Jesus had performed the greatest service and paid the highest price that could be paid. His divine blood bought eternal freedom to all who believe.
Why did the Suffering Servant have a bloody finger?
"So He will sprinkle many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of Him. For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand." (Isaiah 52:15)
In 705 B.C., God had already predicted to His prophet Isaiah that a future Servant would be “raised and lifted up and highly exalted,” yet His appearance would be “so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness.” Next, God informed His prophet that this Servant would stun kings, but He would “sprinkle many nations.” The word “sprinkle” is the same Hebrew word used in Leviticus 16:19. In this verse, the High Priest sprinkled the blood of the lamb with his finger seven times as a sin offering. God also predicted that His Servant would sprinkle His own blood over many nations, as He died for the sins of the world.
This ends chapter 52, and prepares us for the profound mystery in chapter 53, “the Forbidden Chapter.”
Who will believe the message of the Suffering Servant?
"Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?" (Isaiah 53:1)
In Isaiah chapter 6, God told Isaiah that he had been chosen to give a message to people who would refuse to listen to him. In Isaiah 52:15, God informed His prophet that this message would astonish kings, and the blood of this Servant would be sprinkled over many nations, just as the High Priest sprinkled the blood of the lamb seven times over Israel on the Day of Atonement. (Leviticus 16:19)
In Isaiah 53:1, the prophet complained to God about those who were not hearing this message. Isaiah lived in 705 B.C., a time when the ancients spoke of powerful deities who lived on Mount Olympus and threw lightning bolts from the clouds. It was foreign in any religion for God to come down to earth as a man and die as a shameful criminal on a bloody wooden cross. Who would believe God's message that He would choose to save the world through a humble, suffering Servant rather than a glorious king? This idea was contrary to human pride, intellect, and reasoning, for “the wisdom of the world is foolishness in God's sight.”
However, God often works in ways that we do not expect or do not understand. God chose to reveal Himself to His creation in the weakness of a little baby who could have spoken the world out of existence. He chose to serve mankind by dying a human death on the cross. Even in this weak moment of God, He had enough strength and power to save the entire world from their sins.
It is interesting to note that when God created the heavens and the earth, it was considered His “fingerwork.” However, when God decided to redeem man, He revealed his bared “arm,” for redemption was His greatest accomplishment. Salvation was free for us, but it certainly was not cheap for our Savior.
In this forbidden chapter, Isaiah is going to show the Jewish people that the price of redemption would be the blood of the Son of God, who is the Suffering Servant. However, the Jews will not listen, because they have forbid even the reading of this chapter in their own modern day synagogues.
In this verse, the Jewish remnant at the end of the Great Tribulation have often heard about the Suffering Servant, but they did not believe the message. They thought that “the arm of Jehovah” was God the Father. At the end of the Great Tribulation, they will learn that “the arm of Jehovah” is actually God the Son.
When would the Suffering Servant arrive?
"He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground." (Isaiah 53:2a)
The Hebrew word for “tender shoot” is שֹׁ֫רֶשׁ (sarish), meaning a suckling. A suckling is torn off of a tomato plant, because it sucks out nourishment from the plant. It keeps the fruit from sprouting and growing. The nation of Israel looked upon their Messiah as a suckling who was sucking out nourishment from the fruit of Israel. They wanted to tear this suckling out of Israel and throw it away.
The “root out of dry ground” was first mentioned in Isaiah 11:1, “A shoot will come up from the stump of Jesse; from his roots a Branch will bear fruit.” Jesse was the father of King David. He was a poor shepherd. He was nothing but a stump of a dead tree which was located in dry ground. A stump in dry ground cannot produce anything. However, this stump will produce a root. This root will grow into the Davidic Dynasty which will bring the Messiah into the world. When the House of David is reduced to poverty, when the House of David is reduced to nothing but a tree stump in dry ground, then this root out of dry ground will grow into “the Branch.” The Branch will be the Messiah who will establish the eternal Davidic Kingdom which was promised to David through the Davidic Covenant.
It is interesting to note that the Messiah would become a beautiful flower growing in the driest of deserts. The Roman Empire was the cruelest and most decadent nation that has ever existed. Its legions massacred any nation or city who dared to stand in its way. Rebels against the empire were crucified and their followers were enslaved. Over 50% of the Roman population consisted of slaves. The pornographic worship of sex and pleasure in the prostitution temples of Diana and Venus were the main religions of the day. It was this morally dry and corrupt society which would crucify the Creator God of the universe.
Israel was enslaved by this evil Roman Empire. The Jews were not free. Their Judaism was dry and barren and filled with empty rituals. Their religious leaders were corrupt puppets of Rome who did not want a Messiah to deliver them from under Rome's iron heel.
Into this dryness, the Servant would come. The loveliest flower of humanity came from the driest spot and period of world history. There is no way that either of these nations could have produced a Jesus. Evolution has always tried to get rid of Christ, but it cannot produce a Jesus. Neither could Rome or Israel, yet Isaiah predicted that the Servant would come during this driest of times.
Do you have any dryness or emptiness in your life? Maybe you could ask this “root out of dry ground” to sprinkle your life?
What would the Suffering Servant look like?
"He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him." (Isaiah 53:2b)
The gospels do not provide any information about the physical appearance of Jesus. There were no pictures, no descriptions, or any details recorded about His outward appearance. The only clue given to His physical appearance is given by the prophet Isaiah, who recorded his description in 705 B.C, 700 years before the birth of Christ.
Isaiah predicted that there would be nothing beautiful or majestic in the physical appearance of this future Servant. According to this prophecy, it seems that this Messianic Servant, representing all men, would be a very average looking human being with no particular beauty in either his form or his face. He would not be tall, dark, and handsome. However, He would have an inward beauty, but not outward. It is also interesting to note that Jesus had no wordily pomp or appeal, and he was a man of poverty and obscurity.
However, Isaiah also predicted that this obscure Servant would have "his appearance so disfigured beyond that of any man and his form marred beyond human likeness," but He was also to "be exalted and extolled, and be very high." His appearance was disfigured beyond human recognition at the cross. However, Jesus was resurrected from the dead and exalted to the right hand of the Father, just as Isaiah predicted 700 years ago in advance.
It is interesting to note that God was always invisible. He did not want man to make Him into a golden idol. There are no pictures of Jesus in existence. If there were, then men would worship the picture and not the person.
Most of the pictures of Jesus make Him look like a handsome Scandinavian. In Leonardo DaVinci's Last Supper painting, Jesus and all of the disciples (except for Judas) look like Europeans. Judas is the only disciple who looks Jewish (this was because of Renaissance anti-Semitism). Most of the artists for the last 2,000 years portray Jesus as a long-haired hippie. Jesus did not wear long hair. It was against the Mosaic Law for a Jewish man to wear his hear long. Only Nazarites could wear their hair long, and only for a short period of time during their Nazarite vow. The Nazarite humiliated himself with long hair so that he could become closer to God. Jesus was not a Nazarite. He was the Netzer, or the Branch which was predicted in Isaiah 11:1 (netzer is the Hebrew word for branch). Nazarene is a mistranslation. Jesus did not need a Nazarite vow, because He could not get any closer to God. Jesus was already God in the flesh.
Notice also that these prophecies of Jesus are very specific. Sometimes Johnny-come-lately liberals like to claim that these prophecies were written after the fact. This is just a biased attempt to avoid the supernatural, prophetic nature of the divine Word of God. Both the Greek Septuagint and the Hebrew Dead Sea Scrolls documented these prophecies at least 100-150 years before Jesus was even born.
So in whom will you place your faith? In Isaiah, the prophet who was there as an eyewitness? Or in the Johnny-come-lately liberal scholars who come around 2,600 years later without a shred of historical documentation and elevate their own human opinions above the Word of God.
Will Israel accept the Suffering Servant?
"He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from who men hide their faces, he was despised, and we esteemed him not." (Isaiah 53:3) (נִבְזֶה֙ וַחֲדַ֣ל אִישִׁ֔ים אִ֥ישׁ מַכְאֹבֹ֖ות וִיד֣וּעַ חֹ֑לִי וּכְמַסְתֵּ֤ר פָּנִים֙ מִמֶּ֔נּוּ נִבְזֶ֖ה וְלֹ֥א חֲשַׁבְנֻֽהוּ׃)
The Hebrew word for “men” is אִ֥ישׁ (isn), meaning men of rank. Jesus was despised and rejected by the Jewish religious leaders and the Roman political leaders.
The Hebrew word for “sorrows” is מַכְאוֹב (makob), meaning pains. The Greek word for “suffering” is חֹ֫לִי (choli), meaning diseases. During the ministry of Jesus, He was familiar with pain and diseases. He was the Great Physician. He continually healed those with pains and diseases.
Men hid their faces from Jesus, because they were repulsed by His teachings. Jesus was despised by the Jews not only during His earthly ministry, but throughout history as well. The modern Jews call Jesus not Yeshua, but Yeshu. Yeshu is a three letter acrostic which stands for “May His name and memory be blotted out.
Jesus has never been esteemed in Jewish circles. Throughout the Talmud, He is referred to as the Teluhi. Teluhi means “the hanged one.”
In the Talmud, Jesus is also referred to as Ben Pantera. This means “Son of Pandora.” Pandora was the foolish girl in Greek mythology who opened the forbidden box and allowed evil into the world. To the Jews, Jesus is the one who released all of the evils upon the Jewish race.
The Greek word for “gospel” or “good news” is euanglion. The Jews play a Hebrew word game with this word. They changed the pronunciation to aviugilon, meaning “scrolls of sin.” Therefore, the gospel to the Jews is scrolls of sin.
Isaiah 53 is the confession of Israel. At the end of the Great Tribulation, the Jews will confess that they did not esteem Jesus.
Hollywood often depicts Jesus as a sad man of sorrows with a long face and a solemn disposition. However, this is simply not the case. It was pleasing for Jesus to die on the cross for our sins, “for the joy that was set before Him he endured on the cross.” (Hebrew 12:2) Notice also that men “hid their faces” from Him. When Adam and Eve sinned against their Creator in the Garden of Eden, they also hid their faces from God. Israel did the same when they crucified their Messiah on the cross.
Are you hiding your face from the One who saved you?
Why was the Suffering Servant stricken by God?
"Surely he took up our infirmities and carried our sorrows, yet we considered him stricken by God, smitten by him, and afflicted." (Isaiah 53:4)
At the end of the Great Tribulation, Israel will confess that Jesus was crucified for her infirmities and sorrows. She will realize that Jesus took upon her sicknesses and her pains.
The Hebrew word for “took up” is נָשָׂ֔א (nasa), meaning to atone by sacrifice. Israel will recognize that Jesus atoned for her sins by becoming the Levitical sacrifice for her sin. He became “the Lamb of God” for her.
Israel considered Jesus “stricken by God.” When Jesus was suffering on the cross, then Israel considered that this was God's punishment on a terrible sinner. They believed that Jesus was suffering for His own sins. At the end of the Great Tribulation, national Israel will recognize that Jesus was stricken by God, but this punishment was for the atonement of her sins.
The Hebrew word for “stricken” is נָגַע (naga), meaning to strike with a shocking disease. The Pharaoh of Egypt was stricken with horrible diseases when he abducted Abraham's wife. The Talmud calls Jesus a poshea, meaning a transgressor. The Jews believe that Jesus deserved to be stricken with a horrible disease. Rambam taught that Jesus deserved this kind of violent death.
In 705 B.C., Isaiah predicted that this Servant would take up all of the infirmities and sorrows of the nation upon Himself. Notice that Isaiah also predicted that it would be God who would smitten and afflict Him. God did this by placing all of the sins of mankind upon His only Son.
Sin is rebellion against the will of God. Our present day culture often paints a picture of an old Grandpa like God who smiles, winks at our sins, and eventually lets everyone into heaven. However, this passage shows that God takes sin seriously. He allowed His own beloved Son to hang upon the cross for six hours in agony. During this six hours, man did his worse. He ridiculed, insulted, and spit in the face of God. He then nailed the God of the universe to a bloody Roman cross and sat there gleefully and watched Him die.
Then God turned out the lights. He drew a veil over the sun for three hours, shutting out the eyes of all humans. The cross then became an altar where the Lamb of God died for the sins of the world. All the slain lambs in the Old Testament pointed to this epic moment in history.
Paul predicted that there would be many who would come and consider the preaching of the cross to be foolishness. He commented that “the man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.”
Why was the Suffering Servant pierced?
"But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed." (Isaiah 53:5)
In 705 B.C., Isaiah predicted that a future Servant would be (1) raised, lifted up, and highly exalted, (2) many would be appalled at him, (3) His appearance would be disfigured beyond that of any other man, (4) His blood would sprinkle many nations, (5) kings of many nations would be astonished because of Him, (6) God would reveal His bared arm through His servant, but many would not believe the report, (7) He would grow up like a beautiful flower in a barren desert, (8) He would have no beauty or majesty to attract others to Him, (9) He would be despised and rejected by men, (10) He would be a man of sorrows and familiar with suffering, (11) He would take up mankind’s infirmities, (12) He would carry mankind’s sorrows, and (13) He would be stricken, smitten, and afflicted by Yahweh Himself.
Next, Isaiah added that this Servant would be (14) pierced for our transgressions, and (15) crushed for our iniquities. Jesus Himself had His hands and feet pierced on the cross for our transgressions. He was murdered on the cross for our iniquities. However, (16) His punishment would bring us peace, and (17) His wounds would heal us.
Heal us of what? Are we sick? Yes! We are all infected with the terminal disease of sin, and there is only one cure. We must go to the Great Physician that Isaiah wrote about in his prophetic book. This Messianic Servant is the only remedy for our sins.
Will you reject your only cure?
What was laid upon the Suffering Servant?
"We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way: and God has laid upon him the iniquity of us all." (Isaiah 53:6)
In 705 B.C., Isaiah predicted that his own nation of Israel would one day stray away from God like wandering sheep. However, Isaiah also predicted that God would send His Suffering Servant to bring these lost sheep back into His fold.
700 years after Isaiah's prediction was made, John the Baptist introduced this same Servant as “the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.” Just as the Passover lamb was a holy, harmless, sinless, and innocent substitute for the sins of the nation of Israel, so was the Lamb of God a perfect and holy sacrifice for the sins of the world.
At the end of Jesus' ministry, He willingly placed the iniquities of the entire world upon His own body. As a perfect Servant, He did the work for us by taking our place as a substitute. He died so that we could live. Isn’t it interesting that even the spilt blood of God brings eternal life to all of those who believe?
Why did the Suffering Servant answer with silence?
"He was oppressed and He was afflicted yet He did not open His mouth; He was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so He did not open His mouth." (Isaiah 53:7)
The Roman Empire was known throughout the world for their unbiased judicial system. However, when the Judge of the Universe stepped into human history, He allowed His own creation to judge Him in seven unfair trials. Annas, Caiaphas, the Sanhedrin, Pilate, Herod, Pilate again, and even the Roman soldiers could find nothing wrong with this Servant. Also, this innocent Servant never once opened His mouth during these trials in an attempt to justify Himself.
This Judge of the Universe came to earth and He was judged as unfit to live by His own creation. What about you, beloved creature? Do you have room for this merciful Judge in your own little world? Will you unfairly judge the Eternal Judge who will ultimately judge you?
Why was the Suffering Servant killed?
"By oppression and judgment He was taken away and who can speak of his descendants? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken." (Isaiah 53:8)
In 705 B.C., Isaiah predicted that God's Suffering Servant would be oppressed and taken away. Jesus Himself fulfilled this prophecy after He was arrested and bound for judgment. Isaiah also predicted that this oppressed and judged Servant would be “cut off from the land of the living.” Jesus was judged and given the death penalty of crucifixion. Another prediction was that this Servant would die for the “transgressions” of God’s people. Jesus was the sinless Son of God. He did not die for any sins of His own, but instead, He died for the “transgressions” of others.
The Hebrew verb usage in this passage is also in the passive tense, meaning that these actions were done by God the Father. Many of the Jewish rabbis claimed that these verses were speaking about the nation of Israel. However, it is stated that this Servant would die for “My people” -- that is Israel -- showing that the Servant in this passage cannot be Israel. Also in Hebrew, verse 8 could be translated as “By oppression and an unjust sentence, He was taken away; and as to His fate, who gave it any thought?”
Have you ever given any thought as to how Isaiah could have known about these events 700 years before the crucifixion? They were recorded in the Greek Septuagint at least 150 years before Jesus was born. A complete scroll of the Book of Isaiah (carbon dated at 100 B.C.) also recorded this exact prophecy. If God is God, then wouldn't He know the future? Shouldn’t we listen to Him instead of these modern day Johnny-come-lately skeptics who come around 2,600 years later without any historical documentation and claim that it did not happen quite this way?
In whom will you place your faith? In God or in the Johnny-come-lately internet skeptics? The choice is yours, but what if the skeptics are wrong and the Bible is right?
Where was the Suffering Servant buried?
“They planned His grave to be with the wicked, but it was with a rich man in His death; He had done no violence, nor did any deceit come from His mouth." (Isaiah 53:9)
The soldiers who crucified Jesus apparently intended to bury Him with the two criminals who died next to Him on the cross (John 19:31). However, a rich man named Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Pilate agreed, and Jesus was buried in this rich man’s tomb, just as Isaiah had predicted 700 years earlier.
It is important to note that Jesus was an innocent Servant. He had done nothing wrong. He had said nothing wrong. His enemies could not even convict Him of one single sin. However, He died an extremely violent death, just as Isaiah had predicted.
He did this for you, friend. What have you done for Him?
Why was the Suffering Servant made a guilt offering?
"Yet it was God's will to crush Him and cause Him to suffer, and though God makes His life a guilt offering, He will see his offspring and prolong His days, and the will of God will prosper in His hand." (Isaiah 53:10)
Israel’s confession ends in verse Isaiah 53:1-9, Verses 10-12 give the theology of this confession.
The suffering and death of the Servant was God’s will, as Jesus was “slain from the foundations of the world” (Revelation 13:8). The Hebrew word for “guilt offering” is ASAM. It is the same word which is used in Leviticus 5:15, 6:13, and 19:21, as an offering to atone for sin. The suffering and death of this Servant seemed to end His existence. However, Isaiah predicted that this Servant’s resurrection would cause Him to one day see His own spiritual offspring, because His days would be prolonged forever, even though He was predicted to die a horrible death! When a man is born from above, then he becomes the “offspring” of Jesus.
What an amazing prophecy! If the Bible is not the Word of God, then how did Isaiah know all of these events 700 years before Jesus was born? And why are all of the other religious books void of prophecy?
God Himself answered this question, “I am God, and there is none like Me. I make known the end from the beginning, from ancient times, what is still to come. My purpose will stand, and I will do what I please” (Isaiah 44:9-10).
God’s purpose was to become this same Servant who would die for the sins of the world, and there is none like Him.
How did the Suffering Servant raise himself from the dead?
"After the suffering of His soul, He will see the light of life, and be satisfied; for by His knowledge my righteousness Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities." (Isaiah 53:11)
Isaiah predicted that the Servant’s death and suffering would eventually lead to “the light of life,” which was the resurrection of Jesus from the dead. He also predicted that God would be satisfied with the substitute death of His Servant. God also claimed that Jesus, the Second Person of the Trinity, was this same Servant, and it would be His righteousness that would “justify many.” When the Son of God became the Servant Jesus, He bore the iniquities of the entire world and justified all of those who believed in His name.
The Suffering Servant is Jesus, and His name is the name above all names. Because He died, we live.
Why did the Suffering Servant pray for sinners?
"Therefore I will give Him a portion among the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He poured out His life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors." (Isaiah 53:12)
When a Roman general won a great battle, he took all of the spoil from the enemy and shared them with his troops. God predicted that his Servant would do the same thing. He will divide the spoil with “the great” and “the strong.” During the Millennial Kingdom, the great and the strong will co-reign with Christ. The great are the church saints. The strong are the tribulation saints. There will be no godless liberals running the Millennial Kingdom. The saints will become the political leaders of the Messianic Kingdom.
This Servant would also pour out His own blood, because “the life of the flesh is in the blood.” (Leviticus 17:11) This Servant was also predicted to be “numbered with the transgressors,” just as Jesus was considered a “transgressor” (sinner) and “bore the sin of many.” As Jesus was hanging on the cross, He “made intercession for the transgressors” by praying, “Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.” (Luke 23:34). Since this Servant would suffer, die, and then live, He now sits at the right hand of God the Father, praying and interceding for all transgressors everywhere.
You and I are the “transgressors” that this Servant prayed for over 2,000 years ago. This Servant’s death satisfied God’s righteous demands for judgment against sin, opening the door into heaven for you and me. Isaiah saw it plainly 700 years before the historical event actually happened, and God allowed him to record it in the Scriptures so that we would all know that Jesus is not only this Servant, but He is also the one true God.
Who is the Suffering Servant?
"Tell me, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?" (Acts 8:34)
The Ethiopian Eunuch wanted to know the identity of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53. Although many of the modern day Jewish rabbis refuse to acknowledge this Servant as Jesus and forbid it in their synagogue, this was simply not the case with the ancient rabbis.
For example, the Babylonian Talmud identified the Servant as the Messiah: “The Messiah --what is his name?”...The Rabbis say, “The Leper Scholar, as it is said, ‘surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God and afflicted...’ ” (Sanhedrin 98b).
So did the Midrash Ruth Rabbah: “Another explanation (of Ruth ii.14): He is speaking of king Messiah; ‘Come hither,’ draw near to the throne; ‘and eat of the bread,’ that is, the bread of the kingdom; ‘and dip thy morsel in the vinegar,’ this refers to his chastisements, as it is said, ‘But he was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities.’ ”
As did the Targum Jonathan: “Behold my servant Messiah shall prosper; he shall be high and increase and be exceedingly strong.”
And so did Zohar: “‘He was wounded for our transgressions,’ etc....There is in the Garden of Eden a palace called the Palace of the Sons of Sickness; this palace the Messiah then enters, and summons every sickness, every pain, and every chastisement of Israel; they all come and rest upon him. And were it not that he had thus lightened them off Israel and taken them upon himself, there had been no man able to bear Israel’s chastisements for the transgression of the law: and this is that which is written, ‘Surely our sicknesses he hath carried.’ ”
And also Rabbi Mosheh Kohen Ibn Crispin, “This rabbi described those who interpret Isaiah 53 as referring to Israel as those: “having forsaken the knowledge of our Teachers, and inclined after the ‘stubbornness of their own hearts,’ and of their own opinion, I am pleased to interpret it, in accordance with the teaching of our Rabbis, of the King Messiah....This prophecy was delivered by Isaiah at the divine command for the purpose of making known to us something about the nature of the future Messiah, who is to come and deliver Israel, and his life from the day when he arrives at discretion until his advent as a redeemer, in order that if anyone should arise claiming to be himself the Messiah, we may reflect, and look to see whether we can observe in him any resemblance to the traits described here; if there is any such resemblance, then we may believe that he is the Messiah our righteousness; but if not, we cannot do so.” (From his commentary on Isaiah, quoted in The Fifty-third Chapter of Isaiah According to the Jewish Interpreters, Ktav Publishing House, 1969, Volume 2, pages 99-114).
And most importantly, this truth was revealed to Philip by the Holy Spirit of God, “Then Philip began that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus Christ” (Acts 8:25).
Can you give a brief synopsis of Isaiah 53?
1. 53:1 – God will reveal His arm strength through the Suffering Servant, but The Jews will not believe Isaiah's prophecy.
2. 53:2 – The Suffering Servant will grow up as a beautiful flower in a dry desert. He will not be a very attractive-looking person.
3. 53:3 – The Suffering Servant will be despised and rejected by the men of Israel. He will be a man of sorrows. The Jews will not esteem Him.
4. 53:4 – The Suffering Servant will bear the sins of Israel. He will carry the sorrows of Israel. Israel will consider Him to be stricken by God.
5. 53:5 – The Suffering Servant will be pierced for the transgressions of Israel. He will be crushed for the iniquities of Israel. He will be chastened for the sins of Israel. He will be scourged by Israel, but it will bring them healing.
6. 53:6 – All of Israel has gone astray like sheep. Israel has turned from God and gone their own way. God has caused the iniquity of Israel to fall on the Suffering Servant.
7. 53:7 – The Suffering Servant will be oppressed and afflicted, yet like a sacrificial lamb led to the slaughter, He will not open His mouth.
8. 53:8 – The Suffering Servant will be oppressed and taken away. He will be cut off from the living for the sins of Israel.
9. 53:9 – The Suffering Servant will have a grave assigned with the wicked. However, a rich man will bury Him instead, because the Suffering Servant had committed no sin.
10. 53:10 – God was pleased to crush the Suffering Servant, making Him a sacrificial guilt offering, so that He could prolong the days of the Suffering Servant and of His offspring that will follow Him.
11. 53:11 – God’s soul will be anguished by the Suffering Servant, but God will be satisfied that His Suffering Servant’s sacrifice will justify the many, since the Suffering Servant bore Israel's sins.
12. 53:12 – God will allot the Suffering Servant a portion with the great. The Suffering Servant will divide His kingdom with those who are strong enough to follow Him, because He bore the sin of many and He interceded and prayed for the sinners.
13. 52:13 – The Suffering Servant will prosper. He will be lifted up and greatly exalted.
14. 52:14 – The Suffering Servant’s appearance will be marred more than any other man.
15. 52:15 – The Suffering Servant’s blood will sprinkle many nations. He will silence kings.