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Isaiah 53 – The Suffering Christ

Published since 05. Feb. 2025
Bible passages:
Is 52:13-53:12

13
Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;
He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
14
Just as many were astonished at you,
So His visage was marred more than any man,
And His form more than the sons of men;
15
So shall He sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths at Him;
For what had not been told them they shall see,
And what they had not heard they shall consider.
1
Who has believed our report?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2
For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,
And as a root out of dry ground.
He has no form or comeliness;
And when we see Him,
There is no beauty that we should desire Him.
3
He is despised and rejected by men,
A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.
And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.
4
Surely He has borne our griefs
And carried our sorrows;
Yet we esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten by God, and afflicted.
5
But He was wounded for our transgressions,
He was bruised for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,
And by His stripes we are healed.
6
All we like sheep have gone astray;
We have turned, every one, to his own way;
And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
7
He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,
And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
8
He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
9
And they made His grave with the wicked—
But with the rich at His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

10
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;
He has put Him to grief.
When You 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.
11
He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,
For He shall bear their iniquities.
12
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,
And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,
Because He poured out His soul unto death,
And He was numbered with the transgressors,
And He bore the sin of many,
And made intercession for the transgressors." (Is 52:13-53:12)

 

Part 1: Introduction to the topic

Is Jesus your Savior and your Lord? Then, you would certainly like to get to know Him better – to follow Him more consciously and to thank Him more concretely for His love. Some tips and food for thought about Isaiah 53 should help you to do this. They could also be used as an introduction to a joint Bible study. The first part outlines the context and structure of the magnificent text from Isaiah 53 – the second part then deals with the text itself.

Isaiah – many texts about the Lord Jesus

Reading the prophet Isaiah for the first time can be an exciting journey of discovery because Isaiah talks about the Lord Jesus in many chapters; here are a few examples:

  • Chapter 6: The Lord Jesus on the throne
  • Chapter 7: The virgin birth of the Lord Jesus
  • Chapter 9: The Child born – the Son given
  • Chapter 11: Rod from the Stem of Jesse
  • Chapter 26: The LORD, the Rock of Eternity
  • Chapter 28: The Lord, a Precious Cornerstone
  • Chapter 32: The Lord Jesus as King.

Get into reading this somewhat longer book yourself and ask the Lord to show you, especially His Person in it. You will be surprised more than once...

Isaiah – a prophet with a structure

As it is not easy to find your way through 66 chapters, a brief overview will certainly help you to keep track. The structure of this book is quite easy to recognize. This helps when reading.

Here is a brief overview:

  • Chapters 1 – 12: Overall view from the disobedience of Israel to the kingdom of peace in the future.
  • Chapters 13 – 27: 10 judgments on various nations.
  • Chapters 28 – 35: 6 "woe" pronouncements, especially about the unfaithful people of God.
  • Chapters 36 – 39: Siege of Jerusalem and illness of King Hezekiah.
  • Chapters 40 – 48: Accusation of the people for idolatry.
  • Chapters 49 – 57: Accusation of the people for rejecting the Lord as Messiah.
  • Chapters 58 – 66: Final dialog between God and His people.

 Another small peculiarity that may make it easier to understand the text:

  • Chapters 1 – 39: Assyria is the great opponent of Israel – Christ is introduced as King
  • Chapters 40 – 66: Babylon is the enemy of Israel – Christ is described as a servant.

Isaiah lived from around 767 to 697 BC and prophesied under the four kings Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hoshea.

Prophets of the Bible want to shake us awake and motivate us to follow them. With a little more knowledge about Isaiah in mind, the Lord can achieve this goal even better for you and me. Isaiah contains many encouraging texts that aim to strengthen us in our daily Bible reading.

God's servant(s) in Isaiah

If you have often read or heard Isaiah 53, you automatically associate the term "servant" with the Lord Jesus – and rightly so. But in chapters 41 to 65, "servant" is associated with various people. There are essentially four:

  • Israel, the servant of the LORD: ch. 41:8; 42:19; 43:10; 44:1, 2, 21; 45:4; 48:20;
  • Christ, the unique Servant of God: 42:1; 49:3, 5, 6; 50:10; 52:13; 53:11;
  • Jews in the future: 54:17; 65:13
  • Gentile nations in the future: chapter 56:6.

Why is the servant in chapters 49, 50, and 53 not Israel, as some claim, but Christ? A simple comparison shows that the Servant and the people are distinguished from one another in all four passages:

  • Ch. 42:6 + 49:8: The Servant is made the covenant of the people;
  • Ch. 49:6: The Servant is to bring back the preserved of Israel;
  • Ch. 49:7: The Servant is the abomination of the nation;
  • Ch. 53:8: The Servant suffers because of the transgression of Israel ("My people").

Careful reading is worthwhile – you get to know God, His Word, and especially the Lord Jesus better. The Lord wants to help us focus better when reading the Bible in order to absorb the content in our minds and especially in our hearts.

Christ, the unique servant of God

God takes great pleasure in His Son, who was also His Servant as a Man on earth. Isaiah speaks four times about Him as the Servant, with four focal points:

  • Chapter 42: The Chosen Servant;
  • Chapter 49: The Rejected Servant;
  • Chapter 50: The Obedient Servant;
  • Chapter 53: The Righteous Servant.

God addresses His Son directly three times:

  • Is. 49:3: "You are My Servant..."
  • Is. 49:6: "It is too small a thing for You to be My Servant, to raise up the tribes of Jacob..."
  • Is. 52:14: "Just as many were astonished at You."

“Lord Jesus, as I read these chapters, let me recognize more of Your Person and Your incomprehensible sufferings. I want to become more grateful to You for Your love.”

Isaiah 53 – a song of the suffering servant of God

The context:

  • Isaiah 53 is connected with God's appeals to His people: seven times, He calls on them to listen, to wake up, and to distance themselves from evil (51:1, 4, 9, 17; 52:1, 11).
  • This is the prerequisite for God's mighty intervention: "The LORD goes before you, and your rear guard is the God of Israel" (Is. 52:12). But through whom will this be fulfilled? Through the Lord Jesus, who was once despised by the people!

The style:

  • Isaiah 53 is actually a poem, a song, which already has its beginning in chapter 52:13. A song? Yes, the text is written in Hebrew poetry, which is characterized by parallels, not rhymes. An example:
  • "Who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?" (Is. 53:1). The sentence structure forms a connection, a parallel – which can sometimes also be a contrast. This aspect often helps in understanding the text.
  • This unique song consists of five verses:
    • Ch. 52:13-15;
    • Ch. 53:1-3;
    • Ch. 53:4-6;
    • Ch. 53:7-9;
    • Ch. 53:10-12.

The speakers:

When reading this song, have you ever noticed that there are several speakers? This makes the song a dialog between several people (groups) at the same time. Here is a suggestion for specifying the speakers:

  • 52:13-15: God.
  • 53:1: Isaiah.
  • 53:2-6: "we" – Jews of the future who have become believers, the so-called remnant (cf. Is. 10:20, 21, 22; 28:5; 37:32; 46:3).
  • 53:7-9: God (or perhaps the prophet?)
  • 53:10-11a: "we" – the remnant.
  • 53:11b-12: God.

And the Lord Jesus, the actual "main character"? He remains silent. Isn't that great – great for the Lamb of God?

The quotations in the New Testament:

With a total of 10 quotations in the New Testament, God's Spirit has made it impressively clear: Isaiah 53 speaks of the Lord Jesus and of no one else.

Here are the quotes:

  • 52,15 -> Rom. 15:21
  • 53,1 -> Jn. 12:38 + Rom. 10:18
  • 53,4 -> Mt. 8:17
  • 53,5b -> 1 Pet. 2:24
  • 53,7.8 -> Acts 8:32-33
  • 53,9 -> 1 Pet. 2:23
  • 53,12 -> Lk. 22:37
  • 53,12 -> 1 Pet. 2:24 + Heb. 9:28
  • 53,3 -> Mk. 9:12 (an indirect reference).

Now, you have a certain overview of the framework of this great chapter. Ask the Lord Jesus that He, the content of this framework, may now fill your heart with Himself.

Part 2: Reflection and amazement

Isaiah 52:13-15: God takes stock of his servant

We now want to go through the text with devotion and give some brief explanations – each reader can delve deeper for themselves and discover more beauties of the Redeemer.

[v. 13] Behold, My Servant will deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.

  • "will deal prudently": God sums up in the first verse (similar to what often happens in the Psalms) and shows in the verses afterward what a path of suffering His Son has traveled. In the kingdom of peace, Christ the Lord will reign with insight (cf. Is. 32:1).
  • "exalted...extolled...very high":
    • Christ was raised from the dead ("exalted");
    • He was taken up into heaven ("extolled");
    • He now sits at the right hand of God ("very high").

 

[v. 14] Just as many were astonished at You, so His visage was marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.

  • "astonished at You": God is addressing Christ Himself – who is now at His right hand.
  • "marred": Reference probably to the 3rd to 6th hour on the cross or also to the scourging beforehand (cf. Ps. 22:18) – in His life, the Lord was indeed quite "attractive" to others, e.g., to children.

[v. 15] So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; for what had not been told them they shall see, and what they had not heard they shall consider.

  • Kings in the future kingdom of peace (cf. Ps. 72:10, 11).
  • The Lord Jesus suffered terrible things. But now He is liberated and exalted. Do I know any Bible texts that speak of this glorification of the Lord Jesus?

Isaiah 53:1-3: The Servant appears and is despised

[v. 1] Who has believed our proclamation, and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed? -

  • "Our": Isaiah (cf. Jn. 12:38, Rom. 10:16) makes Himself one with the people.
  • "Arm of the Lord": The power in the life of the Lord Jesus (cf. 52:1; 40:10) – it was seen but simply ignored.

[v. 2] For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness, and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.

  • "Tender plant ... root ": a tender plant, the "root of David,"
  • "Dry ground": nothing fruitful was to be expected from the people of Judah and also from the lineage of David (cf. "stump of Jesse" in Is. 11:1) – but the Lord sprouts up before his God!
  • "No form ... no comeliness ... no beauty": For the believer, the Lord is "fairer than the sons of men" (Ps. 45:3), especially in His suffering, His form is great "like Lebanon ... everything about Him is lovely" (Song. 5:15.16)! But the Jews had expected a king in glory and power – and had nothing but contempt for "this Jesus" (Acts 2:36).

[v. 3] He was despised (1) and rejected (2) of men, a Man of sorrows (3) and acquainted with grief (4), and we hid, as it were, our faces from Him (5); He was despised, and we did not esteem Him (6).

(1) – (6): 6 characteristics of the suffering Lord

  • "Man of sorrows": His inner being was wounded (Ps. 109:22) by what was done to Him;
  • "acquainted with grief": His path was paved with suffering; it was His constant companion, and His soul was "full of troubles" (Ps. 88:3): Temptation by the devil, hatred of the rulers, incomprehension of the disciples.

The Lord Jesus endured endless suffering in His life. He is also pleased today with those who remember Him in this respect. Do I take time to occupy myself with the sufferings of my Savior?

 

Isaiah 53, 4-6: Suffering of the Lord Jesus in the life and judgment of God.

[v. 4] Surely, He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.

  • "surely": perhaps in the sense of "truly," "actually"; in His life, the Lord made all the suffering of people His own suffering – and took it away many times over (Mt. 8:16, 17)

[v. 5] Yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. [5] But He was wounded for our transgressions; He was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement for our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes, we are healed.

  • "We esteemed Him stricken": was not a hanged man a curse from God (Deut. 21:23)? But the Jews were thoroughly mistaken – the Lord became a curse for someone else's guilt, not their own!
  • "Smitten ... afflicted": In His death, the Lord took away the cause of all human misery: Injustices and transgressions.
  • "Chastisement...stripes": Verse 10 ("guilt offering") and verse 12 ("bearing sin") show that it was about inner, atoning suffering – "stripes" are imagery for God's judgment on sin; the stripes of the scourging could not erase a single sin!
  • "Transgressions": Transgressing the divine boundaries.
  • "Iniquities": Straying from the right path.

[v. 6] All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, everyone, to his way; and the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.

  • "gone astray": The Lord saw Israel as sheep without a shepherd (Mt. 9:36); in the future, the remnant will see it the same way (cf. Ps. 119:176).
  • "has laid on Him the iniquity": God has laid on the Lord all the evil deeds of those who would ever believe in Christ – no one can measure the extent and depth of these sufferings.

We may thank the Lord Jesus daily for Golgotha – and give Him a response to His love through faithful discipleship.

Isaiah 53:7-9: Jesus, the Lamb of God

[v. 7] He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. -

  • "oppressed": arrest, six interrogations, two scenes of mockery (in the synedrium, in the praetorium), scourging, crucifixion – what an abundance of suffering and mistreatment the Lord endured!
  • "did not open his mouth" (twice): Once before the synedrium (Mt. 26:62), three times before Pilate (Mt. 27:12, 14; Jn. 19:9), before Herod (Lk. 23:19).
  • "like a lamb": The foretold Lamb from Genesis 22:7.8 is now revealed as a Person: It is the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29)

[v. 8] He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

  • "Taken away from prison [literally: oppression] and from judgment":
  • Human judgment (which wasn't really judgment at all) ended abruptly, and the Lord was taken out of it, but afterward, divine judgment and death came as the wages of sin!
  • "Who will declare His generation [o. "His contemporaries"]": Who can describe the wickedness of these people who so mistreated the Lord?
  • "For He was cut off": Man's responsibility: they had killed, crucified, murdered the Author of life (Acts 2:36; 3:15; 5:30; cf. Dan. 9:27
  • "Because of the transgression of My people...stricken"
  • God's counsel: death was not only humanly caused but also divinely intended. God made His Christ suffer and brought Him into judgment and death (Rom. 8:31'; Acts 2:23). He was punished.

[v. 9] And they made His grave with the wicked—but with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.

  • "With the rich": Joseph of Arimathea was a rich man (Mt. 27:57).
  • "No violence ... no deceit": This was the Lord from God's point of view! People had other negative expressions ready for Him: "no form, no splendor, no appearance" (Is. 53:2)!
  • As the Lamb of God, the Lord Jesus is unique in His silent endurance of the sufferings from the hands of men and of God. “Thank You for Your love, Lord Jesus!”

Isaiah 53:10-12: The triumph of the Servant of God

[v. 10] Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief.

  • "Pleased": God had great pleasure in His Son, but He wanted to redeem you and me – that pleased Him, so it pleased Him to make the Lord suffer like this!
  • "Bruise": God crushes (translated as crush in Gen. 3:19 and Ps. 90:3) His Son in atoning suffering – no one is watching. The devil crushes the heel of the Lord, the Lord crushes his head – but first, God crushes His Servant!

[v. 10] When You make His soul an offering for sin, (1) He shall see His seed, (2) He shall prolong His days, and (3) the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in His hand.

  • "Soul": Three times in verses 10 to 12, the Lord's soul is spoken of – His whole Person, His whole inner being was affected.
  • "Trespass offering": A clear indication that the sacrifices in Leviticus point to Christ. The sacrifices back then were offered – Christ offered Himself as a sacrifice!
  • "Will": 8 times God refers (verses 10-12 – underlined in the text above and below) to the consequences of His Son's work of redemption.

[v. 11] He shall see the labor of His soul and be satisfied (4). By His knowledge, My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities.

  • [1] – [4]: Results of the Lord's death:
    • [1]: "seeing seed": spiritual offspring who praise the Lord (cf. Ps. 22:31; Heb. 2:13b);
    • [2]: "prolong days": Christ is no longer in death but lives for eternity as a human being (Ps. 21:5; Rev. 1:18);
    • [3] "prosper": The best King of all time will realize God's will on earth;
    • [4]: "see fruit and be satisfied": Christ was "full of suffering" (Ps. 88:4), but even now He enjoys "satiety of pleasures" with God (Ps. 16:11) – His own now are His special joy. And in the future, He will delight in Israel (Is. 62:5).
  • "To justify many": In His life, Christ has already given instruction – with positive or negative results (cf., e.g., the Sermon on the Mount). In the future, He will again address the "many" of the people through those with understanding (Dan. 11:33).
  • In His death, Christ has brought about atonement – for those among the many who have believed or will yet believe.

[v. 12] Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong because He (1) poured out His soul unto death, and (2) He was numbered with the transgressors, and (3) He bore the sin of many, and (4) made intercession for the transgressors.

  • "Many" – "great": Perhaps referring to the same group of people (analogous to Hebrew parallelism in poetry).
  • "divide": The many, the "mighty" of the people, will be His property (cf. Mal. 3:17) – and all the redeemed already are!
  • "Divide the spoil": Redeemed Israel will reign over its enemies (Zech 9:13), and all the redeemed will reign with Christ (Rev. 20:4).
  • (1) – (4): Four reasons for the exaltation of the Lord Jesus:
    • "soul poured out" – parallel to the Gospel of John (Christ as voluntary shepherd lays down his life, cf. Jn. 10:17);
    • "numbered with the transgressors" – parallel to the Gospel of Matthew (Christ dies for the sins of others, especially those of His people, cf. Mt. 1:21);
    • "bore the sins of many" – parallel to the Gospel of Mark (Christ gives His life as a ransom for many, cf. Mk. 10:45);
    • "made intercession" – parallel to the Gospel of Luke (Christ brings peace and forgiveness, cf. Lk. 23:34).

Has the Lord Jesus been precious to me today, in the last week? I caused Him so much hardship on Golgotha. What about my response to His love – by distancing myself from evil, by quietly engaging with Him, by genuine discipleship?

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