Go! And See The Suffering Servant - Isaiah 53:3-4 Series

Go! And See the Suffering Servant - Isaiah 53:3-4

Introduction

Throughout history, people have misunderstood who Jesus truly is. Many see Him as a wise teacher, a miracle worker, or even a religious revolutionary. But Isaiah 53 paints a powerful, prophetic picture of Jesus as the Suffering Servant—the One who took our place, bore our pain, and carried our sorrow.

Today, we will explore Isaiah 53:3-4 in depth, uncovering its prophetic significance and its powerful application for our lives.

Main Scripture: Isaiah 53:3-4 (NLT)

"He was despised and rejected—

a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.

We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.

He was despised, and we did not care.

Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;

it was our sorrows that weighed him down.

And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,

a punishment for his own sins!"

Isaiah’s words, written 700 years before Jesus, describe the suffering Messiah in astonishing detail. Though the Jewish people were expecting a powerful king, Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would come as a suffering servant, misunderstood and rejected by the world.

1. Go! And See the Rejected Saviour

"He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief." (Isaiah 53:3a)

The Hebrew word for "despised" is ??????? (nibzeh), meaning to be regarded as worthless. Jesus was not merely ignored—He was treated with utter contempt.

The phrase "a man of sorrows" (????? ??????????, ish mak’ovot) literally means a man familiar with intense pain. Jesus did not just suffer physically; He carried the deep emotional, spiritual, and relational pain of rejection.

Jesus knew what it meant to be abandoned—His closest followers left Him (Matthew 26:56), Peter denied Him (Luke 22:61-62), and Judas betrayed Him (Matthew 26:14-16).

John 1:10-11 "He came into the very world he created, but the world didn’t recognize him. He came to his own people, and even they rejected him."

The world failed to recognise its own Creator. The rejection of Jesus was not accidental—it was an outright refusal to accept Him as the Messiah.

Imagine someone offering you a life-saving medicine, but you refuse it because you don’t believe you’re sick. This is how the world rejected Jesus—the only One who could save them, but they refused to believe they needed saving.

Are you rejecting Jesus in any area of your life?

Are you struggling with rejection? Jesus understands your pain and invites you to come to Him (Matthew 11:28-30).

"The Christian gospel is that I am so flawed that Jesus had to die for me, yet I am so loved and valued that Jesus was glad to die for me." — Tim Keller

2. Go! And See the Burdened Saviour

"Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down." (Isaiah 53:4a)

The Hebrew word for "carried" is ?????? (nasa), meaning to bear a heavy burden. Jesus lifted the full weight of our weaknesses upon Himself.

The word for "sorrows" (mak’ovot) is the same as before—it means deep grief and emotional pain.

Jesus carried both our sins and our suffering—not just in a metaphorical sense, but in a deeply personal and sacrificial way.

Matthew 8:16-17 "That evening many demon-possessed people were brought to Jesus. He cast out the evil spirits with a simple command, and he healed all the sick. This fulfilled the word of the Lord through the prophet Isaiah, who said, 'He took our sicknesses and removed our diseases.'"

Jesus’ healing ministry was a direct fulfillment of Isaiah 53—He carried not only our sin, but also our suffering.

Imagine a firefighter rushing into a burning building. He carries out a child, shielding them from the flames, taking the burns upon himself. This is what Jesus did—He took the suffering we deserved.

What burdens are you carrying? Jesus invites you to lay them at His feet (1 Peter 5:7).

Jesus did not just carry sin—He also carried your pain, grief, and sorrow. Will you trust Him with it?

"At the cross, Jesus did not just take our sin—He took our place." — Billy Graham

3. Go! And See the Misunderstood Saviour

"And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!" (Isaiah 53:4b)

Many in Jesus’ time saw His crucifixion as evidence that God had cursed Him.

The religious leaders believed Jesus deserved to die (Matthew 27:41-43).

However, Jesus was not suffering for His own sins—He was suffering for ours.

2 Corinthians 5:21 "For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ."

Jesus was sinless, yet He became sin for us.

The punishment He endured was meant for us, but He took it willingly.

A story is told of a judge whose son committed a terrible crime. Justice demanded punishment, but instead of condemning his son, the judge stepped down and took the punishment himself. This is exactly what Jesus did—He took the penalty for our sin.