THE GOSPEL ACCORDING TO ISAIAH
A study of Isaiah 53
“The Prudence Of God’s Servant”
Concerning Isaian 53, Adam Clarke said “This chapter foretells the sufferings of the Messiah, the end for which he was to die, and the advantages resulting to mankind from that illustrious event…. This chapter contains a beautiful summary of the most peculiar and distinguishing doctrines of Christianity.”
This chapter is one of the most beloved in all of the Bible. Through Isaiah, God presents the great suffering of His Chosen Servant, the Promised Messiah, our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Though there are numerous benefits of undergoing and in-depth study of this passage, perhaps the most beneficial is the vivid reminder is that like sheep, we have all gone astray. Furthermore, God has laid the burden of our sin upon Himself.
- Let’s look ahead to chapter 53 for just a moment. There Isaiah says:
v4 Surely He has borne our griefs And carried our sorrows…
v5 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.
v6 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.
v8 For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.
v12 And He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
Though the prevalent theme of Isaiah 53 is the “Suffering Servant” and the great price that was paid for our salvation, there are also truths concerning the resurrection of the Messiah. Verse 10-11 declare that even though the Servant would suffer and die, He would “see His seed, He shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. He shall see the labor of His soul and be satisfied.”
To fully grasp the message of chapter 53 we must look back to chapter 52. This would be a good time to remind you that even though “All Scripture is given by inspiration of God” (literally breathed out by God), the chapters, verses, and headings are not inspired. The chapter divisions were created by Stephen Langton, the Archbishop of Canterbury, in the 13th century, Rabbi Nathan divided the Hebrew Old Testament into verses in the year 1448, and Robert Estienne divided the New Testament into verses in 1551. Overall these tools are very helpful to us; however, a close study of the context shows us that the closing verses of 52 actually belong with 53.
Isaiah 52:13—53:12 combined trace the history of God’s suffering Servant from the early days of His life, to the Cross, and then on to His glorious exaltation.
There are four “Servant songs” found throughout the Book of Isaiah and this is the final of the four. The other three are recorded in Chapters 42:1–9; 49:1–13; 50:4–11. The Servant songs are a series of poetic passages that are known for their profound theological themes and exquisite literary style, and each one presents a portrait of the Messiah.
We have already examined the Davidic Covenant and the promise that God made to David that one of his descendants would be the King, who would accomplish all of the promises of glory and blessing to Israel and through Israel; this King who was to come would be the Messiah, the Anointed One.
For centuries and throughout many generations the people of Israel were waiting and looking for this King who would deliver them from their suffering & oppression, the one who would fulfill the promises that they had received from God, through His prophets.
We can be sure that the people of Israel were anticipating a king similar to their first king, of course I am referring to King Saul of the Tribe of Benjamin. 1 Samuel 9:1-2 says that: “There was a man of Benjamin whose name was Kish the son of Abiel, the son of Zeror, the son of Bechorath, the son of Aphiah, a Benjamite, a mighty man of power. And he had a choice and handsome son whose name was Saul. There was not a more handsome person than he among the children of Israel. From his shoulders upward he was taller than any of the people.”
Saul was from the tribe of Benjamin and came from a wealthy family, he was tall, dark & handsome in appearance, he was a powerful leader, and a mighty warrior. However, Saul sinned and was replaced by King David. There are many positive attributes that we could mention about David, but he was also far from perfect. David was eventually succeeded by his son Solomon.
The people had been told about a “son of David” in 2 Samuel 7,
they must have thought that he would be that promised King. Though considered to be the wisest man who ever lived, Solomon made many foolish decisions, one of the most grievous was marrying many women who worshipped false gods; this led him to compromise his faith, worship those false gods, and turn his heart away from the one true God.
By the end of Solomon’s reign the kingdom had been divided. Both the northern and southern kingdoms had a long line of corrupt and wicked kings through the years. 2 Chronicles 33:9 illustrates just how bad things were in Isaiah’s day, that verses declares that “Manasseh did more evil than the nations the LORD had destroyed before the Israelites.”
Early Jewish and Christian writings, state that King Manasseh had Isaiah sawn in half as punishment for his prophecies against the king's idolatry. Though this is not explicitly stated in the Bible it is believed that Isaiah’s death is referred to in Hebrews 11:27. In that section of the chapter we often refer to as “The Hall of Faith”, the writer is describing the persecution of the people of God and declares, “Others were tortured, not accepting deliverance, that they might obtain a better resurrection. Still others had trial of mockings and scourgings, yes, and of chains and imprisonment. They were stoned, they were sawn in two, were tempted, were slain with the sword”. (Hebrews 10:35-37). It is quite possible that the Writer had Isaiah in mind when he referenced people being “sawn in two”.
By the time Jesus’ earthly ministry commenced, the Jews had to be wondering if God had forgotten the promise that He had made concerning the coming King from the royal line of David. As we saw in the introduction to this series, when God did send His “Anointed One”, the Promised Messiah, they missed Him. There were many reasons, but of the primary reasons they rejected Jesus Christ is because they were looking for a mighty ruler, they were not expecting a “Suffering Servant”.
At this point in their history, when the kings from the Davidic line were so corrupt and evil, when it seemed as if all hope was lost, God sent His people a message through His prophet Isaiah about a Servant who would come and accomplish His will. This specific “Servant Song” begins with a call for Israel to “Behold, My Servant”. I would like to take some time and consider some truths about this servant. In verse 13 the LORD says,
BEHOLD, MY SERVANT SHALL DEAL PRUDENTLY
v13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.
The word “Behold” is the English translation of the Hebrew word “hinneh” which means full attention. God demands that His people turn their full attention to the message that He reveals concerning His “Servant”. The Hebrew word for “Servant” in verse 13 is “ebed” which literally means “slave”.
Philippians 2:7-8 reminds us of the reality that Jesus “made Himself of no reputation, taking the form of a bondservant (slave), and coming in the likeness of men. And being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death, even the death of the cross.”
A slave is one who lives to please his master; he has no will of his own; his purpose is to work hard and obey the demands of his master. Jesus left Heaven and came to earth not to do His own will, but the will of the Father, He declared in John 6:38, “I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”
The previous chapter (Isaiah 51) contains several commands for God’s people to “listen” “hear” “look” and “awake”. The entire prophesy of Isaiah is filled with promises for the people of God. These promises would be fulfilled in God’s Servant, the Messiah. Here we have the promise that God’s Servant “shall deal prudently”. (CSB: “will be successful”) (ESV: “shall act wisely”) (NASB: “will prosper”). “Prudent” is defined as acting with or showing care and thought for the future. The idea here is that the Servant will wisely discern and perform God’s will.
When considering the prophecies that were fulfilled by Jesus,
the declaration that the Messiah would “deal prudently” is often overlooked. However, a cursory reading of the Gospels provides us with countless examples of the ways that God’s Servant dealt prudently throughout His earthly ministry.
The fact that Jesus dealt prudently is seen all throughout His life. This attribute was on full display as Jesus conversed with and astounded the teachers in the Temple when He was only twelve years old. Though there is a gap from the age of 12 to 30 where we have little information about His life, but Luke tells us that “Jesus increased in wisdom and stature, and in favor with God and men.” - Luke 2:52
The Gospels provide us with countless examples of the prudence and wisdom of our Savior after His earthly ministry commenced. The fact that He dealt prudently/acted wisely is seen in His preaching of the Gospel throughout the region of Galilee and beyond. It is seen in the way that He answered the questions of His disciples, and the way He responded to the challenges of His enemies. One of the many wonderful examples of Jesus’ prudence is the way that He handled the constant challenges from the Pharisees. From the outset of His ministry they were looking for a way to discredit and destroy Him. (Ref: Mark 3:6).
In Matthew 22:15-22 the Pharisees set out to “entangle Jesus in His words”, they sent some of their disciples to Him and questioned Him about whether it was right to pay taxes to Caesar or not. Along with the disciples of the Pharisees were some Herodians; the Herodians were supporters of Herod Antipas and the policies instituted by Rome. The Pharisees hoped that Jesus would say “yes, it is right to pay taxes to Ceasar”’ if this had been His response they would have declared that He was opposed to God, (the only King that they recognized). On the other hand, if Jesus had said that it was not right for the Jews to pay taxes to the Roman government, then the Herodians would have had reason to charge Jesus with rebellion and hand Him over to Herod. These two factions (Pharisees & Herodians) were usually fierce rivals; however, their hatred of Jesus brought them together in an effort to destroy Him. As was the case throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus’ prudence was on full display. He “perceived their wickedness, and said, “Why do you test Me, you hypocrites?” The Lord went on to declare that they should “Render therefore to Caesar the things that are Caesar’s, and to God the things that are God’s.” Upon hearing Jesus’ response “they marveled and left Him and went their way.”
Another fascinating example of the way that Jesus “dealt prudently” is how He responded in the hours leading up to His crucifixion. Jesus wisely discerned and performed God’s will until His work was complete. The Servant’s desire to accomplish the will of the Father for the glory of the Father is seen at Gethsemane, as He wrestled with the reality that He would soon drink the bitter cup of God’s wrath, the Savior said, “Father, if it is Your will, take this cup away from Me; nevertheless not My will, but Yours, be done.” (Luke 22:42)
With all of the power He had at His disposal, Jesus discerned and accomplished God’s will when He was betrayed by Judas. Rather than fleeing or destroying the Roman soldiers when they came to arrest Him, Jesus willingly submitted to the will of the Father.
His prudence was on full display as He stood before Annas, Caiaphas, Herod, and Pilate. He endured undeserved shame, ridicule, and even physical persecution leading up to His death. Even on the Cross Jesus remained committed to God’s will. Knowing that He could have called “more than twelve legions of angels” to deliver Him, Jesus endured.
Conventional wisdom would have led Jesus to seek deliverance from the horrors of the cross. Such human wisdom is seen in the words of the criminal on the cross next to Jesus; he said to Him, “if you are the Christ, save yourself…” God’s suffering Servant did not do what was easy, He endured and He accomplished God’s will.
Pride and self-preservation would have kept the best mortal man from even making it to Calvary, much less enduring the pain and agony of the Crucifixion. However, as God’s Servant, Jesus “dealt prudently”. The writer of Hebrews so rightly describes Jesus as “the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God.” (Hebrews 12:2)
It is important for us to comprehend that when God declared His Servant would “deal prudently” He was referring to the fact that He would act according to God’s wisdom, not the wisdom of the world. In fact, the majority of the time the words and actions of Jesus Christ were diametrically opposed to the world’s wisdom.
Thankfully, our Lord did not conform to the culture around Him. Nor did He think or act upon what would have been best for Him. If He had done what was easy, or what seemed to make sense at the time, Jesus would have never endured Satan’s temptation in the wilderness; He would not have defeated the constant challenges He received from the Scribes, Pharisees, Herodians, and others. If Jesus had followed after conventional wisdom, He never would have willingly suffered the horrific events of Passion week. If Jesus had not been focused on the perfect will of God and set aside what was easy, it would have meant disaster and damnation for us. Thankfully, God’s promise to Israel in Isaiah 52 & 53 was fulfilled in the life of Jesus Christ. Truly, God’s servant “dealt prudently”.
While we cannot do all that Jesus did, when we walk in Christ we can (and should) “deal prudently”, that is, we should act wisely. Just as His prudence brought Jesus success in His mission, we can be successful in the Christian life if we will seek to discern and perform God’s will.
In the process of sanctification God is continually “transforming us into the image of His dear Son” – (Romans 8:29). Part of this transformation is the God given desire to please Him and accomplish His will for our lives. It should be our aim to honor God in everything we do. This requires us to analyze every decision that we make and ensure that the end result will be pleasing to God. Therefore, wisdom is essential and the wonderful news is that it is available to God’s children. James said, “If any of you lacks wisdom, let him ask of God, who gives to all liberally and without reproach, and it will be given to him.” (James 1:5). Paul said in Ephesians 5:15-17, “See then that you walk circumspectly, not as fools but as wise, redeeming the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be unwise but understand what the will of the Lord is.”
Though we will never be able to completely “deal prudently” this side of Heaven, we are able to rest in the fact that this prophecy was fulfilled.
As promised, God’s Servant came to do what we could not do. Throughout His time on earth Jesus acted wisely in all things and we have been redeemed as a result of His perfect and complete work.
Because of all that He did for us; we should seek to live for Him. Jesus said in John 12:25-26 “He who loves his life will lose it, and he who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. If anyone serves Me, let him follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also. If anyone serves Me, him My Father will honor.” Like our Savior, we must seek to “deal prudently”, that is, to discern and obey God’s will for our lives. It is God’s will that each of us would spend our day living for Jesus.
Living for Jesus, a life that is true,
Striving to please Him in all that I do;
Yielding allegiance, glad-hearted and free,
This is the pathway of blessing for me.
Living for Jesus Who died in my place,
Bearing on Calv’ry my sin and disgrace;
Such love constrains me to answer His call,
Follow His leading and give Him my all.
O Jesus, Lord and Savior, I give myself to Thee,
For Thou, in Thy atonement, didst give Thyself for me;
I own no other Master, my heart shall be Thy throne;
My life I give, henceforth to live, O Christ, for Thee alone.
(Hymn by: Thomas O Chisholm)
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