ISAIAH 53 SERIES: AN ORDINARY SAVIOR
ISAIAH 53:1-2 | #Isaiah53
PERSON IN THE CONGREGATION READS ISAIAH 53
READ ISAIAH 53:1-12 (ESV)
“Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He grew up before Him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him. 3 He was despised and rejected by men, a Man of Sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as One from Whom men hide their faces He was despised, and we esteemed Him not. 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 pierced for our transgressions; He was crushed for our iniquities; upon Him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with His wounds 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 a Him the iniquity of us all. 7 He was oppressed, and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away; and as for His generation, who considered that He was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made His grave with the wicked and with a rich man in His death, although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth. 10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush Him; He has put Him to grief; when His soul makes an offering for guilt, He shall see His offspring; He shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in His hand. 11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by His knowledge shall the Righteous One, My Servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and He shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the many, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, because He poured out His soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.”
INTRODUCTION
The passage we are going to look at for several weeks beginning today is Isaiah 53. Isaiah is counted in the Major Prophets of the Old Testament. Isaiah has 66 chapters, 1,292 verses, and 37,044 words. We are only going to look at Isaiah 53… so 1 chapter, 12 verses, 406 words.
Believe it or not, in some circles, Isaiah 53 is a chapter that has some controversy to it… or I should say… some alleged controversy. I found contradictory statements all around Isaiah 53.
One author states: “Often called the “Forbidden Chapter,” Isaiah 53 is a significant source of controversy. Not just between Judaism and Christianity, but even within Judaism itself. Up until Christ came, the Jewish sages and rabbis roundly agreed that Isaiah 53 was a prophecy about the Messiah. But once the Christian Gospel started to spread, this chapter in Isaiah began to cause problems within Judaism because of its overt resemblance to the life and work of Jesus as the Messiah. According to Eitan Bar, a native Jewish-Israeli scholar: “The 17th-century Jewish historian, Raphael Levi, admitted that long ago the rabbis used to read Isaiah 53 in synagogues, but after the chapter caused “arguments and great confusion” the rabbis decided that the simplest thing would be to just take that prophecy out of the Haftarah1 readings in synagogues. That’s why today when we read Isaiah 52, we stop in the middle of the chapter, and the week after, we jump straight to Isaiah 54.” (rlsolberg.com/isaiah-53/)
That sounds awfully convenient so I did some digging the other way.
In an article from Jews for Judaism, they state: “No rabbinic edicts exist that prohibit Jews from reading any portion of the Jewish Bible. On the contrary, the Jewish Bible, including the Book of Isaiah, is accessible to anyone who wants to read it… If there is a conspiracy, it is by [Christian] missionaries. They hide the plain and obvious meaning of Isaiah 53 by reading it out of context and mistranslating crucial words to fit Jesus into the chapter.” (jewsforjudaism.org/knowledge/ articles/debunking-the-isaiah-53-forbidden-chapter-conspiracy)
So, I found two different sources that contradict one another about Isaiah 53.
In addition to this, last week I was reading a biography about Richard Wurmbrand (‘Richard Wurmbrand: Love Your Enemies,’ J & G Benge, YWAM, 2017). Richard Wurmbrand, was a Romanian Evangelical Lutheran priest of Jewish descent who ministered in the 1940s. Wurmbrand preached at bomb shelters and rescued Jews during World War II and spent significant time in prison and was severely severely tortured by the Nazis. In describing how he came to believe that Jesus was the Messiah… for he was Jewish in religion and culture… he stated that rabbis told him to stop reading Isaiah 53 and asking questions about it because “that passage is only for rabbis.” Isaiah 53 was one major influence on him becoming a believer in Jesus.
The truth is probably somewhere in the middle. There must be some good stuff in Isaiah 53 if it has some debate about it and an unofficial nickname! And by “stuff” I mean teaching, reproof, correction, and training in righteousness (2 Timothy 3:16) because Isaiah 53 is God’s Word. Let’s look further into Isaiah 53. Today we are going to focus on the first two verses. Because we are going to look at just two verses, we’ll read from the ESV and the MSG to help us get a good grasp on what we are reading.
RE-READ ISAIAH 53:1-2 (ESV)
“Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He grew up before Him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.”
RE-READ ISAIAH 53:1-2 (MSG)
“Who believes what we’ve heard and seen? Who would have thought God’s saving power would look like this? 2 The Servant grew up before God—a scrawny seedling, a scrubby plant in a parched field. There was nothing attractive about Him, nothing to cause us to take a second look.”
VERSE 1: ARM OF GOD
Verse 1 in Isaiah 53 introduces us to the idea of “the arm of the Lord.” Actually, Isaiah 53 continues the conversation about the “arm of the Lord” because as you will see in a moment, this is one of 9 passages (30:32, 33:2, 40:10-11, 48:14, 51:5, 52:10, 59:15b-16, 63:7-14) in Isaiah that talks about “the arm of the Lord.” Immediately we should wonder what Isaiah is talking about with this metaphor because the verse is #1 a question and #2 is talking about revealing something. What is God’s arm revealing?
What is God’s arm holding or upholding?
What is the action of the arm of the Lord?
Isaiah uses the imagery of the “arm of the Lord” often (in 9 different chapters/passages). We will not go through them all, but how else does Isaiah talk about the “arm of the Lord” and with what is His arm associated?
READ ISAIAH 33:2 (ESV)
“O Lord, be gracious to us; we wait for You. Be our arm every morning, our salvation in the time of trouble.”
His arm is associated with salvation.
READ ISAIAH 40:10-11 (ESV)
“Behold, the Lord God comes with might, and His arm rules for Him; behold, His reward is with Him, and His recompense before Him. He will tend His flock like a shepherd; He will gather the lambs in His arms; He will carry them in His bosom, and gently lead those that are with young.”
His arm is associated with might, rule, reward, tending, gathering, leading… salvation.
READ ISAIAH 51:5 (ESV)
“My righteousness draws near, My salvation has gone out, and My arms will judge the peoples; the coastlands hope for Me, and for My arm they wait.”
His arm is associated with righteousness, salvation, and judgment.
READ ISAIAH 52:10 (ESV)
“The Lord has bared His holy arm before the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”
His arm is associated with salvation.
Over and over again when Isaiah thinks about justice and judgment and ultimately the salvation that God provides… he thinks about the strong arm of God making it happen. God fights for His people with a mighty arm. God judges and defends and delivers with His mighty arm. God brings salvation with His holy arm.
The topic of Isaiah 53 is salvation. The questions that Isaiah 53 answers are all about salvation. The teaching in Isaiah 53 is about salvation. The reproof and correction given in Isaiah 53 leads us to salvation. The training in righteousness in Isaiah 53 leads trains us to grow up in our salvation (1 Peter 2:2). This is why when we read the MSG translation it talks about “God’s saving power.” His arm is associated with salvation.
TRANSITION
The first part of the first two verses in Isaiah 53 talks about salvation and lets us know that the context and framework and the overall emphasis of the chapter will be about salvation. The second part of these two verses gives us a little bit of a surprise. It is a theologically significant surprise, but a welcome one.
VERSE 2: ORDINARY
Whenever I think about heroes or deliverers of the innocent or conquering generals, I think my idea is probably swayed by Hollywood and TV… as are most of us probably. The stereotypical hero often has a distinctive visual appearance that reinforces their larger-than-life persona and helps them win the day.
Most heroes have a “heroic build” which is called that meaning a strong athletic physique. This means big muscles. There is also a recognizable costume worn that are usually unique that include capes, armor, or distinctive colors and symbols that make them easily recognizable. If Edna Mode (Pixar: Incredibles) is making the costume, “no capes!” There is also almost always a symbol of some kind which represents their values or mission. In addition to this, heroes and the defenders of the people also often have distinctive accessories like a sword, shield, or other gadgets that are central to their identity and role and round out the impression they make.
Heroes also have a posture and demeanor typically exude confidence and authority which is why Clark Kent stumbles and acts like a klutz or Bruce Wayne acts like a spoiled rich man. We expect heroes to stand tall and carry themselves with a sense of purpose and determination. Heroes and even portraits of generals and politicians always appear well-groomed and put-together with their appearance reflecting the status they want to portray and their confidence. This might mean immaculate hair, a polished look, or a uniform with many medals.
Most heroes… especially leading men… have chiseled or striking facial features, which can enhance their visual appeal and make them stand out. This can include a strong jawline and an intense gaze that melts not only the resolve of evildoers, but also the hearts of any damsels in distress.
When you see someone with a muscle-y physique with striking facial features in a recognizable costume with a symbol and they bear that quintessential weapon or gadget, you know you are looking at a hero. These visual cues help establish the hero's identity and make them memorable to audiences and fans. That is how Hollywood trains us to recognize heroes.
Now, we know that Hollywood’s view of heroes is not real, but the fake-and-made-up vision of a hero or deliverer or conqueror still influences us. That is why even in TV shows and movies or even whole TV series have “ordinary heroes.”
ILLUSTRATION… tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Main/TheRealHeroes
For example, the TV show “Dirty Jobs” is all about what happens behind the scenes to keep modern society functioning as well as it does by those who should be heroes because of their terrible jobs.
In comedy, we are shown there are ordinary heroes. For example: Dwight Schrute on The Office (US) says: "No, don't call me a hero. Do you know who the real heroes are? The guys who wake up every morning and go into their normal jobs and get a distress call from the commissioner and take off their glasses and change into capes and fly around, fighting crime. Those are the real heroes."
In comedy, we are shown there are ordinary heroes. For example: Saturday Night Live featured a real-life tearjerker moment where the first episode after 9/11 had New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani introduce actual 9/11 responders to the audience in the Cold Open. Talking with Lorne Michaels, Michaels asked if they (after an event like this) can be funny. Giuliani replied "Why start now?" to a standing ovation. In a retrospect Tracy Morgan said he greeted the responders and patted one on the shoulder, seeing dust fly off; they literally came from the field.
In drama shows, we are shown there are ordinary heroes. For example: in Smallville, at the end of the episode "Visage", Clark Kent and his parents learn that Whitney Fordman, a US Marine and Clark's rival in school, was killed in action trying to save a fellow soldier. While grieving for him, Clark wonders aloud whether, if he didn't have his powers, he would have had Whitney's courage to put himself in harm’s way to make the world a better place.
We know that Hollywood’s view of heroes is not real, but the fake-and-made-up vision of a hero or deliverer or conqueror still influences us. To be honest, even before movies and TV, statues and paintings, oral stories, and epic poems portrayed heroes in larger-than-life ways across time and across cultures. It is just the way we think. It is what we expect. Deliverers and those who bring salvation are taller, bigger, stronger, smarter, richer, cleaner, faster, and better.
But!
Not!
Always!
Isaiah 53 shares with us that the One that would bring us salvation from God was Someone ordinary and not flashy and not taller, bigger, stronger, smarter, richer, cleaner, faster… but Someone Who had “nothing to cause us to take a second look.” Salvation from God or the One Who would act as the Arm of God came from “no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.”
You know Who fits the description of an Ordinary Hero that is the Arm of God that brings about salvation? Jesus of Nazareth that we believe was the Christ. It wasn’t a trick question. We are in church and whenever a question is asked… the answer is always Jesus.
Jesus had ordinary beginnings and, in many ways, an ordinary life. He was born. No matter what a Christmas carol might tell you… He cried. He was born into a carpenter's family where they worked for a living. Jesus was not an only child, but had siblings and grew up not as an only child, but One among many because Joseph and Mary had other children after Jesus' birth. At the age of 12 years, Jesus went missing while traveling with His family. Jesus got angry, hungry, thirsty, tempted by pride, and everything else we get tempted by. Jesus had issues with religious leaders and in the end almost all His friends left Him in His time of need.
Although we have a lot of paintings in museums and churches that paint Jesus as a tall white Scandinavian guy with piercing blue eyes with perfect skin and a beard, Jesus was actually Jewish and would have been a guy with dark olive skin and shaggy dark hair and bore marks of human living. Therefore, His appearance looked drastically different than what we often imagine because He looked like everyone else!
Now, I don’t want you to think that there is nothing special or heroic or exceptional about Jesus of Nazareth because that would be incorrect. Jesus of Nazareth was the Son of God. The Book of Hebrews has much to say about Jesus’ exceptional ordinary saving nature!
READ Hebrews 4:14-16 (ESV)
“Since then we have a great High Priest Who has passed through the heavens, Jesus, the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession. 15 For we do not have a High Priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but One Who in every respect has been tempted as we are, yet without sin. 16 Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need.”
READ Hebrews 5:7-8 (ESV)
“In the days of His flesh, Jesus offered up prayers and supplications, with loud cries and tears, to Him Who was able to save Him from death, and He was heard because of His reverence. 8 Although He was a Son, He learned obedience through what He suffered. 9 And being made perfect, He became the Source of eternal salvation to all who obey Him…”
The Book of Hebrews shares with us that Jesus lived His life in weakness and in an ordinary manner being tempted and living life so that you and I could receive salvation. This is an important thought that actually has a lot of tension in it:
Jesus was an ordinary human being so He could save us.
Jesus was the divine Son of God so He could save us.
TRANSITION & SUMMARY
Isaiah 53 is a chapter all about God’s “Suffering Servant.” In verses 1-2, the Prophet Isaiah reveals to us that this ordinary looking servant is the arm of the Lord that will bring salvation.
Praise God for His plan for Jesus to come save us!
Praise God for the Arm of God that brings salvation!
Praise God that Jesus can fully identify with us and save us!
PRAYER
INVITATION
Isaiah 53 mentions that Jesus had “no beauty that we should desire Him.” Maybe you are here today and you have never thought much about religion or God or Jesus or the Bible. Maybe it never had any appeal to you or seemed like a big deal. I want to challenge you today to give Jesus a second look with an open mind and an open heart and I know you will find Him more than an ordinary savior.
RE-READ ISAIAH 53:1-2 (ESV)
“Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 For He grew up before Him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; He had no form or majesty that we should look at Him, and no beauty that we should desire Him.”
