The Prudence Of God's Servant Series

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,