Isaiah 53: The Lord Bares His Holy Arm
Introduction: As we begin chapter 53, the question Isaiah has set before our minds is how is the Lord going to restore Israel. How can he make them a righteous people living holy lives and glorifying his name? The Lord has announced that he will bare his holy arm (52:10) and all the ends of the earth will see God’s salvation. Now he will explain how that will happen.
Remember, this fourth Servant Song begins at 52:13. The servant is high and lifted up, but is also so marred that he is not recognizable and the people are astonished at his appearance. He certainly does not fit the description of God’s servant nor fit the picture of God baring his holy arm. However, his work even causes kings to be awed and the nations to understand the message he brings.
Who Has Believed? (1-3)
53:1-2 – Now we see a message being revealed. It is the good news of 52:7. But who has believed it? In the previous verse, the nations believed (quoted in Rom. 15:21). But the many of 52:14 were astonished, and in this verse they do not believe. Paul quoted this verse in Rom. 10:16. Putting the two texts together, Isaiah has just foretold the Gentile acceptance of the gospel and the Jewish rejection.
The reason he is not believed is given in verse 2: he is nothing of what they expected. He is as unimpressive as a root out of dry ground. He has no appearance or majesty and no beauty. Nothing about him in appearance causes us to desire him. Look at him! He is simply not desirable! But why did God make him that way? Why not appear in his majesty? The answer is clear. We are to be drawn to him by his inner beauty, who he actually is, not by some flashy, impressive outward appearance which wows our fleshly minds. Thus the reason for John 6:44-45.
Consider the imagery used in these first two verses:
The “arm of the Lord” is now revealed. The servant is the “arm!” God’s power for redemption and restoration of Israel is found in a place no human could imagine. God’s servant-arm does not fit the typical methods of deliverance.
The “dry ground” imagery reminds us of 32:15, when the Spirit would be poured out, the wilderness/dry ground would become a fruitful field. In 40:3, when the “voice” cries in the wilderness to prepare the way of the Lord, the word of the Lord gives life to temporary humanity. Therefore, Israel is the dry ground; Israel is the spiritual wilderness out of which grows this tender plant that will grow up and give life to the world.
He is like a tender young plant, a root out of dry ground that sends up a small shoot. Isaiah has already alluded to this imagery saying, “There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit” (11:1). Israel is pictured as tree that has been cut down and seemingly dead. But this small, tender shoot comes up and the Lord makes him prosperous.
“Despised” causes us to understand the prophetic fulfillment of Matthew 2:23, “And he went and lived in a city called Nazareth, so that what was spoken by the prophets might be fulfilled, that he would be called a Nazarene.” As Nathaniel said, “Can any good thing come out of Nazareth” (Jn. 1:46). Cf. Jn. 7:41, 52.
“Rejected” – this is significant since it is difficult for us humans to accept someone or something that the majority rejects. Therefore, the challenge again is to look past the outward and to seek truth, not just someone who appeals to worldly standards.
We see even more reasons for his rejection. He is not living a life of elegance. He is a man filled with sorrows and grief, not the kind of person people value. Instead, he is the kind of person people run from and discard. We are reminded of other such examples:
Samuel going to the house of Jesse and choosing David over all the brothers.
The apostle Paul in the midst of the Corinthian “preachers” who had enamored the Corinthians with their outward appearance and their eloquent speech. This is the human way and Satan’s way of deceiving us.
Now, let’s just ask ourselves a question: If we see the Servant and find no beauty in him, if we hide our faces from him, against whom is that an indictment? Certainly not the Servant! It is a pitiful exposure of humanity.
Explanation of His Sorrow and Grief (4-6)
Now we discover the reason for his sorrows and griefs was not because of anything he had done. It was our griefs and our sorrows he was carrying. In fact, we had mistakenly esteemed/considered him afflicted and struck by God.
Verse 5 reverses our mistaken evaluation that he was stuck by God for his own sins. No, it was our transgressions (lit. “rebellion” – NET) and our iniquities that he was crushed. He received the chastisement that brought us peace with God and the wounds by which we were healed.
Verse 6 further explains our failure. We had all gone astray and each of us turned to our own way. There were no exceptions! All had sinned. To save us from ourselves, “the Lord laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
At this point, we want to understand some of the terms in the text. Note the words, “borne” and “carried” in verse 4.
First, notice that the two words are synonymous terms. The two phrases are parallel in Hebrew poetry. Just as “griefs” and “sorrows” are synonymous, so to bear the sins is to carry them.
Various translations indicate this:
NIV, “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering.”
NET, “But he lifted up our illnesses, he carried our pain”
NLT, “Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down.”
In fact, Matthew quotes this text and gives us an explanation: Matt. 8:16-17. When Jesus healed, he bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. Illness is a picture of sin & result of sin. Jesus portrayed what he would do on the cross by what he was doing with the symptoms of sin. He healed the diseases. He took them away. He did not actually suffer the illness himself instead of the sufferer. What he did was carry the disease away.
This is further confirmed when we look at how the Greek word (LXX) “borne” is used elsewhere.
In Mark 1:7, John the Baptist is not worthy to “loose” Jesus’ sandals.
In Matt. 3:11, John is not worthy to “carry” his sandals.
In John 12:7 the word is translated “take” as in Judas taking the money from the money bag.
Therefore, by Jesus’ suffering and death he is able to lift the burden of sins off us.
This is further understood by verse 6: “the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” This is a scapegoat picture of Jesus carrying our sins out of our sight. Consider the words, “laid” on him in other contexts:
- LXX: “The Lord gave him up for our sins.”
- 53:12 “…makes intercession for the transgressor”
- Rom. 8:32 “He was delivered up…”
- Eph. 5:2 “He gave himself up…”
- This fits the picture of John 1:29, “Behold the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world.”
The Submissive Servant (7-9)
The primary takeaway of this section is the contrast between the Servant and the people for whom he suffered. In verse 6, “All we like sheep went astray.” But the Servant is like a sheep in a much different way. He is innocent and submissive. He is gives himself up as a willing sacrifice. This is why we see Jesus purposely going to Jerusalem and not resisting when he was arrested and tried.
In verse 8, we are again reminded that his suffering is not for anything he did. It was a miscarriage of justice. The NET renders, “He was led away after an unjust trial – but who even cared?” Therefore, again we are told that he was stricken (same word in verse 4, “stricken”).
And further, the amazing statement that this Servant, who is the “arm of the Lord” to “redeem Jerusalem” (52:9) and bring salvation to the end of the earth, is killed! The biggest challenge for 1st century Jews, and even the disciples, was the idea that the Messiah would die. Impossible! And yet we say, “Didn’t they read?” Indeed! How easily our preconceived notions and what we have been taught affect our reading of scripture!
The prophecy of verse 9 seems simple to us since we are looking back at it and know the answer. But imagine reading this in Isaiah’s time. On one hand his grave is with the wicked (wicked is plural). But on the other hand his grave is actually with a rich man (singular) when he dies. NET translates, “They intended to bury him with criminals, but he ended up in a rich man’s tomb.”
Then Why Did He Suffer? (10a)
Do you remember when Peter started his sermon in Acts 2? “This Jesus was delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God…” This is exactly what we are learning in verse 10. Lest anyone think that the suffering of the Servant was something that happened outside the control of God, this was by “the deliberate plan and foreknowledge of God” (NIV). It was the Lord who crushed him and but him to grief, though it was “by the hands of wicked men.”
But why would the Lord do that? Not because any guilt of the Servant, but as a guilt offering. This statement is extremely important! The fact that he is an offering for guilt is exactly the picture we are given in Leviticus concerning offerings for sin (5:14–6:7). The guilt offering was for the worst of sins, those sins that were harmful to others and required restitution payment along with the offering. Therefore, Jesus paid our restitution through his offering. Consider:
This is why scripture repeatedly refers to Jesus’ work in saving us as “redemption” or “ransom” (Mark 10:45, “For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”) By his offering he purchased us out of the bondage of sin.
Hebrews 10:5-8 explains that his body became a sin offering. A study of Leviticus illustrates the redemption attained in a sin offering. The words “sin offering” is the same word translated, “he made him to be sin who knew no sin…” (2 Cor. 5:21).
Finally, this would have been a perfect time for God to say that he was crushed instead of us. But no scripture ever suggests such an idea nor is that the way redemption described in Leviticus.
The Arm of the Lord Prospers (10b–12)
This text started with 52:13, “Behold my servant will be successful [prosper].” This was our introduction to the suffering servant. From that verse on, we could not see how he was successful in his purpose. But now his success is revealed.
Though he was crushed by the Lord through the injustice rendered upon him by humans, when the Lord makes his soul an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Victory!
- Resurrection from the dead.
- Produces offspring – his death will produce spiritual children. Cf. John 12:32, “And I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw all people to myself.”
- Prolongs his days. He lives on.
Verse 11: though he suffered anguish, he will see and be satisfied with the end result. Through the knowledge of the Servant, many will be accounted righteous and he shall bear their iniquities. Paul explained how people are accounted righteous:
“And all are justified freely by his grace through the redemption that came by Christ Jesus. God presented Christ as a sacrifice of atonement, through the shedding of his blood–to be received by faith” (Rom. 3:24-25).
And again we are told that he shall bear their iniquities.” Same word as in verse 4. He carries our sins away by paying a redemption or ransom price.
Verse 12 is rendered by the CSB as, “Therefore I will give him the many as a portion, and he will receive the mighty as spoil.” In this rendering, those whom he redeemed become his portion, spoil, or as in Ephesians 1, his inheritance. ESV rendering would mean that the redeemed are sharing in the spoils of victory, which would also fit the NT picture (Eph. 4:7-10).
Final sentence: “he makes intercession for the transgressors.” The word “intercession” is the same word as “laid on him” in verse 6. Hebrews 7:25: “He ever lives to make intercession for us.”
Conclusion: How does God reveal his mighty arm and destroy the kingdom of Satan and the power he has over us because of our sin? Isaiah 59:15-16 says it well: “Truth is lacking, and he who departs from evil mades himself a prey. The Lord saw it, and it displeased him that there was no justice. He saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no one to intercede; then his own arm brought him salvation and his righteousness upheld him.” God defeated sin and death by taking on flesh and allowing his body to be a offering for guilt. Who will believe now that the arm of the Lord is revealed?
Berry Kercheville