Isaiah 53

“Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise Him; He has put Him to grief. When You make His soul an offering for sin, He shall 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. By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many, for He shall bear their iniquities. Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.” Isaiah 53:10-12 (NKJV)

There are certain Bible passages that were of great importance with respect to understanding Jesus. Perhaps no other passage from the Tanakh (Old Testament) is as crucial as Isaiah 53. Jesus Himself quoted Isaiah 53:12 and applied it to Himself.

“For I say to you that this which is written must still be [a]accomplished in Me: ‘And He was numbered with the transgressors.’ For the things concerning Me have an end.” Luke 22:37 (NKJV)

On other occasions, when Jesus declared that He “must suffer many things” and that He had not “come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life as a ransom for many” (Mark 8:31; 10:45), He was also alluding to Isaiah 53.

Of great significance is the fact that the major contributors to the New Testament refer to at least eight different verses from Isaiah 53. Verse 1 is quoted by John and applied to Jesus (John 12:38); Matthew cites verse 4 about how Jesus healed (Matthew 8:17); and verses 5, 6, 9, and 11 are picked up by Peter (1 Peter 2:22-25).

Others have suggested that the various statements in the New Testament, to the effect that Jesus should be “rejected” and “taken away,” are taken from Isaiah 53. His being “buried” like a criminal without any preparatory anointing, the parable of the stronger man who “divides up the spoils,” His silence before the judges, His intercession for the transgressors, and His laying down His life for others – all these are rooted in Isaiah 53.

Every verse of today’s chapter, except verse 2, is directly applied to Jesus in the New Testament, some verses several times. There is good evidence that Jesus’ whole public ministry: His immersion, healing, teaching, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension - are all seen as a fulfillment of the pattern foretold in Isaiah 53.

Today, if I were to share the gospel with a Jewish non-believer, I would begin with Isaiah 53 (then move to Micah 5:2, Psalms 22 and 69) before entering the New Testament.

I chose today’s passage because many of us are facing struggles during this difficult season. God is not ignorant of our suffering; nor is He a sadist, as some have put forth. He does not take pleasure in our pain. Rather, He is pleased when we are faithful to honor and worship Him despite the pain. Seasons come and go. This one, too, shall pass. True shalom is not the absence of conflict; it is peace from and with God in the midst of it.