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Messianic Prophecies - Isaiah 52:13-53:12 – Part II
The Servant Prophecies
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Prophecy
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New Testament Fulfillment / Interpretation
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ESV Isaiah 53:7 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.
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The fulfillment of 53:7-9 is found in:
“he opened not his mouth” -- Matthew 27:12-14; Mark 15:5; Luke 23:9; John 19:9
“like a lamb that is led to the slaughter . . .” -- Acts 8:26-39; John 1:29, 35-36; Revelation 5:6f.
“he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth” -- 1 Peter 2:20-23
“with a rich man in his death” -- Matthew 27:57-60 (John 19:38-42).
53:7
As he is being oppressed and afflicted, as he is being led away to death, the Servant does not open his mouth to complain or protest or cry for mercy. He quietly endures his fate. In this Isaiah compares him to a lamb being led away to the slaughter, and a mother sheep being silent before those who are about to shear her.
In his suffering and death Jesus fulfilled this. The silence of Jesus in the face of harsh treatment obviously impressed the New Testament authors. All four evangelists record the fact that in the midst of being oppressed and afflicted, as he stood before Pontius Pilate, Jesus said nothing, amazing the procurator. Nor did he attempt to defend himself, complain, protest, or beg for mercy at any step of his passion. In addition to the four Gospels, Luke records Philip’s interpretation of Isaiah 53:7-8 in Acts 8, Peter refers to it in 1 Peter 2, and John is possibly referencing it when he quotes John the Baptist as calling Jesus “The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.” (John 1:29). To refrain from complaining or anger when experiencing seemingly unjust suffering is no small feat. Neither Job (Job 3) nor Jeremiah (Jeremiah 20:14-18) were able to do it. Nor were Moses or David able. Peter holds Christ’s demeanor in suffering as an example for all Christians to follow (1 Pet 2:21-23).
53:8
The sentence “By oppression and judgment he was
taken away” probably means that “by a perversion of justice he was taken away,” as the NRS has it. The Gospels amply show that such a perversion of justice happened in the case of Jesus (See, e.g., Mark 14:55-60 and Luke 23:13-26; Acts 3:13-14). In any case, it refers to his being condemned and led away to death.
“As for his generation” – The NIV mistranslates the Hebrew word rAD (dôr) as “descendents.” According to HALOT, the word never means descendents, but refers to a period of time (33-40 years) or one’s contemporaries. So the point is, “No one among the Servant’s contemporaries understood that he was being violently put to death not because of his own sins, but because of the transgressions of the people” – a clear reference again to the vicarious atonement.
53:9
“And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death.” – This means that they (the Servant’s executioners) intended to bury him with wicked men, but against their intention the Servant was “with a rich man in his death,” that is, he was given an honorable burial. This was wonderfully fulfilled when the rich man Joseph of Arimathea buried Jesus in his own tomb (Matthew 27:57-30).
“although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.” The word sm'x' (µımıs) can be translated either “violence” or simply “wrong.” In either case, Isaiah declares that the Servant had done nothing deserving of death, neither by action nor by fraudulent word. Quoted by 1 Peter 2:22.
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ESV Isaiah 53:10 Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for sin, 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.
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The fulfillment of 53:10-12 is found in:
“he was numbered with the transgressors” – Luke 22:37; Mark 15:28
53:10
For the first time since 53:6, Isaiah emphasizes that the cruel death of the Servant was all part of Yahweh’s plan: “Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief.” The Hebrew says, “Yahweh delighted to crush him,” which apparently sounds to sadistic for translators.
“When his soul makes an offering for sin” shows that
the Servant’s death was no ordinary death; rather, it was a “trespass offering” [~v;a' (°ısham)] to atone for sins, as it so often means in Leviticus. This offering-for-sin language is attributed to Jesus in the NT in many places (Rom 3:25; Heb 2:17, 7:26-27; Ephesians 5:2; Hebrews 9:14, 9:26-28; 10:10; 1 John 2:2, 4:10).
“he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days.”
Among the Jews many descendents and a long life were seen as the best of God’s blessings. For the Servant, these words point to a higher reality. They are to be understood spiritually and assume Christ’s resurrection.
Leupold: “This certainly involves a strange paradox – he has died, yet he prolongs his days. We cannot avoid the conviction that this points forward to the death and resurrection of Christ” (Leupold: 232).
53:11
“Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied” – reminds one of Hebrews 12:2, “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” Jesus saw and was satisfied because he accomplished his mission.
“by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities” – This is a marvelous justification passage. It shows that the work of the Messiah was to justify sinners. To “be accounted righteous” is the same as to “justify.” The Hebrew is qdec' (ıd˘q). Luther: “The knowledge of Christ must be construed in a passive sense. It is that by which He is known, the proclamation of His suffering and death. You must therefore note this new definition of righteousness. Righteousness is the knowledge of Christ. What is Christ? He is the person who bears all our sins. These are unspeakable gifts and hidden and unutterable kinds of wisdom.” See Romans 5:19.
To “bear” (lb;s' - sıbal, the same word appeared in 53:4) iniquities means to suffer the consequences of, as in Lamentations 5:7, “Our fathers sinned, and are no more; and we bear their punishment.” Jeremiah was lamenting the destruction of Jerusalem, and was stating that he and his contemporaries were being punished for
their ancestor’s sins. This is the sense of Is 53:11. The Servant shall will be punished for the people’s sins. See Hebrews 9:28.
53:12
“Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong” – The sense is, “Because he bore their iniquities, therefore I will divide . . .” The Hebrew word for “the many” here (br; - rab) can also mean “the great.” The language is that of dividing of land and the dividing of spoil after a successful battle. Because only one who is alive can receive such blessings, this passage declares that the Servant who died shall again live. The Servant who died such a miserable death, shall be greatly exalted.
“because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors;” – Jesus explicitly quoted the latter part of this passage as speaking of him as recorded in Luke 22:37. As one condemned as worthy of death by both Jews and Romans, Jesus was truly numbered with the transgressors. Specifically, of course, this prophecy was fulfilled when Jesus was crucified with two robbers, as some manuscripts of Mark 15:27-28 declare.
“yet he bore the sins of many” – The Hebrew word for bore in verse 12, different from verse 11, is the same word that is used of the scapegoat in Leviticus 16:20-22 (af'n" - nı´ı°). The word can also mean “to take away” as is used this way in Micah 7:18.
“and makes [made] intercession for the transgressors.”
Interceding for transgressors is attributed to Jesus in many places in the New Testament: Luke 23:34; Romans 8:24; Hebrews 7:25; Hebrews 9:24; 1 John 2:1-2. The word for “transgressors” is [v;P' - pıshaħ. The fundamental idea is the breach of relationships between two parties.
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