(A) The humble root: lowly and despised, we did not desire Him (Isa 53:1-3)
At the beginning of this chapter, in Isa 53:2a, 2 word pictures are used to describe how the Servant was perceived. We are told that this Servant was like a "young plant" and "a root out of dry ground". This is one that looks nothing special since it has not fully developed, like a young plant, and the root description paints for us a picture of malnourishment. The root is also often a part of the tree that we disregard.
Isa 53:2b also further describes the servant as one who had "no form, no majesty that we should look at him" and "no beauty we should desire him". This was one whose demeanor, style, view of life and money and possessions, would be different from what we expected. None of it would endorse our own way of living. People did not feel endorsed around Jesus. He was so lowly and unimpressive that our aspirations in life of power and reputation would stand in stark contrast to Him. In fact, His happy poverty made our wanting more feel foolish. It makes us uncomfortable and the easiest thing to do is to not think of him at all. Perhaps a more common way for us to react to the suffering servant is to disregard him and ignore him.
This is precisely what verse 3 tells us. This Servant would be despised(detested, hated, loathed, abhorred) and rejected(discarded, abandoned, cut off). He would be a "man of sorrows, acquainted with grief".
(B) The slaughtered lamb: in our place condemned He stood (Isa 53:4-9)
In Isa 53:4-6, we have a series of causes and effects.
| What we have committed (Isa 53:5) | The Servant receives (Isa 53:4-6) | We receive (Isa 53:4-6) |
| Transgressions Iniquities | Piercing Crushing Chastisement Wounds | Peace Healing |
Instead of collapsing in grief over our rejection, he bears our griefs. Instead of increasing our sorrows, he carried our sorrows. Instead of avenging our transgressions, he is pierced for them in our place. Instead of crushing us for our iniquities, he is crushed for them as our substitute. And all the chastisement and whipping that belong to us for our rebellion he takes on himself in order that we might have peace and be healed.
Isa 53:7 continues to give us 2 more word pictures that help us see more of this Servant. He is likened to a lamb being led to the slaughter, reminding the readers of the Passover lamb slain to die in place of every Jewish firstborn. We know that Christ is that spotless Lamb that is lead to the slaughter. The shedding of his blood atones for our sins. He would also be like a sheep before its shearer is silent, indicating complete acceptance full submission to the shearer. Christ did not open his mouth to defend against accusations before Pilate and Herod.
These suffering were no small feats. He would suffer extensively and be cut off from the land of the living (Isa 53:8). The land had great significance to the Jews as it is wrapped up in God’s promises to them in the covenant. To be cut off from the land is to also lose your inheritance. The Servant stands in our place to suffer and be condemned to the point of death. The point is that the Servant is to die, an innocent one in place of the guilty.
(C) The suffering servant: He does God's will in suffering for others but there is hint of His vindication (Isa 53:10-12)
You know someone’s heart when you know their deepest desires and what pleases them. In some translations Isa 53:10a is phrased as “it pleased the Lord to bruise him” In this verse we see God the father’s heart. He crushed His Son, not merely as a symbolic gesture, but it was God’s heart to put the full weight of sin upon His Son. He did it intentionally and completely, from designing it to its eventual execution. It was no mistake.
How did the Servant react? He is one who knows what is going on as he bears the iniquities of the world. (Isa 53:11b). The Servant’s work is a work of knowing the plans of God. It was not an accidental unfolding of events that lead the Servant to justify the many, but he knew exactly what he was supposed to do. “as a result of the anguish of his soul, he will see it and be satisfied". He sees the will of the Lord accomplished through his own anguish and he is pleased. We see both the hearts of God and Christ working in unity -- God pleased to crush Christ, and Christ pleased to obey.
God will also give the Servant 3 things (Isa 53:3). He promises that He will see his offspring, prolong his days, the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. What does this mean for us today? Because He was promised that the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand, all of God's purposes in the death of Christ will succeed and bear fruit. Because He was promised that His days will be prolonged, God will raise Christ from the dead! He will live again! Because He was promised that He will see His offspring, those that were previously justified through Christ's substitutionary death, will now be born again into his family. A legal, judicial expression of the Servants work will also be turned into a relational expression, that all who believe can be called children of God!
This gives us great hope today! That means Christ's life did not end in death but He is now risen to life, and is interceding for us (Isa 53:12). He stands between God and us today, and despite our rebellion against God, we are also brought into God’s family, in a relationship with God, given access to God. Isaiah 53 give us a beautiful picture of this Suffering Servant, who was so humble and obedient to the Father's will, "therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father" (Phil 2:9-11). How does the revealing of God’s Servant as a humble root, a man full of sorrow and grief speak into your life today? How does the heart of the Gospel as revealed in this chapter it change the way you see suffering today, and give you hope this Christmas?