Isaiah 53 Commentary

Isaiah chapter 53 Commentary Bible Study

Isaiah 53 Commentary

Isaiah 53 is a prophetic commentary on how Jesus engineers His own death on the cross to pay the death penalty due for our sins. This commentary echoes the prophecy recorded in Psalm 22 (see Psalm 22 commentary).

ISAIAH 53:1 1 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

Who is talking about what "report" (Isaiah 53:1)?
Prophet Isaiah is lamenting via a rhetorical question that Israel has not heeded what its prophets have prophesied about the coming Messiah, including what he - Isaiah - had just prophesied about Him as recorded in Isaiah 52:13-15.

ISAIAH 53:2 2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground. He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him.

Was Jesus handsome?
No: "... He has no form or comeliness; and when we see Him, there is no beauty that we should desire Him" (Isaiah 53:2).

Then why is Jesus portrayed as handsome in paintings and movies?
They are unbiblical fabrications to appeal to the human flesh. And Jesus was a Middle Easterner who looked more like Saddam Hussein than Jeffrey Hunter, the blue-eyed Caucasian actor who played the role of Jesus in the movie, King of Kings.

Why wasn't Jesus handsome?
Jesus shaped world history, which is divided into the period before and after His arrival, which the year of your birth also references. Jesus accomplished what He accomplished not by physical beauty or strength, wealth or political connections - all sources of earthly power, but by the power of His love and truth. And He wants us to worship Him not in the flesh, but in spirit and truth: "God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth” (John 4:24).

ISAIAH 53:3 3 He is despised and rejected by men, a Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him; He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

Is it true that Jesus was "despised and rejected by men" (Isaiah 53:3)?
When given the choice of freeing Barabbas, a murderer, or Jesus, the people chose Barabbas and told the Roman governor Pontius Pilate to kill Jesus: “Which of the two do you want me to release to you?” They said, “Barabbas!” Pilate said to them, “What then shall I do with Jesus who is called Christ?” They all said to him, “Let Him be crucified!” (Matthew 27:21-22)

ISAIAH 53:4-5 4 Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed Him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 5 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.

Why did people think Jesus had been crucified?
They thought that God the Father had "stricken" (Isaiah 53:4) Him for claiming to be someone He wasn't: Now Pilate wrote a title and put it on the cross. And the writing was: JESUS OF NAZARETH, THE KING OF THE JEWS. Then many of the Jews read this title, for the place where Jesus was crucified was near the city; and it was written in Hebrew, Greek, and Latin. Therefore the chief priests of the Jews said to Pilate, “Do not write, ‘The King of the Jews,’ but, ‘He said, “I am the King of the Jews”’” (John 19:19-21).

Why had Jesus been crucified?
To pay for us the death penalty due for our sins: "He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities" (Isaiah 53:5). Also see John 18.

ISAIAH 53:6 6 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.

How many of us are sinners?
"All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God" (Romans 3:23). "We like sheep have gone astray; we have turned, every one, to his own way" (Isaiah 53:6).

Onto Whom did God the Father transfer our sins?
Jesus: "the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all" (Isaiah 53:6).

Why Him?
Only someone who is sinless can pay the death penalty due for others' sins, for sinners pay the death penalty due for their own sins. Only Jesus was sinless (see I am the way the truth and the life).

ISAIAH 53:7 7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth; He was led as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so He opened not His mouth.

Is it true that Jesus "opened not His mouth" and was "silent" (Isaiah 53:7)?
When Pilate sent Jesus to Herod and Herod questioned Jesus, Jesus "answered him nothing" (Luke 23:9, see My kingdom is not of this world). When Herod returned Jesus to Pilate, the Jews cornered him into crucifying Jesus: The Jews answered him, “We have a law, and according to our law He ought to die, because He made Himself the Son of God.” Therefore, when Pilate heard that saying, he was the more afraid, and went again into the Praetorium, and said to Jesus, “Where are You from?” But Jesus gave him no answer. Then Pilate said to Him, “Are You not speaking to me? Do You not know that I have power to crucify You, and power to release You?” (John 19:7-10)

Why didn't Jesus beg for His life to Pilate and Herod?
Pontius Pilate was a tool Jesus used to bring about His own death on the cross for our sins. Herod didn't have the power to crucify anyone, so he wasn't worth Jesus' time or words (see Jesus And Herod).

ISAIAH 53:8-9 8 He was taken from prison and from judgment, and who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of My people He was stricken. 9 And they made His grave with the wicked - But with the rich at His death, because He had done no violence, nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Did Jesus really die on the cross?
Yes: "He was cut off from the land of the living" (Isaiah 53:8). Also see Broken Legs and Blood and Water.

How did they make "His grave with the wicked" (Isaiah 53:9)?
They crucified Him in between two robbers: "Then two robbers were crucified with Him, one on the right and another on the left" (Matthew 27:38, see Golgotha).

What is meant by "with the rich at His death" (Isaiah 53:9)?
He was buried by a rich man (see Joseph of Arimathea).

ISAIAH 53:10-12 10 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. 11 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. 12 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."

Are we sure on why Jesus died on the cross?
He bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors (Isaiah 53:12, also see Blood and Water).

Was this the will of God the Father?
Yes, "it pleased the Lord to bruise Him" (Isaiah 53:10) and "the labor of His soul... satisfied" (Isaiah 53:11) the death penalty God the Father required for our sins: "For the wages of sin is death but the gift of God is everlasting life through Christ Jesus our Lord" (Romans 6:23).

Did Jesus sacrifice Himself willingly?
Yes: "He poured out His soul unto death" (Isaiah 53:12). Jesus also said, "... I lay down My life that I may take it again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of Myself" (John 10:17-18, see Hireling).

Why did He do that?
Because He loves the Father, and He loves you (see John 18).