Isaiah 53 - Bible Study in 5 Minutes
Isaiah 53 Short Summary:
Isaiah 53 is one of the most beautiful and precise prophecies about God’s work through Jesus that exists in the Old Testament. Isaiah, 700 years before Jesus was born, prophesied how God’s servant would die for His people, carrying their guilt as His own, to reconcile them to God.
Isaiah 53 Bible Study
TIMELINE:
The prophetic ministry of Isaiah spanned the reigns of King Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.
Isaiah’s ministry is thought to span from 739-681 BC.
Jesus was born in approximately 4 BC.
KEY CHARACTERS:
Isaiah – The son of Amoz (1:1). God commissioned Isaiah as His prophet to Judah.
God’s Servant – An unnamed servant of God who was selected by Him before birth. He would suffer greatly for the sins of others to bring light and righteousness into the world.
DEFINITIONS:
God’s Arm (53:1) – Another way of saying God’s strength. God accomplishes His will by stretching out His arm to do His work on the earth.
Intercession (53:12) – Intervening on behalf of another person.
OUTLINE:
THE SUFFERING SERVANT WHO DIED FOR HIS PEOPLE (53:1-12):
Isaiah begins this chapter writing that few will believe what he is about to prophecy.
God’s arm would do a great work on earth, but it would be done in a way few would expect.
Isaiah prophesied that God’s servant would be born like a root in dry ground.
He would not be beautiful or immediately appealing to most people.
He would be a man of sorrows, not unfamiliar with difficulty.
He would “bear our sorrows,” but his people would reject him as “smitten by God” (53:4).
“He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed” (53:5).
He would bear the guilt of others and be led to the slaughter like a lamb.
He would not protest, he would go willingly to accomplish the will of God.
He would be executed without having committed any violence or deceit.
In his death, he would associate with the wicked and the rich.
Through his death, as an innocent man, many guilty people would be made righteous.
All this was part of the plan of God and the role that God’s special servant played with honorable dedication.
“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” (53:12).
APPLICATION:
We previously hypothesized that the identity of God’s special servant in Isaiah 49, 50, and 52 was Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah. Isaiah 53 solves the riddle and seals the deal.
Isaiah 53 is one of the most convincing proofs of the Bible’s inspiration because it describes Jesus’ role in God’s work so beautifully and precisely.
Jesus did not fit the expectations of the Messiah the way the Jews had imagined in their minds, so few believed that a man from Nazareth could be God’s special servant (53:1).
He grew up in Nazareth, a town of little significance on the world stage (53:2).
He was not a man people followed because He “looked like a king,” in fact Jesus’ physical appearance is never described in the New Testament (53:2).
He was largely rejected by His own people (53:3).
The rulers of the Jews accused Him of being a blasphemer (53:4).
He was innocent but died as a sacrifice on the cross to forgive our guilt (53:5).
He was physically pierced (by nails and a spear) for our transgressions (53:5).
We can be at peace because He sacrificed Himself for us (53:5).
He was the Lamb of God who was led to the slaughter (53:7).
In death, he was accompanied by the wicked (the 2 thieves) and buried in a rich man’s tomb (53:9).
By His sacrifice, he became the intercessor between us and God, mending our relationship, and affording us the privilege of being accounted righteous (53:11-12).
700 years before Jesus was born, Isaiah informed the world of God’s planned rescue of mankind, this is a beautiful prophesy that pairs so well with Isaiah’s other prophecies, like those about Immanuel, the child born of a virgin (Isa 7:14; Mark 1:23).
