“Sin has ruined men, ruined women, ruined angels. Sin has occasioned every tear of sorrow, every sigh of grief, every pang of agony. Sin has withered everything that is fair, blasted everything that is good, made bitter everything that is sweet, dried up springs of comfort, rolled far and wide tides of sorrow. Sin has digged [sic] every grave, built every coffin, woven every shroud, enlarged every cemetery …that the world has ever seen” (Robert G. Lee, Heart to Heart, pg. 65-66).
Isaiah has emphasized the problem of sin throughout his preaching. In Isaiah 52 and (primarily) 53, Isaiah finally gets to the solution for sin. Sin must be punished. Everyone knows that. Even people who do not believe in the death penalty believe murderers should be punished in some way – maybe life in prison, maybe only a few years in prison but punishment must come. We cannot understand the necessity of the punishment of sin until we look at the cross. The cross shows us to what extent the punishment of sin cost the God of heaven. Isaiah begins presenting that picture in Isaiah 53. It was the passage that began the Ethiopian treasurer in Acts 8 thinking about Jesus.
THE SERVANT’S WISDOM AND EXALTED STATUS – 52:13:
52:13 really should be attached to chapter 53. It is basically poetry with five stanzas of three verses each. We are given a picture of the Israelite par excellence. He will prosper.
He will be high and lifted up, greatly exalted by Jehovah God, glorified in a way that mankind itself simply cannot be due to sin. See Philippians 2:5-11.
THE SERVANT AND THE NATIONS – 52:15:
The Servant will “sprinkle” the nations. The verb “sprinkle” is used 24 times in the OT and its “primary significance derives from its reference to ‘blood’ sprinkling” for ritual purity (TWOT; II:566). This portrays the Servant of the Lord as a priest and He is sprinkling blood of the sacrifice on the kings of the earth to forgive their sins. This connection between the Servant of the Lord and the guilt offering sacrifice is strengthened by the reference to the Servant as an “offering” in 53:10. Of course, the blood that will be sprinkled will not be the blood of bulls or goats but His own blood (Hebrews 10).
THE SERVANT’S SUFFERING – 53:4-6:
There are two things that are striking about the suffering endured by this servant. First, He did not suffer for His own sins; it was for the sins of others. Second, this was brought about by the God of heaven, under His guidance and control.
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In these three verses, note the number of first person plural possessive pronouns – “our” and “we” and “us.” This man suffered, not for Himself, but for others. For Isaiah. For the Jews. For all those who seek righteousness from the Lord (51:1).
He bore our griefs. This verb “bore” alludes to the scapegoat from Leviticus 16:22 which carried the sins of the Israelites into the wilderness. Yes, the Servant of the Lord is our “scapegoat,” by the grace of God.
THE SERVANT’S TRIUMPH – 53:10-12:
This whole affair was God’s plan. God crushed His Servant. God put His Servant to grief. God rendered His Servant as a “guilt offering” (Leviticus 5).
“Suffering great pain, being pierced and beaten, suffering for others’ failures, and bearing the guilt that belongs to others may not sound like a successful life; but if this pleases God and it is his will, a true servant will lay down his life for others” (Smith, 460).
The Servant, because of His faithful obedience unto death (vs 12), will receive a portion with the great by the hand of God. He will enjoy the booty of the win against death. He poured out Himself to death. He was numbered with the transgressors and bore the sins of many. Yet, He interceded on their behalf. Sins. Transgressions. Iniquities. We have a Savior. Thank God for that.
Everything before Isaiah 53 anticipated it. Everything that comes after Isaiah 53 will presume it. Salvation will be available. Righteousness can be a reality. Holiness will be a garment worn by God’s people in the future. Jesus is our sacrifice for sin.
