4-Day Commentary Challenge - Isaiah 52:13-53:12 Sample

    

Chapter 53, one of the best-known chapters of the Word of God, is the middle chapter of the second section and therefore the middle chapter of the whole second part of Isaiah. Its position is no accident. It gives to us a wonderful prophetic picture of the sufferings and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. The general theme of the second part of Isaiah, as you may remember, is The Comfort of God. The theme of the second section is The Suffering Servant as the Redeemer. It is this chapter that reveals to us in greater measure than any other portion of the book the suffering of the Servant.

EVIDENCE THAT THE CHAPTER REFERS TO CHRIST

Many, including orthodox Jews, deny that this chapter refers to the Lord Jesus Christ, but the proofs of its Messianic character are many and varied.

For one thing, the one described in the prophecy is said to be the Servant of Jehovah (52:13; 53:11). We have already seen that sometimes Israel is called Jehovah’s servant; in this chapter, however, the servant cannot be Israel, for an individual is pictured. Those who are speaking in the chapter are Israel. Consequently the Servant must be the Messiah, since the Messiah is called the Servant in other places in Isaiah (ch. 42, 49).

Comparison with other prophetic passages shows that this is Messianic. From Genesis 3:15 God in His Word traces the line of descent of the Redeemer and keeps adding details concerning Him. Some passages that can be compared with this are: Psalm 22 (the psalm of the cross); Psalm 69; Daniel 9:26; Zechariah 9:9; 12:10; 13:7. It may also be added that this chapter is the climax to similar passages in the book of Isaiah itself (42:4; 49:4; 50:6). There is, of course, also the ancient and uniform tradition. The ancient Jews, before the coming of the Lord Jesus, regarded the passage as Messianic, and the church has always so regarded it, with the exception of modern rationalistic interpreters.

Add to these lines of evidence the negative one that no other satisfactory interpretation has ever been advanced. Those who deny the Messianic meaning cannot agree on any other interpretation. Certainly an unprejudiced person who reads this chapter and then reads the gospel records must admit that the prophecy and the history fit perfectly when applied to the Lord Jesus Christ.

All of these proofs, weighty as they are, are less important than the conclusive one now to be mentioned. That is, the New Testament expressly declares that this is a prophecy of Jesus Christ. There are at least eighty references to Isaiah (direct and indirect) in the New Testament, and the great majority of these are references to this one chapter. When Philip met the Ethiopian treasurer on the desert road and was asked, concerning this very chapter: “Of whom does the prophet say this? Of himself, or of someone else?” Philip did not hesitate. There is no equivocation in the statement of Scripture: And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture he preached Jesus to him. (Acts 8:35)

This is by no means the only quotation of this chapter in the New Testament. There are at least six direct quotations:

52:15 is quoted in Romans 15:21.

53:1 is quoted in John 12:38 and in Romans 10:16. 53:4 is quoted in Matthew 8:17.

53:9 is quoted in 1 Peter 2:22.

53:7, 8 is quoted in Acts 8:32, 33.

53:12 is quoted in Mark 15:28 and Luke 22:37.

In addition to these specific quotations there are many more brief allusions to the terms found in the chapter. Here are some comparisons that will repay study:

Romans 4:25 with verse 5.

1 Peter 1:19 with verse 7.

Revelation 5:6 with verse 7.

Revelation 7:14 with verse 7.

John 1:29, 36 with verses 7 and 11.

1 John 3:5 with verses 9 and 11.

1 Corinthians 15:3, 4 with verses 8–11.

2 Corinthians 5:21 with verses 8–11.

The nineteenth-century German commentator Franz Delitzsch, writing on this chapter, said: “All the references in the New Testament to the Lamb of God (with which the corresponding allusions to the Passover are interwoven) spring from this passage in the book of Isaiah. The dumb type of the Passover now finds a tongue.”

THE STRUCTURE OF THE CHAPTER

This chapter has been called the “holy of holies” of Isaiah. The early church writer Polycarp spoke of it as the “golden passional of the Old Testament.” It is the great connecting link between Psalm 22 and Psalm 110, the former being the psalm of the cross and the latter the psalm of Christ’s royal priesthood. It seems likely that all five of the major Levitical offerings are referred to in the chapter, for the Lord Jesus Christ is the fulfillment of all of them. The fifty-third chapter should begin at 52:13. The passage is in five paragraphs, each containing three verses.