#1020 Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12 Part 4 Shut Their Mouths

 

Behold, my servant shall act wisely;

he shall be high and lifted up,

and shall be exalted.

14 As many were astonished at you—

his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,

and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—

15 so shall he sprinkle many nations.

Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,

for that which has not been told them they see,

and that which they have not heard they understand.

53 Who has believed what he has heard from us?

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,

and like a root out of dry ground;

he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,

and no beauty that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

and as one from whom men hide their faces

he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

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 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.

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.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,

yet he opened not his mouth;

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,

and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,

so he opened not his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;

and as for his generation, who considered

that he was cut off out of the land of the living,

stricken for the transgression of my people?

9 And they made his grave with the wicked

and with a rich man in his death,

although he had done no violence,

and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;

he has put him to grief;

when his soul makes an offering for guilt,

he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;

the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,

make many to be accounted righteous,

and he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

because 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. Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12

Isaiah 52:15

…20In this way I have aspired to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation. 21Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about Him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.” 22That is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.… Romans 15: 20-22

15. So shall He sprinkle many nations - Naza can be translated sprinkle, spurt, spatter or startle. A hybrid of the interpretations could yield the picture of flicking water in someone's face or blood, and the reaction, but looking at the flow from verse 14, where the people in Jerusalem were astonished, "so shall He startle many nations" fits the text. Verse 13 seems to give the pattern, act wisely, lifted up and exalted. This seems to point to His second coming where every knee will bow and every tongue confess. 

That said, it is noteworthy that the Septuagint renders naza with the Greek verb thaumazo (future middle) which means to be extraordinarily impressed with, on one hand or extraordinarily disturbed by, on the other hand. Thaumazo is often used in the NT to express the human reaction to divine revelation (Mt 8:27; 9:33, 2 Th 1:10, Acts 3:12, etc). Clearly the Hebrew translators were fully aware of the distinctly different Greek verb rhantizo (used in Heb 9:13) which means to sprinkle but they passed on that verb and instead choose the verb thaumazo. That fact plus the context of the passage (the following phrase referring to the the shutting of the mouths of kings), would seem to favor that this passage is best translated "He will startle many nations." In addition, verse 14 begins with "just as" (speaking of the astonishment of the Jews), verse 15 begins with "so" (ESV) or "thus" (Septuagint where the adverb is houtos which "with reference to what preceded in combination with a correlative to produce a comparison (means) (just) as . . . so." (Friberg). JUST AS they were astonished, SO the nations will be sprinkled makes far less sense as a comparison than "JUST AS they were astonished, SO the nations will be startled." P A

Kings shall shut their mouths because of Him - People were shocked at His humiliation, but the whole world, even kings, whose words are held in high regard here, will be speechless at His future exaltation. 

See Psalm 2

…28Wherever there is a carcass, there the vultures will gather. 29 Immediately after the tribulation of those days: ‘The sun will be darkened, and the moon will not give its light; the stars will fall from the sky, and the powers of the heavens will be shaken. 30At that time the sign of the Son of Man will appear in heaven, and all the tribes of the earth will mourn. They will see the Son of Man coming on the clouds of heaven, with power and great glory.… Matthew 24: 28-30

…6After all, it is only right for God to repay with affliction those who afflict you, 7and to grant relief to you who are oppressed and to us as well. This will take place when the Lord Jesus is revealed from heaven with His mighty angels 8in blazing fire, inflicting vengeance on those who do not know God and do not obey the gospel of our Lord Jesus.… 2 Thessalonians 1: 6-8

For that which has not been told them they see - Oddly enough, at Christ first advent, the people of Israel were looking for Him. The Scribes searched the scriptures to know the time and place, even the wise men from the east knew these prophecies and followed the star to Bethlehem. When He comes back people won't be looking for Him, and the whole world, even those who have never heard, God will open their eyes and ears; they will understand Who He is, and what His appearance means.

…6who has made us to be a kingdom, priests to His God and Father—to Him be the glory and power forever and ever! Amen. 7Behold, He is coming with the clouds, and every eye will see Him— even those who pierced Him. And all the tribes of the earth will mourn because of Him. So shall it be! Amen. 8“I am the Alpha and the Omega,” says the Lord God, who is and was and is to come—the Almighty.… Revelation 1: 6-8

…12Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. 13This is why I speak to them in parables: ‘Though seeing, they do not see; though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’ 14In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled: ‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding; you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.… Matthew 13: 12-14

…18“There is no fear of God before their eyes.” 19Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, so that every mouth may be silenced and the whole world held accountable to God. 20Therefore no one will be justified in His sight by works of the law. For the law merely brings awareness of sin.… Romans 3: 18-20

38nor does His word abide in you, because you do not believe the One He sent. 39You pore over the Scriptures because you presume that by them you possess eternal life. These are the very words that testify about Me, 40yet you refuse to come to Me to have life.… John 5: 38-40

…41Others declared, “This is the Christ.” But still others asked, “How can the Christ come from Galilee? 42Doesn’t the Scripture say that the Christ will come from the line of David and from Bethlehem, the village where David lived? 43So there was division in the crowd because of Jesus.… John 7: 41-43