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: 14
As many were astonished at you - Astonished from the word shamem which can mean awe struck, appalled, causing horror, stunned, lay waste, devastate.
And I myself will devastate (shamem) the land, so that your enemies who settle in it shall be appalled (shamem) at it. Leviticus 26:32 ESV
63The men who were holding Jesus began to mock Him and beat Him. 64They blindfolded Him and kept demanding, “Prophesy! Who hit You? 65And they said many other blasphemous things against Him.… Luke 22: 63-65
…64You have heard the blasphemy. What is your verdict?” And they all condemned Him as deserving of death. 65Then some of them began to spit on Him. They blindfolded Him, struck Him with their fists, and said to Him, “Prophesy! And the officers received Him with slaps in His face. 66While Peter was in the courtyard below, one of the servant girls of the high priest came down… Mark 14: 64-66
For Peter, this was so difficult a vision that he denies Christ three times. The silence of the Messiah must be overwhelming, and the fervor of His accusers, the disrespect, spitting, hitting, would all be a spectacle, appalling. For His followers it would be devastating, a reality that they had put off in their minds, for this only happens to wicked men; what did He do? There is a point at which the body breaks, and this happens to many when something, an experience, is so traumatic, so overwhelming, they faint or they freeze.
His appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance - He doesn't even look identifiable any more, they would beat all resemblance of humanity out of Him. It is strange that those made in the image of God can so easily, and with great satisfaction, savage that image in another human being.
…21Why are you asking Me? Ask those who heard My message. Surely they know what I said.” 22When Jesus had said this, one of the officers standing nearby slapped Him in the face and said, “Is this how You answer the high priest? 23Jesus replied, “If I said something wrong, testify as to what was wrong. But if I spoke correctly, why did you strike Me?”… John 18: 21-23
…66What do you think?” “He deserves to die,” they answered. 67Then they spit in His face and struck Him. Others slapped Him 68and said, “Prophesy to us, Christ! Who hit You?”… Matthew 26: 66-68
Thompson on marred - When He was before Annas, Jesus was smashed in the face by an officer (John 18:22). When He was before Caiaphas, He was spit on, slapped, and beaten in the face with fists (Matthew 26:67; Mark 14:65; Luke 22:63). When He was before Pilate, Pilate had him scourged with whips (John 19:1; Matthew 27:26; Mark 15:15) and soldiers brutally punched Him in the face with their fists (John 19:3). His beard was ripped out of His face (Isaiah 50:6). By the time this was all over, you could not even recognize that this is Jesus. (Ibid)
The scourge they used would tear at His flesh, would cause all the muscles to tense in response, until the victim was broken down. They were trained professionals, and would only go so far as to not kill, but to make the person incapable of resistance. The executioners wanted Him to be alive on the cross, for this was a cruel spectacle of torture, discouraging all else who might have been inclined to follow. Peter denied Him, others fled, and all their hopes were being torn away with every slash of the whip. The strong bulls of Bashan had their trial; they had what they always wanted, a chance to kill God.
