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 53 ESV
Isaiah 53:9 Enough
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.
58 This man went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him.
59 And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth,
60 and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had hewn out in the rock; and he rolled aa large stone against the entrance of the tomb and went away. Matthew 27: 57-60
And they made His grave with the wicked - We already read above that Jesus was not esteemed, and the Pharisees would not want to seek an honorable burial for someone they had deemed a heretic. He died between two thieves on a cross while a criminal was let go in His place. The Romans would have just as easily left Him hanging there for the birds or thrown Him in a pile to be burned. It would serve as a billboard to walk by, that this could be you, don't mess with Roman rule. In Jewish law, given by Moses, there was a precedent that His body could not remain there over night.
…31The tumult will resound to the ends of the earth because the LORD brings a charge against the nations. He brings judgment on all mankind and puts the wicked to the sword,’ ” declares the LORD. 32This is what the LORD of Hosts says: “Behold! Disaster is spreading from nation to nation; a mighty storm is rising from the ends of the earth.”33Those slain by the LORD on that day will be spread from one end of the earth to the other. They will not be mourned, gathered, or buried. They will be like dung lying on the ground.… Jeremiah 25: 31-33
22If a man has committed a sin worthy of death, and he is executed, and you hang his body on a tree, 23you must not leave the body on the tree overnight, but you must be sure to bury him that day, because anyone who is hung on a tree is under God’s curse. You must not defile the land that the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance. Deuteronomy 21: 22-23
In Jesus case, the sins worthy of death, were not His. He had suffered the wrath of God in my stead, and when He had paid the ransom, He cried, It is finished, and then cries "Father into thine hands I commit My spirit." It is as though God the Father and the Holy Spirit said, "enough", and the curtain tore, the earth shook, and the sky grew dark, a gentile said, "surely this must be the Son of God." It was sufficient, He had suffered enough humiliation on my behalf. This is how seriously God views sin, and this is love, that He provides a sacrifice for people who don't get it. Jesus accomplished everything on the cross, and God provided His Son with a man who would give Him his tomb, for He had done no violence. It was not fair.
45 Now from noon until three, darkness came over all the land. 46 At about three o’clock Jesus shouted with a loud voice, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” 47 When some of the bystanders heard it, they said, “This man is calling for Elijah.” 48 Immediately one of them ran and got a sponge, filled it with sour wine, put it on a stick, and gave it to him to drink. 49 But the rest said, “Leave him alone! Let’s see if Elijah will come to save him.” 50 Then Jesus cried out again with a loud voice and gave up his spirit. 51 Just then the temple curtain was torn in two, from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks were split apart. 52 And tombs were opened, and the bodies of many saints who had died were raised. 53 (They came out of the tombs after his resurrection and went into the holy city and appeared to many people.) 54 Now when the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and what took place, they were extremely terrified and said, “Truly this one was God’s Son!” Matthew 27: 45-54
And with a rich man in His death - It is so awesome to see not only Joseph of Arimathea, but also Nicodemus, both prominent Jews, and Nicodemus a teacher, one comes to provide a place for Jesus' body and the other brings expensive embalmment. This is no small thing, this would get you kicked out of the country club. They are doing this at the risk of being identified with Him. Read John 3 again after this; it's a beautiful passage that has unfortunately been butchered by more than a few evangelical pastors.
31 Then the Jews, because it was the day of preparation, so that the bodies would not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. 32 So the soldiers came, and broke the legs of the first man and of the other who was crucified with Him; 33 but coming to Jesus, when they saw that He was already dead, they did not break His legs. 34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out. 35 And he who has seen has testified, and his testimony is true; and he knows that he is telling the truth, so that you also may believe. 36 For these things came to pass to fulfill the Scripture, “Not a bone of Him shall be broken.” 37 And again another Scripture says, “They shall look on Him whom they pierced.”
38 After these things Joseph of Arimathea, being a disciple of Jesus, but a secret one for fear of the Jews, asked Pilate that he might take away the body of Jesus; and Pilate granted permission. So he came and took away His body. 39 Nicodemus, who had first come to Him by night, also came, bringing a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about a hundred pounds weight. 40 So they took the body of Jesus and bound it in linen wrappings with the spices, as is the burial custom of the Jews. 41 Now in the place where He was crucified there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb in which no one had yet been laid. 42 Therefore because of the Jewish day of preparation, since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there. John 19: 31-42
Although He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in His mouth - He wasn't a violent criminal, and He wasn't a liar. He was Who He claimed to be, the Son of God, the Lamb that takes away the sin of the world. Those who killed Him did it unjustly, as those who accused Him did so as well. Those that say today, that He was just a man, or a good man, but still with flaws, well they are no better than the Pharisees of that day; they make Him out to be a liar, and the Father as well, for this book of Isaiah is God's own testimony about His Son. He was Holy. He lived His life with no place to lay His head, poor, overlooked, oppressed and afflicted, but now Joseph and Nicodemus bury Him in honorable fashion, but only for a little while. You see, the wages of sin is death, and He had done no violence, neither was any deceit in His mouth.
14Therefore, since we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold firmly to what we profess. 15For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who was tempted in every way that we are, yet was without sin. 16Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.… Hebrews 4: 14-16
…4Everyone who practices sin practices lawlessness as well. Indeed, sin is lawlessness. 5But you know that Christ appeared to take away sins, and in Him there is no sin. 6No one who remains in Him keeps on sinning. No one who continues to sin has seen Him or known Him.… 1 John 3: 4-6
