#1027 Isaiah 53 Part 11 Speechless

 

Who has believed our report?

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

2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,

And as a root out of dry ground.

He has no form or comeliness;

And when we see Him,

There is no beauty that we should desire Him.

3 He is despised and rejected by men,

A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

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 wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes 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;

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,

And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

So He opened not His mouth.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment,

And who will declare His generation?

For He was cut off from the land of the living;

For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

9 And they made His grave with the wicked—

But with the rich at His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;

He has put Him to grief.

When You make His soul an offering for sin,

He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,

And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.

11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.

By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,

For He shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,

And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,

Because He poured out His soul unto death,

And He was numbered with the transgressors,

And He bore the sin of many,

And made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53 NKJV

Isaiah 53: 7

…62So the high priest stood up and asked Him, “Have You no answer? What are these men testifying against You?” 63But Jesus remained silent. Then the high priest said to Him, “I charge You under oath by the living God: Tell us if You are the Christ, the Son of God. 64“You have said it yourself,” Jesus answered. “But I say to all of you, from now on you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of Power and coming on the clouds of heaven.”… Matthew 26: 62-64

He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth - This generation may not be able to relate to oppression, since we think that's when a police officer gives you a speeding ticket when you were speeding, or a teacher fails you on a paper that you didn't turn in, or your boss expects you to show up to work on time, and then has the audacity to make you work for your pay at a place called work. His brothers weren't receptive of Him, the town He grew up in chased Him out. People wanted to stone Him, people called Him possessed, a devil, and there were so many times, but overall, what we can't begin to contemplate, was the oppression of being here. Remember, "He, Who knew no sin, became sin for us." Every person on this planet lives in offense to His deity, to God, and He walked with them, healed many of them of their temporal diseases in their temporal bodies, and yet He wept over their unbelief. Surely His trial was oppressive, yes, being mocked, spit on, beaten, and slapped by wicked men, my ego can't take the least insult, but I can't claim unfair in the way that He could. Imagine, stepping from eternity, peace, and authority, humbling yourself to be born a man, knowing that when you entered into this slice of time and space, from the cradle to your Palm Sunday, riding on a donkey, all of this is in the shadow of the cross. All of this is for men and women who will ask, "why, I don't get it, did I ask You to do that for me?" 

…12And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave no answer. 13Then Pilate asked Him, “ Do You not hear how many charges they are bringing against You? 14But Jesus gave no answer, not even to a single charge, much to the governor’s amazement.… Matthew 27: 12-14

He was oppressed. He was afflicted. He did not open His mouth. It is past-tense perspective because all that is said here about the death of Jesus Christ is said not looking forward from Isaiah’s viewpoint but looking backward from the future conversion of Israel when they look on the One whom they have pierced, as Zechariah 12:10-14+ says, and mourn for Him as an only Son. It is the perspective of the future redeemed nation of Israel, yet to happen in human history when they look back and realize that He was oppressed and afflicted, He was led as a lamb to slaughter, He was silent, and He did it all for their transgressions, as Isaiah 53:8 puts it. So you have a most marvelous perspective in this chapter. While it is a prophecy of the Cross, it is only secondly a prophecy of the Cross. Primarily it is a prophecy of the future conversion of Israel, and this is what they will say when they make a true confession and repent of their rejection of Jesus Christ and affirm their faith in Him as their Savior and Redeemer. This is what they will say. These words in Isaiah 53 are their confession. So it is an amazing prophecy that looks beyond the cross and then back to the cross (SEE DIAGRAM), describing not only the future confession of Israel, the future salvation of Israel and the very words they will say, but secondarily, giving us details about the Cross which they will confess and which for all of us who are believers we have already come to confess. That which Israel will one day affirm as a true perspective on Christ, we who are believers in this generation, both Jew and Gentile, have already affirmed. We are saved because we believe He was pierced for our transgressions, Isa 53:5. We are saved because we believe He was crushed for our iniquities, that the punishment that came on Him was for our well-being and that by His scourging, we are healed. We are saved because in Isa 53:6 we believe the Lord caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him. We are saved because of Isa 53:8. We believe He was cut off for our transgressions. We believe, verse 10, that the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief so that He would become a guilt offering for our sins. We believe, in Isa 53:11, that He justified many by bearing their iniquities. At the end of Isa 53:12, we believe that He bore the sins of many and interceded for the transgressors.To become a Christian, one must believe in the vicarious, substitutionary sacrifice of Christ on our behalf on the cross. But some day the whole nation of Israel will believe. - J Mac

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter - I watch a lot of documentaries, animal and travel shows, and it always amazes me to watch the ability of cattlemen and shepherds. On multiple shows they have had what they call a Judas goat, and he is trained by these shepherds to lead a herd of sheep to the slaughter or to be sheared. Now this goat gets to live, nothing bad ever happens to him, but the sheep don't know that, and they follow thinking it must be ok since he is eagerly heading that way. They don't protest, and for older sheep, that have followed him before to be sheared, well that actually felt good. Imagine having your whole body covered in long, matted tangles of muddy, bug ridden hair, and then someone cuts it all off, what a load off, a relief. They don't protest because they don't know what's coming.

…22“He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth.” 23 When they heaped abuse on Him, He did not retaliate; when He suffered, He made no threats, but entrusted Himself to Him who judges justly. 24He Himself bore our sins in His body on the tree, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. “By His stripes you are healed.”… 1 Peter 2: 22-24

So He opened not His mouth - He had a Judas, but that's not why He was here. Judas went off an hung himself, and Christ knew him to be a traitor. Jesus came to do the will of His Father, and He went to the cross without screaming unfair, this was a kangaroo court after all, a violation of the law, but He didn't ask for another trial, nor did He request a mediator. He was the mediator, the One Job asked for, the One God promised in Genesis. He didn't, after looking at this blood thirsty mob, seeing not one worthy soul, call down angels to put a stop to this. If He did, then all of human history would have ended right there, God would have allowed sin to have gone on for too long, and every promise ever made to redeem sinful men, would be forfeit. The integrity of God's word, which He has put up with His name, the righteousness of God, the sovereignty of God, all of it hangs on this moment in history. In order for God to be Holy, Holy, Holy, then everything related to Adam's race should have come to an end at the fall, or God would have to provide a lamb, and a way of escape. He would have to be God to satisfy God in His infinite attributes, and He would have to be man because men created the breach by sin. Men would build towers like Babel, religious systems based upon human effort and self righteousness, but God builds a bridge between heaven and earth. 

…6I offered My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard. I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle. 7Because the Lord GOD helps Me, I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be put to shame.8The One who vindicates Me is near. Who will dare to contend with Me? Let us confront each other! Who has a case against Me? Let him approach Me!… Isaiah 50: 6-8

28All this happened at Bethany beyond the Jordan, where John was baptizing. 29The next day John saw Jesus coming toward him and said, “Look, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world! 30This is He of whom I said, ‘A man who comes after me has surpassed me because He was before me.’… John 1: 28-30

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#1026 Isaiah 53 Part 10 My Iniquities

 

Who has believed our report?

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

2 For He shall grow up before Him as a tender plant,

And as a root out of dry ground.

He has no form or comeliness;

And when we see Him,

There is no beauty that we should desire Him.

3 He is despised and rejected by men,

A Man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.

And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;

He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

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 wounded for our transgressions,

He was bruised for our iniquities;

The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

And by His stripes 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;

He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,

And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

So He opened not His mouth.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment,

And who will declare His generation?

For He was cut off from the land of the living;

For the transgressions of My people He was stricken.

9 And they made His grave with the wicked—

But with the rich at His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise Him;

He has put Him to grief.

When You make His soul an offering for sin,

He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,

And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.

11 He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.

By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,

For He shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great,

And He shall divide the spoil with the strong,

Because He poured out His soul unto death,

And He was numbered with the transgressors,

And He bore the sin of many,

And made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53 NKJV

Isaiah 53:6 All, everyone

8Why not say, as some slanderously claim that we say, “Let us do evil that good may result”? Their condemnation is deserved! 9What then? Are we any better? Not at all. For we have already made the charge that Jews and Greeks alike are all under sin. 10As it is written: “There is no one righteous, not even one.… Romans 3: 8-10

All we - This is one time when inclusiveness will not go over so well, for it is in men's hearts to follow their bellies, their feelings, the lust of the flesh. We try to make our own way, led by our eyes, noses and emotions, and develop our own religions, either within the language of an established vocabulary or system, like saying, "I was born or reared Christian, Roman Catholic, Jew, Atheist, Nature worshiper", or that I just don't know, not enough information, but I just want everyone to be happy. Now, for the Jews in Christ time, it was more acceptable than ever before to view other systems as inferior, since by that time they had put away the idols made with hands. They were not going to make that mistake again, and they followed the law in a manner sufficient to them, outwardly, but they also added to the law and nullified God's laws with their own. Everyone is fallen in Adam, thoughts are like spoken words before God, and self assessment is useless because the heart is wicked and deceitful above all things. There is justification by faith in Christ work, atonement and resurrection, Him as the head of the Church, the only approved mediator, the God/Man, or there is apostasy and every other merit based system. God accepts Christ offering, and He only accepts you through Christ. So the inclusiveness of man is that all have sinned, all fall short, all are born dead in trespasses and sins, all are fallen in Adam. What we don't like to hear is the exclusive nature of salvation, that God has declared only one way, and Jesus states this very clearly, "I am the way, the truth, and the life, no one comes to the Father but by me." In other words, it doesn't matter what you want to believe, wanting something to be true won't make it so, believing in yourself, some self professed guru, thinking yourself good, following a moral code, adopting shelter animals, eating a certain way, or going to church etc., none of these things can reconcile you to a Holy God. 

Then Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said, 2 “Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat.” 3 He answered them, “And why do you break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 4 For God commanded, ‘Honor your father and your mother,’ and, ‘Whoever reviles father or mother must surely die.’ 5 But you say, ‘If anyone tells his father or his mother, “What you would have gained from me is given to God,” 6 he need not honor his father.’ So for the sake of your tradition you have made void the word of God. 7 You hypocrites! Well did Isaiah prophesy of you, when he said:

8 “‘This people honors me with their lips,

but their heart is far from me;

9 in vain do they worship me,

teaching as doctrines the commandments of men.’” Matthew 15: 1-9

Jesus used this same metaphorical description in Matthew -- "Seeing the people, He felt compassion for them, because they were distressed and dispirited like sheep without a shepherd." (Mt 9:36) Like sheep they followed the sinful path of their fleshly, fallen hearts. So just as sheep wander, sinners (all of us) wander from God's way, "they way, the truth and the life," which is the only way to the Father (Jn 14:6). So in the confession of the saved Jewish remnant, they acknowledge their sin and sinful nature, which is the beginning of the road to repentance. Precept Austin

…22And this righteousness from God comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe. There is no distinction, 23for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, 24and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus.… Romans 3: 22-24

Like sheep - This is not a compliment they pay themselves, for sheep are the most high maintenance of the herding animals. Shepherds carried hooked staffs in order to pull them back when they wandered. Some shepherds employ dogs to herd sheep by nipping at their legs to bring them back to the flock, and also to protect them from predators. There was an old practice with lambs that tended to wander off, where the shepherd broke it's legs and carried it on his shoulders until the bone repaired and the sheep was bonded to the shepherd. They are not the most intelligent creatures and out on their own they become easy prey. 

I was a wandering sheep,

I did not love the fold;

I did not love my Shepherd’s voice,

I would not be controlled.

I was a wayward child,

I did not love my home;

I did not love my Father’s voice,

I loved afar to roam.

--Horatius Bonar

…175Let me live to praise You; may Your judgments sustain me. 176I have strayed like a lost sheep; seek Your servant, for I have not forgotten Your commandments. Psalm 119: 175-176

… 12What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost? 13And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.… Matthew 18: 12-13

We have turned, everyone, to his own way - Remember how the scribes and Pharisees had searched the scriptures, looking for Messiah, trying to deduce the time of His arrival and what manner of man He would be? Well, this passage gives a very clear and detailed picture of Him, but when the Shepherd came, the sheep held to their own way. Much of what is called Christendom today is no different in their response. They cannot tolerate the thought of rebuke, much less a broken leg, the idea of self denial is repugnant to them. They have popes in Roman Catholicism that pretend to be Christ here on earth, and many follow them because they offer a legalism that they are comfortable with. I can ask a man if I am ok with God, and their is always one, if not millions, that will reflect back to me what I want to hear, or offer me a ritual to satisfy the concern. Many evangelical churches reject doctrine, even though the Apostles taught it and this very passage is laden with it. Who is Christ? "It doesn't matter," they say. They denounce doctrine, but in doing so they only forsake God's in favor of the doctrines of man, just like the Pharisees. A true pastor, someone wanting to shepherd a church, would take seriously that these are not his sheep, that they belong to the Good Shepherd. They would teach them His words, so they recognize His voice, lead them into sound teaching, away from danger, and defend them from wolves at the cost of their own lives. We have all wandered into error, and pride hates the feel of the Shepherd's crook, but the gospel is too precious to leave with hirelings.

…21So if anyone cleanses himself of what is unfit, he will be a vessel for honor: sanctified, useful to the Master, and prepared for every good work. 22 Flee from youthful passions and pursue righteousness, faith, love, and peace, together with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart. 23But reject foolish and ignorant speculation, for you know that it breeds quarreling.…

…24And a servant of the Lord must not be quarrelsome, but must be kind to everyone, able to teach, and forbearing. 25 He must gently reprove those who oppose him, in the hope that God may grant them repentance leading to a knowledge of the truth. 26Then they will come to their senses and escape the snare of the devil, who has taken them captive to his will.… 2 Timothy 2: 21-26

…12Indeed, all who desire to live godly lives in Christ Jesus will be persecuted, 13while evil men and imposters go from bad to worse, deceiving and being deceived. 14But as for you, continue in the things you have learned and firmly believed, since you know from whom you have learned them.…

…15From infancy you have known the Holy Scriptures, which are able to make you wise for salvation through faith in Christ Jesus. 16All Scripture is God-breathed and is useful for instruction, for conviction, for correction, and for training in righteousness, 17so that the man of God may be complete, fully equipped for every good work.… 2 Timothy 3: 12-17

And the Lord has laid on Him, the iniquity of us all - The doctrine of substitution, and this passage is filled with it. Look at verses 4 through 6 again, bore our griefs, carried our sorrows, wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, chastisement for our peace was upon Him, by His stripes we are healed. We went astray, were lost, and He had to come find us. We were so lost that we had our own way, in other words, we didn't think we were lost. I thought I was good, thought I was on the right path, was acclimated and at peace with my sin, a friend to the world. The Bible says, "every way of a man is right in his own eyes." We even believed we knew God, but did not accept Him when He came, for Who He is, nor did we honor Him. We thought that we were right before God through our rituals, yet God laid on Him the iniquity of us all. We were unclean.

21And the LORD God made garments of skin for Adam and his wife, and He clothed them. Genesis 3:21

Repentance to Life

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#1025 Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12 Part 9 I Earned His Stripes

 

Who has believed our message

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

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,

a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain

and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

stricken by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

Yet who of his generation protested?

For he was cut off from the land of the living;

for the transgression of my people he was punished.

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his death,

though he had done no violence,

nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

11 After he has suffered,

he will see the light of life and be satisfied;

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,

and he will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,

and he will divide the spoils with the strong,

because he poured out his life unto death,

and was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors. Isaiah 53 NIV

Isaiah 53:5 By His wounds

…24and are justified freely by His grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus. 25God presented Him as the atoning sacrifice through faith in His blood, in order to demonstrate His righteousness, because in His forbearance He had passed over the sins committed beforehand. 26He did this to demonstrate His righteousness at the present time, so as to be just and to justify the one who has faith in Jesus.… Romans 3: 24-26

5And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out His love into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, whom He has given us. 6For at just the right time, while we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. 7Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous man, though for a good man someone might possibly dare to die.…

…8But God proves His love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. 9Therefore, since we have now been justified by His blood, how much more shall we be saved from wrath through Him! 10For if, when we were enemies of God, we were reconciled to Him through the death of His Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through His life!… Romans 5: 5-10

But He was pierced for our transgressions - Who is He? He is the Servant, and anyone with any familiarity of the historical Jesus, would be hard pressed to find another. It is singular in this confession, not Israel, for the group, the plural, is the "our", Christ was pierced for our transgressions. There is no other name under heaven, no other person or group that fulfilled all that was prophesied about Messiah. It is also interesting that He was pierced, for the sin which they wanted to kill Him for was blasphemy, which by Jewish law would require stoning.

…34and because it had not been declared what should be done to him, they placed him in custody. 35And the LORD said to Moses, “The man must surely be put to death. The whole congregation is to stone him outside the camp.”36So the whole congregation took the man outside the camp and stoned him to death, as the LORD had commanded Moses.… Numbers 15: 34-36

If they wished to further humiliate him after his death then they hanged him on a tree. This would also serve as a witness to others who may be tempted to blaspheme or commit other crimes worthy of death.

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

The Jews wanted to stone Him on more than one occasion, but this was not the will of the Lord. Technically, Rome had the power of life and death at the time, since Israel was under their governance. A thousand years before Christ though, David, the prophetic poet king, wrote about this very thing, a method of execution not practiced in his time. 

…15My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to the roof of my mouth. You lay me in the dust of death. 16For dogs surround me; a band of evil men encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet.17I can count all my bones; they stare and gloat over me.… Psalm 22: 15-17

…3For rulers are not a terror to good conduct, but to bad. Do you want to be unafraid of the one in authority? Then do what is right, and you will have his approval. 4For he is God’s servant for your good. But if you do wrong, be afraid, for he does not carry the sword in vain. He is God’s servant, an agent of retribution to the wrongdoer. 5Therefore it is necessary to submit to authority, not only to avoid punishment, but also as a matter of conscience.… Romans 13: 3-5

It is also interesting that Pilate could find no wrong in Him worthy of such a sentence, yet the mob insisted, and Pilate caved. This all happens during the Passover as well. You can see both the gentile indifference and the Jewish disdain. Stoning would have actually been less cruel, with the fervor of this rabid mob, it would have gone quickly, but not according to plan. 

…22Jews demand signs and Greeks search for wisdom, 23but we preach Christ crucified, a stumbling block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles, 24but to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God.… 1 Corinthians 1: 22-24

17For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel, not with words of wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power. 18For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. 19For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”… 1 Corinthians 1: 17-19

…2By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. 3For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, 4that He was buried, that He was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures,… 1 Corinthians 15: 2-4

He was crushed for our iniquities - Like a worm under foot, and you can see the picture from the link above to David's prophecy, "wrote about this very thing", and also in the context of this chapter we can see Who crushed Him in 53:10. This is the wrath of God towards sin, and this is the part that is played down by much of the so called church today, the Jews as well, and deemed ridiculous, over the top, unnecessary by our cultural standards. I would encourage you to look at these links, Isaiah 6 Part 1 , Isaiah 6 Part 2,  Isaiah 6 Part 3 and Isaiah 6 Part 4. I will go more into this in a later post, but I believe that the above links will help you see the answer to many of the usual protests that enter our fallen and depraved minds. It becomes a question of Who is God, what is His character?

John MacArthur says that iniquities ('avon) is essentially "a word that means to bend double, twisted like a pretzel, to bend double. It’s perversions."

The punishment that brought us peace was on Him - Chastisement that brought us well being, restored the relationship.

Well being is peace (shalom) and is a genitive of result which means His punishment resulted in our peace or well-being, giving redeemed sinners a sense of wholeness and restoration of a relationship with the Holy God which we all lacked while still in Adam (Ro 5:12+, 1 Cor 15:22, 45) and which we could never achieve had not the Messiah been chastened in our place, as our Substitute. Precept Austin

1Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, 2through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we stand. And we rejoice in the hope of the glory of God.… Romans 5: 1-2

…4Do not turn to idols or make for yourselves molten gods. I am the LORD your God. 5When you sacrifice a peace offering to the LORD, you shall offer it for your acceptance.6It shall be eaten on the day you sacrifice it, or on the next day; but what remains on the third day must be burned up.… Leviticus 19: 4-6

…21“I hate, I despise your feasts! I cannot stand the stench of your solemn assemblies. 22Even though you offer Me burnt offerings and grain offerings, I will not accept them; for your peace offerings of fattened cattle I will have no regard.23Take away from Me the noise of your songs! I will not listen to the music of your harps.… Amos 5: 21-23

And by His wounds we are healed - The language of penal substitution is thick throughout Isaiah 53. Some interpretations have this as stripes or scourging, His, again not ours, not lambs, bulls or goats, but by His stripes we are healed. From what? 

11Not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned. 13For sin was in the world before the law was given; but sin is not taken into account when there is no law.… Romans 5: 11-13

From sin, and all its effects, disease, death, mistreatment, devaluing the image of God, from this we are healed through faith in Christ atoning work. The law reveals the disease, the gospel gives us the cure. 

…32He will be delivered over to the Gentiles and will be mocked and insulted and spit upon. 33 They will flog Him and kill Him, and on the third day He will rise again. 34But the disciples did not understand any of these things. The meaning was hidden from them, and they did not comprehend what He was saying.… Luke 18: 32-34

…5Why do you want more beatings? Why do you keep rebelling? Your head has a massive wound, and your whole heart is afflicted. 6From the sole of your foot to the top of your head, there is no soundness— only wounds and welts and festering sores neither cleansed nor bandaged nor soothed with oil.7Your land is desolate; your cities are burned with fire. Foreigners devour your fields before you—a desolation demolished by strangers.… Isaiah 1: 5-7

…7But if we walk in the light as He is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus His Son cleanses us from all sin. 8If we say we have no sin, we deceive ourselves, and the truth is not in us. 9If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.… 1 John 1: 7-9

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#1024 Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12 Part 8 We Assumed

 

Who has believed our report?

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

2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,

And like a root out of dry ground;

He has no stately form or majesty

That we would look at Him,

Nor an appearance that we would take pleasure in Him.

3 He was despised and abandoned by men,

A man of great pain and familiar with sickness;

And like one from whom people hide their faces,

He was despised, and we had no regard for Him.

4 However, it was our sicknesses that He Himself bore,

And our pains that He carried;

Yet we ourselves assumed that He had been afflicted,

Struck down by God, and humiliated.

5 But He was pierced for our offenses,

He was crushed for our wrongdoings;

The punishment for our well-being was laid upon Him,

And by His wounds we are healed.

6 All of us, like sheep, have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the Lord has caused the wrongdoing of us all

To fall on Him.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,

Yet He did not open His mouth;

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,

And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,

So He did not open His mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;

And as for His generation, who considered

That He was cut off from the land of the living

For the wrongdoing of my people, to whom the blow was due?

9 And His grave was assigned with wicked men,

Yet He was with a rich man in His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

10 But the Lord desired

To crush Him, causing Him grief;

If He renders Himself as a guilt offering,

He will see His offspring,

He will prolong His days,

And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.

11 As a result of the anguish of His soul,

He will see it and be satisfied;

By His knowledge the Righteous One,

My Servant, will justify the many,

For He will bear their wrongdoings.

12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,

And He will divide the plunder with the strong,

Because He poured out His life unto death,

And was counted with wrongdoers;

Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,

And interceded for the wrongdoers. NASB

Isaiah 53:4 Our sicknesses and Our pain

…16When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to Jesus, and He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. 17This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “He took on our infirmities and carried our diseases.” Matthew 8: 16-17

However, it was our sickness that he himself bore - This stanza (Is 53: 4-6) is the very heart of the gospel. It carries mightily the doctrine of substitutionary atonement, the "however" glows as the light bulb of true self realization. 

Messianic Jewish writer David Baron says "The veil lifted from their eyes, Israel sees the true cause of Messiah's sufferings, and, "bearing witness against himself, laments his former blindness to the mediatorial vicarious character of the sufferings both of soul and body that were endured by Him." Oh, it was for us—they now say—that He endured all the shame and agony. To translate the 4th verse literally: "Verily they were our griefs (or 'sicknesses') which He bore, and our sorrows (or, 'pains') with which He burdened Himself, but we regarded Him as one stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted." No plainer or stronger words could be used to express the thought of vicarious suffering than those employed in the original of this verse. (Exposition)

11Not only that, but we also rejoice in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation. 12Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, so also death was passed on to all men, because all sinned. 13For sin was in the world before the law was given; but sin is not taken into account when there is no law.… Romans 5: 11-13

This is not a new concept to the people of Israel, read this in Leviticus 16, there is the picture of atonement right there. We can also see why God was so exacting and severe in His punishment for deviating. He has not changed at all, and this is all about His Son, and this is the light coming on in the  hearts of the last generation of Jews, as they see Him for Who He really is.

Yet we ourselves assumed that he had been afflicted - Some have it stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. They believed Him to be a blasphemer for making Himself out to be equal with God, for saying that if you had seen Him then you had also known the Father. It was for His own sins that they thought He was up there, for cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree, right? Why else would God allow such a thing? He also did horrible things like healing on the Sabbath, acted as if He could forgive the sins of an adulteress, and turned over tables in the temple. God has opened their eyes, and this is their confession, this is the gospel realization, "However", it was our sickness. He is Who He said He was, He is "God With Us", and oh the lament of how wrong our forefathers were; a greater than Abraham was really here. He tabernacled with us. 

…57Then the Jews said to Him, “You are not yet fifty years old, and You have seen Abraham?” 58“Truly, truly, I tell you, Jesus declared, “before Abraham was born, I am! 59At this, they picked up stones to throw at Him. But Jesus was hidden and went out of the temple area.… John 8: 57-59

…22All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: 23“Behold, the virgin will be with child and will give birth to a son, and they will call Him Immanuel” (which means, “God with us” 24When Joseph woke up, he did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and embraced Mary as his wife.… Matthew 1: 22-24

…6As soon as the chief priests and officers saw Him, they shouted, “Crucify Him! Crucify Him!” “You take Him and crucify Him,” Pilate replied, “for I find no basis for a charge against Him.” 7“We have a law, answered the Jews, “and according to that law He must die, because He declared Himself to be the Son of God. 8When Pilate heard this statement, he was even more afraid,… John 19: 6-8

Struck down by God and humiliated - Why would God do that? Well, Isaiah will answer that in this chapter, and it is for our sins, for He was without sin as we see in verse 9, and in verse 11 we find that His sacrifice will justify many. This was God's redemptive plan all along, and what context and clarity it brings to verses that we have made cliché, like John 3:16 and Romans 10:9. What did you believe, Who did you believe in?

15that everyone who believes in Him may have eternal life. 16For God so loved the world that He gave His one and only Son, that everyone who believes in Him shall not perish but have eternal life. 17For God did not send His Son into the world to condemn the world, but to save the world through Him.… John 3: 15-17

…8But what does it say? “The word is near you; it is in your mouth and in your heart,” that is, the word of faith we are proclaiming: 9that if you confess with your mouth, “Jesus is Lord, and believe in your heart that God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. 10For with your heart you believe and are justified, and with your mouth you confess and are saved.… Romans 10: 8-10

MacArthur has a note on the verb tenses which we have stated earlier are almost all in the past tense in Hebrew - Even though the verbs are past tense, they predict happenings future to Isaiah's time, i.e., "prophetic perfects" (SEE ILLUSTRATION) in Hebrew here and elsewhere in this Servant-song. Isaiah was saying that the Messiah would bear the consequences of the sins of men, namely the griefs and sorrows of life, though incredibly the Jews who watched Him die thought He was being punished by God for His own sins. Matthew found an analogical fulfillment of these words in Jesus' healing ministry (Mt 8:16, 17), because sickness results from sin for which the Servant paid with His life (Isa 53:7, 8; cf. 1Pe 2:24). In eternity, all sickness will be removed, so ultimately it is included in the benefits of the atonement. (MacArthur Study Bible)

…20Therefore we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God were making His appeal through us. We implore you on behalf of Christ: Be reconciled to God. 21God made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that in Him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5: 20-21

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