Isaiah 53

by J. W. Archibald, Manchester | Category: General | Nov 1977

The fifty third chapter of Isaiah is an outstanding example of the rich ministry of Christ that God has given through His Old Testament prophets. In this portion many souls have found the saving knowledge of the Lord, as did the great man of Ethiopia to whom Philip preached in the desert long ago (Acts 8:26).

The passage is introduced by the last three verses of chapter fifty two, where Isaiah demands our attention by presenting the Christ in two aspects. In one aspect we are brought to Calvary to see the form of the suffering Saviour on the Cross. The bystanders there are silent in astonishment when they finally witness the effects on His Person of those terrible hours; "so marred more than any man". In the other aspect is displayed the Christ of highest exaltation. The pr6phet piles up words to depict the lofty greatness of this vision, before which the greatest rulers of men are silent in wonder and admiration. All their abilities are fully employed in attempting to comprehend the excellence of Jehovah's Servant. This twofold presentation is necessary to any proper appreciation of the Lord Jesus. We must recognize that the crucified Redeemer is also the King eternal.

It is only possible to know Jesus as the Christ through divine revelation and belief in that revelation (Matt. 16:16,17). No man can attain to any understanding or appreciation of the Lord merely by an exercise of human intellect. Hence the necessary challenge issued in verse 1, "Who hath believed?" and "to whom... revealed?" The prophet then reveals to us how God the Father viewed His Son in the days of His flesh. From the parched ground of human society, dry and barren in God's sight, there grew one fresh green plant of rare and tender beauty. Sweet and precious to the God of heaven were those days of obedience and lowly service spent here on earth by His blessed Son. In stark contrast, men in their spiritual blindness failed to recognize the attractiveness of His divine presence. They despised and rejected Him. "As one from whom men hide their face He was despised". In chapter 6 Isaiah describes the seraphim who covered their faces with their wings before the might and splendour of the high throne of the Lord. When He left that throne and came to earth, men whom He had formed from the dust turned their faces from Him to demonstrate their lack of esteem.

In verses 4-6, the prophet dwells on the punishment of Christ and its

significance. Here the sinner sees his own burden carried by Another. Our griefs and our sorrows are there with Him. They are our transgressions and our iniquities for which He is wounded and bruised. We pleased ourselves and 'turned every one to his own way", but He took His way to the place of sacrifice and was stricken, smitten of God and afflicted. Here alone is peace and healing for the sinner.

We now come to the verses (7-8) that the Ethiopian was reading when the evangelist joined him in his chariot (Acts 8). The Ethiopian, although possessed of great power and influence, could have no son, no successor to perpetuate his name. His spirit must therefore have been deeply moved by the desolation in the words of Isaiah, "He was taken away" and "He was cut off out of the land of the living". The cross must have seemed an untimely end to the brief earthly life and ministry of the Lord. It was as if the tender plant was crushed and broken in the dry ground. Daniel wrote that "the Anointed One shall be cut off and shall have nothing" (Dan. 9:26). However, as we consider the loneliness and desolation of the death of the Cross we remember the Lord's own words, "Except a grain of wheat fall into the earth and die it abideth by itself alone; but if it die, it beareth much fruit" (John 12:24). Isaiah was moved to express the same glorious truth in the final section of the chapter: "He shall see His seed". The awful loneliness of Calvary has resulted in the bringing of many sons to glory. It is a happy thought that when our blessed Redeemer looks with divine affection upon those that He has purchased with His blood, "He shall see of the travail of His soul, and shall be satisfied" (verse ii).

Isaiah was given a glimpse of the resurrection life of the Lord. "He shall prolong His days". In resurrection, His activity on behalf of those for whom He died continues. Isaiah speaks of His work of justification (v.11) and intercession (v.12). He was raised for our justification (Rom. 4:25) and He ever liveth to make intercession for them that draw near unto God (Heb. 7:25). In concluding the chapter, the prophet pens the remarkable statement, "Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil with the strong". With whom would the triumphant King of glory share the fruits of His great victory? We would suggest that Isaiah is here inspired to describe the mutual pleasure of the three Persons of the Deity in the consequences of the sacrifice of Calvary. That mighty conflict was in accordance with the eternal counsels of Deity and the spoils of that victory are for the praise of the glory of the triune God.

J. W. Archibald, Manchester | Nov 1977
General