Commentary - Isaiah 53:1-12

Bird's-eye view

Isaiah 53 is the Mount Everest of Old Testament prophecy. It is the gospel according to Isaiah, presented with such breathtaking clarity that some critics, in their unbelief, have had to insist it was written after the fact. This chapter lays out the person and work of the Suffering Servant, the Messiah, with astonishing detail. It is a complete portrait of the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ. The passage begins with the world's incredulity at this message, describes the Servant's humble and unattractive beginnings, details His rejection by men, and then pivots to the central theological reality: His suffering was vicarious. He bore our griefs, was pierced for our transgressions, and was crushed for our iniquities. The prophet makes it plain that this was not some tragic accident, but the sovereign and purposeful act of God for the salvation of His people. The chapter concludes with the Servant's glorious triumph, His resurrection, exaltation, and the success of His redemptive mission. It is the great exchange, defined and defended centuries before the cross was ever erected on Golgotha.

The entire chapter is a refutation of every form of works righteousness. It is a declaration that salvation comes not through our esteem, our wisdom, or our efforts, but through the suffering of another. We are the sheep who have gone astray, and He is the Lamb upon whom all our iniquity was laid. The paradox of the gospel is on full display: through His humiliation comes exaltation, through His death comes life, and through His suffering comes our healing.

Outline

Context In Isaiah

This chapter is the fourth and most famous of the "Servant Songs" in Isaiah (the others being Isa 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9). Throughout the second half of his book, Isaiah has been comforting God's exiled people with the promise of restoration. A major theme is the identity of the "servant of Yahweh." At times, the servant is clearly the nation of Israel, but an Israel that is blind, deaf, and failing in its mission (Isa 42:19). The prophet then begins to speak of an individual Servant, a righteous One who will succeed where Israel failed. He will be the true Israel, and He will not only restore the tribes of Jacob but will also be a light to the Gentiles (Isa 49:6). Isaiah 53 is the apex of this revelation, explaining how this Servant will accomplish His mission. He will do it not through political power or military might, but through substitutionary suffering. This chapter provides the theological engine for the "new heavens and new earth" that Isaiah will go on to describe. The glory of the end is purchased by the grief of the middle.

Key Issues

The Great Divine Exchange

Before we dive into the verses, we must get our bearings. This is not poetry designed to evoke a general feeling of sadness. This is a precise, theological, legal declaration. The language is that of the courtroom and the sacrificial altar. Words like transgression, iniquity, chastening, and guilt offering are not vague terms. They are specific and weighty. Isaiah is describing a legal transaction of cosmic significance. The central theme is substitution. One person takes the place of another, bearing their penalty so that they might receive His reward. This chapter is the clearest explanation in the entire Old Testament of how a holy God can justly forgive sinful men. It is not by waving a hand and ignoring sin. Sin is a debt that must be paid, a crime that must be punished. Isaiah's report, which seems so unbelievable to the world, is that God Himself provides the substitute, His own righteous Servant, and lays the full weight of our sin and its penalty upon Him.

Verse by Verse Commentary

1 Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?

The prophet begins with a rhetorical question that anticipates the rejection of the gospel message. The "report" is everything that follows, the news about this Suffering Servant. And the expected answer is, "Almost no one." This message is not something that man's natural wisdom can grasp or accept. It is foolishness to the Greeks and a stumbling block to the Jews (1 Cor 1:23). The "arm of Yahweh" is a metaphor for God's power in action, particularly His power to save. The question reveals that God's saving power is not revealed through a means that the world expects or admires. It is revealed in the weakness, suffering, and humiliation of this Servant. Belief in this report is not the result of human insight but of divine revelation. You only see the power of God here if God Himself opens your eyes.

2 For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty That we should look upon Him, Nor appearance that we should desire Him.

This explains why the report is so unbelievable. The Messiah's origins were humble and unimpressive. He was not a mighty oak, but a "tender shoot," a sapling. He was a "root out of parched ground," suggesting obscurity and a lack of resources. Think of Nazareth. Think of a carpenter's son. There was nothing in His physical appearance or earthly pedigree that would attract the world's admiration. The world looks for external majesty, for pomp and circumstance. But the Servant had none of it. There was no "stately form," no "majesty," no "appearance that we should desire Him." The world's criteria for greatness are completely overturned. God's king comes in the most unassuming package imaginable.

3 He was despised and forsaken of men, A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; And like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

The world's reaction to His lack of external glory was not neutral indifference, but active contempt. He was not just overlooked; He was despised. He was not just lonely; He was forsaken of men. His life was characterized by sorrow and grief, not as a passing mood, but as a constant companion. He was so afflicted that people would instinctively "hide their face" from Him, as one might from a leper or someone horribly disfigured. The prophet includes himself and his people in the indictment: "we did not esteem Him." We wrote Him off. We valued Him at nothing. This is the universal verdict of fallen humanity on the Son of God. Left to ourselves, we see no beauty in Him.

4 Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried; Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, Smitten of God, and afflicted.

Here is the great turning point of the chapter. The word "Surely" signals a radical reinterpretation of what was just described. All that suffering we saw in verse 3, we misunderstood it completely. We thought it was His own. We thought God was punishing Him for His own sins. "We ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God." We saw His suffering and concluded, with a kind of cruel piety, that He must have deserved it. But we were dead wrong. The prophet reveals the staggering truth: the griefs were "our griefs," the sorrows were "our sorrows." He was suffering as a substitute. He was carrying a burden that was not His own. This is the doctrine of vicarious suffering in its clearest form.

5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; The chastening for our peace fell upon Him, And by His wounds we are healed.

This verse is the heart of the gospel. It explains the why behind verse 4. The language is violent and specific. "Pierced through" and "crushed" are not gentle words. This was a brutal, violent death. And the reason for it is stated with legal precision: "for our transgressions," "for our iniquities." The preposition "for" means "on account of" and "in place of." This is penal substitution. He took the punishment we deserved. The "chastening" or punishment that was necessary to bring about "our peace" with God fell entirely on Him. The result? "By His wounds we are healed." The very instruments of His death and suffering become the source of our spiritual life and health. This is a divine paradox. Our healing comes from His hurting.

6 All of us like sheep have gone astray, Each of us has turned to his own way; But Yahweh has caused the iniquity of us all To fall on Him.

The prophet now explains our universal need for this substitute. We are all like sheep, a creature known for its stupidity and its tendency to wander into danger. We have all "gone astray." And where did we go? "Each of us has turned to his own way." This is the essence of sin: self-will. It is the declaration of independence from God. My will be done. My way is right. And this universal sin requires a universal solution. The second half of the verse provides it. "But Yahweh", God is the actor here, "has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him." This is the doctrine of imputation. God, the judge, took all the specific sins and the collective guilt of His people and legally transferred it to the account of the Servant. He became the focal point for all our rebellion.

7 He was oppressed and He was 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.

Isaiah now returns to the demeanor of the Servant in His suffering. In the face of oppression and affliction, He was silent. This was not the silence of weakness, but the silence of willing submission. The comparison to a lamb and a sheep is powerful. He went to His death with the meekness and innocence of a sacrificial animal. He did not protest His innocence or call down curses on His accusers. He knew this was the Father's will, the very purpose for which He came. As Jesus would later say, "No one takes [my life] from me, but I lay it down of my own accord" (John 10:18).

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, That for the transgression of my people, striking was due to Him?

His death was a gross miscarriage of justice. It was a combination of "oppression and judgment," a legal proceeding that was a sham. He was "taken away," executed. And His contemporaries completely missed the point. "Who considered...?" The answer is nobody. Nobody understood that He was being "cut off", a term for a violent, premature death, not for Himself, but "for the transgression of my people." The final phrase is emphatic: the stroke of judgment that should have fallen on them fell on Him instead.

9 So 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.

This is a remarkably specific prophecy. His enemies intended to disgrace Him completely, assigning Him a burial plot with common criminals. But in a turn of events, "He was with a rich man in His death." Matthew tells us exactly how this was fulfilled: Joseph of Arimathea, a rich man and a disciple, begged Pilate for the body of Jesus and laid it in his own new tomb (Matt 27:57-60). The reason for this honorable burial is given: it was a divine vindication of His perfect innocence. Despite being executed as a criminal, He had "done no violence" and spoken no "deceit." His entire life was one of perfect righteousness, a fact that God Himself attested to, even in the details of His burial.

10 But Yahweh was pleased To crush Him, putting Him to grief; If You would place His soul as a guilt offering, He will see His seed, He will prolong His days, And the good pleasure of Yahweh will succeed in His hand.

This is perhaps the most doctrinally profound and emotionally staggering verse in the chapter. The ultimate cause of the Servant's suffering was not Judas, or Pilate, or the Jewish leaders. It was Yahweh. "Yahweh was pleased to crush Him." This does not mean God took sadistic delight in the pain of His Son. It means that God was pleased with the results that the crushing would accomplish. He was pleased to execute His perfect plan of salvation. The suffering of the Servant was a "guilt offering," the specific sacrifice prescribed in Leviticus for sins of trespass against God. And this offering would not end in failure. It would be fantastically successful. He will "see His seed", a vast spiritual offspring. He will "prolong His days", a clear reference to resurrection. And God's ultimate purpose, His "good pleasure," will prosper and "succeed" through the work of this Servant.

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, As He will bear their iniquities.

The resurrected Servant will look back on His suffering ("the anguish of His soul") and see the fruit of it, and He will be "satisfied." The price was worth it. And what is this fruit? "By His knowledge", which can mean either the knowledge He possesses or the knowledge of Him, He will "justify the many." To justify is a legal term. It means to declare righteous. The Righteous One makes unrighteous people righteous before God. How? The basis is stated again for emphasis: "As He will bear their iniquities." He takes their sin, and they receive His legal standing of righteousness. This is the great exchange, the heart of justification by faith.

12 Therefore, I will divide for Him a portion with the many, And He will divide the spoil with the strong; Because He poured out His soul to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.

The chapter ends with a declaration of the Servant's ultimate victory and exaltation. Because of His obedient suffering, God the Father will reward Him. He is pictured as a conquering king, dividing the spoils of war. His victory is total. The reasons for this great reward are summarized one last time: He willingly gave His life ("poured out His soul to death"), He identified with us completely ("was numbered with the transgressors"), He bore our sin ("bore the sin of many"), and even in His suffering, He prayed for His enemies ("interceded for the transgressors"). This is the complete and finished work of Jesus Christ, our Suffering Servant and victorious King.

Application

So what do we do with a chapter like this? First, we must marvel at the Word of God. The gospel is not a New Testament invention. It is the eternal plan of God, revealed with stunning clarity centuries before the cross. This should build our confidence in the absolute reliability of Scripture.

Second, we must abandon all attempts at self-salvation. Your good deeds cannot heal you. Your religious efforts cannot make you right with God. "All of us like sheep have gone astray." You are in the flock of the lost. Your only hope is to look to the Lamb of God upon whom your iniquity was laid. The report has been given. The question from verse one still stands: "Who has believed?" The only proper response to this chapter is faith. Believe that He was crushed for your iniquities. Believe that by His wounds, you are healed.

Finally, for those who have believed, this chapter is the fuel for a life of grateful obedience. Our salvation was not cheap. It was purchased at the cost of the anguish of the Son of God. This reality should crush our pride, kill our sin, and motivate us to live for the one who poured out His soul to death for us. He bore our sin and interceded for us, and this same victorious King now reigns at the right hand of the Father, ensuring that the good pleasure of Yahweh will indeed succeed in His hand.