Church: Reformed Baptist Church of Franconia | Text: Isaiah 53 | Date: November 17, 2024 | Speaker: Fred Zaspel

All right, we’ve seen that in Isaiah, we have these servant songs, as they are called, where he speaks of the servant of the Lord, where he’s called “my servant,” or he’s referred to as “his servant,” “the Lord’s servant,” and he has come to carry out this mission of God in history and bring his purposes for history to pass. We saw that in Isaiah 42, we’ve seen that in Isaiah 49, we saw it in Isaiah 50, and now we come to the climax of it in Isaiah 52 verse 13 through the end of chapter 53.

This is the fourth of the Servant Songs. And our time is late, but I want to take the time to read through the entire passage. Isaiah 52, beginning with verse 13:

“Behold, my servant shall act wisely. He shall be high and lifted up and shall be exalted. As many as were astonished at you, his appearance was so marred beyond human semblance and his form beyond that of the children of mankind. So shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him. That which had not been told them, they see. That which they have not heard, they understand. Who has believed what they have heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, 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.

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. Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities. Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray, we’ve turned everyone to his own way. The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth. Like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, like a sheep that is before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. 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? 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.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief. When his soul makes an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring. He shall prolong his days. The will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 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. 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.”

My, what a marvelous prophecy. Some 700 years before Jesus. Well, you’ll remember in chapter 42, in the first of the Servant Songs, the servant was introduced for us just briefly, and we are told there in chapter 42 that he will be successful and he’ll be glorified. Then we saw in Isaiah 49, the second of the Servant Psalms, that the servant, again, we are told that he’s called by God to accomplish a great task. Isaiah 49 tells us that he will bring justice to the nations, but it also gives us this hint of humiliation. In Isaiah 49 verse 4, it says that the servant himself says, “I’ve labored in vain,” as though he comes to a point in carrying out his mission where it seems that it would fail. Isaiah 49, verse 7 tells us that he would be deeply despised and abhorred by the nation. So he comes to accomplish God’s purpose. The nation, of whom he is one—a servant from within Israel—the nation will despise him.

In chapter 50, the third servant song, we saw that again the servant will suffer humiliation, but at the same time, the servant is certain of his vindication and even dares anyone to question it. All of that we’ve seen so far, and now we come to this fourth servant psalm, Isaiah 52 verse 13 through the end of chapter 53, and we have both of those themes: he suffers humiliation, and yet at the same time he will be exalted and he will be successful. He’s one who will suffer, and yet he’s one who is exalted in his success as well. And both of those themes now in this servant song come to the fore.

The Mount Everest Of Messianic Prophecies

This has been called the Mount Everest of Messianic prophecies, the greatest of the Old Testament prophecies, because of the detail that it gives and the graphic detail of it. It seems, as many have said, it seems as though it had been written while sitting at the cross of Christ. It speaks of his death, it speaks of his burial, his resurrection, and even speaks of his ascension and his present kingly reign. And all of that we’ll work through, Lord willing, in the coming weeks together.

Keil and Delitzsch, in their commentary on this—I thought I would read it for you. It’s a wonderful observation. He says, “How many are those whose eyes have been opened when reading this golden passional of the Old Testament evangelist? In how many an Israelite has it melted the crust of his heart? It looks as if it had been written beneath the cross of Golgotha and was illuminated by the heavenly brightness of the full ‘Sit at my right hand.’ It is the unraveling of Psalm 22 and Psalm 110. It forms the outer center of this wonderful book of consolation (that’s Isaiah 40 through 66). And it’s the most central, the deepest, and the loftiest thing that the Old Testament prophecy, outstripping itself, has ever achieved.”

So we are really truly at a mountain peak of Old Testament revelation, and as we work through it, keep in mind that this is some 700 years before Jesus. It should strike us that the detail that is given here, the specificities that are given with regard to what 700 years later was fulfilled in the Lord Jesus, is just a marvelous thing.

Now, despite all of that, it’s a curious thing, I think, that Isaiah 52 verse 13 through the end of Isaiah 53 is a passage that has been omitted from synagogue readings. The synagogue readings of the prophets, as I understand it, are not exhaustive. But as I understand it, it’s curious that the scheduled reading for one Sabbath day at the synagogue readings ends with Isaiah 52 verse 12. And then the next Sabbath reading begins with Isaiah 54 and verse 1. And this passage has been excluded from the readings.

David Baron, who was about a hundred years ago a Jewish convert to Christ and an Old Testament student, he suggests that that’s been excluded precisely because this passage has been so influential in bringing Jewish people to Christ and bringing them to faith in Jesus. He says that Isaiah 52 verse 13 through Isaiah 53 verse 12, for good reason, has been called “the bad conscience of the synagogue,” who in its blindness still despises and rejects and considers Jesus as smitten of God and afflicted. And then he makes the observation—it’s kind of an interesting way of looking at it all—that the fact that Israel today still despises and rejects Jesus so much, in a backward kind of way, becomes proof that this passage really is about him.

Well, I think that’s right, but I don’t think we have to leave it there either, because this passage, as God continues to give His revelations, we find this passage just has massive influence in the New Testament. This passage, Isaiah 52, verse 13 through chapter 53, in one portion or another is cited directly seven times in the New Testament, but it has allusions to it and verbal parallels to it in the New Testament some 34 times. It’s important especially because it focuses on the nature of Jesus’ death. And Isaiah 53 provides the categories for us in which we can understand the death of Jesus. And many of the biblical writers of the New Testament treat it exactly that way.

So here we come, not only to a prophecy of what would happen—that this Messiah, the servant of the Lord, would be crucified—but we find the categories for understanding the meaning of that death. The New Testament writers look back again and again to this passage to understand the nature of the death of Jesus. And in fact, we can push it further than that and we can say that the New Testament writers learned that from Jesus himself. He is the one who cited this passage in reference to himself.

In Matthew 20 verse 28 and in the parallels in Mark, and then also again in Matthew 26, Jesus alludes to Isaiah 53 and specifically says that it refers to Him. He says in Matthew 20 verse 28, the famous line that you remember, “the Son of Man came not to be served”—there’s a servant language—”He came not to be served, but to serve and to give His life a ransom for many.” To give His life a ransom for many. That’s Isaiah 53 in verse 10. When He says, later, “this is my blood of the covenant which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins,” that’s Isaiah chapter 53. Isaiah 42 verse 6, Isaiah 49 and verse 8, we are told that the servant will be the covenant for the people.

And then in Isaiah 53 verse 12, he’s poured out his life unto death. Jesus combines those in that formula that we repeat often with regard to the Lord’s table that he gave us. And then interestingly, in Luke 22, verse 37, we have Jesus’ only formal citation of scripture on the eve of his crucifixion. This is at the Last Supper. This is the only citation from the Old Testament that we have from Jesus at that time. And he quotes then, “I tell you that this scripture must be fulfilled in me.” What scripture? “And he was numbered with the transgressors,” for what is written about me has its fulfillment. That’s Isaiah chapter 53 in verse 12, which continues to tell us, “yet he bore the sin of many.” So Jesus himself establishes that category for us to look back here and to say, “this is about Jesus.” And we have it on his own authority that Isaiah 53 is the key to understanding Jesus’ passion and death.

Five Stanzas

Now before we start working our way through the details, I’m going to do some more big picture approach here with regard to this fourth servant song by way of overview. We have here five stanzas to this song. Three verses each. They’re easy to count out: Isaiah 52 verses 13 to 15, Isaiah 53 verses 1 to 3, then verses 4 to 6, verses 7 to 9, and then verses 10 to 12.

Five stanzas. Each is a poem in itself. And in fact, it’s interesting. I’ve loved noticing this in the Psalms. I worked through to gain an appreciation of how David was—besides all the brilliant things he could do otherwise—he was a brilliant poet. And the symmetry that he would work out in so many ways in the Psalms, and we find that with Isaiah as well. And we have that here, some symmetry built into these five stanzas.

So, each of these, for example, the first stanza and the fifth stanza correspond. So Isaiah 52 verses 13 to 15 corresponds to Isaiah 53 verses 10 to 12. Same kinds of vocabulary, same kinds of themes. So for example, for 52 verse 13, “my servant shall act wisely and prosper.” And then to the end, Isaiah 53 verse 10, “the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.” Again, chapter 52 verse 13, “he shall be high and lifted up and shall be exalted.” And then chapter 53 verses 10 to 12 speak of his success and his mission and that he’ll be rewarded for it.

And then for stanza 2, that’s Isaiah 53 verses 1 to 3, that corresponds with the fourth stanza of the psalm in the same kind of way. Verses 1 to 3, he’s despised and rejected. And then verses 7 to 9, in the fourth stanza, he’s arrested and taken to judgment. And so we have 1 and 5, some symmetry, stanzas 2 and 4 corresponding, and then in the center we have the heart of the song, verses 4 to 6, and this is the nature of the servant’s suffering, which we will get to in a couple of weeks.

Alternating Voices

We also have in this servant song, a song changing voices. And you’ll notice that as we read through some alternating voices in verses 13 to 15 of chapter 52, the Lord speaks: “Behold, my servant.” The Lord is speaking. Then in the same passage, verse 14, suddenly we have the voice of the prophet addressing the servant: “as many as were astonished at you.” Now, if you have an NIV, you might read “him” there. Seems a little awkward, so they’ve just rendered it “him” there, but it’s “you.” But then verse 14b reverts to the third person, backing away to pull the readers to visualize him. It says, “his appearance was so marred beyond human semblance and his form beyond that of the children of mankind.”

Then when we get to verses 1 to 6 of chapter 53, we have an unnamed group. We’ll work to identify that later, but we have an unnamed group of people who speak collectively in retrospect for what they’re hearing and learning now. In verses 2 and following, the whole idea there is we didn’t recognize him, we esteemed him as nothing, we didn’t know, he wasn’t what we expected, and so we rejected him. But then they realize in verse 5, “he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities.” So it’s both a confession on the part of these people, and it’s also an expression of faith. They’ve come now to recognize who He is.

When we get to verse 7, we’re not sure whose voice it is that we hear. Is this the prophet or is it the Lord Himself speaking? I suspect it’s the Lord, but I’m not certain. “He was oppressed and He was afflicted, yet He opened not His mouth like a lamb.” Verse 8, “He was stricken for the transgression of My people.” But by the time we get to verse 12, we hear the Lord Himself speaking again. “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied. By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant”—so this is the voice of God himself—”my servant, make many to be accounted righteous. He shall bear their iniquities, therefore I will divide him a portion with the many.” So we have some alternating voices speaking as we work through.

Changing Verb Tenses

There’s also some changing tenses, verb tenses. At one point, they’re looking ahead. Another time, they’re looking back. Again, they’re looking ahead. In verses at the end of chapter 52, we have a past announcement that God made about the servant. He has plans for him. “Behold, my servant, he shall act wisely and prosper.” So God is making an announcement, not only introducing his servant, but he’s going to succeed in the mission that I give him. Verse 13, he’ll act wisely, be high and lifted up, exalted.

Verses 14 and 15, he tells us what will come. The servant will suffer intense abuse. We’ll see some of that this evening still. As a consequence, Gentile kings will look in adoring awe at him for what they have seen and what they hear now. Chapter 53 verse 1, we have some time in the general present after the servant’s suffering. They look back in retrospect now at the servant, and there’s this collective lament of those who witnessed his sufferings and yet rejected him without any concern, and they confess that.

And then verses 7 and following, we have the prophet or the Lord reflecting back on what has happened. And then verses 10 and following, it’s future prospect, the servant’s promised reward and exaltation. “I’ll divide him up a portion with the many” and so on.

Alternating Themes

And then more to see with how this poem is constructed, we have alternating themes. Stanza one is a kind of prologue to the rest of the song, summarizing the main themes that will work through the rest of the song. But then stanzas two and four both state the sufferings that the servant would experience. Stanzas 2 and 4, and then stanzas 3 and 5, alternatingly, provide the explanation for those sufferings.

So stanza 2, verses 1 to 3, “he was despised and rejected of men,” and then stanza 3 provides the explanation: “He was born our griefs and carried our sorrows.” Again, the next stanza, stanza four, states the sufferings that the servant would experience: “He was oppressed and he was afflicted.” And then verses 10 to 12, the last stanza, give the explanation of it: “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him. He has put him to grief. He makes his soul an offering for guilt.”

And then finally, I think it’s helpful to notice how the song is bracketed. Chapter 52, verse 13, at the beginning, and then at the very end, chapter 53, verse 12, “Therefore, I will divide him a portion with the great ones.” So the song describes and explains the sufferings that the servant of the Lord will endure, but he announces up front, and then he affirms it again at the end, that these sufferings will be the means of his success. He’ll be exalted in triumph and in vindication, even though he suffers.

All right, so much then for a broad overview. Let’s work through the first stanza quickly. Chapter 52, verses 13. Do you want to get out at seven o’clock or do you want to get out at 7:30? I don’t know that I can finish this this evening. I’ve been rushing so that I could, but we’re already at our quitting time. I think maybe I’ll wait so that we can work through the first stanza next time and maybe take a little bit more time with it.

All right, let’s stand and be dismissed in prayer. Pastor Greg, would you pray for us, please?

We’re thankful for the answers to prayer tonight. We ask that you would bless our time together. We believe both our songs, our prayer time, and this wonderful reflection on this outstanding high point of prediction concerning our Lord’s coming and suffering and triumph has indeed fortified and informed our hearts. We thank you that we are such blessed recipients of truth. We pray that we would take the truth of God’s word as if God himself is speaking to us, digest it and integrate it into our lives, our thinking, our goals, our priorities, our witness bearing on his behalf. We ask you to go with us each this week to our different callings and places. We pray that we would walk as holy ambassadors of this great triumphant Lord and Savior, and that we would in fact be used to bring many to the foot of the cross to experience the liberation, the jubilation that we know from our salvation in Him. In His name we pray.