Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. 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.” – Isaiah 53:4-5
Isaiah 53, written hundreds of years before the coming of Christ, is one of the clearest prophecies of His crucifixion.
Isaiah lived in Jerusalem during the latter half of Israel’s kingdom period and spoke to its leaders on God’s behalf. Isaiah delivered a warning about God’s judgment, telling Israel’s corrupt leaders that their rebellion against God would come at a cost. Isaiah also said that God would use the great empires of Assyria and Babylon to judge Jerusalem if they persisted in idolatry and oppression of the poor.
However, that dire announcement was also combined with a message of hope, as Isaiah believed that God would one day fulfill all his covenant promises – the most important of which was a Messiah to come to save His people and restore His world.
The homeless people of God who were feeling the weight of their enmity with God and who were enduring the wrath of enemy armies were greeted with a message of hope. What was Isaiah’s message to those in Babylon? Very similar to Moses’ message to those in Egypt: “I hear you. I know you. I will deliver you.” The same heart of God but a new and greater leader. In fact, God Himself.
Isaiah 53 encourages the people of God, spiritually enslaved by their sin and physically enslaved because of their sin, that like their forefathers in Egypt, He has heard their cry and in love will send a servant, not to merely direct their lives, but to die for their lives.
Jesus will come and be a captive to set the captives free. He will be bound to remove the chains of sin and death. He will be scorned and laughed at by the enemies of God so that God’s enemies will be received with a smile on their Father’s face. He will take the undeserved death of a sinner so that through Him sinners will receive undeserved life. His service to us will be His suffering for us. He will be punished so we might have peace.
Paul Tripp says the title of Isaiah, if it wasn’t named after its author, could be “looking for Jesus.”
Isaiah’s audience was homelessly longing for the hope of Jesus in a hostile world. What about you?