October 30, Isaiah 53
All we like sheep have gone astray; we have
turned--every one--to his own way; and the
LORD has laid on him the inquiry of us all.
- Isaiah 53:6
In all the world's literature, where is the work that can rival these 15 verses that begin in Isaiah 52:13 and continue through Chapter 53? In the Bible itself, is any verse or paragraph more saturated with the essence of the gospel? What other text can describe the glory, the humiliation and the atoning sacrifice of Jesus Christ with any more elegance and power?
Surely these verses throb with the very heartbeat of Scripture. The structure of the Song of the Suffering Servant is elegant in its symmetry. Five stanzas, three verses each. Stanza 1 and 5 describe the glory of Christ. Stanzas 2 and 4 tell of his humiliation, and the middle three-verse stanza is about the sacrificial death of Christ on the cross. By that death he atoned for our sins, redeemed us to God and satisfied our sin debt. He turned God's wrath away from us.
The glory/humiliation/death/glory structure of the gospel is echoed by Paul's words in Philippians 2. The clear description of the atoning, propitiating death of Christ is very similar to Paul's words in Romans 3. But I know of no passage that contains a more compact and complete picture of the work of Christ than Isaiah 53.
How could the high and lifted up Christ be so abused that he was not recognizable? How did he come back from that brutal torture and death to subject kings and nations to his will? Marvel at the dark wonder of the Jews' unbelief. Realize that Jesus did not appeal to the people who saw no striking appearance, no wealth and no success as the world measures success during his ministry. From his humble beginnings as the son of Mary to his life of poverty and homelessness, they saw nothing to be desired. The people who followed him were not the high and mighty. They were fishermen, tax collectors, common people and broken sinners. He was like a root (of Abraham! of Jacob! Of David!) growing out of the dry ground of hardhearted Israel. There was a small remnant of fervent, vibrant faith in the nation. But the remaining Israelites were spiritually dry, blind and deaf to the words and works of Jesus, and they rejected him.
Oh, how he suffered! But his suffering was vicarious. He suffered for others, in their place. He took our griefs, our sorrows, our sins and iniquities upon himself and died the death that should have been ours. The Jewish leaders and Gentile soldiers scorned him. That cup of sour wine the soldiers offered him was symbolic of the bitter rejection and hatred the world had for the Creator God in flesh. He died between thieves and was buried in a rich man's borrowed tomb. But he was not guilty like the thieves. And he didn’t stay long in Joseph’s tomb. Even as Pilate ordered his soldiers to chastise Jesus (beat him almost to death with flesh-flaying whips), he solemnly pronounced Jesus innocent and without fault.
God the Father did indeed crush his Son in death for our sins. But he also raised him from the dead, prolonging his days. And God's glorious plan to redeem fallen men and women began to bear fruit. The honor and glory of Jesus began to spread as the gospel traveled among the nations, and continues to draw hopeless sinners to new life and hope in Christ.
That glory will swell one day, the last day, in a great universal acknowledgment that Jesus is Lord when he comes again. His praise will grow and grow in a roaring crescendo of "Worthy is the Lamb!" by all those redeemed by his blood. And it's all here in 15 short verses--the heart, core, foundation and essence of the gospel.
This chapter is a spiritual feast, to be savored and enjoyed for a lifetime. Every follower of Christ can find rich gospel morsels here for satisfying, faith-building meditation. Praise God for the soul-saving, life-changing message of the gospel of Christ!
Copyright © 2023 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—October 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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