Introduction to Isaiah 53

Structure and Formatting

Earlier in this second section of Part Seven of the book of Isaiah, the prophet called out, “Awake, awake!” to the arm of Yahweh (51:9). Yahweh said in response that he would pull his arm out of his robe and rescue the people. In the oracle that comprises all of this chapter (and the end of the previous chapter), Yahweh shows the prophet the unexpected way in which he will ultimately do that. He gives the prophet a further glimpse of what the coming servant figure, the Messiah, will do in the more distant future. (The future figure is in view here; when the prophet is speaking of himself as the servant, he says “I,” but here he says “he,” and he refers to himself and the rest of the people as “us.”) The prophet sees how the Messiah will bring a great deliverance to the whole world, far transcending the political liberation that Cyrus will bring to captive populations. Perhaps in part because of his own experiences of suffering and rejection at the hands of the people, the prophet is able to recognize how God will allow this future servant to suffer on behalf of the people. He sees and describes how his painful experiences will become the means by which God brings about worldwide salvation.The New Testament explains that Jesus fulfilled this prophecy and accomplished the purposes it describes when he died for us on the cross. In fact, the book of Acts records a conversation (Acts 8:26–39) in which an important official of a foreign kingdom asks one of Jesus’ followers, a man named Philip, to explain this prophecy. “Who is the prophet talking about,” he asks, “himself or someone else?” Beginning with this passage, Philip tells the official the good news about Jesus. 1. What the servant does will amaze people (52:13–15) 2. The servant will be humble and not seem important (53:1–3) 3. The servant will accept the punishment that sinful people deserve (53:4–6) 4. The servant will willingly suffer injustice (53:7–9) 5. The servant will be honored and rewarded for what he does (53:10–12)