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See, my servant will act wisely;
    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
¹⁴ Just as there were many who were appalled at him–
    his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
    and his form marred beyond human likeness –
¹⁵ so he will sprinkle many nations,
    and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
    and what they have not heard, they will understand.

Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.
⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

One of the most esteemed Bible teachers in my denomination lived in Leeds during his retirement. He was just down the road from Boston Spa where I lived and pastored a church. So I invited him to come and speak for us regularly, and what a privilege it was to sit under his ministry. He was such a kind and gracious man, and his life was always an even finer sermon than any of the great messages he brought.

Anyway, as a church, we often worked through Bible books and passages, and he would be happy to be given a text to address in his preparation. But I remember when we allocated to him Isaiah 53. When he got up to speak, it became obvious that he had never, in decades of ministry, expounded this chapter. Such was the reverence he felt for it. I’m sure he had often quoted it, and alluded to it, but he hadn’t approached it in the way we had asked him to. His very attitude was the sermon that day. I have never forgotten it, and I know others were also affected by it.

I have spent a lot of time, in the early months of this year, studying the fourth ‘Servant Song’, for various talks I’ve been doing. I am aware that there are depths here I have not begun to fathom. I feel the inadequacy of my words, and my unworthiness to write about it.

Perhaps the best we can do is to join our esteemed brother in ‘removing our shoes’ and marvelling at all we see around us on this ‘Holy ground’ of Isaiah 53.

PRAYER: ‘May I never lose the wonder, the wonder of the Cross.’

²⁶ Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, ‘Go south to the road – the desert road – that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.’ ²⁷ So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of the Kandake (which means ‘queen of the Ethiopians’). This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship, ²⁸ and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the Book of Isaiah the prophet. ²⁹ The Spirit told Philip, ‘Go to that chariot and stay near it.’

³⁰ Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. ‘Do you understand what you are reading?’ Philip asked.

³¹ ‘How can I,’ he said, ‘unless someone explains it to me?’ So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

³² This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

‘He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
    and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
³³ In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
    Who can speak of his descendants?
    For his life was taken from the earth.’

³⁴ The eunuch asked Philip, ‘Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?’ ³⁵ Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

³⁶ As they travelled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, ‘Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptised?’ ³⁸ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptised him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing. ⁴⁰ Philip, however, appeared at Azotus and travelled about, preaching the gospel in all the towns until he reached Caesarea.

This seems back to front, I know, but in writing about the fourth ‘Servant Song’ I have assumed that it is about Jesus: that He fulfilled this prophecy. This view is commonly held among Christians. Frankly, it seems obvious.

Warren Wiersbe says that the messianic interpretation of this passage (i.e. that it refers to the Messiah) was held by Jewish rabbis until the twelfth century. After that, Jewish scholars began to argue that it was about the sufferings of Israel. But Wiersbe asks two incisive questions re chapter 53: ‘…how could Israel die for the sins of Israel (v.8)? And who declared that Israel was innocent of sin and therefore had suffered unjustly (v.9)? No, the prophet wrote about an innocent individual, not a guilty nation. He made it crystal clear that this individual died for the sins of the guilty so that the guilty might go free.’ ‘Old Testament Commentary’, p.1191.

For me, Acts 8 is the clincher. Philip, an evangelist, was sent out to the desert to meet an Ethiopian official. This man was probably what they referred to in those times as a ‘God-fearer’: a Gentile who was drawn to Israel’s God and religion. So he had gone up to Jerusalem to worship, and on his way home, as Philip came alongside him, he was reading from Isaiah 53:7,8. The only way I can interpret this text is to say Philip told him it was about Jesus. It is a classic case of the New Testament interpreting the Old.

Only one Person in history fits this prophetic description exactly. The identification of Jesus with Isaiah’s suffering Servant was obvious to the Christian church from the beginning. Isaiah 53 is directly quoted, or alluded to, in the New Testament more frequently than other chapter in the Old.

‘As trait after trait swings into focus and fulfilment, can we write any name under Isaiah’s portrait of the sublime Sufferer in Chapter 53 than Jesus of Nazareth? Dr. J. Sidlow Baxter.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

Following on from the death of Jesus:

• There will be success: ”…the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand”(10c). An alternative reading of verse 11a says: ”He will see the fruit of his suffering and will be satisfied”;
• There will be greatness: ”Therefore I will give him a portion among the great…” (12a); ”Therefore I’ll reward him extravagantly-the best of everything, the highest honours…” The Message;
• There will be victory: ”…he will divide the spoils with the strong…” (12a); ”I will give him the honours of a victorious soldier” New Living Translation. The Messiah is pictured as a conquering Hero, returning from battle with the booty. There is no doubt that He is the winner. As I’ve said previously, this totally unanticipated and massive reversal of fortunes explains the consternation of 52:15: ”…kings will shut their mouths because of him…” No-one could foresee this outcome (except, of course, for prophets like Isaiah who did, and who wrote about it for our benefit).

It is an utterly breath-taking ending to a most remarkable prophetic passage. Who of us can truly express how wonderful this is. It surely will cause our hearts to burn.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.

Verse 8 has told us that ”…he was cut off from the land of the living”. But that is not the end of the story. Yes, there was ‘Friday’, but ‘Sunday’ came along.

Following on from the death of Jesus:

• There will be life: ”…he will…prolong his days…”;”After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied…”(11a).

He who was dead, and in the grave (9), will live (11).

In the sacrificial system of Israel the guilt offering ceased to exist – but not so with Jesus.

This is why He who died ‘in childbirth’ nevertheless gets to see His children. He is alive. He lives in ”the power of an indestructible life” Heb.7:16.

¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

Following on from the death of Jesus:

• There will be converts: ”…he will see his offspring”(10b); ”…by his knowledge my servant will justify many..’(11); ”Out of that terrible travail of soul, he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.” The Message.

In the King James Version of the Bible, Isaiah 53:11 reads:

 ”He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities”

‘Travail’ is a word associated with childbirth. David Pawson pointed out that if a mother dies in child birth, tragically, she does not see her child. In effect Jesus died ‘in child birth’ and yet sees all His children

Note that the ”many” in 52:14,15: ”Just as there were many who were appalled at him…so he will sprinkle many nations…” are echoed by ”…my righteous servant will justify many…For he bore the sin of many…” in 53:11,12. The story of church history is that there have been ”many” converts over the centuries, and we have every reason to believe for ”many” more. Yes, the gospel often meets with rejection (53:1-3), and we should not be surprised at this. But here is truth to hold in tension. While big numbers may reject Christ, massive numbers will also turn to Him.

”Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
    will make many “righteous ones,”
    as he himself carries the burden of their sins.” The Message.

¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

This final stanza brings us back to our point of embarkation: the ‘Servant’ triumphant. These last three verses refer to His suffering and death, but they emphatically show Him coming out the other side in glorious victory.

‘This unanticipated and massive reversal of his situation is what causes the consternation of kings and nations with which the song began. None of them would have foreseen that this is how the story would end.’ Derek Tidball: ‘The message of the Cross’, p.113.

”But we…see Jesus…crowned with glory and honour because he suffered death…” Heb.2:9.

Verse 10a sums up the central idea of Is.53, and in everyone of the last three verses the suffering of the Messiah is emphasised. But the predominant outlook is beyond His death towards a magnificent future.

Over the next few days we are going to look at some of the things which will happen in the wake of the death of Jesus.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

The Hebrew of verse 9 is singular, and refers to ‘a rich man’. This verse was a puzzle until the events described in Matthew 27:57-60:

”As evening approached, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had himself become a disciple of Jesus. ⁵⁸ Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. ⁵⁹ Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, ⁶⁰ and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away. ⁶¹ Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.”

Barry Webb points out: ‘He was an innocent man who had been done to death like a criminal, and his burial was a mixture of honour and dishonour. If his career ended at that point it would be hard to tell what even God’s final verdict on him had been. Was his work finished to God’s satisfaction or not?’ ‘Isaiah’, p.212.

Well, we already know the answer.

If there is a glimmer in verse 9, it is going to develop into the full light of day

He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.
⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

He ”does nothing and says nothing but lets everything happen to him” (David Clines).

The voluntary nature of Jesus’ death distinguishes it from all Israel’s animal sacrifices offered up to this point. In the Old Testament sacrificial system the victims chosen for slaughter had no choice in the matter.

We are again reminded that Jesus died for the sins of others (8c), whereas (8a) points to a miscarriage of justice, and (8b) refers to a violent death.

David Pawson, preaching on this chapter in 1975, entitled this particular stanza: ‘The great restraint’. He made the point that it is hard to keep quiet in the teeth of unfair treatment, as Jesus did before Pilate. His silence also impressed Herod. It was common for crucified victims to curse and shout, as the thieves who died alongside Jesus did. But the Lord did not defend Himself. Rather, He sought divine vindication. When you think what Jesus could do with His voice, argued Pawson, for example commanding a storm to cease and driving out demons, just think how great His restraint was.

”Slaves, in reverent fear of God submit yourselves to your masters, not only to those who are good and considerate, but also to those who are harsh. ¹⁹ For it is commendable if someone bears up under the pain of unjust suffering because they are conscious of God. ²⁰ But how is it to your credit if you receive a beating for doing wrong and endure it? But if you suffer for doing good and you endure it, this is commendable before God. ²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²² “He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly.” 1 Peter 2:18-23.

Barry Webb notes that the presence of Jesus is all pervasive in this fourth ‘Servant Song’, but He doesn’t speak a word.

Today I have come back to prayer and the Bible like a hungry man!

Let me explain:

You see, I have been ‘on holiday’ for just over a week, and I recognise that I have neglected my regular times alone with God. Yes, I could start to make excuses, but none of them will stick.

What I now see so clearly is how easy it is to drift spiritually with just a little neglect; how easily one can become spiritually lethargic.

I know the Bible does not set out a rule that you must have a ‘quiet time’. But think of it in other terms: if you keep on skipping meals, what happens to you?

Spiritual growth is indissolubly linked to a diligent use of ‘the means of grace’: (these include prayer, Bible reading, fellowship etc).

A little neglect may quickly take you a long way in the wrong direction.

If we find a way back, it is the mercy of God.