Isaiah 53

The Sin-Bearing Messiah

Isaiah 53:¹ Who has believed our report?

The acceptance of a God who would give his life for men is an almost unbelievable concept, and one that can only be accepted by faith.

• ^{Jeremiah 17:23 But they did not obey nor incline their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear nor receive instruction.}
• ^{Luke 9:53 But they did not receive Him, because His face was set for the journey to Jerusalem.}
• ^{John 1:11 He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him.}
• ^{Thessalonians 2:10 and with all unrighteous deception among those who perish, because they did not receive the love of the truth, that they might be saved.}

And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

Note: The “arm” of a king is his son, the prince.
The “arm” of the Father is Jesus, the Prince of Peace and the Prince of Life.

• ^{Isaiah 9:6 For unto us a Child is born, unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.}
• ^{Daniel 9:25 Messiah the Prince}
• ^{Acts 3:15 Killed the Prince of life, whom God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.}
• ^{Acts 5:31 Him God has exalted to His right hand to be Prince and Savior, to give repentance to Israel and forgiveness of sins.}

Isaiah 53:² For He shall grow up before Him (God) as a tender plant,

A plant spread seeds. A good plant spreads good seeds. In this sense, the plant is a “sower”. These seeds are the gospel of salvation. The sower sows the word.

• ^{Matthew 13:3-9 Then He spoke many things to them in parables, saying: “Behold, a sower went out to sow. 4 And as he sowed, some seed fell by the wayside; and the birds came and devoured them. (the wicked one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart) 5 Some fell on stony places, where they did not have much earth; and they immediately sprang up because they had no depth of earth. 6 But when the sun was up they were scorched, and because they had no root they withered away. (this is he who hears the word and immediately receives it with joy; 21 yet he has no root in himself, but endures only for a while. For when tribulation or persecution arises because of the word, immediately he stumbles.) 7 And some fell among thorns, and the thorns sprang up and choked them. (he who hears the word, and the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and he becomes unfruitful.) 8 But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty. 9 He who has ears to hear (understand), let him hear (understand)!” (he who hears the word and understands it, who indeed bears fruit and produces: some a hundredfold, some sixty, some thirty.”)}
• ^{2 Corinthians 9:10 Now may He who supplies seed to the sower, and bread for food, supply and multiply the seed you have sown and increase the fruits of your righteousness,}

And as a root out of dry ground.

Note: Jesus as a root: The son of David

• ^{Isaiah 11:1 [The Reign of Jesse’s Offspring] There shall come forth a Rod from the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots.}
• ^{Isaiah 11:10 “And in that day there shall be a Root of Jesse, Who shall stand as a banner to the people; For the Gentiles shall seek Him, and His resting place shall be glorious.”
  Note: King David was the son of Jesse, and Jesus is called the son of David.}
• ^{Matthew 1:1 The book of the genealogy of Jesus Christ, the Son of David, the Son of Abraham:}
• ^{Matthew 9:27 [Two Blind Men Healed] When Jesus departed from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out and saying, “Son of David, have mercy on us!”}
• ^{Matthew 21:9 Then the multitudes who went before and those who followed cried out, saying: “Hosanna to the Son of David! ‘Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!’ Hosanna in the highest!”}
• ^{Matthew 22:42 “What do you think about the Christ? Whose Son is He?” They said to Him, “The Son of David.”}

Note: What is “dry ground”? Ground that is not receptive to the seed or tender plant.

He has no form (Stately form) or comeliness (splendor); And when we see Him, There is no beauty (appearance) that we should desire Him.

Isaiah 53:³ He is despised (by the Jewish elders and Pharisees) and rejected (forsaken) by men (his own disciples),

• ^{Matthew 26:31 Then Jesus said to them, “All of you will be made to stumble because of Me this night, for it is written: ‘I will strike the Shepherd, And the sheep of the flock will be scattered.’ (They forsake Him) Zechariah 13:7}
• ^{Matthew 26:34 Jesus said to him (Peter), “Assuredly, I say to you that this night, before the rooster crows, you will deny Me three times.” (Peter denied Him)}
• ^{Matthew 27:41-44 Likewise the chief priests also, mocking with the scribes and elders, said, 42 “He saved others; Himself He cannot save. If He is the King of Israel, let Him now come down from the cross, and we will believe Him. 43 He trusted in God; let Him deliver Him now if He will have Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’ ” (They mocked Him) 44 Even the robbers who were crucified with Him reviled Him with the same thing. (They reviled Him)}

Finally, even His Father God had to forsake Him when the sins of mankind was laid on Him: God turned His back and hid His face on His own Son.

Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?” that is, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”

A man of sorrows (pains) and acquainted with grief (Literally: sicknesses). And we hid, as it were, our faces from Him;
He was despised, and we did not esteem (value) Him.

The leaders paid 30 pieces of silver to Judas to betray Jesus. That was his price. That was the value they put on Jesus, the Son of God.

• ^{Matthew 26:14 [Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus] Then one of the twelve, called Judas Iscariot, went to the chief priests.}
• ^{Matthew 26:47 [Betrayal and Arrest in Gethsemane] And while He was still speaking, behold, Judas, one of the twelve, with a great multitude with swords and clubs, came from the chief priests and elders of the people.}
• ^{Matthew 27:3 [Judas Hangs Himself] Then Judas, His betrayer, seeing that He had been condemned, was remorseful and brought back the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders,}
• ^{Deuteronomy 27:25 ‘Cursed is the one who takes a bribe to slay an innocent person.’ “And all the people shall say, ‘Amen!’}
• ^{Psalm 94:21 They gather together against the life of the righteous, And condemn innocent blood.}
• ^{Matthew 27:4 (Judas said) “I have sinned by betraying innocent blood.”}
• ^{Matthew 27:7 And they (the chief priests and elders) consulted together and bought with them (the thirty pieces of silver) the potter’s field, to bury strangers in.}
• ^{Matthew 27:9-10 Then was fulfilled what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet, saying, “And they took the thirty pieces of silver, the value of Him who was priced, whom they of the children of Israel priced, and gave them for the potter’s field, as the Lord directed me.”}
• ^{Zechariah 11:12-13 So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver. And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter.}

I noticed that in Matthew 27:9-10 the writer says Jesus’ betrayal was the fulfillment of the prophecy in Jeremiah, but the quote in Matthew 27 from the OT is actually from Zechariah. Is there an explanation for this? 
^{Matthew relies on a very common rabbinical technique of combining related prophetic passages to reveal meaning. In the case of Matthew 27, the author is blending Jeremiah 19:1-11 and Zechariah 11. In rabbinical tradition, when teaching from two prophets is blended into a single quote, the greater prophet receives the credit. In this case, Jeremiah is considered to be a greater prophet, so Matthew attributes the prophecy to him. https://www.versebyverseministry.org/bible-answers/please-explain-matthews-quote-of-jeremiah-in-matthew-27}

“30 pieces of silver,” is a throwback to a reference in the book of Zechariah based on Jewish Law that the value of a servant/slave is 30 pieces of silver.

• ^{Zechariah 11:12–13 So they weighed out for my wages thirty pieces of silver
  And the Lord said to me, “Throw it to the potter”—that princely price they set on me. So I took the thirty pieces of silver and threw them into the house of the Lord for the potter.}

^{Jeremiah 19:1-3, 10-11 The Sign of the Broken Flask – Thus says the Lord: “Go and get a potter’s earthen flask, and take some of the elders of the people and some of the elders of the priests. 2 And go out to the Valley of the Son of Hinnom, which is by the entry of the Potsherd Gate; and proclaim there the words that I will tell you, 3 and say, ‘Hear the word of the Lord, O kings of Judah and inhabitants of Jerusalem. Thus says the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel: “Behold, I will bring such a catastrophe on this place, that whoever hears of it, his ears will tingle…10 “Then you shall break the flask in the sight of the men who go with you, 11 and say to them, ‘Thus says the Lord of hosts: “Even so I will break this people and this city, as one breaks a potter’s vessel, which cannot be made whole again.}

Isaiah 53:⁴ Surely He has borne our griefs (Literally: sicknesses) and carried our sorrows (pains);
Yet we esteemed (reckoned) Him stricken,
Smitten (struck down) by God, and afflicted.

• ^{Psalm 22:14-18
  I am poured out like water, and all My bones are out of joint;
  My heart is like wax; It has melted within Me.
  15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd,
  And My tongue clings to My jaws;
  You have brought Me to the dust of death.
  16 For dogs have surrounded Me;
  The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me.
  They pierced My hands and My feet;
  17 I can count all My bones. They look and stare at Me.
  18 They divide My garments among them, And for My clothing they cast lots.}

Isaiah 53:⁵ But He was wounded (or: pierced through) for our transgressions,

• ^{Psalm 22:16 For dogs (gentiles) have surrounded Me; The congregation of the wicked has enclosed Me. They pierced My hands and My feet;}
• ^{John 19:34 But one of the soldiers pierced His side with a spear, and immediately blood and water came out.}

He was bruised (crushed) for our iniquities;
The chastisement for our peace was upon Him,

• ^{John 11:50 it is expedient for us that one man should die for the people, and not that the whole nation should perish.”}

And by His stripes (blows that cut in) we are healed.

• ^{Luke 22:63 [Jesus Mocked and Beaten] Now the men who held Jesus mocked Him and beat Him.}
• ^{Mark 14:65 Then some began to spit on Him, and to blindfold Him, and to beat Him, and to say to Him, “Prophesy!” And the officers struck Him with the palms of their hands.}
• ^{Matthew 27:26 when he (Pilate) had scourged (flogged with a Roman scourge) Jesus, he delivered Him to be crucified.}
• ^{1 Peter 2:24 who Himself (Jesus) bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, having died to sins, might live for righteousness—by whose stripes you were healed.}

Not just the world, but specifically for the Jews Jesus was stricken, from the sole of the foot even to the head.

The whole head is sick,
And the whole heart faints.

Isaiah 53:⁶ From the sole of the foot even to the head,
There is no soundness in it,
But wounds and bruises and putrefying sores;
They have not been closed or bound up,
Or soothed with ointment.

The Shroud of Turin gives testimony to the extent of Jesus’ beating. Not only the Roman whips, but the crown of thorns on His head, a swollen eye, the nails in His hands and His feet, the bruised knee from His fall, and the spear in His side.
^{https://www.christianity.com/wiki/jesus-christ/what-is-the-shroud-of-turin.html}

Note: The dating on the Shroud of Turin has been proven to be dated to the time of Jesus, proven to come from the location of Jerusalem, and proven not to be a painting or artwork.

Are the Marks on the Man of the Shroud Compatible with the Gospel Accounts of Christ’s Suffering?

^{Medical forensics determined by STURP concluded that the cloth wrapped a human corpse. Blood chemistry indicates human blood from actual wounds. Botanical studies concluded that the cloth originated in Israel. Alternate dating methods (Professor Giulio Fanti, 2013-14) include the First Century within the range. However, can it be proved that the image of “the Man of the Shroud” is Jesus Christ?  Only by inference according to the four gospels:}

• ^{Bloodstains on the head compatible with a crown of thorns.}
• ^{Over 120 scourge (whip) marks compatible with Roman flagrum.}
• ^{Nail wound in the wrists (more anatomically correct to hold the weight of the body than the palm of the hand).}   
• ^{Nail wound through both feet. (The man’s feet were on top of each other.)}
• ^{Legs are pulled up due to rigor mortis.  (A stiffness of muscles that sets in quickly after death and lasts less than four days.)}
• ^{Blood is sourced from actual wounds showing evidence of gravity from a vertical position. (On the cross?)}
• ^{No stains of body decomposition. (Resurrection happened on the third day before decomposition had time to occur?)}
• ^{Wound in the side compatible in size with a Roman spear tip.}
• ^{Post-mortem blood flow from the side wound that also flows across the back.}
• ^{Legs of the man were not broken.}

• ^{Psalm 34:20 He guards all his bones; Not one of them is broken.}
• ^{John 19:36 For these things were done that the Scripture should be fulfilled, “Not one of His bones sh}all be broken.”

• ^{The last three points are interconnected and worthy of explanation. Unique to Jesus was that he was horrifically scourged before he was crucified. As stated in the Apostles Creed: “He suffered under Pontius Pilate, was crucified, died, and was buried.” Pontius Pilate thought that if he had Jesus brutally scourged — then brought him before the Jewish High Priests and the crowd — that they would not also demand his crucifixion.}

• ^{By Roman design, crucifixion was a long torturous process ending in asphyxiation. But Jesus so weakened by his pre-crucifixion ordeal, died faster than the two thieves beside him. With the Sabbath hour fast approaching, the Jewish authorities demanded that all three bodies be taken down from their crosses. However, the two thieves were still alive when the order was given to break their legs — making them unable to push their bodies up to breathe.}

• ^{But, Jesus had already died, so his legs were left intact — compatible with the legs of the Shroud man — fulfilling the previously mentioned Old Testament prophesy. And to confirm Jesus’ death, the Romans pierced his side with a spear— another unique characteristic seen on the Man of the Shroud as recorded in John 19:34. Except for Jesus, there is no man in recorded Roman history who was severely scourged and crucified. Normally, it was one punishment or the other. The Man of the Shroud endured both as written in the gospels.}

^{(One other note: the blood type matches the acclaimed face cloth in blood type; “ab” which is considered rare.)}

Note: “Who killed Jesus?” Answer: “The cross”. The cross is made of wood and throughout scripture wood is symbolic of men. Therefore “men killed Jesus”, not just the ones who tried him and put him on the cross, but every man who has sinned:

• ^{Romans 3:9b For we have previously charged both Jews and Greeks that they are all under sin.}
• ^{Romans 3:23 for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God,}

Isaiah 53:⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; (sheep will follow a leader regardless of where that leader takes them).

Published July 8, 2005
Last Update January 13, 2015

450 Turkish Sheep Leap to Their Deaths
By: Associated Press

ISTANBUL, Turkey – First one sheep jumped to its death.

Then stunned Turkish shepherds, who had left the herd to graze while they had breakfast, watched as nearly 1,500 others followed, each leaping off the same cliff, Turkish media reported.

In the end, 450 dead animals lay on top of one another in a billowy white pile, the Aksam newspaper said. Those who jumped later were saved as the pile got higher and the fall more cushioned, Aksam reported.

“There’s nothing we can do. They’re all wasted,” Nevzat Bayhan, a member of one of 26 families whose sheep were grazing together in the herd, was quoted as saying by Aksam.

The estimated loss to families in the town of Gevas located in Van province in eastern Turkey, tops $100,000, a significant amount of money in a country where average GDP per head is around $2,700.

“Every family had an average of 20 sheep,” Aksam quoted another villager, Abdullah Hazar as saying. “But now only a few families have sheep left. It’s going to be hard for us.”

We have turned, every one, to his own way;

To go astray means to be lost. In the 23^rd Psalm David writes that the Lord is his Shepherd.

Are there other shepherds? Yes, scripture speaks of a yet-to-be worthless shepherd.

• ^{Jesus said “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the sheep.” John 10:11-18}
• ^{“The sheep hear his (Jesus’) voice; and he calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.” John 10:3}
• ^{Jesus said to him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me. John 14:6}

Did Jacob and Esau go their own ways? After their reunion Esau went to Seir, the place of demons (because Seir means “demons”) and Jacob went to Bethel, so named as “the house of the Lord”. Esau was “lost”.

And the Lord has laid on Him (Lit. has caused to land on Him) the iniquity of us all.

Isaiah 53:⁷ He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He opened not His mouth;
He was led as a lamb to the slaughter,

Sheep are the only animals on Earth unable to defend themselves.

• ^{John 1:29 [The Lamb of God] The next day John (the Baptist) saw Jesus coming toward him, and said, “Behold! The Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world!}

The Ethiopian in Acts 8:26 was reading the following passage from Isaiah 53 in Gaza, a desert, when the disciple Philip joined him to explain the meaning of the passage and how it pertained to Jesus. When he believed, Philip baptized him before being “translated” to Azotus also known as Ashdod:

“He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.
³³ In His humiliation His justice was taken away,
And who will declare His generation?
For His life is taken from the earth.”

And as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
So He opened not His mouth.

• ^{Mark 15:4 Then Pilate asked Him again, saying, “Do You answer nothing? See how many things they testify against You!”}

• ^{Sheep are the only animals that do not make noise when they die, they do not complain when they need to be sacrificed, they do not complain about the circumstances, they do not get angry and they do not try to escape.}

Isaiah 53:⁸ He was taken from prison (confinement) and from judgment,

And who will declare His generation?
For He was cut off from the land of the living;
For the transgressions of My people (The Jews) He was stricken.

Isaiah 53:⁹ And they (Literally: He) made His grave with the wicked—

• ^{Mark 15:27 With Him they also crucified two robbers, one on His right and the other on His left.}

But with the rich at His death,

• ^{Matthew 27:57,59 [Jesus Buried in Joseph’s Tomb] Now when evening had come, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus.
  59 When Joseph had taken the body, he wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, 60 and laid it in his new tomb which he had hewn out of the rock;}

Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His mouth.

• ^{Luke 23:4 So Pilate said to the chief priests and the crowd, “I find no fault in this Man.”}

Isaiah 53:¹⁰ Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise (crush) Him;
He has put Him to grief.

• ^{Mark 15:34 And at the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eloi, Eloi, lama sabachthani?” which is translated, “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?”}
• ^{Psalm 22:1 My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning?}

When You make His soul an offering for sin,
He shall see His seed, He shall prolong His days,
And the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand.

Isaiah 53:¹¹ He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied (or: From the labor of His soul He shall see light).
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall justify many,

Note: The Son of God is called a Servant.

• ^{Mark 9:35 And He sat down, called the twelve, and said to them, “If anyone desires to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all.”}

For He shall bear their iniquities.

Isaiah 53:¹² Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, and He shall divide the spoil (plunder) with the strong,

Who are the strong?

• ^{1 John 2:14 I have written to you, fathers, Because you have known Him who is from the beginning. I have written to you, young men, Because you are strong, and the word of God abides in you, And you have overcome the wicked one.}

Who will share in the reward?

• ^{Romans 8:17 and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.}
• ^{2 John 1:8 Look to yourselves, that we do not lose those things we worked for, but that we may receive a full reward.}
• ^{Revelation 22:12 [Jesus Testifies to the Churches] “And behold, I am coming quickly, and My reward is with Me, to give to every one according to his work.}
• ^{Hebrews 10:35 Therefore do not cast away your confidence, which has great reward.}
• ^{Hebrews 11:6 But without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, and that He is a rewarder of those who diligently seek Him.}

Because He poured out His soul (a Jewish drink offering) unto death,

• ^{Psalm 22:14 I am poured out like water,}

And He was numbered with the transgressors (sinners),

And He bore the sin of many,

• ^{Matthew 11:29 Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.}

And made intercession for the transgressors.

• ^{Romans 8:34 Who is he who condemns? It is Christ who died, and furthermore is also risen, who is even at the right hand of God, who also makes intercession for us.}