Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
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.
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.

Isaiah 53:4-6

If you have asked me anything about Bible lessons or study in the last year or so, I have likely mentioned BEMA. This podcast has helped me read the Bible differently in so many ways, but the most important of which is learning to tie the Old Testament passages to New Testament ones in light of the contemporary cultural context. I am not going to link the exact episode for this lesson because it’s not a podcast that you should listen to in random order. It’s necessary to start at the beginning to get all the building blocks of the teachings.

However, I’m going to take a deep dive into one of my favorite episodes and how it changed my view of Isaiah 53, the chapters surrounding it, and the ways in which I view other Old Testament passages. For my entire life, this passage has been linked to Jesus and Jesus alone. In the episode, the hosts ask: Was this passage talking about Jesus when it was written?

Learning to ask questions like this about the Bible has helped me understand layers to teaching that I have completely missed in all the years I have read it. I have learned to try to figure out what the words meant to the people to whom they were written in order to learn the lessons they are meant to teach me as well. In order to understand this passage, it is necessary to first determine who the suffering servant is in these verses. When we look through previous chapters, we see that the servant is clearly defined. Isaiah 40-54 are part of a Suffering Servant discourse.

As we so often like to do in modern Christianity, we have removed the verses we are familiar with from their context in the rest of the Scriptures. When we widen our aperture to see the rest of the discourse, we quickly see who this servant was when the passage was written.

But you, Israel, my servant,
Jacob, whom I have chosen,
you descendants of Abraham my friend,
I took you from the ends of the earth,
from its farthest corners I called you.

Isaiah 41:8

But now listen, Jacob, my servant,
Israel, whom I have chosen.
This is what the Lord says—
he who made you, who formed you in the womb,
and who will help you:
Do not be afraid, Jacob, my servant,
Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

Isaiah 44:1-2

For the sake of Jacob my servant,
of Israel my chosen,
I summon you by name
and bestow on you a title of honor,
though you do not acknowledge me.

Isaiah 45:4

He said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.

Isaiah 49:3

Come together, all of you, and listen:
Which of the idols has foretold these things?
The Lord’s chosen ally
will carry out his purpose against Babylon;
his arm will be against the Babylonians.

Isaiah 48:14-15

Here the author tells us that the Lord’s chosen ally, which in the previous verses we see is the Jewish people, are going to carry out His purpose against Babylon – the people will be successful in their mission.

It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.

Isaiah 49:6

Here the Lord tells his servant that they will restore the tribes of Jacob and even be a light to the Gentiles. 

When this prophecy was written it was not written about Jesus, the man who would live centuries later. It was written about the Jewish people who were suffering in exile under the Babylonian Empire. Isaiah 12-39 describe these woes in detail, and then these passages provide the hope that buds out of those years of woe. If the people of God will return to Him, return to following the Torah, become His servant once more, it will bring hope not only for the tribes of Judah but for the whole world. If the people were willing to suffer and persevere, it would bring healing for generations to come. Going back to Isaiah 52:13, we can see that every time Isaiah 53 says “he,” it is a reference to this same servant that has been described in the previous chapters – the nation of Israel. 

In showing us how to live them out, there is a third layer that modern Biblical scholars often sanitize away. This is an invitation for us to participate in that suffering as well. Too often, American Christianity sells a prosperity gospel in which serving God is supposed to lead to health, wealth, and easy living – the exact opposite of so many promises and invitations of God. It is by our suffering that others may be healed.

With this layered understanding, let’s return to Isaiah 53 and look at a few verses from each of the three `perspectives. I find it helpful to go through all the verses, examining them slowly, but we will do a sample here.

Isaiah 53:4

1. The Jewish people were enslaved and pierced by the Babylonian Empire. They suffered, returned to Torah, and allowed future generations to be close to God. In the New Testament, we see the Jewish people living devout lives. This suffering led to healing.
2. The most common perspective is easier since we have heard it so many times – Jesus died for our sins so that we do not have to suffer the fires of hell.
3. In our suffering, we can take the good news of healing to the rest of the world. We may have to sacrifice the comforts that we have been indoctrinated to believe that we need – a retirement account, six months of savings, a big and bigger and bigger house, more and more stuff to fill our larger spaces. We have to sacrifice the entitlement that we are the center of the world; rather placing ourselves in a position to serve.

Isaiah 53:8

1. The people were punished for the transgressions described throughout the books of Kings, even though we see that God allowed them ample opportunities to repent. They were cut off from their homeland.
2. Jesus was oppressed and judged based on half truths and lies. He went to the cross without protest due to His deep love for us.
3. And here we see one of the greatest issues in modern Christianity – how many “Christians” shout against the “oppression” and “judgment” they believe that they are suffering? No where does Jesus imply that we are supposed to impose Biblical principles on other people by way of political force. In fact, here we see that Christians are invited to be taken away without protest. We are to love our neighbor as ourselves – not decrying our own suffering.

Isaiah 53:10

1. God allowed the Jewish people to be exiled so that their offspring would have prolonged days. Again, these are the messages that the people of God would have heard when it was written – not a message about Jesus – but a message of hope in their own suffering.
2. God allowed Jesus to be crushed so that the will of God could prosper in our lives centuries later.
3. We have another invitation to participate in this suffering too. We can make our lives an offering for the sins of others. By laying our lives down to serve, love, and reach out to the people we consider the most difficult or challenging, we provide an opportunity for them to follow God as well. And Jesus provided the perfect example of strength in humility – suffering when He did have to in order to provide a path of salvation for others.