Unlocking the Meaning of Isaiah 53: Who is the Suffering Servant?

The 'suffering servant' song of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is one of the most significant of Messianic prophecies that we find in the Hebrew Bible. It introduces to us the innocent suffering servant who would be slain for the sins of God's people. But few people realize the full significance of Isaiah 53 in relation to the identity of the Messiah. When one reads the suffering servant song in the context of the book of Isaiah as a whole, it becomes clear that the text unmistakably points to a divine Messiah -- i.e. the Christ must be God Himself veiled in human flesh. In this article, I aim to reveal why. But first, the text of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is worth reproducing in its entirety.

13 Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
    he shall be high and lifted up,
    and shall be exalted.
14 As many were astonished at you—
    his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
    and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
15 so shall he sprinkle many nations.
    Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
for that which has not been told them they see,
    and that which they have not heard they understand.

Who has believed what he has heard from us?
    And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 For he grew up before him like a young plant,
    and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
    and no beauty that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
    a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
    he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs
    and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
    smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions;
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
    and with his wounds we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
    we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
    yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
    and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
    so he opened not his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
    and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
    stricken for the transgression of my people?
9 And they made his grave with the wicked
    and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
    and there was no deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
    he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
    he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
11 Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
    make many to be accounted righteous,
    and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
    and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
    and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
    and makes intercession for the transgressors.

I will not dwell long on the popular understanding among orthodox Jews today that the servant here is simply a personification of the nation of Israel, or even a righteous remnant within Israel. Very briefly, this interpretation fails for a number of reasons. For one thing, consider verses 8-9:

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

In context, the "my people" of verses 8 is clearly the Hebrews. How, then, can national Israel be "cut off out of the land of the living" and "stricken for the transgression of my people [i.e. Israel]" if Israel herself has done no violence and there be no deceit in her mouth? Moreover, Isaiah is quite explicit elsewhere, such as in Isaiah 6:5, where he exclaims concerning his own guilt before God:

“Woe is me! For I am lost; for I am a man of unclean lips, and I dwell in the midst of a people of unclean lips; for my eyes have seen the King, the Lord of hosts!”

It seems unlikely that Isaiah 53 speaks of a righteous remnant if this is how even Isaiah felt about his own standing before God. Moreover, he says in Isaiah 64:6,

We have all become like one who is unclean, and all our righteous deeds are like a polluted garment. We all fade like a leaf, and our iniquities, like the wind, take us away.

A further reason to think that this text is not personifying the nation of Israel is that God uses the nations to smite Israel for Israel's sins -- and Israel's smiting does not bring healing to the other nations. Rather, God then turns His hand in judgment against them for overdoing the punishment and for their haughtiness and arrogance (see Jeremiah 30 & 31, Zechariah 1, and Isaiah 10 & 29).

But if not national Israel or a righteous remnant, who then is the servant of Isaiah 53?

Does Isaiah 53 Speak About the Nation of Israel as a Whole, a Righteous Remnant Within Israel, or the Coming Messiah?

In the above short clip, Dr. Michael Brown evaluates the hypotheses that Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12 is speaking of the Nation of Israel as a whole, a righteous remnant within Israel, and the coming Messiah. Check out, and subscribe to, Dr. Michael Brown's Real Messiah YouTube Channel for other similar videos that defend and demonstrate the Messianic credentials of Jesus.

Who Has Believed Our Message?

A recent blog post on the MDI site takes issue with viewing Isaiah 53 as a prophecy of the person and work of the Messiah, particularly His vicarious sacrifice and triumphant resurrection. According to the unnamed author, since the apostles did not expect Jesus to die and rise again before the events came to pass, they did not understand Isaiah 53 in the way Christians do today. Moreover, as the author further points out, no one else prior to the crucifixion understood from this passage what Christians understand it to teach.

However, far from being an insuperable objection to the Christian interpretation, an interpretation the disciples heard from Jesus and later came to understand and believe consequent upon Jesus rising from the dead, the MDI author’s observations unknowingly confirm that the passage was completely fulfilled, not only what it says about the Messiah dying and rising again, but even what it says about the fact that the generality of people would not recognize that the crucified one was the promised Messiah who came to die for the sins of His people and rise again for their justification. Indeed, the passage begins with a rhetorical question, which points up the incredulity of Israel to the prophetic word spoken by Isaiah, and continues to strike the same cord about Israel’s spiritual blindness to the reality of what God’s Servant, the Messiah, was going to do.

WHO HAS BELIEVED OUR MESSAGE?

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

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,

And like a root out of parched ground;

He has no stately form or majesty

THAT WE SHOULD LOOK UPON HIM,

Nor appearance THAT WE SHOULD BE ATTRACTED TO HIM.

He was DESPISED AND FORSAKEN OF MEN,

A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;

AND LIKE ONE FROM WHOM MEN HIDE THEIR FACE

HE WAS DESPISED, AND WE DID NOT ESTEEM HIM.

Surely our griefs He Himself bore,

And our sorrows He carried;

YE WE OURSELVES ESTEEMED HIM STRICKEN,

SMITTEN OF GOD, AND AFFLICTED.

But He was pierced through for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,

And by His scourging we are healed.

All of us like sheep have gone astray,

Each of us has turned to his own way;

But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all

To fall on Him.

He was oppressed and He was afflicted,

Yet He did not open His mouth;

Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,

And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,

So He did not open His mouth.

By oppression and judgment He was taken away;

And as for His generation, WHO CONSIDERED

THAT HE WAS CUT OFF OUT OF THE LAND OF THE LIVING

FOR THE TRANSGRESSION OF MY PEOPLE, to whom the stroke was due?

His grave was assigned with wicked men,

Yet He was with a rich man in His death,

Because He had done no violence,

Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

But the Lord was pleased

To crush Him, putting Him to grief;

If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,

He will see His offspring,

He will prolong His days,

And the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.

As a result of the anguish of His soul,

He will see it and be satisfied;

By His knowledge the Righteous One,

My Servant, will justify the many,

As He will bear their iniquities.

Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,

And He will divide the booty with the strong;

Because He poured out Himself to death,

And was numbered with the transgressors;

Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,

And interceded for the transgressors.

It might be an understatement to say this MDI author missed the obvious, but certainly we can’t say anything less than that. Interestingly enough, this shows that someone can miss something even if it is clear in itself. This is because an objective source of light is only of benefit to subjects that have eyes to see. Prior to the resurrection, the dying and rising of the Messiah was hidden from the eyes of the disciples just like it is still hidden from the eyes of Muslims. Only a supernatural work of divine grace can overcome the blindness of the natural man. Let us pray that this writer for MDI and that Muslims the world over will be recipients of this grace and that God will cause the light of the Gospel of Christ to shine in their hearts.

And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing. In their case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelievers, to keep them from seeing the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God. For what we proclaim is not ourselves, but Jesus Christ as Lord, with ourselves as your servants for Jesus' sake. For God, who said, “Let light shine out of darkness,” has shone in our hearts to give the light of the knowledge of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. (2 Corinthians 4:3-6)