Today’s Old Testament Scripture from this week’s Lectionary from the Book of Common Prayer is the prophet Isaiah’s description of the Messiah as the Suffering Servant. It is one that many people associate with Holy Week, especially Good Friday. However, this is a passage that Christians should read and meditate on at any time of the year, bringing to mind all that Jesus went through for us.
As we begin this passage, Isaiah is describing the Messiah, the Lord Jesus. The popular thought at the time of Jesus was that the Messiah would come as a victorious warrior and deliverer, who would rescue the Jewish people from the oppression of their enemies, namely the Roman Empire. This was not the type of Messiah God sent, though. He sent His Son to redeem all of mankind from their sins, not as some political hero. Isaiah prophesied that the Messiah would be a suffering servant, not a victorious king or champion. Jesus came to deliver men from sin, but that was not the type of deliverance the people wanted. Because of that, and the type of message He brought them, Jesus was hated and rejected by mankind (vs. 3). He suffered not only external abuse, but also internal grief over the lack of response from those he came to save.
Mankind was sinful, and their sin had separated them from God. Atonement must be made for forgiveness, but animal sacrifices could not sufficiently pay the penalty for our sins. A sinless sacrifice must be made, but who could make that sacrifice, as we all have sinned? God decided He would pay that atonement Himself by sending His Son, Jesus Christ. The Messiah would bear the consequences of the sins of men (vs. 4-5). Jesus was the substitute recipient of God’s wrath on sinners. He suffered the chastisement of God in order to procure our peace with Him. Jesus was sinless, yet suffered for the sins of us all. However, the Jews who watched Him suffer and die thought He was being punished by God for His own sins.
People are like sheep (vs. 6). Like sheep are prone to do, we have wandered from the right path. We have become so hopelessly lost that it is impossible for us, within our own means, to come back to the right path. Jesus came to seek and to save the lost (Luke 19:10).
Isaiah continues in verse 6 to tell us that God laid upon the sinless Savior all of our sins. God treated Jesus as if He had committed every sin ever committed by mankind, even though He was perfectly innocent of any sin Himself. This was so God’s righteous justice would be satisfied. God then gave to the account of sinners who believed the righteousness of Jesus, treating them as if it was their righteousness.
While Jesus was an “offering for sin” as stated in verse 10, He was not a sinner, and He did not become a sinner on the cross, as some people erroneously teach and believe. To have done so would have destroyed the perfection of His sacrifice, which was demanded by God. The sacrifice had to be perfect. Jesus was perfect in every respect.
In our Scripture Isaiah prophesies about the grave of Jesus (vs. 9). The religious leaders who had ordered His death were hoping that Jesus would have a disgraceful death with the wicked. However, Jesus was buried in a rich man’s grave, that of Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-60).
A number of times in this chapter Isaiah asserts that all of the Messiah’s suffering was vicarious, that is, borne for man in order to save him from the consequences of his sins, to enable him to escape punishment. Jesus came to earth for the purpose of dying for our sins. That was the reason he was born. Jesus carried our griefs and sorrows (vs. 4). We have a Savior who doesn’t merely know about our pain, He lived it. He knows and He cares.
How much does God the Father love us? Enough to sacrifice His only Son. The atoning death of Jesus would bring salvation to all who accept Him (vs. 10-11). Because of the death of Jesus, millions of people have accepted Him, found salvation, and become His children. Let’s spend some time meditating upon this Scripture, acknowledging and thanking Jesus for all that He has done for us. If you have not done so before, now is the best time to accept Jesus’s sacrifice for you to save you from eternal separation from God.
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