CHRISTOLOGY: THE DOCTRINE OF MESSIAH
by Dr. Arnold G.
Fruchtenbaum
This is the second
Shofar study of Dr. Fruchtenbaum's
Christology series.
To read study 1,
click here.
*
-
Before
Abraham was born, I am ~ John
8:58
-
I
am the way, and the truth, and the
life: no one cometh unto the Father,
but by me ~ John 14:6
-
He
that hath seen me hath seen the Father
~ John
14:9
|
Few
doctrines can be considered more fundamental than the
nature, character and works of Messiah; and few teachers
are able to convey such truths with the thoroughness,
detail, accuracy, clarity and fluidity that so
characterizes Dr. Fruchtenbaum. So fasten your
seatbelts, and let's continue!
*
Study 2: Ariel
Ministries' Messianic Bible Study # 65:
THE SERVANT OF
JEHOVAH
by Dr. Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum
© 1985, 2005
Ariel Ministries. All rights reserved. This
manuscript is for your
personal use only. No part of this
manuscript may be reproduced in any form,
except
in brief quotation in a review or
professional work, without written
permission from the publishers. Email: Homeoffice@ariel.org
• Website: www.ariel.org.
This
manuscript is republished by special
permission of Ariel Ministries.
*
|
I,
Jehovah, have called you in
righteousness, and will hold your
hand, and will keep you, and give
you for a covenant of the people,
for a light of the Gentiles;
~ Isaiah 42:6 ~
|
INTRODUCTION
This study is
on the Servant of Jehovah as described by the Prophet
Isaiah. Periodically throughout chapters 42-66, Isaiah
speaks of an Individual he identifies as the Servant
of Jehovah.
For Isaiah, this term is a messianic title, for in
these passages, he states many things about the
Messiah, particularly truths concerning His First
Coming. From these Servant of Jehovah passages, much
can be learned about the Person and work of Yeshua
(Jesus) from the Old Testament - even things never
revealed in the New Testament.
Throughout the Servant of Jehovah passages, sometimes
God is speaking, sometimes the Servant Himself is
speaking, and sometimes Isaiah the Prophet is
speaking. These passages are divided into five
sections: His presentation and commission, His
mission, His training, His death, and His First and
Second Comings.
I. THE PRESENTATION
AND THE COMMISSION
OF THE SERVANT OF JEHOVAH - ISAIAH 42:1-9
The first major
passage on the Servant of Jehovah can be divided into
two parts: His presentation and His commission.
A. The Presentation of the Servant: Isaiah
42:1-4
God the Father is the speaker as He presents the
Servant. The picture is of a king presenting his
servant, his messenger, with all the king's delegated
authority. Four aspects of the Servant are described:
His status, His manner, His ministry, and His success.
The status of the Servant is described in verse 1: Behold, my servant, whom I
uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delights: I
have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth
justice to the Gentiles.
The word Behold
is Isaiah's way of getting one's attention. God calls
Israel's attention to Someone He is going to
introduce. Six points are made concerning the status
of the Servant in this verse.
First, the One He is introducing is my servant, the
Messiah. Yeshua took a servant's role in John 4:34 and
Philippians 2:5-8.
Secondly, He is One whom I
uphold. The Hebrew word translated
uphold means “to sustain.” Jesus was sustained by God
the Father in Mark 1:12-13.
Thirdly, the Messiah is my chosen; He is God's
special, chosen One. In the New Testament, this is
taught in I Peter 2:4-6.
Fourthly, the Messiah is the One in whom my soul delights;
He is the Person in whom God the Father takes a
special delight. This was true of Yeshua in Luke 3:22.
Fifth, God the Father declares: I
have put my Spirit upon him. The word
Spirit refers to the Holy Spirit. The entire Triune
God is mentioned in verse 1: the speaker is God the
Father; the Servant is God the Son; the Spirit is God
the Holy Spirit. In the Book of Isaiah, the Holy
Spirit plays a special role in conjunction with the
Messiah. In Isaiah 11:2, the Holy Spirit is involved
with His Incarnation. In Isaiah 42:1, the Messiah is
anointed by the Holy Spirit, a reference to the
baptism of Yeshua when He was anointed by the Holy
Spirit. In Isaiah 61:1, the Holy Spirit is also
connected with the public ministry of the Messiah. In
Isaiah 42:1, God the Father introduces the Servant as
the Messiah to the Jewish nation and, on that
occasion, He puts the Holy Spirit upon the Servant.
Historically, this was fulfilled at the baptism of
Jesus when He was anointed with the Holy Spirit in
Matthew 3:16-17 and Luke 3:22.
And the sixth aspect of the Servant's status is that
He is the One who will bring
forth justice to the Gentiles.
The manner of the Servant is described in verse 2: He will not cry, nor lift up his
voice, nor cause it to be heard in the street.
His manner is described in three ways. First: He will not cry; He is
not pictured as someone wailing in the streets of the
city. Secondly: nor lift up
his voice; He will not be characterized
by shouting in the streets. Thirdly: nor cause it to be heard in the
street; He will not be a street
preacher. There is nothing wrong with street
preaching. The Apostles did street preaching in the
Book of Acts. Many have done street preaching since
then, and many have come to a saving knowledge of
Yeshua as Messiah by means of street preaching. The
point is that, personally, Yeshua would not be
characterized by preaching in the streets. The
fulfillment of these three things concerning the
manner of the Messiah is found in Matthew 12:15-21.
The ministry of the Servant is described in verse 3: A bruised reed will he not
break, and a dimly burning wick will he not
quench: he will bring forth justice in truth.
The Messiah's style of ministry is described in three
ways. First: a bruised reed
will he not break, a figure of speech
that means “He will not crush the oppressed.”
Secondly: a dimly burning
wick will he not quench, meaning “He
will not squelch the discouraged.” Thirdly: he will bring forth justice in
truth. Verse 1 promised that this One
will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. Now it is
added that, when He does bring forth justice to the
Gentiles, He will do so in truth.
The success of the Servant is described in verse 4: He will not fail nor be
discouraged, till he have set justice in the
earth; and the isles shall wait for his law.
His success is described in four ways First: He will not fail.
Secondly: he will not be
discouraged. Thirdly: he will set justice in the earth.
And fourthly: the isles
shall wait for his law. The point is
that, although His ministry may end in seeming defeat,
yet by being part of the program of God, it will prove
to be a tremendous success.
B. The Commission of the Servant - Isaiah
42:5-9
After the Servant has been introduced to the nation in
verses 1-4, God the Father next gives a commission to
His Servant.
Isaiah gives a description of God the father in verse
5: Thus says God Jehovah, he
that created the heavens, and stretched them
forth; he that spread abroad the earth and that
which comes out of it; he that gives breath unto
the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk
therein.
Isaiah describes God the Father as the One who
commissions, and further describes Him as the Creator
of the heavens and the earth and the Giver of the
breath of life. This is the One who gives the
commission.
God makes a declaration to His Servant in verse 6: I, Jehovah, have called you in
righteousness, and will hold your hand, and will
keep you, and give you for a covenant of the
people, for a light of the Gentiles.
God's declaration is fivefold. First, that His servant
will be called in
righteousness. Secondly, that He will
hold the Servant's hand. Thirdly, He promises to
sustain Him. Fourthly, in relationship to Israel, God
will give Him for a covenant
of the people in that the Messiah will
be the Mediator of the covenant, specifically the
Mediator of the New Covenant (Is. 54:10; 61:8; Jer.
31:31-34; Ezek. 16:60, 62). And fifth, in relationship
to the Gentiles, God declares that the Messiah will be
a light of the Gentiles
(Is. 49:6; Lk. 2:28 32; Jn. 8:12).
The mission of the Servant is stated in verse 7: to open the blind eyes, to bring
out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that
sit in darkness out of the prison house.
The mission of the Servant is to heal spiritual
blindness and to release captives from the spiritual
bondage of sin and Satan.
The One who called the Servant into this mission is
the One whose name is Jehovah in verse 8: I am Jehovah, that is my name;
and my glory will I not give to another, neither
my praise unto graven images. This name
emphasizes God as the covenant keeper. For example, in
keeping with the Davidic Covenant, God will send the
Messiah.
That He is the One who has prophesied these things and
He will be sure that they come to pass is pointed out
in verse 9: Behold, the
former things are come to pass, and new things do
I declare; before they spring forth I tell you of
them.
In this first Servant of Jehovah passage, God the
Father has introduced the Servant to the Jewish people
as the One who is anointed by the Holy Spirit and the
One who was given a commission, which consisted of two
elements: first, to fulfill the covenant to the Jewish
people; and, secondly, to be the light to the
Gentiles.
II. THE MISSION OF THE SERVANT OF JEHOVAH
- ISAIAH 49:1-13
The second Servant of
Jehovah passage will be subdivided into four parts:
the Servant's discouragement, God's reply, the
rejection and exaltation of the Servant, and the
restoration by the Servant.
A. The Discouragement of the
Servant - Isaiah 49:1-4
The Servant describes His calling in verse 1: Listen, O isles, unto me; and
hearken, ye peoples, from far: Jehovah has called
me from the womb; from the bowels of my mother has
he made mention of my name:
The verse begins with a call for the whole world to
listen to what the Servant has to say. He then points
out that He, the Servant, the Messiah, was elected by
God for this specific mission: Jehovah
has called me from the womb; from the bowels of my
mother. It is interesting to note that,
while there are many messianic prophecies that mention
the mother of the Messiah, as it does here, the father
is never mentioned. This is no accident, for according
to Isaiah 7:14, the Messiah was to be born of a
virgin. Whenever the father of the Messiah is
described or mentioned, it is God Himself who turns
out to be that Father. In all messianic prophecy,
there is never the mention of a human father, only a
mother. In this case, the mother is Mary or, more
correctly, Miriam. What was prophesied in Isaiah 7:14
was fulfilled in Matthew 1:21 and Luke 1:31. The point
of verse 1 is that the Messiah was appointed to His
task when He was still in the womb of His mother. This
was indeed true of Yeshua (Lk. 1:30-33). Gabriel
informed Mary that she would conceive by the
overshadowing power of the Holy Spirit. That which was
conceived was holy, the Son of God. This is the One to
whom God the Father will give the throne of His father
David. In Matthew 1:21, this is the One who will save
His people from their sins. Indeed, while the Messiah
was still in the womb of His mother, God already had a
specific commission for Him.
The position of the Servant is given in verse 2: and he has made my mouth like a
sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand has he hid
me: and he has made me a polished shaft; in his
quiver has he kept me close:
The Servant's position is threefold. First, His mouth
was like a sharp sword,
a phrase that means, “to have the ability to pronounce
judgment.” Jesus used this ability in Matthew 23:1-39.
Secondly: in the shadow of
his hand has he hid me, a phrase that
emphasizes protection. He was protected by God the
Father in such a way that no harm could ever come to
Him, until the proper time. That is why every attempt
to have Yeshua killed at the wrong time failed with
the statement that His hour
had not yet come. Thirdly, He was a polished shaft in the
quiver, a term meaning that He was always ready for
use. This was the Servant's position: He had the
ability to pronounce judgment; He was protected by God
the Father; He was always ready to be used by the
Father.
A messianic name for the Servant is found in verse 3:
and he said unto me, You
are my servant; Israel, in whom I will be
glorified.
One of the messianic names for the Messiah is Israel. The Servant is
declared to be Israel par excellence. The name Israel
means “a prince with God.” No one is more of a prince
with God than the Messiah Himself. Furthermore, the
nation of Israel was called to be a kingdom of priests
to represent the Gentiles to God and so become a light
to the Gentiles. Israel, the nation, failed, but
Israel, the Messiah, will accomplish the commission.
He is a true representative of that name and therefore
He can be called Israel. He is the ideal Israelite,
and the Father will be glorified in this Israelite,
the Son.
The complaint of the Servant is issued in verse 4: But I said, I have labored in
vain, I have spent my strength for nought and
vanity; yet surely the justice due to me is with
Jehovah, and my recompense with my God.
Having described His commission and position, His
complaint is made in three statements. First: I have labored in vain or
emptiness. Secondly: I have
spent my strength for nought or
formlessness. Thirdly: and
vanity; My work was like a vapor.
Having expressed His complaint and discouragement,
immediately the Servant describes His faith. Suddenly
there is a change of attitude: yet
surely the justice due to me is with Jehovah,
God knows the situation, and
my recompense with my God, God will
repay and avenge all wrong done against the Servant.
These verses can be summarized as the Messiah's
speaking and complaining of Israel's rejection of His
messianic claims. It appears that all His work was
spent for nothing. But He has not lost His faith in
God the Father or His justice. In the context of the
New Testament, these four verses were fulfilled in the
Agony of Gethsemane.
B. The Reply of God to the Servant
- Isaiah 49:5-6
What is stated here became the foundation for Paul's
statement in Romans 11. God reiterates the Servant's
original commission in verse 5: And
now says Jehovah that formed me from the womb to
be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, and
that Israel be gathered unto him (for I am
honorable in the eyes of Jehovah, and my God is
become my strength).
The Servant's original commission, mentioned in the
first four verses, is restated: Jehovah
that formed me from the womb to be his servant.
From the time the Messiah was in the womb of His
mother, He was already appointed to be the messianic
Servant. He was commissioned to do two things. First,
to bring Jacob again to God, this is emphasizing
salvation, and to gather Israel to Him, this is
emphasizing restoration. The reason is: for I am honorable in the eyes of
Jehovah, and my God is become my strength.
But the problem is: if the Messiah was appointed to
restore Israel, but Israel has rejected the Messiah,
has the plan of God come to nought?
The answer is in verse 6: yea,
he says, It is too light a thing that you should
be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and
to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also
give you for a light to the Gentiles, that you may
be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
The answer is, “Not at all.” In fact, the rejection of
the Messiah was part of the divine plan. For now, the
Servant's commission is extended. God the Father said,
“It is not enough for You to be My servant merely to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and restore the preserved of Israel.”
As an addition to the original commission, the Father
will make the Messiah a light
to the Gentiles so that He could be
God's salvation to the end of the
earth. Therefore, the Messiah should
not be discouraged that Israel rejected Him because
that does not mean that the plan of God had come to
nothing. On the contrary, it fulfills God's plan.
God's plan for the Messiah was to go beyond that of
merely being the restorer or the Savior of Israel. He
was also to be the light to the Gentiles. But before
He could be the light to the Gentiles, Israel first
had to reject Him. After Israel rejected His messianic
claims, He became the light to the Gentiles. After He
has been a light to the Gentiles for a period of time,
then He will begin to do the work of restoring Israel,
until Israel is fully restored.
C. The Rejection and
Exaltation of the Servant - Isaiah 49:7
Thus says Jehovah, the
Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom
man despises, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to
a servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise;
princes, and they shall worship; because of
Jehovah that is faithful, even the Holy One of
Israel, who has chosen you.
God the Father summarizes both the rejection and the
exaltation of the Servant. The rejection is described
in three statements. First, He was despised by the
nations or the Gentiles. Secondly, He was abhorred by
the nation, the Jewish people. Thirdly, He was a
servant to the rulers of the world; He was in
subjection to the ruling Roman Empire at that time
that put the God Man to death.
Then, the exaltation is described. A day will come
when the kings will see and
arise with respect and princes will worship Him. This is
guaranteed to happen some day because Jehovah is
faithful in keeping His promises. Because Jehovah has
chosen this One, He is going to see that the Messiah
will some day be exalted. The same point will be made
in another Servant passage, later in this study (Is.
52:12-15).
D. The Restoration by the Servant -
Isaiah 49:8-13
God the Father describes His response to the Servant
and the means of the people's return in verse 8: Thus says Jehovah, In an
acceptable time have I answered you, and in a day
of salvation have I helped you; and I will
preserve you, and give you for a covenant of the
people, to raise up the land, to make them inherit
the desolate heritages.
Concerning the Servant, He stated: In an acceptable time have I
answered you, and in a day of salvation have I
helped you; and I will preserve you. In
the context of the First Coming of the Messiah, this
was fulfilled at the Crucifixion. At the Crucifixion,
the Messiah also sounded a note of discouragement when
He stated, My God, my God,
why have you forsaken me? He made this
cry after suffering six hours on the cross and, during
the last three hours, He suffered the wrath of God in
that He was spiritually dead and separated from the
Father. But in that day of
salvation, the Father helped Him. The day the Messiah
provided salvation to the world by the shedding of His
blood, on that day, He was helped by God the Father
and preserved by Him. Just as God the Father did a
work of restoration in the Son, even so, He will
fulfill the promise in that He will restore Israel by
means of the Son. This Servant will become the covenant of the people.
He will indeed be the One who will fulfill the New
Covenant that promised the salvation and the
restoration of Israel. The Servant will be the One to raise up the land;
He will cause people to inherit
the desolate heritages. He will be the
One to restore Israel.
That there will be the removal of all obstacles to the
return is pointed out in verses 9-11: saying to them that are bound, Go
forth; to them that are in darkness, Show
yourselves. They shall feed in the ways, and on
all bare heights shall be their pasture. They
shall not hunger nor thirst; neither shall the
heat nor sun smite them: for he that has mercy on
them will lead them, even by springs of water will
he guide them. And I will make all my mountains a
way, and my highways shall be exalted.
That there will be a world wide regathering is stated
in verse 12: Lo, these shall
come from far; and, lo, these from the north and
from the west; and these from the land of Sinim.
Then, as Isaiah sees the program of God concerning the
Messiah's rejection followed by His exaltation and the
restoration of Israel, he breaks forth with a hymn in
verse 13: Sing, O heavens;
and be joyful, O earth; and break forth into
singing, O mountains: for Jehovah has comforted
his people, and will have compassion upon his
afflicted.
The flow of thought of Isaiah 49:1-13 is crucial for
understanding a very important messianic role. The
passage begins with the Messiah in discouragement,
agonizing over Israel's rejection. Israel's rejection
of the Messiah seems to imply that the commission He
received - to bring salvation to Israel and to restore
Israel - will now never be fulfilled. In the context
of His First Coming, this agonizing of verses 1-4
occurred in the Agony of Gethsemane. At that point, a
message comes to the Son from God the Father in verses
5-6. According to Luke 22:43, it was an angel sent by
God who delivered this particular message to the
Messiah. The message was that His rejection by Israel
was by no means a failure in God's plan and program.
In fact, it is a fulfillment of that plan. It was not
the intention of God for the Messiah to save only
Israel. It was also His intention for the Messiah to
be a light to the Gentiles. In the plan of God, Israel
was to reject the Messiahship of Yeshua so that, for a
period of time, the light could go out to the
Gentiles.
In the New Testament, that is exactly what happened.
With the rejection of the Messiahship of Yeshua, the
gospel went out to the Gentiles. Acts 15:14 states
that as a result of Israel's rejection, there is a new
purpose in this age: to take
out from among the Gentiles a people for his name.
Paul emphasized the same point in Romans 11, where he
shows how Israel's rejection of the Messiah was part
of God's plan so that, for awhile, the Gospel could go
out to the Gentiles. Paul said that, by the stumbling
of Israel, salvation has indeed gone out to the
Gentiles. Gentiles are now being saved and evangelized
in light of Israel's rejection. God will continue to
take out from among the Gentiles a people for His name
until the fullness of the
Gentiles be come in. When the full
number of Gentiles that God has ordained for the
Church enters into the Church, at which point the
Church will be complete, the Church will be removed
from this earth by means of the Rapture.
Isaiah 49 said that after the period of time that the
Messiah has been the light to the Gentiles, He will
again turn His face toward Israel, and this time,
Israel will accept Him. At that point, the Messiah
will do the work of restoring Israel totally and
completely. Paul writes in Romans 11 that, after the
fullness of the Gentiles comes in, after God has
completed His calling out from among the Gentiles a
people for His name, God will again deal with Israel.
Paul clearly stated that once the fullness of the
Gentiles comes in, all Israel will be saved. Romans 11
clearly follows the outline of Isaiah 49.
The messianic mission has not and will not end in
failure. It will be a rousing success. As a result of
the work of the Messiah, myriads of Gentiles will come
to a saving knowledge of Him and so will the whole
nation of Israel that is living at the time of the
Second Coming.
III. THE TRAINING OF THE SERVANT
OF JEHOVAH - ISAIAH 50:4-9
The third Servant of
Jehovah passage explains just how the Messiah was
trained as He was growing up. The discipling of the
Servant is described in verse 4: The Lord Jehovah has given me the
tongue of them that are taught, that I may know
how to sustain with words him that is weary: he
wakens morning by morning, he wakens mine ear to
hear as they that are taught. In verse
4a, the Lord Jehovah has
given me the tongue of them that are taught
or that are discipled. The Hebrew word translated
taught is the same Hebrew root for the word
“disciple.” God the Father discipled the Son. While in
His deity, Yeshua was omniscient, in His humanity,
Jesus had to undergo the same learning process as all
men. But Yeshua studied with God the Father.
God gave the Messiah a message for the weary in verse
4b: that I may know how to
sustain with words him that is weary;
this message is found in Matthew 11:28-30 where Yeshua
stated: Come unto me, all ye
that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me;
for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall
find rest unto your souls. For my yoke is easy,
and my burden is light.
Furthermore, this training by God the Father came with
frequency. In verse 4c, it came morning
by morning. As soon as the humanity of
the Son could understand and be taught, God the Father
would awaken His Son, morning
by morning, to take Him aside and train
Him or disciple Him for the mission He had to fulfill.
That the Messiah was personally trained by God the
Father explains His tremendous and unusual development
described in Luke 2:40 and 52. It also helps to
understand how, by the age of twelve, Jesus clearly
understood who He was and what His messianic role was.
This verse explains how, at the age of twelve, He had
such tremendous knowledge of Scripture and biblical
truth so that He was able to hold intelligent
conversations with those who were experts of the Law
in the Temple Compound.
Verses 5-6 point out that this Servant was destined to
suffer and be despised. But the Servant did not react
against this mistreatment according to verse 5: The Lord Jehovah has opened mine
ear, and I was not rebellious, neither turned away
backward.
As a result of His specialized training by God the
Father, He did not rebel. Even when He was finally
told that His mission was one of tremendous suffering
and a painful death, He did not turn away from
listening. He did not rebel against that particular
truth. Similar points are made by Psalm 40:6-8 and
Hebrews 10:5-7.
The act of suffering is described in verse 6: I gave my back to the smiters,
and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I
hid not my face from shame and spitting.
This verse mentions three types of suffering the
servant will endure. First: I
gave my back to the smiters. During His
discipleship by God the Father, the Son clearly
learned that His mission was one of suffering and
death. At some point, He would undergo many hours of
torture. When that day came, He not only refused to
rebel against it, He willingly turned his back to
those who were smiting Him. He did not try to flinch
away from the painful blows. Secondly: my cheeks to them that plucked
off the hair. Rather than trying to
cover His face with His hands to keep them from
pulling out His beard, He turned His face toward His
tormentors so that they had free access to pull His
beard out by the roots. In its Jewish frame of
reference, the act of pulling out someone's beard was
a sign of utter contempt (Ezra 9:3; Neh. 13:25). The
very fact that He allowed His beard to be pulled out
was an act of submission to utter contempt. Thirdly: I hid not my face from shame
and spitting. Even when they began
spitting in His face, He did not try to cover His face
or turn away to avoid the spittle flying toward Him.
He left Himself totally exposed, totally vulnerable to
all these punishments of blows, spitting, and pulling.
This verse was fulfilled in Matthew 26:67; 27:26, 30;
Mark 14:65; and John 18:22.
The remaining segment of this passage points out that,
while the Servant is in the midst of suffering, He
will be aided by the Lord Jehovah, by God the Father
in verses 7-9. Three points are made in these verses.
First, the Servant will not be confounded in verse 7:
For the Lord Jehovah will
help me; therefore have I not been confounded:
therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I
know that I shall not be put to shame.
Even in the midst of His tremendous suffering, even as
He was suffering these blows, the scourging, the
spitting, the pulling out of the beard, and all the
mockery that went with it, He still recognized that
God the Father was with Him. Because God the Father
was with Him, He was not confounded. Instead, He set
His face like a flint
for the purpose to which He was called, and that
purpose was to suffer and die. His faith was that He
would not be shamed; that He would not end in
suffering and death. He would have victory through it,
in it, and ultimately over it.
The second point is that the Servant will be justified
in verse 8: He is near that
justifies me; who will contend with me? let us
stand up together: who is mine adversary? let him
come near to me.
There is no one who can contend with Him.
Justification means “to be declared righteous, ” “to
be declared innocent.” He was found guilty of
blasphemy by the Jewish trial. He was found guilty of
sedition and rebellion by the Gentile, Roman trial.
But ultimately, the Servant was justified by God and
declared righteous. This justification of the Servant
came by means of His Resurrection (Rom. 1:4; I Tim.
3:16).
And the third point is that the Servant is not
condemned in verse 9: Behold,
the Lord Jehovah will help me; who is he that
shall condemn me? behold, all they shall wax old
as a garment, the moth shall eat them up.
On one hand, He is justified; on the other, He is not
condemned. Again, there is the recognition that He had
God the Father's help. Those who will contend with the
Servant will die away with age while the Servant will
prove to be eternal.
IV. THE DEATH OF THE SERVANT OF
JEHOVAH - ISAIAH 52:13-53:12
The fourth Servant of
Jehovah passage is the most famous and the most
detailed. This passage emphasizes the death of the
Servant, whereas the previous one emphasized His
suffering prior to death.
A. Introduction
This Servant of Jehovah passage builds on the previous
Servant passages. Isaiah 42:1-4 spoke of the
commission of the Servant: to save and to restore
Israel. Isaiah 49:1-13 pointed out that the mission of
the Servant will be accompanied by difficulties,
because Israel will reject Him. The Servant will be
rejected by Israel (vv. 1-4) and, as a result, the
Servant would become a light to the Gentiles for a
period of time (vv. 5-7). Eventually, Israel will
accept Him as the Messiah and be restored (vv. 8-13).
Isaiah 50:4-9 prophesied the suffering of the Servant
with no real reason given for it. Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12
deals with two major areas. First, it will provide the
specific reasons for His suffering not given by either
Isaiah 49 or 50. Secondly, it will state that the
suffering of the Messiah will lead to the death of the
Messiah.
1. The Arm of
Jehovah
In this passage, not only is the Messiah the Servant
of Jehovah, He is also referred to as the arm of Jehovah. The arm of Jehovah motif
is developed in previous sections of Isaiah. In Isaiah
40:10, the arm of Jehovah will rule for God. In Isaiah
51:5, the Gentiles will trust in the arm of Jehovah.
In Isaiah 51:9, the arm of Jehovah will redeem. In
Isaiah 52:10, the arm of Jehovah will provide
salvation. In this passage, Isaiah 53:1 states that
the arm of Jehovah is identified as the same as the
Servant of Jehovah and explains just how it will bring
salvation. In Isaiah 52:3, Isaiah taught that Israel
will be redeemed without money. This passage will
explain the means of this redemption without money, it
will be redemption by blood. Thus, this fourth Servant
of Jehovah passage builds upon the previous Servant of
Jehovah passages and upon previous arm of Jehovah
teachings in the Book of Isaiah.
2. The Prophetic or Eschatological
Setting
Regarding the prophetic or eschatological setting,
this passage is the prophecy of the rejection,
sufferings, trial, death, burial, and resurrection of
the Messiah. However, as Isaiah speaks, he uses the
past tense. Furthermore, he uses the plural personal
pronouns we, us, and our, all of which refer to Israel
as a people. Contextually, it is Israel's national
confession. As a nation, Israel will confess these
words in the closing three days of the Tribulation,
just preceding the Second Coming of Jesus the Messiah.
In this context, it is viewed as a past event that
Israel will confess in the future.
3. Of Whom
Does Isaiah Speak?
Those involved in Jewish evangelism usually have to
battle over this passage. It has become a common
teaching of the rabbis today that this passage is not
speaking of an individual Messiah, rather, it is
speaking of Israel as a nation suffering among the
Gentiles. There are various reasons why this simply
could not be so.
First, all ancient rabbis took this passage to be
messianic. In fact, the first one ever to give this
passage a national interpretation rather than an
individual interpretation was a leading rabbi, Rashi,
around A.D. 1000. In other words, prior to A.D. 1000,
all Jewish rabbis and all the Jewish writings
understood the passage to refer to an individual, and
that individual was the Messiah. Even in Rashi's day,
the majority did not accept his view. It did not
really become a majority Jewish view until the late
1800s and into the 1900s. This is a very recent
reinterpretation of the passage.
A second reason this passage must refer to an
individual Messiah and not to Israel as a nation is
because of its use of distinctive first person
pronouns we, us, and our. From the
viewpoint of Isaiah, the we,
us, and our refer to the Jews.
If the we, us, and our are the Jews, then
to whom do the third person pronouns he, him, or his refer? They cannot
refer to Israel, because Israel is the we, us, and our. The he, him, and his must be the
Messiah. Thus, the distinction between the first
person and the third person pronouns requires that the
first person pronouns refer to the Jewish people and
the third person pronouns refer to the Messiah.
The third reason this has to be an individual and not
the nation is because of verse 8, where Isaiah states:
as for his generation who
among them 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.
Verse 8 describes the people to whom he speaks as my people; Isaiah's
people were the Jewish people. The Servant in this
passage is suffering and dying on behalf of my people. If my people refers to
Israel, and if my people
are Jews, the Servant cannot be the nation of Israel,
but can only be an individual Jew, the Messiah.
The fourth reason this has to be an individual is
because He is presented as a singular human
personality throughout the passage. Isaiah is speaking
about a singular human personality, one who acts like
an individual, and one who undergoes suffering only an
individual can undergo. The details of this will be
explained below.
The fifth reason this has to be an individual is found
in verse 7: the suffering of this One is voluntary,
willing, and silent. In the case of Israel, the nation
has not suffered voluntarily, willingly, and certainly
not silently.
The sixth reason this
has to be an individual and not the nation is that the
Servant suffers a vicarious substitutionary death that
in this passage (vv. 4-6, 8, 10-12). Israel did not
suffer on behalf of the Gentiles, but rather, Israel
suffered because of the Gentiles. Furthermore, Israel
suffered for her own sins. The sufferings of Israel
during all these centuries has not produced salvation
among the Gentiles.
The seventh reason this has to be an individual is
that the suffering of the Servant brings justification
and spiritual healing to those who accept it (vv. 5,
11). This has not been done for the Gentiles by
Israel, and Gentiles have not received justification
or spiritual healing by accepting the substitutionary
sufferings of Israel.
The eighth reason this has to be an individual is that
the Servant dies in this passage (vv. 8, 12). Israel
has never died, but has continued to survive
regardless of extreme degrees of persecution.
The ninth reason is that the Servant is resurrected in
this passage. Israel as a people has never died,
therefore, they never needed to be resurrected. After
Abraham, there never was a time in history that Jewish
people did not exist.
For these reasons, this passage must be interpreted as
speaking of the individual Messiah, not of the nation
of Israel. This is the way it was understood by the
first Jewish believers, as Acts 8:30-35 clearly shows:
And Philip ran to him, and
heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said,
Understand you what you read? And he said, How can
I, except some one shall guide me? And he besought
Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the
passage of the Scripture which he was reading was
this, He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And
as a lamb before his shearer is dumb, So he opened
not his mouth: In his humiliation his judgment was
taken away: His generation who shall declare? For
his life is taken from the earth. And the eunuch
answered Philip, and said, I pray you, of whom
speaks the prophet this? of himself, or of some
other? And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning
from this Scripture, preached unto him Jesus.
B. The Five Strophes
This Servant of Jehovah passage contains five segments
or strophes, and each strophe is also the title for
that strophe.
1. Behold, My Servant Shall
Prosper - Isaiah 52:13-15
The exaltation of the Servant is spoken of in verse
13: Behold, my servant shall
deal wisely, he shall be exalted and lifted up,
and shall be very high. Beginning with
the word Behold,
Isaiah calls for special attention. As in Isaiah 42:1,
special attention is once again called to this
messianic Servant of Jehovah. He is going to deal wisely. This is a
translation of a Hebrew word which means “to deal
wisely or prudently, ” “to act with intelligence.” It
also has another meaning, and that is “to prosper or
succeed.” In this context, this is probably a better
translation. The Servant will prosper and succeed. The
second phrase states: he
shall be exalted. The Hebrew word
means, “to rise, ” and it is a reference to His
resurrection. The third phrase states that He shall be lifted up, a
reference to His Ascension. The fourth phrase is: shall be very high. The Hebrew
word means, “to be exceedingly high, ” and it is a
reference to His present session in Heaven at the
right hand of God the Father. Verse 13 introduces the
messianic Person by summarizing His exaltation. First,
He will have a successful ministry; secondly, He will
be resurrected; thirdly, He will ascend into Heaven;
and fourthly, He will remain in Heaven for a period of
time. The New Testament records the fulfillment of
this verse in Acts 2:31-33; 3:13, 26; and Philippians
2:5-9.
The humiliation of the Servant, which precedes His
exaltation is spoken of in verse 14: Like as many were astonished at
you (his visage was so marred more than any man,
and his form more than the sons of men).
Isaiah states: Like as many
were astonished at you. Just as many
were astonished at Him, so many will also be awed by
His future glory. The word for astonished means “to be
struck dumb”; they were unable to speak because of the
horror of it all. But why were many astonished at Him?
The reason is given next: his
visage was so marred, that is, so
disfigured that he no longer resembled a man. People
looking at Him, at one point in His life, were
astonished. The time of this astonishment was after
the scourging when, indeed, his
visage was so marred, so disfigured,
that He no longer resembled a man. But just as He
underwent suffering, even so, He will undergo
glorification. Indeed, glorification in Scripture is
often reached by means of suffering.
The victory of the Servant is spoken of in verse 15: so shall he sprinkle many
nations; kings shall shut their mouths at him: for
that which had not been told them shall they see;
and that which they had not heard shall they
understand. The phrase so shall he
sprinkle many nations can also be translated “so shall
he startle many nations.” In some passages, this word
means, “to sprinkle” in a purifying sense. If that is
the meaning here, then the “sprinkling” is that of His
blood by which many Gentiles will be purified. But if
the meaning is “to startle, ” then the meaning is
that, just as they were astonished at His marring at
the First Coming, they will be astonished again as a
result of the Second Coming; but this time, the
astonishment will be one of respect. Contextually,
this may be the better meaning. Next Isaiah states:
kings shall shut their mouths at him; this is a clear
sign of respect. The reason they will shut their
mouths at Him is twofold. First, they shall see what
had not been told them; and secondly, they will
understand what they had not heard. When they realize
that the One who had been so terribly despised and
rejected at His First Coming is the Messianic King of
the world at His Second Coming, they will have no
other response except to shut their mouths at Him.
The first strophe Isaiah 52:13-15, summarizing the
humiliation, the victory, and the exaltation of the
Servant of Jehovah, is an introduction to Isaiah
53:1-12. Verses 1-9 contain Israel's confession of her
rejection of the Messiah and how this rejection led to
the sufferings, trial, death, and burial of the
Messiah. Verses 10-15 give the theology of the
Messiah's death and Resurrection.
2. Who Has Believed Our Message? - Isaiah
53:1-3
The second strophe points out that Israel had heard
the report of the Messianic Servant in verse 1: Who has believed our message? and
to whom has the arm of Jehovah been revealed?
Although they had heard the report, they had not
believed it and had not recognized who the arm of Jehovah
really was. This verse emphasizes Israel's lengthy
period of unbelief even though they had heard of this
Messianic Person for a long time.
The humanity of the Servant is spoken of in verse 2: For he grew up before him as a
tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground:
he has no form nor comeliness; and when we see
him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
His humanity is seen
in four ways. First, he grew
up before him as a tender plant. The
word for plant
here means “a suckling.” It is a tender twig that
grows on a trunk or branch and draws life from it. In
fact, men often cut off sucklings because they draw
life from the tree and kill it. The point is that as
He was growing up and developing, He was sometimes
looked upon as merely a suckling, something that
needed to be cut off. Secondly, He was a root out of a dry ground.
This phrase emphasizes the lowly condition in which
the Servant would appear. This is a point Isaiah made
earlier in Isaiah 11:1, which was fulfilled when Jesus
was born into a poverty stricken family. Thirdly, He
had no form or comeliness,
meaning He had no outward, physical beauty. All those
handsome portraits of Yeshua are dead wrong. Every one
of those portraits is a figment of someone else's
imagination and, invariably, they contradict the
Scriptural portrait of Him. In the Scriptures, Jesus
is not seen as someone who was physically beautiful or
handsome. Isaiah re-emphasizes this point with the
fourth phrase: when we see
him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
The point is that, from a human perspective, He was
more on the ugly side. Nothing about His outward
features would attract men to Him.
How the Servant was despised is described in verse 3:
He was despised, and
rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted
with grief: and as one from whom men hide their
face he was despised; and we esteemed him not.
Five statements are made in this verse. First: He was despised, and rejected of
men. The Hebrew word for men means “men
of rank” or “leaders”; He was rejected by the
leadership of Israel. The same word is used of Him in
an earlier Servant of Jehovah passage, Isaiah 49:7.
Secondly, He was a man of
sorrows, and acquainted with grief. The
term a man of sorrows
means “a man of pain.” The term acquainted
with grief means that He was
knowledgeable of diseases. He was confronted with
diseases, a product of the fall, and was able to heal
those who came to Him with these diseases. Thirdly: and as one from whom men hide
their face. Verse 2 stated that He had
no outward, physical beauty and, in fact, men were not
drawn to Him, for He tended to be on the ugly side.
Verse 4 adds that, not only did He not attract men to
Him because of His outward features, men were repulsed
by those features to some degree. The reason people
were attracted to Yeshua was because of His message,
His works, and because they felt the love He had for
them, not because of His outward features. Fourthly: he was despised,
repeating the starting line of the verse. And fifth: we esteemed him not.
There is common Hebrew phrase for Him, which
translates into English, “may His name and memory be
blotted out.” In many of the older Jewish writings, He
was often referred to as the “hanged one” or more
simply as “that man.” Indeed, Israel did not esteem
Him.
3. Surely He
Has Borne Our Griefs, And Carried Our Sorrows -
Isaiah 53:4-6
Having summarized His humiliation and exaltation, and
then having dealt with His basic human development and
how He was despised during His life, in this third
strophe, Isaiah deals with the concept of
substitution.
The substitutionary suffering of the Servant of
Jehovah is spoken of in verse 4: Surely he has borne our griefs,
and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him
stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isaiah uses the plural pronoun our twice in this
verse, to emphasize that His suffering was
substitutionary. The Servant took upon Himself our
sicknesses and our pains. In the Scriptures, the word
“sickness” could be used in a physical or spiritual
sense or both. While Jesus was here on earth, He
healed a great amount of physical sickness as part of
His messianic credentials. He healed all those that
actually came to Him and, for this reason, Matthew
quoted this verse (Mat. 8:16-17). This will be true
again when He returns. The presence of the Messiah
always carries with it greater advantages than His
absence. But the fact that Yeshua physically healed
all those who came to Him while He was present carries
no such guarantee now that He is absent. The main
purpose of His coming was to deal with the issue of
sin and this is the central point of this passage. It
is written in the context of sin and how the Messiah
will deal with it. The sickness is the spiritual
sickness that He came to heal by dealing with the root
cause: the issue of sin.
Secondly: yet we did esteem
him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
This phrase states that when Israel looked upon His
sufferings, they assumed He was suffering for His own
sins; that His suffering was a punishment from God.
The Hebrew word translated as stricken
is a word that means, “to be stricken with something
that is shocking, ” “stricken with a hateful disease.”
They looked upon Him as having been smitten of God
with a very terrible disease. This is why we know that
the word “disease” is being used in a spiritual, not a
physical sense. Yeshua did not die of a physical
disease. He died by execution by means of crucifixion.
In this verse, the execution of Jesus was looked upon
as having been smitten with a shocking and hateful
disease. The disease could not be physical, simply
because Yeshua did not die of a disease. The disease
here must be a spiritual disease, meaning sin. They
believed that He was a sinner, a transgressor. They
believed He was suffering for His own sins. In
reality, He was suffering for their sins. Hence, Jesus
did die of a disease–not physical, but spiritual. The
sins of the world were placed on Him and, because of
and for these sins, He died. In that sense, Yeshua did
die of a disease. In this context, the “diseases” that
Jesus took upon Himself were spiritual, not physical.
Whereas in verse 4, there was substitutionary
suffering, there is substitutionary death in verse 5:
But he was wounded for our
transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities;
the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and
with his stripes we are healed.
Four statements are made concerning His
substitutionary death. First: he
was wounded for our transgressions. The
Hebrew word for wounded
means “to pierce through.” It always refers to a
violent death, not just a slight flesh wound. Why was
He pierced through? It was for our transgressions. The
transgressions of verse 5 are the “diseases” of verse
4, and once again speaks of spiritual disease; that
is, sins. Secondly: he was
bruised for our iniquities. The Hebrew
word for bruised means “to be crushed.” He was crushed
because of our iniquities. Thirdly: the chastisement of our peace was
upon him. Literally, the Hebrew reads
“the punishment which leads to peace was upon him.”
His substitutionary death will lead to personal peace.
His suffering was necessary to bring about spiritual
peace for those who believe. Fourthly: with his stripes we are healed.
The word stripes
refers to welts that are raised on the skin, as a
natural result of scourging. The word healed refers to the
healing of spiritual sickness, not physical sickness;
just as the previous phrases dealt with spiritual
sickness, not physical sicknesses. It should be
pointed out that Matthew 8:16-17 is only an
application and not an exact fulfillment, for at the
time that the events of Matthew 8:16-17 were taking
place, Yeshua had not yet suffered any of the things
in this strophe, though it is by these things that the
healing comes.
Israel's condition is described in verse 6: All we like sheep have gone
astray; we have turned every one to his own way;
and Jehovah has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
Israel's condition is described in three ways. First:
All we like sheep have gone
astray. Secondly: we have turned every one to his
own way. Thirdly: Jehovah has laid on him the
iniquity of us all. This verse
emphasizes the necessity for the suffering of verse 4
and the death of verse 5. He suffered and died because
of Israel's straying, Israel's turning away. He had to
suffer for the iniquity of all Israel. The Hebrew word
iniquity includes three elements: first, the
transgression itself; secondly, the guilt incurred as
a result of committing the transgression; and thirdly,
the punishment incurred because of the guilt. Upon the
Messiah was laid the transgression, the guilt, and the
punishment for it. This passage is applied to Jesus in
I Peter 2:21-25.
4.
He Was Oppressed, Yet When He Was Afflicted He
Opened Not His Mouth - Isaiah 53:7-9
The fourth strophe picks up with the Servant's
sufferings and death, deals with the oppression and
afflictions of the Messiah, and terminates with His
burial.
The silence of the Servant in the midst of His
suffering is described in verse 7: He was oppressed, yet when he was
afflicted he opened not his mouth; as a lamb that
is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that
before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his
mouth.
He was oppressed; He was afflicted; yet He opened not
His mouth in any protest. As a lamb led to the
slaughter, as a sheep is silent before its shearers he opened not his mouth.
He was totally passive in the face of His tormentors.
In the midst of the tremendous sufferings described in
verses 4-6, verse 7 states that He was silent as He
underwent all that suffering and death. It does not
mean that He did not say anything. Yeshua did make
statements during His affliction and on the cross. But
He did not rail against His tormentors. He did not
voice opposition. He did not voice dissent and protest
against what was being done to Him. He suffered these
things quite willingly in keeping with a previous
Servant passage, Isaiah 50:4-9. All four gospel
writers emphasize the fact that He suffered in
silence: Matthew 26:62- 63; 27:12-14; Mark 14:60-61;
15:3-5; Luke 23:8-9; and John 19:10.
The trial and death of the Servant are dealt with in
verse 8: By oppression and
judgment he was taken away; and as for his
generation, who among them 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?
The trial is found in verse 8a: By
oppression and judgment he was taken away.
The word for judgment
refers to a judicial judgment, a judgment resulting
from a trial. According to this phrase, He was tried
in a court of law, found guilty, and sentenced to
death.
His death is described in verse 8b: as for his generation, who among
them 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?
Four points need to be noted in this part of the
verse. First: as for his
generation who among them considered.
The generation
is the generation of Jesus' day, for that was the
Jewish generation that rejected His Messiahship.
Again, verses 1-9 contain Israel's national
confession, a confession Israel will make in the
closing three days of the Great Tribulation, just
preceding the Second Coming. As the Jewish generation
of the Tribulation will look back to the time of His
First Coming, they will ask the question: as for his generation, who among
them considered? This is the same
generation that the Gospel of Matthew emphasized over
and over again with the phrase this generation. This generation of
Jesus' day rejected His messianic claims on the basis
of demon possession and, therefore, committed the
unpardonable sin (Mat. 12:22-45). The generation of
Isaiah 53:8 is the generation of Matthew 12.
Secondly: he was cut off out
of the land of the living. To be cut off means “to die
a violent death.” To be cut off was also the specific
legal penalty for violating the Law of Moses. In other
words, He was cut off by execution. He was cut off by
suffering the legal punishment of the Law. He was cut
off, died a violent death, not because someone had
merely attacked Him on the street, but He died a
violent death as a penalty under the Law. He was
executed in the legal sense. Indeed, when Yeshua died,
He died under the penalty of the Law, specifically,
Roman law, since Jews did not practice crucifixion. He
was condemned to death by a Jewish court for
blasphemy. He was then condemned to death by a Roman
court. He was then executed on the basis of sedition
and rebellion against Rome. When Jesus died, He took
upon Himself the legal penal execution. It was a penal
substitutionary atonement. The penalty He took upon
Himself was the penalty of the Law of Moses.
Thirdly: for the
transgression of my people. The term my people can only be
the people of Israel. He was cut off for the
transgression of my people. This statement points at
why He died a violent death. He was executed because
of violation of the Law of Moses, not because He had
violated the Law, but because Israel had violated the
Law. When he was cut off out of the land of the living
it was for the transgression
of my people. It was for the sins of
Israel. It was substitutionary death. This verse is
the background to Matthew 1:21, where the angel
appeared to Joseph and said: You
shall call his name Jesus, for it is he that shall
save his people from their sin. The his people of Matthew
1:21 are the my people
of Isaiah 53:8; that is, the people of Israel.
Fourthly, Isaiah states: to
whom the stroke was due to re emphasize
that the Messiah, the Servant, was not killed because
of anything He had done, but was cut off out of the
land of the living for the transgression of Israel to whom the stroke was due.
It should have fallen on Israel. It is Israel that
should have been destroyed. But by means of
substitution, the stroke fell upon the Servant.
Indeed, Yeshua took upon Himself the penalty of the
Law, so the stroke fell upon Him, rather than upon
Israel. This verse is quoted as applying to Jesus in
Acts 8:33.
The burial of the Servant is spoken of in verse 9: And they made his grave with the
wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although
he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in
his mouth.
This verse would be contradictory without New
Testament revelation. The statement: they made his grave with the
wicked points out that, since He died a
criminal's death, He was assigned a criminal's burial.
This was standard practice. If a person was executed
under penalty of the Law, he would be buried in an
area of the cemetery that was reserved for criminals.
His executioners had already assigned Him a grave with
the wicked. A hole had already been dug in the
criminal section of the cemetery. But God intervened.
Isaiah goes on to state: and
with a rich man in his death.
Nevertheless, by divine justice, He was buried in a
rich man's tomb. There were two reasons for this.
First, he had done no
violence, which refers to outward sin.
Secondly, there was not any
deceit in his mouth, which refers to
inward sin. He was not guilty of either outward or
inward sin. His suffering and death were
substitutionary. God the Father would not permit Him
to be buried in a criminal's grave, but rather, He was
buried in a rich man's tomb. So at the very point of
His humiliation by death, came the first stage of His
exaltation by being buried in a new, unused, rich
man's tomb. The fulfillment of this is found in
Matthew 27:57-60; Mark 15:42-46; Luke 23:50-54; and
John 19:38-42. The confession of Israel ended with
verse 9.
5. Yet
it Pleased Jehovah To Bruise Him; He Has Put Him
To Grief - Isaiah 53:10-12
The fifth strophe details the theological implications
and significances of the suffering and death of the
Servant, introduced by Isaiah 52:13-15 and described
in 53:1-9.
Although in verses 1-9 the Messiah's suffering seemed
to be at the hands of men, verse 10 states who was
actually in control: Yet it
pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he has put him to
grief: when you shall make his soul an offering
for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong
his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall
prosper in his hand.
Six statements should be noted in this verse. First: Yet it pleased Jehovah to
bruise him. It was God's will. God was
pleased to see the Messiah the Servant bruised. The
Hebrew word is much stronger than merely bruise; it
means, “to crush.” He was totally crushed (v. 5). The
word for pleased
means that it was God's specific will; it fulfilled
His plan.
Secondly: he has put him to
grief. The Hebrew word for grief is the same word
used earlier that was translated as “disease.” This
phrase means that He had put Him to disease. Once
again, it is evident that the word “disease” is not
used in a physical sense, but in a spiritual sense, a
spiritual disease. Yeshua died as an atonement for
sin. When He died physically, He died by crucifixion,
not by disease. Yet this verse states that God
diseased Him. Did Jesus die by a physical disease? In
no way! He died by crucifixion. But why did He die by
crucifixion? He died by crucifixion because He was
dying for the sins of others. Because sin is spiritual
sickness, in that sense, God “diseased” the Messiah in
that He placed the sins of the world upon Him. He died
by a spiritual sickness in that He died because of
sin; not His own sin, but our sin. Though various
groups like to use this passage to teach physical
healing, that is not what this passage is dealing
with. In order to be consistent with the usage of the
words throughout the passage, the text cannot be
speaking of physical disease and sickness, but
spiritual.
Thirdly: when you shall make
his soul an offering for sin spells out
the purpose of His death; His death was an offering
for sin. The Hebrew word for offering
means “a trespass offering.” He died because of
Israel's trespass: violation of the Law of Moses.
The fourth statement is: he
shall see his seed. This is another
seeming contradiction. How could He see the product
and the result of His death and burial? Those who are
his seed are those
who will benefit from His death. By spiritual rebirth,
they become His spiritual children, his seed. According
to verses 7-9, the Servant Messiah died and was
buried. The answer to the question is that the only
way this would be possible is by means of
resurrection. So this phrase is a very strong
implication that He will be raised from the dead. This
was already implied in Isaiah 52:13, which stated: he shall be exalted and lifted up.
Here is a second clear implication that even after
death and burial, He will live again to see his seed.
How is it possible for Him to see his seed? Only if He
is resurrected from the dead.
The fifth statement adds to the fourth one: he shall prolong his days.
If He were dead and buried, how could He prolong His
days? The only way possible is if He is resurrected
from the dead. So, for the third time, resurrection is
implied.
The sixth statement is: the
pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand.
The word pleasure means that God will be pleased by
the accomplishments of the death of the Servant.
Because the death of the Messiah will accomplish the
divine purpose for the atonement is the reason He will
be resurrected. Therefore, the verse goes on to state
that He shall prosper.
Isaiah 52:13 stated: Behold,
my servant shall deal wisely, or shall
prosper or succeed, and it is reiterated here: He will
succeed. His death was not a failure. It is a
tremendous success. It did accomplish the purpose for
which He died. It did bring the atonement.
The death of the Messiah results in justification in
verse 11: He shall see of
the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied:
by the knowledge of himself shall my righteous
servant justify many; and he shall bear their
iniquities.
Three statements are made in this verse. First: He shall see of the travail of
his soul, and shall be satisfied. God
will be satisfied by the death of His Servant. His
death is a substitutionary death for sin; it was a sin
offering that was accepted by God the Father. This is
the meaning of propitiation. The second statement is; by the knowledge of himself
shall my righteous servant justify many.
More literally, the Hebrew reads, “by the knowledge of
Him.” In other words, justification will come to those
who have a knowledge of the Servant. The Hebrew word
for knowledge
refers to experiential knowledge. Those who have an
experiential knowledge of this Servant will be the
ones who will be justified by the Servant. To have an
experiential knowledge is to believe and accept His
substitutionary death for our sins. The third
statement is for those who will own Him: he shall bear their iniquities.
The Servant will be rewarded in verse 12: Therefore will I divide him a
portion with the great, and he shall divide the
spoil with the strong; because he poured out his
soul unto death, and was numbered with the
transgressors: yet he bore the sin of many, and
made intercession for the transgressors.
Therefore, because
of everything the Servant did in verses 1-11, He will
be greatly rewarded. In the Messianic Kingdom, the
Servant will inherit all the kingdoms of the world and
will divide a portion
and the spoil.
The terms the great
and the strong
refer to his seed
who have been justified in the previous verse. The seed that has been
justified during this dispensation will share in the
rewards of the Kingdom in the next dispensation. Those
who are justified because of their faith in the
Servant are going to divide the spoil in the Kingdom
and have a place of authority. Four more reasons are
then given why the Servant will be rewarded: first, he poured out his soul unto
death; secondly, He was numbered with the transgressors;
thirdly, he bore the sin of
many; and fourthly, He made intercession for the
transgressors. This re emphasizes the
substitutionary nature of His suffering and death.
This verse is quoted and applied to Yeshua in Luke
22:37.
The fact that the Servant was going to suffer was
spelled out on several occasions, but the great burden
of chapter 53 has been to give the reason why the
Messiah will suffer. He will suffer by way of
substitution. The concept of substitutionary sacrifice
and death is stated nine times: four times in verse 5,
and once in verses 6, 8, 10, 11, and 12.
V. THE FIRST AND SECOND
COMINGS OF THE SERVANT OF JEHOVAH - ISAIAH 61:1-3
In the fifth Servant
of Jehovah passage, there are truths concerning the
First Coming and the Second Coming. There are four
types of messianic prophecies in the Old Testament.
The first type deals with the First Coming only, such
as Isaiah 7:14. The second type deals with the Second
Coming only, such as Isaiah 63:1-6. The third type
combines the First and Second Comings into one
picture, without indicating in the text itself any gap
of time between them, such as Isaiah 61:1-3 and
Zechariah 9:9-10. The fourth type spells out the
entire career: the First Coming, a gap of time, the
Second Coming, and then the Kingdom. An example of
this type is Psalm 110.
This passage is the third type of messianic prophecy.
In verses 1-2a, Isaiah speaks about the First Coming.
He then deals with the Second Coming in verses 2b-3.
Each coming has a separate purpose. The purpose of the
First Coming was to bring good tidings. The purpose of
the Second Coming will be to restore Israel.
A. The First Coming of the Servant
- Isaiah 61:1-2a
The Spirit of the Lord
Jehovah is upon me; because Jehovah has anointed
me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he has
sent me to bind up the broken hearted, to proclaim
liberty to the captives, and the opening of the
prison to them that are bound; to proclaim the
year of Jehovah's favor.
The purpose of the First Coming was to preach the good
tidings. The introductory phrase is: The Spirit of the Lord Jehovah is
upon me. As in Isaiah 42:1, the entire
Triune God can be seen in one verse. God the Father
is: the Lord Jehovah.
God the Holy Spirit is: The
Spirit of Lord Jehovah. The speaker is
the Servant of Jehovah, who is Messiah, God the Son.
This verse combines various thoughts found in earlier
segments of the Book of Isaiah, particularly, the
Servant passages (11:2; 42:1; 49:8; 50:4-5). The
reason the Spirit of the Lord Jehovah was upon Him is
because Jehovah had anointed
Him. The Hebrew word for anointed is the same word
from which the term “Messiah” originates. When it
states: Jehovah has anointed
Him, it means that Jehovah had
“messiahed” Him. The Messiah was anointed, not with
literal oil, but with the Holy Spirit. In Isaiah
42:1-4, the anointing with the Holy Spirit was in the
presentation of the Messiah to Israel; this was
fulfilled at the baptism of Jesus. In this verse, the
anointing with the Holy Spirit is in reference to His
entire earthly ministry and was fulfilled by the 3
years of the ministry of Yeshua.
God the Father anointed
the Messiah, the Servant, for five reasons. First: to preach good tidings unto the
meek, to preach the gospel. The very
word gospel means
“good news” or “good tidings.” To preach good tidings
or good news means to preach the gospel. Secondly: to bind up the brokenhearted.
Brokenheartedness is a result of sin that is inward;
He came to deal with inward sin. Thirdly: to proclaim liberty to the
captives. This does not refer to
literal captives in literal prisons, for Yeshua did
not do such things at His First Coming. For example,
He did not free John the Baptist from prison. However,
He did proclaim liberty from imprisonment to Satan
(Jn. 8:34-47). Imprisonment to Satan results from sin
which is outward. A person is brokenhearted because of
inward sin; outwardly, he becomes imprisoned by Satan.
The Messiah came to proclaim liberty from Satan's
imprisonment. This expression is used of the
Sabbatical Year in Leviticus 25:8-13 and 27:24.
Fourthly: the opening of the
prison to them that are bound. The
picture is that of a wide open gate. The point is that
He opened wide the gate to salvation, making it freely
available to all who will simply believe in
Him (Jn. 8:24). And the fifth reason is: to proclaim the year of Jehovah's
favor. The word to proclaim means “to
announce beforehand.” The word year
is a term often used for the Year of Jubilee. In the
New Testament setting, it became a fitting symbol for
the present Dispensation of Grace, thus, to proclaim
the dispensation of Jehovah's favor or Jehovah's
grace, the Dispensation of Grace. Jesus announced its
coming beforehand (Mt. 13), though it did not come
into being until Acts 2.
It is at this point that one can understand what is
going on in Luke 4:16-21. Yeshua went into the
synagogue in Nazareth, and the portion for the reading
of the Prophets was from Isaiah 61. Jesus was called
up to read it, but instead of reading all chapter 61,
which would have been the normal procedure, He read
only verse 1 and the first line of verse 2. After He
read the phrase: to proclaim
the year of Jehovah's favor, He then
closed the scroll, sat down, and announced: Today has this scripture been
fulfilled in your ears. This explains
why He stopped in the middle of verse 2, because that
was all that He was fulfilling at the First Coming. At
His First Coming, He was fulfilling only these five
things: to preach good tidings to the meek; to bind up
the brokenhearted; to proclaim liberty to the
captives; the opening of the prison to them that are
bound; and to proclaim the year of Jehovah's favor.
B. The Second Coming of the
Servant - Isaiah 61:2b-3
and the day of vengeance of
our God; to comfort all that mourn; to appoint
unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them a
garland for ashes, the oil of joy for mourning,
the garment of praise for the spirit of heaviness;
that they may be called trees of righteousness,
the planting of Jehovah, that he may be glorified.
The rest of the passage deals with the Second Coming.
The purpose of His Second Coming will be to restore
Israel. At His Second Coming, He will be anointed to
do three things. First, to proclaim the day of vengeance of our God.
The day of vengeance
is also known throughout the Old Testament as “the Day
of Jehovah, ” which refers to the period known as the
Great Tribulation. Secondly: to comfort all that
mourn. This will happen at the very point of the
Second Coming, as those who have mourned their way
through the Tribulation will be comforted by the
Second Coming. Thirdly: to
appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto
them a garland for ashes, the oil of joy for
mourning, the garment of praise for the spirit of
heaviness. These expressions refer to a
kingdom. The picture is that, while His Second Coming
will be preceded by the Tribulation, it will then be
followed by the establishment of the Kingdom in which
the righteous are going to participate. The result is: that they may be called trees of
righteousness, the planting of Jehovah, that he
may be glorified.
All scriptures are
in the American Standard Version unless otherwise
noted.
*
RECOMMENDED
READING
If you enjoyed this Bible study, Dr.
Fruchtenbaum
recommends the following Messianic Bible studies
(mbs):
mbs 011: The
Suffering of Messiah of Isaiah 53
mbs 012: The Messiah of the Old Testament
mbs 013: What the New Testament Says About Jesus
mbs 014: Why Did the Messiah Have to Die?
mbs 025: Jesus' Right to David's Throne
mbs 028: The Olivet Discourse
mbs 032: The Baptism and Temptations of Jesus
mbs 035: The Three Messianic Miracles
mbs 036: The Sabbath Controversy Between Jesus and the
Pharisees
mbs 044: The Transfiguration of Jesus
mbs 052: The Names and Titles of the Messiah
mbs 054: The Incarnation
mbs 056: The Triumphal Entry
mbs 060: The Upper Room Discourse
mbs 062: The Feasts of Israel
mbs 063: The Deity of the Messiah
mbs 067: The Seventy Sevens of Daniel
mbs 070: The Death and Burial of the Messiah
mbs 075: The Resurrection of the Messiah
mbs 078: The Present Work of the Messiah
mbs 094: The Sermon on the Mount
mbs 127: The Birth and Early Life of the Messiah
mbs 133: The Lordship of the Messiah
Also, Ariel Ministries' series on Christology by Dr.
Arnold Fruchtenbaum
Many of Dr.
Fruchtenbaum's Messianic Bible studies are available
for free online reading
and listening at Ariel Ministries' Come and See. All of
his materials are available
for purchase at Ariel Ministries in
various formats. Other select
materials and resources are available at Ariel, as
well.
Arnold G. Fruchtenbaum,
Th.M, Ph.D,
is founder and director of Ariel Ministries.
*
Return to Home Page
|