Isaiah 53

Isaiah 53:1

Isaiah: God controls the nations God’s special servant An EasyEnglish Bible Version and Commentary (2800 word vocabulary) on Isaiah chapters 49 to 57 www.easyenglish.info Norman Hillyer This commentary has been through Advanced Checking.

Words in boxes are from the Bible.

Tap the * before a word to show an explanation.

Chapter 53 The Servant was himself not noticeable v1 Nobody would believe what we have just heard. God’s Servant is God’s arm. Nobody could have guessed that God would work like this. v2 The *Lord’s Servant grew up in front of him like any other young man. Even as naturally as any tree or plant can grow even in poor soil. His *appearance had no special qualities to attract attention. There was nothing to make us admire him personally.

Verse 1

God’s ‘arm’ is a picture word, to mean ‘God’s great power’.

Verse 2

God chooses how he will work. And often, he works in a manner that people do not expect. His Servant was someone who was not impressive. People did not even realise that God had appointed the Servant for a special task.

 The early life of Jesus was in a village called Nazareth (see Luke 2:39, 2:51). Nazareth was not well-known (see John 1:46). The name ‘Nazareth’ does not appear in the *Old Testament or in any other early *Jewish records. There was nothing special about where Jesus was living. Isaiah writes about ‘poor soil’ as a picture in words of this fact.

 As a boy and then a youth, Jesus’ body grew naturally. But he grew ‘in front of him’ (that is, ‘in front of God’). So God was quietly taking special care of him.

 In those early days, there was nothing unusual about Jesus to attract public attention (see Matthew 13:55). Jesus was about 30 years old (see Luke 3:23), when he left Nazareth to begin his work for God (see Matthew 4:13, Luke 4:16-30). The Servant’s heavy task v3 The Servant would be lonely. People would turn away from him. And he was someone who would suffer greatly with terrible pain. That is why we would not even look at him. We did not think that he was of any value. v4 God’s Servant carried the weight of our illnesses. In other words, it was our pain that he suffered.

But we thought that he had brought the troubles on himself. And so God was punishing him. We believed that God had struck him. And that God made him ashamed. v5 But he suffered such injuries because we had refused to obey God’s instructions. And therefore we had been living evil lives. But God’s Servant suffered on our behalf.

So God makes us healthy and whole in his *sight. v6 We had all wandered like sheep. We had chosen to go our own way, not God’s way. We deserved punishment. But God has given the punishment to his Servant to suffer.

Verse 4

There was a common belief about people who were suffering. Other people thought that those people were suffering because of their *sins. So God was punishing them.

Verse 5

The Servant’s work gave us wonderful benefits that we could never achieve by our own efforts (see Matthew 8:17, 1 Peter 2:24).

Verse 6

The reason for the Servant to suffer was because of *sins. But the *sins were not his own. The *sins were ours. The Servant did not deserve the punishment. We ought to have suffered that punishment. But his pain frees us from punishment. The Servant was ready to die v7 God’s Servant suffered cruelly. But he was willing to accept our punishment. He did not open his mouth to complain. Like a sheep that men take away, to kill or just to remove its wool, so God’s Servant was silent. v8 They *seized God’s Servant. He had nobody to protect him. And nobody to speak on his behalf in court. Nobody cared about his fate. Nobody realised that he would die for our *sins. v9 He died in the company of criminals. But a rich man’s grave was where men buried him. He had *broken no law. He had spoken no lie.

Verses 7-9

The experiences of the Servant were similar to the experiences of Jesus. The Servant was silent (see Matthew 26:63). Men took him by force (see Matthew 26:50). Nobody supported him in court (see Matthew 26:56). He died with criminals (see Luke 23:33). His grave belonged to a rich man (see Luke 23:53). He had not *broken God’s laws (see Luke 23:47). The result of the Servant’s work v10 ‘It was my intention to load my innocent Servant with such pain. The Servant’s death became a perfect *sacrifice, so that I am able to forgive guilty lives. My Servant will have a vast number of children to benefit from what he has done. He himself will have life that goes on. And I will have carried out my purpose by my Servant. v11 My Servant achieved much when he suffered. And he will see all that his work achieved.

Then he will know complete satisfaction. My Servant’s experience will make many right with God, because my Servant has accepted all their *guilt. v12 Therefore I will give great honour to my Servant who proved by his life to be great. My Servant suffered death and he offered himself to stand with wicked people. Their *guilt was like a heavy weight that he himself took completely. And he prayed on their behalf that God would forgive them.’

Verse 10

The idea of one death for the benefit of many was the essential principle in Israel’s system of *sacrifice (see Leviticus chapter 16). In that system, a priest *sacrificed an animal on the *altar to repair people’s relationships with God. Wicked behaviour breaks relationships with God (see Isaiah 59:2).

 *Sacrifices stopped in *AD 70, when the Romans destroyed the *Temple.

Many will come to belief in God because of the Servant’s *sacrifice (see Matthew 26:28, Colossians 1:19-22). After the Servant’s *sacrifice, his life ‘goes on’. Both the *Old Testament and the *New Testament teach that *Messiah will live always (see Isaiah 9:7, Hebrews 7:25). And God’s purpose will be complete (see Ephesians 3:9-11, Hebrews 2:9).

Verse 11

The *Lord will enjoy the success of his Servant’s work (see John 17:1-10, Revelation 7:9-17)).

Verse 12

The Song ends as it began. God will give great honour to his Servant, who has obeyed him totally.

 As the Servant who obeyed (see Matthew 26:42), Jesus will have his permanent reward (see Ephesians 1:20-23, Philippians 2:9-11). As he was dying, he prayed for his enemies (Luke 23:34). And in heaven he will continue to pray for those who have trusted him (Hebrews 7:25). Chapters 54 and 55 The subject of these two chapters is the *Lord’s promises to the city called *Jerusalem. God promises a great future for both the city and its inhabitants.

© 2007 Wycliffe Associates (UK)

This publication is written in EasyEnglish Level B (2800 words).

July 2007

Visit our website: www.easyenglish.info

var w11 = new Array;w11[0]=’<b%3ELord</b%3E ~ God’s name in the Bible; in the original language, it means ‘head over all’ and ‘God always’.’;w11[1]=’<b%3Eappearance</b%3E ~ what other people see when they look at a person.’;w11[2]=’<b%3EOld Testament</b%3E ~ the first part of the Bible. It contains 39 books, all from before Jesus was born.’;w11[3]=’<b%3EJewish</b%3E ~ anything that has a relationship with the people called Jews or Israelites.