Jeremiah 22

Jeremiah 22:1

Zion Raised From the Dust

Again the call of the LORD to Zion comes to awaken (Isaiah 51:17; 9) and to clothe oneself with strength (Isaiah 52:1). That strength is needed to trust in God. Jerusalem is called Zion here because God in His grace is now about to come to His purpose. The city is now called “the holy city” because she is the city of the Holy One of Israel. Likewise, the call comes to Jerusalem to be clothed with beautiful garments.

The strength of the redeemed is the strength of God through redemption (cf. Judges 6:12-16; Psalms 84:5; 7). This will only become fully true in the end time, because since and also during Cyrus, their deliverer from the power of Babylon, there has been no question of clothing with strength.

He still addresses the city. She is in a state of extreme desolation and covered with dust. She is powerless under the treatment of the enemy and deprived of her priestly and royal garments. Instead, she wears the chains of captivity around her neck (Isaiah 52:2). She must awaken. However, she must not only awaken, but also put herself in a position of calm dignity and authority; she must clothe herself with spiritual strength.

She will again become a festive city of the LORD. Strangers will no longer pass through her. The terrible invasion of the king of the North is now past perfect tense. Although they threaten Jerusalem again (Isaiah 37-38), they will be defeated just as they were then. No nation in the world will conquer Jerusalem again, for the LORD Himself will encamp around the holy city and defend her (Isaiah 27:2-3).

This has not been fulfilled by the Medes and Persians and the following empires that have always ruled over Jerusalem during the “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24). Babylon has sat as queen, but will be humbled to the dust, while Jerusalem will be raised from the dust to sit on the throne of glory. Jerusalem will break her chain.

Babylon is no longer mentioned here by name. First she is broken as a religious power. Then the political and religious power of the antichrist or the second beast are broken. Finally, the political power of the restored Roman Empire is definitively broken. The “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) are then fulfilled and past.

The promises that follow in Isaiah 52:3-6 stand, with their comfort, against the background of past misery. The people of the LORD are reminded that they have been sold “for nothing” (Isaiah 52:3). They have been given into the hands of the nations, without any benefit to the LORD. His only purpose is to bring them to repentance under His chastening rod. No money will be paid for their redemption. He will work their salvation by sovereign grace and omnipotent power. Their deliverance will come exclusively from Him. He will do so by chastising their enemy.

The deliverance from the power of oppressive Egypt and Assyria are mentioned as illustrations (Isaiah 52:4). The question in Isaiah 52:5 has the meaning: ‘What advantage do I have in the midst of My people?’ The people “have been taken away without cause” and their oppressors continually blaspheme the Name of the LORD. This blasphemy will cease by the intervention of the LORD in power and majesty. His Name, so blasphemed by the nations, shall be revealed to His people (Isaiah 52:6).

His nature, His features and His power, represented by His Name, will be revealed to them in the day of their redemption. He makes Himself known as the ‘I am’, the faithful God of the covenant. His Self-revelation works that they will know the voice of their Redeemer (Isaiah 63:1). Then the prayer “hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9) will be fulfilled.

In this way the Lord reveals Himself to us also in times of oppression and difficulty. He uses these circumstances as a means to increase our knowledge of Him, of His features, power and grace. When we ourselves are no longer capable of anything, He makes Himself known to us in His omnipotence. We are like Peter sinking into the water, calling upon the Lord and then learning to know the mighty power of the Lord’s arm and more than that.

Jeremiah 22:2

Zion Raised From the Dust

Again the call of the LORD to Zion comes to awaken (Isaiah 51:17; 9) and to clothe oneself with strength (Isaiah 52:1). That strength is needed to trust in God. Jerusalem is called Zion here because God in His grace is now about to come to His purpose. The city is now called “the holy city” because she is the city of the Holy One of Israel. Likewise, the call comes to Jerusalem to be clothed with beautiful garments.

The strength of the redeemed is the strength of God through redemption (cf. Judges 6:12-16; Psalms 84:5; 7). This will only become fully true in the end time, because since and also during Cyrus, their deliverer from the power of Babylon, there has been no question of clothing with strength.

He still addresses the city. She is in a state of extreme desolation and covered with dust. She is powerless under the treatment of the enemy and deprived of her priestly and royal garments. Instead, she wears the chains of captivity around her neck (Isaiah 52:2). She must awaken. However, she must not only awaken, but also put herself in a position of calm dignity and authority; she must clothe herself with spiritual strength.

She will again become a festive city of the LORD. Strangers will no longer pass through her. The terrible invasion of the king of the North is now past perfect tense. Although they threaten Jerusalem again (Isaiah 37-38), they will be defeated just as they were then. No nation in the world will conquer Jerusalem again, for the LORD Himself will encamp around the holy city and defend her (Isaiah 27:2-3).

This has not been fulfilled by the Medes and Persians and the following empires that have always ruled over Jerusalem during the “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24). Babylon has sat as queen, but will be humbled to the dust, while Jerusalem will be raised from the dust to sit on the throne of glory. Jerusalem will break her chain.

Babylon is no longer mentioned here by name. First she is broken as a religious power. Then the political and religious power of the antichrist or the second beast are broken. Finally, the political power of the restored Roman Empire is definitively broken. The “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) are then fulfilled and past.

The promises that follow in Isaiah 52:3-6 stand, with their comfort, against the background of past misery. The people of the LORD are reminded that they have been sold “for nothing” (Isaiah 52:3). They have been given into the hands of the nations, without any benefit to the LORD. His only purpose is to bring them to repentance under His chastening rod. No money will be paid for their redemption. He will work their salvation by sovereign grace and omnipotent power. Their deliverance will come exclusively from Him. He will do so by chastising their enemy.

The deliverance from the power of oppressive Egypt and Assyria are mentioned as illustrations (Isaiah 52:4). The question in Isaiah 52:5 has the meaning: ‘What advantage do I have in the midst of My people?’ The people “have been taken away without cause” and their oppressors continually blaspheme the Name of the LORD. This blasphemy will cease by the intervention of the LORD in power and majesty. His Name, so blasphemed by the nations, shall be revealed to His people (Isaiah 52:6).

His nature, His features and His power, represented by His Name, will be revealed to them in the day of their redemption. He makes Himself known as the ‘I am’, the faithful God of the covenant. His Self-revelation works that they will know the voice of their Redeemer (Isaiah 63:1). Then the prayer “hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9) will be fulfilled.

In this way the Lord reveals Himself to us also in times of oppression and difficulty. He uses these circumstances as a means to increase our knowledge of Him, of His features, power and grace. When we ourselves are no longer capable of anything, He makes Himself known to us in His omnipotence. We are like Peter sinking into the water, calling upon the Lord and then learning to know the mighty power of the Lord’s arm and more than that.

Jeremiah 22:3

Zion Raised From the Dust

Again the call of the LORD to Zion comes to awaken (Isaiah 51:17; 9) and to clothe oneself with strength (Isaiah 52:1). That strength is needed to trust in God. Jerusalem is called Zion here because God in His grace is now about to come to His purpose. The city is now called “the holy city” because she is the city of the Holy One of Israel. Likewise, the call comes to Jerusalem to be clothed with beautiful garments.

The strength of the redeemed is the strength of God through redemption (cf. Judges 6:12-16; Psalms 84:5; 7). This will only become fully true in the end time, because since and also during Cyrus, their deliverer from the power of Babylon, there has been no question of clothing with strength.

He still addresses the city. She is in a state of extreme desolation and covered with dust. She is powerless under the treatment of the enemy and deprived of her priestly and royal garments. Instead, she wears the chains of captivity around her neck (Isaiah 52:2). She must awaken. However, she must not only awaken, but also put herself in a position of calm dignity and authority; she must clothe herself with spiritual strength.

She will again become a festive city of the LORD. Strangers will no longer pass through her. The terrible invasion of the king of the North is now past perfect tense. Although they threaten Jerusalem again (Isaiah 37-38), they will be defeated just as they were then. No nation in the world will conquer Jerusalem again, for the LORD Himself will encamp around the holy city and defend her (Isaiah 27:2-3).

This has not been fulfilled by the Medes and Persians and the following empires that have always ruled over Jerusalem during the “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24). Babylon has sat as queen, but will be humbled to the dust, while Jerusalem will be raised from the dust to sit on the throne of glory. Jerusalem will break her chain.

Babylon is no longer mentioned here by name. First she is broken as a religious power. Then the political and religious power of the antichrist or the second beast are broken. Finally, the political power of the restored Roman Empire is definitively broken. The “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) are then fulfilled and past.

The promises that follow in Isaiah 52:3-6 stand, with their comfort, against the background of past misery. The people of the LORD are reminded that they have been sold “for nothing” (Isaiah 52:3). They have been given into the hands of the nations, without any benefit to the LORD. His only purpose is to bring them to repentance under His chastening rod. No money will be paid for their redemption. He will work their salvation by sovereign grace and omnipotent power. Their deliverance will come exclusively from Him. He will do so by chastising their enemy.

The deliverance from the power of oppressive Egypt and Assyria are mentioned as illustrations (Isaiah 52:4). The question in Isaiah 52:5 has the meaning: ‘What advantage do I have in the midst of My people?’ The people “have been taken away without cause” and their oppressors continually blaspheme the Name of the LORD. This blasphemy will cease by the intervention of the LORD in power and majesty. His Name, so blasphemed by the nations, shall be revealed to His people (Isaiah 52:6).

His nature, His features and His power, represented by His Name, will be revealed to them in the day of their redemption. He makes Himself known as the ‘I am’, the faithful God of the covenant. His Self-revelation works that they will know the voice of their Redeemer (Isaiah 63:1). Then the prayer “hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9) will be fulfilled.

In this way the Lord reveals Himself to us also in times of oppression and difficulty. He uses these circumstances as a means to increase our knowledge of Him, of His features, power and grace. When we ourselves are no longer capable of anything, He makes Himself known to us in His omnipotence. We are like Peter sinking into the water, calling upon the Lord and then learning to know the mighty power of the Lord’s arm and more than that.

Jeremiah 22:4

Zion Raised From the Dust

Again the call of the LORD to Zion comes to awaken (Isaiah 51:17; 9) and to clothe oneself with strength (Isaiah 52:1). That strength is needed to trust in God. Jerusalem is called Zion here because God in His grace is now about to come to His purpose. The city is now called “the holy city” because she is the city of the Holy One of Israel. Likewise, the call comes to Jerusalem to be clothed with beautiful garments.

The strength of the redeemed is the strength of God through redemption (cf. Judges 6:12-16; Psalms 84:5; 7). This will only become fully true in the end time, because since and also during Cyrus, their deliverer from the power of Babylon, there has been no question of clothing with strength.

He still addresses the city. She is in a state of extreme desolation and covered with dust. She is powerless under the treatment of the enemy and deprived of her priestly and royal garments. Instead, she wears the chains of captivity around her neck (Isaiah 52:2). She must awaken. However, she must not only awaken, but also put herself in a position of calm dignity and authority; she must clothe herself with spiritual strength.

She will again become a festive city of the LORD. Strangers will no longer pass through her. The terrible invasion of the king of the North is now past perfect tense. Although they threaten Jerusalem again (Isaiah 37-38), they will be defeated just as they were then. No nation in the world will conquer Jerusalem again, for the LORD Himself will encamp around the holy city and defend her (Isaiah 27:2-3).

This has not been fulfilled by the Medes and Persians and the following empires that have always ruled over Jerusalem during the “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24). Babylon has sat as queen, but will be humbled to the dust, while Jerusalem will be raised from the dust to sit on the throne of glory. Jerusalem will break her chain.

Babylon is no longer mentioned here by name. First she is broken as a religious power. Then the political and religious power of the antichrist or the second beast are broken. Finally, the political power of the restored Roman Empire is definitively broken. The “the times of the Gentiles” (Luke 21:24) are then fulfilled and past.

The promises that follow in Isaiah 52:3-6 stand, with their comfort, against the background of past misery. The people of the LORD are reminded that they have been sold “for nothing” (Isaiah 52:3). They have been given into the hands of the nations, without any benefit to the LORD. His only purpose is to bring them to repentance under His chastening rod. No money will be paid for their redemption. He will work their salvation by sovereign grace and omnipotent power. Their deliverance will come exclusively from Him. He will do so by chastising their enemy.

The deliverance from the power of oppressive Egypt and Assyria are mentioned as illustrations (Isaiah 52:4). The question in Isaiah 52:5 has the meaning: ‘What advantage do I have in the midst of My people?’ The people “have been taken away without cause” and their oppressors continually blaspheme the Name of the LORD. This blasphemy will cease by the intervention of the LORD in power and majesty. His Name, so blasphemed by the nations, shall be revealed to His people (Isaiah 52:6).

His nature, His features and His power, represented by His Name, will be revealed to them in the day of their redemption. He makes Himself known as the ‘I am’, the faithful God of the covenant. His Self-revelation works that they will know the voice of their Redeemer (Isaiah 63:1). Then the prayer “hallowed be Your name” (Matthew 6:9) will be fulfilled.

In this way the Lord reveals Himself to us also in times of oppression and difficulty. He uses these circumstances as a means to increase our knowledge of Him, of His features, power and grace. When we ourselves are no longer capable of anything, He makes Himself known to us in His omnipotence. We are like Peter sinking into the water, calling upon the Lord and then learning to know the mighty power of the Lord’s arm and more than that.

Jeremiah 22:5

Peace Announced

These verses contain the triumphant expression as a result of the news of the great salvation worked out for the people of the LORD before the eyes of all nations. Wars have ceased until the end of the earth. Peace will reign because God rules and the LORD returns to Zion. The feet of the messenger are lovely to see – not the sound of his footsteps, but the appearance of his feet – not only because of their resilient speed, but also because of the delight of the heart that gives character to their movement and the content of the message (Isaiah 52:7).

The remnant has fervently prayed for the coming of the LORD to redeem. Now that moment has finally come. The LORD has come, He is on the way to Zion. The mountains are the mountains of the land and especially those north of Jerusalem. They are the mountains that the LORD calls “My mountains” (Isaiah 49:11). What are natural obstacles become roads through which God’s herald comes.

He proclaims peace and salvation, which is completely different from the peace and security the world speaks about under the influence of satan (1 Thessalonians 5:3). There is talk of “peace”, “good news” and “salvation”. Peace with God through the blood of Christ instead of estrangement; the good news, which benefits instead of the wrong; salvation, not only salvation from judgment, but also continual preservation, forever, instead of judgment and being perished forever. It is peace with God through the sacrifice of the cross and the peace of God in living with Him. There is also salvation, healing from all the consequences of sin. All destruction and injury caused by sin will be healed. This is the situation when God reigns as King.

These messengers of good news are also present today. The quotation of this verse in Romans 10 confirms this (Romans 10:15). In the quotation ‘the mountains’ are omitted. The apostle rejoices that he was allowed to be such a messenger. It may also be our joy to share in that activity and its joy. The feet of someone who goes out with the gospel near or far are lovely in the eyes of Him Who died to be able to send out the message and the messenger.

The watchmen in Isaiah 52:8 who raise their voices are the prophets, like Isaiah, who look into the distance like from a watchtower. Usually watchmen raise their voices to warn, but now they begin to sing. The watchmen also have no difference of opinion about what they see, but are unanimous about it. They see how the LORD comes to His people, they see it becoming light.

They are to be distinguished from the messenger of the previous verse who proclaims the news of the kingdom when Christ has come. These faithful watchmen, seeing future events from afar, are referred to in 1 Peter 1 (1 Peter 1:10-12; cf. Isaiah 21:8; 11; Habakkuk 2:1-3). The day will come when they will see with their own eyes the return of the LORD to Zion. They will see how the LORD restores Zion, they will stand face to face with this work (cf. Numbers 14:14). No wonder they will burst into a song of joy.

In Isaiah 52:9 the ruins of Jerusalem are called upon to do the same. The language is vivid, it shows the glory of the restoration after the lengthy period of destruction. There is a twofold reason for this: God’s Word and God’s work (cf. Luke 24:19; Acts 7:22), the word of comfort and the work of delivering power. Comfort and deliverance are the continual ministry of the Holy Spirit in our sorrow and afflictions, our trials and dangers: comfort in the midst of them and redemption out of them. We may rejoice in the comfort of and trust in deliverance.

Isaiah 52:10 is a retrospective from a future fulfillment. It is the picture of a battle, in which all the covering of His arm has been removed to use it in its full force. The arm of the LORD is bare to redeem the remnant by judging both Assyria and Babylon. The foolish misconceptions of the nations about God will be nullified. Their refusal to acknowledge the Son of God will be vigorously repressed by His personal intervention. Thus they will witness the salvation of the God of Israel.

Jeremiah 22:6

Peace Announced

These verses contain the triumphant expression as a result of the news of the great salvation worked out for the people of the LORD before the eyes of all nations. Wars have ceased until the end of the earth. Peace will reign because God rules and the LORD returns to Zion. The feet of the messenger are lovely to see – not the sound of his footsteps, but the appearance of his feet – not only because of their resilient speed, but also because of the delight of the heart that gives character to their movement and the content of the message (Isaiah 52:7).

The remnant has fervently prayed for the coming of the LORD to redeem. Now that moment has finally come. The LORD has come, He is on the way to Zion. The mountains are the mountains of the land and especially those north of Jerusalem. They are the mountains that the LORD calls “My mountains” (Isaiah 49:11). What are natural obstacles become roads through which God’s herald comes.

He proclaims peace and salvation, which is completely different from the peace and security the world speaks about under the influence of satan (1 Thessalonians 5:3). There is talk of “peace”, “good news” and “salvation”. Peace with God through the blood of Christ instead of estrangement; the good news, which benefits instead of the wrong; salvation, not only salvation from judgment, but also continual preservation, forever, instead of judgment and being perished forever. It is peace with God through the sacrifice of the cross and the peace of God in living with Him. There is also salvation, healing from all the consequences of sin. All destruction and injury caused by sin will be healed. This is the situation when God reigns as King.

These messengers of good news are also present today. The quotation of this verse in Romans 10 confirms this (Romans 10:15). In the quotation ‘the mountains’ are omitted. The apostle rejoices that he was allowed to be such a messenger. It may also be our joy to share in that activity and its joy. The feet of someone who goes out with the gospel near or far are lovely in the eyes of Him Who died to be able to send out the message and the messenger.

The watchmen in Isaiah 52:8 who raise their voices are the prophets, like Isaiah, who look into the distance like from a watchtower. Usually watchmen raise their voices to warn, but now they begin to sing. The watchmen also have no difference of opinion about what they see, but are unanimous about it. They see how the LORD comes to His people, they see it becoming light.

They are to be distinguished from the messenger of the previous verse who proclaims the news of the kingdom when Christ has come. These faithful watchmen, seeing future events from afar, are referred to in 1 Peter 1 (1 Peter 1:10-12; cf. Isaiah 21:8; 11; Habakkuk 2:1-3). The day will come when they will see with their own eyes the return of the LORD to Zion. They will see how the LORD restores Zion, they will stand face to face with this work (cf. Numbers 14:14). No wonder they will burst into a song of joy.

In Isaiah 52:9 the ruins of Jerusalem are called upon to do the same. The language is vivid, it shows the glory of the restoration after the lengthy period of destruction. There is a twofold reason for this: God’s Word and God’s work (cf. Luke 24:19; Acts 7:22), the word of comfort and the work of delivering power. Comfort and deliverance are the continual ministry of the Holy Spirit in our sorrow and afflictions, our trials and dangers: comfort in the midst of them and redemption out of them. We may rejoice in the comfort of and trust in deliverance.

Isaiah 52:10 is a retrospective from a future fulfillment. It is the picture of a battle, in which all the covering of His arm has been removed to use it in its full force. The arm of the LORD is bare to redeem the remnant by judging both Assyria and Babylon. The foolish misconceptions of the nations about God will be nullified. Their refusal to acknowledge the Son of God will be vigorously repressed by His personal intervention. Thus they will witness the salvation of the God of Israel.

Jeremiah 22:7

Peace Announced

These verses contain the triumphant expression as a result of the news of the great salvation worked out for the people of the LORD before the eyes of all nations. Wars have ceased until the end of the earth. Peace will reign because God rules and the LORD returns to Zion. The feet of the messenger are lovely to see – not the sound of his footsteps, but the appearance of his feet – not only because of their resilient speed, but also because of the delight of the heart that gives character to their movement and the content of the message (Isaiah 52:7).

The remnant has fervently prayed for the coming of the LORD to redeem. Now that moment has finally come. The LORD has come, He is on the way to Zion. The mountains are the mountains of the land and especially those north of Jerusalem. They are the mountains that the LORD calls “My mountains” (Isaiah 49:11). What are natural obstacles become roads through which God’s herald comes.

He proclaims peace and salvation, which is completely different from the peace and security the world speaks about under the influence of satan (1 Thessalonians 5:3). There is talk of “peace”, “good news” and “salvation”. Peace with God through the blood of Christ instead of estrangement; the good news, which benefits instead of the wrong; salvation, not only salvation from judgment, but also continual preservation, forever, instead of judgment and being perished forever. It is peace with God through the sacrifice of the cross and the peace of God in living with Him. There is also salvation, healing from all the consequences of sin. All destruction and injury caused by sin will be healed. This is the situation when God reigns as King.

These messengers of good news are also present today. The quotation of this verse in Romans 10 confirms this (Romans 10:15). In the quotation ‘the mountains’ are omitted. The apostle rejoices that he was allowed to be such a messenger. It may also be our joy to share in that activity and its joy. The feet of someone who goes out with the gospel near or far are lovely in the eyes of Him Who died to be able to send out the message and the messenger.

The watchmen in Isaiah 52:8 who raise their voices are the prophets, like Isaiah, who look into the distance like from a watchtower. Usually watchmen raise their voices to warn, but now they begin to sing. The watchmen also have no difference of opinion about what they see, but are unanimous about it. They see how the LORD comes to His people, they see it becoming light.

They are to be distinguished from the messenger of the previous verse who proclaims the news of the kingdom when Christ has come. These faithful watchmen, seeing future events from afar, are referred to in 1 Peter 1 (1 Peter 1:10-12; cf. Isaiah 21:8; 11; Habakkuk 2:1-3). The day will come when they will see with their own eyes the return of the LORD to Zion. They will see how the LORD restores Zion, they will stand face to face with this work (cf. Numbers 14:14). No wonder they will burst into a song of joy.

In Isaiah 52:9 the ruins of Jerusalem are called upon to do the same. The language is vivid, it shows the glory of the restoration after the lengthy period of destruction. There is a twofold reason for this: God’s Word and God’s work (cf. Luke 24:19; Acts 7:22), the word of comfort and the work of delivering power. Comfort and deliverance are the continual ministry of the Holy Spirit in our sorrow and afflictions, our trials and dangers: comfort in the midst of them and redemption out of them. We may rejoice in the comfort of and trust in deliverance.

Isaiah 52:10 is a retrospective from a future fulfillment. It is the picture of a battle, in which all the covering of His arm has been removed to use it in its full force. The arm of the LORD is bare to redeem the remnant by judging both Assyria and Babylon. The foolish misconceptions of the nations about God will be nullified. Their refusal to acknowledge the Son of God will be vigorously repressed by His personal intervention. Thus they will witness the salvation of the God of Israel.

Jeremiah 22:8

Peace Announced

These verses contain the triumphant expression as a result of the news of the great salvation worked out for the people of the LORD before the eyes of all nations. Wars have ceased until the end of the earth. Peace will reign because God rules and the LORD returns to Zion. The feet of the messenger are lovely to see – not the sound of his footsteps, but the appearance of his feet – not only because of their resilient speed, but also because of the delight of the heart that gives character to their movement and the content of the message (Isaiah 52:7).

The remnant has fervently prayed for the coming of the LORD to redeem. Now that moment has finally come. The LORD has come, He is on the way to Zion. The mountains are the mountains of the land and especially those north of Jerusalem. They are the mountains that the LORD calls “My mountains” (Isaiah 49:11). What are natural obstacles become roads through which God’s herald comes.

He proclaims peace and salvation, which is completely different from the peace and security the world speaks about under the influence of satan (1 Thessalonians 5:3). There is talk of “peace”, “good news” and “salvation”. Peace with God through the blood of Christ instead of estrangement; the good news, which benefits instead of the wrong; salvation, not only salvation from judgment, but also continual preservation, forever, instead of judgment and being perished forever. It is peace with God through the sacrifice of the cross and the peace of God in living with Him. There is also salvation, healing from all the consequences of sin. All destruction and injury caused by sin will be healed. This is the situation when God reigns as King.

These messengers of good news are also present today. The quotation of this verse in Romans 10 confirms this (Romans 10:15). In the quotation ‘the mountains’ are omitted. The apostle rejoices that he was allowed to be such a messenger. It may also be our joy to share in that activity and its joy. The feet of someone who goes out with the gospel near or far are lovely in the eyes of Him Who died to be able to send out the message and the messenger.

The watchmen in Isaiah 52:8 who raise their voices are the prophets, like Isaiah, who look into the distance like from a watchtower. Usually watchmen raise their voices to warn, but now they begin to sing. The watchmen also have no difference of opinion about what they see, but are unanimous about it. They see how the LORD comes to His people, they see it becoming light.

They are to be distinguished from the messenger of the previous verse who proclaims the news of the kingdom when Christ has come. These faithful watchmen, seeing future events from afar, are referred to in 1 Peter 1 (1 Peter 1:10-12; cf. Isaiah 21:8; 11; Habakkuk 2:1-3). The day will come when they will see with their own eyes the return of the LORD to Zion. They will see how the LORD restores Zion, they will stand face to face with this work (cf. Numbers 14:14). No wonder they will burst into a song of joy.

In Isaiah 52:9 the ruins of Jerusalem are called upon to do the same. The language is vivid, it shows the glory of the restoration after the lengthy period of destruction. There is a twofold reason for this: God’s Word and God’s work (cf. Luke 24:19; Acts 7:22), the word of comfort and the work of delivering power. Comfort and deliverance are the continual ministry of the Holy Spirit in our sorrow and afflictions, our trials and dangers: comfort in the midst of them and redemption out of them. We may rejoice in the comfort of and trust in deliverance.

Isaiah 52:10 is a retrospective from a future fulfillment. It is the picture of a battle, in which all the covering of His arm has been removed to use it in its full force. The arm of the LORD is bare to redeem the remnant by judging both Assyria and Babylon. The foolish misconceptions of the nations about God will be nullified. Their refusal to acknowledge the Son of God will be vigorously repressed by His personal intervention. Thus they will witness the salvation of the God of Israel.

Jeremiah 22:9

Call to Leave Babylon

These verses are about an other side of the circumstances and deal with the release of the exiles. The previous six calls have worked toward this call. God’s people are commanded to leave the area of their exile (cf. Isaiah 48:20). The commanding language refers to Babylon, but Babylon stands for more than just the city. It also speaks of terrible idolatry caused by the beast of the Roman Empire and the antichrist, as the context shows (Isaiah 2:8-9; Revelation 13:12-15).

God’s people are commanded not to touch anything unclean at their departure. They must not take anything of Babylon with them. What they must take with them are “the vessels of the LORD” that have been brought to Babylon. This refers to the return by order of Cyrus and the return of the objects taken away by Nebuchadnezzar (Ezra 1:7-11). Unlike their fleeing from Egypt, their departure from Babylon will not take place in haste or as a run (Deuteronomy 16:3). It is more of a victory march. Their entry into the realm of peace will be even more so.

Their attitude will speak of being perfectly ready to resume the service of worship of the LORD in His temple. Therefore absolute purity is required. However, they will need His guidance and protection and they will be assured of that. The Messiah Himself will guarantee it. He gives the promise: “For the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel [will be] your rear guard.”

This all has a direct message for those who, being objects or vessels themselves, are set apart to be used by the Lord (2 Timothy 2:21). They have the holy responsibility “to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27b) and also that they “cleanse” themselves “from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

It also applies to the Babylon of the end time (Revelation 18:4a). It is the things that come to us from professing Christianity and with which we should not defile ourselves by opening up for worldly elements in order to introduce them into the church.

Jeremiah 22:10

Call to Leave Babylon

These verses are about an other side of the circumstances and deal with the release of the exiles. The previous six calls have worked toward this call. God’s people are commanded to leave the area of their exile (cf. Isaiah 48:20). The commanding language refers to Babylon, but Babylon stands for more than just the city. It also speaks of terrible idolatry caused by the beast of the Roman Empire and the antichrist, as the context shows (Isaiah 2:8-9; Revelation 13:12-15).

God’s people are commanded not to touch anything unclean at their departure. They must not take anything of Babylon with them. What they must take with them are “the vessels of the LORD” that have been brought to Babylon. This refers to the return by order of Cyrus and the return of the objects taken away by Nebuchadnezzar (Ezra 1:7-11). Unlike their fleeing from Egypt, their departure from Babylon will not take place in haste or as a run (Deuteronomy 16:3). It is more of a victory march. Their entry into the realm of peace will be even more so.

Their attitude will speak of being perfectly ready to resume the service of worship of the LORD in His temple. Therefore absolute purity is required. However, they will need His guidance and protection and they will be assured of that. The Messiah Himself will guarantee it. He gives the promise: “For the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel [will be] your rear guard.”

This all has a direct message for those who, being objects or vessels themselves, are set apart to be used by the Lord (2 Timothy 2:21). They have the holy responsibility “to keep oneself unstained from the world” (James 1:27b) and also that they “cleanse” themselves “from all defilement of flesh and spirit, perfecting holiness in the fear of God” (2 Corinthians 7:1).

It also applies to the Babylon of the end time (Revelation 18:4a). It is the things that come to us from professing Christianity and with which we should not defile ourselves by opening up for worldly elements in order to introduce them into the church.

Jeremiah 22:11

High and Lifted Up

Here begins a totally new section. The division into chapters is not well done here. Isaiah 53 must begin with Isaiah 52:13 of this chapter. The last three verses of Isaiah 52 and whole Isaiah 53 contain one great theme: the suffering, rejected, atoning and exalted Servant of the LORD. This whole section forms the heart of the second great part of the book of Isaiah. It is right in the middle of it.

We can say that in this section we enter, as it were, the holy of holies. This makes it even more necessary than otherwise to approach this section with great reverence and deep awe and take it in (cf. Exodus 3:5; Joshua 5:15). In the heart of this section the LORD reveals His heart. And Who else is the heart of God other than the Lord Jesus, Who was and is always in the bosom of the Father? The Lord Jesus has come to declare Him in grace to sinful people (John 1:18). In this section it is about Christ and His work and its glorious consequences, both for God and for us.

This is also the fourth and last song or the last prophecy about the Servant of the LORD. In the previous three songs or prophecies we have seen that the Servant is the Chosen One of God (Isaiah 42:1-9), the Rejected One of Israel (Isaiah 49:1-13) and the dependent and obedient Servant (Isaiah 50:1-11). Now the covering is taken away from Israel (2 Corinthians 3:16) and the arm of the LORD is revealed.

The chosen and rejected Servant, obedient to the death of the cross, turns out to be the Guilt Offering for Israel! He dies as the substitute offering for Israel. His blood is the blood of the new covenant. What Israel meant for evil with the rejection of Christ, the LORD has turned for the better. The Servant appears to have been sent by God “to preserve many people alive” (Genesis 50:20).

Joseph’s brothers did not realize that the mighty viceroy of Egypt and their rejected brother are one and the same person. Thus, Israel does not recognize that the bare, mighty arm of the LORD and the rejected Jesus of Nazareth are one and the same Person. So blind are they as the servant of the LORD. A veil lies over their faces. But the perfect Servant has come to heal the blind servant, to remove the veil from their faces.

Just as Joseph reveals himself to his brothers in holy seclusion without strangers (Genesis 45:1), so the Servant will make Himself known to the faithful remnant. Like Thomas, a picture of the remnant, they will recognize Him by His wounds and bow down before Him and declare: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

The fifteen verses of this section have been written in the form of a poem, consisting of five stanzas of three verses each. These five stanzas are written in a so-called chiasm, a mirror technique to emphasize the middle part: 1. the glorification of the Servant (Isaiah 52:13-15). —2. the suffering of the Servant (Isaiah 53:1-3) ——3. the atonement by the Servant (Isaiah 53:4-6) —4 the suffering of the Servant (Isaiah 53:7-9) 5. the glorification of the Servant (Isaiah 53:10-12) a. stanzas 1 and 5 are about the glorification of the Servant; b. stanzas 2 and 4 are about the suffering of the Servant; c. the middle stanza (3) is about the atonement by the Servant.

The LORD begins with the words “behold, My servant” (Isaiah 52:13). All attention is directed toward Him (cf. Matthew 25:6). It is not about Israel, but about the Messiah. The connection with what immediately preceded this is striking, even if it is in the form of a great contrast. In the foregoing, the deliverance from Babylonian exile is in the foreground, with the future and final deliverance behind it. Deliverance, however, can only be effected by the servant of the LORD, regardless of whether it concerns the Jew or the heathen. No fulfillment of any prophecy is possible without the Lord Jesus and His work on the cross.

That is why God calls upon us to look at Him, first in His prosperous action and then in His exalted position (Isaiah 52:13). After that, there is a brief mention of His humiliation in anticipation of the coming revelation in power and glory (Isaiah 52:14-15). This is all, in a compact form, the theme on which after this introduction will be elaborated in the next twelve verses.

“Behold, My servant will prosper” (Isaiah 52:13a). There are two meanings of the word “prosper”. The first is wisdom – a characteristic of which is prudence – and the second is prosperity or success. A complete representation of the text can be: ‘Will act wisely, resulting in prosperity.’ This describes in a compact way His life on earth up to and including the cross, in everything He says and does, with the prosperous consequences that are inextricably connected to it. He maintains His testimony without surrendering His life until the appointed hour is there. Never is there greater prosperity attached to any action than to the surrendering of His life as a willing and atoning sacrifice (cf. Isaiah 53:10).

“He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted” (Isaiah 52:13b). The consequence of His wise and prosperous action is that God has exalted Him greatly. There are three stages in that exaltation: His resurrection, His ascension and His glorification at God’s right hand (Acts 2:33; Philippians 2:9; Hebrews 1:3; 13).

In Isaiah 52:14 the form of a speaking about changes into a speaking to and then again into a speaking about. The cause of amazement and dismay is the fact of His being marred. This determines us by the atrocities that have been inflicted on Him after His capture. His face and His body have been marred in an unparalleled gruesome way. The soldiers struck Him with a fake scepter on His face and on His forehead crowned with spines, until He was no longer recognizable. The inflicted flogging ripped the flesh from both His back and His chest.

This was the Lord Jesus as He was brought out by Pilate and shown to the people to arouse their pity and to work that they would not ask for more of His blood. It was in vain. It made their disgust of Him and the call for His blood even greater. His appearance was so completely different from what they had expected from the Messiah, that they looked at Him with dismay. So they stared at Him (Psalms 22:17b).

While Israel in this way rejected Him, in the coming day the contempt of the nations through Pilate will turn into amazement and dismay at His power and glory. The “thus” of Isaiah 52:15 corresponds to the “just” of Isaiah 52:14. The amazement will be so great that kings will be overwhelmed by speechlessness, dumbfounded by what they see and of what they have never heard. The dismay at His suffering will be far surpassed by the dismay at His glorification. The “sprinkling” of “many nations” refers to the blessing that comes from His humiliation.

These verses twice express great amazement and dismay: first about the horrible humiliation of the Messiah, then about His awe-inspiring glorification. Now those in power still have their mouths full of boasting (Psalms 2:1-3). Then they will hear the reality and meaning of this amazing revelation. They will see that the people plagued and oppressed by them are the people chosen and loved by God under a King Who has laid His glory on those people. When they will see and hear it, they will also believe with all their heart.

However, this verse does not only refer to the future. Paul applies it to the preaching of the gospel in the time between the cross and the second coming, that is the period in which we live now. He quotes this verse to make the gospel known in ever more distant places and to extend his missionary journeys to areas where the gospel has not yet been preached (Romans 15:20-21).

Jeremiah 22:12

High and Lifted Up

Here begins a totally new section. The division into chapters is not well done here. Isaiah 53 must begin with Isaiah 52:13 of this chapter. The last three verses of Isaiah 52 and whole Isaiah 53 contain one great theme: the suffering, rejected, atoning and exalted Servant of the LORD. This whole section forms the heart of the second great part of the book of Isaiah. It is right in the middle of it.

We can say that in this section we enter, as it were, the holy of holies. This makes it even more necessary than otherwise to approach this section with great reverence and deep awe and take it in (cf. Exodus 3:5; Joshua 5:15). In the heart of this section the LORD reveals His heart. And Who else is the heart of God other than the Lord Jesus, Who was and is always in the bosom of the Father? The Lord Jesus has come to declare Him in grace to sinful people (John 1:18). In this section it is about Christ and His work and its glorious consequences, both for God and for us.

This is also the fourth and last song or the last prophecy about the Servant of the LORD. In the previous three songs or prophecies we have seen that the Servant is the Chosen One of God (Isaiah 42:1-9), the Rejected One of Israel (Isaiah 49:1-13) and the dependent and obedient Servant (Isaiah 50:1-11). Now the covering is taken away from Israel (2 Corinthians 3:16) and the arm of the LORD is revealed.

The chosen and rejected Servant, obedient to the death of the cross, turns out to be the Guilt Offering for Israel! He dies as the substitute offering for Israel. His blood is the blood of the new covenant. What Israel meant for evil with the rejection of Christ, the LORD has turned for the better. The Servant appears to have been sent by God “to preserve many people alive” (Genesis 50:20).

Joseph’s brothers did not realize that the mighty viceroy of Egypt and their rejected brother are one and the same person. Thus, Israel does not recognize that the bare, mighty arm of the LORD and the rejected Jesus of Nazareth are one and the same Person. So blind are they as the servant of the LORD. A veil lies over their faces. But the perfect Servant has come to heal the blind servant, to remove the veil from their faces.

Just as Joseph reveals himself to his brothers in holy seclusion without strangers (Genesis 45:1), so the Servant will make Himself known to the faithful remnant. Like Thomas, a picture of the remnant, they will recognize Him by His wounds and bow down before Him and declare: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

The fifteen verses of this section have been written in the form of a poem, consisting of five stanzas of three verses each. These five stanzas are written in a so-called chiasm, a mirror technique to emphasize the middle part: 1. the glorification of the Servant (Isaiah 52:13-15). —2. the suffering of the Servant (Isaiah 53:1-3) ——3. the atonement by the Servant (Isaiah 53:4-6) —4 the suffering of the Servant (Isaiah 53:7-9) 5. the glorification of the Servant (Isaiah 53:10-12) a. stanzas 1 and 5 are about the glorification of the Servant; b. stanzas 2 and 4 are about the suffering of the Servant; c. the middle stanza (3) is about the atonement by the Servant.

The LORD begins with the words “behold, My servant” (Isaiah 52:13). All attention is directed toward Him (cf. Matthew 25:6). It is not about Israel, but about the Messiah. The connection with what immediately preceded this is striking, even if it is in the form of a great contrast. In the foregoing, the deliverance from Babylonian exile is in the foreground, with the future and final deliverance behind it. Deliverance, however, can only be effected by the servant of the LORD, regardless of whether it concerns the Jew or the heathen. No fulfillment of any prophecy is possible without the Lord Jesus and His work on the cross.

That is why God calls upon us to look at Him, first in His prosperous action and then in His exalted position (Isaiah 52:13). After that, there is a brief mention of His humiliation in anticipation of the coming revelation in power and glory (Isaiah 52:14-15). This is all, in a compact form, the theme on which after this introduction will be elaborated in the next twelve verses.

“Behold, My servant will prosper” (Isaiah 52:13a). There are two meanings of the word “prosper”. The first is wisdom – a characteristic of which is prudence – and the second is prosperity or success. A complete representation of the text can be: ‘Will act wisely, resulting in prosperity.’ This describes in a compact way His life on earth up to and including the cross, in everything He says and does, with the prosperous consequences that are inextricably connected to it. He maintains His testimony without surrendering His life until the appointed hour is there. Never is there greater prosperity attached to any action than to the surrendering of His life as a willing and atoning sacrifice (cf. Isaiah 53:10).

“He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted” (Isaiah 52:13b). The consequence of His wise and prosperous action is that God has exalted Him greatly. There are three stages in that exaltation: His resurrection, His ascension and His glorification at God’s right hand (Acts 2:33; Philippians 2:9; Hebrews 1:3; 13).

In Isaiah 52:14 the form of a speaking about changes into a speaking to and then again into a speaking about. The cause of amazement and dismay is the fact of His being marred. This determines us by the atrocities that have been inflicted on Him after His capture. His face and His body have been marred in an unparalleled gruesome way. The soldiers struck Him with a fake scepter on His face and on His forehead crowned with spines, until He was no longer recognizable. The inflicted flogging ripped the flesh from both His back and His chest.

This was the Lord Jesus as He was brought out by Pilate and shown to the people to arouse their pity and to work that they would not ask for more of His blood. It was in vain. It made their disgust of Him and the call for His blood even greater. His appearance was so completely different from what they had expected from the Messiah, that they looked at Him with dismay. So they stared at Him (Psalms 22:17b).

While Israel in this way rejected Him, in the coming day the contempt of the nations through Pilate will turn into amazement and dismay at His power and glory. The “thus” of Isaiah 52:15 corresponds to the “just” of Isaiah 52:14. The amazement will be so great that kings will be overwhelmed by speechlessness, dumbfounded by what they see and of what they have never heard. The dismay at His suffering will be far surpassed by the dismay at His glorification. The “sprinkling” of “many nations” refers to the blessing that comes from His humiliation.

These verses twice express great amazement and dismay: first about the horrible humiliation of the Messiah, then about His awe-inspiring glorification. Now those in power still have their mouths full of boasting (Psalms 2:1-3). Then they will hear the reality and meaning of this amazing revelation. They will see that the people plagued and oppressed by them are the people chosen and loved by God under a King Who has laid His glory on those people. When they will see and hear it, they will also believe with all their heart.

However, this verse does not only refer to the future. Paul applies it to the preaching of the gospel in the time between the cross and the second coming, that is the period in which we live now. He quotes this verse to make the gospel known in ever more distant places and to extend his missionary journeys to areas where the gospel has not yet been preached (Romans 15:20-21).

Jeremiah 22:13

High and Lifted Up

Here begins a totally new section. The division into chapters is not well done here. Isaiah 53 must begin with Isaiah 52:13 of this chapter. The last three verses of Isaiah 52 and whole Isaiah 53 contain one great theme: the suffering, rejected, atoning and exalted Servant of the LORD. This whole section forms the heart of the second great part of the book of Isaiah. It is right in the middle of it.

We can say that in this section we enter, as it were, the holy of holies. This makes it even more necessary than otherwise to approach this section with great reverence and deep awe and take it in (cf. Exodus 3:5; Joshua 5:15). In the heart of this section the LORD reveals His heart. And Who else is the heart of God other than the Lord Jesus, Who was and is always in the bosom of the Father? The Lord Jesus has come to declare Him in grace to sinful people (John 1:18). In this section it is about Christ and His work and its glorious consequences, both for God and for us.

This is also the fourth and last song or the last prophecy about the Servant of the LORD. In the previous three songs or prophecies we have seen that the Servant is the Chosen One of God (Isaiah 42:1-9), the Rejected One of Israel (Isaiah 49:1-13) and the dependent and obedient Servant (Isaiah 50:1-11). Now the covering is taken away from Israel (2 Corinthians 3:16) and the arm of the LORD is revealed.

The chosen and rejected Servant, obedient to the death of the cross, turns out to be the Guilt Offering for Israel! He dies as the substitute offering for Israel. His blood is the blood of the new covenant. What Israel meant for evil with the rejection of Christ, the LORD has turned for the better. The Servant appears to have been sent by God “to preserve many people alive” (Genesis 50:20).

Joseph’s brothers did not realize that the mighty viceroy of Egypt and their rejected brother are one and the same person. Thus, Israel does not recognize that the bare, mighty arm of the LORD and the rejected Jesus of Nazareth are one and the same Person. So blind are they as the servant of the LORD. A veil lies over their faces. But the perfect Servant has come to heal the blind servant, to remove the veil from their faces.

Just as Joseph reveals himself to his brothers in holy seclusion without strangers (Genesis 45:1), so the Servant will make Himself known to the faithful remnant. Like Thomas, a picture of the remnant, they will recognize Him by His wounds and bow down before Him and declare: “My Lord and my God!” (John 20:28).

The fifteen verses of this section have been written in the form of a poem, consisting of five stanzas of three verses each. These five stanzas are written in a so-called chiasm, a mirror technique to emphasize the middle part: 1. the glorification of the Servant (Isaiah 52:13-15). —2. the suffering of the Servant (Isaiah 53:1-3) ——3. the atonement by the Servant (Isaiah 53:4-6) —4 the suffering of the Servant (Isaiah 53:7-9) 5. the glorification of the Servant (Isaiah 53:10-12) a. stanzas 1 and 5 are about the glorification of the Servant; b. stanzas 2 and 4 are about the suffering of the Servant; c. the middle stanza (3) is about the atonement by the Servant.

The LORD begins with the words “behold, My servant” (Isaiah 52:13). All attention is directed toward Him (cf. Matthew 25:6). It is not about Israel, but about the Messiah. The connection with what immediately preceded this is striking, even if it is in the form of a great contrast. In the foregoing, the deliverance from Babylonian exile is in the foreground, with the future and final deliverance behind it. Deliverance, however, can only be effected by the servant of the LORD, regardless of whether it concerns the Jew or the heathen. No fulfillment of any prophecy is possible without the Lord Jesus and His work on the cross.

That is why God calls upon us to look at Him, first in His prosperous action and then in His exalted position (Isaiah 52:13). After that, there is a brief mention of His humiliation in anticipation of the coming revelation in power and glory (Isaiah 52:14-15). This is all, in a compact form, the theme on which after this introduction will be elaborated in the next twelve verses.

“Behold, My servant will prosper” (Isaiah 52:13a). There are two meanings of the word “prosper”. The first is wisdom – a characteristic of which is prudence – and the second is prosperity or success. A complete representation of the text can be: ‘Will act wisely, resulting in prosperity.’ This describes in a compact way His life on earth up to and including the cross, in everything He says and does, with the prosperous consequences that are inextricably connected to it. He maintains His testimony without surrendering His life until the appointed hour is there. Never is there greater prosperity attached to any action than to the surrendering of His life as a willing and atoning sacrifice (cf. Isaiah 53:10).

“He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted” (Isaiah 52:13b). The consequence of His wise and prosperous action is that God has exalted Him greatly. There are three stages in that exaltation: His resurrection, His ascension and His glorification at God’s right hand (Acts 2:33; Philippians 2:9; Hebrews 1:3; 13).

In Isaiah 52:14 the form of a speaking about changes into a speaking to and then again into a speaking about. The cause of amazement and dismay is the fact of His being marred. This determines us by the atrocities that have been inflicted on Him after His capture. His face and His body have been marred in an unparalleled gruesome way. The soldiers struck Him with a fake scepter on His face and on His forehead crowned with spines, until He was no longer recognizable. The inflicted flogging ripped the flesh from both His back and His chest.

This was the Lord Jesus as He was brought out by Pilate and shown to the people to arouse their pity and to work that they would not ask for more of His blood. It was in vain. It made their disgust of Him and the call for His blood even greater. His appearance was so completely different from what they had expected from the Messiah, that they looked at Him with dismay. So they stared at Him (Psalms 22:17b).

While Israel in this way rejected Him, in the coming day the contempt of the nations through Pilate will turn into amazement and dismay at His power and glory. The “thus” of Isaiah 52:15 corresponds to the “just” of Isaiah 52:14. The amazement will be so great that kings will be overwhelmed by speechlessness, dumbfounded by what they see and of what they have never heard. The dismay at His suffering will be far surpassed by the dismay at His glorification. The “sprinkling” of “many nations” refers to the blessing that comes from His humiliation.

These verses twice express great amazement and dismay: first about the horrible humiliation of the Messiah, then about His awe-inspiring glorification. Now those in power still have their mouths full of boasting (Psalms 2:1-3). Then they will hear the reality and meaning of this amazing revelation. They will see that the people plagued and oppressed by them are the people chosen and loved by God under a King Who has laid His glory on those people. When they will see and hear it, they will also believe with all their heart.

However, this verse does not only refer to the future. Paul applies it to the preaching of the gospel in the time between the cross and the second coming, that is the period in which we live now. He quotes this verse to make the gospel known in ever more distant places and to extend his missionary journeys to areas where the gospel has not yet been preached (Romans 15:20-21).

Jeremiah 22:15

Despised

Isaiah 53:1. Directly upon the amazement of the earthly rulers because of what they see and hear, which is spoken of in the last verse of the previous chapter (Isaiah 52:15), now follows the reason why Israel did not believe. The cause lies with themselves. They are the grieving and repentant speakers in the following verses. They lamentingly acknowledge their unbelief. They have heard the prophets speak to them, yet they did not believe. Here the people, that is, the remnant, confess their unbelief in this message . Something as ‘unbelievable’ as the work of the Messiah can only be accepted through the work of the Holy Spirit, Who will also work humiliation and faith in the remnant when they will see their Messiah (Ezekiel 36:25-27; Zechariah 12:10-14).

We have anticipated this confession through the work of the Holy Spirit Who was sent from heaven. We have already confessed our sins and acknowledged Him as the God-given Savior (Ephesians 1:12) without having seen Him.

As a people, Israel has refused to believe the message that has been preached to them. They have also been blind to the revealed arm of the LORD. His arm speaks of His formidable majesty and power (Isaiah 40:10; Isaiah 50:2; Isaiah 51:5; 9; Isaiah 52:10). Isaiah 53:1b, according to its meaning, can be read as follows: “Who has an eye for the revelation of God’s mighty deeds that He has accomplished in and to the Messiah?’

In their unbelief, they have failed to acknowledge what God’s power has done in the suffering and resurrection of Christ from the dead (Romans 1:4; Ephesians 1:20). Soon the remnant will see it, when they will see Him Whom they have pierced (Revelation 1:7a; Zechariah 12:10). They confess here, prophetically through the mouth of the prophet, that they did not see it.

The two disciples from Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) are also a type of the believing remnant. They believe in the glorified Christ, but cannot believe in a suffering and deceased Christ. They believe that the arm of the LORD is revealed when Christ reigns, but they cannot and will not believe that the same arm of the LORD can reveal itself in the suffering and death of Christ. That is why the Lord Jesus taught them: “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:25-26).

The evangelist John quotes the first verse of this chapter to indicate that the unbelief of the Jews in the days of the Lord Jesus proves the truth of this verse and fulfills it (John 12:37-38). By the way, God’s Word proves here in the clearest way that the LORD of Whom Isaiah speaks is the same as the Lord Jesus. John begins the quotation with: “LORD, WHO …?” He asks this question as the messenger of God. It is also the question of the faithful remnant who preached the gospel in the great tribulation and sees so little result.

It is the observation of so many evangelists today (Romans 10:16). If the preaching does not seem to bear fruit, there is a great danger of becoming discouraged. But Paul makes it clear in this quote that the gospel must not only be believed but also obeyed.

Isaiah 53:2. Here the Messiah, Christ, is described in His humiliation on earth. The prophet writes in the past tense, as if the events have already taken place. Israel did not believe the message concerning the Messiah and did not recognize the power of God in and to Him, because He is a humbled and to the flesh unattractive Servant. But He grows up before God, that is, under His protection and pleasure (cf. 1 Peter 2:4). God takes care of this tender life.

The root of Jesse has been hewn, but there remains a stump (Isaiah 11:1a), inconspicuous and unrecognizable. The stump stands in parched ground. That speaks of the unbelief of the people. But from the root of this stump grows a shoot or a branch (Isaiah 11:1b) – a shoot does not grow on a tree trunk but on the root of a tree. There is still life. While Israel does not notice it, the shoot grows before God. This insignificant shoot is the arm of the LORD.

They did not realize that Christ grew up before God. The pleasantness of Christ in the days of His youth and His growing up like a tender shoot to a Man is contrasted with the state of barrenness, religious unfruitfulness and slavery of the people. They have seen nothing in His appearance to feel a natural attraction to Him, nothing of splendor or beauty in which their natural feelings have rejoiced (cf. 1 Samuel 16:6-7).

When they saw Him, they saw nothing to see, so little was there that was attractive to the natural eye of man. To unbelief there was nothing in Him that made Him stand out among men. There was an inner beauty in Him, but it remained hidden from the mass of the people by their unbelief and was perceived only by faith (John 1:14). “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:5).

Isaiah 53:3. As “despised and forsaken of men” He has been rejected and abandoned by the people. As “a man of sorrows”, His life was characterized as that of someone characterized by inner grief in experiencing the consequences of sin and the grief around Him. His whole existence was marked by grief. That He is “acquainted with grief” characterizes Him as Someone Who alone is capable of complete familiarity with all forms of sickness as a consequence of sin.

The last part of the verse gives even more powerful expression to the attitude of the people as a whole. It shows the character of their contempt. People hide their faces or turn away from what they find unbearable to see. They held Him for a leper. They regarded Him as nothing. All this mentions the deep remorse with which the people will later – when their eyes are opened – remember their attitude toward Him during the days of His flesh.

We can summarize Isaiah 53:1-3 as follows: 1. The account about the Servant that is not believed (Isaiah 53:1). 2. The Person of the Servant Who is not attractive (Isaiah 53:2). 3. The climax is: the Servant is despised (Isaiah 53:3).

Jeremiah 22:16

Despised

Isaiah 53:1. Directly upon the amazement of the earthly rulers because of what they see and hear, which is spoken of in the last verse of the previous chapter (Isaiah 52:15), now follows the reason why Israel did not believe. The cause lies with themselves. They are the grieving and repentant speakers in the following verses. They lamentingly acknowledge their unbelief. They have heard the prophets speak to them, yet they did not believe. Here the people, that is, the remnant, confess their unbelief in this message . Something as ‘unbelievable’ as the work of the Messiah can only be accepted through the work of the Holy Spirit, Who will also work humiliation and faith in the remnant when they will see their Messiah (Ezekiel 36:25-27; Zechariah 12:10-14).

We have anticipated this confession through the work of the Holy Spirit Who was sent from heaven. We have already confessed our sins and acknowledged Him as the God-given Savior (Ephesians 1:12) without having seen Him.

As a people, Israel has refused to believe the message that has been preached to them. They have also been blind to the revealed arm of the LORD. His arm speaks of His formidable majesty and power (Isaiah 40:10; Isaiah 50:2; Isaiah 51:5; 9; Isaiah 52:10). Isaiah 53:1b, according to its meaning, can be read as follows: “Who has an eye for the revelation of God’s mighty deeds that He has accomplished in and to the Messiah?’

In their unbelief, they have failed to acknowledge what God’s power has done in the suffering and resurrection of Christ from the dead (Romans 1:4; Ephesians 1:20). Soon the remnant will see it, when they will see Him Whom they have pierced (Revelation 1:7a; Zechariah 12:10). They confess here, prophetically through the mouth of the prophet, that they did not see it.

The two disciples from Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) are also a type of the believing remnant. They believe in the glorified Christ, but cannot believe in a suffering and deceased Christ. They believe that the arm of the LORD is revealed when Christ reigns, but they cannot and will not believe that the same arm of the LORD can reveal itself in the suffering and death of Christ. That is why the Lord Jesus taught them: “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:25-26).

The evangelist John quotes the first verse of this chapter to indicate that the unbelief of the Jews in the days of the Lord Jesus proves the truth of this verse and fulfills it (John 12:37-38). By the way, God’s Word proves here in the clearest way that the LORD of Whom Isaiah speaks is the same as the Lord Jesus. John begins the quotation with: “LORD, WHO …?” He asks this question as the messenger of God. It is also the question of the faithful remnant who preached the gospel in the great tribulation and sees so little result.

It is the observation of so many evangelists today (Romans 10:16). If the preaching does not seem to bear fruit, there is a great danger of becoming discouraged. But Paul makes it clear in this quote that the gospel must not only be believed but also obeyed.

Isaiah 53:2. Here the Messiah, Christ, is described in His humiliation on earth. The prophet writes in the past tense, as if the events have already taken place. Israel did not believe the message concerning the Messiah and did not recognize the power of God in and to Him, because He is a humbled and to the flesh unattractive Servant. But He grows up before God, that is, under His protection and pleasure (cf. 1 Peter 2:4). God takes care of this tender life.

The root of Jesse has been hewn, but there remains a stump (Isaiah 11:1a), inconspicuous and unrecognizable. The stump stands in parched ground. That speaks of the unbelief of the people. But from the root of this stump grows a shoot or a branch (Isaiah 11:1b) – a shoot does not grow on a tree trunk but on the root of a tree. There is still life. While Israel does not notice it, the shoot grows before God. This insignificant shoot is the arm of the LORD.

They did not realize that Christ grew up before God. The pleasantness of Christ in the days of His youth and His growing up like a tender shoot to a Man is contrasted with the state of barrenness, religious unfruitfulness and slavery of the people. They have seen nothing in His appearance to feel a natural attraction to Him, nothing of splendor or beauty in which their natural feelings have rejoiced (cf. 1 Samuel 16:6-7).

When they saw Him, they saw nothing to see, so little was there that was attractive to the natural eye of man. To unbelief there was nothing in Him that made Him stand out among men. There was an inner beauty in Him, but it remained hidden from the mass of the people by their unbelief and was perceived only by faith (John 1:14). “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:5).

Isaiah 53:3. As “despised and forsaken of men” He has been rejected and abandoned by the people. As “a man of sorrows”, His life was characterized as that of someone characterized by inner grief in experiencing the consequences of sin and the grief around Him. His whole existence was marked by grief. That He is “acquainted with grief” characterizes Him as Someone Who alone is capable of complete familiarity with all forms of sickness as a consequence of sin.

The last part of the verse gives even more powerful expression to the attitude of the people as a whole. It shows the character of their contempt. People hide their faces or turn away from what they find unbearable to see. They held Him for a leper. They regarded Him as nothing. All this mentions the deep remorse with which the people will later – when their eyes are opened – remember their attitude toward Him during the days of His flesh.

We can summarize Isaiah 53:1-3 as follows: 1. The account about the Servant that is not believed (Isaiah 53:1). 2. The Person of the Servant Who is not attractive (Isaiah 53:2). 3. The climax is: the Servant is despised (Isaiah 53:3).

Jeremiah 22:17

Despised

Isaiah 53:1. Directly upon the amazement of the earthly rulers because of what they see and hear, which is spoken of in the last verse of the previous chapter (Isaiah 52:15), now follows the reason why Israel did not believe. The cause lies with themselves. They are the grieving and repentant speakers in the following verses. They lamentingly acknowledge their unbelief. They have heard the prophets speak to them, yet they did not believe. Here the people, that is, the remnant, confess their unbelief in this message . Something as ‘unbelievable’ as the work of the Messiah can only be accepted through the work of the Holy Spirit, Who will also work humiliation and faith in the remnant when they will see their Messiah (Ezekiel 36:25-27; Zechariah 12:10-14).

We have anticipated this confession through the work of the Holy Spirit Who was sent from heaven. We have already confessed our sins and acknowledged Him as the God-given Savior (Ephesians 1:12) without having seen Him.

As a people, Israel has refused to believe the message that has been preached to them. They have also been blind to the revealed arm of the LORD. His arm speaks of His formidable majesty and power (Isaiah 40:10; Isaiah 50:2; Isaiah 51:5; 9; Isaiah 52:10). Isaiah 53:1b, according to its meaning, can be read as follows: “Who has an eye for the revelation of God’s mighty deeds that He has accomplished in and to the Messiah?’

In their unbelief, they have failed to acknowledge what God’s power has done in the suffering and resurrection of Christ from the dead (Romans 1:4; Ephesians 1:20). Soon the remnant will see it, when they will see Him Whom they have pierced (Revelation 1:7a; Zechariah 12:10). They confess here, prophetically through the mouth of the prophet, that they did not see it.

The two disciples from Emmaus (Luke 24:13-35) are also a type of the believing remnant. They believe in the glorified Christ, but cannot believe in a suffering and deceased Christ. They believe that the arm of the LORD is revealed when Christ reigns, but they cannot and will not believe that the same arm of the LORD can reveal itself in the suffering and death of Christ. That is why the Lord Jesus taught them: “O foolish men and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Was it not necessary for the Christ to suffer these things and to enter into His glory?” (Luke 24:25-26).

The evangelist John quotes the first verse of this chapter to indicate that the unbelief of the Jews in the days of the Lord Jesus proves the truth of this verse and fulfills it (John 12:37-38). By the way, God’s Word proves here in the clearest way that the LORD of Whom Isaiah speaks is the same as the Lord Jesus. John begins the quotation with: “LORD, WHO …?” He asks this question as the messenger of God. It is also the question of the faithful remnant who preached the gospel in the great tribulation and sees so little result.

It is the observation of so many evangelists today (Romans 10:16). If the preaching does not seem to bear fruit, there is a great danger of becoming discouraged. But Paul makes it clear in this quote that the gospel must not only be believed but also obeyed.

Isaiah 53:2. Here the Messiah, Christ, is described in His humiliation on earth. The prophet writes in the past tense, as if the events have already taken place. Israel did not believe the message concerning the Messiah and did not recognize the power of God in and to Him, because He is a humbled and to the flesh unattractive Servant. But He grows up before God, that is, under His protection and pleasure (cf. 1 Peter 2:4). God takes care of this tender life.

The root of Jesse has been hewn, but there remains a stump (Isaiah 11:1a), inconspicuous and unrecognizable. The stump stands in parched ground. That speaks of the unbelief of the people. But from the root of this stump grows a shoot or a branch (Isaiah 11:1b) – a shoot does not grow on a tree trunk but on the root of a tree. There is still life. While Israel does not notice it, the shoot grows before God. This insignificant shoot is the arm of the LORD.

They did not realize that Christ grew up before God. The pleasantness of Christ in the days of His youth and His growing up like a tender shoot to a Man is contrasted with the state of barrenness, religious unfruitfulness and slavery of the people. They have seen nothing in His appearance to feel a natural attraction to Him, nothing of splendor or beauty in which their natural feelings have rejoiced (cf. 1 Samuel 16:6-7).

When they saw Him, they saw nothing to see, so little was there that was attractive to the natural eye of man. To unbelief there was nothing in Him that made Him stand out among men. There was an inner beauty in Him, but it remained hidden from the mass of the people by their unbelief and was perceived only by faith (John 1:14). “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it” (John 1:5).

Isaiah 53:3. As “despised and forsaken of men” He has been rejected and abandoned by the people. As “a man of sorrows”, His life was characterized as that of someone characterized by inner grief in experiencing the consequences of sin and the grief around Him. His whole existence was marked by grief. That He is “acquainted with grief” characterizes Him as Someone Who alone is capable of complete familiarity with all forms of sickness as a consequence of sin.

The last part of the verse gives even more powerful expression to the attitude of the people as a whole. It shows the character of their contempt. People hide their faces or turn away from what they find unbearable to see. They held Him for a leper. They regarded Him as nothing. All this mentions the deep remorse with which the people will later – when their eyes are opened – remember their attitude toward Him during the days of His flesh.

We can summarize Isaiah 53:1-3 as follows: 1. The account about the Servant that is not believed (Isaiah 53:1). 2. The Person of the Servant Who is not attractive (Isaiah 53:2). 3. The climax is: the Servant is despised (Isaiah 53:3).

Jeremiah 22:18

Substitutional Suffering

We now come to the core of the message in this second main part of the book of Isaiah, Isaiah 40-66, which consists of three parts of nine chapters each. Of these three parts we are in the middle part of nine chapters, Isaiah 49-58. In this part we are now in the middle chapter, Isaiah 53. This center consists of five parts or stanzas of three verses, of which we are now in the third and middle (Isaiah 53:4-6). Its content is the Lord Jesus Who, as the perfect Servant, takes the place of the failing servant, Israel, both in His life and in His death. In this whole song, the Servant takes in His suffering as the Substitute the place of Israel.

For the sake of clarity, it is good to point out that it is not ‘solidarity’ suffering with the suffering of mankind, as modern theologians claim, but substitutional suffering for penitent sinners. It is, as Isaiah 53:10 unequivocally states, a guilt offering.

Isaiah 53:4. In Isaiah 53:4-6 the remnant goes even deeper into the subject. They confess that His suffering has been of a totally different nature than they have assumed. He has not suffered because of His own sins, as they have assumed. He did not commit blasphemy when He called Himself God’s Son. Christ suffered because of their sins. The suffering of the cross is now in sight. The change in their view is characterized by the opening word “surely”.

The statement “our griefs [or: sickness] He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried”, expresses even more fully what was mentioned in the previous verse in connection with this about Him. It tells how the Lord in His own Person has borne suffering that was not His. Matthew cites this in connection with His acts of healing and deliverance (Matthew 8:16-17). This statement does not speak of His substitutional atonement, but it does refer to it. The Lord Jesus would not have been able to take away griefs, or sickness, if He had not taken away its core, sin, on the cross.

Isaiah 53:4 brings us to the cross, for only there can the statement “stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” refer to. “Stricken” reminds us of the plague of leprosy. What was not the case with Him was the case with Miriam (Numbers 12:10), Gehazi (2 Kings 5:27) and Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:20). In their blindness, the Jews saw His suffering as the punishment for His own sins, which, according to them, had to be particularly numerous and great. In particular, we should think of the accusation of blasphemy, which He would have committed by equating Himself with God.

Isaiah 53:5. But now, under the power of the revelation of the great facts, they come to a complete change of opinion. We notice this in a peculiar way in the series of emphatic personal expressions in the plural which follow. “Pierced” and “crushed” are the strongest words to describe a violent and frightening death. There is emphasis on “our”.

In clear words the doctrine of substitution is described here: Someone receives the punishment that others have deserved in their place, so that they can go out free (1 Peter 2:24a). A simple doctrine, but an unimaginable truth.

The chastisement inflicted on Him by God is one that has served to our peace – the Hebrew word for peace, shalom, is summarizing, and describes not only a peaceful state, but a welfare in general, prosperity and well-being and inner peace and rest. It is a punishment that has this effect for us.

This curious contradiction is also found in the wounds or scourging inflicted on Him, from which healing has originated for us. The wounds are the wounds that God inflicted on Him (1 Peter 2:24b) and not those of the Roman soldiers who flogged Him. They are the marks of Divine judgment. The healing, the spiritual health we have received, is explicitly contrasted with the chastening or strikes of God to which He was subjected.

Isaiah 53:6. Now the climax of the confession comes from a deeply affected conscience on the part of the repentant people. He who leaves the Lord has no contact with others. Everyone goes his own way. They acknowledge that they have gone astray like sheep and express their awareness of the great grace in the overwhelming fact that “the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him”. It has fallen on Him as a huge burden. He cared about our fate, but what an enormous burden fell on Him as a result. All our sins were laid on Him by God. He confessed them all one by one before God. Thus that entire burden is removed from the sight of God (cf. Leviticus 16:21).

The LORD takes the initiative here. He wanted the suffering of His Servant for the salvation of the sinful people who deviated from Him. Israel turned away from Him, but He did not turn away from His people. He let the sin of the people come down to the Man of His pleasure. In Isaiah 53:4 the substitutional suffering of the Servant is the choice of the Servant Himself. Here in Isaiah 53:6 it is what the LORD has chosen to do. The suffering of the Servant is not beyond the will of the Servant and the will of the LORD. On the contrary, it is the express will of the Servant, Who, when He comes into the world, says: “Behold, I have come … to do Your will” (Hebrews 10:5; 9).

What the people will soon acknowledge with regard to going their own way, is true for the whole human race. Man has replaced God’s will with his own will. He has gone “his own way”, placing himself in the center instead of God. In this general state of guilt and misery the grace of God has intervened. He has sent His Son to lay upon Him the full weight of iniquity (Romans 8:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21) and the righteous anger that goes with it. Every person who confesses his sins may know that Christ has accomplished this work for him as well and shares in this gracious act of God. The sins of the impenitent sinner are not part of this atoning work.

Jeremiah 22:19

Substitutional Suffering

We now come to the core of the message in this second main part of the book of Isaiah, Isaiah 40-66, which consists of three parts of nine chapters each. Of these three parts we are in the middle part of nine chapters, Isaiah 49-58. In this part we are now in the middle chapter, Isaiah 53. This center consists of five parts or stanzas of three verses, of which we are now in the third and middle (Isaiah 53:4-6). Its content is the Lord Jesus Who, as the perfect Servant, takes the place of the failing servant, Israel, both in His life and in His death. In this whole song, the Servant takes in His suffering as the Substitute the place of Israel.

For the sake of clarity, it is good to point out that it is not ‘solidarity’ suffering with the suffering of mankind, as modern theologians claim, but substitutional suffering for penitent sinners. It is, as Isaiah 53:10 unequivocally states, a guilt offering.

Isaiah 53:4. In Isaiah 53:4-6 the remnant goes even deeper into the subject. They confess that His suffering has been of a totally different nature than they have assumed. He has not suffered because of His own sins, as they have assumed. He did not commit blasphemy when He called Himself God’s Son. Christ suffered because of their sins. The suffering of the cross is now in sight. The change in their view is characterized by the opening word “surely”.

The statement “our griefs [or: sickness] He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried”, expresses even more fully what was mentioned in the previous verse in connection with this about Him. It tells how the Lord in His own Person has borne suffering that was not His. Matthew cites this in connection with His acts of healing and deliverance (Matthew 8:16-17). This statement does not speak of His substitutional atonement, but it does refer to it. The Lord Jesus would not have been able to take away griefs, or sickness, if He had not taken away its core, sin, on the cross.

Isaiah 53:4 brings us to the cross, for only there can the statement “stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” refer to. “Stricken” reminds us of the plague of leprosy. What was not the case with Him was the case with Miriam (Numbers 12:10), Gehazi (2 Kings 5:27) and Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:20). In their blindness, the Jews saw His suffering as the punishment for His own sins, which, according to them, had to be particularly numerous and great. In particular, we should think of the accusation of blasphemy, which He would have committed by equating Himself with God.

Isaiah 53:5. But now, under the power of the revelation of the great facts, they come to a complete change of opinion. We notice this in a peculiar way in the series of emphatic personal expressions in the plural which follow. “Pierced” and “crushed” are the strongest words to describe a violent and frightening death. There is emphasis on “our”.

In clear words the doctrine of substitution is described here: Someone receives the punishment that others have deserved in their place, so that they can go out free (1 Peter 2:24a). A simple doctrine, but an unimaginable truth.

The chastisement inflicted on Him by God is one that has served to our peace – the Hebrew word for peace, shalom, is summarizing, and describes not only a peaceful state, but a welfare in general, prosperity and well-being and inner peace and rest. It is a punishment that has this effect for us.

This curious contradiction is also found in the wounds or scourging inflicted on Him, from which healing has originated for us. The wounds are the wounds that God inflicted on Him (1 Peter 2:24b) and not those of the Roman soldiers who flogged Him. They are the marks of Divine judgment. The healing, the spiritual health we have received, is explicitly contrasted with the chastening or strikes of God to which He was subjected.

Isaiah 53:6. Now the climax of the confession comes from a deeply affected conscience on the part of the repentant people. He who leaves the Lord has no contact with others. Everyone goes his own way. They acknowledge that they have gone astray like sheep and express their awareness of the great grace in the overwhelming fact that “the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him”. It has fallen on Him as a huge burden. He cared about our fate, but what an enormous burden fell on Him as a result. All our sins were laid on Him by God. He confessed them all one by one before God. Thus that entire burden is removed from the sight of God (cf. Leviticus 16:21).

The LORD takes the initiative here. He wanted the suffering of His Servant for the salvation of the sinful people who deviated from Him. Israel turned away from Him, but He did not turn away from His people. He let the sin of the people come down to the Man of His pleasure. In Isaiah 53:4 the substitutional suffering of the Servant is the choice of the Servant Himself. Here in Isaiah 53:6 it is what the LORD has chosen to do. The suffering of the Servant is not beyond the will of the Servant and the will of the LORD. On the contrary, it is the express will of the Servant, Who, when He comes into the world, says: “Behold, I have come … to do Your will” (Hebrews 10:5; 9).

What the people will soon acknowledge with regard to going their own way, is true for the whole human race. Man has replaced God’s will with his own will. He has gone “his own way”, placing himself in the center instead of God. In this general state of guilt and misery the grace of God has intervened. He has sent His Son to lay upon Him the full weight of iniquity (Romans 8:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21) and the righteous anger that goes with it. Every person who confesses his sins may know that Christ has accomplished this work for him as well and shares in this gracious act of God. The sins of the impenitent sinner are not part of this atoning work.

Jeremiah 22:20

Substitutional Suffering

We now come to the core of the message in this second main part of the book of Isaiah, Isaiah 40-66, which consists of three parts of nine chapters each. Of these three parts we are in the middle part of nine chapters, Isaiah 49-58. In this part we are now in the middle chapter, Isaiah 53. This center consists of five parts or stanzas of three verses, of which we are now in the third and middle (Isaiah 53:4-6). Its content is the Lord Jesus Who, as the perfect Servant, takes the place of the failing servant, Israel, both in His life and in His death. In this whole song, the Servant takes in His suffering as the Substitute the place of Israel.

For the sake of clarity, it is good to point out that it is not ‘solidarity’ suffering with the suffering of mankind, as modern theologians claim, but substitutional suffering for penitent sinners. It is, as Isaiah 53:10 unequivocally states, a guilt offering.

Isaiah 53:4. In Isaiah 53:4-6 the remnant goes even deeper into the subject. They confess that His suffering has been of a totally different nature than they have assumed. He has not suffered because of His own sins, as they have assumed. He did not commit blasphemy when He called Himself God’s Son. Christ suffered because of their sins. The suffering of the cross is now in sight. The change in their view is characterized by the opening word “surely”.

The statement “our griefs [or: sickness] He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried”, expresses even more fully what was mentioned in the previous verse in connection with this about Him. It tells how the Lord in His own Person has borne suffering that was not His. Matthew cites this in connection with His acts of healing and deliverance (Matthew 8:16-17). This statement does not speak of His substitutional atonement, but it does refer to it. The Lord Jesus would not have been able to take away griefs, or sickness, if He had not taken away its core, sin, on the cross.

Isaiah 53:4 brings us to the cross, for only there can the statement “stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” refer to. “Stricken” reminds us of the plague of leprosy. What was not the case with Him was the case with Miriam (Numbers 12:10), Gehazi (2 Kings 5:27) and Uzziah (2 Chronicles 26:20). In their blindness, the Jews saw His suffering as the punishment for His own sins, which, according to them, had to be particularly numerous and great. In particular, we should think of the accusation of blasphemy, which He would have committed by equating Himself with God.

Isaiah 53:5. But now, under the power of the revelation of the great facts, they come to a complete change of opinion. We notice this in a peculiar way in the series of emphatic personal expressions in the plural which follow. “Pierced” and “crushed” are the strongest words to describe a violent and frightening death. There is emphasis on “our”.

In clear words the doctrine of substitution is described here: Someone receives the punishment that others have deserved in their place, so that they can go out free (1 Peter 2:24a). A simple doctrine, but an unimaginable truth.

The chastisement inflicted on Him by God is one that has served to our peace – the Hebrew word for peace, shalom, is summarizing, and describes not only a peaceful state, but a welfare in general, prosperity and well-being and inner peace and rest. It is a punishment that has this effect for us.

This curious contradiction is also found in the wounds or scourging inflicted on Him, from which healing has originated for us. The wounds are the wounds that God inflicted on Him (1 Peter 2:24b) and not those of the Roman soldiers who flogged Him. They are the marks of Divine judgment. The healing, the spiritual health we have received, is explicitly contrasted with the chastening or strikes of God to which He was subjected.

Isaiah 53:6. Now the climax of the confession comes from a deeply affected conscience on the part of the repentant people. He who leaves the Lord has no contact with others. Everyone goes his own way. They acknowledge that they have gone astray like sheep and express their awareness of the great grace in the overwhelming fact that “the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him”. It has fallen on Him as a huge burden. He cared about our fate, but what an enormous burden fell on Him as a result. All our sins were laid on Him by God. He confessed them all one by one before God. Thus that entire burden is removed from the sight of God (cf. Leviticus 16:21).

The LORD takes the initiative here. He wanted the suffering of His Servant for the salvation of the sinful people who deviated from Him. Israel turned away from Him, but He did not turn away from His people. He let the sin of the people come down to the Man of His pleasure. In Isaiah 53:4 the substitutional suffering of the Servant is the choice of the Servant Himself. Here in Isaiah 53:6 it is what the LORD has chosen to do. The suffering of the Servant is not beyond the will of the Servant and the will of the LORD. On the contrary, it is the express will of the Servant, Who, when He comes into the world, says: “Behold, I have come … to do Your will” (Hebrews 10:5; 9).

What the people will soon acknowledge with regard to going their own way, is true for the whole human race. Man has replaced God’s will with his own will. He has gone “his own way”, placing himself in the center instead of God. In this general state of guilt and misery the grace of God has intervened. He has sent His Son to lay upon Him the full weight of iniquity (Romans 8:3; 2 Corinthians 5:21) and the righteous anger that goes with it. Every person who confesses his sins may know that Christ has accomplished this work for him as well and shares in this gracious act of God. The sins of the impenitent sinner are not part of this atoning work.

Jeremiah 22:21

Suffering, Death and Burial

Isaiah 53:7. The fourth section or stanza, Isaiah 53:7-9, describes, like the second section (Isaiah 53:1-3), the suffering of the Servant, but adds His death and burial. He was “oppressed”, i.e. severely stricken and mistreated without sparing Him anything. It also refers to the driving or chasing of slaves or animals loaded with heavy loads (Exodus 3:7; Job 39:7). The servant was such a ‘beast of burden’, but He did not open His mouth, He bowed under the burden, He suffered willingly and allowed them to abuse Him. Balaam’s beast of burden opened her mouth when Balaam struck her unjustly to drive her (Numbers 22:28; 2 Peter 2:16). Jeremiah also compares himself to a lamb, but he did not keep his mouth shut and called for vengeance (Jeremiah 11:19; 20; Jeremiah 12:1-4).

For the Lord Jesus the way to slaughter was many times worse. He knew perfectly where He was going, but He did not open His mouth. He knew everything that would come upon Him (John 13:1; John 18:4). It says twice in this verse that He did not open His mouth, underlining the importance of the voluntary surrender of Christ. He did not remain silent out of weakness, as if He did not know what to say. He knew that with one word He could destroy all His enemies (John 18:6). He did not remain silent out of powerlessness, but because He chose to remain silent. It was part of His obedience to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).

‘Shearing’ is about taking away everything that is worthy of a human being. He did not protest against the inhuman and degrading treatment that was done to Him. Everything expresses His voluntary perseverance in a way in which He is unique. No one can be compared with Him. It is clearly in striking contrast with the going astray of man in the beginning of Isa 53:6.

Isaiah 53:8. Of the unjust treatment and the unjust judicial verdict we are moved directly to Golgotha. “By oppression and judgment He was taken away” means that He was taken away “by an oppressive / humiliating / unjust judicial judgment” (Matthew 26:66; Matthew 27:22-31; Acts 8:33). He did not receive a fair trial, but was utterly unjustly convicted by political conspiracy.

He was “taken away” from the “legal treatise” and taken to the cross and hastily crucified there, so that this heinous crime could be finished before sabbath. This section is about the fact that none of His contemporaries had any awareness of, let alone thought about what Christ endured. He was cut off out of the land of the living and thus everything was over for His contemporaries. The expression “as for His generation” has to do with His descent. The meaning is: “Who shall mention His royal descent, His rights as the Son of David” (Matthew 1:1)?

The verse ends with the acknowledgment of the true cause of His suffering. The exclamation “for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke [was due]” not only comes from the mouth of the believing remnant of Israel, but also from the mouth of the God of Israel Himself. The word “stroke” (cf. Isaiah 53:4) emphasizes this once more, because the stroke is the doom that God Himself has sent.

The eunuch, who is on his way back to his country from Jerusalem, reads just these verses when Philip joins him (Acts 8:30-35). The eunuch does not find the explanation of what he is reading easy, but still he has thought about what he has read. He understands that the lamb he is reading about must be Someone, a Person. His question about this is a wonderful reason for Philip to preach “Jesus” to him.

Isaiah 53:9. This fourth section (Isaiah 53:7-9), which describes the character of the Servant’s suffering and the manner in which He was killed, concludes with the mention of His burial. The first part of the verse reflects the intention of the sinners who wanted to let Him disappear into anonymity by burying Him in a kind of mass grave together with the two robbers who had been crucified with Him. But God had determined otherwise and provided an appropriate environment. Therefore, the Roman authorities allowed His body to be buried by and in the grave or tomb of “a rich man”, Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-60).

Normally, a tomb is used several times to decompose the dead body and then keep it in ossuary (bone box). Only an extraordinarily rich person can be buried in a new tomb. It was a tomb “where no one had ever lain” (Luke 23:53b). He Who came from a virgin mother’s womb could only be put in a ‘virgin’ tomb.

The word “death” is plural and expresses the violent nature, not to say the aggregated nature, the comprehensiveness of His death. The fact of His complete being free from sin – “no sin done”, “no deceit … in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22) – made it fitting that He should have an honorable burial instead of being thrown into a murderer’s grave, as His enemies had in mind. He was given this grave of honor in view of the resurrection. The resurrection will be discussed in the next section.

Jeremiah 22:22

Suffering, Death and Burial

Isaiah 53:7. The fourth section or stanza, Isaiah 53:7-9, describes, like the second section (Isaiah 53:1-3), the suffering of the Servant, but adds His death and burial. He was “oppressed”, i.e. severely stricken and mistreated without sparing Him anything. It also refers to the driving or chasing of slaves or animals loaded with heavy loads (Exodus 3:7; Job 39:7). The servant was such a ‘beast of burden’, but He did not open His mouth, He bowed under the burden, He suffered willingly and allowed them to abuse Him. Balaam’s beast of burden opened her mouth when Balaam struck her unjustly to drive her (Numbers 22:28; 2 Peter 2:16). Jeremiah also compares himself to a lamb, but he did not keep his mouth shut and called for vengeance (Jeremiah 11:19; 20; Jeremiah 12:1-4).

For the Lord Jesus the way to slaughter was many times worse. He knew perfectly where He was going, but He did not open His mouth. He knew everything that would come upon Him (John 13:1; John 18:4). It says twice in this verse that He did not open His mouth, underlining the importance of the voluntary surrender of Christ. He did not remain silent out of weakness, as if He did not know what to say. He knew that with one word He could destroy all His enemies (John 18:6). He did not remain silent out of powerlessness, but because He chose to remain silent. It was part of His obedience to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).

‘Shearing’ is about taking away everything that is worthy of a human being. He did not protest against the inhuman and degrading treatment that was done to Him. Everything expresses His voluntary perseverance in a way in which He is unique. No one can be compared with Him. It is clearly in striking contrast with the going astray of man in the beginning of Isa 53:6.

Isaiah 53:8. Of the unjust treatment and the unjust judicial verdict we are moved directly to Golgotha. “By oppression and judgment He was taken away” means that He was taken away “by an oppressive / humiliating / unjust judicial judgment” (Matthew 26:66; Matthew 27:22-31; Acts 8:33). He did not receive a fair trial, but was utterly unjustly convicted by political conspiracy.

He was “taken away” from the “legal treatise” and taken to the cross and hastily crucified there, so that this heinous crime could be finished before sabbath. This section is about the fact that none of His contemporaries had any awareness of, let alone thought about what Christ endured. He was cut off out of the land of the living and thus everything was over for His contemporaries. The expression “as for His generation” has to do with His descent. The meaning is: “Who shall mention His royal descent, His rights as the Son of David” (Matthew 1:1)?

The verse ends with the acknowledgment of the true cause of His suffering. The exclamation “for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke [was due]” not only comes from the mouth of the believing remnant of Israel, but also from the mouth of the God of Israel Himself. The word “stroke” (cf. Isaiah 53:4) emphasizes this once more, because the stroke is the doom that God Himself has sent.

The eunuch, who is on his way back to his country from Jerusalem, reads just these verses when Philip joins him (Acts 8:30-35). The eunuch does not find the explanation of what he is reading easy, but still he has thought about what he has read. He understands that the lamb he is reading about must be Someone, a Person. His question about this is a wonderful reason for Philip to preach “Jesus” to him.

Isaiah 53:9. This fourth section (Isaiah 53:7-9), which describes the character of the Servant’s suffering and the manner in which He was killed, concludes with the mention of His burial. The first part of the verse reflects the intention of the sinners who wanted to let Him disappear into anonymity by burying Him in a kind of mass grave together with the two robbers who had been crucified with Him. But God had determined otherwise and provided an appropriate environment. Therefore, the Roman authorities allowed His body to be buried by and in the grave or tomb of “a rich man”, Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-60).

Normally, a tomb is used several times to decompose the dead body and then keep it in ossuary (bone box). Only an extraordinarily rich person can be buried in a new tomb. It was a tomb “where no one had ever lain” (Luke 23:53b). He Who came from a virgin mother’s womb could only be put in a ‘virgin’ tomb.

The word “death” is plural and expresses the violent nature, not to say the aggregated nature, the comprehensiveness of His death. The fact of His complete being free from sin – “no sin done”, “no deceit … in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22) – made it fitting that He should have an honorable burial instead of being thrown into a murderer’s grave, as His enemies had in mind. He was given this grave of honor in view of the resurrection. The resurrection will be discussed in the next section.

Jeremiah 22:23

Suffering, Death and Burial

Isaiah 53:7. The fourth section or stanza, Isaiah 53:7-9, describes, like the second section (Isaiah 53:1-3), the suffering of the Servant, but adds His death and burial. He was “oppressed”, i.e. severely stricken and mistreated without sparing Him anything. It also refers to the driving or chasing of slaves or animals loaded with heavy loads (Exodus 3:7; Job 39:7). The servant was such a ‘beast of burden’, but He did not open His mouth, He bowed under the burden, He suffered willingly and allowed them to abuse Him. Balaam’s beast of burden opened her mouth when Balaam struck her unjustly to drive her (Numbers 22:28; 2 Peter 2:16). Jeremiah also compares himself to a lamb, but he did not keep his mouth shut and called for vengeance (Jeremiah 11:19; 20; Jeremiah 12:1-4).

For the Lord Jesus the way to slaughter was many times worse. He knew perfectly where He was going, but He did not open His mouth. He knew everything that would come upon Him (John 13:1; John 18:4). It says twice in this verse that He did not open His mouth, underlining the importance of the voluntary surrender of Christ. He did not remain silent out of weakness, as if He did not know what to say. He knew that with one word He could destroy all His enemies (John 18:6). He did not remain silent out of powerlessness, but because He chose to remain silent. It was part of His obedience to the point of death, even death on a cross (Philippians 2:8).

‘Shearing’ is about taking away everything that is worthy of a human being. He did not protest against the inhuman and degrading treatment that was done to Him. Everything expresses His voluntary perseverance in a way in which He is unique. No one can be compared with Him. It is clearly in striking contrast with the going astray of man in the beginning of Isa 53:6.

Isaiah 53:8. Of the unjust treatment and the unjust judicial verdict we are moved directly to Golgotha. “By oppression and judgment He was taken away” means that He was taken away “by an oppressive / humiliating / unjust judicial judgment” (Matthew 26:66; Matthew 27:22-31; Acts 8:33). He did not receive a fair trial, but was utterly unjustly convicted by political conspiracy.

He was “taken away” from the “legal treatise” and taken to the cross and hastily crucified there, so that this heinous crime could be finished before sabbath. This section is about the fact that none of His contemporaries had any awareness of, let alone thought about what Christ endured. He was cut off out of the land of the living and thus everything was over for His contemporaries. The expression “as for His generation” has to do with His descent. The meaning is: “Who shall mention His royal descent, His rights as the Son of David” (Matthew 1:1)?

The verse ends with the acknowledgment of the true cause of His suffering. The exclamation “for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke [was due]” not only comes from the mouth of the believing remnant of Israel, but also from the mouth of the God of Israel Himself. The word “stroke” (cf. Isaiah 53:4) emphasizes this once more, because the stroke is the doom that God Himself has sent.

The eunuch, who is on his way back to his country from Jerusalem, reads just these verses when Philip joins him (Acts 8:30-35). The eunuch does not find the explanation of what he is reading easy, but still he has thought about what he has read. He understands that the lamb he is reading about must be Someone, a Person. His question about this is a wonderful reason for Philip to preach “Jesus” to him.

Isaiah 53:9. This fourth section (Isaiah 53:7-9), which describes the character of the Servant’s suffering and the manner in which He was killed, concludes with the mention of His burial. The first part of the verse reflects the intention of the sinners who wanted to let Him disappear into anonymity by burying Him in a kind of mass grave together with the two robbers who had been crucified with Him. But God had determined otherwise and provided an appropriate environment. Therefore, the Roman authorities allowed His body to be buried by and in the grave or tomb of “a rich man”, Joseph of Arimathea (Matthew 27:57-60).

Normally, a tomb is used several times to decompose the dead body and then keep it in ossuary (bone box). Only an extraordinarily rich person can be buried in a new tomb. It was a tomb “where no one had ever lain” (Luke 23:53b). He Who came from a virgin mother’s womb could only be put in a ‘virgin’ tomb.

The word “death” is plural and expresses the violent nature, not to say the aggregated nature, the comprehensiveness of His death. The fact of His complete being free from sin – “no sin done”, “no deceit … in His mouth” (1 Peter 2:22) – made it fitting that He should have an honorable burial instead of being thrown into a murderer’s grave, as His enemies had in mind. He was given this grave of honor in view of the resurrection. The resurrection will be discussed in the next section.

Jeremiah 22:24

Results for the Servant

Isaiah 53:10. The last section of the chapter and also the last stanza gives a triple testimony concerning the experiences of His soul. We are brought into the inner sanctuary of His Being. So far we have seen especially the human and outer side of the Servant’s suffering. Now comes the Divine side of it. Isaiah 53:10 and Isaiah 53:12 speak of the acts of the LORD with Him, in a judicial sense with a view to His death and in a compensatory sense with a view to the reward. Isaiah 53:11 speaks of the result of His sacrifice to His own satisfaction and the justifying grace He grants to others.

The remnant must learn the lesson that the cross has two sides. The first side we have seen extensively, that is the side of man. Therein man in general and the Jews in particular are responsible for the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. This must penetrate to the heart and conscience of the remnant, which will happen fully when they see Him Whom they have pierced (Zechariah 12:10-14). The other side is the side of God. God has wanted to use this suffering for a higher purpose (cf. Genesis 45:5; Acts 2:23).

If we are to understand, like the remnant, how God can justify sinners, we must understand God’s side of the Servant’s suffering. Only then we can have and experience peace with God.

The mention “the LORD was pleased to crush Him”, speaks of the firm purpose of the LORD to use man’s sin for the acts of His grace. He does this by adding the atoning suffering to the suffering of the sinless Servant on the cross. The pleasure of the LORD lies in the fact that through the crushing of His Son His good pleasure will be able to “prosper”. The verse begins and ends with it.

This ‘pleasure’ is about the removal, through judgment, of the sins that were laid upon Him Who Himself was without sin. It is about full satisfaction of the demands of the holy and righteous God with respect to the guilt brought about by sin. That full satisfaction is given to Him by the true Guilt Offering for sin (Isaiah 53:10), Who can pay the penalty for people’s guilt.

“Crush” is the terrible, destructive judgment on Him. He died not only because of what people did to Him, but because of what the LORD did to Him. It could be read in this way: It pleased the LORD not to leave the crushing of His Christ to men, but to execute it Himself. “Putting Him to grief”, literally “made Him sick”, is the indication for all the sorrows of the atoning suffering on the cross.

Rendering Himself as a guilt offering means that He offered Himself, His entire Being, as a victim to God to cleanse the sinner of his guilt. The guilt offering was brought in order to fulfill the demands of God’s righteousness. This is the first mention relating to His soul – “He” is literally “His soul”. This voluntary act of surrendering His life, a life that pleased God beyond compare, to fulfill God’s righteous demands in view of man’s guilt, has several results. They are results that Christ will see in the resurrection.

1. He will see offspring or seed (Psalms 22:30). This is what the Israelite looked forward to as a great blessing (Genesis 48:11; Psalms 128:6). It seemed as if Christ had died. Here, however, we have an indication of the great joy of Christ when He sees the innumerable crowds of His spiritual offspring among Jews and Gentiles (John 12:24; Hebrews 2:13b).

2. He will prolong His days or have a long life. This is another blessing the Israelite particularly appreciated (Psalms 91:16; Proverbs 3:2; 16). However, here it is a reference to the endless resurrection life of the Lord (Revelation 1:18).

3. The proposed counsels will have their joyous realization. “In His hand” refers to His work as Advocate and High Priest and also to the exercise of His authority and power in His kingdom. It is the pleasure of the LORD to bless His creatures. That now finds its fulfillment through Christ.

4. Isaiah 53:11. All the glory that follows is seen by Him as the result of His laborious effort or suffering, a glory that will never disappear from before His attention as absolutely necessary and perfectly sufficient to satisfy His heart in the redemption of those who have become His property.

5. “The anguish of His soul” applies to everything that He has suffered internally to the bottom of His heart, all the struggles and sufferings that took place in Him, hidden from the eye of man. On this basis He will see it, which is the light of the resurrection, after the darkness of and His death on the cross. He will see it and “will be satisfied” (Psalms 17:15).

6. There could be no justification of others, no imputing of righteousness, if He were not perfectly righteous, for only because of this He could willingly give Himself as an atoning offering. “By His knowledge” can mean “by the knowledge concerning or about Him” (objective) or “by the knowledge which is His own”, the knowledge which He Himself has (subjective). The second meaning has our preference. After all, the whole part is about Him and His excellencies.

7. The meaning of “will justify” can also be: He will teach many in righteousness. By the teaching He gives, there is spiritual growth. This spiritual growth manifests itself in becoming more and more like Him. He justifies all who come to God through Him, which can only be done by what follows: that He will bear their iniquities. Again we are brought back to the cross.

In summary, in this last point we find two aspects of the Lord’s work. First, in His life He taught many in righteousness, as in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Secondly, in His dying He has taken upon Himself and carried away the iniquities of those who believe.

Isaiah 53:12. There is another delightful consequence of His sacrificial death. What follows now resembles the triumphal march of the Romans after a victory. After the work of the Servant is finished, what He has done is now enumerated. What is written about His portion can be translated in two ways: The LORD will give Him a portion among many; or: He will receive the many as an inheritance: He will divide the powerful as a spoils, or better: He will share the booty with the strong, who are all connected with Him. With “the booty” we can think of the whole creation.

And again we are led to the reason, that is His atoning sacrifice. The establishment of His sovereign power on earth will rest on His accomplished work. All future glory is a consequence of and reward for what is described in four parts. He 1. poured out Himself, literally His soul – this is the third mention of His “soul” – to death (John 10:17; John 19:30), 2. was numbered with the transgressors (Luke 22:37), 3. bore the sin of many (Hebrews 9:28) and 4. interceded for the transgressors (Luke 23:34a).

The last two parts are placed in contrast to the first two. The first two parts refer to the unjust opinion of those who condemned Him and handed Him over to be killed. They were not aware that He, in what He suffered on the cross, was the Bearer of the sins “of many” – that is, not of all people, but only of the believers. The last part refers especially to His intercession for the transgressors, while He hung on the cross (Luke 23:34a).

Thus the details of this prophecy in this chapter in the last three verses reach their climax. Isaiah himself did not understand the scope of his prophecy (1 Peter 1:10). But the Spirit of Christ brought him to great heights by having him paint in great detail the work of the Servant, which He accomplished vicariously as a Guilt Offering for others.

The chapter ends with the cross and the intercession of the Lord Jesus because that will be forever in our attention as the origin of all blessing.

Jeremiah 22:25

Results for the Servant

Isaiah 53:10. The last section of the chapter and also the last stanza gives a triple testimony concerning the experiences of His soul. We are brought into the inner sanctuary of His Being. So far we have seen especially the human and outer side of the Servant’s suffering. Now comes the Divine side of it. Isaiah 53:10 and Isaiah 53:12 speak of the acts of the LORD with Him, in a judicial sense with a view to His death and in a compensatory sense with a view to the reward. Isaiah 53:11 speaks of the result of His sacrifice to His own satisfaction and the justifying grace He grants to others.

The remnant must learn the lesson that the cross has two sides. The first side we have seen extensively, that is the side of man. Therein man in general and the Jews in particular are responsible for the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. This must penetrate to the heart and conscience of the remnant, which will happen fully when they see Him Whom they have pierced (Zechariah 12:10-14). The other side is the side of God. God has wanted to use this suffering for a higher purpose (cf. Genesis 45:5; Acts 2:23).

If we are to understand, like the remnant, how God can justify sinners, we must understand God’s side of the Servant’s suffering. Only then we can have and experience peace with God.

The mention “the LORD was pleased to crush Him”, speaks of the firm purpose of the LORD to use man’s sin for the acts of His grace. He does this by adding the atoning suffering to the suffering of the sinless Servant on the cross. The pleasure of the LORD lies in the fact that through the crushing of His Son His good pleasure will be able to “prosper”. The verse begins and ends with it.

This ‘pleasure’ is about the removal, through judgment, of the sins that were laid upon Him Who Himself was without sin. It is about full satisfaction of the demands of the holy and righteous God with respect to the guilt brought about by sin. That full satisfaction is given to Him by the true Guilt Offering for sin (Isaiah 53:10), Who can pay the penalty for people’s guilt.

“Crush” is the terrible, destructive judgment on Him. He died not only because of what people did to Him, but because of what the LORD did to Him. It could be read in this way: It pleased the LORD not to leave the crushing of His Christ to men, but to execute it Himself. “Putting Him to grief”, literally “made Him sick”, is the indication for all the sorrows of the atoning suffering on the cross.

Rendering Himself as a guilt offering means that He offered Himself, His entire Being, as a victim to God to cleanse the sinner of his guilt. The guilt offering was brought in order to fulfill the demands of God’s righteousness. This is the first mention relating to His soul – “He” is literally “His soul”. This voluntary act of surrendering His life, a life that pleased God beyond compare, to fulfill God’s righteous demands in view of man’s guilt, has several results. They are results that Christ will see in the resurrection.

1. He will see offspring or seed (Psalms 22:30). This is what the Israelite looked forward to as a great blessing (Genesis 48:11; Psalms 128:6). It seemed as if Christ had died. Here, however, we have an indication of the great joy of Christ when He sees the innumerable crowds of His spiritual offspring among Jews and Gentiles (John 12:24; Hebrews 2:13b).

2. He will prolong His days or have a long life. This is another blessing the Israelite particularly appreciated (Psalms 91:16; Proverbs 3:2; 16). However, here it is a reference to the endless resurrection life of the Lord (Revelation 1:18).

3. The proposed counsels will have their joyous realization. “In His hand” refers to His work as Advocate and High Priest and also to the exercise of His authority and power in His kingdom. It is the pleasure of the LORD to bless His creatures. That now finds its fulfillment through Christ.

4. Isaiah 53:11. All the glory that follows is seen by Him as the result of His laborious effort or suffering, a glory that will never disappear from before His attention as absolutely necessary and perfectly sufficient to satisfy His heart in the redemption of those who have become His property.

5. “The anguish of His soul” applies to everything that He has suffered internally to the bottom of His heart, all the struggles and sufferings that took place in Him, hidden from the eye of man. On this basis He will see it, which is the light of the resurrection, after the darkness of and His death on the cross. He will see it and “will be satisfied” (Psalms 17:15).

6. There could be no justification of others, no imputing of righteousness, if He were not perfectly righteous, for only because of this He could willingly give Himself as an atoning offering. “By His knowledge” can mean “by the knowledge concerning or about Him” (objective) or “by the knowledge which is His own”, the knowledge which He Himself has (subjective). The second meaning has our preference. After all, the whole part is about Him and His excellencies.

7. The meaning of “will justify” can also be: He will teach many in righteousness. By the teaching He gives, there is spiritual growth. This spiritual growth manifests itself in becoming more and more like Him. He justifies all who come to God through Him, which can only be done by what follows: that He will bear their iniquities. Again we are brought back to the cross.

In summary, in this last point we find two aspects of the Lord’s work. First, in His life He taught many in righteousness, as in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Secondly, in His dying He has taken upon Himself and carried away the iniquities of those who believe.

Isaiah 53:12. There is another delightful consequence of His sacrificial death. What follows now resembles the triumphal march of the Romans after a victory. After the work of the Servant is finished, what He has done is now enumerated. What is written about His portion can be translated in two ways: The LORD will give Him a portion among many; or: He will receive the many as an inheritance: He will divide the powerful as a spoils, or better: He will share the booty with the strong, who are all connected with Him. With “the booty” we can think of the whole creation.

And again we are led to the reason, that is His atoning sacrifice. The establishment of His sovereign power on earth will rest on His accomplished work. All future glory is a consequence of and reward for what is described in four parts. He 1. poured out Himself, literally His soul – this is the third mention of His “soul” – to death (John 10:17; John 19:30), 2. was numbered with the transgressors (Luke 22:37), 3. bore the sin of many (Hebrews 9:28) and 4. interceded for the transgressors (Luke 23:34a).

The last two parts are placed in contrast to the first two. The first two parts refer to the unjust opinion of those who condemned Him and handed Him over to be killed. They were not aware that He, in what He suffered on the cross, was the Bearer of the sins “of many” – that is, not of all people, but only of the believers. The last part refers especially to His intercession for the transgressors, while He hung on the cross (Luke 23:34a).

Thus the details of this prophecy in this chapter in the last three verses reach their climax. Isaiah himself did not understand the scope of his prophecy (1 Peter 1:10). But the Spirit of Christ brought him to great heights by having him paint in great detail the work of the Servant, which He accomplished vicariously as a Guilt Offering for others.

The chapter ends with the cross and the intercession of the Lord Jesus because that will be forever in our attention as the origin of all blessing.

Jeremiah 22:26

Results for the Servant

Isaiah 53:10. The last section of the chapter and also the last stanza gives a triple testimony concerning the experiences of His soul. We are brought into the inner sanctuary of His Being. So far we have seen especially the human and outer side of the Servant’s suffering. Now comes the Divine side of it. Isaiah 53:10 and Isaiah 53:12 speak of the acts of the LORD with Him, in a judicial sense with a view to His death and in a compensatory sense with a view to the reward. Isaiah 53:11 speaks of the result of His sacrifice to His own satisfaction and the justifying grace He grants to others.

The remnant must learn the lesson that the cross has two sides. The first side we have seen extensively, that is the side of man. Therein man in general and the Jews in particular are responsible for the crucifixion of the Lord Jesus. This must penetrate to the heart and conscience of the remnant, which will happen fully when they see Him Whom they have pierced (Zechariah 12:10-14). The other side is the side of God. God has wanted to use this suffering for a higher purpose (cf. Genesis 45:5; Acts 2:23).

If we are to understand, like the remnant, how God can justify sinners, we must understand God’s side of the Servant’s suffering. Only then we can have and experience peace with God.

The mention “the LORD was pleased to crush Him”, speaks of the firm purpose of the LORD to use man’s sin for the acts of His grace. He does this by adding the atoning suffering to the suffering of the sinless Servant on the cross. The pleasure of the LORD lies in the fact that through the crushing of His Son His good pleasure will be able to “prosper”. The verse begins and ends with it.

This ‘pleasure’ is about the removal, through judgment, of the sins that were laid upon Him Who Himself was without sin. It is about full satisfaction of the demands of the holy and righteous God with respect to the guilt brought about by sin. That full satisfaction is given to Him by the true Guilt Offering for sin (Isaiah 53:10), Who can pay the penalty for people’s guilt.

“Crush” is the terrible, destructive judgment on Him. He died not only because of what people did to Him, but because of what the LORD did to Him. It could be read in this way: It pleased the LORD not to leave the crushing of His Christ to men, but to execute it Himself. “Putting Him to grief”, literally “made Him sick”, is the indication for all the sorrows of the atoning suffering on the cross.

Rendering Himself as a guilt offering means that He offered Himself, His entire Being, as a victim to God to cleanse the sinner of his guilt. The guilt offering was brought in order to fulfill the demands of God’s righteousness. This is the first mention relating to His soul – “He” is literally “His soul”. This voluntary act of surrendering His life, a life that pleased God beyond compare, to fulfill God’s righteous demands in view of man’s guilt, has several results. They are results that Christ will see in the resurrection.

1. He will see offspring or seed (Psalms 22:30). This is what the Israelite looked forward to as a great blessing (Genesis 48:11; Psalms 128:6). It seemed as if Christ had died. Here, however, we have an indication of the great joy of Christ when He sees the innumerable crowds of His spiritual offspring among Jews and Gentiles (John 12:24; Hebrews 2:13b).

2. He will prolong His days or have a long life. This is another blessing the Israelite particularly appreciated (Psalms 91:16; Proverbs 3:2; 16). However, here it is a reference to the endless resurrection life of the Lord (Revelation 1:18).

3. The proposed counsels will have their joyous realization. “In His hand” refers to His work as Advocate and High Priest and also to the exercise of His authority and power in His kingdom. It is the pleasure of the LORD to bless His creatures. That now finds its fulfillment through Christ.

4. Isaiah 53:11. All the glory that follows is seen by Him as the result of His laborious effort or suffering, a glory that will never disappear from before His attention as absolutely necessary and perfectly sufficient to satisfy His heart in the redemption of those who have become His property.

5. “The anguish of His soul” applies to everything that He has suffered internally to the bottom of His heart, all the struggles and sufferings that took place in Him, hidden from the eye of man. On this basis He will see it, which is the light of the resurrection, after the darkness of and His death on the cross. He will see it and “will be satisfied” (Psalms 17:15).

6. There could be no justification of others, no imputing of righteousness, if He were not perfectly righteous, for only because of this He could willingly give Himself as an atoning offering. “By His knowledge” can mean “by the knowledge concerning or about Him” (objective) or “by the knowledge which is His own”, the knowledge which He Himself has (subjective). The second meaning has our preference. After all, the whole part is about Him and His excellencies.

7. The meaning of “will justify” can also be: He will teach many in righteousness. By the teaching He gives, there is spiritual growth. This spiritual growth manifests itself in becoming more and more like Him. He justifies all who come to God through Him, which can only be done by what follows: that He will bear their iniquities. Again we are brought back to the cross.

In summary, in this last point we find two aspects of the Lord’s work. First, in His life He taught many in righteousness, as in the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7). Secondly, in His dying He has taken upon Himself and carried away the iniquities of those who believe.

Isaiah 53:12. There is another delightful consequence of His sacrificial death. What follows now resembles the triumphal march of the Romans after a victory. After the work of the Servant is finished, what He has done is now enumerated. What is written about His portion can be translated in two ways: The LORD will give Him a portion among many; or: He will receive the many as an inheritance: He will divide the powerful as a spoils, or better: He will share the booty with the strong, who are all connected with Him. With “the booty” we can think of the whole creation.

And again we are led to the reason, that is His atoning sacrifice. The establishment of His sovereign power on earth will rest on His accomplished work. All future glory is a consequence of and reward for what is described in four parts. He 1. poured out Himself, literally His soul – this is the third mention of His “soul” – to death (John 10:17; John 19:30), 2. was numbered with the transgressors (Luke 22:37), 3. bore the sin of many (Hebrews 9:28) and 4. interceded for the transgressors (Luke 23:34a).

The last two parts are placed in contrast to the first two. The first two parts refer to the unjust opinion of those who condemned Him and handed Him over to be killed. They were not aware that He, in what He suffered on the cross, was the Bearer of the sins “of many” – that is, not of all people, but only of the believers. The last part refers especially to His intercession for the transgressors, while He hung on the cross (Luke 23:34a).

Thus the details of this prophecy in this chapter in the last three verses reach their climax. Isaiah himself did not understand the scope of his prophecy (1 Peter 1:10). But the Spirit of Christ brought him to great heights by having him paint in great detail the work of the Servant, which He accomplished vicariously as a Guilt Offering for others.

The chapter ends with the cross and the intercession of the Lord Jesus because that will be forever in our attention as the origin of all blessing.

Jeremiah 22:28

Introduction

This chapter is an outburst of jubilation and cheer after the prophecies about the suffering of the Servant of the LORD, the bearing of sins by Him and His glory thereafter in the previous chapter. These are the glorious consequences of what has been described in the previous chapter, with the core being that the Messiah has suffered and died as substitute for His people. Therefore the consequences are in the first place for that people. We see here the offspring the Lord Jesus will see (Isaiah 53:10). As a first sign of the full redemption we hear the singing of the redeemed (cf. Exodus 15:1).

Joy of the Barren One

Israel is called to rejoice with singing because her state of barrenness has changed into child bearing (Isaiah 54:1). The experiences of the barren and later still childbearing arch-mother Sarah are a foreshadowing of this. The desolate condition of the people and their land will not be forever. The time will come when her children will be more numerous than they were before she was the desolate one.

There is also an application for us, believers of the church. Paul makes the comparison between the Jerusalem above and the earthly Jerusalem in the present time and then quotes Isaiah 54:1 of this chapter in his letter to the Galatians (Galatians 4:26-27).

The jubilation of Isa 54:1 will sound when the earthly Jerusalem is restored in her relationship with the LORD. This relates especially to the realm of peace. Therefore she is commanded to enlarge the place for her tent and to stretch out the curtains of her tent dwelling (Isaiah 54:2). She must enlarge her area in order to be able to accommodate the population explosion. This promise of increase is given to her (Isaiah 54:3). What is said here, we see in the aliyah or the return of the tribes from the scattering to the land.

Paul, who was – remarkably in this context – a tent-maker by profession (Acts 18:3), has also made his area for the spreading of the gospel ever larger (2 Corinthians 10:15b-16). God is a God of expansion. With Him there is place for everyone who surrenders to Him. For example, in the Father’s house there are “many dwelling places” (John 14:2). Israel’s area will be larger than in the time of Solomon (Genesis 15:18; Genesis 28:14). They will become the head of the nations and rule over those who oppressed them (Micah 4:1-3). The cities destroyed by the king of the North will be repopulated.

Such are the ways of the Lord. Widening will follow diminishing when His discipline has done its work. If the disciplined believer learns more about the reality of what was accomplished at Calvary and bows before Him in self-judgment, spiritual expansion will be the sure consequence. Barrenness and impoverishment give way to fertility that erupts in abundance to the glory of the Lord and to the enrichment and blessing of others.

Jeremiah 22:29

Introduction

This chapter is an outburst of jubilation and cheer after the prophecies about the suffering of the Servant of the LORD, the bearing of sins by Him and His glory thereafter in the previous chapter. These are the glorious consequences of what has been described in the previous chapter, with the core being that the Messiah has suffered and died as substitute for His people. Therefore the consequences are in the first place for that people. We see here the offspring the Lord Jesus will see (Isaiah 53:10). As a first sign of the full redemption we hear the singing of the redeemed (cf. Exodus 15:1).

Joy of the Barren One

Israel is called to rejoice with singing because her state of barrenness has changed into child bearing (Isaiah 54:1). The experiences of the barren and later still childbearing arch-mother Sarah are a foreshadowing of this. The desolate condition of the people and their land will not be forever. The time will come when her children will be more numerous than they were before she was the desolate one.

There is also an application for us, believers of the church. Paul makes the comparison between the Jerusalem above and the earthly Jerusalem in the present time and then quotes Isaiah 54:1 of this chapter in his letter to the Galatians (Galatians 4:26-27).

The jubilation of Isa 54:1 will sound when the earthly Jerusalem is restored in her relationship with the LORD. This relates especially to the realm of peace. Therefore she is commanded to enlarge the place for her tent and to stretch out the curtains of her tent dwelling (Isaiah 54:2). She must enlarge her area in order to be able to accommodate the population explosion. This promise of increase is given to her (Isaiah 54:3). What is said here, we see in the aliyah or the return of the tribes from the scattering to the land.

Paul, who was – remarkably in this context – a tent-maker by profession (Acts 18:3), has also made his area for the spreading of the gospel ever larger (2 Corinthians 10:15b-16). God is a God of expansion. With Him there is place for everyone who surrenders to Him. For example, in the Father’s house there are “many dwelling places” (John 14:2). Israel’s area will be larger than in the time of Solomon (Genesis 15:18; Genesis 28:14). They will become the head of the nations and rule over those who oppressed them (Micah 4:1-3). The cities destroyed by the king of the North will be repopulated.

Such are the ways of the Lord. Widening will follow diminishing when His discipline has done its work. If the disciplined believer learns more about the reality of what was accomplished at Calvary and bows before Him in self-judgment, spiritual expansion will be the sure consequence. Barrenness and impoverishment give way to fertility that erupts in abundance to the glory of the Lord and to the enrichment and blessing of others.

Jeremiah 22:30

Introduction

This chapter is an outburst of jubilation and cheer after the prophecies about the suffering of the Servant of the LORD, the bearing of sins by Him and His glory thereafter in the previous chapter. These are the glorious consequences of what has been described in the previous chapter, with the core being that the Messiah has suffered and died as substitute for His people. Therefore the consequences are in the first place for that people. We see here the offspring the Lord Jesus will see (Isaiah 53:10). As a first sign of the full redemption we hear the singing of the redeemed (cf. Exodus 15:1).

Joy of the Barren One

Israel is called to rejoice with singing because her state of barrenness has changed into child bearing (Isaiah 54:1). The experiences of the barren and later still childbearing arch-mother Sarah are a foreshadowing of this. The desolate condition of the people and their land will not be forever. The time will come when her children will be more numerous than they were before she was the desolate one.

There is also an application for us, believers of the church. Paul makes the comparison between the Jerusalem above and the earthly Jerusalem in the present time and then quotes Isaiah 54:1 of this chapter in his letter to the Galatians (Galatians 4:26-27).

The jubilation of Isa 54:1 will sound when the earthly Jerusalem is restored in her relationship with the LORD. This relates especially to the realm of peace. Therefore she is commanded to enlarge the place for her tent and to stretch out the curtains of her tent dwelling (Isaiah 54:2). She must enlarge her area in order to be able to accommodate the population explosion. This promise of increase is given to her (Isaiah 54:3). What is said here, we see in the aliyah or the return of the tribes from the scattering to the land.

Paul, who was – remarkably in this context – a tent-maker by profession (Acts 18:3), has also made his area for the spreading of the gospel ever larger (2 Corinthians 10:15b-16). God is a God of expansion. With Him there is place for everyone who surrenders to Him. For example, in the Father’s house there are “many dwelling places” (John 14:2). Israel’s area will be larger than in the time of Solomon (Genesis 15:18; Genesis 28:14). They will become the head of the nations and rule over those who oppressed them (Micah 4:1-3). The cities destroyed by the king of the North will be repopulated.

Such are the ways of the Lord. Widening will follow diminishing when His discipline has done its work. If the disciplined believer learns more about the reality of what was accomplished at Calvary and bows before Him in self-judgment, spiritual expansion will be the sure consequence. Barrenness and impoverishment give way to fertility that erupts in abundance to the glory of the Lord and to the enrichment and blessing of others.