53:2There was nothing beautiful or majestic in the physical appearance of this servant. Israel would miscalculate the servant's importance—they woutd consider him an ordinary man. But even though Jesus would not attract a large following based on his know the identity of the promised Messiah, who has come and died for our sins. But if we know all that Jesus did and still reject him, our sin is much greater than that of the ancient Israelites, who could not see what we have seen. Have you given your fife to Jesus Christ, the “good shepherd” (John 10:11-16), or are you still going your own way like a wandering sheep?
Life Application Study BibleIsaiahChapter 53
Isaiah 53
New Living Translation · Life Application Study Bible · Original pages: 1175, 1176, 1177
53Isaiah 53
1To whom has the LORD revealed his powerful arm? 2My servant grew up in the LORD’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground.
There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance,nothing to attract us to him.
3He was despised and rejected—aman of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief.We turned our backs on him and looked the other way.He was despised, and we did not care.
4Yet it was our weaknesses he carried;it was our sorrows* that weighed him down.And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God,a punishment for his own sins!
5But he was pierced for our rebellion,crushed for our sins.He was beaten so we could be whole.He was whipped so we could be healed.
6All of us, like sheep, have strayed away.We have left God’s paths to follow our own.Yet the LORD laid on himthe sins of us all.
7He was oppressed and treated harshly,yet he never said a word.He was led like a lamb to the slaughter.And asa sheep is silent before the shearers,he did not open his mouth.
8Unjustly condemned,he was led away.*No one cared that he died without descendants,that his life was cut short in midstream.*But he was struck downfor the rebellion of my people.
9He had done no wrongand had never deceived anyone.But he was buried like a criminal;he was put in a rich man’s grave.
10But it was the LORD’s good plan to crush himand cause him grief.Yet when his life is made an offering for sin,he will have many descendants.He will enjoy a long life,and the LORD’s good plan will prosper in his hands.
11When he sees all that is accomplished by his anguish,he will be satisfied.
And because of his experience,my righteous servant will make it possiblefor many to be counted righteous,for he will bear all their sins.
12J will give him the honors of a victorious soldier,because he exposed himself to death.He was counted among the rebels.He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.
Future Glory for Jerusalem
5 4 1 “Sing, O childless woman,you who have never given birth!Break into loud and joyful song, O Jerusalem,you who have never been in labor.For the desolate woman now has more childrenthan the woman who lives with her husband,”
Textual footnotes
- of him will understand. Compare Rom 15:21.
- and received no justice. Compare Acts 8:33.
- short in midstream? Greek version reads Who can speak of his descendants? / For his life was taken from the earth,
- Compare Acts 8:33.
- 53:4 Or Yet it was our sicknesses he carried: /it was our diseases.
- 53:8a Greek version reads He was humiliated
- 53:8b Or As for his contemporaries, / who cared that his life was cut
Life Application Notes 3 notes
53:7-12In the Old Testament, people offered animals as sacrifices for their sins. Here, the sinless servant of the LORD offers himself for our sins. He is the Lamb (53:7) offered for the sins of all people (John 1:29; Revelation 5:6-14). The Messiah suffered for our sake, bearing our sins to make us acceptable to God. What can we say to such love? How will we respond to him?
53:11This verse tells of the enormous family of believers who will become right with God, not by their own works, but by the Messiah's great work on the cross. They are justified because they have claimed Christ, the righteous servant, as their Savior and LORD (see Romans 10:9; 2 Corinthians 5:21). Their life of sin is stripped away, and they are clothed with Christ’s goodness (Ephesians 4:22-24).
Charts, profiles & sidebars from the printed pages
Study feature · page 1176
physical appearance, he would bring salvation and healing. Many people miscalculate the importance of Jesus’ life and work, and they need faithful Christians to point out his extraordinary nature. 53:4, 5 How could an Old Testament person understand the idea of Christ dying for our sins—actually bearing the punishment that we deserved? The sacrifices suggested this idea, but it is one thing to kill a lamb, and something quite different to think of God’s chosen servant as that Lamb. But God was pulling aside the curtain of time to let the people of Isaiah’s day look ahead to the suffering of the future Messiah and the resulting forgiveness made available to all people. 53:6 Isaiah speaks of Israel straying from God and compares them to wandering sheep. Yet God would send the Messiah to bring them back into the fold. We have the hindsight to see and
Study feature · page 1177
God still called Israel his own. The God we serve is holy, and he cannot tolerate sin. When his people blatantly sinned, God in his anger chose to punish them. Sin separates us from God and brings us pain and suffering. But if we confess our sin and repent, then God will forgive us. Have you ever been separated from a loved one and then experienced joy when that person returned? That is like the joy God experiences when you repent and return to him. §4:9-13 God made a covenant with Noah that he has never broken (Genesis 9:8-17). Likewise, God made a covenant of peace with the people of Israel that the time would come when he would stop pouring out his anger on them; he would teach their citizens and give them prosperity.