The book of isaiah is the first of the writings of the prophets in the bible, and isaiah, the author, is generally considered to be the greatest prophet. The suffering servant is a famous passage from isaiah 53, which. There are four servant songs of isaiah that describe the service, suffering, and exaltation of the servant of the lord, the messiah. Exegetical notes behold, my servant shall prosper. The suffering servant is an enigmatic figure described in the book of the prophet isaiah. The book of isaiah is one of the most complex books of the old testament. The great isaiah 53 prophecy the suffering servant. We can begin by trying to understand jesus as the suffering servant of god. Isaiah 53 is the fiftythird chapter of the book of isaiah in the hebrew bible or the old testament of the christian bible. In todays passage, the third of the servant songs, isaiah depicts a servantdisciple, a prophet and more. Isaiah, the son of amoz, was an eighthcentury prophet who appeared at a critical time in judahs history, proclaiming a message of judgment. Again, it is important to identify who this servant is. The subject to isaiah 53 he began at the same scripture and preached unto him jesus acts 8.
There are technically three separate parts to the book of isaiah. If he would give himself as a guilt offering an atonement for sin, he shall see his spiritual offspring, he shall prolong his days, and the will good pleasure of the lord shall succeed and prosper in his hand. Indeed, its direct and indirect use by our lord jesus christ and its vast role in the life of the church had led the fathers to refer to it. Sometimes, my special servant identifies a person, such as eliakim isaiah 22. Isaiah told the exiles this would happen through the work of the suffering servant 52. In the book of isaiah, the meaning of my that is, the lords special servant varies. Who is the servant of the lord depicted in isaiah 53. There are four times in the book of isaiah that the suffering servant is discussed, but the fourth is the most significant of all the passages and thats the one i want to look at this morning. The servant songs are four songs in the book of isaiah in the hebrew bible, which include. In chapters 1 to 39, god warns his people about judgement for. The servant has humble origins with little outward prospects for success 53. Isaiah 9 contains oracles that reflect the time of the prophet isaiah, who prophesied in judah in the eighth century b.
This book contains the prophecies attributed to the prophet isaiah, and is one of the neviim. I believe harmony will be brought about when these propositions are accepted about isaiahs suffering servant, 1 there are two messiahs isaiah had in view, not one, and that one of them is god himself come in the flesh, 2 that the suffering of both of these messiahs are similar, but distinctly not identical, and 3 the dramatic anonymity of the human messiah is purposely and deliberately. It is isaiah chapter 52 starting at verse and goes to the end of chapter 53. It presents to us the prophetic announcement of gods retribution upon a rebellious and. The announcement of comfort to the redeemed isaiah 52. The suffering servant speaks his response to his mission in the second oracle. The call for a second edition of this book does not appear to demand any drastic revision, the most numerous and significant contributions to the subject in recent years have been by scandinavian scholars, i have therefore contented myself with correcting a few slips, tidying up and supplementing the bibliography, and substituting for the postscript to the first edition what is substantially. Evangelicals tend to read this passage as how the suffering servant removes sinners guilt before god or how people need the servant to bear their guilt cf.
He is the high priest, atoning for the sins of the world. It was the understanding of the early church that the suffering servant described in isaiah 52. The servant accepts vicarious and substitutionary suffering on behalf of his people 53. I have been discussing the bible with a jewish gentleman.
Christians have long insisted that this suffering servant is jesus, while jews contend that he is the nation of israel. The painful destiny of this servant isnt mentioned in this brief song. The suffering glory of the servant isaiah daily reflection produced by the high calling he was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. What is described here is the ideal sufferer, the suffering servant. Suffering servant prophesy fulfilled in jesus of nazareth. The book made me realise that it was referring to the suffering servant, which is the nation of israel and speaks about israel metaphorically, as a single suffering servant.
An easyenglish bible version and commentary 2800 word vocabulary on isaiah chapters 49 to 57. Jesus took upon himself the task of universal redemption which isaiah assigned to the suffering servant. The suffering servant of isaiah the bart ehrman blog. The suffering servant of isaiah 53 posted on april 12, 2014 by dr. Instead, like a soldier outfitted for battle or an explorer prepared. Proto isaiah chapters 9, deutero isaiah chapters 4055 and trito isaiah chapters 5666. Isaiah prophecies about a servant who was to come, whom god would punish for our sins.
In spite of suffering, he will remain unfaltering in his faith in god. The events given in chapters 9 occurred during isaiah s ministry around 700 b. Is isaiah 53 the suffering servant a prophecy about jesus. Pdf was the suffering servant of isaiah 53 an individual or a. Philip identified the servant in isaiah 53 as jesus. Commentary on isaiah 5253 the suffering servant tough. The principal papers from that conference are now available in jesus and the suffering servant, with contributions by moma d. Subscribe to the blog get expert commentary on biblical languages. In the book of isaiah there are a group passages called the suffering servant songs. The speakers, in this mostdebated chapter, are the stunned kings of nations who will bear witness to the messianic age and the final. He notes the inconsistency of the main jewish interpretation and upholds the chapter speaking of the suffering servant making atonement for sin. These types and shadows were meant to prepare us for the reality that would come in the lord jesus christ. The servant of god has no question about his call from god.
Isaiah 53 is central for understanding the identity of jesus christ. Is isaiah 53 the suffering servant a prophecy about. Jonathan ben uzziel was traditionally a student of hillel, who died c. D espite strong objections from conservative christian apologists, the prevailing rabbinic interpretation of isaiah 53 ascribes the servant to the nation of israel who silently endured unimaginable suffering at the hands of its gentile oppressors. As the nations live in right relationships, they will live in a world envisioned by the ten commandments. In other words, it was about a real person who existed at the time the book of isaiah was written. But scripture tells us clearly that those who follow jesus christ will share in his suffering. It is the voice of god we hear proudly introducing my servant with whom i am well pleased. Modern rabbis contend that the suffering servant is not the messiah. I as a muslim do believe in jesus, but i do not believe that jesus was crucified or killed for the sins of humankind and this book also proves and has shown me that as well. We seem to think of suffering as something foreign and strange. Even in the christian scriptures, the disciples did not consider the suffering servant as. I have tried to show him that the prophecies of isaiah 53 were fulfilled by jesus.
The suffering servant establishes justice through instruction, a word that refers, above all, to the ten commandments. The wolf and the lamb are able snuggle together, hang out, watch friends rerunswhatever. The suffering servant by marshall roth the 53rd chapter of isaiah is a beautiful, poetic song, one of the four servant songs in which the prophet describes the climactic period of world history when the messiah will arrive and the jewish people assume the role as the spiritual leaders of humanity. A study of isaiahs use of the term servant digital commons.
In this beautiful prayer, a commentary on isaiah 53, we discover several of the. The lord can and will help those who trust him isaiah 50. This part is clearly the heart of the book and is divided into 6 chapters. All four songs show the messiah to be gods meek and gentle servant. As in isaiah 42, the servant here must be the messiah. Perhaps the greatest of all messianic prophecies in the tanakh the hebrew scriptures the old testament concerning the advent of the jewish messiah is found in the 53rd chapter of the prophet isaiah. The old testament is full of types and shadows of what is to come in the new testament. Isaiah 53 is the fiftythird chapter of the book of isaiah in the hebrew bible or the old testament. Oxford bible church, headington oxford, a lively,international, evangelical, charismatic church. Early in the book of isaiah, god predicts the long and difficult exile of the. It includes the songs of the suffering servant and four separate passages referring to the nation of israel. Introduction for this important chapter it will be helpful to work through the passage first and observe the material to be interpreted. So the notes will first offer the findings of these observations and then draw them together into an exposition.
Cook it is in the understanding of the suffering and death of christ that the sinner appreciates gods great love and the price that was paid for his salvation. One cannot say enough about the importance of this inspired book. Rabbinic judaism sees this passage, especially gods suffering servant, being written over 2500 years ago, without a reference to the king mashiach. This commentary has been through advanced checking. This is what he says in his book the earlyfirstcentury targum of jonathan ben uzziel on isaiah 53 a kind of paraphrastic commentary in aramaic. There is no denying the beauty, grandeur, passion and pathos of this book. In isaiah, sometimes the nation of israel is called gods servant.
This chapter begins the second half of the book of isaiah. The big dream that animates the book of isaiah is the dream of a future time of perfect peacebasically the exact opposite of whats been going on throughout the course of the book, what with all its examples of annihilation and total war. We can interpret these as foreshadowing for the coming of jesus christ. Its not exactly light and fluffy bathtub reading, but. Although he was a pretty secular reader and writer, he still thought isaiah was a poetic masterpiece, and wrote some commentary on the book, too. The prophet isaiah introduction isaiah has been called the dean of old testament prophets. What sets the bible apart from other religious books is that it contains thousands of prophecies. When the new testament writers quoted the old testament, they. Isaiah 5253 give us one of the most exact and theologically helpful looks into the death of christ. However, isaiah apparently always entertained the hope that the nation would turn back to god and be spared from severe punishment. Isaiah 49 to 57 free bible commentary in easy english.
This section of the prophets, also known as the suffering servant, has been long understood by the. And in addition to providing unparalleled help in preparing bible studies and sermons, the book is bound to prove useful as supplemental. Free online bible classes isaiah and the suffering servant. The identity of the suffering servant in isaiah t h e o. This was a 19th century apology by a chrstian named pusey who wanted to prove that the jews had not always said that the suffering servant in isaiah 53 was the nation of israel. Most scholars agree that the book of isaiah contains material covering different historical periods in the history of israel. The ethiopian understood philips message, believed in jesus, and was baptized as a new christian. While much attention has been focused upon this biblical chapter, there are four important passages that isaiah penned on the ministry of the. A word list at the end explains words with a star by them. He is a royal figure, representing israel in its ideal form. Isaiah 52 commentary, one of over 110 bible commentaries freely available, this commentary, by the leading authority in the church of christ, presents a verse level look at the bible. Isaiah 42 commentary matthew henrys complete commentary. Messianic jew and biblical scholar barry leventhal, writing in why i am a christian.