Bible Version: New International Version (NIV)

Application Notes: Life Application Study Bible (NIV)

ISAIAH 53

1 Who has believed our message

and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,

nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,

a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces

he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

4 Surely he took up our pain

and bore our suffering,

yet we considered him punished by God,

stricken by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,

he was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was on him,

and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,

each of us has turned to our own way;

and the Lord has laid on him

the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,

yet he did not open his mouth;

he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,

and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,

so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.

Yet who of his generation protested?

For he was cut off from the land of the living;

for the transgression of my people he was punished.

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with the rich in his death,

though he had done no violence,

nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,

and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,

he will see his offspring and prolong his days,

and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.

11 After he has suffered,

he will see the light of life and be satisfied;

by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,

and he will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,

and he will divide the spoils with the strong,

because he poured out his life unto death,

and was numbered with the transgressors.

For he bore the sin of many,

and made intercession for the transgressors.

Application Notes

53:1-12 This chapter continues to speak of the Messiah, Jesus, who would suffer for the sins of all people. Such a prophecy is astounding! Who would believe that God would choose to save the world through a humble, suffering servant rather than a glorious king? The idea goes against human understanding and worldly visions of success. But God often works in ways we don't expect. The Messiah shows his strength through humility, suffering, and mercy. 

53:2 Nothing was beautiful or majestic in the physical appearance of this servant. Israel would miscalculate the servant's importance—they would consider him an ordinary man. But even though Jesus would not attract a large following based on his physical appearance, he would attract thousands, and eventually billions, because of what he said and did. He would bring salvation and healing to the world. In more than 2,000 years, no one has equaled or improved on his teachings, and no one can do what he has done in restoring humanity's relationship with God. Many people miscalculate the importance of Jesus' life and work, and they need faithful Christians to point out his extraordinary nature. When the opportunity arises, encourage people who are seeking truth to read the Bible and meet Jesus there. 

53:4-5 How could an Old Testament person understand the idea of the Messiah dying for his people's sins—actually bearing the punishment that we deserve? The system of sacrifices pointed to this idea, but killing a lamb is one thing; thinking of God's chosen servant as that Lamb is quite different. But God was pulling aside the curtain of time to let the people of Isaiah's day look ahead to see the suffering Messiah and the resulting forgiveness made available to all people. 

53:5-6, 10-12 Isaiah mentions five times that the Lord's righteous servant would carry our sins. Why was it necessary for the Messiah to do this? Because God is holy, we cannot enter his presence marked by sin. So the perfect, sinless Lamb of God, Jesus, took our sin and experienced the death we deserve. He made our sacrifice for us so we can now enter God's holy presence. Best of all, the Messiah's sacrifice did not end merely in death; he rose from the dead to show that he had power over death and gave us confident hope that we, like him, will experience eternal, resurrected life. 

53:6 Isaiah speaks of Israel straying from God and compares the people to wandering sheep. Yet God would send the Messiah to bring them back into the fold. We have the hindsight to see and know the identity of the promised Messiah, who has come and died for our sins. But if we can see 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 life to Jesus Christ, the Good Shepherd (John 10:11-16), or are you still going your own way like a wandering sheep? 

53:7-12 In Old Testament times, people would offer animals as sacrifices for their sins. Here, the sinless servant of the Lord offers himself for our sins. He is the Lamb, 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? 

53:11 This verse tells of the enormous family of believers who will be made 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 Jesus, 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 Jesus' goodness (Ephesians 4:22-24). 

Taken from Life Application Study Bible - Third Edition - (NIV)