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Commentary on Isaiah 53 verses 1–3
The prophet, in the close of the former chapter, had foreseen and foretold the kind reception which the gospel of Christ should find among the Gentiles, that nations and their kings should bid it welcome, that those who had not seen him should believe in him; and though they had not any prophecies among them of gospel grace, which might raise their expectations, and dispose them to entertain it, yet upon the first notice of it they should give it its due weight and consideration. Now here he foretels, with wonder, the unbelief of the Jews, notwithstanding the previous notices they had of the coming of the Messiah in the Old Testament and the opportunity they had of being personally acquainted with him. Observe here,
I. The contempt they put upon the gospel of Christ, Isa 53:1. The unbelief of the Jews in our Saviour's time is expressly said to be the fulfilling of this word, Joh 12:38. And it is applied likewise to the little success which the apostles' preaching met with among Jews and Gentiles, Rom 10:16. Note, 1. Of the many that hear the report of the gospel there are few, very few, that believe it. It is reported openly and publicly, not whispered in a corner, or confined to the schools, but proclaimed to all; and it is so faithful a saying, and so well worthy of all acceptation, that one would think it should be universally received and believed. But it is quite otherwise; few believed the prophets who spoke before of Christ; when he came himself none of the rulers nor of the Pharisees followed him, and but here and there one of the common people; and, when the apostles carried this report all the world over, some in every place believed, but comparatively very few. To this day, of the many that profess to believe this report, there are few that cordially embrace it and submit to the power of it. 2. Therefore people believe not the report of the gospel, because the arm of the Lord is not revealed to them; they do not discern, nor will be brought to acknowledge, that divine power which goes along with the word. The arm of the Lord is made bare (as was said, Isa 52:10) in the miracles that were wrought to confirm Christ's doctrine, in the wonderful success of it, and its energy upon the conscience; though it is a still voice, it is a strong one; but they do not perceive this, nor do they experience in themselves that working of the Spirit which makes the word effectual. They believe not the gospel because, by rebelling against the light they had, they had forfeited the grace of God, which therefore he justly denied them and withheld from them, and for want of that they believed not. 3. This is a thing we ought to be much affected with; it is to be wondered at, and greatly lamented, and ministers may go to God and complain of it to him, as the prophet here. What a pity is it that such rich grace should be received in vain, that precious souls should perish at the pool's side, because they will not step in and be healed!
II. The contempt they put upon the person of Christ because of the meanness of his appearance, Isa 53:2, Isa 53:3. This seems to come in as a reason why they rejected his doctrine, because they were prejudiced against his person. When he was on earth many that heard him preach, and could not but approve of what they heard, would not give it any regard or entertainment, because it came from one that made so small a figure and had no external advantages to recommend him. Observe here,
1.The low condition he submitted to, and how he abased and emptied himself. The entry he made into the world, and the character he wore in it, were no way agreeable to the ideas which the Jews had formed of the Messiah and their expectations concerning him, but quite the reverse. (1.) It was expected that his extraction would be very great and noble. He was to be the Son of David, of a family that had a name like to the names of the great men that were in the earth, Sa2 7:9. But he sprang out of this royal and illustrious family when it was reduced and sunk, and Joseph, that son of David, who was his supposed father, was but a poor carpenter, perhaps a ship-carpenter, for most of his relations were fishermen. This is here meant by his being a root out of a dry ground, his being born of a mean and despicable family, in the north, in Galilee, of a family out of which, like a dry and desert ground, nothing green, nothing great, was expected, in a country of such small repute that it was thought no good thing could come out of it. His mother, being a virgin, was as dry ground, yet from her he sprang who is not only fruit, but root. The seed on the stony ground had no root; but, though Christ grew out of a dry ground, he is both the root and the offspring of David, the root of the good olive. (2.) It was expected that he should make a public entry, and come in pomp and with observation; but, instead of that, he grew up before God, not before men. God had his eye upon him, but men regarded him not: He grew up as a tender plant, silently and insensibly, and without any noise, as the corn, that tender plant, grows up, we know not how, Mar 4:27. Christ rose as a tender plant, which, one would have thought, might easily be crushed, or might be nipped in one frosty night. The gospel of Christ, in its beginning, was as a grain of mustard-seed, so inconsiderable did it seem, Mat 13:31, Mat 13:32. (3.) It was expected that he should have some uncommon beauty in his face and person, which should charm the eye, attract the heart, and raise the expectations of all that saw him. But there was nothing of this kind in him; not that he was in the least deformed or misshapen, but he had no form nor comeliness, nothing extraordinary, which one might have thought to meet with in the countenance of an incarnate deity. Those who saw him could not see that there was any beauty in him that they should desire him, nothing in him more than in another beloved, Sol 5:9. Moses, when he was born, was exceedingly fair, to such a degree that it was looked upon as a happy presage, Act 7:20; Heb 11:23. David, when he was anointed, was of a beautiful countenance, and goodly to look to, Sa1 16:12. But our Lord Jesus had nothing of that to recommend him. Or it may refer not so much to his person as to the manner of his appearing in the world, which had nothing in it of sensible glory. His gospel is preached, not with the enticing words of man's wisdom, but with all plainness, agreeable to the subject. (4.) It was expected that he should live a pleasant life, and have a full enjoyment of all the delights of the sons and daughters of men, which would have invited all sorts to him; but, on the contrary, he was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. It was not only his last scene that was tragical, but his whole life was so, not only mean, but miserable,
- but one continued chain
Of labour, sorrow, and consuming pain.
- Sir R. Blackmore
Thus, being made sin for us, he underwent the sentence sin had subjected us to, that we should eat in sorrow all the days of our life (Gen 3:17), and thereby relaxed much of the rigour and extremity of the sentence as to us. His condition was, upon many accounts, sorrowful. He was unsettled, had not where to lay his head, lived upon alms, was opposed and menaced, and endured the contradiction of sinners against himself. His spirit was tender, and he admitted the impressions of sorrow. We never read that he laughed, but often that he wept. Lentulus, in his epistle to the Roman senate concerning Jesus, says, "he was never seen to laugh;" and so worn and macerated was he with continual grief that when he was but a little above thirty years of age he was taken to be nearly fifty, Joh 8:57. Grief was his intimate acquaintance; for he acquainted himself with the grievances of others, and sympathized with them, and he never set his own at a distance; for in his transfiguration he talked of his own decease, and in his triumph he wept over Jerusalem. Let us look unto him and mourn.
2.The low opinion that men had of him, upon this account. Being generally apt to judge of persons and things by the sight of the eye, and according to outward appearance, they saw no beauty in him that they should desire him. There was a great deal of true beauty in him, the beauty of holiness and the beauty of goodness, enough to render him the desire of all nations; but the far greater part of those among whom he lived, and conversed, saw none of this beauty, for it was spiritually discerned. Carnal hearts see no excellency in the Lord Jesus, nothing that should induce them to desire an acquaintance with him or interest in him. Nay, he is not only not desired, but he is despised and rejected, abandoned and abhorred, a reproach of men, an abject, one that men were shy of keeping company with and had not any esteem for, a worm and no man. He was despised as a mean man, rejected as a bad man. He was the stone which the builders refused; they would not have him to reign over them. Men, who should have had so much reason as to understand things better, so much tenderness as not to trample upon a man in misery - men whom he came to seek and save rejected him: "We hid as it were our faces from him, looked another way, and his sufferings were as nothing to us; though never sorrow was like unto his sorrow. Nay, we not only behaved as having no concern for him, but as loathing him, and having him in detestation." It may be read, He hid as it were his face from us, concealed the glory of his majesty, and drew a veil over it, and therefore he was despised and we esteemed him not, because we could not see through that veil. Christ having undertaken to make satisfaction to the justice of God for the injury man had done him in his honour by sin (and God cannot be injured except in his honour), he did it not only by divesting himself of the glories due to an incarnate deity, but by submitting himself to the disgraces due to the worst of men and malefactors; and thus by vilifying himself he glorified his Father: but this is a good reason why we should esteem him highly, and study to do him honour; let him be received by us whom men rejected.
For Christ is of those who are humble-minded, and not of those who exalt themselves over His flock. Our Lord Jesus Christ, the Sceptre of the majesty of God, did not come in the pomp of pride or arrogance, although He might have done so, but in a lowly condition, as the Holy Spirit had declared regarding Him. For He says, "Lord, who has believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? We have declared [our message] in His presence: He is, as it were, a child, and like a root in thirsty ground; He has no form nor glory, yea, we saw Him, and He had no form nor comeliness; but His form was without eminence, yea, deficient in comparison with the [ordinary] form of men. He is a man exposed to stripes and suffering, and acquainted with the endurance of grief: for His countenance was turned away; He was despised, and not esteemed. He bears our iniquities, and is in sorrow for our sakes; yet we supposed that [on His own account] He was exposed to labour, and stripes, and affliction. But He was wounded for our transgressions, and bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we were healed. All we, like sheep, have gone astray; [every] man has wandered in his own way; and the Lord has delivered Him up for our sins, while He in the midst of His sufferings opens not His mouth. He was brought as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before her shearer is dumb, so He opens not His mouth. In His humiliation His judgment was taken away; who shall declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth. For the transgressions of my people was He brought down to death. And I will give the wicked for His sepulchre, and the rich for His death, because He did no iniquity, neither was guile found in His mouth. And the Lord is pleased to purify him by stripes. If you make an offering for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed. And the Lord is pleased to relieve Him of the affliction of His soul, to show Him light, and to form Him with understanding, to justify the Just One who ministers well to many; and He Himself shall carry their sins. On this account He shall inherit many, and shall divide the spoil of the strong; because His soul was delivered to death, and He was reckoned among the transgressors, and He bare the sins of many, and for their sins was He delivered." [Isaiah 53:1-12] And again He says, "I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and despised of the people. All that see me have derided me; they have spoken with their lips; they have wagged their head, [saying] He hoped in God, let Him deliver Him, let Him save Him, since He delights in Him." [Psalm 22:6-8] You see, beloved, what is the example which has been given us; for if the Lord thus humbled Himself, what shall we do who have through Him come under the yoke of His grace?
Nor is even his death passed over in silence: on the contrary, it is referred to in the divine Scriptures, even exceedingly clearly.… He suffers it not for his own sake but for the immortality and salvation of all, and the counsels of the Jews against him and the indignities offered him at their hands.… O marvel at the loving-kindness of the Word, that for our sakes he is dishonored, that we may be brought to honor.
(Chapter 53, verses 1 and following) Who has believed our report? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground: he has no form or comeliness; and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and we hid, as it were, our faces from him; he was despised, and we did not esteem him. Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows; yet we considered him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. LXX: But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have all turned to our own way, and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all. A man in distress, and knowing how to bear infirmity, because his face is turned away, despised and not esteemed. He carries our sins, and grieves for us, and we have reckoned him to be in pain, and in affliction. After the words of the Father, by which he had announced to the world that his son would come; and before the scandal of the cross, about which he was going to say: His appearance will be inglorious, and his form unlike that of other men, he had foretold the glory of the resurrection: He will be exalted and lifted up, and will be greatly exalted: so that, by the humility of the cross, he might anticipate the glory of the resurrection. The choir of prophets responded that they had fulfilled their duty, and had proclaimed to all the power and strength of his arm, as much as they could. But concerning what he says: Who has believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? he signifies the rarity of those who believe among the Jews. And what follows: It shall spring up as a root before him; for which the LXX translated, We have announced it as a little one before him: for root, Symmachus interpreted as a branch, in order to show that the man who proceeded from the virgin womb was assumed. Of whom he infers: As a root from a thirsty land. For the thirsty one, the Eagle was interpreted as a sign, in order to demonstrate the privilege of virginity, that he was created from the earth without any human seed. This is the one about whom we read above: A shoot shall come out from the stump of Jesse, and a branch shall grow out of his roots (Isaiah 11:1), in order to signify his birth and ascent into the world. But he did not have appearance or glory; his form was ignoble and lacking compared to the sons of men, or as it is said in Hebrew, despised and the last of men, as it is said in the Psalms: Gird your sword on your thigh, O mighty one, in your glory and majesty (Psalm 45:4). What is easily solved. He was despised and ignoble when he hung on the cross, and became a curse for us, bearing our sins. And he said to the Father: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? (Matthew 27:46). But he was famous and beautiful in appearance, when the earth trembled at his passion, rocks were split, and with the sun fleeing, the elements feared eternal night. Of whom the bride also says in the Song of Songs: My beloved is white and ruddy, chosen from thousands (Song of Solomon 5:10). Candidus, in the fullness and purity of virtues, ruddy in passion, about which we will read later: Who is this that comes from Edom, his garments yellowish; chosen from thousands for resurrection; so that the one who was the firstborn of all creation might be the firstborn from the dead. And he brings forth this: a man in sorrow and knowing how to bear weakness, a man of sorrows, and knowing weakness, a true human body, and a true soul, who, knowing how to bear weaknesses, overcame them all by divinity. And his hidden and despised appearance, so that the divine power might be concealed in a human body. Regarding which it has been said above: You are a hidden God, and we did not know. He truly carried our weaknesses and sins, and he grieves for us, not just in appearance, that is, to seem so, as the ancient and new heresies suspect; but he truly was crucified. He truly suffered, saying in the Gospel: My soul is sorrowful even unto death (Matthew 26:38). And: Now is my soul troubled (John XII, 27). And we thought him to be unclean, or in pain, as the Seventy translated, for which Aquila and Symmachus translated as a leper, Theodotion, as scourged. Which in other words is understood as leprosy in Hebrew idiom, according to what is written in the Psalms: And the scourge shall not come near your tent (Ps. XC, 10). And the sense is: We thought him to be struck by God for his sins, who was humiliated for us and crucified with thieves. Regarding what Symmachus translated as Ἐν ἁφῇ ὄντα, which means 'in lepra'; Aquila rendered it as ἁφημένον, meaning 'leprosum': many, not understanding, think it was left out, and others read καθήμενον, meaning 'sitting'. At the beginning of the chapter, where it is said according to the Septuagint: 'Lord, who has believed our report?': and the arm of the Lord, to whom it is revealed (Rom. X), which testimony the apostle Paul also uses in Romans, explaining about the passion of the Lord: 'Lord' is not in the Hebrew, but for the understanding of the person to whom it is said, it was added.
Christ’s deformity is what gives form to you. If he had been unwilling to be deformed, you would never have got back the form you lost. So he hung on the cross, deformed; but his deformity was our beauty.
One of the holy Evangelists said that when our Lord’s time of suffering drew near, he began to weep and grew sad. Yet by nature he was the only-begotten Word of the Father, being immune from sufferings and grief and the like. Nevertheless, he accommodated himself to our nature and showed himself empty of all [his divine qualities] in the face of the anxiety of the threatening onslaught of his trials. Through all these trials he declared himself to be similar to us, so that he emerges not (as some are fond of saying) as a shadow or specter seen on the earth but as a real human being.
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SUMMARY
Isaiah 53:3 profoundly depicts the Suffering Servant's experience of utter rejection and profound anguish at the hands of humanity. He is portrayed not merely as one who endures suffering, but as one intrinsically defined by it, a "man of sorrows" intimately familiar with grief. The verse highlights the collective human aversion to Him, as people actively turned away and failed to recognize His true worth, underscoring the depth of His humiliation and the world's spiritual blindness.
CONTEXT
EXPOSITION AND ANALYSIS
Key Word Analysis
Verse Breakdown
Literary Devices
Isaiah 53:3 employs several powerful literary devices to convey the depth of the Servant's suffering and rejection. Parallelism is evident in the structure, particularly the synonymous parallelism between "He is despised and rejected of men" and "he was despised, and we esteemed him not," which reinforces the theme of societal contempt through repetition and restatement. The phrase "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief" uses Metaphor and Personification, as sorrow and grief are not merely experiences but are almost personified as companions or intrinsic qualities that define the Servant's very essence, suggesting a profound and constant identification with suffering. The vivid Imagery of "we hid as it were [our] faces from him" paints a picture of deliberate avoidance and aversion, allowing the reader to visualize humanity's active turning away from the suffering Servant, implying a willful refusal to acknowledge His presence or truth. The strategic Repetition of "despised" (H959, bâzâh) throughout the verse serves to hammer home the central theme of His profound humiliation and the world's active scorn, making the point undeniable.
THEOLOGICAL AND THEMATIC CONNECTIONS
Isaiah 53:3 is a profound theological statement on the nature of redemptive suffering and humanity's response to divine truth. It reveals a God who does not remain distant from human pain but intimately identifies with it, choosing a path of humility and rejection to accomplish His saving purpose. The verse challenges our conventional notions of power and glory, presenting a Messiah who achieves victory not through triumph over enemies, but through self-emptying and endurance of scorn. This foreshadows the New Testament revelation of God's love expressed through the ultimate sacrifice of Christ, who, though divine, willingly embraced the lowest status for the salvation of humanity, demonstrating that true strength and salvation are found in humble, self-giving love.
REFLECTION AND APPLICATION
Isaiah 53:3 calls us to confront the profound humility of God, revealed in the Suffering Servant who was willing to be despised and rejected for our sake. It challenges our natural inclination to seek comfort, honor, and acceptance, instead inviting us to embrace a path of self-denial and identification with the marginalized, just as Christ did. This verse serves as a powerful reminder that true spiritual worth is often found not in worldly acclaim, but in a willingness to suffer for righteousness and to bear the burdens of others. It compels us to examine our own hearts: do we truly esteem Christ, or do we, in our pursuit of comfort or popularity, inadvertently "hide our faces" from His call to costly discipleship and radical love? Understanding His profound identification with human suffering should cultivate in us a deeper empathy for those who are hurting and rejected in our own communities, spurring us to extend compassion and solidarity where the world offers scorn, reflecting the very heart of our Savior.
Questions for Reflection
FAQ
Why is the Servant described as "acquainted with grief" rather than just experiencing it?
Answer: The phrase "acquainted with grief" (Hebrew y'du'a choli) implies a deep, intimate, and experiential knowledge of suffering, rather than a superficial or fleeting encounter. The Hebrew word yadaʻ (H3045) signifies knowing through personal experience, often implying a profound identification. This means the Servant didn't just witness grief; He entered into it, understood it from the inside out, and it became an intrinsic part of His identity. This profound familiarity highlights His unique capacity to empathize with human suffering, as He bore the full weight of it Himself. This is crucial for understanding His role as a compassionate High Priest, as described in Hebrews 4:15, who can sympathize with our weaknesses because He was tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sin.
CHRIST-CENTERED FULFILLMENT
Isaiah 53:3 finds its ultimate and most profound fulfillment in the person and work of Jesus Christ. He is the quintessential Suffering Servant, perfectly embodying the prophecy of one "despised and rejected of men." Throughout His earthly ministry, Jesus experienced constant rejection from religious leaders, His own people, and ultimately, His disciples (e.g., John 1:11). He was indeed "a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief," not only witnessing human pain but personally bearing its weight, from the agony in Gethsemane (as recounted in Matthew 26:37-38) to the physical and spiritual anguish of the cross. The world "hid as it were [our] faces from him," preferring darkness to light, as highlighted in John 3:19, and turning away from His truth. His public humiliation, culminating in His crucifixion, was the ultimate act of being "despised" and "not esteemed" by humanity, fulfilling the prophecy of Psalm 22:6. Yet, it was precisely through this path of rejection and suffering that Christ accomplished our salvation, bearing our sins and offering reconciliation, a truth powerfully articulated by Peter in 1 Peter 2:24. His willingness to embrace such contempt underscores the depth of God's love and the radical nature of His redemptive plan, demonstrating that true glory is found in self-sacrificial love.