The Righter Report

Isaiah’s Prophecy of the Messiah

Isaiah Chapter 53 – 750 B.C.

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 men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten 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 upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his 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 her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken.
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 a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After the suffering of his soul,
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.

Isaiah 53 and the New Testament Fulfillments

Isaiah 53 According to Ancient Jewish Rabbis

From the link above: Conclusion: This history of rabbinical thought concerning Isaiah 53 demonstrates that the traditional Jewish view of Isaiah 53 is that it speaks of the Messiah. Because of this, it is clear that the dominant Jewish view of the Messiah throughout the centuries has included the understanding that the Messiah would suffer and die as a sacrifice, bearing the sins of all people who would “believe the report” (verse 1). He would be the ultimate atonement for Jewish people and for others who would embrace him.

Why Isaiah 53 cannot be referring to Israel, but the Messiah instead

The Jewish Messiah is Jesus Christ.

Shrine of the Book Museum in Israel

January 30, 2014 - Posted by Pete Righter | Evangelical, God, Human Interest, Theology, Theology Articles | America; Theology Human Interest, Bible, Christianity, Evangelicals, Prophecy, religion