Bruised
Throughout chapters 40-55 of Isaiah there are references to the suffering servant of the Lord who will bring light and hope to all people even through his suffering. Scholars debate the identity of this servant: Is it Isaiah, Israel, or Someone Else?" In the time of Isaiah this prophecy was indeed meant to be fulfilled by the Jewish nation who were meant to be a light to nations even as they suffered at the hands of the Babylonians.Unfortunately Israel did not turn out to be the light to the nations and the hope for the world. Those who returned from exile became inward-looking and self-centered to the extent that they did not become the light to the nations. The true light of the world would come 400 years later.
During Advent, the "Servant Songs" of Isaiah (which are found in 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-7 and culminate in 52:13-53:12) shine very brightly even though they are a very sobering account of the substitutionary suffering of the Servant of the Lord. The song in chapter 53 is a sensory-overloading foresight of the way in which Jesus would suffer to pay for our sin-debt and transgression-brokenness.
Chapter 53 is brimming with beautiful Hebrew poetry, marked by clever repetition, parallel lines, powerful images, and an economy of words that is breath-taking. It is hard to imagine that a reader cannot be gripped by the accuracy and appropriateness of the prophecies in the light of Jesus' suffering on the cross.
Look at the reasons for the suffering:
- He took up our infirmities
- carried our sorrows
- He was pierced for our transgressions
- crushed for our iniquities
- Our punishment to obtain peace was upon Him
- He carried the wounds that obtained our healing.
- Our iniquity (which leads us astray and turns us away) was upon Him.
It is quite easy for me to dwell on my own brokenness and get stuck there:
- I am infirm: Deficient in direction, purpose, and value
- I am filled with sorrow: I struggle with my brokenness and sin
- I am aware of my guilt and the consequences of my sin are obvious to me
- I know that I really deserve punishment for my selfish self-centeredness
- I am lost and confused
But God is concerned with my healing!!
What is amazing is that Jesus was so committed to healing me of this brokenness that He had Isaiah detail it 400 years in advance! With breath-taking accuracy Isaiah details the reality of what it would take to make us new. Is God eager to heal my brokenness?
Absolutely!
Just read the promise He made...
| 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 his own way And the Lord has laid on Him the iniquity of us all. 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. (Isaiah53:1-12) |
