Isaiah: High and Lifted Up

Isaiah 52:13-15

Years ago, I sat next to a Jewish rabbi on an overseas trip. He was an interesting man with some interesting habits. At one point in our conversation, I asked him, “Okay, how do you interpret Isaiah 53?” He didn’t miss a beat, “The passage,” he replied, “could be describing anyone who suffered.”

I learned later that until the 1000’s Jewish scholars believed Isaiah 53 was about the coming Messiah. However, one Bible scholar writes that the interpretation was changed around AD 1150 by an influential rabbi, Aben Ezra. The Jewish religious leaders began applying the prophecy to Jeremiah, King Josiah, or the people of Israel.^[1] Today, Jews believe that the Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 does not describe the Messiah. However, Christians still consider Isaiah 53 a Messianic prophecy.

Isaiah’s words, written seven hundred years before Jesus was born, describe the Person and work of the Messiah. Theologian J. I. Packer says it this way:

It was because Jesus was to be made sin, and bear God’s judgment on sin, that he trembled in the garden, and because he was actually bearing that judgment that he declared himself forsaken of God on the cross. The driving force in Jesus’ life was his resolve to be “obedient to death—even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:8), and the unique dreadfulness of his death lies in the fact that he tasted on Calvary the wrath of God which was our due, so making propitiation for sin. Centuries before, Isaiah had spelled that out [in Isaiah 53].^[2]

There are direct excerpts from Isaiah 53 in the New Testament and many allusions to this passage. These numerous New Testament references confirm three things:

1. This prophecy about Jesus was given seven hundred years before he lived on earth.
2. The New Testament writers quoted Isaiah 53 directly to prove the work of Jesus (Mt. 8:17; Mk. 15:28; Luke 22:37; Jn. 12:38; Acts 8:28-35; Rom. 10:16; 1 Pet. 2:21-25).
3. The New Testament writers alluded to this prophecy often to emphasize the atoning work of Jesus on the cross (Mk. 9:12; Rom. 4:25; 1 Cor. 15:3; 2 Cor. 5:21; 1 Pet. 1:19; 2:21-25; 1 Jn. 3:5).^[3]

In Isaiah 49-50, we saw that the Servant was rejected. Now we are going to see that the Servant will be exalted, but not before he paid the penalty for our sins on the cross. This passage couldn’t be about just anyone; this passage is about Jesus.

Isaiah 53 is one of the best-known sections in the book of Isaiah. We will take our time to work through this prophetic passage about our Savior.

Isaiah 52:13 begins the last of the four Servant Songs (Isa. 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12) and makes two important points:

• The Servant will act wisely.
• The Servant will be exalted.

Isaiah 52:13 [Anchor Point]
Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.

The verse begins with the word, “Behold.” God is speaking, and he is calling for us to listen up. He has something very important to say about his servant. The phrase “act wisely” is a translation of the Hebrew word yaskil and means “to be successful in one’s endeavor.” The cross looked like a humiliating and crushing defeat in the eyes of those who were witnesses, but it was indeed a glorious victory. Jesus “disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame” by his cross work (Col. 2:15). As a result of his triumph, Jesus will be “high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.” Earlier, Isaiah used these same words, “high and lifted up” to describe God (Isa. 6:1; see also Isa. 57:15). One commentator surmised that “high and lifted up” doesn’t seem to be enough to elevate what Jesus did, so Isaiah adds “and shall be exalted.”^[4] The NET Bible adds that the “piling up of synonyms emphasizes the degree of the servant’s coming exaltation.^[5]

This work, however, came at an awful cost.

Isaiah 52:14
As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—

The “many” here refers not only to the Jewish nation, but to those of all nations. They were not impressed with Jesus. The word “astonished” can also mean “appalled.” Many were appalled when they saw the marred and beaten Jesus. Bible scholar H. D. M. Spence-Jones says it this way:

The prophet . . . sits at the foot of the cross on Calvary, and sees the Redeemer as he hung upon the accursed tree, after he had been buffeted, and crowned with thorns, and smitten, and scourged, and crucified, when his face was covered with bruises and with gore, and his frame and features distorted with agony.^[6]

One day, those who are appalled at the sight of a crucified Jesus will see things in a different light.

Isaiah 52:15
…So shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.

On that day, the kings of nations will be silenced because they will realize that the Messiah came to “sprinkle many nations.” “Sprinkle” was associated with the priests in the Mosaic Law (Lev. 4:6; 8:11; 14:7). This pictures the Messiah as a priest who spiritually cleanses the nations. By his work on the cross, Jesus will cleanse people from their sins (John 1:29; Heb. 10:14). People will be appalled that they miscalculated his Word. John Martin says, “Realizing their great mistake, they will have nothing to say. Eventually, when they see Him exalted in His Second Advent, they will finally understand and see clearly.”^[7]

One day every knee will bow, and every tongue will confess that Jesus is Lord (Phil. 2:10).

We will end here today. There is so much more to consider in this familiar passage.

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Time in the Word: Read and reflect on Isaiah 52:13-15. Focus on our Anchor Point—Isaiah 52:13. Think about what Jesus accomplished for you on the cross.

Talking to God: Thank God for his Son’s work on your behalf.

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Every day is a day of spiritual renewal as we follow hard after Jesus.