Isaiah: The Extent of God’s Love

Isaiah 53:1-5

When you think of the book of Isaiah, remember these two themes on the macro level:

• God takes sin seriously (Isa. 1-39).
• God forgives fully (Isa. 40-66).

These two truths are centered on Jesus. God loves us so much that he sent his Son to pay the penalty for sin, and forgiveness from sin can only be found in the Person and work of Jesus. Seven hundred years before Jesus arrived on earth, Isaiah described the Messiah’s ultimate sacrifice on our behalf. This passage explains Jesus’ death, burial, resurrection, and exaltation. Today, the focus is on Isaiah 53:1-5. We will study this passage verse by verse.

Isaiah 53:1
Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

This prophecy about Jesus is the central message for time and eternity. However, not everyone will accept who Jesus is and what he came to do. Isaiah reveals that most people who will hear his prophetic revelation concerning the coming Messiah will not believe it.

The “arm of the Lord” is a picture of power. It suggests a warrior who bares his arm, takes up his weapon, and defeats the enemy (Isa. 51:5-10; 63:5-6).^[1] Judah failed to recognize the power of God at work as his sovereign action raised up Cyrus, ensuring Judah’s release from captivity. Many will also miss the power of God in sending his Son. One biblical scholar says it this way: “Unbelief can always assign the most plainly providential arrangements to happy accident.”^[2]

Isaiah 53:2
For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.

Remember, Isaiah is writing seven hundred years before Jesus was born, and he writes in the past tense as if his prophecy has already occurred. Some call this “prophetic certitude.” Everything we are reading in Isaiah concerning what will happen, as one writer puts it, “has been finished before the foundations of the world in the Divine counsels.”^[3] Think of that!

Jesus did not come to earth as a “majestic tree” but as a “young plant,” literally a “sapling.” He would be a fresh tender branch from the line of David. The “young plant” took root in dry ground. The phrase “dry ground” might refer to a spiritually dry time, a corrupt age, or it could mean that the Servant would come out of the soil of humanity. Moreover, this “young plant” was not impressive by human standards.

You have heard people comment, “That person owns the room!” No one said that about Jesus. God sent His Son to ordinary people, having a common, simple existence. No one desired him because he looked the part, commanded attention, or resembled a social media model. God stripped His Son of the things from that attract sinful people. There was “no beauty that we should desire him.” In other words, there was nothing in Jesus' physical presence that would cause us to take a second look at him or to feel drawn to him.

Isaiah 53:3;
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

During our study of the Isaiah, we have learned about the Assyrians, Babylonians, and Persians. Hundreds of years later, when God took on flesh, the Romans ruled the world. The Jews were oppressed by an empire that merely tolerated them. The people in Jesus’ day expected a military Messiah who would free them from Rome. When they realized that Jesus was not the powerful conqueror they desired, he was rejected and condemned to die on a cross. 

Jesus understood sorrow and grief. His mission on earth, to give his life for us, was driven by perfect love. Yet his message was continually scorned. At one point, Jesus said, “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing!” (Mt. 23:37). The people, as well as the religious leaders, refused to recognize Jesus as the Messiah. There was little acceptance for the Son of God.

Isaiah 53:4
Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

Jesus came to carry our griefs and our sorrows. The word “griefs” literally means “sickness” and refers to the illness of our souls. Our hearts are sick with sin. The word “sorrows” refers to pain and suffering. Jesus came to do for us what we couldn’t do for ourselves. He took on himself what weighed us down: the soul sickness that left us separated from God, empty and hopeless. Jesus’ healing of physical diseases on earth was a picture of the spiritual healing that only he can offer.

Twelve times in the nine verses of this passage, we are told that Jesus carried our sins for us. This doctrine of Christ’s sacrifice on our behalf is repeatedly emphasized in the New Testament (Matt. 20:28; John 11:50-52; Rom. 3:25, 5:6-8, 8:3; 2 Cor. 5:18-21, 8:9; Gal. 3:13; Eph. 1:7; 1 Pet. 2:24, etc.).

Isaiah 53:5 [Anchor Point]
But He was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our in; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace;, and i with his wounds we are healed.

Jesus claimed that he was God. To the Jew, this was blasphemy. Therefore, the cross seemed like a proper punishment for someone who made such a statement. However, Jesus was not paying the penalty for his sins on the cross; the sinless One paid the penalty for our sins. 

He hung on the cross and was pierced for our transgressions. His hands and feet were pierced by nails; his side was pierced through by a spear (Zech. 12:10; John 19:31-37; Rev. 1:7). 

Jesus was crushed under the heaviness of our sins. God laid on him the sin of the world, an unbelievable, unbearable burden. The punishment that he took delivered peace, the Hebrew word shalom, meaning we were made whole.  Our spiritual sickness was healed (repaired, rebuilt) by the work of Jesus on the cross.

Someone has well said:

The cross is the ultimate evidence that there is no length the love of Jesus will refuse to go to bring us back to God.

Isaiah 53 reveals the depth of God’s love and what he endured to make a way to himself. What amazing love!

PERSONAL TIME WITH GOD
Time in the Word: Read and reflect on Isaiah 53:1-5, focusing on our Anchor Point—Isaiah 53:5. Spend time considering what Jesus did to allow you to have a relationship with God.

Talking to God: Thank Jesus for his work on your behalf. Your sins are forgiven!

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