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Isaiah 53:3

Listen to Isaiah 53:3
3 He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.

Isaiah 53:3 Meaning and Commentary

Isaiah 53:3

He is despised, and rejected of men
Or, "ceaseth from men" F6; was not admitted into the company and conversation of men, especially of figure; or ceased from the class of men, in the opinion of others; he was not reckoned among men, was accounted a worm, and no man; or, if a man, yet not in his senses, a madman, nay, one that had a devil: or "deficient of men"; he had none about him of any rank or figure in life, only some few fishermen, and some women, and publicans, and harlots. The Vulgate Latin version renders it, "the last of men", the most abject and contemptible of mankind; despised, because of the meanness of his birth, and parentage, and education, and of his outward appearance in public life; because of his apostles and audience; because of his doctrines, not agreeably to carnal reason, and his works, some of them being done on the sabbath day, and, as they maliciously suggested, by the help of Satan; and especially because of his ignominious sufferings and death: a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief:
or "known by grief" F7; he was known by his troubles, notorious for them; these were his constant companions, his familiar acquaintance, with whom he was always conversant; his life was one continued series of sorrow, from the cradle to the cross; in his infancy his life was sought for by Herod, and he was obliged to be taken by his parents, and flee into Egypt; he ate his bread in sorrow, and with the sweat of his brow; he met with much sorrow from the hardness and unbelief of men's hearts, and from the contradiction of sinners against himself, and even much from the frowardness of his own disciples; much from the temptations of Satan, and more from the wrath and justice of God, as the surety of his people; he was exceeding sorrowful in the garden, when his sweat was as it were great drops of blood; and when on the cross, under the hidings of his Father's face, under a sense of divine displeasure for the sins of his people, and enduring the pains and agonies of a shameful and an accursed death; he was made up of sorrows, and grief was familiar to him. Some render it, "broken with infirmity", or "grief" F8: and we hid as it were our faces from him;
as one loathsome and abominable as having an aversion to him, and abhorrence of him, as scorning to look at him, being unworthy of any notice. Some render it, "he hid as it were his face from us" F9; as conscious of his deformity and loathsomeness, and of his being a disagreeable object, as they said; but the former is best: he was despised, and we esteemed him not;
which is repeated to show the great contempt cast upon him, and the disesteem he was had in by all sorts of persons; professors and profane, high and low, rich poor, rulers and common people, priests, Scribes, and Pharisees; no set or order of men had any value for him; and all this disgrace and dishonour he was to undergo, to repair the loss of honour the Lord sustained by the sin of man, whose surety Christ became.


FOOTNOTES:

F6 (Myvya ldx) "desiit viris", Montanus, Heb.; "desitus virorum", Piscator; "deficiens virorum", Cocceius; "destitutus viris", Vitringa.
F7 (ylwx ewdyw) "notus aegritudine", Montanus; "notus infirmitate," Cocceius.
F8 "Attritus infirmitate"; so some in Vatablus, and R. Sol. Urbin. Ohel. Moed. fol. 96. 1.
F9 (wnmm Mynp rtomk) "velut homo abscondens faciem a nobis", Junius & Tremellius; "et tanquam aliquis qui obtegit faciem a nobis", Piscator; "ut res tecta facie averanda prae nobis", Cocceius.
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Isaiah 53:3 Study Resources

Sermons

The Sheep Gate: Transition To Transformation
The Sheep Gate: Transition To Transformation
Dr. Robyn Kassas and Dr. Nathan Kassas

What if the transformation you’ve been crying out for doesn’t begin with trying harder… but with transitioning through surrender?In this powerful episode of First Love, Dr. Robyn Kassas and Dr. Nathan Kassas open the first gate in their brand-new series on the 15 Gates of Jerusalem. This isn’t just ancient history—it’s a living invitation from the Holy Spirit for every believer ready to move from where they are into who God is forming them to be.They begin at the Sheep Gate—the very first threshold. Located near the Temple, this gate was where the sacrificial lambs entered. It was never meant for spectators. It was built for those willing to lay something down. Jesus, the Lamb of God, didn’t come as a lion first. He came gentle, innocent, and fully surrendered. And He calls us to follow Him through the same gate.You cannot become like the Lamb while still living like the lion.Through Scripture, real-life encounters, and even neuroscience, this conversation exposes why so many believers stay stuck: the survival brain resists every threshold. But love requires self-giving. At the Sheep Gate, God confronts our defensive nature, our need to be right, our hidden agendas, and our character flaws—and invites us to bring them to the altar.This is the transition that makes transformation possible.Grace always goes first. It’s not about what you can offer God. It’s about receiving what He already offered you—the worthy Lamb who took your place. Only those who enter as lambs discover the power to live as sons and daughters.If you’ve been standing outside the gate observing, admiring, or even serving from a safe distance, this is your moment to walk through.As we return to our First Love, we don’t stay in the shallow waters of initial passion. We journey through the gates into something deeper—mature love. A love that has been tested by surrender, refined by fire, and transformed into His image. The One who loved you first is still loving you best… and He’s calling you through the gate into the life you were created for.Don’t just listen. Let this message take you through.Share this episode with someone standing at their own threshold. The transition begins now.

Isaiah 53:3 In-Context

1 Who has believed our message? To whom has the LORD revealed his powerful arm?
2 My servant grew up in the LORD ’s presence like a tender green shoot, like a root in dry ground. There was nothing beautiful or majestic about his appearance, nothing to attract us to him.
3 He was despised and rejected— a man of sorrows, acquainted with deepest grief. We turned our backs on him and looked the other way. He was despised, and we did not care.
4 Yet it was our weaknesses he carried; it was our sorrows that weighed him down. And we thought his troubles were a punishment from God, a punishment for his own sins!
5 But he was pierced for our rebellion, crushed for our sins. He was beaten so we could be whole. He was whipped so we could be healed.
Holy Bible. New Living Translation copyright© 1996, 2004, 2007, 2013 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers Inc., Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.

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