Isaiah 53 Study Notes

53:8 For the first time the passage reveals that the servant’s suffering culminated in death.

53:9 The servant died unjustly and was buried as if he were an evil man. The pairing of the wicked with the rich man implies that the wealthy man got his riches by deceit. This may be confirmed by the final statement of the verse that the servant had not spoken deceitfully. Jesus was literally buried by a rich man when he was placed in the tomb of Joseph of Arimathea (Mt 27:57-60).

53:10-11 That God was pleased to crush the servant sounds mean-spirited, but his pleasure is explained by the fact that the servant’s suffering will justify many. What seems harsh will turn out to be gracious. The servant’s pain, suffering, and death will function like a restitution offering (Lv 5:14-6:7; 7:1-10)—a sacrifice offered when there was a “transgression against the sacred things of the Lord” (Tremper Longman, Immanuel in Our Place). The sin of God’s people was such a transgression.

53:12 Returning to the theme at the beginning of the poem (52:13), the suffering of the servant will give way to his exaltation. Jesus’s suffering culminated in the crucifixion but gave way to the resurrection. This verse is quoted in Lk 22:37.