Lesson 2 April 4, 2004

#2. Detailed description of the Messiah's ministry. 53:2-9

Have here the best overview of the entire ministry of Jesus in the Bible.

a. Details of His Youth, where it begins 53:2

- The only title given to Jesus in this context is strictly as a servant. What is the essence of a servant? Someone who caries out the will of the Father in every respect.

For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, And like a root out of parched ground

* To men the servant appeared as a shoot growing off of the main stalk, something to be trimmed off, since it sapped strength from the main plant. Basically something viewed as insignificant, of no value.

The root out of dry ground; points to the adverse circumstances in Israel when the Messiah was born, both politically for the people under the Roman yoke but also the corrupted spiritual condition and moral state of the day.

There was nothing about Jesus that if you passed Him on the street that would have caused you to take notice of Him at all.

- "Nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him."

53:3 The viewpoint of Him by His generation - time of His manhood

"He was despised and forsaken of men,"

- He was forsaken or rejected, ldex' indicates being left off in the sense of avoided or shunned;

- He was also A man of sorrows (severe pains) and acquainted with grief; grief; (sickness, disease or injuries)

Here in verse 3 the pain and suffering in view is that which He endured during His life and ministry leading to the cross.

And like one from whom men hide their face, (covering of the face is in disgust) He was despised, and we did not esteem Him.

- Primary reference is to Israel in their rejecting Him. In fact there has been no one in Israel's history has ever been despised and looked down on as Jesus was.

53:4-6 The True significance of His life and ministry is seen!

This is the center of the context, it is the focal point of the message Isaiah is communicating here. Centerpiece of the prophecy of the Messiah and His work on the cross in providing salvation.

Overview:

- :4 looks at the viewpoint of the day related to Jesus

- :5 gives us the divine viewpoint; the significance of His suffering which culminated on the cross. The Doctrine of Substitution

- :6 Gives the reason, the necessity for the cross; man's hopeless condition apart from God; Mankind's universal guilt!

The viewpoint expressed in vs:3-4 is that of the people of the day, a totally wrong view of the cross, a misinterpretation of Jesus and His ministry.

While in vs:5-6 we have the correct understanding of Jesus' ministry and the cross.

53:4 Surely he hath borne our griefs,

- begins with an adverb "surely" it is an adversative, and it is important since it reminds us that what you think is not what is, things are different than you think!

What does it mean here for Him to have borne?

- The thread of meaning here in the context of Isaiah 53 is bearing in the sense of taking the responsibility of, taking the guilt of, and taking the penalty of.

- Look at Lev 16:21-22 to see in the shadow Christology a vivid picture for Israel of the substitution and the bearing of the guilt and penalty of sin.

In 53:4b "Yet" marks the shift; and we go back to the vpt of the day;

It is true that He was doing the will of God, but that is not what the people concluded.

- Their conclusion was that Jesus was receiving from God exactly what He deserved.

- They looked at the cross in an erroneous way; 3 things expressed by 3 verbs:

1. "that He was stricken" punishment by God for Sin.

2. "smitten of God" (Elohim) lit. means to be struck down by God.

3. "and afflicted" that is because of terrible punishment for one sins.

** The evaluation then of the religious leaders of His generation; the human viewpoint of the day; was that He was a transgressor and getting exactly what He deserved; the punishment of the cross! But was He??