3 He is despised and left alone of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief, and like one from whom [men] hide their faces; -- despised, and we esteemed him not.
He was in the world, and the world had [its] being through him, and the world knew him not. He came to his own, and his own received him not;
Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath subjected [him] to suffering. When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see a seed, he shall prolong [his] days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand.
Thus saith Jehovah, the Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to the servant of rulers: Kings shall see and arise, princes, and they shall worship, because of Jehovah who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.
And he says to them, My soul is full of grief even unto death; abide here and watch.
And he answering said to them, Elias indeed, having first come, restores all things; and how is it written of the Son of man that he must suffer much, and be set at nought:
But I am a worm, and no man; a reproach of men, and the despised of the people. All they that see me laugh me to scorn; they shoot out the lip, they shake the head, [saying:] Commit it to Jehovah -- let him rescue him; let him deliver him, because he delighteth in him!
I gave my back to smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting.
Surely *he* hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; and we, we did regard him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
And I said unto them, If ye think good, give [me] my hire; and if not, forbear. And they weighed for my hire thirty silver-pieces. And Jehovah said unto me, Cast it unto the potter: a goodly price that I was prized at by them. And I took the thirty silver-pieces, and cast them to the potter in the house of Jehovah.
Then they spit in his face, and buffeted him, and some struck him with the palms of their hand,
And he took the twelve to [him] and said to them, Behold, we go up to Jerusalem, and all things that are written of the Son of man by the prophets shall be accomplished; for he shall be delivered up to the nations, and shall be mocked, and insulted, and spit upon. And when they have scourged [him] they will kill him; and on the third day he will rise again.
Who in the days of his flesh, having offered up both supplications and entreaties to him who was able to save him out of death, with strong crying and tears; (and having been heard because of his piety;)
looking stedfastly on Jesus the leader and completer of faith: who, in view of the joy lying before him, endured [the] cross, having despised [the] shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God. For consider well him who endured so great contradiction from sinners against himself, that ye be not weary, fainting in your minds.
The God of Abraham and Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus, whom *ye* delivered up, and denied him in the presence of Pilate, when *he* had judged that he should be let go. But *ye* denied the holy and righteous one, and asked that a man [that was] a murderer should be granted to you; but the originator of life ye slew, whom God raised from among [the] dead, whereof *we* are witnesses.
For we have not a high priest not able to sympathise with our infirmities, but tempted in all things in like manner, sin apart.
and might set free all those who through fear of death through the whole of their life were subject to bondage. For he does not indeed take hold of angels [by the hand], but he takes hold of the seed of Abraham. Wherefore it behoved him in all things to be made like to [his] brethren, that he might be a merciful and faithful high priest in things relating to God, to make propitiation for the sins of the people; for, in that himself has suffered, being tempted, he is able to help those that are being tempted.
Then Jeshurun grew fat, and kicked -- Thou art waxen fat, Thou art grown thick, And thou art covered with fatness; -- He gave up +God who made him, And lightly esteemed the Rock of his salvation.
And I wept, my soul was fasting: that also was to my reproach; -- And I made sackcloth my garment: then I became a proverb to them. They that sit in the gate talk of me, and [I am] the song of the drunkards.
But I am afflicted and sorrowful: let thy salvation, O God, set me secure on high.
Now gather thyself in troops, O daughter of troops; he hath laid siege against us: they shall smite the judge of Israel with a rod upon the cheek.
Then was fulfilled that which was spoken through Jeremias the prophet, saying, And I took the thirty pieces of silver, the price of him that was set a price on, whom [they who were] of the sons of Israel had set a price on, and they gave them for the field of the potter, according as [the] Lord commanded me.
But the passers-by reviled him, shaking their heads and saying, Thou that destroyest the temple and buildest it in three days, save thyself. If thou art Son of God, descend from the cross. [And] in like manner the chief priests also, mocking, with the scribes and elders, said, He saved others, himself he cannot save. He is King of Israel: let him descend now from the cross, and we will believe on him. He trusted upon God; let him save him now if he will [have] him. For he said, I am Son of God. And the robbers also who had been crucified with him cast the same reproaches on him.
And they struck his head with a reed, and spat on him, and, bending the knee, did him homage.
But they cried out in a mass saying, Away with this [man] and release Barabbas to us; who was one who, for a certain tumult which had taken place in the city, and [for] murder, had been cast into prison. Pilate therefore, desirous to release Jesus, again addressed [them]. But they cried out in reply saying, Crucify, crucify him. And he said the third time to them, What evil then has this [man] done? I have found no cause of death in him: I will chastise him therefore and release him. But they were urgent with loud voices, begging that he might be crucified. And their voices [and those of the chief priests] prevailed. And Pilate adjudged that what they begged should take place. And he released him who, for tumult and murder, had been cast into prison, whom they begged for, and Jesus he delivered up to their will.
Worthy.Bible » Commentaries » Matthew Henry Commentary » Commentary on Isaiah 53
Commentary on Isaiah 53 Matthew Henry Commentary
Chapter 53
The two great things which the Spirit of Christ in the Old-Testament prophets testified beforehand were the sufferings of Christ and the glory that should follow, 1 Pt. 1:11. And that which Christ himself, when he expounded Moses and all the prophets, showed to be the drift and scope of them all was that Christ ought to suffer and then to enter into his glory, Lu. 24:26, 27. But nowhere in all the Old-Testament are these two so plainly and fully prophesied of as here in this chapter, out of which divers passages are quoted with application to Christ in the New-Testament. This chapter is so replenished with the unsearchable riches of Christ that it may be called rather the gospel of the evangelist Isaiah than the prophecy of the prophet Isaiah. We may observe here,
By mixing faith with the prophecy of this chapter we may improve our acquaintance with Jesus Christ and him crucified, with Jesus Christ and him glorified, dying for our sins and rising again for our justification.
Isa 53:1-3
The prophet, in the close of the former chapter, had foreseen and foretold the kind reception which the gospel of Christ should find among the Gentiles, that nations and their kings should bid it welcome, that those who had not seen him should believe in him; and though they had not any prophecies among them of gospel grace, which might raise their expectations, and dispose them to entertain it, yet upon the first notice of it they should give it its due weight and consideration. Now here he foretels, with wonder, the unbelief of the Jews, notwithstanding the previous notices they had of the coming of the Messiah in the Old Testament and the opportunity they had of being personally acquainted with him. Observe here,
Isa 53:4-9
In these verses we have,
Isa 53:10-12
In the foregoing verses the prophet had testified very particularly of the sufferings of Christ, yet mixing some hints of the happy issue of them; here he again mentions his sufferings, but largely foretels the glory that should follow. We may observe, in these verses,