Jesus urged the Jews to search the Scriptures because they testify of Him (John 5:39). Of all the prophecies contained in the Old Testament, however, none comes close to the accuracy and beauty of the prophecy of Isaiah 53.

Therefore, in the following lines we will dwell on this prophecy that foretold the work of redemption that the Lord Jesus Christ was to perform.

The book of the prophet Isaiah represents on a smaller scale a gospel for the Old Testament because it beautifully portrays the face of the Servant of God. She is like a pearl stone among the treasures hidden in God's Word. The impact of this prophecy on the life of faith has been decisive for many seekers of eternal truths, as the Bible itself relates. Thus, a eunuch in Ethiopia who was a treasurer was guided by Philip to understand the meaning of the prophecy in Isaiah 53 that had been fulfilled at that time in Jerusalem by Jesus' death on the cross and resurrection. Moreover, it is assumed that the Lord Jesus Himself explained to the disciples, overwhelmed with sorrow over the Lord's death, that He had to suffer and rise according to the Scriptures (Luke 24:13-35).

Our desire is that through the thoughts of this chapter of the book of Isaiah the eyes of our souls will be opened to see the unspeakable price paid by the Lord Jesus for our redemption.

1. The rejection of the Messiah by His people

Who believed what had been announced to us? Who has known the arm of the Lord? (Isaiah 53:1).

In the Gospel of John we are told that "He came to His own, and His own did not receive Him" (John 1:11). God has sent prophets to the people of Israel since ancient times to remind them of the coming of the Messiah. The prophets sent by the people stoned to death, and the Messiah, the One prophesied in the Scriptures, they took "out of the camp" and crucified on the cross. But we too have often behaved like the Jews. In other distant countries people receive the Gospel and come to enjoy salvation, so those who have not heard of Jesus until now,  receive Him as Savior and Lord, while in our Christianity it is difficult to find true believers. Christians are content to acquire certain knowledge from the Bible, but with their lives they do not follow the Lord Jesus. Every time we hear the message of the gospel without opening our hearts to God, we burden ourselves with a new responsibility to God.

Our soul is the most important gift from God for which we had a great responsibility, for "what good would it be for a man to gain the whole world, if he lost his soul?" (Matthew 16:26)

What spiritual blindness did the people of Israel reach that they no longer knew the authentic work of God with all the miracles He performed in their midst. Since ancient times, God has brought them out of Pharaoh's bondage with a strong arm, delivered them so many times from the wrath of their enemies, and now, at the coming of the Messiah, God has come with His light into the darkness of the world: "This people, who lay in darkness, saw a great light; and upon them that lay in the land and in the shadow of death, the light dawned" (Matthew 4:16).

The Lord Jesus fulfilled the words of the prophet Isaiah in every detail. When he entered the synagogue of Nazareth and opened the book of the prophet Isaiah, he came across the place where it was written: "The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he has anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor, he has sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach to the slaves of war freedom and to the blind, to gain sight, to let go of the oppressed, and to proclaim the year of mercy of the Lord." (Luke 4:18-19). All these words the Lord Jesus fulfilled by the power of God: "... all those who had sick people affected by various diseases brought them to Him, and He laid His hands on each one of them and healed them." John the Baptist heard from prison about the works of Christ and sent to ask Him through his disciples, "Are you the One who is going to come or wait for another?" In response, Jesus said to them, "Go and tell John what you hear and what you see: The blind get their sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the poor are preached the gospel. Blessed is he for whom I will not be a stumbling block" (Matthew 11:2-6).

Have you ever felt that your heart is healed by the Lord Jesus? Have you known the arm of the Lord? And when you knew Him, did you flee from the yoke of the Lord? He wants to lift you up from the sad state you are in and share His mercy with you.

2. The humility of the Messiah

"He grew up before Him as a weak offspring, like a shoot coming out of a dry land. He had neither beauty nor sparkle to attract our eyes, and His appearance had nothing to please us (Isaiah 53:2).

The people of Israel saw Him, but His appearance had nothing to please us. But why didn't He like His appearance? Because he took the form of a servant: "He, although he had the image of God, yet did not think that a thing to be grasped was equal to God, but he took off Himself and took the form of a servant, becoming like men. In appearance he was found as a man, and humbled himself and became obedient unto death, and even death on the cross" (Philippians 2:6-8).

The Lord Jesus grew up as a offspring "out of the stem of Jesse," as a shoot out of David's royal root that had been cut off. The descendants of the old royal family were simple and poor people. But this strain has given a shoot, a Child of poor people. He was born in a manger, on hay and straw, but most were disappointed in Him from  His birth. This image of the Messiah was not at all to the liking of the people of Israel. They needed a powerful Messiah who would break the Roman yoke and make them masters of the world.

Man took advantage of His humility to show Him the deepest contempt. He was the reproach of the people and the contempt of the people. The Lord Jesus Christ found no consolation for His pain, no comfort from men. Rejected with contempt by those whom he served out of love, in great distress, threatened even by those to whom he brought salvation, he nevertheless chose to show people the way to God in a hypocritical people who performed religious services, but were full of greed and fornication. They could not bear His life. He came to cleanse the gold from the dross on it, to pass through the melting fire the sons of Levi to cleanse them (Malachi 3:2,3). They did not like Him because He was acting moralist, telling them that they were sinners and that they needed forgiveness. They could not open their souls to see in the Lord Jesus the glory of God poured out on earth, because in His sacrifice on the cross the justice and mercy of God are so harmoniously combined.

3. Man of pain

Despised and forsaken by men, a man of sorrow, and accustomed to suffering, he was so despised that you turned your face away from him, and we paid no attention to him" (Isaiah 53:3).

But even after he grew up, he lived in the same humble state. When asked where you live, His answer was, "The Son of Man has nowhere to rest His head" (Luke 9:58). Sometimes He was received as a host in a house such as that of Mary of Bethany or of the tax collector Zacchaeus of Jericho, but most of the time no one received Him Even at His death He experienced the same humiliation. He died a humiliating death, on a cross, abandoned by the disciples, despised by the people, hanging there, alone, on the wood of infamy.

The Lord Jesus Christ found no consolation for His pain, no comfort from men. Despised by men, His soul turns to God the Father who left Him for a moment on the cross because He bore Himself with our sins. The Lord Jesus lived a life full of suffering and self-denial on this earth, being accustomed to pain and rejection from people.

4. The Messiah's Bearing of Our Burdens

"Yet He bore our sufferings, and took our sorrows upon Himself, and we thought that He was punished, smitten by God, and humbled" (Isaiah 53:4).

The Lord Jesus has borne the burdens of many since His life on earth. In the Gospels we read that many who were sick and possessed by demons were brought to Jesus and He, through His word, cast out unclean spirits and healed every sickness and infirmity (Matthew 8:17).

The human mind can understand to a very small extent the mystery of God's work. In the story of the woman suffering from bleeding we see that the Lord's healing came at a cost to Him. He felt a power come out of Him when the sick woman was healed. But the Lord Jesus took upon Himself not only the diseases of men, but also the cause of these diseases, namely, sin. God's Word tells us that human sickness and suffering are consequences of sin. As long as there was no sin, there was no pain, no suffering, and no death.

Jesus came into the world to be able to bear the burden of our sins. In the Garden of Gethsemane the Lord Jesus wept with more drops of blood. Before Him stood a bitter cup that He had to drink. God the Father has cast all the sins of mankind upon Himself. He was "the Lamb of God that takes away the sin of the world" (John 1:29). "He bore our sins in His body on the tree" (1 Peter 2:24). All people should be grateful for His sacrifice, but most of the time, people reject Him and are indifferent to His sacrifice. The prophet Isaiah sees these things beforehand, and that is why he wrote that "we thought he was being punished, smitten by God, and humbled."

What evil did the Lord Jesus do to be punished by God? The Roman governor Pilate said that he finds no fault in the Lord Jesus. And his wife was told not to do anything to this righteous one, for she suffered much in a dream because of Him (Matthew 27:19). Even Judas, the one who betrayed Him, confessed that he had sold "innocent blood." The centurion who stood guard at the cross of the Lord Jesus said with fear, "Truly this was the Son of God" (Matthew 27:4).

No one could bring any accusation against Him, not even the chief priests, because "He did no evil to anyone, and no deceit was found in His mouth" (1 Peter 1:22). Morally and legally, His death was an injustice. But the prophet Isaiah tells us that it was more than that: it was a death that forgives us of our sins.

5. The peace brought by the Messiah

"But He was pierced for our sins, crushed for our transgressions. The punishment that gives us peace has fallen upon Him, and through His stripes we are healed" (Isaiah 53:5).

God's justice requires that sin be punished, and the wages for sin is death. The Lord Jesus had to die for us. That is why the condemnation brought by the Law no longer has any power over us: "If one died for all, therefore all died" (2 Corinthians 5:14). Our Savior said "that whoever hears My words and believes in Him who sent Me has eternal life, and does not come to judgment, but has passed from death to life" (John 5:24).

If our life is, as we profess, a life of faith, then it should also be a life of peace. A life with spiritual ups and downs is not a pleasant one before God. We must receive by faith the truth that through His wounds we are healed. Healed of anger, ambitions, bitterness, greed for wealth, fornication. The sacrifice of Golgotha does not only mean forgiveness of sins, but also deliverance from the bondage of sin and liberation from the power of our Ego. The Apostle Paul wrote that "we know well that our old man was crucified with Him, that the body of sin might be stripped of its power, that we should no longer be slaves to sin" (Romans 6:6). Do we know well that our old man with his lusts, his ambitions, his egos is dead? Trust in God's Word first and you will live this truth!

6. Our Gathering Around the Messiah

We were all wandering like sheep, each one going his own way, but the Lord made our iniquity, of all of us, fall on Him. (Isaiah 53:6).

What saddens our lives the most and that of others around us is the power of our Ego. As long as your ego is on the throne of your heart, you are under bondage, because ego is a tyrant. He always has new and new desires that you will not be able to satisfy. Even the faithful man who deals only with himself and seeks only his advantages, is under the bondage of the Ego.

Before he knew the Lord, we each went astray. We were only concerned with ourselves and we were the center around which everything revolves. This self-centeredness brought us a lot of unhappiness. It seemed to us that those around us were too bold, or too cold, too proud or too modest and every time we found an opportunity to criticize something about others and we often got bitter. This sickness was healed by the Lord Jesus because He gathered us around Him to show His great mercy to us. He became our purpose and the center of our universe because we received from Him a future and hope (Jeremiah 29:11). Our will is to do His will: good, pleasant, and perfect (Romans 12:2).

7. The Silence The Holy Lamb of God

"When he was tormented and oppressed, he did not open his mouth at all, like a lamb that you bring to the slaughterhouse, and like a mute sheep before those who shear it: he did not open his mouth" (Isaiah 53:7).

The sin in us is most easily used by our language. "In the same way, the language is a small member and boasts of great things. Behold, a small fire, what a great forest it kindles!  The tongue is also a fire, it is a world of iniquity. She is the one of our members who defiles the whole body, and kindles the wheel of life, when it is kindled by the fire of hell" (James 3:5,6). Even when you want to master it, you don't succeed because no man can tame the tongue (James 3:8).

But the Lord Jesus never put his tongue at the service of sin, in his mouth there was no deceit, he was silent when we were urged by our nature to speak. When He spoke, people were moved by His words: "No man has spoken like this Man!" (John 7:46). When he stood in front of the Sanhedrin, it would have been enough to say a single word to apologize. When the high priest pressed him, He gave no answer. When He was slapped, beaten, and spat on, He was silent. Even the governor Pilate was astonished at Him because he did not respond to the serious accusations brought against him (Matthew 27:12-14).

Jesus was not silent because he was afraid or did not know what to say. He was not silent out of weakness. When the soldiers and their companions came to capture Him in the Garden of Gethsemane, they all fell to the ground as if they had been struck by lightning. He had all the power necessary to subdue the earth, but "He emptied Himself and took the form of a servant, becoming like men" (Philippians 2:7). But he could not contradict himself. When the High Priest asked Him, "Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?" "Yes, I am," Jesus replied. "And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of power and coming on the clouds of heaven." (Mark 14:61,62).

He was not silent out of fear, pride, lack of knowledge, but so that the Scripture might be fulfilled that portrayed the Lord Jesus as the lamb of God who does not open his mouth. Just as His entire life was a fulfillment of Scripture, His death must also be a fulfillment of Bible prophecy.

Then the Lord Jesus was silent because He patiently and without murmuring submitted to His Father's will. He knew that suffering and mockery awaited him, but he decided to go straight ahead and resolutely on the way of the cross. "In appearance he was found as a man, and humbled himself and became obedient unto death, and even death on the cross" (Philippians 2:8). Moreover, the silence of the Lord Jesus is a condemnation of our sins committed with the tongue: slander, lies, deceits, words of reproach, words with two meanings, jokes at the expense of others, accusations, excuses, insistence on taking one's own righteousness, taking the name of the Lord in vain. Also, by His silence appropriate at the time, He also condemned our silence when it is out of place. How many times have we not been silent when we should have confessed the name of the Lord or speak the truth, confess our sins and ask forgiveness from our neighbor. All this silence condemns us until we learn from Him what true silence means.

8. The Death of the Messiah

"He was taken away by oppression and judgment, but who of His day believed that He had been blotted out from the land of the living and smitten to death for the sins of My people?"(Isaiah 53:7).

The prophet Isaiah tells us that the Lord Jesus was wiped off the face of the earth, which means that he would suffer a terrible death. He suffered the pressure and judgment of sin. When Stephen died for the Lord Jesus, he was comforted by the Lord, it filled his heart with peace and joy when Stephen exclaimed that he saw heaven open and Jesus standing at the right hand of the Father.

At the death of the Lord Jesus there was no one to comfort Him. The sin of the world with which He carried Himself on the cross  caused the heavens above Him to darken. The evil one manifested his last blow when the Lord Jesus cried out: My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? God the Father forsook Him because His holiness cannot bear sin. Until then, God had overlooked sin and had not judged the world in the time of His long patience (Romans 3:25). God has had much patience with fallen humanity, but now His judgment is revealed with anger against His Son. God judges sin in Him who was made sin for us.

On the cross, the Lord Jesus knew the terror of man forsaken by God. But the Lord Jesus was delivered from the terror of God's judgment, because afterwards there followed a cry of victory: "It is finished"! and a complete trust in God: "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!"

9. Destroying people's plans

"His pit was set among the wicked, and His tomb with the rich, though He had committed no iniquity, and no deceit had been found in His mouth." (Isaiah 53:9).

According to Roman custom, the condemned were to be buried right near the place of execution in a mass grave. Though He was counted among the robbers on the cross, now, after His death, when His work was finished, He was freed from the penalty of iniquity. Joseph of Arimathea obtained Pilate's approval to place him in the tomb carved into the rock that he had prepared for himself. God thus destroys the plans of the people who wanted His tomb to be among the wicked.

God rehabilitated His name and exalted Him greatly, "for there is no other name under heaven than men, in whom there must be salvation" (Acts 4:12). From the point of view of salvation, it is irrelevant if you are baptized, if you worship or go to church regularly, if you confess, receive communion as long as you have not knelt before the cross of the Lord Jesus and asked for forgiveness and redemption for your sins.

On the cross of Golgotha the Lord Jesus endured the horror of hell, the torment of being forsaken by God, the judgment of God which is terrible:  "It is a great thing to fall into the hands of the living God!" (Hebrews 10:31). The sacrifice of the Lord Jesus is our shelter from God's wrath for our sins. It is only under the cross of Golgotha that the fire of God's judgment has long since been extinguished, and there we can take shelter from the wrath that is to come upon the whole world. Have you found this shelter?

10. Prosperity of God's Work

"The Lord found it expedient to crush Him by suffering. But after he has given his life as a sin offering, he will see a seed of seed, and he will live many days, and the work of the Lord will prosper in his hands" (Isaiah 53:10).

After killing the Lord Jesus, the most important priests thought they had finished with this "heresy", but even from the first day of the week the news spread that the Lord Jesus had risen. Only a few weeks later, on the occasion of the feast of Pentecost, the apostle Peter had a powerful speech that he had reached, through the Holy Spirit, 3,000 people. Then the same apostle performed miracles at the gate of the Temple and spoke boldly by the power of the Holy Spirit (Acts 4:9-12).

We see from Peter's speech the same open way of speaking that could also be seen in his Lord. It was no longer the same Peter who denied the Lord Jesus. It is observed that when the grain of wheat fell to the ground, it bore fruit and the seed in the ear is the same as the grain that was sown. The Lord Jesus died to give birth to people like Him, of the same nature as His. But the grain of wheat always bears fruit. Each seed that falls to the ground brings new seeds. No matter how many Christians were killed, new ones rose up behind them, having the same nature as the Lord Jesus, living in holiness to one another. Every true Christian lives, to his own extent, the life of the Lord Jesus. The Apostle Paul said that he no longer lives, but Christ lives in him (Galatians 2:20). Can we say this about ourselves?

If Christians do not glorify Him by their behavior, their testimony remains powerless, and the world ends up mocking the name of the Lord. If someone has surrendered himself to the Lord body and soul and committed his fate into His hand, then He will do His work of liking Him and bringing forth the fruit of the Holy Spirit: "The fruit of the Spirit, on the contrary, is: love, joy, peace, longsuffering, goodness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control" (Galatians 5:22-23). If you surrender to Him wholeheartedly, He will pour out His love through the Holy Spirit (Romans 5:5) who will heal our hearts of our selfishness. Then it will not be difficult for you to forgive, to love and to sacrifice yourself. The Lord Jesus wants to make you His seed. Will you let him do it?

The enemy will try his best to hinder and destroy the Lord's work, and therefore he persecutes and weighs heavily on the Lord's children. Personalities and state institutions are mobilized by Satan to fight against God's children. Yet God testifies through the mouth of the prophet that the Lord's work will prosper in His hands. The gospel spreads rapidly, and the kingdom of God expands. Every Christian knows that he is called to confess the Lord and when he leaves himself in His hand, he becomes a tool through which His rivers of blessings flow. The Word of God tells us that "cries of victory and salvation are lifted up in the tabernacles of the righteous: the right hand of the Lord wins the victory! The right hand of the Lord is lifted up; the right hand of the Lord wins the victory!" (Psalm 118:15-16).

11. The Resurrection of the Messiah's Soul

"He will see the fruit of His soul's labor, and He will be refreshed. By His knowledge, My righteous servant will put many people in a condition according to the will of God, and will take upon Himself the burden of their iniquities" (Isaiah 53:11).

It is true that the work of the soul is the hardest work, because then your whole being is concentrated. The soul of the Lord Jesus was labored by care for all lost souls. In the Garden of Gethsemane we can see a little of what this battle of the soul means. He was seized with a mortal sorrow and burdened with an exhausting weight.

God's Word says that those who work expect a reward. That is why the Lord Jesus also wants to be refreshed by the fruit of His soul's work. If we only like ourselves and revolve around ourselves, if we keep things hidden that are not pleasing to God, the Lord Jesus cannot rejoice in you. The Apostle John says that God hears our prayers if we keep His commandments and do what is pleasing to Him (1 John 3:22). God delights in believers who desire to do His will, who are wholly surrendered to God.  Is your life a refreshment for the Lord Jesus? He will be refreshed by you if you have a close relationship with the Lord Jesus, who speaks to us through His Word and His Spirit who dwells in us, and we speak to Him in prayer. He will then guide us in His way. When you enter into such a relationship with the Lord Jesus, He boldly fulfills His promises to you, and you will no longer need to strive to be a righteous man, for He will make you such a man.

12. The Ascension of the Messiah

 "Therefore I will give His share with the great, and He will divide the spoil with the mighty, because He gave Himself to death, and was numbered in the number of the wicked, because He bore the sins of many, and prayed for the guilty" (Isaiah 53:12).

The lamb that was slain remains the center of the universe forever. The entire Bible speaks of the sacrifice of the Lord Jesus, starting from Adam and Eve who sinned and for whom God made clothing of the skin of sacrificed animals, to the blood of the paschal lamb and the other sacrifices of the Law of Moses and up to the prophecies of the Old Testament, all of which prefigured the true Lamb of God. That is why in heaven the song is sung: "Worthy is the Lamb who was slain to receive power, riches, wisdom, strength, honor, glory and praise!" (Revelation 5:12).

Although the Righteous One was placed among the transgressors, He prayed for the guilty and asked the Father to forgive them. In His obedience to the Father, He drank the bitter cup to the bottom. "Therefore God also exalted Him exceedingly, and gave Him the name that is above every name; that in the name of Jesus every knee of those in heaven and on earth and under the earth  should bow, and every tongue should confess to the glory of God the Father that Jesus Christ is Lord" (Philippians 2:9-11).

In the Apocalypse there is talk of a "great multitude that no one could number, of every nation, of every tribe, of every people, and of every tongue, who stood before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed in white garments, with palm branches in their hands,  and cried out with a loud voice and said, "Salvation is of our God, who sits on the throne, and of the Lamb!" (Revelation 7:9-10). Do you want to be part of this crowd of people who praise His name?