On Isa 52:13-53:12:
The Lord introduces his servant
(52:13) and announces first of all the servant’s exaltation. God then begins a
description of the servant’s suffering and degradation. The substitutionary
nature of his suffering is emphasized by the use of the word “our” and “he”
throughout the passage. “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering . .
. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are
healed” (Isa 53:4-6).
To say that he “took up our pain”
is to say that he took it away. But the verb nasa means also a lifting
up and carrying. The parallel between “took up” and “bore” in verse 4 indicates
this meaning. The servant takes the sicknesses (consequences of sin) that
belong to humans and lifts them upon himself and bears them away. Peter brings
out this meaning when he alludes to Isaiah: “He himself bore our sins in his
body on the tree” (1 Pet 2:24). He suffers in his own body the punishment for
sins. He bears sin’s consequences. Ezekiel 18:20 likewise uses this idea of
bearing the consequences: “The child will not share the guilt [‘bear (nasa)
the iniquity’ KJV] of the parent, nor will the parent share the guilt of the
child.” Christ, as the servant of the Lord, not only carries sins away, he also
bears the consequences of sin.
Isaiah 53:5 brings out the reason
for the servant’s suffering: “He was pierced for our transgressions, he was
crushed for our iniquities,” meaning he bears the penalty that is rightfully
due to humankind. This is not to say that humanity’s sins are transferred to
him. Emphasizing the substitutionary nature of his suffering, verse 5 also
states that “the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds
we are healed.” There is an exchange: he suffers, and humans are given peace. He
is wounded: humans are healed.
Isaiah 53:6 makes it clear that
it is the will of the Lord that the servant bear the consequences, or penalty,
for sin: “The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.” Iniquity is not
something that can be literally “laid on” a person. The verse is saying that
the servant is suffering the consequences of the iniquity of others.
Isaiah 53:10 says, “Yet it was
the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer.” The NIV brings out the
understanding that the Lord’s “pleasure” (“it pleased the Lord to bruise him” KJV)
is in the accomplishment of his own will, meaning that the death of Jesus
functions for the divine purpose of redemption. The Hebrew mind views the Lord
as the ultimate cause of all things, and in this sense he causes the servant to
suffer. Verse 10 also links sacrificial language with substitution: “The Lord
makes his life an offering for sin.” The sacrifice of both the Father and Son is
that Jesus becomes the substitute, bearing the penalty for sin. The substitutionary
element does not mean that grace comes through a transfer of punishment but
that the servant bears the consequences of the sins of others. When Moses
offered to bear the punishment for the Israelites’ worship of the golden calf,
God declined to punish him, simply stating, “Whoever has sinned against me I
will blot out of my book” (Exod 32:33). This indicates God was unwilling to
accept a substitute, even if one were to volunteer.
In Isaiah 53, verses 10-12 repeat
the statement of the Suffering Servant’s exaltation that begins the passage
(52:13), emphasizing his victory. As a result of his expiatory offering he will
“see his offspring and prolong his days,” “see the light of life and be
satisfied,” “justify many,” and receive “a portion among the great”—words that
bring to mind the exaltation of Revelation 5:12: “Worthy is the Lamb, who was
slain, to receive power and wealth and wisdom and strength and honor and glory
and praise!”
The doctrine of the vicarious
suffering of the servant of Isaiah 53 is also found in the NT. However, none of
these passages, or all of them together, amount to a doctrine of Christ propitiating
God. (Vee Chandler, Victorious Substitution: Exploring the Nature of Salvation
and Christ’s Atoning Work [Eugene, Oreg.: Wipf & Stock, 2025], 112-14)
