ISAIAH 53

As we approach Easter, it's good to look at what Jesus actually accomplished at the cross for us.

One of the most amazing passages is Isaiah 53, which gives the most detailed account of what Jesus did for us at the cross.

I'm going to use Rick Renner's material. He does a word-by-word breakdown of Isaiah 53, starting at v3

Isaiah 53:3 “He was despised and rejected by mankind”

The word despised paints a picture of disdain and scorn. He was subjected to extreme derision by religious leaders, guards, soldiers and political figures alike. On the night of His betrayal, the religious leaders descended upon Him like a nest of vipers, unleashing their venom and hate. The Roman soldiers then mocked Him and cursed Him. They yanked the beard from His face and put a crown of sharp thorns on his head and then had him whipped to a pulp. Rejected means abandoned and or forsaken. It portrays a person isolated, shunned from society and avoided by all those around him by the very people he came to save. Even Jesus' disciples fled.

“ A man of suffering or sorrows and familiar with pain.”

Sorrow is translated as physical torment,  deep anguish, acute pain, and profound suffering.  It’s a Greek word that depicts a scourge that was used by Roman soldiers to torturously rip open the human body and shred it to pieces. So the word includes both emotional and physical torment.

Familiar with pain or grief. This undeniably refers to physical and mental afflictions of the body and mind, diseases, illnesses and sickness. Some try to spiritualize this as a metaphorical illness.  The Hebrew word does not allow for that.

The use of the word grief or pain underscores that Christ personally experienced and tasted physical and mental disease and sickness in His redemptive work on the cross.

We will carry on next week.