Who is the “Suffering Servant”?

 

To prove that any Scripture MUST refer to Jesus, one must establish that not only CAN it apply to Jesus, but that it CAN’T apply to anyone else. Otherwise, it’s not valid as a proof. I will show in this document that not only CAN Isaiah 53 apply to someone other than Jesus, but that it’s more evident that it does.

 

Firstly,  it is essential for those interested in possessing a clear understanding of Isaiah 53 to carefully read the surrounding chapters. The context of Isaiah 53 immediately reveals that the prophet is speaking of the nation of Israel in the singular. As in Isaiah 53, Isaiah 52 and 54 clearly identify Israel in the singular, suffering innocently as a result of the vile wickedness of the gentile nations. In addition, all three of these chapters vividly describe the glorious redemption of Israel in full view of the gentiles, her former persecutors.

Behold, My servant shall prosper: he shall be exalted, extolled, and raised very high.

 (Isaiah 52:13 )

You will note that nowhere in Hebrew Scripture is the Messiah referred to as “My servant”. Israel is, and especially in the Book of Isaiah. (Cf: Isaiah 41:8, 43:10, 44:1, 44:21, 45:4, 48:20, 49:3, 42:19 et al)

 

Just as many were astonished at you, [saying] "His appearance is too marred to be that of a man, and his form to be that of the sons of men."

 (Isaiah 52:14)

This fits with other descriptions of Israel in the Book of Isaiah, such as:

“Where could you still be smitten, that you continue to rebel? Every head is sick and every heart faint. From the sole of the foot even to the head there is no soundness in it, but bruises and sores and bleeding wounds; they are neither pressed out nor bound up nor softened with oil.”

(Isaiah 1:5--6 )

 

So shall he startle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them, they shall see, and that which they have not heard, they shall understand.

(Isaiah 52:15)

The world will be stunned by Israel’s relationship with God. Again, consistent with:

“Kings shall be your foster fathers, and their queens your nursing mothers; with their faces to the ground they shall bow down to you and lick the dust of your feet-then you will know that I am the Lord; those who wait for Me shall not be put to shame.”

(Isaiah 60:10)

 

Who would have believed our report, and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?

(Isaiah 53:1)

The nations will not see God's mighty arm of salvation until the beginning of the Messianic Era, as stated:

“The Lord has bared His holy arm before the eyes of all the nations; and all the ends of the earth shall see the salvation of our God.”

(Isaiah 52:10)

 

He grew up before Him like a tender plant, like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or comeliness that we should look upon him, and no beauty that we should delight in him.

 (Isaiah 53:2)

This is a description of the Jewish people growing from infancy to nationhood in the desert, after the exodus from Egypt:

“ [God] led you through the great and dreadful wilderness, with its fiery serpents and scorpions and thirsty ground, for there was no water....”

Deuteronomy 8:15

Israel is referred to as a vine or plant in many places, including Psalms 80:9-11 and Isaiah 5:7.

 

He was despised and forsaken by men; a man of pains, and accustomed to disease; and like one from whom men hide their faces, he was despised and we esteemed him not.

(Isaiah 53:3)

In Biblical Hebrew, although the word "ish," literally means "man," it frequently refers to many, as it does here. (Cf. Judges 20:17, 20:22, I Samuel 17:2 )

 

Surely he has borne our diseases and endured our pains; yet we thought him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded because of our transgressions, crushed because of our iniquities; the chastisement of our welfare was upon him, and by his injury we were healed. Like sheep we all went astray. Everyone turned to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

(Isaiah 53:4-6)

 

Israel suffers not only for its own sins but also as a result of the sins of those nations among whom they dwell. The fact is that Jews, because they are elect, suffer. Election carries responsibilities, some of which are not pleasant, but, in the end, faithful Israel will be rewarded.

 

Alternatively, the servant's enemies admit that his suffering stemmed from their own sinful imposition of hardships upon the servant. The servant of the Lord suffers not on behalf of others' sins but because of the things that sinful men do to him. Throughout the ages, the Jew has "bor[ne] the sin of many": unjustly accused and denied a fair trial, he has all too often been "numbered with the transgressors" and made to "pour out his soul to death." Yet, amid all this persecution, the Jews have relentlessly "interceded for the [Gentile] transgressors," in compliance with:

“And seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will have peace.”

(Jeremiah 29:7)

 

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter and like a sheep that is dumb before its shearers, he opened not his mouth.

 

Jesus did "open his mouth" on the cross:

“About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice: "Eoli, Eoli, lama sabachthani?" that is: "My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?"

(Matthew 27:46)

 

By oppression and judgment he was taken away, and with his generation, who considered? For he was cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due.

(Isaiah 53:8)

The translation of dor, which is generally rendered as "generation" is to be understood here as meaning "life's history" or "life's cycle." What is involved here is not just the suffering servant's life-span but the entire spectrum of events contained within those years. (Cf. Isaiah 38:12). The repentant Gentiles are asking, in effect: Who is able to properly relate all the trials and tribulations suffered by the servant during his passage through history?

 

Can this apply to Jesus? The general context of this verse indicates that the word may-'otser should not be translated as "by oppression" but in accordance with its derivation from 'etser, denoting "domination," "sovereignty," and thus the beginning of the verse should read: "From dominion and judgment. . . ." Accordingly, the verse does not refer to how the servant was taken away but refers, rather, to what he was taken away from. Can this be applied to Jesus? From what dominion and judgment was Jesus taken away? He never had any power as a ruler to lose. He was never deprived of any office. ". . . the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for many"

 (Matthew 20:28, Cf. John 18:36)

 

You will also note that the word “lamo” in this verse means “them” not “him”. This is supported by the fifty four places it is used in the Hebrew Scriptures. That the plural lamo, in verse 8, refers to the suffering servant of the Lord as a collective noun excludes any possibility that it pertains to an individual. As a result, it cannot refer to Jesus. The suffering servant of the Lord is a collective noun and, as such, does not refer to a specific Israelite.

 

And they made his grave with the wicked and his deaths among the rich, although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth.

(Isaiah 53:9)

 

Jesus made his grave with the rich, not the wicked, (Matthew 27:57, 59-60) and died among the wicked, not the rich (Matthew 27:38)

Jesus is known to have committed violent acts:

“In the morning, as [Jesus] was returning to the city, he was hungry. And seeing a fig tree by the wayside he went to it, and found nothing on it but leaves only. And he said to it: "May no fruit ever come from you again!" And the fig tree dried up at once.”

(Matthew 21:18—19)

Note that he also violated the prohibition of destroying fruit trees mentioned in Deut. 20:19-20

More violence can be found in: Matthew 12:27 (killed a herd of swine,) John 2:13--15 (kicked out the money changers).

 

It is important to note that the assertion here is not that Israel never sinned. It merely states that Israel’s sin is not commensurate with the degree of punishment. You will agree that the atrocities of the Holocaust, Inquisition, pogroms or Crusades were not justified by the actions of the nation. This concept can be found in the New Testament, in fact when Jesus states about a blind man:

“Jesus answered, Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him.”

(John 9:3)

 

Yet it pleased the Lord to crush him by disease, to see if his soul would offer itself in restitution, in order that he might see his seed [and] prolong his days, and that the will of the Lord might prosper by his hand.

(Isaiah 53:10)

One major purpose of Israel's suffering is to make restitution to God for its sins, thereby rendering them completely forgiven.

Jesus' days were not prolonged, nor did he "see his seed"; he died childless approximately at the age of 31. Note the word “zera” which ALWAYS refers to literal, biological children, as opposed to “bonim”, which means figurative offspring.

(As an aside here, please note that this observation also defeats the claim in Galatians 3:16^:

“Now to Abraham and his seed were the promises made. He saith not, And to seeds, as of many; but as of one, And to thy seed, which is Christ”

The word for “seed” used in connection with Abraham is “zera” (Cf. Gen. 17). You will also note that the word “seeds” (as plural) is never used in connection with progeny.)

 

He shall see the travail of his soul and be satisfied; by his knowledge did My servant justify the Righteous One to the many, and bear their iniquities.

(Isaiah 53:11)

The Jews have certainly borne the iniquities of the Gentiles: throughout history, they have been discriminated against, oppressed, tortured, raped, robbed, and murdered. By submitting themselves to this treatment and acknowledging it to be His will, they have justified and sanctified God's Name. In the Messianic Era, as stated, the nations will realize this self-sacrifice and the Jewish people will be satisfied and rewarded:

 

Therefore I will give him a portion among the great and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; for he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with transgressors, yet he bore the sin of many and interceded for the transgressors.

(Isaiah 53:12)

Throughout the ages, the Jew has "bor[ne] the sin of many": unjustly accused and denied a fair trial, he has all too often been "numbered with the transgressors" and made to "pour out his soul to death." Yet, amid all this persecution, the Jews have relentlessly "interceded for the [Gentile] transgressors," in compliance with:

“And seek the welfare of the city to which I have exiled you, and pray to the Lord on its behalf, for in its welfare you will have peace.”

(Isaiah 53:12)

In summary, even if somehow one could relate this passage to an individual, and one could defend some way to include Jesus in the list of candidates who fits it, there is nothing that uniquely identifies Jesus as the subject more than any other individual who died a brutal death. Amazingly, the justification that Christians use to identify Jesus as the Messiah despite his failure to accomplish ANY Messianic role is by linking his death to his alleged forgiveness of sins (something that has never been understood to be a Messianic role) implied in this passage. The one thing that identifies Jesus as the Messiah happens to be something that no one ever saw him do.