ISAIAH 53: THE LAMB'S DEATH
(Message by Tanny Keng)
1. Isaiah 53
a) This is a study of one of the key chapters in Isaiah, namely chapter 53. Verse 7 is a key verse in the chapter. It speaks of one "led like a lamb to the slaughter" whom we understand to be Jesus Christ who was crucified.
b) When the man from Ethiopia was reading this chapter as he rode home in his chariot, he was puzzled as to whom this "lamb" might be. He asked Philip the evangelist to explain it to him, and Philip "preached Jesus to him". (Acts 8:26-39).
c) John the Baptizer heralded Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29).
d) In the vision John had of heaven, he saw "a Lamb standing as if slain" and this Lamb was honored and worshiped as God (Revelation 5:6, 12-14).
e) We therefore take Isaiah chapter 53 as a prophecy about Jesus Christ.
f) Here is one of the three points of the chapter.
2. The Lamb’s Death
Isaiah 53:5-9
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
a) Isaiah 53:5-9 show three important aspects of the death of Christ. The very name "Lamb of God" would have no significance but for the death of Christ.
i) Suffered in our stead
@1. In every line of Isaiah 53:5-6, we find a contrasts of "he-him-his" with "we-us-our". These echo the contrast and develop the message in the first part of verse 4. Now, in verses 5-7, Isaiah emphasizes that Christ’s punishment and death is vicarious. A vicarious act is one that is done on behalf of another, or in another’s stead. Christ was punished not for any crime or sin of his own, but for yours and mine, that you and I could have our punishment cancelled. He suffered and died on our behalf that we ourselves should not suffer what is our due. Caiaphas the high priest said, "It is fitting for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish" (John 11:47-52). You will note John’s comment, that Jesus not only died for his own people and nation, but also "for the children of God who are scattered abroad" over all the world (John 11:52, 1 John 2:2). Peter nicely summarizes this wondrous fact about Christ’s death: "Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God..." (1 Peter 3:18).
ii) Suffered silently
@1. Jesus died with the meek submission of a lamb. He did not revile or curse those who punished him. "He did not open his mouth" (Isaiah 53:7). "While he was being accused by the chief priests and elders, he made no reply... and he did not answer Pilate with regard to even a single accusation" (Matthew 27:12). Again Peter nicely summarizes this fact about about Christ’s death: "He committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth. While being reviled, he did not revile in return. He spoke no threats, but kept his trust towards him who judges righteously" (1 Peter 2:21-25).
iii) Suffered unjustly
@1. Isaiah 53:8-9 predict that the life of Christ would be cut short by oppression and injustice. As it turned out, he was taken into custody by a crooked court, humiliated and killed like a criminal. Only his burial was allowed some dignity, lent by a rich man’s grave. The passage ends with the injustice of his death. He was taken from life "even though he had committed no violence, nor was any deceit found in his mouth" (Isaiah 53:9). Peter, again, on the day of Pentecost, voiced the injustice of killing Christ. "A man attested to you by God... as you yourselves know... you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death" (Acts 2:22-23).
The End ...
1. Isaiah 53a) This is a study of one of the key chapters in Isaiah, namely chapter 53. Verse 7 is a key verse in the chapter. It speaks of one "led like a lamb to the slaughter" whom we understand to be Jesus Christ who was crucified.
b) When the man from Ethiopia was reading this chapter as he rode home in his chariot, he was puzzled as to whom this "lamb" might be. He asked Philip the evangelist to explain it to him, and Philip "preached Jesus to him". (Acts 8:26-39).
c) John the Baptizer heralded Jesus as "the Lamb of God who takes away the sins of the world" (John 1:29).
d) In the vision John had of heaven, he saw "a Lamb standing as if slain" and this Lamb was honored and worshiped as God (Revelation 5:6, 12-14).
e) We therefore take Isaiah chapter 53 as a prophecy about Jesus Christ.
f) Here is one of the three points of the chapter.
2. The Lamb’s Death
Isaiah 53:5-9
5 But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
6 All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the Lord has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
a) Isaiah 53:5-9 show three important aspects of the death of Christ. The very name "Lamb of God" would have no significance but for the death of Christ.
i) Suffered in our stead
@1. In every line of Isaiah 53:5-6, we find a contrasts of "he-him-his" with "we-us-our". These echo the contrast and develop the message in the first part of verse 4. Now, in verses 5-7, Isaiah emphasizes that Christ’s punishment and death is vicarious. A vicarious act is one that is done on behalf of another, or in another’s stead. Christ was punished not for any crime or sin of his own, but for yours and mine, that you and I could have our punishment cancelled. He suffered and died on our behalf that we ourselves should not suffer what is our due. Caiaphas the high priest said, "It is fitting for you that one man should die for the people, and that the whole nation should not perish" (John 11:47-52). You will note John’s comment, that Jesus not only died for his own people and nation, but also "for the children of God who are scattered abroad" over all the world (John 11:52, 1 John 2:2). Peter nicely summarizes this wondrous fact about Christ’s death: "Christ died for sins once for all, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God..." (1 Peter 3:18).
ii) Suffered silently
@1. Jesus died with the meek submission of a lamb. He did not revile or curse those who punished him. "He did not open his mouth" (Isaiah 53:7). "While he was being accused by the chief priests and elders, he made no reply... and he did not answer Pilate with regard to even a single accusation" (Matthew 27:12). Again Peter nicely summarizes this fact about about Christ’s death: "He committed no sin, nor was any deceit found in his mouth. While being reviled, he did not revile in return. He spoke no threats, but kept his trust towards him who judges righteously" (1 Peter 2:21-25).
iii) Suffered unjustly
@1. Isaiah 53:8-9 predict that the life of Christ would be cut short by oppression and injustice. As it turned out, he was taken into custody by a crooked court, humiliated and killed like a criminal. Only his burial was allowed some dignity, lent by a rich man’s grave. The passage ends with the injustice of his death. He was taken from life "even though he had committed no violence, nor was any deceit found in his mouth" (Isaiah 53:9). Peter, again, on the day of Pentecost, voiced the injustice of killing Christ. "A man attested to you by God... as you yourselves know... you nailed to a cross by the hands of godless men and put him to death" (Acts 2:22-23).
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