Isaiah 53 is the Bible passage of which scholars have said, “It is the holy of holies of Isaiah.” Of the 40 direct quotations from and roughly 210 allusions to the Book of Isaiah in the New Testament, most come from Isaiah 53. Clearly, it is a pivotal chapter, and one whose significance modern-day rabbis have attempted to explain away by insisting it refers to Israel as a nation, not the Messiah. The preceding chapter ends with the suffering and glory of the Servant we looked at in detail last week in Isaiah 42 and 49, and Isaiah continues with that theme in this wonderful text in which he describes:

Outline:

1. The Servant despised (vv. 1-3)
2. The Servant wounded (vv. 4-6)
3. The Servant cut off (vv. 7-9)
4. The Servant satisfied (vv. 10-12)

We’re going to limit ourselves to the first two points this week and save the last two for next week.