Isaiah 53 - Raised AND Lifted Up AND Highly Exalted
- Chad Werkhoven
- 1 hour ago
- 5 min read
Your Savior was made low like you to raise you up like Him!
Isaiah 52:13–53:12 (NIV)
52:13 See, my servant will act wisely;
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
14 Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
and his form marred beyond human likeness—
15 so he will sprinkle many nations,
and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
and what they have not heard, they will understand.
53 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by mankind,
a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.
4 Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted.
5 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.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to our own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors.
Heidelberg Catechism
Q&A 37
Q. What do you understand by the word “suffered” in the Apostles' Creed?
A. That during his whole life on earth,
but especially at the end,
Christ sustained
in body and soul
the anger of God against the sin of the whole human race.
This he did in order that,
by his suffering as the only atoning sacrifice,
he might set us free, body and soul,
from eternal condemnation,
and gain for us
God’s grace,
righteousness,
and eternal life.
Summary
Today's passage comprises the fourth of four servant songs that come near the end of Isaiah's long book which describe the coming Messiah. This becomes apparent when we jump into this song at its actual beginning, a few clicks before chapter 53 officially gets underway. Isaiah prophesies, See, my servant will act wisely. Then Isaiah adds some poetic repetition to add emphasis: He will be raised AND lifted up AND highly exalted.
Those words sound like fairly standard fodder for praise - chances are you sang a song this past Sunday that included one or all of those words, and maybe, like Isaiah, they were oft repeated. Chances are they'll be sung again in your church this coming Sunday and almost every Sunday following.
But we don't often stop to think about the implications of those words. On one hand, in order for the Messiah to be raised up, He must first have been made low, and our Savior certainly was: His appearance was appalling, disfigured, marred. He suffered, was despised and rejected, suffered and was familiar with pain.
The Messiah experienced these depths in our place! He took up our pain and bore our suffering; He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; His punishment brought us peace, by His wounds we are healed, for the LORD has laid on Him the iniquity of us all.
Dig Deeper
Let's remember Isaiah's main point: the One who poured out His life unto death and who was assigned a grave with the wicked would be raised AND lifted up AND highly exalted.
In His mighty presence, kings will shut their mouths because of Him (image that!). Even though the LORD makes His life an offering for sin, He will see His offspring and prolong His days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in His hand. And after He has suffered, He will see the light of life and be satisfied. Having been raised AND lifted up AND highly exalted, He will continue to justify many and bear their iniquities.
Just as yesterday's passage is often read during the Christmas season, today's often is part of Lent & Easter, and most of the time people assume that the passage begins where chapter 53 begins. But our ancient friends who came along to conveniently add chapter and verse designations didn't always get it right, as we've seen today. The first verse of chapter 53 is almost sort of an aside from the passage in general. Isaiah, amazed at what the Holy Spirit was revealing, cries out who would have believed what we just heard?!? (NET Bible).
Do you believe it? Do you believe that the Son of God was punished by God, stricken by Him and afflicted so that you could be raised AND lifted up AND highly exalted right along with Him?
ACKNOWLEDGE WHO GOD IS: Our Father, whose will was to crush our Savior and cause Him to suffer so that we may be justified and forgiven;
ALIGN YOUR LIFE WITH GOD'S WILL: Pray that God would strengthen your faith that you might always know that your Savior was made low like you to raise you up like Him;
ASK GOD FOR WHAT YOU NEED:
