Last night I was reading the “forbidden” chapter of Isaiah. It is said that the vast majority of synagogues around the world never open their scrolls to Isaiah 53 because the leaders don’t want their congregants asking, “Who is this man?” “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisements of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all” (53:4-6). I want to ask you to do something right now. Take out your Bible and read the twelve verses that are in chapter 53. Read them slowly, maybe even use a yellow highlighter. The words that jump off the page, mark them. After you have spent time slowly reading through this chapter, go to the gospels and read the story of the crucifixion. Matthew 26:26-61; Mark 15; Luke 23:10-49; John 19:13-42. Once you have read them, remember what you saw back in Isaiah 53.

A beautiful doctrine we experience as Christians is called Imputation. It has to do with substitution. It means to “charge to another’s account.” Jesus took our guilt, sin, and unrighteousness upon himself and in turn gave us his righteousness. Our enmity against God was made into peace all because of the cross. Let me give you three thoughts about Isaiah 53.

  1. Jesus became a “man of Sorrows.” 53:3 calls the Messiah just that, a “man of sorrows.” Why? Because the sinless Son of God knew how guilty we were without any hope of ourselves all the while knowing our guilt must be paid for. The holiness and justice of God demanded payment and we had no way to pay. It was sorrowful for Jesus, the impeccable God to look into the cup in Gethsemane and see all the dregs of the world he was going to take upon himself. But because he loved us…
  2. Jesus became our Substitute. Look back at the portion of Isaiah included in the first paragraph. Notice the words that are underlined. “Our, we, us, everyone” are all included in what the man of Isaiah 53 had to do to make the people right before God. He took our place, which brings us to the last word.
  3. Jesus became our Sacrifice. Sacrificial offerings were a way of life in ancient Israel. Everyone was commanded to come with a sacrificial offering during certain times of the year such as Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement. Blood was to be shed so that the sins of a man, his family, and the nation could be covered. Every year, without fail, the people would come, and the ritual would be performed again and again. But John the Baptist was baptizing in the Jordan River one day in the wilderness of Israel and the Lord Jesus walked down toward the bank of muddy Jordan. John speaks loudly so all can hear his message. “Behold the Lamb of God, that takes away the sin of the world” (John 1:29). The epistle of Hebrews declares that Jesus, the supreme sacrifice, only had to be offered once. The one-time Jesus died on the cross was all that was needed for every man, woman, boy and girl to be saved if they’ll come to him by faith. He was sent from heaven.

In high school, we were required to read certain classics for literature. One of those books was “A Tale of Two Cities” by Charles Dickens. I thought about this story because my mind was jogged by a commentary. I was studying Isaiah 53 and I hadn’t thought about this book in ages. Most people know about Dickens mainly because of “A Christmas Carol” and old Ebenezer Scrooge. In “A Tale of Two Cities” one of the characters is named Carton. He hadn’t been a good man, but he switches places with another man who is jailed and is to be beheaded in the morning. The next day, just before the execution, a young lady sees what has happened. She also is to be executed and she speaks to Carton saying, “I think you were sent to me by heaven.” The character in the book becomes a hero but it’s just a character in a book. However, Jesus was sent from heaven. He took upon himself flesh and dwelt among us (John 1:14). He lived a sinless life fulfilling everything God required. He came to die for the sins of the world. I don’t shun Isaiah 53, I embrace it. The actions taken by God and man in this chapter were extremely horrible, so much so that they couldn’t even tell he was a man from the beatings (52:14). But it was all allowed so you and I could receive a reconciliation with the Lord. Jesus did this for us because he loves us even in our sinful condition. Our salvation is complete in Christ. Hallelujah.