Since God has shown that man needs a sacrifice to atone for his sins, since He declares that animal sacrifices under the law were not pleasing to Him in that they could not satisfy His will and holiness, and since the ransom to be paid for the man's soul is greater than any man can purchase, it becomes apparent that God must prepare an atonement for him if he is to be saved. He has shown His goodness toward us in providing the things that are necessary for our physical well-being. Logically we presume that, since He made man in His image, He is desirous to provide all things that are necessary for our souls and will do so. This He has promised in the great servant passage found in Isaiah 52:13--53:12. This prediction is such a marvelous and a vital one that I wish to give it both in the Hebrew text and the English translation:

הִנֵּה יַשְׂכִּיל עַבְדִּי יָרוּם וְנִשָּׂא וְגָבַהּ מְאֹד: כַּאֲשֶׁר שָׁמְמוּ עָלֶיךָ רַבִּים כֵּן־מִשְׁחַת מֵאִישׁ מַרְאֵהוּ וְתֹאֲרוֹ מִבְּנֵי אָדָם: כֵּן יַזֶּה גּוֹיִם רַבִּים עָלָיו יִקְפְּצוּ מְלָכִים פִּיהֶם כִּי אֲשֶׁר לֹא־סֻפַּר לָהֶם רָאוּ וַאֲשֶׁר לֹא־שָׁמְעוּ הִתְבּוֹנָנוּ׃

מִי הֶאֱמִין לִשְׁמֻעָתֵנוּ וּזְרוֹעַ יְהוָה עַל־מִי נִגְלָתָה: וַיַּעַל כַּיּוֹנֵק לְפָנָיו וְכַשֹּׁרֶשׁ מֵאֶרֶץ צִיָּה לֹא־תֹאַר לוֹ וְלֹא הָדָר וְנִרְאֵהוּ וְלֹא־מַרְאֶה וְנֶחְמְדֵהוּ׃ נִבְזֶה וַחֲדַל אִישִׁים אִישׁ מַכְאֹבוֹת וִידוּעַ חֹלִי וּכְמַסְתֵּר פָּנִים מִמֶּנּוּ נִבְזֶה וְלֹא חֲשַׁבְנֻהוּ׃ אָכֵן חֳלָיֵנוּ הוּא נָשָׂא וּמַכְאֹבֵינוּ סְבָלָם וַאֲנַחְנוּ חֲשַׁבְנֻהוּ נָגוּעַ מֻכֵּה אֱלֹהִים וּמְעֻנֶּה׃ וְהוּא מְחֹלָל מִפְּשָׁעֵנוּ מְדֻכָּא מֵעֲוֹנֹתֵינוּ מוּסַר שְׁלוֹמֵנוּ עָלָיו וּבַחֲבֻרָתוֹ נִרְפָּא־לָנוּ׃ כֻּלָּנוּ כַּצֹּאן תָּעִינוּ אִישׁ לְדַרְכּוֹ פָּנִינוּ וַיהוָה הִפְגִּיעַ בּוֹ אֵת עֲוֹן כֻּלָּנוּ׃ נִגַּשׂ וְהוּא נַעֲנֶה וְלֹא יִפְתַּח־פִּיו כַּשֶּׂה לַטֶּבַח יוּבָל וּכְרָחֵל לִפְנֵי גֹזְזֶיהָ נֶאֱלָמָה וְלֹא יִפְתַּח פִּיו׃ מֵעֹצֶר וּמִמִּשְׁפָּט לֻקָּח וְאֶת־דּוֹרוֹ מִי יְשׂוֹחֵחַ כִּי נִגְזַר מֵאֶרֶץ חַיִּים מִפֶּשַׁע עַמִּי נֶגַע לָמוֹ׃ וַיִּתֵּן אֶת־רְשָׁעִים קִבְרוֹ וְאֶת־עָשִׁיר בְּמֹתָיו עַל לֹא־חָמָס עָשָׂה וְלֹא מִרְמָה בְּפִיו: וַיהוָה חָפֵץ דַּכְּאוֹ הֶחֱלִי אִם־תָּשִׂים אָשָׁם נַפְשׁוֹ יִרְאֶה זֶרַע יַאֲרִיךְ יָמִים וְחֵפֶץ יְהוָה בְּיָדוֹ יִצְלָח׃ מֵעֲמַל נַפְשׁוֹ יִרְאֶה יִשְׂבָּע בְּדַעְתּוֹ יַצְדִּיק צַדִּיק עַבְדִּי לָרַבִּים וַעֲוֹנֹתָם הוּא יִסְבֹּל׃ לָכֵן אֲחַלֶּק־לוֹ בָרַבִּים וְאֶת־עֲצוּמִים יְחַלֵּק שָׁלָל תַּחַת אֲשֶׁר הֶעֱרָה לַמָּוֶת נַפְשׁוֹ וְאֶת־פֹּשְׁעִים נִמְנָה וְהוּא חֵטְא־רַבִּים נָשָׂא וְלַפֹּשְׁעִים יַפְגִּיעַ׃

13 Behold, my servant shall deal wisely, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high. 14 Like as many were astonished at thee (his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men), 15 so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they understand.

53 Who hath believed our message? and to whom hath the arm of Jehovah been revealed? 2 For he grew up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3 He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief and as one from whom men hid their face he was despised; and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he hath borne our grief's, and carried our sorrows; Yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5 But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he opened not his mouth; as a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and as a sheep that before its shearers is dumb, so he opened not his mouth. 8 By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who among them 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 And they made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed; he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand. 11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by the knowledge of himself shall my righteous servant justify many; and he shall bear their iniquities. 12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he poured out his soul unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors: yet he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

In this passage appears the servant of the Lord. Since this word is used with three different connotations in the Book of Isaiah, the question immediately arises, Who is this servant? For instance, in 41:8,9, we see that the remnant of Israel is the one whom God calls "my servant." From the context of these verses it is clear that the prophet was speaking of the children of Israel scattered throughout the world whom God will gather in the end time back to the land of their fathers. In this passage therefore the remnant of the nation is seen. But in 42:1 we find the same expression, "my servant." An examination of this context shows that neither Israel as a nation nor the remnant is meant, because the marks of personality and individuality appear in this connection. Moreover, this servant is the one whom God will give: "for a covenant of the people [Israel], for a light of the Gentiles …" (Isa. 42:6). This one will be used of God to bind Israel to Himself and to become a light to all the nations. Israel, as all know, is separated from God and is scattered among the nations. She is not to remain in this condition always. God will gather her back to the Land and will bind her to Himself again by the cords of love and spiritual fellowship and communion. The servant will be this bond uniting her with her God. He will also be a light to the Gentiles. Who is this one? What saith the prophets? The answer is, None other than King Messiah. Hence in Isaiah 42:1 the servant referred to is the Messiah; but in Isaiah 42:18-22, the servant is Israel, the entire nation, who is represented as being blind. This last passage includes everyone who has Jewish blood in his veins and who has not seen the true Light. From the context of these verses I know that the prophet saw Israel in the end-time when she will be scattered abroad among the nations and will be in the throes of the greatest persecution of all the ages.

In chapter 49 we again see: "the servant." In this passage it is evident that an individual is meant, because this one is to raise up the tribes of Jacob, to restore the preserved of Israel, and to be a light to the Gentiles. This one is certainly King Messiah. Again in chapter 50 we see this servant who is an individual living daily in holy communion with the Lord and setting His face like a flint against all sin. This passage, read in the light of related ones, is seen to be messianic in import. In Isaiah 65 we again find the expression, "my servants." The same idea is conveyed in this passage, but the individuals constituting that group are singled out by the plural noun. An examination of this context shows that it is the remnant of Israel of whom the prophet spoke and who will pass safely through the Tribulation and enter the great Kingdom Age.

Since, therefore, the expression, my servant, has the three meanings: the whole nation, the remnant of the nation, and an individual--King Messiah--it becomes necessary for one to examine all the facts of a given case to determine what is the specific meaning indicated. In order to ascertain just what is meant by this expression in Isaiah 52:13--53:12, we must look at the facts of the context. In 53:1 he is called "the arm of Jehovah." According to 53:8, "he was cut off out of the living for the transgression of my [Isaiah's] people to whom the stroke was due?" This servant makes his soul a sin offering, he sees the result of his labors--his seed--he prolongs his days after his death, and the pleasure of Jehovah prospers in his hands. These and other marks of individuality and personality are stamped upon this passage so very indelibly that one cannot escape the conclusion that this one is an individual, the Messiah of Israel.

How did the ancient synagogue interpret this passage? in order to answer this question, I wish to quote from the Servant of Jehovah, by the late David Baron. This author was one of the best Hebrew scholars after whom I have ever read--and I have read after many. He was scholarly, conscientious, fair-minded, and unprejudiced. His findings, therefore, can be implicitly relied upon. In the first place, Mr. Baron calls our attention to the fact that Jonathan ben Uzziel of the first century of the present era interpreted this passage as messianic. In his Targum he rendered the first sentence of this great prophecy as follows; "Behold, my Servant Messiah shall prosper; He shall be high and increase, and be exceeding strong." After committing himself to the interpretation that the "servant" of this passage is the Messiah of Israel, he proceeds to juggle with the scripture in an unusual manner, making those elements which speak of exaltation and glory refer to the Messiah, whereas the sufferings are applied to Israel. As an example of his manipulations, Mr. Baron quotes his paraphrase of Isaiah 52:14: "As the House of Israel looked to Him during many days, because their countenance was darkened among the peoples, and their complexion beyond the sons of men." There is such unity in this passage that it is impossible to apply part of it to Messiah and other portions of it to suffering Israel.

Next Mr. Baron calls our attention to the Talmud, in the following words: "In the Talmud Babylon (Sanhedrin, fol. 98b), among other opinions, we find the following: "The Messiah--what is His name? … The Rabbis say the "leprous one"; (those) of the house of Rabbi (say) "the sick one," as it is said "Surely He hath borne our sicknesses." ' "

According to Mr. Baron, Abrabanel, (1457-1508) who interpreted Isaiah 53 as referring to the Jewish nation comments upon this passage as follows: "The first question is to ascertain to whom (this scripture) refers: for the learned among the Nazarenes expound it of the man who was crucified in Jerusalem at the end of the second Temple, and who according to them was the Son of God and took flesh in the virgin's womb, as is stated in their writings. Jonathan ben Uzziel interprets it in the Targum of the future Messiah: and this is also the opinion of our learned men in the majority of their Midrashim." Though Abrabanel interpreted this passage as applying to the Jewish nation, he confessed that the opinion of the learned men of Israel in the majority of their Midrashim was that it was a prediction of the Messiah. This is a very important admission. Once more, Mr. Baron gives us a view of Rabbi Mosheh el Sheikh, who was known as Alshech, and who lived in the second half of the sixteenth century. This noted Rabbi followed the older interpretation in expounding Isaiah 52:13-15 and informs us that "our Rabbis with one voice accept and affirm the opinion that the prophet is speaking of the King Messiah."

Again, Mr. Baron gives us the opinion and practice of Rabbi Solomon Yizchaki--Rashi (1040-1105). Mr. Baron declares that up until the time Rashi applied this passage to the Jewish nation, the messianic interpretation was almost universally adopted by the Jews. Although Aben Ezra, Kimchi, and others followed Rashi, their interpretation was rejected as unsatisfactory by Maimonides, who is regarded by the Jews as of highest authority, by Alshech, and many others, "one (R. Mosheh Kohen Iben Crispin) of whom says the interpretation adopted by Rashi 'distorts the passage from its natural meaning, and that in truth it was given of God as a description of the Messiah, whereby, when any should claim to be the Messiah, to judge by the resemblance or non resemblance to it whether he were the Messiah or no.' " Again, according to Mr. Baron, Rabbi Mosheh Kohen Iben Crispin, of Cordova and later of Toledo (fourteenth century) gives us the following comment on this passage: "The meaning of 'He was wounded for our transgression, … bruised for our iniquities,' is that since the Messiah bears our iniquities, which produce the effect of His being bruised, it follows that whoso will not admit that the Messiah thus suffers for our iniquities must endure and suffer for them himself."

In referring to these outstanding Hebrew scholars, we learn their own personal opinion regarding the interpretation of this passage. I wish to give a passage from the Liturgy for the Day of Atonement a quotation as presented by Mr. Baron: "We are shrunk up in our misery even until now! Our Rock hath not come nigh to us; Messiah our righteousness (or 'our Righteous Messiah') has departed from us: Horror hath seized upon us, and we have none to justify us. He hath borne the yoke of our iniquities and our transgressions, and is wounded because of our transgression. He beareth our sins on His shoulder, that He may find pardon for our iniquities. We shall be healed by His wound at the time the Eternal will create Him (Messiah) as a new creature. O bring Him up from the circle of the earth, raise Him up from Seir to assemble us the second time on Mount Lebanon, by the hand of Yinnon."

On the word Yinnon, Mr. Baron gives us this information:
"This prayer or hymn forms part of the Musaph Service for the Day of Atonement. The author, according to Zunz (Literatur geschichte der Syn. Poesie, p. 56, etc.), was Eleazer ben Katin, who lived in the ninth century. Yinnon, as will be seen from the quotation from Talmud Sanhedrin on p. 12, was one of the names given by the Rabbis to the Messiah, and is derived from Psalm Lxxii:17, which the Talmud renders, 'Before the sun was, His name'--a rendering and explanation which implies a belief in the preexistence of the Messiah."

As a final citation, Mr. Baron quotes from the Machsor (Liturgy for the Festival Services) found among the prayers on the Feast of Passover: "Flee, my beloved, until the end of the vision shall speak; hasten, and the shadows shall take their flight hence: high and exalted and lofty shall be the despised one; he shall be prudent in judgment, and shall sprinkle many! Lay bare thine arm! cry out, and say: 'The voice of my beloved; behold he cometh!'" David Levi, the English translator of the Machsor, a Jew, says in a note that this verse referred to "the true Messiah."

The evidence which Mr. Baron has brought to us regarding the ancient understanding of Isaiah, chapter 53, by the synagogue is sufficient to prove that the original Jewish interpretation of this most marvelous passage was that it refers to King Messiah. As he informs us, after Rashi introduced the interpretation which made Israel the servant of the passage, opinion has been divided. If the reader is interested in determining for himself the Jewish interpretation of this great passage, he should procure the two volumes entitled, The Fifty-Third chapter of Isaiah According to Jewish Interpretation, by S.R. Driver and Neubauer. Volume I gives the original Hebrew text, whereas Volume II is the translation by S.R. Driver and Ad. Neubauer.

Having seen that the facts of the context of Isaiah, chapter 53, demand our interpreting this servant as an individual--Messiah--and having seen that the early Jewish understanding was to the same effect, we must now note the fact that this servant is a silent, unresisting person. He accepts suffering as his lot in life. Can this be said of Israel? On this point David Baron quotes another Hebrew author as saying:

"Here is one described, who bears all sorts of affliction and oppression, without making the slightest resistance, without even opening his mouth to utter reproach--one who has the meekness and gentleness of a lamb, the inoffensiveness of a sheep. Surely this does not apply to the Jews. A very hasty glance at their history is sufficient to convince us that. As long as ever they had the power, they did resist bitterly and bloodily. We freely acknowledge that their provocations were great. We have no wish to defend the wickedness of Christian nations. We grant that their treatment of the Jews is a blot and a stain. But that is not the question. The question is Did the Jews bear all the oppression heaped upon them like lambs? Did they suffer evil without resisting it? History answers in the negative. The history of the Jewish captivity for the first seven centuries is a history of a series of insurrections, fierce and violent, against the nations. How desperate was the resistance to the Roman power which brought on the destruction of the temple by Titus! But, when that was destroyed, the spirit of resistance still remained. A.D. 132, Bar Cochba appeared in the character of the Messiah at the head of an army, ready to shake off the Roman yoke. R. Akiba, one of those looked upon by the Rabbis as most righteous, supported his resistance to the Roman authority: a bloody war was the consequence, and it was only by force that this insurrection was put down. A.D. 415, the Jews of Alexandria revolted. A.D. 522, the Jews of Persia revolted under the conduct of R. Mid, or Miz, at their head, and declared war against the King of Persia. A.D. 535, the Jews in Caesarea rebelled. A.D. 602, the Jews at Antioch. A.D. 624, the Jews in Arabia took up arms against Mahomet, A.D. 613, they joined the armies of Chosroes, when he made himself master of Jerusalem, and put thousands to death."

The sufferings of this servant end in death. Has Israel's sufferings ended in her death? It is true that she has undergone many pogroms that are indescribable. Moreover, it is also true that she has suffered during the present war as never before. According to information coming to us from various sources in Europe, two million Jews have perished at the hands of the ruthless tyrant, Hitler, and his accomplices. Only last week (July 21) I attended the magnificent pageant at the Hollywood Bowl, Los Angeles, California, entitled They Shall Never Die put on by the Jewish community of this city with the approval and assistance of many outstanding Gentile citizens. Israel as a nation, according to the Scriptures, shall never die. If in Isaiah 52:13-53:12 Israel is personified, here is a forecast that she as a nation shall become exterminated--shall die. But, according to the Scriptures, she as a nation shall never die, but shall maintain her identity until her Messiah returns, at which time she will become the head of the nations instead of being the tail as at present. For these and other reasons it is impossible for one to take all the facts into consideration and still hold to the interpretation that the silent sufferer of Isaiah 53 is Israel. On the contrary, as we have already seen, the facts demand that we interpret this passage as a prediction concerning the suffering of King Messiah.

A literal rendering of Isaiah 52:13 is ''Behold, my Servant shall deal wisely, He shall rise, and be lifted up, and shall be very high." This exact translation will be seen to be in accord with all the facts of the context. For instance, in 53:4-9, we see this servant as he is being put to death, having been rushed through an unjust trial and having an unrighteous sentence passed against Him. Notwithstanding His being put to death, He comes back to life and prolongs His days (vs. 10).

In Psalm 22:1-21 we see a prediction of the execution of Messiah. Even the method employed by His enemies in executing Him is vividly described. Zechariah spoke, addressing the sword: "Awake, O sword, against my shepherd, and against the man that is my fellow, saith Jehovah of hosts: smite the shepherd, and the sheep shall be scattered; and I will turn my hand upon the little ones" (Zech. 13:7). From this passage we see that this shepherd is a man and that He is God's fellow. The word rendered fellow is one which connotes equality with the one speaking. Thus it becomes immediately evident that this shepherd is the God-man, because He is a man and at the same time is equal to God. Moreover, we see that the sword does its worst to Him--it smites Him, putting Him to death. Isaiah, foreseeing this, says that He rises from the dead. After His resurrection He lifts himself up, and as a result He is exceedingly high. These words can refer only to His ascension and His session at the right hand of the throne of God.

Why does God allow His Servant to suffer and die? The answer is found in verse 10 of Isaiah 53: "Yet it pleased Jehovah to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand." According to this testimony Jehovah bruises Him and puts Him to grief. The reason for His doing so is that He, the Servant, might make his soul a sin offering. In Messiah's submitting to death, "the pleasure of Jehovah shall prosper in his hand."

Let us keep in mind that, in the various offerings Israel brought to the Lord, those animal sacrifices were given to God by the worshipers. At His instructions they, as we have seen, laid their hands upon the head of the victim and thus symbolically transferred their sins to the animal which they immediately slew, and the blood of which made atonement for their sins. The animals therefore were turned over to God and were His property. Thus God provided the means for the worshiper in that He gave the animal back to him to make the atonement for his soul. We have also seen that God was not pleased--His highest will was not accomplished--by those sacrifices. He therefore foretold the time when the Messiah would assume a human body and would do the complete will of God, which was foreshadowed by these offerings. In fulfillment of these typical sacrifices, this silent, sufferer, the Servant of Jehovah, makes His soul a sin offering for His people. In His doing this, the will of God--the pleasure of Jehovah--in respect to sin is accomplished completely, and divine holiness is satisfied. In the light of all these facts it becomes immediately evident that the various offerings required at Israel's hands typified this silent sufferer of Isaiah 53--King Messiah.

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