Isaiah 53

Isaiah 53 and Daniel 9 are the most difficult chapters for Judaism. They are interrelated since Isaiah 53 tells us How the Messiah will be and Daniel 9 tells us When the Messiah will come. I remember listening to a paper my wife Sookyoung Kim presented at Avondale College highlighting the strong linguistic connections between the two chapters. We say Judaism since they literally changed the original text since it points to Jesus Christ too strongly and elaborated with non-essentials in the Targum to this chapter. Another problem for Judaism is Psalm 110. It was also a favorite of Paul in the New Testament. The Messiah is presented from A to Z in this chapter. He is called the “arm of the Lord” (v. 1b); “He grew up before Him [Father]” (v. 2a); He is “the Righteous One, My Servant” (v. 11c-d). The Messiah is called “My Servant” (v. 11d) and many may argue that prophets of the Bible are all servants of God. Rightly so. There are more detail to come. When reading the chapter it is repeated that He is “smitten of God” (v. 3); He is caused by the Lord to have the iniquity of all fallen on Him (v. 6c-d); “the Lord was pleased to crush Him” (v. 10a-b). Just before we think that atheist Richard Dawkins is right in calling God narcistic we need to stop and realize that the individual gave Himself for this task. The Father in the Trinity caused the Son to be punished but the Son accepted to be punished. Five times it is said in the chapter that He did it out of His own free will: “our griefs He Himself bore” with an extra unnecessary personal pronoun but to emphasize that it is His own choice (v. 4a); “If His soul will place itself a guilt offering” (v. 10b); “He Himself will bear their iniquities” again the extra superfluous independent personal pronoun to indicate a willingness on His own part (v. 11e); “He poured out Himself (His soul) to death” (v. 12c); “and He Himself bore the sin of many” (v. 12e). It is a self-death and He was not killed by God. God never rejoices in the death of any human being. This human died and God was pleased when He gave His own life for many. The problems the chapter poses to Judaism has only began. The twelve references of substitution for human sin and offerings should be mentioned. This human died for others, for their sin, to intercede, to take the punishment of others, to die in their place and on top of it all, pleased God to do this act of atonement on behalf of many. Offerings in the Mosaic system satisfied God on an individual basis but in this chapter this Individual satisfied God once and for all in His death for many. It is the navigational point where Judaism has taken the wrong way and maybe still do. Unless they come back to this point and take proper stock they are bound to be off-course. “He (Himself) bore our griefs” (v. 4a); “He carried our griefs” (v. 4b); “He was pierced for our transgressions” (v. 5a); He was crushed for our iniquities (v. 5b); our chastisement fell on Him (v. 5c); by His scourging we were healed (v. 5d); iniquity of us all was to fall on Him by the Lord [Trinity decision] (v. 6c); for the transgression of My people to whom the stroke (v. 8d); the Rigtheous One, My servant shall declare justification to many (v. 11c); He Himself shall carry their iniquities (v. 11d); He Himself shall carry the sin of many (v. 12e); He shall intercede for the transgressors (v. 12f). There is also the aspect that Isaiah included himself and his group as deserving punishment and that this substitution takes place also on their behalf “He was despised and we did not esteem Him” (v. 3d). “He was crushed for our iniquities” (v. 5b). This is a very special individual that takes care of Isaiah and his remnant’s transgressions and sins and also satisfy God pertaining to many. Daniel 9 is an explanation of Daniel that the sins are many of the people of God but the answer is in the coming of the Messiah in 27 CE for His ministry and 31 CE for His death, this substitutionary death that Isaiah is talking about. The date is arrived at using the year-day principle with one year equals 360 business days, very common in Babylon. Then there is the aspects pointing strongly to Christ: He is perfect. “He has done no violence” (v. 9c); “nor was there any deceit in His mouth” (v. 9d). Christ was also taken away “by oppression and judgment” (v. 8a). Looking at the miracles of Christ one can see “the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand” (v. f). Getshemane is seen in “as a result of the anguish of His soul” (v. 11a). He is compared to be the Lamb of God in “like a lamb that is led to slaughter” (v. 7c). Intercession and Atonement and justification of sinners cannot be done by a mere human being. This Messiah had to be divine and part of the Trinity, also God, also the Lord. All these aspects that are directly from the original text in the Hebrew of Isaiah was transformed and reshaped to bypass the strong links with Christ in Judaism as one can see in the Targum Jonathan to the prophets where verse 2 is transformed in the Aramaic to elaborations of the righteous ones that they shall grow and they will flourish. Isaiah 53 linked with Daniel 9 was interpreted the way we outlined above by the people around Qumran and also John the Baptist understood it this way and expected the exact time of His arrival, just like the wisemen from the east at His birth in 4BCE. He could announce the arrival of the Lamb of God when Jesus came to be baptized by him. The Syriac Father James of Serug said “He completed His whole course by three staging points: He resided in the virgin and came to birth, though He was God; He received baptism, yet He was God; and He descended to Sheol and the world recognized that He was God”.

Dear God

We cannot exist without these two pillars of our faith. It is what makes us Christians and it is what is necessary for Judaism to renovate itself. Isaiah makes us love Christ all over again and we are determined to stay linked to You. Save us in Your kingdom. Amen.

Koot van Wyk, (DLitt et Phil; ThD) Kyungpook National University, Department of Liberal Education, Sangju, South Korea; conjoint lecturer of Avondale College, Australia