Isaiah Chapter 52

 

GOD WILL BRING HIS PEOPLE, ISRAEL, HOME

 

Isaiah 52:1-6 NAS:
1 Awake, awake, Clothe yourself in your strength, O Zion; Clothe yourself
in your beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city; For the uncircumcised and the unclean Will no longer come into you.
2 Shake yourself from the dust, rise up, O captive Jerusalem; Loose yourself from the chains around your neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
3 For thus says the Lord, “You were sold for nothing and you will be redeemed without money.”
4 For thus says the Lord God, “My people went down at the first into Egypt to reside there; then the Assyrian oppressed them without cause.
5 “Now therefore, what do I have here,” declares the Lord, “seeing that My people have been taken away without cause?” Again the Lord declares, “Those who rule over them howl, and My name is continually blasphemed all day long.
6 “Therefore My people shall know My name; therefore in that day I am the one who is speaking, ‘Here I am.’ ”

The third “wake-up call” comes in Isaiah 52:1–6. It is also addressed to Jerusalem and is a command not only to wake up but to dress up. It’s not enough for her to put off her hangover (Isaiah 51:17–23), she must also put on a new, fresh look. Babylon the “queen” would fall in the dust in shame (Isaiah 47:1), but Jerusalem would rise up from the dust and be enthroned as a queen. Egypt had enslaved God’s people, Assyria had oppressed them, and Babylon had taken them captive; but now that was ended. Of course, the ultimate fulfillment of this promise will occur when the Messiah returns, delivers Jerusalem from her enemies, and establishes Mt. Zion (Jerusalem) as the joy of all the earth in the end times (61:4–11).

The city of Jerusalem is called “the holy city” eight times in Scripture.[fn] It has been “set apart” by God for His exclusive purposes; but when His people refused to obey Him, He ordered it destroyed, first by the Babylonians and then by the Romans. During the Captivity, God’s name was blasphemed because the enemy taunted the Jews and asked them why their great God did not deliver them (Psalm 115; 137). Paul quoted Isaiah 52:5 in Romans 2:24. But when the remnant is restored, they will know God’s name and seek to honor it.

Isaiah 52:7-12 NAS:

 7 How lovely on the mountains Are the feet of him who brings good news, Who announces peace And brings good news of happiness, Who announces salvation, And says to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
8 Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices, They shout joyfully together; For they will see with their own eyes When the Lord restores Zion.
9 Break forth, shout joyfully together, You waste places of Jerusalem; For the Lord has comforted His people, He has redeemed Jerusalem.
10 The Lord has bared His holy arm In the sight of all the nations, That all the ends of the earth may see The salvation of our God.
11 Depart, depart, go out from there, Touch nothing unclean; Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of the Lord.
12 But you will not go out in haste, Nor will you go as fugitives; For the Lord will go before you, And the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

The defeat of Babylon by Cyrus was certainly good news to the Jews because it meant freedom for the captives (Isaiah 40:9; 41:27). The Good News we share today is that Jesus Christ can set the prisoners free from sin and death (Romans 10:15). For decades, the remnant had suffered in a foreign country, without an altar or a priesthood; but now they would return to their land, rebuild their temple, and restore their God-given ministry.

The leaders, watchmen, take up the message and sing together to the glory of God (Isaiah 44:23). But they not only hear what God has done; they also seeit happening. The wilderness will join the song because the desolate cities and “waste places” will be transformed (Isaiah 51:3). The remnant prayed for God’s holy arm to work, and He answered their prayer.

It seems strange that God would have to urgeHis people to leave a place of captivity, but some of them had grown accustomed to Babylon and were reluctant to leave. The first group, about 50,000 people (approximately 5 % of the number of Jews in captivity), left Babylon in 538 B.C. when Cyrus issued his decree. They were under the leadership of Sheshbazzar, Zerubbabel, and Jeshua the high priest (Ezra 1–2). They carried with them “the vessels of the Lord” (Isaiah 52:11), the articles that were needed for the service in the temple. A second group of nearly 1,800 people led by Ezra, left in 458 B.C. (80 years after the first group left).

God commanded them to depart because Babylon was a condemned city (Jeremiah 50:8ff; 51:6, 45). He warned them not to linger but to get out quickly while they had the opportunity (Isaiah 48:20). They did not have to flee like criminals, but there was no reason to delay. He also cautioned them not to take any of Babylon’s uncleanness with them. “Touch nothing unclean” would certainly include the whole Babylonian system of idolatry and occult practices that had helped to ruin the Jewish nation (Isaiah 47:11–15).  Paul makes that application to believers today in 2 Corinthians 6:14–7:1.

God had a special word for the priests and Levites who were carrying the vessels of the temple: “Go out of the midst of her, purify yourselves, You who carry the vessels of the Lord.” This is a good command for all of God’s servants to obey. If we defile ourselves, we will also defile the work of the Lord. How tragic for a holy ministry to be a source of defilement to God’s people!

The prophet added a final word of encouragement: “The Lord will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard.” This reminds us of Israel’s Exodus from Egypt when the Lord went before them (Exodus 13:21) and stood between them and the enemy (Exodus14:19–20). When God’s people obey God’s will, they can always count on God’s leading and protection.[fn]

God replied to their prayer with words of comfort[fn] He reminded them again of the weakness of man (Isaiah  40:6–8) and the power of God the Creator (51:13). Because they are His people, with whom He has deposited His Word, He will release them, protect them, and provide for them. They had an important task to perform and He would enable them to do it.[fn]

Now we will move on to Isaiah 51:13-15. I believe that one of the most significant factors to demonstrate the truth of the Bible and the reality of the Lord God Jehovah is prophecy. We will now be looking at some of the most amazing prophecies in the Bible, prophecies detailing the suffering and crucifixion of Jesus Christ. These are prophecies that described many aspects of crucifixion long before that had been used as a method of execution.

Before we get into these verses let us give you a very tightly packaged summary of Isaiah 50—52:12, which are crucial chapters in understanding Jesus and His relationship with Israel as well as with all the other people in the world. Then we’ll get into our study of God’s Servant, Jesus, beginning in Isaiah 52:13.

We’ve been examining a series of “Servant Songs” which describe the ministry of a Servant. Isaiah 50 looks at two very different kinds of servants. One is the imperfect servant, Israel, who abandoned their relationship with God (Isaiah 50:13, 11), and the other is the perfect Servant, Christ, (verses 4-10). This second Servant is sensitive to the needs of people and responsive to God (verses 4-5). He suffers, but He relies on God and remains committed to doing God’s will (verses 6-9). Those who fear the Lord obey this Servant (verse10).

Having introduced the Servant, Isaiah speaks with a sense of urgency to God’s people. A series of commands emphasizes the need for the people to hear and obey (Isaiah 51:1–16). The sense of urgency is maintained as God warns of His coming wrath (verses 17–23).

Isaiah tells God’s people they must wake up. (Isaiah 52:1–2). Then Isaiah switches gears and tells them that in the past God acted to punish them (verses 3–6), but that He will soon act to save them, and the joyous message of salvation will be announced to all the people of the earth (verses 7–10). This momentous announcement culminates in an even more urgent call. Israel is to leave Babylon and return to a pure and holy life (verses 11–12). The last verses of chapter 52 properly belong with Isaiah 53, for they return to the Servant, Jesus, the agent of God’s salvation. But this time to describe His sufferings, through which we will be redeemed.[fn]

As we now move into Isaiah 53, It‘s most appropriate to begin by quoting what the Old Testament scholar, Dr. Kyle M. Yates, wrote over fifty years ago, and his words are still right on point: “The five matchless stanzas of the fourth Servant poem are the Mt. Everest of messianic prophecy.” Isaiah 53 is at the heart of chapters 49–57, and its message is at the heart of the Gospel.

Like Mt. Everest, Isaiah 53 stands out in beauty and splendor, but only because it reveals Jesus Christ and takes us to Calvary.

The messianic interpretation of Isaiah 53 was held by Jewish rabbis from the time it was written all the way up to the twelfth century. About that time some Jewish scholars, who must have thought they were smarter than God, started interpreting the passage as a description of the sufferings of the nation of Israel. But that concept doesn’t stand up under careful examination of the text in Isaiah 53. How could Israel die for the sins of Israel (Isaiah 53:8)? And who declared that Israel was innocent of sin and therefore had suffered unjustly (verse 9)? The prophet wrote about an innocent person, not a guilty nation. He made it crystal clear that this individual died for the sins of the guilty so that the guilty might go free. The Servant that Isaiah describes is the Messiah, Jesus Christ; and the New Testament affirms that this Servant-Messiah is Jesus of Nazareth, the Son of God.[fn]

 

Isaiah 53 is quoted or alluded to in the New Testament more frequently than any other Old Testament chapter.

The fifteen verses that comprise the fourth Servant Song from Isaiah 52:13 through 53:12 fall into five stanzas of three verses each, and each of these stanzas reveals an important truth about the Servant, Jesus, and what He accomplished for us.

Stanza 1—The Exalted[fn] Servant: Isaiah 52:13-15, NAS:

13 Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.
14 Just as many were astonished at you, My people, So His appearance was marred more than any man And His form more than the sons of men.
15 Thus He will sprinkle many nations, Kings will shut their mouths on account of Him; For what had not been told them they will see, And what they had not heard they will understand.

If we take these verses in their chronological order, we see that people were shocked by Jesus’ appearance (52:14), His exaltation (verse 13), and His message (verse 15). Isaiah has described here in these 3 verses Jesus’ suffering and death, as well as His resurrection and ascension, and the worldwide proclamation of the Gospel. So here we have another incredible prediction from God through the prophet Isaiah being made 700 years before it actually occurred.

In verse 14 we see that the people are shocked at the Servant’s appearance. The Today’s English Version translation reads as follows: “Many people were shocked when they saw him; he was so disfigured that he hardly looked human.” When you consider all that Jesus endured physically between the time of His arrest and His crucifixion, it is no wonder He no longer looked like a man. Not only were His legal rights taken from Him, including the right of a fair trial, but His human rights were taken from Him, so that He was not even treated like a person, let alone a Jewish citizen. When He was questioned before Annas, Jesus was slapped by an officer (John 18:22). At the hearing before Caiaphas, He was spat upon, slapped, and beaten on the head with fists.[fn] Pilate scourged Him,[fn] and his soldiers beat Him (John 19:3). Scourging was so terrible that prisoners were known to die from the ordeal. Do you remember what Jesus said in Isaiah 50:6?

I gave My back to those who strike Me, And My cheeks to those who pluck

out the beard; I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.[fn]

Can you imagine that they were doing this to the very Son of God? To their Creator? To the One who sustains their very lives? The graphic account of His suffering is given in Psalm 11, which could be described as both a cry of anguish and a song of praise:

Psalm 22:1-31, NAS:
1 My God, my God, why hast Thou forsaken me? Far from my deliverance are the words of my groaning.

Of course you immediately recognize these words that Christ called out from the cross. They are recorded in Matthew 27:46 and Mark 15:34.

2 O my God, I cry by day, but Thou dost not answer; and by night, but I have no rest.
3 Yet Thou art holy, O Thou who art enthroned upon the praises of Israel.
4 In Thee our fathers trusted; they trusted, and Thou didst deliver them.
5 To Thee they cried out, and were delivered; in Thee they trusted, and were not disappointed.
6 But I am a worm, and not a man, a reproach of men, and despised by the people.
7 All who see me sneer at me; they separate with the lip, they wag the
head, saying,

For the fulfillment of the prophecy in verse 7, in connection with Christ’s suffering, we can turn to Matthew 27:39, NAS: “And those passing by were hurling abuse at Him, wagging their heads.” Continuing now in verse 8 of Psalm 22:

8 "Commit yourself to the LORD; let Him deliver him; let Him rescue him, because He delights in him."

For the fulfillment of this verse, we can look to Matthew 27:43 NAS: “He trusts in God; let God rescue Him now, if He delights in Him; for He said, ‘I am the Son of God.’” Continuing in Psalm 22, verse 9:

9 Yet Thou art He who didst bring me forth from the womb; Thou didst make me trust when upon my mother's breasts.
10 Upon Thee I was cast from birth; Thou hast been my God from my mother's womb.
11 Be not far from me, for trouble is near; for there is none to help.

12 Many bulls have surrounded me; strong bulls of Bashan have encircled me.
13 They open wide their mouth at me, as a ravening and a roaring lion.
14 I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; My heart is like wax; it is melted within me.
15 My strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue cleaves to my jaws; and Thou dost lay me in the dust of death.
16 For dogs have surrounded me; a band of evildoers has encompassed me; they pierced my hands and my feet.
17 I can count all my bones. They look, they stare at me;
18 They divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots.
19 But Thou, O LORD, be not far off; O Thou my help, hasten to my assistance.
20 Deliver my soul from the sword, My only life from the power of the dog.
21 Save me from the lion's mouth; and from the horns of the wild oxen Thou dost answer me.
22 I will tell of Thy name to my brethren; in the midst of the assembly I will praise Thee.
23 You who fear the LORD, praise Him; all you descendants of Jacob, glorify Him, and stand in awe of Him, all you descendants of Israel.
24 For He has not despised nor abhorred the affliction of the afflicted; neither has He hidden His face from him; but when he cried to Him for help, He heard.
25 From Thee comes my praise in the great assembly; I shall pay my vows before those who fear Him.
26 The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek Him will praise
the LORD. Let your heart live forever!

(Verses 27-31 refer to the Millennium)

27 All the ends of the earth will remember and turn to the LORD, and all the families of the nations will worship before Thee.
28 For the kingdom is the LORD'S, and He rules over the nations.
29 All the prosperous of the earth will eat and worship, all those who go down to the dust will bow before Him, even he who cannot keep his soul alive.
30 Posterity will serve Him; it will be told of the LORD to the coming generation.
31 They will come and will declare His righteousness to a people who will be born, that He has performed it.

Psalm 22 shows the stress David must have felt himself in suffering as he wrote down these words that Jesus would later utter. So David, even though he knew that God had whatever power necessary to help him, still experienced what he thought to be the absence of God’s presence and help. A faithful person may cry out in great pain, and yet at the same time affirm God’s goodness and ultimate deliverance as we see in verses 3, 10, and 22. Have you sometimes gone through dry periods when you felt that God had forsaken you? Most Christians, if they are honest, will confess that at certain dry times they’ve called out and called out to God. But because God, for very good reasons, delayed His answer they felt abandoned. But feelings can and often do lie to us. God does not forsake His children, even if He stays silent for a while.[fn]

Jesus quoted the first part of Psalm 22:1 while He was dying on the cross: “About the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, ‘Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani?’” that is, ‘My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?’” (Matthew 27:46), acknowledging His sense of abandonment by the Father as He bore in His own body and spirit the sin of mankind. But in Jesus’ case it was real, at least temporarily. Because God cannot look on sin He really did turn His face away from Jesus at that time. The imagery of Psalm 22:3 represents Israel’s praise being a throne of glory for God.

In our Sunday evening Bible study we’ve talked several times about how “worm theology,” that doctrine that considers human beings to be nothing but worms, is not biblically accurate. Psalm 22:6 is not a theological statement on which to base doctrine. Scripture, in several places, indicates that human beings are God’s highest and finest creation. Here in Psalm 22:6 David is saying how he feels he is a worm. He is not saying that’s how God views him. Neither is he saying prophetically that Christ is a worm. The “worm” serves as an illustration of humiliation of one being trodden underfoot with contempt. In Psalm 22:14-16, David prophesied, that is he accurately predicted, the crucifixion of Jesus, even though it was a means of execution that was not known until Roman times.

The suffering that David described in Psalm 22 was literally experienced by Christ. In verse 16 David prophesies that Christ’s body would be pierced and we read in John 19:34 and 20:25 that in addition to the nails that punctured His hands and feet, his side was pierced with a spear. Psalm 22:18 says that they would gamble for Christ’s clothes and Matthew 27:35 indicates that’s exactly what the soldiers did. David prayed for deliverance from death in verses 19-21, and Christ’s deliverance was accomplished by His resurrection from the dead. Psalm 22:22 predicts that Christ would speak of God to His brothers and Hebrews 2:1, 12 and Mark 3:31-35 indicate He proclaimed God’s name to his literal and spiritual siblings. In verses 27-31 of Psalm 22 David predicted the universal worship of God during the millennial kingdom (Zechariah 8:20-23; 14:6-11).[fn]

Looking at Isaiah 52:14, it is clearly evident that when the soldiers were finished with Jesus, He didn’t look human and people were so appalled they turned their faces way. So if you saw the movie The Passion of the Christ, the depictions there were consistent with Scripture, difficult though they were to look at.

People were also startled at the Servant’s, Jesus’, exaltation. The Servant suffered and died, but He did not remain dead. The TEV translation reads: “The Lord says, My servant will succeed in his task; he will be highly honoured.” What looked to men like a humiliating defeat was in the eyes of God a great victory (Colossians 2:15). In John 17:4, Jesus says, “’I have glorified Thee on the earth,’ He told His Father; ‘I have finished the work which Thou gavest Me to do.’”

Jesus was not only raised from the dead, but His body was glorified. He ascended to Heaven where He sat at the right hand of the Father. He has all authority (Matthew 28:18) because all things have been put under His feet (Ephesians 1:20–23).There is no one in the universe greater than Jesus. What a shock to those who considered Him the lowest of the low.[fn]

Then in Isaiah 52:15, we’re told that the people were shocked at the Servant’s message. The people whose mouths dropped open with astonishment at His humiliation and exaltation will shut their mouths in guilt when they hear His message. In Romans 15:20–21, Paul interprets this as the preaching of the Gospel to the Gentile nations. In Romans 3:19, Paul writes: “That every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God.” 

Jesus’ sufferings and death involved everybody in the world. The Gospel message is not “Christ died,” for that is only a fact in history, like “Napoleon died.” The Gospel message is that “Christ died for our sins” (1 Corinthians 15:1–4). You and I are as guilty of Christ’s death as Annas, Caiaphas, Herod Antipas, and Pilate.

Now we see why people are astonished when they understand the message of the Gospel: This Man, Jesus,  whom the people condemned, has declared that they are condemned unless they turn from sin and trust Him.You can’t rejoice in the Good News of salvation until you first face the bad news of condemnation. Jesus did not suffer and die because He was guilty, but because we were guilty. People are astonished at this fact; it shuts their mouths.

The word translated “sprinkle” in Isaiah 52:15 can be translated “startle,” but most likely it refers to the ceremonial cleansing that was an important part of the Mosaic sacrificial system. While the sprinkling of blood, water, and oil did not take away sins, it did make the recipient ceremonially clean and accepted before God.

Because of the sacrifice of Christ, we can tell all the nations that forgiveness and redemption are offered free to all who will receive Him (1 Peter 1:1,2).[fn]

Isaiah

John

Romans

1 Peter


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