Who would believe what we have heard? To whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 He grew up like a sapling before him, like a shoot from the parched earth; He had no majestic bearing to catch our eye, no beauty to draw us to him. 3 He was spurned and avoided by men, a man of suffering, knowing pain, Like one from whom you turn your face, spurned, and we held him in no esteem. 4 Yet it was our pain that he bore, our sufferings he endured. We thought of him as stricken, struck down by God and afflicted, 5 But he was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity. He bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed. 6 We had all gone astray like sheep, all following our own way; But the Lord laid upon him the guilt of us all. 7 Though harshly treated, he submitted and did not open his mouth; Like a lamb led to slaughter or a sheep silent before shearers, he did not open his mouth. 8 Seized and condemned, he was taken away. Who would have thought any more of his destiny? For he was cut off from the land of the living, struck for the sins of his people. 9 He was given a grave among the wicked, a burial place with evildoers, Though he had done no wrong, nor was deceit found in his mouth. 10 But it was the Lord’s will to crush him with pain. By making his life as a reparation offering, he shall see his offspring, shall lengthen his days, and the Lord’s will shall be accomplished through him. 11 Because of his anguish he shall see the light; because of his knowledge he shall be content; My servant, the just one, shall justify the many, their iniquity he shall bear. 12 Therefore I will give him his portion among the many, and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty, Because he surrendered himself to death, was counted among the transgressors, Bore the sins of many, and interceded for the transgressors.
Isaiah 53:1–12 is the climax of the fourth and final Servant Song (Isa. 52:13–53:12), portraying the Suffering Servant whose redemptive suffering and death are central to God's plan of salvation. Though composed centuries before Christ, this passage offers a remarkably prophetic portrait of His Passion, death, and glorification. It stands as a profound example of biblical typology, in which figures and events in the Old Testament prefigure and find their fulfillment in Christ.
The passage opens with a lament: few will believe the Lord’s revelation (v.1; cf. John 12:38), and the Servant appears unremarkable in outward form (vv.2–3), despised and rejected. Yet, he bears our sins and sufferings (vv.4–6), a substitutionary figure afflicted not for his own guilt but for ours—a central theological point (cf. 1 Pet. 2:24). He is silent before his executioners (v.7), buried among the wicked and the rich (v.9; cf. Matt. 27:57–60), yet remains innocent. (In this passage, the translation of verse 9 reflects the Masoretic tradition while some translations, based on the Septuagint (LXX) and some of the Dead Sea Scrolls, translate verse 9 as follows: “And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.”) In verse 10, God “was pleased to crush him in infirmity”—not as a sadistic act, but to accomplish redemptive love through suffering. In the end, the Servant is vindicated and glorified, seeing the "light" after affliction and justifying many (vv.10–12; cf. Phil. 2:6–11).
The Servant’s humiliation is mysteriously the will of God and leads to exaltation. His suffering is salvific, not incidental. His “knowledge” (v.11) signifies a deep, personal understanding of obedience to God's will, particularly as it pertains to enduring suffering (cf. Heb 5:8). By entering fully into the human condition, the Servant learns obedience through suffering and thereby becomes the source of salvation for many (cf. Rom. 5:18–19).
This passage is directly connected to Matthew 27:27–31, where Jesus is mocked, beaten, and crowned with thorns by Roman soldiers—events prefigured in Isaiah’s description of the Servant as marred beyond human semblance (Isa. 52:14) and rejected. The early Church Fathers—such as St. Justin Martyr, St. Irenaeus, and St. Augustine—identified this passage with the Passion of Christ, using it in defense of Christian belief in dialogue with Jews and pagans.
Isaiah 53 reveals that salvation comes not through earthly power, but through the redemptive suffering of God's chosen Servant. This overturns human expectations and reveals the mystery of divine love: that “by his wounds we were healed” (Isa. 53:5; cf. Eph. 1:7; 2 Cor. 5:21). It is through the Servant’s obedience unto death (cf. Phil. 2:8) that many are justified, making it a cornerstone of soteriology—the theological study of salvation, particularly as accomplished through the Incarnation, Passion, and Resurrection of Jesus Christ. Thus, the Servant is not merely a symbolic figure or an abstract ideal; he is ultimately revealed in the person of Jesus Christ, whose Passion discloses both the seriousness of sin and the depths of God’s mercy.
Isaiah 53 is especially poignant during Lent, a season of repentance, reflection, conversion, and preparation for the Passion and Resurrection of Christ. The Church proclaims this passage during the Good Friday liturgy, inviting the faithful to contemplate Christ crucified as the fulfillment of God's salvific plan. The passage invites the faithful to meditate on Christ's self-offering and to unite their own sufferings with His (cf. Col. 1:24). It underscores the gravity of sin and the immense price paid for our redemption, encouraging deeper conversion and greater love for the Savior who bore our iniquities.
Lord Jesus Christ, You are the Suffering Servant foretold by the prophet Isaiah, silent before Your accusers, wounded for our transgressions, and glorified through the Cross. As we recall Your Passion and the mockery You endured, deepen our gratitude, strengthen our faith, and draw us to true conversion. By Your stripes, we are healed—teach us to walk in Your obedience and love. Amen!
Sources
- McSorley, Joseph. An Outline History of the Church by Centuries (From St. Peter to Pius XII). 2nd ed., B. Herder Book Co., 1944.
- Orchard, Bernard, et al. A Catholic Commentary on Holy Scripture. Feb. 1953.
- Chiu, José Enrique Aguilar, et al. The Paulist Biblical Commentary. Paulist Press, 2018.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: New Testament Expanded Edition. Four Courts / Scepter, 2008.
- Faculty of the University of Navarre. The Navarre Bible: The Pentateuch. Four Courts Press, 2017
- Brown, Raymond Edward, et al. The New Jerome Biblical Commentary. Prentice Hall, 1990.
- Charpentier, Etienne. How to Read the Old Testament. Translated by John Bowden, 1981.
- Komonchak, Joseph, et al., editors. The New Dictionary of Theology.
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