We have been discussing Isaiah 53. In parts one through three of our video series, we demonstrated that the Servant of God is consistently identified as the singular nation of Israel, as in Isaiah 49:3, “Israel is my Servant”
When God redeems Israel from exile, they will be exalted, leaving the nations of the world in utter shock as they struggle to understand how the very people they assumed were rejected by God have now been redeemed.
Ultimately, the nations will accept responsibility, confessing that their own cruelty and persecution caused Israel to suffer so excessively throughout exile.
In Part 4 of our series, we will examine other verses in Isaiah 53 that describe how the Servant, Israel, bore the brunt of the sinful actions of the nations and how ultimately this will bring healing to the world.
Starting in Isaiah 53:4, the nations of the world declare that they now recognize Israel’s excessive suffering stemmed from their own hostility, rather than God's wrath as they had wrongly assumed.
This is the meaning of: “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.”
In Isaiah 53:5, the leaders of the world once again confess their guilt, stating:
“He was wounded from [or because of] our transgressions, bruised from [or because of] our iniquities... the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed.”
They realize that while they inflicted these "stripes" through exile and persecution, it was Israel's silent endurance that allowed the nations to live in peace and stability and to be healed of their moral blindness. This realization will lead humanity to abandon violence and recognize God and the chosen status of Israel.
Moving on, the nations will confess in Isaiah 53:6, “We all like sheep have gone astray… The Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”
They admit that they strayed like sheep into moral chaos and lawlessness, but God used Israel to bear the consequences of human lawlessness so that humanity would eventually be forced to confront its cruelty and moral corruption.
In Isaiah 53:8, the nations continue their confession that Israel was unjustly oppressed by stating that “for the transgression of my people, they were stricken.”
This passage highlights that the true cause of Israel's oppression was the sins of the nations. Additionally, the collective nature of the Servant is further validated by the plural Hebrew word lamo (לָמוֹ), which is correctly translated as “they” or “to them.”
Now in Isaiah 53:11 the nations delve deeper, saying, “By his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.”
Despite the oppression of exile, the remnant of Israel remained dedicated to God through an unwavering commitment to the Torah. The remnant also brought foundational concepts of monotheism and morality to a pagan world, serving as a “light to the nations,” as they are referred to in Isaiah 42:6. Israel amazingly did this even while enduring systemic persecution.
Finally, Isaiah 53:12 summarizes this enduring mission:
“He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.”
The Hebrew verb used here for 'bore'—nasa (נָשָׂא)—means to carry or endure. Israel carried the persecution of its host nations while continuously interceding for them.
They fulfilled this intercession by praying for the peace of the nations, as seen in Jeremiah 29:7, which instructed the exiles to: 'Seek the peace of the city where I have caused you to be carried away captive, and pray to the Lord for it; for in its peace, you will have peace.
Ultimately, Isaiah 53 does not describe God rejecting Israel; rather, it reflects the heavy toll of centuries of excessive gentile persecution. By mistaking their own brutality for divine wrath, the host nations failed to see that the faithful remnant of Israel, the Servant of God, was bearing the brunt of world hostility while remaining devoted to God’s laws.
In the end of days, this realization will transform the nations and their leaders. As Isaiah 49:6 proclaims: 'I will also make you a light unto the nations, that My salvation may reach unto the end of the earth.'
Jeremiah 16:19 takes this even further, foretelling the moment the Gentiles recognize their error: “Nations shall come to You from the ends of the earth and say, 'Surely our fathers have inherited lies, worthlessness, and unprofitable things.’”
In the next video in our Isaiah 53 series, we will examine specific textual criteria in Isaiah 53 that Israel fulfilled but Jesus did not, providing additional proof that he is not the Servant.
Thank you for watching.
Rabbi Bentzion Kravitz
Previous videos in the series are available on the Video page.
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