THE PREVALENCE OF UNBELIEF Isaiah 53:1. _Who hath believed our report?_ I. THE DESCRIPTION HERE GIVEN OF THE GOSPEL. It is a “_report_.” A report is a statement made to us of facts existing, or of events that have occurred, at some distance of time or place, and which we ourselves have not witness... [ Continue Reading ]
THE GREAT MESSIANIC PROPHECY Isaiah 53:2. _For He shall grow up before Him, &c._ Among the prophecies of Isaiah, that which is contained in the chapter before us stands eminent and illustrious. Received and interpreted according to the sense attached to it by Christians, it involves in it a strikin... [ Continue Reading ]
THE DESPISED AND REJECTED SAVIOUR Isaiah 53:3. _He is despised and rejected of men, &c._ This is a summary of the history of our Lord, as it is recorded by the four Evangelists. His very first hours on earth may be cited in proof of its correctness. No place could be found for Him even in an inn.... [ Continue Reading ]
WANDERING SHEEP Isaiah 53:6. _All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way_. Comparisons in Scripture are frequently to be understood with great limitation: perhaps, out of many circumstances, one only is justly applicable to the case. Thus, when our Lord says, “Beho... [ Continue Reading ]
OUR SAVIOUR’S SUFFERINGS AND SUBMISSION Isaiah 53:7. _He was oppressed, &c._ The whole field of Scripture is of infinite value, yet the Christian peculiarly prizes those parts of it wherein Christ, the hidden treasure, the one pearl of great price, is most fully exhibited to the view. This chapter... [ Continue Reading ]
CHRIST STRICKEN (_Sacramental Service._) Isaiah 53:8. _For the transgression of my people was He stricken_. The general doctrine of the text is that of an expiation for sinners, made by an innocent victim substituted in their place. In the substitution of an innocent being to suffer in the room of... [ Continue Reading ]
THE BURIAL OF JESUS Isaiah 53:9. _And He made His grave with the wicked, &c._ The death and resurrection of Christ are frequently dwelt upon by preachers and writers; but His burial is seldom distinctly alluded to. Yet it is spoken of in Scripture as a most important fact (Acts 13:29; 1 Corinthian... [ Continue Reading ]
THE ATONEMENT Isaiah 53:10. _When Thou shalt make His soul an offering for sin, &c._ I. THE SOUL OF THE MESSIAH WAS TO BE MADE AN OFFERING FOR SIN. The word here used (אשמ, _asham_) signifies either guilty,—or, by a figure, an offering for guilt. We may consider it in both senses. He was not in Him... [ Continue Reading ]
THE WORK AND THE REWARD OF CHRIST Isaiah 53:12. _Therefore will I divide Him a portion with the great, &c._ Both the work and the reward of the Saviour were included in the prophecies concerning Him. I. HIS WORK. 1. _Its culminating act_. “He hath poured out His soul unto death.” Not His incarnat... [ Continue Reading ]