Isaiah 52:13-15, The Hideous Savior

“The prophecy of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is the heart of the second part of the book of Isaiah.  Here Messianic vision reaches its pinnacle.” (The Prophet Isaiah: A Commentary, Viktor Buksbazen, to whom we will refer often in coming posts.)

I was drawn to this passage again recently.  What first caught my attention was 52:13-14 which I want to quote, from the NKJV:

13 Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently;

He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high.

14 Just as many were astonished at you,

So His visage was marred more than any man,

And His form more than the sons of men;

What I noticed was the connection between Messiah and Israel in v14.  God is talking about His “Servant.”  Clearly, in my view, the Servant is Messiah, the individual, not the Nation.  Furthermore, in v14 God makes a distinction between the nation (“you”) and the Messiah (“His”).  The Nation and the Man are alike, in that each was the cause for astonishment.  But they are not the same. 

The cause for astonishment in the Nation comes from the preceding verses in Isa. 52.  “You sold yourselves for nothing, and you shall be redeemed without money” (52:3).  “My people shall know My name” (52:6).  “When the LORD brings back Zion” (52:8).  “For the LORD will go before you, and the God of Israel will be your rear guard” (52:12).  The extent of Israel’s “desolation” followed by God’s glorious salvation is truly cause for astonishment.  When it happens, and it hasn’t happened yet. the world will “KNOW that the house of Israel went into captivity for their iniquity … that I am the LORD their God, who sent them into captivity among the nations, but also brought them back to their land, and left none of them captive any longer” (Ezek. 39:23,28).

The cause for astonishment for the Messiah is, of course, the subject of 52:13-53:12, the fourth Servant Song.  They will be astonished at His suffering. 

The fact that this Song has in mind the Messiah is critical to the interpretation of the Song.  That will occupy our posts in the coming days.  But today I would like to note the likeness of Messiah to the Nation.  And actually, it is not just “likeness;” it is His full identification with the Nation. 

I was reminded of the quote in Matt. 2:15: “Out of Egypt I called My Son.”  This was said in the context of Joseph taking Mary and the Child to Egypt to escape Herod.  It is a quote from Hosea 11:1, referring to the Exodus.  But how can it be applied here to Messiah?  The answer is that it is part of His full identification with the Nation.  As they, so He was protected by God for a time, in Egypt. 

Again, in the Servant Song, they are not the same.  Yet Messiah fully identified with Israel.  As they, so He will be hideous in His suffering.  His visage is marred more than any man because He is the God-Man, the Man who is the Mediator between God and man, the Man Christ Jesus.  We are reminded that the day He died there were two others crucified who also were probably hideous.  But we don’t have their story because they were always hideous sinners.  He, the Messiah, was the Son of God.  He had the glory of God because He was God.  He laid aside His majesty and took on the form of sinful men.  As Isaiah 53 will say, He “has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows … He was wounded for our transgressions … bruised for our iniquities … numbered with the transgressors, and He bore the sin of many.”