It is no wonder that Isaiah 52:13–53:12 occupies such a cherished place in the life of the church. In this central text about the cross of Christ, the Lord promises a remedy for the biggest problem every person faces: separation from Him because of willful disobedience.

Fresh out of college in May 2004, I was worshipping in church on a Sunday when my pastor made the assertion, “The death of Christ and resurrection that followed is the central event of human history.” I remember pausing and thinking, “hmmm, those things are important. But the central events in human history? That seems like an overstatement.”

Twenty years, one marriage, four children, one seminary degree, and years of pastoral ministry later, I have come to see with ever-increasing clarity how true that statement is.

The cross and resurrection are the centerpiece of the life work and accomplishment of Jesus Christ, God the Son incarnate. Jesus’s death and resurrection followed His perfect life, in which He completed the work God gave Him to do (John 17:4, Heb. 2:10, Heb. 5:8–9). The New Hampshire Confession sums up well the impact that Jesus’s person and work has for God’s people: “he is every way qualified to be a suitable, a compassionate, and an all-sufficient Savior.”

This month, Christ Over All is looking at sightings of the cross in the Old Testament, taking time to look at passages and theological themes that foreshadow Calvary. In 1 Corinthians 15:3–4, Paul spoke of the death and resurrection of Christ as matters of “first importance,” that Jesus carried out “in accordance with the Scriptures.”

Isaiah 52:13–53:12 is one such passage of Scripture, and my task is to feature this text’s revelation of the substitutionary atoning work of the servant of the Lord. I will do this through a look at the text’s epochal and canonical contexts, a review of the passage’s immediate context, the New Testament authors’ use and interpretation of it, and Jesus’s application of the passage to the institution and observance of the Lord’s Supper.

Buckle your seat belt: what follows is a glorious redemption road for God’s people!

Isaiah’s Epochal and Canonical Context

What did Isaiah 53 mean to the nearly exiled Jews to whom it was first written? Can its context then enhance our understanding of it now? Yes—abundantly so! We begin therefore by looking at key aspects of the epoch (or era) of redemptive history the text was written in and elements of the passage that carry forward central, recurring themes from earlier Scripture.

The Mosaic Law—which God gave at Mount Sinai (Exod. 20:1ff) following His deliverance of His people from Egypt—included blessings for obedience and curses for disobedience. Knowing the corruption of fallen humanity, God graciously built into this law/covenant the provision of blood sacrifices to cover sin. This atoning provision is seen most significantly in the institution of the Passover (Exodus 12) and the annual observance of the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16).

The people of Israel would prove to need such atonement. Story after story in the Old Testament shows God’s people testing his patience and proving his faithfulness by their repeated sin and open disregard for him and his promises.

The Servant of Isaiah

Isaiah 1–39 records the consequence of Israel’s repeated, flagrant disobedience: exile from the Promised Land. Hope is not lost, however: Isaiah 40–55 speaks of a future return from exile for God’s people. This promised return would have two stages: one physical—release from captivity (Isa. 42:18–43:21) and the other spiritual—forgiveness of sins (Isa. 43:22–44:23).^[1] This work of redemption is accomplished by and through a figure revealed as the servant of the Lord.

Servant Songs in Isaiah

Four passages in Isaiah in particular—known as the Servant Songs—provide details about the servant who would come to deliver God’s people:

• Isaiah 42:1–9 – The Holy Spirit empowers the servant (Isa. 42:1); the Lord will give Him as a covenant for the people (Isa. 42:6, see also 49:8).
• Isaiah 49:1–13 – The servant is Israel (Isa. 49:3); the servant will also save Israel, and not just people from ethnic Israel – through the servant God will extend salvation to the end of the earth (Isa. 49:6).
• Isaiah 50:4–9 – The servant is not rebellious, but obedient (Isa. 50:5), setting his “face like a flint” to do God’s will (Isa. 50:7).
• Isaiah 52:13–53:10 – The servant brings redemption to God’s people through his substitutionary sacrifice. This redemption has two primary aspects: 1) the forgiveness of sins—which includes the permanent removal of offenses—and the accounting of righteousness (Isa. 53:4–6, 11–12).

In Isaiah 52:13–53:12, Isaiah describes the physical and spiritual deliverance to come with the Hebrew word ga-al. In English, the word is translated redeem, meaning “to buy back.”^[2] This passage centers on the redemptive work of the servant of the Lord, buying back God’s people from slavery to sin and death.

Immediate Context and New Testament Authors’ Use and Interpretation

Isaiah 52:13–53:12 is quoted seven times and alluded to another 34 times in the New Testament, across the gospels, Acts, letters and Revelation.^[3] John Stott, quoting Joachim Jeremias, notes that “No other passage from the Old Testament, was as important to the church as Isaiah 53.”^[4]

Peter Gentry provides the following helpful overview of the literary structure of Isaiah 52:13–53:12:^[5]

• Stanza 1: Prologue (Isa. 52:13–15)
• Stanza 2: Pains in Life (Isa. 53:1–3) Description
• Stanza 3: For Us (Isa. 53:4–6) Interpretation/Central Explanation
• Stanza 4: Pains in Death (Isa. 53:7–9) Description
• Stanza 5: For Us (Isa. 53:10–12) Interpretation

The first stanza sets up the descriptions and interpretations that follow. Let’s look at some details of these sections and how the authors of the New Testament interpret them.

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