Isaiah 52:13-15

c.

REGENCY

TEXT: Isaiah 52:13-15

13

Behold, my servant shall deal wisely, he shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high.

14

Like as many were astonished at thee, (his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men,)

15

so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths at him; for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they understand.

QUERIES

a.

How shall the servant deal wisely?

b.

In what way was his visage marred?

c.

How shall he sprinkle many nations?

PARAPHRASE

Behold! My Servant shall succeed. He shall be exalted to the highest degree. At first, many will be shocked at the humiliating physical torture and disfigurement he enduresso much more than is possible for others in human form. But his exaltation will be that much more astounding. His success will cause the hearts of many to leap within them. Kings and great men will be awed by His glory. They will see and understand things they could never know before His coming.

COMMENTS

Isaiah 52:13 AFFIRMATION: Chapter and verse numeration (which came many centuries after the original documents were written) obscures the contextual flow of our present passage; Isaiah 52:13 through Isaiah 53:12 should be read as a unit. Making Isaiah 52:15 the end of a chapter and Isaiah 53:1 the beginning of another is an unfortunate adumbration which the student of Isaiah's message must be careful to trace out. These verses are all one dissertation on the success of the Suffering Servant.

The Hebrew word yasekkiyl is the infinitive of sakal and may be translated to prosper; to have success, instead of deal wisely. This translation would fit the context. The affirmation of Jehovah is that His Servant shall succeed in fulfilling all the predictions made (through Isaiah) of ultimate deliverance, redemption and glorification of Zion. The Servant-Messenger-Messiah of Jehovah will be exalted to the highest degree. Zion has suffered and will suffer much from the days of Isaiah until God comes and establishes His reign among men. Good tidings are beginning to come through the prophets of God. How beautiful will be the feet of the divine Messenger of God who will not only bring the message of salvation and peace but also accomplish it in Himself (cf. Isaiah 52:7). The mighty Jehovah is going to bare His holy arm (power) before all the world (cf. Isaiah 52:10). Contrary to God's apparent default on His covenant promises to the patriarchs by allowing the Babylonian captivity, the Lord is going to send His Servant and He will succeed in re-establishing Zion in divine power and splendor. This Servant will achieve what He sets out to do. Why is it necessary to affirm the success of the Servant? Because even the Servant's appearance in history will initially be in such a low, humble, unspectacular, humiliating way, most of the world will not believe. He is a manifestation of the power of Jehovah! (cf. Isaiah 53:1 ff). But the success of the Lord's Servant will be extraordinary. Three Hebrew verbs (roomexalted; nissalifted up; gavahvery high) are piled one upon another to emphasize that The Servant will not be defeated in the extreme suffering He will have to undergo (including death).

Isaiah 52:14-15 AMAZEMENT: Isaiah 52:15 is in antithesis to Isaiah 52:14 and emphasizes the contrast between what the Servant first appeared to be and what He later was acknowledged to be. The thee of Isaiah 52:14 is therefore the Servant-Messiah (not Israel). Men will be shocked at His humble demeanor. He claimed to be the king of the Jewsthe Messiah, but He did not in any way fulfill human presuppositions as to messianic royalty. He was slandered, mocked, accused of blasphemy, arrested, unjustly tried and sentenced as a criminal. He was scourged with a Roman whip and physically mutilated more than most human beings ever suffer, placed on a bloody Roman cross and there tortured both physically and psychologically by mocking rabbis, soldiers, and the multitudes. Some were shocked at His extreme disfigurement (cf. Luke 23:47-49). But the fact of His absolute innocence contrasted with His willing acceptance of the atonement for the sin of the world is what makes his visage. so marred more than any man. Philippians 2:5-11 expresses it perfectly. The Son of God emptied Himself and took the form of a servant. But God highly exalted Him. As low as His humiliation was, His exaltation was infinitely higher! The Hebrew word yazzeh is kin to the Arabic naza which means the springing or leaping of people caused by excess of emotion. Yazzeh is from the Hebrew root nazah which is usually translated sprinkle, but apparently is better translated here, startle, amaze, cause to jump, scatter. Leupold translates it startle; Today's English Version translates marvel; New International Version footnotes, marvel; RSV is startle; most other translations make it sprinkle. Young comments ... he will sprinkle many nations. As one who is disfigured, the servant does something for others, in that he performs a purifying rite. men regarded the servant as himself unclean and in need of purification, whereas he himself as a priest will sprinkle water and blood and so purify many nations. We prefer the translation startle because it seems more appropriate to the intended contrast of the context.

Man will be shocked at His humiliation. But the goiym (nations or Gentiles) will be startled at the totally unexpected development events surrounding His humiliation and exaltation will ultimately take! The consequences will be world-wide. A church will be born; His disciples will be found even in the household of Caesar! The like of what shall result from the humiliation and exaltation of Jehovah's Servant was never imagined by the great (kings, philosophers, theologians). Never was anyone brought so low; never was anyone raised so high as God's Servant. Emperors, philosophers, rabbis will be awed by His glory. Through Him will come a revelation from God (justification, redemption, sanctification) of things they could never know before His coming, but now they believe, appropriate and experience.

This text (Isaiah 52:13 to Isaiah 53:12) is written in the predictive present. It is prophecy, but it is so certain to come to pass it can be written as if it had already happened or was then happening. It is almost as if we were listening to two disciples of Jesus standing on a street-corner in Jerusalem reviewing the things that happened on Good Friday in the light of Easter Sunday and the Day of Pentecost. Isaiah's account is so vivid and was fulfilled so minutely it is little wonder that many of the fathers of the church days of old claim that the account reads as though Isaiah had sat at the foot of the cross.

QUIZ

1.

Why emphasize the success of the Servant of Jehovah?

2.

Why were men astonished at the marred visage of the Servant?

3.

What verses of the N.T. shed light on the humiliation of the Servant?

4.

What is the contrast between Isaiah 52:14-15?

5.

What is predictive present?