Isaiah 53:4
Surely he took up our pain
and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
stricken by him, and afflicted. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 53:4-12
We are walking on holy ground as we begin our study of Isaiah 53:4-6. If we only had these three verses of the Old Testament Scriptures, we would hold God’s plan of salvation for all of humanity. The one through whom all things were created will sacrifice himself to save the guilty sinner. These are precious words.
The ESV translation begins verse 4:
“Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;”
Let’s begin with the first word “surely” which is the Hebrew word ākēn which is an exclamation meant to emphasize the unexpected. This word begins verse 4 with a sudden acknowledgment of reality. The redeemed Jewish remnant see the error in their judgment of the Messiah. The veil has been lifted from their eyes and they can now see what Jesus did for them. They can clearly see now that he wasn’t crucified for his own blasphemous sins, but for their (and our) sins.
Matthew in his gospel quotes this verse in the context of Jesus healing physical pain and sufferings:
“When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
‘He took up our infirmities
and bore our diseases’” (Matt 8:16-17).
In eternity, our infirmities and diseases will be healed because of Jesus’ work on the cross. But the cross heals us of so much more. Jesus “borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” as well. The Hebrew word for “griefs” or “pain” is ḥᵒlî which we saw in verse 3. However the context is slightly different here.
The pain in verse 3 was largely the emotional pain that Jesus endured from being rejected by the people he loved. This word is better translated in verse 4 as “spiritual sickness” in that Jesus took up our spiritual sickness. Isaiah 1:4-5 says:
“Woe to the sinful nation,
a people whose guilt is great,
a brood of evildoers,
children given to corruption!
They have forsaken the Lord;
they have spurned the Holy One of Israel
and turned their backs on him.
Why should you be beaten anymore?
Why do you persist in rebellion?
Your whole head is injured (ḥᵒlî),
your whole heart afflicted.”
In speaking to the nation of Israel, God said their whole head was injured and their whole heart afflicted with sin. This is the injury or infirmity that Jesus bore for us because we could not cure ourselves. Only the spotless Lamb of God was able to atone for our sins.
The NASB translation says:
“Surely our griefs He Himself bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of God, and afflicted.”
This translation places a special emphasis on “He Himself” in that Jesus voluntarily bore our pain for us. Jesus said this as well:
“The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father” (John 10:17-18).
And for this I am eternally grateful.
Christ in the Old Testament 
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