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 53:4-6
“Yet” is the key to the second half of verse 4. It’s another clue that the Jewish remnant redeemed in the last days are speaking here. They have come to realize that what they thought about Jesus was not true. Even though they thought Jesus was being punished by God for something he had done, he was actually suffering because he took their punishment for them.
There are three verbs following “yet” that describe what Jesus endured:
- “punished” – Hebrew word nāgaʽ
- “stricken” – Hebrew word nākâ
- “afflicted” – Hebrew word ʽānâ
The Hebrew word nāgaʽ means to lay hands upon but also means to strike. It can convey anything from a simple touch to a violent beating. The first time we see this word in Scripture is in Genesis when Eve says to the serpent:
“We may eat fruit from the trees in the garden, but God did say, ‘You must not eat fruit from the tree that is in the middle of the garden, and you must not touch (nāgaʽ) it, or you will die’” (Gen 3:3).
Interestingly enough, this word nāgaʽ can also be translated as “plague” as seen when God struck Egypt for taking Abraham’s wife:
“But the Lord plagued (nāgaʽ) Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram’s wife” (Gen 12:17).
The Hebrew word nākâ is a more violent word than nāgaʽ meaning anything from a jab to a lethal blow. It covers everything from accidental injury to capital punishment. It’s heavily used throughout the Old Testament to describe plagues, curses and military battles. We saw this word earlier in Isaiah:
“I offered my back to those who beat (nākâ) me,
my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard;
I did not hide my face
from mocking and spitting” (Isa 50:6).
The Hebrew word ʽānâ conveys two ideas – (1) affliction or oppression by a higher power and (2) humbling yourself voluntarily. Combining these two ideas we could say that ʽānâ describes the “discipline” of God described in Hebrews that produces humility:
“No discipline seems pleasant at the time, but painful. Later on, however, it produces a harvest of righteousness and peace for those who have been trained by it” (Heb 12:11).
Israel has thought for all these years (and still does) that Jesus was punished, stricken and afflicted by God because of his blasphemous claims. One of the most understated verses in all of Scripture is:
“Then Pilate took Jesus and had him flogged” (John 19:1).
A Roman flogging was a horrific ordeal. It was so horrible that Roman citizens were by law protected from this punishment. If you’ve seen The Passion of the Christ, I’ve heard it said that even the movie doesn’t do the flogging scene justice. Many victims don’t survive the flogging to even make it to the cross. And the Jews believed this was just punishment for Jesus.
But it wasn’t a just punishment. Jesus was perfect. Yet he voluntarily laid down his life, endured the pain and suffering of a Roman flogging and crucifixion, so that we could be saved from our just punishment.
“But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed” (Isa 53:5).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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