Isaiah 53 Explained

April 3, 2023

Isaiah was a prophet 700+ years before the birth of Jesus. Isaiah 53 tells of Jesus’ death. A death that hasn’t even been “invented.” To die on a cross, didn’t even exist in Isaiah’s time. Yet, Isaiah 53 gives us an extremely detailed account of his death and in every aspect of his death. He shows us the Messiah was to be a Suffering Servant. The idea that the Messiah would suffer was extremely foreign to the Jewish people. They saw the messiah as a conquering hero. In fact, Isaiah starts out verse 1 by essentially saying, “you’re not going to believe this...”

There is so much packed in to Isaiah 53 that I want to break it down. Our explanation will be concise and quick so this blog post doesn’t take you hours to read and my fingers don’t grow numb from typing. If there is a verse that stirs you, dive deeper! This passage is powerful and will be worth your time.

Passage to Read: Isaiah 53:1-12

Who has believed what he has heard from us?

- You are not going to believe this. It’s contradictory to the belief of the Messiah.

And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

- Arm of the Lord is seen as strength, power and might. Yet this passage seems odd since it talks about a Messiah who is portrayed as weak and suffering.

Yet we have the privilege to know and see Jesus as strong and powerful in the midst of his suffering.

For he grew up before him like a young plant,

- Young plant is tender and Jesus came as a baby and matured as a child

and like a root out of dry ground;

- Jesus grew up in Galilee an area see as “dry” and boring. It was nothing special. Dry in the areas of spiritual, political and standard of living.

he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him.

-Jesus’ outward appearance was nothing special.

He was despised and rejected by men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief;

- Because he was fully man, who knew what it felt like to be sad. He had full human emotion.

and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

- Jesus was not “fancy” Men did not esteem him. They saw him as plain thus rejecting him as their Messiah. They wanted their Messiah to be a conquering hero like the Kings of their day – Full of physical beauty and a charismatic character. A man of high status and power.

Surely he has borne our grief and carried our sorrows;

- This Messiah, Jesus took our pain upon himself. He literally carried our sorrows on his back as he walked/carried his cross to be crucified.

yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted.

- Seen as stricken and afflicted by God because they couldn’t fathom “why” the Messiah would carry our sin.

But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,

- Here Isaiah explains why he was stricken. It was for us, for our sin. The Messiah suffered for us and took our place on the cross. And why? Because it brought us peace.

and with his wounds we are healed.

- A few translations use stripes. The stripes and wounds refer to the beatings. We have healing because of Christ’s sufferings. It is through Jesus’ death on the cross that we have full healing and atonement. (atonement? read this post, https://sixnotesclothing.com/blog/sacrificeandatonement)

All we like sheep have gone astray;

- we all have sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.

we have turned-every one-to his own way;

- we all walk away, chosen our own path even though God has placed a path before us.

and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

- God laid this on Jesus for us. Synonyms for iniquity are wickedness, sinfulness and immorality.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth;

- he stood silent, never standing up for himself, never rebuking false claims against him. Thy will be done he uttered in the garden. He knew this was the only way we could be made right with God so he stood silent. Ready to take on the sin of the world for our redeeming salvation.

like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth.

- Jesus was willing to be the final and ultimate sacrifice for all time. So he stood, taking in all the hate and abuse with not a single retaliation.

By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living,

- Generation refers to no children. Cut off foreshadows that the Messiah would die.

stricken for the transgression of my people?

- He does not suffer for himself but for the sins of people.

And they made his grave with the wicked.

- He died in the company of the wicked. A criminals death.

and with a rich man in his death,

- laid in the tomb of a wealthy man.

although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.

- Because he had done no violence. He never sinned and he remained holy.

Yet it was the will of the LORD to crush him; he has put him to grief;

- God was in control. His sovereign hand controlled the priests, Pontius pilot and the Roman Soldiers. This was not by mistake. God allowed man to crucify Christ all for His redemptive purpose and plan.

when his soul makes an offering for guilt,

- We will dive into Jesus as the final sacrifice on another day. But he was and we now are made right with God.

he shall see his offspring;

- Spiritual descendants.

he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.

- life after death with the glory of God

Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;

- He will look back on his suffering and it will all be worth it.

by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.

- We are justified before God when we know/believe in the Messiah because of who he is and what he did on the cross for us.

Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

- We will divide the goods with those who share in his suffering, those who are followers of Christ, you and me, heirs to his throne.

because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors;

- He gave it all. He poured out all of himself on the cross.

yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.

- He identified himself with us, a sinner, and here Isaiah states again He took our sin upon himself and we are now made holy through the Messiah.

For more prophesies:

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Meaning of Winnowing, Winnowing Fork, Threshing Floor

February 13, 2023

When reading the Bible we often come across words, tools, or phrases that do not make sense to us in today’s world. For example: winnowing, winnowing fork or chaff. What is a threshing floor?

These terms are often used but not always as a picture of God’s judgment. It is a visual that the Jewish people understood very well but is foreign to us today.

Winnowing is a farming method developed by ancient people for separating the grain from the chaff. The chaff is the dry, scaly protective casing of the seeds of grain or the husk of corn.

In simple terms, after harvesting the grain, they would strike, beat or crush the grain to loosen it from the desirable grain from the stalk. Then they would go through a winnowing process which was to throw the mixture into the air, often with a basket or winnowing fork, so the wind blows away the lighter chaff and the heavier grain falls to the floor. It’s separating the good from the bad. In modern farming, this process is made easy by the combine.

The threshing floor is where this process happens. It could have been outdoors on a flat piece of land or indoors over a smooth floor of earth, stone or wood.

Here are some examples in scripture where the writer uses these terms to create a picture for the reader of God’s judgement. When God will separate the good from the bad.

Matthew 3:12 (Luke 3:17)

His winnowing fork is in His hand, and He will thoroughly clear His threshing floor; and He will gather His wheat into the barn, but He will burn up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Isaiah 41:14-16

“You will winnow them, and the wind will carry them away,

And the storm will scatter them;

But you will rejoice in the Lord,

You will glory in the Holy One of Israel.

Jeremiah 15:7

“I will winnow them with a winnowing fork

At the gates of the land;

I will bereave them of children, I will destroy My people;

They did not repent of their ways.

Jeremiah 51:1-2

“I will dispatch foreigners to Babylon that they may winnow her

And may devastate her land;

For on every side they will be opposed to her

In the day of her calamity.

Meaning and Use of Olive in the Bible

May 11, 2022

How do you write about the use of the “olive” in the Bible? Where do you even begin to dive deep? There are so many facets to the Olive Tree. There is the tree, the branch, the shoot, the oil, and the Mount Of Olives and I’m pretty sure there are more areas to dive into with the Bible! I mean the Olive tree/branch is referenced from Genesis as a sign of peace when the dove brought back an Olive Branch during Noah’s Flood all the way to Revelations with the vision of the two Olive Trees. Leviticus uses “olive” 38x in the NIV for rams, bulls and for grain offerings. In Numbers, and other parts of the Bible, the Israelites are instructed to use only the finest olive oil for setting apart and for ceremonial rituals. Later we read in Deuteronomy about how olive oil or the olive crop will be blessed among other things if the Israelites pay careful attention to the law and follow God’s ways and if not destruction will come up the olive crop.

Throughout the Old Testament it references olive oil being used to anoint various kings. Samuel anointing Saul is one of the most notable and Elisha’s instructions for anointing Jehu in 2 Kings 9. We also read parables with olive oil and olive trees to teach the people. Example, Judges 9, Jothem is warning the people of Shechem of their choice of King. The good and passed on Kings are compared to the worthy and desirable Olive tree. In 2 Kings 4, Elisha provides a miracle to a widow with jars of oil. It’s a beautiful and true story of faith and provision from God.

And there’s more. In 1 Kings we read about olive wood being used for the building of the temple and pure olive oil to light the sacred lampstands. These materials were also used in the rebuilding of the temple in Nehemiah. Olive oil was used in ancient times for medicine and healing balm as we read about in Isaiah 16 and Luke 10. We read about the stature of the olive tree and the flowering beauty in Psalms 32 and Hosea 14. God uses the imagery of an Olive tree in Jeremiah 11 to remind his people of the covenant relationship he has with them.

And the references keep going! Paul even used the olive tree in Romans 11 to speak to how the Gentiles were grafted to the Jews “the olive root” and the Gentiles were the wild olive trees incapable of bearing fruit. But now grafted to the Jews, they were now able to share in the blessing. But it is not the branches that sustain the graft but the root and the root is Christ.

We read about the Mount of Olives outside Jerusalem. The Olive Trees were a desert tree and thrived in the hardship of the heat. It’s here the olives were harvested. Beaten from the tree and processed through a series of extreme crushing to create a pulp and then pressing to extract the oil. We read about various people of the Bible retreating to the Mount of Olives like King David in 2 Samuel 15 when he went to the Mount of Olives weeping and in Zechariah 14 when he foreshadows that the persecuted will flee to the Mount of Olives when Jesus returns. Jesus often went and escaped during his life on earth to the Mount of Olives to pray. What a beautiful place that represents peace (pointing back to the flood) in the midst of hardship.

A beautiful representation though of what the Olive truly symbolizes and means is when we look at Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane before his arrest. The Garden of Gethsemane was in the Mount of Olives. Here Jesus was praying and pleading before God to take away the hardship of the world. Our anointed King was taking on the sin of the world. Here in the Garden among the Olive trees Jesus is pressed knowing he will be crushed and beaten. Yet here he finds peace with God only to leave with a peace that passes all understanding… “Thy Will Be Done” as he’s arrested.

While we might not have olive trees surrounding us or a place like the Mount of Olives to retreat to, we can still find the peace that our Savior provides when we feel crushed and when life continues to beat down on us. Life is not easy. In fact, Jesus said it wouldn’t be. Sometimes it is just down right hard and crushing. Yet every hardship we walk through we can know that He is there walking with us. Refining us. Purifying us. Bringing us to completion as is stated in Philippians 1:6.

And if you are at a point when the crushing just feels too much. Remember the process of the beating, crushing and pressing of the olive produced an oil that was so valuable that it was used to anoint Kings.

The beautiful news is… you are already anointed, royalty in His heavenly family BEFORE the refining.

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Meaning of the Hyssop Branch

May 5, 2022

The Hyssop was an herb in the Mediterranean region. It grows about 1.5 feet tall with summer blooms in different colors such as violet, red and white. It was known for its flavoring and medicinal properties for both physical and topical, most often used for skin balm. We read about the Hyssop branch several times in the Old and New Testaments often when it comes to the process of being cleansed often when speaking about leprosy. Both Leviticus 14 and later in Numbers give instruction to lepers to use Hyssop for both the cleansing of their bodies and of their homes.

Later King David after sinning with Bathsheba points back to the Old Testament cleansings and uses the imagery of a hyssop for spiritual cleansing and confession. Asking God to cleanse his soul for he was like a leper.

Other places we find the Hyssop in the Bible are Hebrews 9:19 referencing spiritual cleansing with the blood and 1 Kings 4:33 as the wise King Solomon speaks about specific plant life. But there are two passages that are most popular and hold deep significant meaning to us. Exodus 12:22 during the Exodus and 10 Plagues against Egypt and John 19:29 during the Crucifixion of Jesus.

We are first introduced to the Hyssop Branch in the Bible in Exodus 12:22 when God instructed His people before the 10th and final plague to take the Hyssop which acted like a sponge or paintbrush and dip into the blood of the sacrificial lamb and paint over the doorposts of their homes. This would be a sign to the angel of death to Passover their home and save them.

The Hyssop was again used as a sponge-like instrument in John 12:29 when the Jesus claims “I thirst” and the Roman soldiers dip a hyssop branch into sour wine and drew it up to Jesus as he hung on the cross as he takes his final breaths. He was our final sacrificial lamp whose blood was shed for the cleansing of our sin.

While the Hyssop seems like an insignificant detail to us as we read the Bible, it actually holds great value and meaning. It connects the Bible and acts as a symbol for cleansing. Once physical, now spiritual. And a symbol for saving grace. The Apostle John when writing about the Crucifixion makes sure to point out the use of the Hyssop to draw back the Jews to the time of the Exodus - the saving blood of the Passover. The sacrifice of the first born. They now see this as a symbolic moments, the fulfillment of scripture. Just as the hyssop branch was used in the first Passover to provide the saving grace for the Israelites from death of the firstborn, here they see the ultimate sacrifice of the first born to provide them the everlasting saving grace.

In the words of David in Psalm 51:7 “Cleanse me with hyssop, and I will be clean; wash me, and I will be whiter than snow.” May you remember Christ’s final sacrifice and cleansing for you.

The Meaning of the Palm Branch

May 4, 2022

The Palm Branch was an emblem of Palestine and a symbol of Jewish nationalism since the time of the Maccabees which we’ll learn about later. The Roman and Greek Phoenicia even called Palestine the “land of the Palms”. They were a sigh of splendor with the stem rising to 40 or 50 feet and at times even up to 80 feet. It’s only branches are the feathery, pale green fronds that measure 6-12 feet long, bending from the top. The Palms attract eyes wherever they are seen.

You’ll often see the Palms referenced in scripture dating back to the Old Testament. Example, God’s instructions to Moses for the Festival of Shelters to make outdoor booths with Palm Branches as a way to remember God’s provision as they wandered the wilderness in Exodus. You see this reference in both Leviticus 23:40+ and again later in Nehemiah 8:15. Palm branches are also used throughout the Bible (referenced at the end of this post) for something being tall, upright, fruitful, and a sign of flourishing, peace and victory. The Roman athletic competitions even used palm branches awarding them to the winners as a symbol of their strength, power and of course victory.

In Judges 4:5, Deborah conducted an important meeting under the shade of a Palm Tree. While I can assume it was mostly for the shade, we should not be naïve to the symbolic meaning behind stationing herself here as a woman of authority in a very patriarch world even if she was a respected prophetess. Solomon also used the symbolic meaning of the palm in adorning the temple inner and outer sanctuary walls. Matthew Poole comments, “Palm trees were used as emblems of peace and victory over their enemies which the Israelites duly serving God in the temple might expect.”

But it’s in John 12:13, Mark 11:8 and Matthew 21:8 that we remember the Palm Branches most for. The celebration of Palm Sunday when the Jews welcomed Jesus into Jerusalem waving their symbols of victory and strength to their King proclaiming Hosannah. The crowd looked at Jesus as a political and national savior and greeted Jesus as a King, a conquering hero. Some say this looked back to the time of the Maccabees when the people celebrated the rededication of the temple in 164bc and again when the winning of full political independence in 141bc. Using the branches during Palm Sunday commemorated this time and declared their hope in Jesus being their King to overthrow Rome for victory and independence. (Bruce)

But God also uses the symbol of the Palm for a greater victory. In Revelations 7:9, “…behold, a great multitude which no one could number, of all nations, tribes, peoples, and tongues, standing before the throne and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, with palm branches in their hands, and crying out with a loud voice, saying, “salvation belongs to our God who sites on the throne, and to the Lamb!” This verse points back to Jesus’ triumphal entry into Jerusalem and forward to the time when we gloriously get to stand before the throne and celebrate with the multitudes the Ultimate and Final Victory.

The Palm Branch what a beautiful reminder of what true victory looks like in Christ. May we be reminded of this day that we read about in Revelations 7 of the day we long for, hope for, and are promised with. Gaze upon the Palm Branch… the final Victory is His. And ours.