Bible Propehecy 2. Isaiah 53? This tells about a suffering servant. Many think it predicts Jesus.?

Question

Again LOOK at the passage in CONTEXT. Notice the language.
"He was despised, and rejected of men; a man of sorrows..and with his stripes we are healed.
It seems to be talking about somebody in the past, that is, before Isaiah. "He was despised...was wounded...was bruised."
The theme of the suffering servant appears throughout Isaiah 40 through 55. The suffering servant seems to be talking about the nation of Israel. For instance in Isaiah 44:1-2 :
"But now listen, O Jacob, My servant...And you Jeshurun whom I have chosen.
So we find that Jacob (Israel) is referred to as a servant. The passage could be telling us nothing more than that Israel suffered for the sins of the people. This passage could have nothing to do with a FUTURE SAVIOR. Perhaps Isaiah was not even writing a PROPHECY.

Do you think that Such Prophecies of the Bible are impressive? Try Reading it from the perspective of a person who has never heard of Jesus. You will find that the claimed prophecies melt away..

Answer 1

When one's mind is pre-set about certain things, then, its difficult to change the belief that follows with it.
The Christians' Minds are preset that all prophecies told in the OT are pointing to Jesus. No matter how hard one tries to explain the Logic behind, the Mind just simply refuses to accept, Unless, Almighty God intervenes and shows them the Light.

Answer 2

Thinking Isaiah 53 refers to Jesus is a common mistake. Chapters 40-55 of Isaiah were written by Second Isaiah i.e. after southern kingdom was destroyed in 586 BCE and the surviving Israelites had been taken into captivity. Like all the prophets, he was writing for his own time, not future generations. He was trying to explain to the nation of Israel why they suffered and why they should yet have hope. Here's why that interpretation is correct: 1) There is no use of the word “messiah” in the passage at all. Moreover, the Jewish idea of a messiah was not someone who suffered, but rather a mighty leader. Therefore it is clear that the “servant” who has suffered is not meant to be any type of messiah. 2) The servant is crushed, the opposite of stretched or crucified, which is what happened to Jesus. 3) Most fundamentally, the author specifically identifies the “servant” as the nation of Israel in 41:8 and 49:3. The sufferings of the servant are said to be in the past, not in the future. This is consistent with the timing of the writing, i.e. after the destruction of the nation of Israel has occurred and the captivity is underway. The suffering of Jesus, by contrast, occurs in the future.

Answer 3

I will start off by saying that I do not believe the Bible is, or was meant to make predictions.

The claims people make are a case of people reading into it what they want to believe.

That said, looking at any one passage in the bible isn't a fair test of it's importance. I think that anybody who reads the whole thing is struck by the dedication and focus the people who follow Jesus have had. As a totality the book is impresive, and to think it was written (in sections) during a time when less than 1 out of 20 people could read or write.

I think the bible provides (for those who choose to see it) a useful set of moral tools for living in and improving a society, and I think that is what it was meant to do. The old testiment provides the background and history of the rules, and the new testiment provides the "rules for today", basicaly boiled down to "LOVE", or do unto others as you would have them do unto you. The hate and violence advocated by so many "christians" just arn't there. Jesus clearly showed in his "attack" on the desicrators of the temple that although violence may sometimes be used, nobody should ever be seriously harmed. Yet these days many christian churches advocate "just war" policies. Jesus never killed or even condemned any sinners, just said "sin no more" then sat down and had dinner with them.

If you want to see how hard people will look to see what they want to belive look at the "Bible Codes" discovered a few years ago, then look at the work of some mathematicians who showed the same "codes" can be found in Moby Dick! The funniest thing is that some of the bible code belivers rather than conclude they were wrong, now belive that Moby Dick should be considered a spiritual text!! The mathmaticians are bogled, they say that it's all random chance, but the religous nuts won't belive them!!!! (they did do a couple of other books just to prove that the "codes" can be found anywhere)

Answer 4

Most of the prophets from the Jewish Bible were of course concerned with the state of the Jewish people as they existed at that time. This is a fact that many overly-eager Christians forget when they choose to interpret these passages to make it sound like they predicted Jesus, or indeed anything else. Only if we place the writer within the proper historical context do the words make sense.

Thanks for your question!

Answer 5

Isaiah 53
1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.

3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.

5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.

6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.

7 He was oppressed and afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
and as a sheep before her shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.

8 By oppression [a] and judgment he was taken away.
And who can speak of his descendants?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
for the transgression of my people he was stricken. [b]

9 He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.

10 Yet it was the LORD's will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the LORD makes [c] his life a guilt offering,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.

11 After the suffering of his soul,
he will see the light of life [d] and be satisfied [e] ;
by his knowledge [f] my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, [g]
and he will divide the spoils with the strong, [h]
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors

Decide for yourself what it means.

Answer 6

ok I am Jewish and you are not Jewish-because you reject Moses, Isaiah and our Jewish Messiah-you claim to be Jewish but your a bad apple to true Judaism. Moses said we have to have a blood atonement for sins. I have Messiah Jesus you have only one thing-
"He was despised and rejected-who is the one you despise and reject=the Messiah Jesus-you fulfill Messianic prophecy in your rejection.

to find out why the past tense go back to Isaiah 52:13 teaches the other part of this about- him being exalted which comes after the rest of this prophecy -thus first he was despised and rejected.
you say the nation of Israel died for you sins that you despised and rejected Israel that he died with the wicked and was burried with the rich
that israel laid down its life as a lamb innocent to die for israels sins and make atonement.

You happened to also leave out holy Isaiah's words "All we like sheep have gone astray, and the Lord will make to light on him the iniquity of us all."

Yes these scriptures are impressive-enough to convince me Jesus is our Jewish Messiah-and let him forgive my sins and come into my heart to be my friend.---the only thing to melt away is unbelief-Messiah Jesus gives you that choice-i was a hard hearted Jew once-taught that Jesus was a liar and deciever-which was part of the prophecy -he will be despised and rejected-thanks for bringing the prophecies of messiah Jesus and also proving he is despised and rejected as promised to our Jewish people-which if you come to Messiah and believe Moses and Isaiah you will be a Jew too.

Answer 7

I think that you forgot the first verse: "Who hath believed our report?"

And what else concurs with Jesus's sufferings?
Zechariah 13:6
And one shall say unto him, What are these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, Those with which I was wounded in the house of my friends.

Wounds on his hands? House of my friends?

You are not getting it still? Will there be a question 3?

Answer 8

The prophecies you are wrestling with have been fulfilled in the person of Jesus Christ.

Read Psalm 2.

Answer 9

Jesus the man was made up, the Bible was made up and is a story, not of actual predictious crap that you see. So no it isn't impressive because Jesus was written about 40 years after his death. Doesn't seem very credible of a story and if I was a Judge I wouldn't use evidence 40 years old.

Answer 10

No matter how you spin it these verses are still is talking about Jesus and what He suffered on the cross on our behalf.