Surely he took up our pain
Isaiah 53:4 - Recognizing Isaiah’s prophecy and its eventual fulfillment should increase our appreciation for the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
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“Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted.”
Isaiah 53:4 NIV
Thank You, Lord, for picking this wonderful verse for me to study today. This is part of the incredibly accurate prophecy of the crucifixion of Jesus made by the prophet Isaiah sometime between 740 and 686 BC.
“He”, in this verse, is a prophetic reference to the Messiah — the Suffering Servant. Jesus “took up our pain”, taking upon Himself the physical infirmities of the people. Throughout the Gospels, we read of Jesus healing the sick. The apostle Matthew quoted this passage directly in Matthew 8:17 in describing the healing work of Jesus.
The second part of the first phrase — “and bore our suffering” — foreshadowed the other side of the ministry of Jesus, which was healing spiritual maladies. Humanity has always suffered from emotional and spiritual burdens including grief and pain, and here God — through Isaiah — is telling the Israelites that the Messiah will be empathetic with human suffering. Once again jumping forward to the Gospels, we see that Jesus weeps with sorrow at the death of His friend Lazarus (John 11:35) and brings comfort to the weary and burdened (Matthew 11:28-30).
When Jesus came as a man to bear our burdens, He was misunderstood by those He came to save. In the context of the times (both during Isaiah’s prophetic era and the ministry of Jesus 700 years later), one who suffered was being punished by God for sin or for offending God (“punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted”). During the crucifixion, Jesus was mocked as being cursed by God (Matthew 27:39-43) — definitely a misunderstanding of His mission.
The Servant of Man wasn’t suffering as an act of divine judgement, and those who really understood the prophecy knew that His suffering was part of God’s plan of redemption — NOT a result of any sin on His part. In the New Testament era, we understand that the crucifixion of Jesus was a necessary part of God’s plan for salvation, as highlighted in Acts 2:23.
The last two words — “and afflicted” — can be defined as being humiliated or oppressed, highlighting just how deeply the Servant would suffer and how much He identified with human pain. In the Gospels, Jesus endured mockery, torture (beatings and scourging), and an incredibly painful death through crucifixion. The afflictions had a purpose: an ultimate victory over sin and death, as Isaiah foretold in his prophecy.
Especially at this time just after our annual observance of the death and resurrection of Jesus, recognizing Isaiah’s prophecy and its eventual fulfillment should increase our appreciation for the sacrifice of Jesus on the cross.
Heaven On Wheels Daily Prayer:
Today’s prayer comes from Knowing Jesus:
Heavenly Father, I praise and thank You that Christ was lifted up to die on the Cross to pay the price for my sin. I am as guilty of His death on the Cross as those that falsely accused Him and nailed Him there to die. I am equally to blame, and yet I praise and thank You that through faith in His sacrificial death and glorious Resurrection, I have been redeemed and forgiven of my sin. I praise You that His finished work was sufficient. Hallelujah! What a Saviour! Praise His holy name, AMEN.