Thy Word is a Lamp Unto My Feet Outreach

Isaiah 53:5

Chapter 53 from the book of Isaiah is often referred to as “The Sin-Bearing Servant,” pointing to the coming Savior, Yahushua.

THE VERSE
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.

THE STUDY
Wounded [Hebrew term: ḥālal]. HALAL is a verb, meaning “to bore [a hole].” Although this indicates a literal piercing, the verb can also have a figurative meaning, “to profane.” During Yahushua’s earthly lifetime, He experienced both connotations.

Transgressions [Hebrew term: pešaʿ]. The term means “rebellion.” This noun has as its root the verb PASA, meaning “to step, to march forward, to stride, to rush upon.”

Bruised [Hebrew term: dāḵā’]. This verb means “to be crushed, to be shattered, to be made contrite.” The action indicates an intentional action (as opposed to an accidental incident).

Iniquities [Hebrew term: ʿāôn]. AON means “perversity, depravity” which derives from the root verb AVAH, “to bend, crook, twist, distort; to do wrong, pervert.”

Chastisement [Hebrew term: mûsār]. MUSAR means “discipline, chastening, correction”; the word indicates leading someone to more severe discipline. The linguistic root of MUSAR is YACAR, “to chasten [with blows], discipline, instruct, admonish.”

Peace [Hebrew term: šālôm]. SALOM is a noun meaning “completeness, soundness, welfare, peace, friendship.” The core meaning of SALOM comes from SHALAM, “to be safe, to be completed, to be repaid.”

Stripes [Hebrew term: ḥabûrâ]: This noun indicates “bruise, stripe, wound, blow.” It has as its linguistic root an interesting verb: CHABAR, “to unite, join, bind together.” Do the stripes received by Yahushua on our behalf unite us to Him and the Father?

Healed [Hebrew term: rāp̄ā’]. The term is “to be healed.” This meaning is in contrast to RAPHAH, which is an abatement or ceasing over time. RAPA indicates an intentional act of restoration, versus a “healing” that occurs as a result of the passing of time.

TAKEAWAY THOUGHT
The Servant — Yahushua Messiah — borne the punishment vicariously for Mankind, and the vicarious suffering was efficacious in the eyes of Father YHWH. Believing in the Father’s sovereignty, the Son takes on the humiliation resulting from Mankind’s sin. At the time of Isaiah’s writing, the exiled community of Israel found their fate through historical cirucmstances. It was punishment for national sin; this became education for a mission and ultimately was the redemptive sin offering for Humanity. This verse emphasizes that it is not the Servant’s acceptance of His fate, but the world’s doing — victimizing Him — that is stressed. Yahushua’s suffering is the venue for reconciliation and restoration.