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As I grew up in church as a child, and even as a young adult, I was assured repeatedly by my spiritual leadership in our church that Isaiah chapter 53 referred to Yeshua. It seems that this one chapter from the Jewish Scriptures kept coming up in church regularly for discussion. In sermon after sermon, I heard that the Prophet Isaiah was referring to Yeshua in this chapter and that Yeshua “fulfilled” Isaiah chapter 53. I heard over and over that Yeshua is the “suffering servant” of Isaiah chapter 53. In fact I was told that I was to use this particular chapter in witnessing to unbelievers. I was even told that all Jews before the Middle Ages recognized this chapter as "messianic,” but due to the efforts of a Rabbi Rashi that belief changed. In fact that is what Jews for Jesus claim and publish in their literature. There is only one problem with what Jews for Jesus teach regarding this and other thing; it is a lie and it can be proven so by reading the ancients. We will look at that later in a concluding article on this subject on this website. I suppose if you have an "organiziation" you can say what you will and people will believe you. Christendom has done that for centuries.
I can remember also being told when I was young that the moon was made out of cheese. Seriously, I was willing to accept all these above statements as fact without a personal inquiry on my part to see if these things be so. After many years of Bible study and research I realize that such beliefs attached to Isaiah 53 were in error, and most likely, you have made the same mistake. Later in life I did examine Isaiah 53 in detail for myself as well as the whole book of Isaiah [from the Jewish texts and not just from my Christian sources], and the results I found are the subject of this article. We at Bet Emet Ministries would like to share with you our research in hopes of assisting you in coming to the correct interpretation of a chapter which has become the cornerstone of Christianity let alone evangelism to the Jewish people. Please understand that if what we were told about Jesus and Isaiah 53 cannot stand the test of critical inquiry, then the very foundation of Christianity is rocked and maybe, oh maybe, the Jewish people and scholars have been right all along. Well, get ready, for if you will truly will bow your knee to truth then your legs will have bent before this article is over.
Answer for yourself: Do you ascribe to the above phrase?
The Jewish sages teach that "whoever saves a single soul is considered as if he had saved an entire world." How precious is the soul! Though the Bible study which you have begun and yet follows is a lengthy one, we have prepared it realizing that the subject matter is of a very sensitive nature, and that most will not take kindly to someone tampering with their religious belief system, let along showing them that the very core of it is totally incorrect. We at Bet Emet hope that you too will value your soul highly enough to prayerfully ponder that which follows. GOD's truth is not always easy to discern, but we are possessors of a Divine promise; "you will find Him if you search after Him with all your heart and all your soul" (Deut. 4:29). As faithful Jews have attested for over 3500 years, it's worth the effort. And now - on with the search!
Before continuing our examination of Isaiah 53 itself, some preliminary issues must be considered. First is the issue of circular reasoning. Even if we interpret the chapter as most Christians do (forgetting for a minute the mistranslations and distortions of context which you have already seen and will continue to be noted below), the most that could be said is this: Isaiah 53 is about someone who dies both "because of" and "for" the sins of others. Right in the beginning I have to pose for you a very big question.
Answer for yourself: Understanding that the people were familiar with their own Bibles, then when Jesus died, did the people perceive he was dying for their sins?
Answer for yourself: Did the people who watched Jesus die understand his death as fulfilling Isaiah 53, or was this interpretation of his death conceived later by the Gentile Church, and read backward into the accounts of his death?
Answer for yourself: If Jesus' death was the "final sacrifice" for sins according to the Hebrew writer, then why does James instruct Paul to fulfill a nazarite vow in Acts 21 fully knowing that to do he has to bring blood sacrfices for sin offerings and atonement? Did you know that? Maybe you should put together Numbers chapter 6 and Acts 21 and see what the "picture" tells you. Those who crafted the New Testament and its replacement theology should have done a better job ridding themselves of such incriminating facts. Granted such knowledge is beneath the context of Acts 21 but it is there if study and "think."
Answer for yourself: For a moment do you think James would have instructed Paul to do that if he, the spirit-filled leader of Jesus' church, thought or knew for example that Jesus' death was some form of atonement of that Jesus was the long-awaited fulfillment of Isa. 53?
Answer for yourself: Would you have done the same (bring blood sacrifices for atonement) with such a faith "in Jesus" for your sin? I think not!
Answer for yourself: People may have seen Jesus die, but did anyone see him die as an atonement for the sins of others? James and the first church sure did not because this "vow" was 25 years after Jesus' death.
Answer for yourself: Don't you think that within 25 years or so the Holy Spirit would have told James and the mother church the "facts" about Jesus' death [that he was the fulfillment of Isa. 53] as we have come to be instructed if it were "true?"
These are some of the biggest questions you will ever have to answer for yourself. If we are to believe, as we have been taught in the Christian Church, that Isaiah 53 was speaking of the Messiah who was to die for the sins of others, then Jesus’ followers, knowing this passage and longing for its fulfillment one day, should not been shocked at the idea of himself going to his death. But they were!
Answer for yourself: Is it possible that James and the mother church did not believe what we are taught about Jesus and Isa. 53 in our Christian Churches today?
The answer is simply they did not for 2 reasons:
Acts 21 reveals they did not (when you put that with Numbers 6 where sin offerings and atonements are connected with the nazarite vow that Paul took). The problem is not only the two-faced Paul who performs a "righteous act" that contradicts what he had been teaching but that James, Jesus' hand-picked leader, commands it to be done. Evidnetly James did not believe like Christians today. Who was right? It is pretty simple when you see the corruptions of the Jewish Bible that we have already exposed previousy in these articles on Isa. 53 along with what yet follows.
Answer for yourself: How do we reconcile the supposed Christian's expectation of the Messiah’s death for sin against the shock of the followers of Jesus at the announcements of his soon coming death?
Answer for yourself: Would they have not been looking forward for such redemption if that was the promise of the Prophets?
Answer for yourself: Since when is "atonement" connected with the Passover and not with Yom Kippur?
Answer for yourself: Can you find for yourself where atonement for sin is connected to a Passover Lamb” in the Jewish Scriptures? Its not! Many animals were sacrificed as offerings at all times of the year as well as when different situations came up in one’s life. But not all of the animals sacrificed carried the idea of “atonement.”This may be a shock to you but “atonement” was never, I said never, connected with the death of the lamb at Passover. This should make you wonder about the “types and shadows” we have always connected to the life of Jesus.
Answer for yourself: If Jesus is the Lamb of God, and understanding that the Passover lamb of Israel never atoned for the sins of the people, then how do we make the connection of atonement with the death of Jesus?
We cannot make such a connection between atonement for sin and the Passover regardless that the writers of the New Testament ascribe such a concept to his death as if Isaiah had taught the same thing. Isaiah did not and you are seeing that for yourself! If you have studied with us for a while you have seen for yourself that the original followers and apostles of Jesus had little if anything to do with the writings of the Gospels. Their names were "officially" attached to the anonymous writings by the Church in the fourth century. The first "quote" that names a Gospel by name is found not earlier than 200 A.D.
Answer for yourself: How can that be? Again it is simple. The names of the apostles were later attached to these documents which can easily be shown to have been written by non-Jewish writers much later than supposed by the Church.
Only if you already accept the New Testament teachings, and the corrupted Old Testament passages in your Christian translations, and only if you have been brainwashed since childhood to believe such "things" about Jesus can you accept the current theology of Jesus and his connection to Isa. 53. Any truthful analysis of the Jewish Scriptures and the Jewish Bible (the Old Testament Massoretic text) will reveal that such beliefs about Jesus are misplaced at best. In order to believe that Jesus’ death had a non-visible, spiritual significance, you must use your Christian translation and "read into the passage" what you have been conditioned to believe from false preaching since you were a child. Only then can you approach your corrupted Christian Old Testaments and the corruped book of Isaiah within it and say: "see - the Prophet predicted what I already believe." Isaiah 53, in the Christian Bible then, is in reality no "proof" at all, but rather a set-up intended to deceive the reader. It works well because I fell prey to such beliefs unitl I began a serious study of the manuscript evidences that make up our Bibles. I found it by accident. But God's leading is no accident. The real test comes in the courage necessary to teach the truth once you find it. Isaiah 53 in the Christian's Bible is little more (in selected places) than a contrived confirmation for someone who has already chosen Christianity and accepted what they have only heard over and over which they never checked out for themselves to see if “these things be so.” I have and they are not what they appear in the Christian's Isaiah in is Bible.
Consistent with all Jewish teaching at the time, Yeshua's own Jewish disciples didn't view Isaiah 53 as a messianic prophecy. “Not so” you say. Well, it is quite understandable that the followers of Jesus were well versed with their own Jewish Scriptures. Just a cursory study of the manners and customs of the Jewish people reveal that at 5 year old the Jewish child had his first book of the Bible memorized (Leviticus). I said “memorized.” To think that the Jewish people would not be conversant with their own Prophets is absolutely ludicrous. But that is what the New Testament writers would have us believe. What comes next might shock you so you may need to set down.
For example, after Peter identifies Jesus as the Messiah (Matt. 16:16), he is informed that Jesus will be killed (Matt. 16:21). His response is not "thank God…for we are dead in trespasses and sins and without your sacrifice for our sins we are lost.” No not at all. He says rather remarkably: "God forbid it, lord! This shall never happen to you" (Matt. 16:22). This passage is very alarming and very telling in its scope.
Answer for yourself: Why was this idea of a dying Messiah of such news to Peter? It sure seems to be!
Answer for yourself: Had he forgotten the message of Isaiah 53 which every child knew, or is our Christian concept of a suffering servant being "Jesus," which we have been fed all our lives, really not contained in Isaiah 53?
Answer for yourself: Do you find it rather hard to believe that in the first century, with Messianic fervor raging everywhere, that the followers of a presumed Messiah would not understand their own Scriptures, especially those referring to the Messiah who would be killed and resurrected?
Answer for yourself: How could the followers of a presumed Messiah have overlooked something as important in their Scriptures as the death of the coming Messiah?
Answer for yourself: Do you find it rather hard to believe that in the first century, with Messianic fervor raging everywhere, that the followers of a presumed Messiah (remember they had already called him the “Christ”) would have expressed non-belief at the report of Yeshua’s resurrection if they had believed, according to their Scriptures, that the Messiah was to die according to the Prophets and be resurrected in the first place?
9 For as yet they knew not the scripture, that he must rise again from the dead. (KJV)
Answer for yourself: Do you find it rather hard to believe that in the first century, with Messianic fervor raging everywhere, that the followers of a presumed Messiah would not know their own scriptures? The reason they did not is again simple; such a Scripture in the Jewish Bible does not exist!
Answer for yourself: If it was common knowledge that Isaiah 53 had spoken of a Messiah who was to die for the sins of people as their atonement, then why was this news to Peter and why would he try and prevent such a wonderful thing?
Answer for yourself: Could it be that they did not hold the same beliefs about Isaiah 53 as we have attributed to them as Christians?
Answer for yourself: Do you want to know why they didn't hold the same beliefs about Isaiah 53 as we were taught, and could they have been correct and us wrong [especially in light that I have shown you how our translations of Isa. 53 have been forged on purpose and added to on purpose to create an artificial theology about Jesus]?
Even Jesus didn't see Isaiah 53 as crucial to his messianic claims.
Answer for yourself: Why did Jesus request that God "remove this cup from me" (Mk. 14:36) - didn't he know that a "removal of the cup" [escape an atoning death long awaited for by Israel and the world] would violate the future Christian-Gentile understanding of Isaiah 53?
Answer for yourself: Even if we accept the gentile Christian interpretation of Isaiah 53, where is it indicated (either in Isaiah 53 or anywhere else in our Jewish Scriptures) that you must believe in this "Messiah" to be “saved” or be in right-standing with God His Father? It is nowhere to be found!,
Since any portion of Scripture is only understood properly when viewed in the context of God's revelation as a whole, some additional study will be helpful before you "tackle" Isaiah 53.
Look at the setting in which Isaiah 53 occurs. Earlier on in Isaiah, God had predicted exile and calamity for the nation and the Jewish people. Chapter 53, however, occurs in the midst of Isaiah's "Messages of Consolation", which tell of the restoration of the nation of Israel to a position of prominence and a vindication of their status as God's chosen people. In chapter 52, for example, the nation of Israel is described as "oppressed without cause" (v.4) and "taken away" (v.5), yet God promises a brighter future ahead, one in which the nation of Israel will again prosper and be redeemed in the sight of all the nations (v.1-3, 8-12).
Chapter 54 further elaborates upon the redemption which awaits the nation of Israel. Following immediately after chapter 53's promise of a reward for God's servant in return for all of its suffering (53:10-12), chapter 54 describes an unequivocally joyous fate for the Jewish people. Speaking clearly of the Jewish people and their exalted status (even according to all Christian commentaries), chapter 54 ends as follows: "`This is the heritage of the servants of the L-rd and their vindication is from Me,' declares the L-rd."
What I hope you noticed is that previously to Isaiah 53 [Isaiah 52], and afterward [Isaiah 54], the subject of the discourse is still the “people of Israel;” the “nation of Israel” and not an individual. What I hope you also noticed is that following chapter 53 Isaiah is still speaking of the “people” of Israel and not an individual. The context and subject of Isaiah 53 is the same as it has been since Isaiah 40…namely; the corporate nation and the people of Israel. The subject is “plural” and not singular! What throws a lot of people off is that from chapter 40 onward the writer used both “singular” and “plural” pronouns to refer to the “plural” nation of Israel, and used them interchangeably. If one misses this use of pronouns in relationship to the subject of Isaiah 40-66, then his whole interpretation of Isaiah, let alone Isaiah 53, will be in error! If one is not familiar with the subject and context of Isaiah 40 through 66, it is easy to see a passage where a singular pronoun (“he” for example) is used and mistakenly think that the author is speaking of only one person, when previously he has set a precedent of referring to the nation in the singular by describing them as a “he”. This is where most make their mistakes in interpreting Isaiah 53.
In the original Hebrew texts, there are no chapter divisions, and Jew and Christian alike agree that chapter 53 is actually a continuation of the prophecy which begins at 52:13. Accordingly, our analysis must begin at that verse.
52:13 "Behold, My servant will prosper." Israel in the singular (notice that the nation is referred to in the “singular”) is called God's servant throughout Isaiah (the nation “plural” is called the “singular” servant), both explicitly (Isa. 41:8-9; 44:1-2; 45:4; 48:20; 49:3) and implicitly (Isa. 42:19-20; 43:10) - the Messiah is not.
4 For Jacob my servant's sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy name: I have surnamed thee, though thou hast not known me. (KJV)
20 Go ye forth of Babylon, flee ye from the Chaldeans, with a voice of singing declare ye, tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth; say ye, The LORD hath redeemed his servant Jacob. (KJV)
3 And said unto me, Thou art my servant, O Israel, in whom I will be glorified. (KJV)
Answer for yourself: Can you see for yourself that in every instance the “servant” (used in the singular) refers to the corporate nation of Israel numbering millions and does not pertain to just one person (Jesus)?
19 Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD's servant?
20 Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not. (KJV)
Answer for yourself: Understanding the traditional teaching of Christianity considering Jesus as the Suffering Servant, are you about to say that the above passage from Isaiah 42:19-20 referring to a non-hearing, non-observing, and non-obedient Servant refers to Jesus?
10 Ye are my witnesses, saith the LORD, and my servant whom I have chosen: that ye may know and believe me, and understand that I am he: before me there was no God formed, neither shall there be after me. (KJV)
Answer for yourself: Can you see for yourself from the Isa. 43:10 passage that the plural “witnesses” (referring to the nation of Israel, in the plural) is referred to in the singular as “my servant” as before?
Without a doubt the “servant” (used in the singular) refers to the corporate nation of Israel numbering millions, and it is this same meaning which should be rendered when reading Isaiah 53!
Other references to Israel as God's servant include Jer. 30:10 (note that in Jer. 30:17, the servant Israel is regarded by the nations as an outcast, forsaken by God, as in Isa. 53:4); Jer. 46:27-28; Ps. 136:22; Lk. 1:54.
10 Therefore fear thou not, O my servant Jacob, saith the LORD; neither be dismayed, O Israel: for, lo, I will save thee from afar, and thy seed from the land of their captivity; and Jacob shall return, and shall be in rest, and be quiet, and none shall make him afraid. (KJV)
22 Even an heritage unto Israel his servant: for his mercy endureth for ever. (KJV)
54 He hath helped his servant Israel, in remembrance of his mercy; (KJV)
Answer for yourself: Also, given the Christian view that Jesus is God as well as the Suffering Servant, in Jeremiah 30:10 is God saving Himself?
Answer for yourself: Understanding the traditional Christian teaching that Jesus never sinned, well then if we are to believe that God’s Servant is Jesus, then why is Jeremiah 46:27-28 speaking of him being punished?
Answer for yourself: Did you notice that even the New Testament refers to the nation of Israel as the Servant?
In any conversation there is always at least two parties. One is the speaker and the other the hearer. If we fail to understand who is actually speaking in Isaiah 52 then we will fail to interpret Isaiah 53 correctly. This is where most get it wrong from the get-go! Instead of Israel speaking it is the Gentile kings who are speaking and who are astonished at the errors of their perspective toward the Jewish people when corrected in the Messianic Age…the Gentiles admit their anti-Semitism and theologies have been wrong!
Isaiah 52:15 - 53:1 "So shall he (the servant) startle many nations, the kings will stand speechless; For that which had not been told them they shall see and that which they had not heard shall they ponder. ‘Who would believe what we have heard?’" History is full of examples where the Gentile Church thought they were doing God a favor by persecuting the Jewish people. Boy, will they be surprised!
Quite clearly, right here in the beginning of this discourse the speaker is identified. It is none other than the Gentile nations and their rulers and kings which will be amazed at what happens to the "servant of the L-rd" (the Jewish people), and they will say "who would believe what we have heard?" It is right here that most position themselves to incorrectly interpret Isaiah 53 but mis-identifying the speaker in these texts. The future meanings of these verses depend entirely upon who is speaking, and if this is not correctly discerned, then the misinterpretation of the Isaiah 53 passage is ensured. It makes a big difference whether the Gentiles are speaking about the Jewish people or the Jewish people speaking in these texts. But in order to correctly interpret Isaiah 53 we have to go backward into Isaiah 52 to determine who is speaking, for the same speaker will be speaking in Isaiah 53 as well.
Besides Isaiah 52:15 telling us explicitly that it is the nations of the world, the gentiles, who are doing the talking in Isaiah 53, but Micah 7:12-17 is a parallel passage and likewise speaks of the gentile nations' astonishment when the Jewish people again blossom in the Messianic age.
Now back to Isaiah as we exegete the verses:
53:1 "And to whom has the arm of the L-rd been revealed?"
In Isaiah, and throughout our Scriptures, God's "arm" refers to the physical redemption of the Jewish people from the oppression of other gentile nations (Isa. 52:8-12; Isa. 63:12; Deut. 4:34; Deut. 7:19; Ps. 44:3).
Let us look at examples to see if the arm of the lord refers to salvation from Gentile persecutors:
12 That led them by the right hand of Moses with his glorious arm, dividing the water before them, to make himself an everlasting name? (KJV)
34 Or hath God assayed to go and take him a nation from the midst of another nation, by temptations, by signs, and by wonders, and by war, and by a mighty hand, and by a stretched out arm, and by great terrors, according to all that the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your eyes? (KJV)
19 The great temptations which thine eyes saw, and the signs, and the wonders, and the mighty hand, and the stretched out arm, whereby the LORD thy God brought thee out: so shall the LORD thy God do unto all the people of whom thou art afraid. (KJV)
As you can see for yourself, in each of the above quotes the reference concerns Israel being delivered either from Egypt who persecuted them unto death, or the return from captivity in Gentile lands. Definitely, and without a doubt, the references to the “arm of the Lord” have to do with the nation of Israel being delivered and saved from the grasp of Gentile nations [and not one person].
53:3 "Despised and rejected of men."
While this is clearly applicable to the Jewish people and the nation of Israel (Isa. 60:15; Ps. 44:13-14), it cannot be reconciled with the New Testament account of Jesus, a man who was supposedly "praised by all" (Lk. 4:14-15)
15 Whereas thou hast been forsaken and hated, so that no man went through thee, I will make thee an eternal excellency, a joy of many generations. (KJV)
25 And there followed him great multitudes of people from Galilee, and from Decapolis, and from Jerusalem, and from Judaea, and from beyond Jordan. (KJV)
who would later acclaim him as a prophet upon his triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matt. 21:9-11).
27 And there followed him a great company of people, and of women, which also bewailed and lamented him. (KJV)
Jesus had to be taken by stealth, as the rulers feared "a riot of the people" (Mk. 14:1-2).
Such was his popularity.
53:3 "A man [speaking in context of the nation of Israel] of pains and acquainted with disease."
Let us examine passages like Isa. 1:5-6; Jer. 10:19; Jer 30:12.
19 Woe is me for my hurt! my wound is grievous: but I said, Truly this is a grief, and I must bear it. (KJV)
12 For thus saith the LORD, Thy [the nation] bruise is incurable, and thy wound is grievous. (KJV)
53:4 "Surely our (remember the Gentile rulers of the nations are speaking) diseases he (the nation of Israel was described in the singular remember?) carried and our pains he (the nation of Israel) bore."
In Matt. 8:17, this passage from Isaiah 53:4 is recorded as being ”fulfilled” in Yeshua's healing of the sick, yet this Matthew passage is totally foreign to the original author’s intention.
Answer for yourself: Was it really fulfilled by Jesus?
This is another blatant misquotation of a Jewish Scripture taken out of context and twisted to bring a different meaning in the New Testament which was totally foreign to the original writer. Where as Isaiah was referring to the nation of Israel being the recipient of Gentile anti-Semitism for centuries whereby the nation of Israel carried the insults and physical pain of Gentile persecution (“surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows”- bearing the Gentile diseases, afflictions, suffering), we are led to believe in this supposed “fulfillment” in the New Testament that the meaning of Isaiah was that Jesus was to “carry the diseases of the people who physically healed.” Nothing could be farther from the mind of Isaiah. Instead of Isaiah’s original meaning of Israel being brutalized by the Gentile nations and powers of the world, the quote from Isaiah I stripped from its original context, the meaning twisted, and now in the New Testament it is supposed to mean Israel is blessing others through physical healing. This is absurd. But if you don't look up the quote yourself, read the context from where the quote is taken for yourself, you like I are relegated to reading the New Testament and accepting at face value everything it says without questioning anything. Such is foolish as we are showing you. This is absolutely no “fulfillment” of anything in Matthew 8:17. Saying so does not make it happen. Biblical ignorance is our enemy! You must face the fact that Matthew 8:17 is totally inconsistent with the text from Isaiah.
Not only did the writer take the quote out of context his uses of it in the New Testament, but to apply this verse of Isaiah to Jesus is impossible as we have already shown that the servant is the nation and not an individual!
53:5 "But he was wounded from (NOTE: not for) our transgressions, he was crushed from (AGAIN: not for) our iniquities."
Whereas the Gentile nations had thought the Servant (Israel) was undergoing Divine retribution for its sins at their hands (53:4) [they were helping God out by punishing the Jews], the Gentile nations now realize that the Servant's (Israel’s) sufferings stemmed from their own (Gentiles) actions and sinfulness. This theme is further developed throughout the Jewish Scriptures such as Jer. 50:7; Jer. 10:25.
7 All that found them have devoured them: and their adversaries said, We offend not, because they have sinned against the LORD, the habitation of justice, even the LORD, the hope of their fathers. (KJV)
25 Pour out thy fury upon the heathen that know thee not, and upon the families that call not on thy name: for they have eaten up Jacob, and devoured him, and consumed him, and have made his habitation desolate. (KJV)
Also we must notice that the Messiah "shall not fail nor be crushed till he has set the right in the earth" (Isa. 42:4).
53:7 "He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth. Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before its shearers, so he did not open his mouth."
It is important to note that in the prior chapter (Isa. 52), Israel is said to have been oppressed and taken away without cause (52:4-5). A similar theme is developed in Psalm 44, wherein King David speaks of Israel's faithfulness even in the face of gentile oppression (44:17- 18) and describes Israel as "sheep to be slaughtered" in the midst of the unfaithful gentile nations (44:22,11).
Regarding the claim that Jesus "did not open his mouth" when faced with oppression and affliction we have a different testimony from Jn. 18:23, 36-37.
23 Jesus answered him, If I have spoken evil, bear witness of the evil: but if well, why smitest thou me? (KJV)
These are not the only references, but this proves the point. I think you will have a hard time proving that Jesus “opened not his mouth” to his accusers and that he was “silent before his shearers.”
Again in the hands of the New Testament writers reference is made to this being fulfilled in the ministry of Jesus, but let me remind you that originally the quote was used in a corporate or national sense and not an individual sense.
53:8 "From dominion and judgement he was taken away."
We must take note of the correct translation of the Hebrew in this passage. Without a doubt Israel is the apple of God’s eye. It is to them God called to be a Kingdom of Priests, a holy nation, to lead all other nations to God. Israel has always had preeminence. From this exalted status and position they were repeated taken into captivity and subjugated to Gentile cruelty and debasement. Instead of being the ruler and example (the scepter shall not depart from Judah), the nation of Israel became ruled and dominated by those to whom they were sent.
Most Christians writers are forced to mistranslate this verse, since - by Yeshua's own testimony - he never had any rights to rulership or judgement, at least not on the "first coming."
36 Jesus answered, My kingdom is not of this world: if my kingdom were of this world, then would my servants fight, that I should not be delivered to the Jews: but now is my kingdom not from hence. (KJV)
The King James version of the Bible states in Isaiah 53:8 that “he was taken from prison.” There is no record of Yeshua ever “doing time” in prison to the best of our knowledge.
Ez. 37:11-14 describes Israel being "cut off" and God promises to open its "graves" and bring Israel back into its own land. Other examples of figurative deaths include Ex. 10:17; 2 Sam. 9:8; 2 Sam. 16:9.
53:8 "From my peoples' sins (remember the Gentile nations are speaking), there was injury to them (the Jewish people)."
Here the Prophet makes absolutely clear, to anyone familiar with Biblical Hebrew, that the oppressed Servant is a collective Servant, not a single individual. The Hebrew word "lamoh", when used in our Scriptures, always means "to them" never "to him" and may be found, for example, in Psalm 99:7 - "They kept his testimonies, and the statute that He gave to them."
53:9 "And with the rich in his deaths."
Perhaps King James should have changed the original Hebrew, which again makes clear that we are dealing with a collective Servant, i.e., Israel, which will "come to life" when the exile ends (Ez. 37:14).
Ezek 37:14
14 And shall put my spirit in you, and ye shall live, and I shall place you in your own land: then shall ye know that I the LORD have spoken it, and performed it, saith the LORD. (KJV)
53:9 "He had done no violence."
One need only look at Matt. 21:12; Mk. 11:15-16; Lk. 19:45; Lk. 19:27; Matt. 10:34 and Lk. 12:51; then judge for themselves whether this passage is truly consistent with the New Testament account of Yeshua.
12 And Yeshua went into the temple of God, and cast out all them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves, (KJV)
15 And they come to Jerusalem: and Yeshua went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold and bought in the temple, and overthrew the tables of the moneychangers, and the seats of them that sold doves;
16 And would not suffer that any man should carry any vessel through the temple. (KJV)
45 And he went into the temple, and began to cast out them that sold therein, and them that bought; (KJV)
27 But those mine enemies, which would not that I should reign over them, bring hither, and slay them before me. (KJV)
34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. (KJV)
51 Suppose ye that I am come to give peace on earth? I tell you, Nay; but rather division: (KJV)
This certainly does not lend well to pacifism.
53:10 "He shall see his seed."
The Hebrew word for "seed", used in this verse, always refers to physical descendants in the Jewish Scriptures. (Gen. 12:7; Gen. 15:13; Gen. 46:6; Ex. 28:43). A different word, generally translated as "sons", is used to refer to spiritual descendants (Deut. 14:1, e.g.). The New Testament paints a picture of Yeshua as unmarried. This is rather surprising since Christianity teaches that Yeshua never sinned, forgetting that the first positive commandment is to procreate. For Yeshua not to be married and have children literally would be a violation of the Law, and I John 3:4 tells us that transgression of the Law is sin.
53:10 "He will prolong his days."
Answer for yourself: Not only did Yeshua die young and childless, but how could the days be prolonged of someone who is alleged to be God?
53:11 "With his knowledge the righteous one, my Servant, will cause many to be just."
Please notice again the correct translation: the Servant will cause many to be just, he will not "justify the many."
The Jewish mission is to serve as a "light to the nations" which will ultimately lead the world to a knowledge of the one true God, this both by example (Deut. 4:5-8; Zech. 8:23) and by instructing the nations in God's Law (Isa. 2:3-4; Micah 4:2-3).
23 Thus saith the LORD of hosts; In those days it shall come to pass, that ten men shall take hold out of all languages of the nations, even shall take hold of the skirt of him that is a Jew, saying, We will go with you: for we have heard that God is with you. (KJV)
As you can see, we Gentiles are not “just” by something Israel does in our place; rather, we are just because we learn from them the principles, ordinances, and laws of God contained in God’s Torah, which when obeyed and kept, makes one righteous before God. God’s ways are enumerated in His Law: 248 positive commandments, and 365 negative commandments. Each individual Law is a part of a Covenant foundation; whether it be the laws pertaining to the Covenant of God with the Jews or the non-Jews of the world. Each of these laws are Covenant stipulations whereby when obeyed we maintain right-standing before God.
53:12 "Therefore, I will divide a portion to him with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the mighty."
Answer for yourself: If Yeshua is God according to traditional Christian teaching, does the idea of reward have any meaning?
Answer for yourself: Is it not rather the Jewish people - who righteously bore the sins of the world and yet remained faithful to God (Ps. 44) - who will be rewarded, and this in is described more fully in Isaiah chapters 52 and 54?
For your next study I suggest you concentrate on the articles on true Biblical Atonement on our other website:
http://www.faithofyeshua.faithweb.com
THE ONLY CONCLUSION WE CAN RIGHTFULLY DRAW FROM TRUTHFUL EXAMINATION OF THE TEXTS IS THAT THE IDENTITY OF THE “SERVANT” IN THE PROPHET’S FOURTH SERVANT SONG, ISAIAH 53, MUST BE THE NATION OF ISRAEL AND NOT ONE INDIVIDUAL...NOT YESHUA BY HIMSELF...AND YESHUA IS NOT THE FULFILLMENT OF ISAIAH 53