Christ’s wounded hand, Unterlinden Museum, Colmar, France by John Kroll – Creative Commons
“But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.”
Isaiah 53:5-6
(You can read Isaiah 53 in its entirety at the bottom of this post)
Isaiah 53 Written After Jesus’ Death and Resurrection?
Isaiah chapter 53 is so descriptive of Jesus Christ it seems out of place. There’s just no way this should be here. It should come after the New Testament, after Jesus’ death and resurrection, not before. But in the late 1940s, archaeologists discovered a copy of the book of Isaiah in the Dead Sea Scrolls, and this copy was dated hundreds of years before the life of Christ. You might be asking yourself, How can that be?
Jesus in Isaiah 53
What we see here in Isaiah 53 is that, what Jesus said about the Old Testament is true, “You search the Scriptures because you think that in them you have eternal life; and it is they that bear witness about me,” (John 5:39) Isaiah chapter 53 is a prophecy describing Jesus Christ. Most scholars put the date of authorship around 700 years before his coming.
For me, personally, I can’t read this chapter and the four corroborating gospels without believing Jesus is who he said he is.
More of Jesus in the Old Testament
This is the last in a series of posts about how Jesus is found in the Old Testament. (You’ll find links to the four related previous posts in the series at the bottom.) But this series is nowhere close to exhaustive. Jesus’ virgin birth is prophesied in Isaiah 7:14 and his birthplace prophesied in Micah 5:2.
Jesus’ triumphal entry, documented in Luke 19:28-42, was prophesied in Zechariah 9:9. (As well as Daniel 9:25-26–see previous post about Daniel’s prophesy.)
The beating Jesus endured is prophesied in Isaiah 50:6.
Jesus’ crucifixion is prophesied in Psalm 22:16-18.
And there are many other Old Testament prophecies concerning Jesus.
Still More
There are also appearances of Jesus in the Old Testament before his virgin birth called Christophanies. In these Christophanies he’s often described in the Old Testament as “The Angel of the Lord.”
There are also foreshadows of Jesus found in the Old Testament called types. The tabernacle is a type of Jesus, the Old Testament sacrificial system is a type of Jesus.
There are also titles that refer to Jesus in the Old Testament such as Son of Man, Redeemer, Savior, Lord of Glory, Light, Rock, and Shepherd.
I Cannot Not Believe
For me, personally, I just can’t: I cannot, not believe Jesus is who he said he is, after looking at all these places where he’s revealed in Old Testament scripture. It really is the way he said it is. The Old Testament writers, Moses and the prophets, were writing about him.
For me, I have no where to go–but to believe.
(If you have questions, I’d love to hear from you. Send me an email at kurt@kurtbennettbooks.com.)
Isaiah 53
Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
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.
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,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
You might also like:
- Jesus in the life of Joseph of the Old Testament
- Jesus in Abraham’s obedience to sacrifice his son
- Jesus in the gospel message from Adam’s genealogy in Genesis 5
- Jesus’ coming prophesied by Daniel
References:
Finding Jesus in the Old Testament by Rabbi Jonathan Bernis
Where does the Old Testament predict the coming of Christ? from GotQuestions.org
Where is Jesus in the Old Testament? by Aaron Armstrong
C. S. Lewis, Miracles, New York: Macmillan 1960
[Image via John Kroll – Creative Commons]