Jesus in Isaiah
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.
3 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.
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.
3 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.
4 Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 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.
6 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.
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
5 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.
6 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 53:2-6
Isaiah ministered as a prophet in Jerusalem during the reign of four different kings, from c. 739-686 B.C.; Jesus was born around 6 B.C. This passage in Isaiah was written hundreds of years before Jesus' time, yet God still gives us a clear picture of Jesus through the prophecy of Isaiah.
Jesus was not a pretty man. Unlike some leaders who win their followers by physical attractiveness, or even people who win their friends by being attractive, Jesus 'Had no beauty that we should desire Him.' This speaks volumes to the legitimacy of His followers, because they couldn't have been attracted by His outer beauty, only His inner beauty.
During His lifetime, Jesus was 'despised and rejected' by an innumerable amount or people, and 'They esteemed Him not.' He knows what it's like to be rejected by someone. It's doubtful he enjoyed being rejected any more than we do, yet for the sake of the cross, He endured much.
On the cross, Jesus paid for our transgressions. While hanging on the cross, Jesus literally 'Bore our griefs and carried our sorrows.' He's experienced the pain of everything. Yet even while He paid our debts, people assumed he deserved His agonizing death as a sinner and blasphemer. Because of His actions on the cross, He has given us peace with God, and saved us from our damning sin.
Because of our human nature, we have 'All sinned and fallen short of the glory of God.' We've wandered away, mindlessly doing our own thing, as a sheep wanders from the protective shepherd. Through the death of Jesus, all of those times we've fallen short are paid for.
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