Isaiah 53:5: Edit history

Context

Isaiah 52:13–53:12 is the last of the four "Servant Songs" (the songs of the Servant of the LORD) and is commonly called the "Song of the Suffering Servant." The song first describes the servant as despised and rejected, one whom people regarded as "smitten of God" (53:3–4). Then, in verse 5, it confesses that his suffering was in fact on account of "our" transgressions and iniquities. Verse 6 continues, "All we like sheep have gone astray," and verses 10–12 declare that he will become an offering for sin and will justify many.

Interpretation

• As a prophecy of atonement: Christianity identifies the servant with Jesus Christ and reads this verse as a basis for substitutionary atonement, the teaching that Christ bore the penalty in the place of sinners. Support for this reading comes from Acts 8:32–35, where Philip explains this song as referring to Jesus, and from 1 Peter 2:24, which quotes the verse.
• Jewish interpretation: Jewish tradition chiefly interprets the servant as the suffering people of Israel. Other views identify him with the prophet himself or with a righteous individual.
• The scope of "healing": Most Protestants read this healing primarily as forgiveness of sins and reconciliation with God, that is, as spiritual healing. First Peter 2:24 likewise quotes the verse in the context of dying to sin and living unto righteousness.

Controversies and Issues

Pentecostal and Full Gospel traditions point to Matthew 8:16–17, which presents Jesus' healing ministry as the fulfillment of Isaiah 53:4. On this basis they teach that Christ's atonement includes physical healing along with the forgiveness of sins. This teaching is known as "healing in the atonement." In Korea it became widely known alongside the distinctive emphases of the Full Gospel churches (see divine healing). Other denominations, especially those in the Reformed tradition, hold that the atonement guarantees final restoration, including the resurrection of the body, but that reading it as a guarantee that every illness will be healed in the present goes too far. Applications of the teaching that attribute a failure to be healed to a lack of faith have been criticized by many denominations.

In the Korean Church

In Korean churches, Isaiah 53:5 is the Old Testament passage read most often during Holy Week, at Good Friday services, and at Communion. It is also cited at healing meetings and in prayer for the sick.

Related Passages

• Isaiah 53:4–6
• 1 Peter 2:24
• Matthew 8:16–17
• Acts 8:32–35