Isaiah 53 & the Rabbinical Controversy

Where it Begins…

Isaiah 53 is probably the most controversial passage of Scripture in the entire Bible. If you’re one of those people who thinks that Isaiah is speaking of the Messiah, namely Yeshua (Jesus) of Nazareth, you’re not alone. Actually, you are in good Jewish company! Some of the greatest Rabbinical minds in history believed in and wrote regarding the Messianic theme of Isaiah 53. Before we look into their comments, however, let’s look at the passage itself, beginning with Isaiah 52:13:

“Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted. 14) Just as many were astonished at you, My people, so His appearance was marred more than any man and His form more than the sons of men. 15) Thus, He will sprinkle many nations, kings will shut their mouths on account of Him: for what had not been told them they will see, and what they had not heard they will understand.

The Messiah Foretold

Isaiah 53:1 Who has believed our message? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed 2) For He grew up before Him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of parched ground; He has no stately form or majesty that we should look upon Him, nor appearance that we should be attracted to Him. 3) He was despised and forsaken of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and like one from whom men hide their face He was despised, and we did not esteem Him. 4) Surely our griefs He Himself bore, and our sorrows He carried; yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken, smitten of God and afflicted.

Wandering Sheep

5) But He was pierced through for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the chastening for our well being fell on Him, and by His scourging we are healed. 6) All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to his own way; but the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all to fall on Him.

Messiah takes our Punishment

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. 8) 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 for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due? 9) His grave was assigned with wicked men, yet He was with a rich man in His death, because He had done no violence, nor was there any deceit in His mouth.

Messiah receives the LORD’s Good Pleasure

10) But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief, if He would render Himself as a guilt offering. He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand. 11) As a result of the anguish of His soul, He will see it and be satisfied; by His knowledge, the Righteous One, My Servant, will justify the many, as He will bear their iniquities. 12) Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the booty with the strong; because He poured out Himself to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet He Himself bore the sin of many; and interceded for the transgressors.

Rabbinical Comments:

Prior to the 12^th century the Jewish teaching on this section clearly refers to the suffering and subsequent glorified Messiah. Here are a few excerpts:

In Targum Jonathan (the Jewish paraphrase Bible, c. 100 BC) we see the beginning of 53:1 translated, “Behold, My Servant the Messiah shall prosper; he shall be exalted and great and very powerful.”

The next chapter is referred to in the Talmud (Rabbinical Commentary on the Law) “The Rabbis said: His name is ‘the leper scholar,’ as it is written, ‘surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him a leper, smitten of God and afflicted.’” (Sanhedrin 98b, & 98a).

The early rabbinical commentaries (‘midrashim’, AD 200-400) viewed it the same way: “This interpretation makes it refer to Messiah’ (and) refers to his sufferings, as it is said, ‘But he was wounded because of our transgressions (Isaiah 53:5).’” (Midrash Rabbah on Ruth, p.64).

“Patriarchs and prophets will say, ‘Messiah, our righteousness, You suffered for our sins. ‘He will say, Yes, so you could know the goodness of God.’” (Pisquata Rabbathi on Isaiah 61:10, c. 700 AD): Even after this early period many rabbis, though they didn’t believe in Yeshua, saw this portion as referring to Messiah:

“Jonathan Ben Uzziel interprets it in the Targum of the future Messiah, and this is also the opinion of our learned men in the majority of the Midrashim.” – Isaac Arabanel (15^th century).

“Our rabbis with one voice accept and affirm the opinion that the prophet is speaking of King Messiah.” (Alshech, Rabbi Moshe el Sheikh, 2^nd half of the 16^th century).

“The meaning of ‘He was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities,’ is that since the Messiah bears our iniquities, which produce the effect of his being bruised, it follows that whoever will not admit that Messiah thus suffers for our iniquities must endure and suffer for them himself.” (Eliyya de Vida, AD 1575).

Enter: Rashi

So, with a historic, Rabbinical messianic understanding of Isaiah 53, why do some modern rabbis interpret it differently? In the 11^th century AD, Rashi Rabbi Solomon ben Isaac, an influential French rabbi) began to teach that Isaiah 53 did not refer to Messiah but to the nation of Israel!

But not all rabbis accepted this “new” view: Moshe Kohen ben Crispin of Cordova & Toledo (14^th century), answering Rashi: “The interpretation of Rashi distorts the passage from its natural meaning,” and “it was given of God as a description of the Messiah, whereby, when any should claim to be the Messiah, to judge by the resemblance or non-resemblance to it whether he were the Messiah or no.” “Also ‘the doors of the literal interpretation of this portion were shut in their face, and that they wearied themselves to find the entrance having forsaken the knowledge of our teachers and inclined after the stubbornness of their own hearts and of their own opinions.

Naphtali ben Asher Alltschuler (c. 1500) “I will proceed to explain these verses of our own Messiah, may he come soon, I am surprised that Rashi and Kimchi have not with the Targums applied it to Messiah likewise.”

Though the language of the portion clearly speaks of one dying for our sins, Rashi’s view caught on – perhaps because it seemed to provide some answer to refute the believer’s claims in Yeshua. In his comments on Zechariah 12:10 and Psalm 2:1, Rashi certainly admitted to differing with the Messianic interpretation held by the ancient Jewish sages – but with Isaiah 53 he differs not merely with the sages of our people, but with the clear teaching of our Scriptures!

Whatever Rashi’s reasons were, many people accept Rashi’s view perhaps because it seems to “answer the believers in Yeshua.”

Messiah Yeshua: God’s Provision for our sins!

If that’s all you want, perhaps any answer will do. But if you want to know the truth, won’t you consider the Scripture itself as providing the final answer? If you (along with “the majority of the Midrashim”) accept the Scriptures’ clear teaching, you will see that Isaiah is promising that Messiah will die for your sins and rise from the dead to reign forever. The New Covenant speaks of Yeshua (Jesus) as that Messiah who fulfills this very promise (John 12:38; Romans 10:16; Matthew 8:17; 1 Peter 2:24,25; Acts 8:32-33).

Isaiah also says that the LORD will exalt Messiah for becoming our atonement – won’t you do the same? Trust in Yeshua as God’s provision for your sins and experience the new life in Him! Shalom!