Despised and Rejected: Insights from Isaiah 53

ISAIAH 53:1-12 (ESV): “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 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. 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 a Him the iniquity of us all. 7 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. 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, stricken for the transgression of my people? 9 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. 10 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. 11 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. 12 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.”

What is behind the verse we will look at today?

What is behind the verse we will look at today? [despise]

… the feeling people have about rapists and child molesters

… the mindset that those who tend to sweat have when they hear the word “beach”

… the meaning of the look you get when you talk in a movie theater during the movie

… the reaction of anyone walking into the BMV

… the state of one’s tongue after drinking V8

What is behind the verse we will look at today? [rejected]

… the reason men and women are petrified to initiate romantic communication with each other

… the feeling anyone gets when being picked last for kickball

… the purpose behind DD Form 2496 in the US Military

… the thing behind the fear of parents who won’t discipline their children in public

What is behind the verse we will look at today?  A whole lot actually.

ISAIAH 53:3 (ESV): “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.”

CONTEXT OF ISAIAH 53

The book of Isaiah takes its name from its writer as many of the prophets do in the Old Testament (Genesis-Malachi).  Isaiah was married to a prophetess and had at least two sons (Isaiah 7:3; 8:3).  He ministered to God’s People under the reigns of four kings of Judah: Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah.  Isaiah likely lived in Jerusalem and we know that he was related to some of the kings under which he served. 

In the Book of Isaiah, chapters 52-53 refer to the coming Messiah (or the coming Christ) as the “suffering servant” Who will be punished to atone for the sins of humanity.  Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is perhaps one of the most significant predictive prophecies about the Christ that we find in the Old Testament.  The Christ is described as paying for the sins of the people as a sin offering.  Some say that Isaiah 53 reveals the story of Jesus in just a few verses.  Jewish folks who do not accept Jesus as the Christ often identify “the Suffering Servant” as the collective people of Israel who have suffered greatly throughout history.  While Christians certainly agree that Jewish people have and continue to suffer, we also see clearly that Isaiah 53 is about Jesus.

VERSE 3: DESPISED AND REJECTED

Isaiah 53:3 begins by introducing us to the words “despised” and “rejected.”  The verse also describes the Person highlighted beginning in Isaiah 52:13. God makes it very clear that the Servant that He is speaking about belongs to Him, is wise, is worthy of respect and honor, a child of mankind like us, is a blessing for many nations, will correct kings and those in authority, will reveal hidden truths, will be mistreated, and seemed ordinary in many respects.  Isaiah 53 is very thick with his description of this “Suffering Servant.”

It is astonishing to us that this Servant of God would be despised and rejected.  Why isn’t He honored or respected?  Why isn’t He famous or a figure to be esteemed?  He should be, but Isaiah predicts that the Christ will be despised and rejected.

When Isaiah uses the word “despised,” he is using a specific word (bazah) that means to disdain, to feel contempt towards, to think scornfully, or to judge that someone is a vile person.  When Isaiah uses the word “rejected,” he is using a specific word (chadel) that means destitute and frail because attention has ceased. 

When I say the words “despised” and “rejected” I can empathize and sympathize with those words, but even my experience is the shallow end of the pool compared to what was predicted about the Suffering Servant.  Perhaps you have an experience where you felt despised or you felt rejected by another… you too can empathize and sympathize, but it all is much more for the Suffering Servant.           

Was any of this true in the life of Jesus?  Yes.  There are many examples of times when the people around Jesus despised Him and rejected Him:

* Matthew 21:45-46 when the leaders wanted to arrest Him because of His parables

* Mark 6:1-6 when His hometown had no faith in Him

* Luke 18:18-23 when the rich young man chose his wealth over Jesus

* John 10:31-33 when crowds wanted to stone Him to death because of what He said

Those are just four examples among many!  The best example I can think of comes from Matthew 27…

READ Matthew 27:15-23 (ESV): “Now at the feast the governor was accustomed to release for the crowd any one prisoner whom they wanted. 16 And they had then a notorious prisoner called Barabbas. 17 So when they had gathered, Pilate said to them, “Whom do you want me to release for you: Barabbas, or Jesus Who is called Christ?” 18 For he knew that it was out of envy that they had delivered Him up. 19 Besides, while he was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent word to him, “Have nothing to do with that Righteous Man, for I have suffered much because of Him today in a dream.” 20 Now the chief priests and the elders persuaded the crowd to ask for Barabbas and destroy Jesus. 21 The governor again said to them, “Which of the two do you want me to release for you?” And they said, “Barabbas.” 22 Pilate said to them, “Then what shall I do with Jesus Who is called Christ?” They all said, “Let Him be crucified!” 23 And he said, “Why? What evil has He done?” But they shouted all the more, “Let Him be crucified!”

 The Roman governor Pilate gave the people a choice for a prisoner to be freed at feast time.  The people in Jerusalem had a notorious murdering criminal terrorist as one choice and they had a travelling miracle-working teacher as another choice.  They despised and rejected Jesus so much that they chose to allow Barabbas back into the general population. 

The people despised what Jesus taught about God.

The people rejected what Jesus explained about the Kingdom of God.

Yes, Jesus was despised and rejected just as Isaiah 53 predicts.

SUMMARY

What is behind the verse we looked at today? Being despised and feeling despised.

What is behind the verse we looked at today? Being rejected and feeling rejected.

Our challenge as we read over this one verse in Isaiah 53 is to connect the dots. God sent His Son, Jesus Christ, to be the Suffering Servant for us.  He was constantly despised and often rejected.  Jesus knew this would happen and yet He willingly endured all of this for us.

* We are saved because Jesus endured being despised.

* We have the opportunity for wholeness because Jesus was rejected.

ISAIAH 53:3 (ESV): “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.”

TMB