The Fourth Servant Song Septuagint: Devotional 2.50 discusses the Septuagint report of Isaiah 53:4-6.
Content: Part Four
4 He bears our sins, and is pained for us: yet we accounted him to be in trouble, and in suffering, and in affliction. 5 But he was wounded on account of our sins, and was bruised because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his bruises we were healed. 6 All we as sheep have gone astray; every one has gone astray in his way; and the Lord gave him up for our sins. (Isaiah 53:4-6 LXE) [1]
Recollections of a Young Christian
When I became a Christian, I only knew that I needed a Savior, and God was the only such person on my horizon. He helped me and introduced me to his Son, the Lord Jesus. In those first years, I confess I did not understand the connection between the cross and my being made right with God. How did Jesus’s dying on a cross mean that I was okay with God? How did his action help me? Why did God perceive Christ’s crucifixion as relevant to me and my sins?
Isaiah 53:4-6 Septuagint supplies the answer to my question. And, apparently I was not alone in my lack of comprehension. The people Isaiah writes about in Chapter 53 neither believed (Isaiah 53:1) nor understood (Isaiah 53:4-6). I am eternally grateful to God for his grace in saving this ignorant enemy, myself. Yes, before I in desperation cried out to him for his help, I was an enemy, like the rest (Romans 5:10).
Why the Servant Suffers
I. THE HUMAN VANTAGE
The NET Bible supplies a useful paraphrase for verse 4b.
… even though we thought he was being punished, attacked by God, and afflicted for something he had done. (Isaiah 53:4 NET)
Those who witnessed the Servant’s suffering looked upon him without understanding. They saw someone whom God punished for his own sins, “for something he had done.” Even the Servant’s disciples remained completely confused by what had transpired (Luke 24:10-11 ESV, 13-26 ESV).
On a personal note, I remember a time as a nonbelieving adolescent, when I looked upon Jesus exactly like this. I saw him as a naked, broken man, shamefully and publicly exposed, a completely humble and humiliated person. I in my blindly ignorant pride did not want to be associated either with him or his followers. How very “foolish” and “slow of heart” I was (Luke 24:25 ESV).
Isaiah explains the cause of the disbelief and lack of understanding.
All we as sheep have gone astray; every one has gone astray in his way… (Isaiah 53:6a LXE)
II. GOD’S VANTAGE
But God…
God’s vantage is infinitely higher than our own (Isaiah 55:8-9). God punished his Servant out of love for us, his created sheep.
4 He bears our sins, and is pained for us… 5 But he was wounded on account of our sins, and was bruised because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and by his bruises we were healed. 6 … and the Lord gave him up for our sins. (Isaiah 53:4-6 LXE)
The Septuagint version brings out this concept fully. God’s Servant became a sin offering, a sacrifice for our sin. And once more, on a personal note, I give thanks to God that he turned my heart around. God enabled me to see my sin as sin. When I was in position to see this and the destruction of life my own sin caused myself and others, then, and only then, did I cry out to God for his help. And he came. He helped. He pointed me to the Lord Jesus Christ. And I believed. Praise God for his mercy to individuals everywhere.
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1 The Septuagint reads differently than the Masoretic in the first portion of 53:4. The Masoretic states, “Surely our griefs He Himself bore, And our sorrows He carried.” The Septuagint writes, “He bears our sins, and is pained for us.” According to Archer and Chirichigno, Matthew in 8:17 apparently translates from the Hebrew (Masoretic) rather than from the Septuagint. In context, Matthew’s verse reads, “16 That evening they brought to him many who were oppressed by demons, and he cast out the spirits with a word and healed all who were sick. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “He took our illnesses and bore our diseases” (Matthew 8:16-17 ESV).
Definitely, Matthew applies Isaiah’s griefs and sorrows (Masoretic) to physical ailments, which Jesus healed. While sin is the root cause of all illness, Matthew’s text does not so state. The Septuagint’s text lacks Matthew’s dimension of physical healing, which has richly supplied countless believers of all times.
To be continued… Content: Part Five