Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer;This phrase highlights the divine purpose behind the suffering of the Servant, often identified as the Messiah. The concept of God's will is central, indicating that the suffering was not accidental but part of a divine plan. This aligns with the broader biblical theme of God's sovereignty and purpose in redemption (
Acts 2:23). The idea of being "crushed" and "caused to suffer" reflects the intense physical and spiritual agony experienced by Jesus, as seen in the Gospels during His crucifixion (
Matthew 27:46). Theologically, this points to the necessity of atonement for sin, where the Servant bears the punishment on behalf of others (
1 Peter 2:24).
and when His soul is made a guilt offering,
The term "guilt offering" refers to a specific type of sacrifice in the Levitical system (Leviticus 5:14-19), which was meant to atone for unintentional sins and required restitution. This sacrificial language underscores the substitutionary nature of the Servant's suffering, fulfilling the requirements of the law and providing a means for reconciliation with God. The use of "soul" emphasizes the totality of the Servant's offering, encompassing both physical and spiritual dimensions. This prefigures Christ's ultimate sacrifice on the cross, where He becomes the perfect and final offering for sin (Hebrews 10:10).
He will see His offspring,
Despite the Servant's suffering and death, this phrase promises a future beyond the grave. "Offspring" can be understood metaphorically, referring to spiritual descendants or those who come to faith through the Servant's work (John 1:12-13). This is fulfilled in the New Testament as believers are considered children of God and heirs with Christ (Romans 8:17). The resurrection of Jesus is implied here, as it is through His victory over death that He sees the fruit of His sacrifice.
He will prolong His days,
This phrase suggests the Servant's life will continue, indicating resurrection and eternal life. In the context of the Messiah, it points to Jesus' resurrection and His eternal reign (Revelation 1:18). The idea of prolonged days contrasts with the earlier mention of suffering and death, highlighting the triumph of life over death. This assurance of life is a cornerstone of Christian hope, affirming that death is not the end for those in Christ (1 Corinthians 15:20-22).
and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
The "good pleasure of the LORD" refers to God's purposes and plans, which are accomplished through the Servant. This prosperity is not material but spiritual, involving the fulfillment of God's redemptive plan. The phrase "in His hand" signifies the authority and power given to the Servant to carry out God's will. This is seen in the Great Commission, where Jesus, after His resurrection, declares all authority in heaven and earth has been given to Him (Matthew 28:18). The prosperity of God's plan is evident in the spread of the Gospel and the growth of the Church throughout history.
Persons / Places / Events
1.
The LORD (Yahweh)The sovereign God of Israel, who orchestrates the events described in this passage.
2.
The Suffering ServantTraditionally understood by conservative Christians as a prophecy about Jesus Christ, who fulfills this role through His sacrificial death and resurrection.
3.
OffspringSymbolically refers to the spiritual descendants of the Suffering Servant, those who come to faith through His sacrifice.
4.
Guilt OfferingA reference to the sacrificial system in the Old Testament, where offerings were made to atone for sin. Here, it signifies the ultimate atonement made by the Servant.
5.
Prosperity of the LORD’s WillThe successful fulfillment of God's redemptive plan through the Servant's suffering and subsequent victory.
Teaching Points
God's Sovereign WillRecognize that God's plans often involve suffering, but they ultimately lead to redemption and glory.
The Nature of SacrificeUnderstand the depth of Christ's sacrifice as the ultimate guilt offering, fulfilling the Old Testament law and providing a way for reconciliation with God.
Spiritual OffspringAs believers, we are the spiritual offspring of Christ, called to live in a way that reflects His sacrifice and love.
Endurance Through SufferingEmbrace suffering as a part of God's refining process, trusting that His purposes will prosper in our lives.
Prosperity of God's WillAlign our lives with God's will, knowing that true prosperity comes from fulfilling His purposes.
Bible Study Questions and Answers
1.What is the meaning of Isaiah 53:10?
2.How does Isaiah 53:10 foreshadow Christ's sacrificial role for our sins?
3.What does "the LORD was pleased to crush Him" reveal about God's plan?
4.How does Isaiah 53:10 connect to New Testament teachings on Jesus' sacrifice?
5.In what ways can we emulate Christ's obedience as seen in Isaiah 53:10?
6.How does understanding Isaiah 53:10 deepen our appreciation for Christ's atoning work?
7.How does Isaiah 53:10 foreshadow the suffering of Jesus Christ?
8.Why does God find pleasure in the suffering described in Isaiah 53:10?
9.What is the significance of the "guilt offering" in Isaiah 53:10?
10.What are the top 10 Lessons from Isaiah 53?
11.Isaiah 53:10 says it pleased the Lord to crush him—how does this align with a loving God who values justice and mercy?
12.Why is Jesus Christ's resurrection significant?
13.What was the purpose of Jesus' resurrection?
14.What Old Testament prophecies predict the Messiah?What Does Isaiah 53:10 Mean
Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer• This line reminds us that Jesus’ sufferings were not accidental; they were foreordained by God’s purpose (Acts 2:23;Revelation 13:8).
• “Crush” underscores the real, physical agony of the cross (Matthew 27:26–50) and the spiritual weight of our sin laid on Him (2 Corinthians 5:21).
• The Father’s willingness to “cause Him to suffer” displays both the depth of divine justice and the height of divine love (Romans 5:8;John 3:16).
and when His soul is made a guilt offering• Under the Law, the guilt offering dealt with sin plus its debt (Leviticus 5:14–19). Jesus fulfilled that shadow, paying not only for sin’s penalty but also its liability (Hebrews 9:14).
• His “soul” (His entire life) was presented voluntarily (John 10:17–18), satisfying God’s righteous requirement once for all (Hebrews 10:10).
He will see His offspring• Though cut off in death, Christ would “see” spiritual descendants—everyone who believes (John 1:12–13;Galatians 3:26).
• The church is His family, born through His sacrifice (Hebrews 2:10–13;Isaiah 54:1).
He will prolong His days• Resurrection reverses the crushing. Jesus lives forever (Revelation 1:18).
• “Prolong” guarantees an unending priesthood (Hebrews 7:24–25) and eternal kingship (Luke 1:32–33).
and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand• Everything the Father planned will succeed through the risen Son (Philippians 2:9–11).
• Salvation spreads, the kingdom advances, and judgment will be executed—all “in His hand” (Matthew 28:18;1 Corinthians 15:25–28).
summaryIsaiah 53:10 reveals the breathtaking paradox of the gospel: the Father purposed the Son’s crushing so that sin could be atoned for, a redeemed people could be born, their Savior could live forever, and God’s saving plan could triumph. Jesus’ suffering was intentional, His offering sufficient, His resurrection certain, and His mission unstoppable.
(10)
Yet it pleased the Lord . . .--The sufferings of the Servant are referred not to chance or fate, or even the wickedness of his persecutors, but to the absolute "good-pleasure" of the Father, manifesting itself in its fullest measure in the hour of apparent failure. (Comp.
Psalm 22:15.)
When thou shalt make . . .--Better,if his soul shall make a trespass offering, he will see his seed; he will prolong his days. . . The sacrificial character of the death of the Servant is distinctly defined. It is a "trespass offering" (Leviticus 6:6;Leviticus 6:17;Leviticus 14:12), an expiation for the sins of the people. The words declare that such a sacrifice was the condition of spiritual parentage (Psalm 22:30), of the immortality of influence, of eternal life with God, of accomplishing the work which the Father had given him to do (John 17:4). The "trespass offering" was, it must be remembered, distinct from the "sin offering," though both belonged to the same sacrificial group (Leviticus 5:15;Leviticus 7:1-7), the distinctive element in the former being that the man who confessed his guilt, voluntary or involuntary, paid his shekels, according to the judgment of the priest, and offered a ram, the blood of which was sprinkled upon the altar. It involved, that is, the idea not of an atonement only, but of a satisfaction, according to the nature of the sin. . . .
Verse 10. -
Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him (see the comment on ver. 6,
ad fin.). The sufferings of Christ, proceeding from the "determinate counsel and foreknowledge of God" (
Acts 2:23), and being permitted by him; were in some sort his doing. It "pleased him," moreover, that they should be undergone, for he saw with satisfaction the Son's self-sacrifice, and he witnessed with joy man's redemption and deliverance effected thereby. He hath put him to grief; rather,
he dealt grievously - a sort of
hend-adys. "He bruised him with a grievous bruising."
When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin. It is proposed (Ewald, Cheyne), by the alteration of a letter, to make the passage run thus: "When
he shall make his soul an offering," etc., and argued that "he who offers the Servant's life as a sacrifice must be the Servant himself,
and not Jehovah" (Cheyne). No doubt the Servant did offer his own life (see
Matthew 20:28," He gave his soul a ransom for many"); but that fact does not preclude the possibility of the Father having also offered it. "Believest thou not," said our Lord to Philip, "that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? The words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works" (
John 14:10). This
perienchoresis, as the ancient theologians called it, makes it possible to predicate of the Father almost all the actions which can be predicated of the Son - all, in fact, excepting those which belong to the Son's humanity, or which involve obedience and subordination. As the Father had "laid on Christ the iniquity of us all" (ver. 6), as he had "bruised him and put him to grief," so he might be said to have "made his soul an offering for sin." All was settled in the Divine counsels from all eternity, and when the ideal became the actual, God the Father wrought with God the Son to effectuate it. "Offerings for sin," or "guilt offerings," were distinct from "sin offerings." The object of the former was "satisfaction," of the latter "expiation." The Servant of Jehovah was, however, to be both. "As in ver. 5 the Divine Servant is represented as a Sin Offering, his death being an expiation, so here he is described as a Guilt Offering, his death being a satisfaction" (Urwick, 'The Servant of Jehovah,' p. 151).
He shall see hisseed. The "seed" of a teacher of religion are his disciples. St. Paul speaks of Onesimus as one whom he had "begotten in his bends" (
Philemon 1:10). He calls himself by implication the "father" of his Corinthian converts (
1 Corinthians 4:15). Both he and St. John address their disciples as "little children" (
Galatians 4:19;
1 John 2:1, 18, 25 I:3:7, 18 I:4:4 I:5:21). It had long previously been promised that "a seed should serve" Messiah (
Psalm 22:30). Our Lord himself occasionally called his disciples his "children" (
Mark 10:24;
John 21:5). He has always "seen his seed" in his true followers.
He shall prolong his days. A seeming contradiction to the statement (ver. 8) that he should be "cut off" out of the land of the living; and the more surprising because his death is made the condition of this long life: "When thou shalt make his soul an offering [or, 'sacrifice'] for sin," then "he shall prolong his days." But the resurrection of Christ, and his entrance upon an immortal life (
Romans 6:9), after offering himself as a Sacrifice upon the cross, exactly meets the difficulty and solves the riddle (comp.
Revelation 1:18).
The pleasure of theLord shall prosper in his hand. "In his hand" means "by his instrumentality." The "pleasure of the Lord" is God's ultimate aim and end with respect to his universe. This would "prosper" -
i.e. be advanced, wrought out, rendered effectual - by the instrumentality of Christ. "Taking the verse as a whole, it sets forth
(1) the origin,
(2) the nature, and
(3) the result of the Saviour's sufferings. . . .
Parallel Commentaries ...
Hebrew
Yet it was the LORD’sוַיהוָ֞ה(Yah·weh)Conjunctive waw | Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068:LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israelwillחָפֵ֤ץ(ḥā·p̄êṣ)Verb - Qal - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2654:To incline to, to bend, to be pleased with, desireto crush Himדַּכְּאוֹ֙(dak·kə·’ōw)Verb - Piel - Infinitive construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 1792:To crumble, to bruiseand cause Him to suffer.הֶֽחֱלִ֔י(he·ḥĕ·lî)Verb - Hifil - Perfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 2470:To be weak or sickAnd whenאִם־(’im-)Conjunction
Strong's 518:Lo!, whether?, if, although, Oh that!, when, notHis soulנַפְשׁ֔וֹ(nap̄·šōw)Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 5315:A soul, living being, life, self, person, desire, passion, appetite, emotionis madeתָּשִׂ֤ים(tā·śîm)Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person feminine singular
Strong's 7760:Put -- to put, place, seta guilt offering,אָשָׁם֙(’ā·šām)Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 817:Guilt, a fault, a sin-offeringHe will seeיִרְאֶ֥ה(yir·’eh)Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 7200:To see[His] offspring,זֶ֖רַע(ze·ra‘)Noun - masculine singular
Strong's 2233:Seed, fruit, plant, sowing-time, posterityHe will prolongיַאֲרִ֣יךְ(ya·’ă·rîḵ)Verb - Hifil - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 748:To be, longHis days,יָמִ֑ים(yā·mîm)Noun - masculine plural
Strong's 3117:A dayand the good pleasureוְחֵ֥פֶץ(wə·ḥê·p̄eṣ)Conjunctive waw | Noun - masculine singular construct
Strong's 2656:Pleasure, desire, a valuable thing, a matterof the LORDיְהוָ֖ה(Yah·weh)Noun - proper - masculine singular
Strong's 3068:LORD -- the proper name of the God of Israelwill prosperיִצְלָֽח׃(yiṣ·lāḥ)Verb - Qal - Imperfect - third person masculine singular
Strong's 6743:To push forwardin His hand.בְּיָד֥וֹ(bə·yā·ḏōw)Preposition-b | Noun - feminine singular construct | third person masculine singular
Strong's 3027:A hand
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OT Prophets: Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him (Isa Isi Is) 
