52:13 "Behold, My servant will prosper." Israel in the singular is called God’s servant throughout Isaiah, both explicitly (Isa. 41:8-9; 44:1-2; 45:4; 48:20; 49:3) and implicitly (Isa. 42:19-20; 43:10) – the Messiah is not. Other references to Israel as God’s servant include Jer. 30:10 (note that in Jer. 30:17, the servant Israel is regarded by the nations as an outcast, forsaken by God, as in Isa. 53:4); Jer. 46:27-28; Ps. 136:22; Lk. 1:54. ALSO: Given the Christian view that Jesus is God, is God His own servant?

False: Sometimes anti-missionaries twist the Hebrew Scriptures to mean something else and sometimes they just flat out lie about what’s in there.  Sadly, too many Jews don’t know the Bible well enough to spot error when it is presented.

The servant in Isaiah is sometimes referred to Israel  but in Isa 42:1, the servant is to bring justice to the nations.  God has throughout Israel’s history used the nations to bring justice to or chastise Israel (the book of Judges, Assyria, Babylon, Rome, etc).  In Isa 49:5, the servant is born to bring Jacob back to God so how can Israel be used to bring herself into a right relationship when she’s the one who fractured it?  Also, in 42:2, it says he servant will not cry out.  This has never been a characteristic of Israel but did apply to the Messiah as he was before Pilate and Herod.

52:15 – 53:1 "So shall he (the servant) startle many nations, the kings will stand speechless; For that which had not been told them they shall see and that which they had not heard shall they ponder. Who would believe what we have heard?" Quite clearly, the nations and their kings will be amazed at what happens to the "servant of the L-rd," and they will say "who would believe what we have heard?". 52:15 tells us explicitly that it is the nations of the world, the gentiles, who are doing the talking in Isaiah 53. See, also, Micah 7:12-17, which speaks of the nations’ astonishment when the Jewish people again blossom in the Messianic age.

From v. 13-15, attempts at making this about Israel instead of the suffering servant of the Lord is as far a stretch as you can make.  There is a clear distinction between God’s people and His servant in v. 14.  Furthermore, how can Israel sprinkle many nations?  They offered sacrifices on behalf of them at Sukkot but they themselves could not be the sacrifice since it had to be sinless.

In Mic 7:12-17, the order is to shepherd your people, meaning the people of Israel.  Again, how can God be talking to the nation as a whole?  Do they shepherd themselves?

53:1 "And to whom has the arm of the L-rd been revealed?" In Isaiah, and throughout our Scriptures, God’s "arm" refers to the physical redemption of the Jewish people from the oppression of other nations (see, e.g., Isa. 52:8-12; Isa. 63:12; Deut. 4:34; Deut. 7:19; Ps. 44:3).

Rightly so but the Exodus from Egypt is a physical sign of the spiritual redemption to come when God would deliver us from spiritual bondage to sin and spiritual Pharaoh who is Satan.  Affirming one does not deny the other.

53:3 "Despised and rejected of men." While this is clearly applicable to Israel (see Isa. 60:15; Ps. 44:13-14), it cannot be reconciled with the New Testament account of Jesus, a man who was supposedly "praised by all" (Lk. 4:14-15) and followed by multitudes (Matt. 4:25), who would later acclaim him as a prophet upon his triumphal entry into Jerusalem (Matt. 21:9-11). Even as he was taken to be crucified, a multitude bemoaned his fate (Lk. 23:27). Jesus had to be taken by stealth, as the rulers feared "a riot of the people" (Mk. 14:1-2).

If the Messiah came to deliver Israel from first spiritual oppression and then physical, the fact that the Jewish leaders offered Him up for crucifixion and the whole mob was shouting for His blood (Mat 27:11-26) means they despised Him then.  Furthermore, now look at the reaction from Jewish people when you mention the name Yeshua.  If He is the promised Jewish Messiah, wouldn’t the whole nation be adoring Him as the Orthodox today tell you they will when He comes?

53:3 "A man of pains and acquainted with disease." Israel’s adversities are frequently likened to sickness – see, e.g., Isa. 1:5-6; Jer. 10:19; Jer 30:12.

But this also refers to physical pain and literal diseases.  In addition, sin quite clearly is labelled a disease in Scripture.  Lev 13-15 talks about leprosy which is very clearly both a metaphor for and result of sin.

Besides, if while on the cross, Yeshua was judged by God the Father for all of mankind’s sins, He would certainly be aquainted with them.

53:4 "Surely our diseases he carried and our pains he bore." In Matt. 8:17, this is correctly translated, and said to be literally (not spiritually) fulfilled in Jesus’ healing of the sick, a reading inconsistent with the Christian mistranslation of 53:4 itself.

Again, physical sign of a spiritual truth.  What He did phsyically can also pertain to what He did spiritually and unless you’re out to prove that Jesus is not Israel’s Messiah, these past couple of arguments are quite flacid.

53:4 "Yet we ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of G- D and afflicted." See Jer. 30:17 – of God’s servant Israel (30:10), it is said by the nations, "It is Zion; no one cares for her."

Jer 30:9-17 is speaking about Israel being chastised for her sins and then God redeeming her.  Obviously this flies in the face of Israel as the suffering servant dying on behalf of others because God will not accept a blemished sacrifice (Ex 12:5, Mal 1:8).  And again, it is not the Gentiles speaking here but the people of Israel.

53:5 "But he was wounded from (NOTE: not for) our transgressions, he was crushed from (AGAIN: not for) our iniquities." Whereas the nations had thought the Servant (Israel) was undergoing Divine retribution for its sins (53:4), they now realize that the Servant’s sufferings stemmed from their actions and sinfulness. This theme is further developed throughout our Jewish Scriptures – see, e.g., Jer. 50:7; Jer. 10:25. ALSO: Note that the Messiah "shall not fail nor be crushed till he has set the right in the earth" (Isa. 42:4).

The semantic range of min in mipshaeinu covers a wide variety of meanings whether it be from, for, since, because, etc.  Obviously, the writer of this article doesn’t know his Biblical Hebrew all that well.

In Col 2:14-15, it says that Yeshua took the certificates of debt that were against us (our sins) and nailed them to the tree and that the spiritual forces who work against us were judged.  They are now disarmed after He made a public spectacle out of them so Isa 42:4 was fulfilled at the tree.  The only reason we don’t have peace on earth is because people haven’t accepted the forgiveness offered to them by Messiah’s finished work.

53:7 "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." Note that in the prior chapter (Isa. 52), Israel is said to have been oppressed and taken away without cause (52:4-5). A similar theme is developed in Psalm 44, wherein King David speaks of Israel’s faithfulness even in the face of gentile oppression (44:17- 18) and describes Israel as "sheep to be slaughtered" in the midst of the unfaithful gentile nations (44:22,11).

Last I checked with the Tanakh (Old Covenant), Israel is hardly called innocent.  David may be talking about one particular instance but the Jews were contantly being chastised for their idolotry and corresponding abominable practices so this can’t possibly be talking about Israel.

Regarding the claim that Jesus "did not open his mouth" when faced with oppression and affliction, see Matt. 27:46, Jn. 18:23, 36-37.

"And He did not answer him with regard to even a single charge, so the governor was quite amazed."  (Mat 27:14). It’s not that He never opened His mouth but only when He was being accused and sent of to death which He could have prevented at any point.  His cry on the cross was a form of remez (hint or something hidden – I start the verse and you finish it because you know it) that was to direct people back to Psalm 22 which spoke of His death and resurrection.

53:8 "From dominion and judgment he was taken away." Note the correct translation of the Hebrew. The Christians are forced to mistranslate, since – by Jesus’ own testimony – he never had any rights to rulership or judgment, at least not on the "first coming." See, e.g., Jn. 3:17; Jn. 8:15; Jn. 12:47; Jn. 18:36.

Isa 9:6-7 says that a child will be born that the Jewish people will call God and that there will be no end to the increase of His government.  Micah 5:2 tells us the one who will rule Jerusalem will be born in Bethlehem who’s origins are from eternity past.  If He was removed from dominion and judgment, then it was by His own volition "...who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name"  (Phil 2:6-9)

It is quite clear that Yeshua had the authority to excercise dominion but chose not to so that He could a) fulfill prophecy about His death for the sins of the world, and b) show us an example of humilty

 53:8 "He was cut off out of the land of the living." Israel is described as "cut off" in Ez 37:11.

Dan 9:26 cleary says the Messiah will be cut off and not for His own sins, not describing Israel as they were always being cut off for their own sins.  Furthermore, the Daniel prophecy then says "and the people of the prince who is to come will destroy the city and the sanctuary."  So we see the Messiah being cut off but not for His own sins and it was to happen before the destruction of the Temple.  Many Jews have come to faith realizing the Tanakh clearly predicts the coming and death of the Messiah before 70 AD.

53:8 "From my peoples’ sins, there was injury to them."Here the Prophet makes absolutely clear, to anyone familiar with Biblical Hebrew, that the oppressed Servant is a collective Servant, not a single individual. The Hebrew word "lamoh – (lamed-mem-vav) ", when used in our Scriptures, always means "to them" never "to him" and may be found, for example, in Psalm 99:7 – "They kept his testimonies, and the statute that He gave to them."

The English translation of my people doesn’t match up with the first person plural and God appears not to speak again until v. 11.  However, even the Dead Sea scrolls say that it was his people and we dealt with the for vs. from earlier.

53:9 "His grave was assigned with wicked men." See Ez. 37:11-14, wherein Israel is described as "cut off" and God promises to open its "graves" and bring Israel back into its own land. Other examples of figurative deaths include Ex. 10:17; 2 Sam. 9:8; 2 Sam. 16:9.

This doesn’t take away from the correct meaning that the Messiah would be buried with criminals.  Just because there are other uses of the terms figuratively doesn’t mean they don’t have literal meanings.

53:9 "And with the rich in his deaths." Perhaps King James should have changed the original Hebrew, which the plural "deaths" makes clear that we are dealing with a collective Servant, i.e., Israel, which will "come to life" when the exile ends (Ez. 37:14).

Again, the writer doesn’t know Hebrew or the Scriptures well enough to know the different places where it is used in the singular many times.  Either that or he’s not telling the truth.

53:9 "He had done no violence." See Matt. 21:12; Mk. 11:15-16; Lk. 19:45; Lk. 19:27; Matt. 10:34 and Lk. 12:51; then judge for yourself whether this passage is truly consistent with the New Testament account of Jesus.

Ok, so tumbling over a few tables and saying  He came to bring a sword constitutes violence?  The Messiah was expected to be a conquering warrior to destroy the Gentile nations.  Cursing a fig tree or whatever other ridiculous excuse they use to say this verse does not apply to Yeshua is grasping at straws.

53:10 "He shall see his seed." The Hebrew word for "seed", used in this verse, always refers to physical descendants in our Jewish Scriptures. See, e.g., Gen. 12:7; Gen. 15:13; Gen. 46:6; Ex. 28:43. A different word, generally translated as "sons", is used to refer to spiritual descendants (see Deut. 14:1, e.g.).

If Yeshua is creator than all mankind is His seed, especially Israel who is spoken of as God’s son

53:10 "He will prolong his days." Not only did Jesus die young, but how could the days be prolonged of someone who is alleged to be God?

Yeshua didn’t die as young as everyone thinks (you are not yet 50 meaning he was probably close) but the resurrection sort of takes care of this one, doesn’t it?

53:11 "With his knowledge the righteous one, my Servant, will cause many to be just." Note again the correct translation: the Servant will cause many to be just, he will not "justify the many." The Jewish mission is to serve as a "light to the nations" which will ultimately lead the world to a knowledge of the one true God, this both by example (Deut. 4:5-8; Zech. 8:23) and by instructing the nations in God’s Law (Isa. 2:3-4; Micah 4:2-3).

In that case, Bernie Madoff just destroyed God’s plan because his swindling has caused an extreme rise in anti-Semitism around the world.  Jews have never been interested prosyletizing the Gentiles.  Furthermore, even if some do, they only insist Gentiles adhere to the 7 Noachide laws.

1. Do not murder.
2. Do not steal.
3. Do not worship false gods.
4. Do not be sexually immoral.
5. Do not eat a limb removed from a live animal.
6. Do not curse God.
7. Set up courts and bring offenders to justice.
   

This is a far cry from the completion of Torah and Lev 24:22, Num 9:14 and 15:24 all say the same law is for Jew and Gentile.  Obviously, Jews are selling Gentiles short in God’s expectations.

Even more damning is that nobody can be justified by Torah.  Deut 27:26 says we must obey all the commands to be justified by it and Gen 15:6 and Hab 2:4 says we are justified by our faith, not works.  Whether the servant justifies the many or causes them to be just, it’s still based on what He does and not what they do.

53:12 "Therefore, I will divide a portion to him with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the mighty." If Jesus is God, does the idea of reward have any meaning? Is it not rather the Jewish people – who righteously bore the sins of the world and yet remained faithful to God (Ps. 44) – who will be rewarded, and this in the manner described more fully in Isaiah chapters 52 and 54?

 The imagery here is a conquering warrior hero who is richly rewarded. Psalm 2:8 says that after His successful work, God will grant Him the nations as His inheritance.  Besides, Yeshua conquers death and then shares it with the multitude who believe in Him.


It is clear with these arguements that the writer is being disingenuous.  Throughout this passage, Israel is shown to be the sinful one and the Messiah would have to come to redeem them of the stroke that was due to them.

The majority of rabbis before the 12th century were in agreement that this passage dealt with the Messiah.  Even Rashi contradicted himself by saying it was Israel in one commentary but in his Talmudic interpretation, he said it was the Messiah.  Maimonides (Rambam) disagreed with Rashi, saying it was a Messianic prophecy, despite the fact they didn’t attribute it to Yeshua.