Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed?
The report is the message and testimony about Christ as Redeemer, and the revealed arm of the Lord is God’s saving power made known in Christ’s life and work for the help and blessing of His people. It opens a plain prophecy that Christ must suffer and die as one growing as a tender plant and root out of dry ground, despised and rejected, acquainted with grief, wounded for transgressions, bruised for iniquities, chastised for peace, healed by stripes, bearing the iniquity of straying sheep, silent as a lamb to the slaughter, and cut off from the land of the living for the transgression of God’s people to fulfill salvation. This prophecy proves Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah and Son of God, perfectly fulfilled in His life, ministry, innocent suffering and death, and it describes His first advent in humility, not His second coming in glory as a temporal prince to exalt the nation. Few believe and few have God’s power revealed to them because the impenitent are blinded under Satan’s control and harden themselves by resisting light, as was fulfilled when priests and rulers scoffed at Him on the cross and when many refused to believe despite miracles including the raising of Lazarus. The verse calls each person to covenant with Christ by self-denial, surrender and walking in His footsteps in His humiliation and suffering, and its question is a plea for God to show His power and reveal in His people the power seen in Christ’s life as selfishness is removed and churches are united in faithful work.
Report and Saving Power
The report is the message and testimony about Christ as Redeemer, and the arm of the Lord revealed is God's saving and powerful work made known in Christ's life for the help and blessing of His people, though the world would not believe that message nor recognize that power. That unbelief was fulfilled when many refused to believe despite miracles testifying to His mission as Son of God, including the raising of Lazarus, because they had set their hearts against the light. The chapter that opens with this question portrays One who appears humble, suffers grief, and bears the sins and sorrows of others to fulfill the divine purpose of salvation.
His having no form or comeliness and no beauty to be desired does not mean He was physically unattractive. It means the world sees Him as an unimpressive root out of dry ground, discerns no desirability in Him, and therefore does not recognize Him as its only hope. Those who follow their own way and their own will do not believe the report and do not recognize the Lord's power, seeing no beauty in Christ and rejecting and despising Him.
The reason is that His divinity was hidden in poor, humble humanity, while people expected worldly glory and the exaltation of their nation. They did not discern His holiness and purity, and His grace and virtue did not appeal to them, so they despised and rejected Him. The prophecy of His suffering and death as the Lamb of God was vital to the salvation of souls, standing against the expectation that the Messiah would chiefly bring national elevation.
The whole chapter reveals the glory of Christ's lowly, self-denying life, with Christ revealed through humanity. Its prophetic vision portrays His whole experience, and history confirms that every act and step of His life was foretold. That same power seen in Christ's life is to be revealed again as selfishness is removed from His people, as they work wholeheartedly and faithfully, as confidence is restored, and as the churches are united.
Suffering Messiah Foretold
The question opens an unmistakably plain prophecy that the Christ must suffer and die. He grows up before God as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground, with no form nor comeliness and no beauty to be desired. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, hidden from as men hide faces from Him and esteemed not. He bears griefs and carries sorrows while esteemed stricken, smitten of God and afflicted, yet He is wounded for transgressions, bruised for iniquities, chastised for peace, and by His stripes healing comes. All like straying sheep turn to their own way and the Lord lays their iniquity on Him, and oppressed and afflicted He does not open His mouth but stays silent as a lamb brought to slaughter and as a sheep dumb before shearers, then taken from prison and from judgment He is cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of God's people to fulfill the divine purpose of salvation.
The prophecy proves Jesus of Nazareth to be the promised Messiah and Son of God. It was fulfilled perfectly in Him, in His life and ministry and in His innocent suffering and death at the hands of the Jews who crucified Him as they slew the prophets of old. Compared in sincerity with the facts characterizing the life of Jesus, the lowly Galilean, it shows a beautiful harmony between prophecy and fulfillment and corrects contempt for His humble appearance. Reading the chapter convinced Joseph Wolff that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Jesus Himself knew He was its fulfillment when twelve years old on His first visit to the temple at Jerusalem, perceiving from what He saw and heard there His mission and work as the great Sacrifice for sin and the Lamb of God vital to the salvation of souls.
The prophecy describes the first advent of Christ, not His second. He came not as a temporal prince to free the Jews from Roman rule or to exalt the nation. Many would not receive Him because their teachers misapplied descriptions of His glorious second coming to His first advent, misleading the people with expectations contrary to God's word. Though having the testimony of Isaiah and the other prophets, the Jews searched the Scriptures wrongly and did not discern the time or manner of His coming, mistaking the glories of His second coming for those of His first.
The foretold unbelief was fulfilled in how few accepted Him. In His humiliation on the cross priests and rulers scoffed at Him as He hung there and demanded He come down that they might believe. Many Jews did not believe the testimony about Him or recognize God's power revealed in Him despite the miracles and light they had received. Though Jesus performed many miracles, including raising Lazarus which testified to His mission as the Son of God, many who saw them still refused to believe because they had set their hearts against Him and against the light. This fulfillment rested on God's foreknowledge rather than a fate imposed by God, for Christ worked to soften hearts but they hardened them by resisting Him and choosing transgression.
Unbelief and Believing Response
Few have believed the report about Christ, and to few has the arm of the Lord been revealed. The impenitent do not believe the message about their Redeemer nor recognize God's power revealed through Him because they are blinded under Satan's control. They choose Satan's service instead of serving Christ, following their own way and will. They see no form or beauty to be desired in Him, and so reject and despise Him.
That unbelief was seen when many Jews did not believe the testimony about Christ nor recognize God's power revealed in Him, despite the miracles and light they had received. Their unbelief fulfilled prophecy grounded in God's foreknowledge, not a fate imposed by God. Christ worked to soften their hearts, but they hardened them by resisting Him and choosing transgression. People act by their own free will, either under God's influence or under Satan's, and rejecting divine light leads to further hardness.
Such unbelief shames all who shun the cross and will run no risk. The report is that He appeared without outward attractiveness to desire, as a root out of dry ground, despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief, hidden from and not esteemed. The world does not recognize Him as its only hope, yet the penitent see more deeply that He bears human griefs and sins and that His suffering brings healing and peace. Isaiah 53 reveals Him as fallen humanity's life-giving Saviour and only hope of life that measures with the life of God.
The verse therefore calls each person to make a covenant with Christ by self-denial, to surrender to walk in His footsteps, and to partake of His humiliation and suffering. No one should from timidity or fear of human reproach side with transgressors of God's law and imperil the soul. Through His self-giving and mediation human beings may become God's sons and daughters and receive life that measures with God's life. Part of why the report was not believed is that those who truly have a message to bear do not exalt themselves but let God exalt them.
The question to whom the arm of the Lord is revealed has also become a plea for God to reveal His power. It is a cry for Him to show His power and give His people victory over the powers of darkness. That power is the power seen in Christ's life, to be revealed in His people as they work wholeheartedly and faithfully. As selfishness is removed, confidence will be restored and the churches will be united. The appeal is joined to urgent preparation and quick action because time is short and almost finished.
The report is the message and testimony about Christ as Redeemer, and the revealed arm of the Lord is God’s saving power made known in Christ’s life and work for the help and blessing of His people. It opens a plain prophecy that Christ must suffer and die as one growing as a tender plant and root out of dry ground, despised and rejected, acquainted with grief, wounded for transgressions, bruised for iniquities, chastised for peace, healed by stripes, bearing the iniquity of straying sheep, silent as a lamb to the slaughter, and cut off from the land of the living for the transgression of God’s people to fulfill salvation. This prophecy proves Jesus of Nazareth is the promised Messiah and Son of God, perfectly fulfilled in His life, ministry, innocent suffering and death, and it describes His first advent in humility, not His second coming in glory as a temporal prince to exalt the nation. Few believe and few have God’s power revealed to them because the impenitent are blinded under Satan’s control and harden themselves by resisting light, as was fulfilled when priests and rulers scoffed at Him on the cross and when many refused to believe despite miracles including the raising of Lazarus. The verse calls each person to covenant with Christ by self-denial, surrender and walking in His footsteps in His humiliation and suffering, and its question is a plea for God to show His power and reveal in His people the power seen in Christ’s life as selfishness is removed and churches are united in faithful work.
Report and Saving Power
The report is the message and testimony about Christ as Redeemer, and the arm of the Lord revealed is God's saving and powerful work made known in Christ's life for the help and blessing of His people, though the world would not believe that message nor recognize that power. That unbelief was fulfilled when many refused to believe despite miracles testifying to His mission as Son of God, including the raising of Lazarus, because they had set their hearts against the light. The chapter that opens with this question portrays One who appears humble, suffers grief, and bears the sins and sorrows of others to fulfill the divine purpose of salvation.
His having no form or comeliness and no beauty to be desired does not mean He was physically unattractive. It means the world sees Him as an unimpressive root out of dry ground, discerns no desirability in Him, and therefore does not recognize Him as its only hope. Those who follow their own way and their own will do not believe the report and do not recognize the Lord's power, seeing no beauty in Christ and rejecting and despising Him.
The reason is that His divinity was hidden in poor, humble humanity, while people expected worldly glory and the exaltation of their nation. They did not discern His holiness and purity, and His grace and virtue did not appeal to them, so they despised and rejected Him. The prophecy of His suffering and death as the Lamb of God was vital to the salvation of souls, standing against the expectation that the Messiah would chiefly bring national elevation.
The whole chapter reveals the glory of Christ's lowly, self-denying life, with Christ revealed through humanity. Its prophetic vision portrays His whole experience, and history confirms that every act and step of His life was foretold. That same power seen in Christ's life is to be revealed again as selfishness is removed from His people, as they work wholeheartedly and faithfully, as confidence is restored, and as the churches are united.
Suffering Messiah Foretold
The question opens an unmistakably plain prophecy that the Christ must suffer and die. He grows up before God as a tender plant and as a root out of dry ground, with no form nor comeliness and no beauty to be desired. He is despised and rejected of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief, hidden from as men hide faces from Him and esteemed not. He bears griefs and carries sorrows while esteemed stricken, smitten of God and afflicted, yet He is wounded for transgressions, bruised for iniquities, chastised for peace, and by His stripes healing comes. All like straying sheep turn to their own way and the Lord lays their iniquity on Him, and oppressed and afflicted He does not open His mouth but stays silent as a lamb brought to slaughter and as a sheep dumb before shearers, then taken from prison and from judgment He is cut off out of the land of the living for the transgression of God's people to fulfill the divine purpose of salvation.
The prophecy proves Jesus of Nazareth to be the promised Messiah and Son of God. It was fulfilled perfectly in Him, in His life and ministry and in His innocent suffering and death at the hands of the Jews who crucified Him as they slew the prophets of old. Compared in sincerity with the facts characterizing the life of Jesus, the lowly Galilean, it shows a beautiful harmony between prophecy and fulfillment and corrects contempt for His humble appearance. Reading the chapter convinced Joseph Wolff that Jesus Christ is the Son of God. Jesus Himself knew He was its fulfillment when twelve years old on His first visit to the temple at Jerusalem, perceiving from what He saw and heard there His mission and work as the great Sacrifice for sin and the Lamb of God vital to the salvation of souls.
The prophecy describes the first advent of Christ, not His second. He came not as a temporal prince to free the Jews from Roman rule or to exalt the nation. Many would not receive Him because their teachers misapplied descriptions of His glorious second coming to His first advent, misleading the people with expectations contrary to God's word. Though having the testimony of Isaiah and the other prophets, the Jews searched the Scriptures wrongly and did not discern the time or manner of His coming, mistaking the glories of His second coming for those of His first.
The foretold unbelief was fulfilled in how few accepted Him. In His humiliation on the cross priests and rulers scoffed at Him as He hung there and demanded He come down that they might believe. Many Jews did not believe the testimony about Him or recognize God's power revealed in Him despite the miracles and light they had received. Though Jesus performed many miracles, including raising Lazarus which testified to His mission as the Son of God, many who saw them still refused to believe because they had set their hearts against Him and against the light. This fulfillment rested on God's foreknowledge rather than a fate imposed by God, for Christ worked to soften hearts but they hardened them by resisting Him and choosing transgression.
Unbelief and Believing Response
Few have believed the report about Christ, and to few has the arm of the Lord been revealed. The impenitent do not believe the message about their Redeemer nor recognize God's power revealed through Him because they are blinded under Satan's control. They choose Satan's service instead of serving Christ, following their own way and will. They see no form or beauty to be desired in Him, and so reject and despise Him.
That unbelief was seen when many Jews did not believe the testimony about Christ nor recognize God's power revealed in Him, despite the miracles and light they had received. Their unbelief fulfilled prophecy grounded in God's foreknowledge, not a fate imposed by God. Christ worked to soften their hearts, but they hardened them by resisting Him and choosing transgression. People act by their own free will, either under God's influence or under Satan's, and rejecting divine light leads to further hardness.
Such unbelief shames all who shun the cross and will run no risk. The report is that He appeared without outward attractiveness to desire, as a root out of dry ground, despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief, hidden from and not esteemed. The world does not recognize Him as its only hope, yet the penitent see more deeply that He bears human griefs and sins and that His suffering brings healing and peace. Isaiah 53 reveals Him as fallen humanity's life-giving Saviour and only hope of life that measures with the life of God.
The verse therefore calls each person to make a covenant with Christ by self-denial, to surrender to walk in His footsteps, and to partake of His humiliation and suffering. No one should from timidity or fear of human reproach side with transgressors of God's law and imperil the soul. Through His self-giving and mediation human beings may become God's sons and daughters and receive life that measures with God's life. Part of why the report was not believed is that those who truly have a message to bear do not exalt themselves but let God exalt them.
The question to whom the arm of the Lord is revealed has also become a plea for God to reveal His power. It is a cry for Him to show His power and give His people victory over the powers of darkness. That power is the power seen in Christ's life, to be revealed in His people as they work wholeheartedly and faithfully. As selfishness is removed, confidence will be restored and the churches will be united. The appeal is joined to urgent preparation and quick action because time is short and almost finished.