What is the meaning of Isaiah 53:3? He was despised and rejected by men • The Servant steps onto the stage of human history and is met, not with applause, but with contempt (Isaiah 49:7; John 1:10–11). • “Despised” captures the active scorn Jesus endured—mocked as a blasphemer (Matthew 26:67–68) and dismissed as a nobody from Nazareth (John 7:52). • “Rejected” speaks to the continual refusal of acknowledgment, climaxing in the crowd’s cry, “Crucify Him!” (Mark 15:12–14). • The verse reminds us that God predicted this treatment centuries before it occurred, cementing its literal fulfillment. A man of sorrows • Sorrow marked Jesus’ earthly path: He wept over Jerusalem (Luke 19:41), grieved in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:37–38), and mourned at Lazarus’s tomb (John 11:35). • These sorrows were not incidental but central to His mission—He carried the weight of sin’s devastation (2 Corinthians 5:21). • Because He willingly entered our brokenness, He sympathizes with every wounded heart (Hebrews 4:15). Acquainted with grief • “Acquainted” suggests more than a passing awareness; Jesus lived alongside grief daily (Mark 3:5; Hebrews 5:7). • He felt the sting of betrayal (Luke 22:48), the ache of family misunderstanding (Mark 3:21), and the exhaustion of ministry (John 4:6). • His familiarity with grief anchors our confidence that no sorrow we face is foreign to our Savior. Like one from whom men hide their faces • In His trial and crucifixion, people literally turned away—whether in mockery, fear, or indifference (Luke 23:35; John 19:19–24). • This response fulfilled the prophetic image of revulsion toward the suffering Servant, hinting at the deeper issue of humanity recoiling from God’s holiness (John 3:19–20). • Even today, many avert their gaze from the cross, preferring a less costly view of Jesus. He was despised • Repetition intensifies the point: contempt was not a momentary experience but a defining feature of His earthly life (Psalm 22:6–8). • Philippians 2:7–8 highlights how He “emptied Himself,” embracing dishonor for our redemption. • His willingness to be despised exposes the ugliness of sin and the depth of divine love. And we esteemed Him not • “We” places the burden squarely on humanity; it was collective blindness (Acts 13:27–28). • Estimating His worth wrongly appears in every age—whether dismissing His deity (John 10:33) or reducing Him to a mere moral teacher (1 Corinthians 1:23). • Yet the rejected One became “the stone the builders rejected” who is now “the cornerstone” (1 Peter 2:6–7), inviting us to reevaluate our estimation. summary Isaiah 53:3 foretells the Messiah’s path of contempt, sorrow, and grief. Each phrase sketches a portrait of Jesus willingly embracing rejection so He could bear sin’s curse and extend salvation. Knowing He has walked the valley of human pain, we trust Him with ours—and honor the One we once failed to esteem. |
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