Smitten of God and Afflicted

Isaiah 53:4-5.

⁴ Surely He hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem Him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

⁵ But He was wounded for our transgressions, He was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon Him; and with His stripes we are healed.

I probably should have stayed with my plan to treat each verse separately, but these two are so bound together that it seemed wrong to separate them.  It is also difficult for me to be analytical and academic about these verses, because they always bring tears to my eyes   However, for the sake of understanding the incredible depth of His sorrow and suffering in our behalf, a little word study is helpful.

V. 4:  Surely  (with no doubt, truly, in fact) He hath borne (to lift, bear, carry away, cast away, ease, erase, take away). The picture is of one person taking the burden of another and placing it on himself, as carrying an infant ; or, as the flood lifted up the ark (Psalm 103:12). Our griefs (sicknesses) and carried (to bear; the idea is that the full load is borne by the one carrying it so that all others might be free of it) our sorrows (grief and pain); yet we (those who were there as well as all of mankind since His crucifixion) did esteem Him stricken (to touch, lay the hand upon, strike violently, bring down, smite with a plague) smitten (to strike, beat, kill, punish; slaughter; slay; smite; wound; stripe as in flogging)  of God, and afflicted (browbeat, depress, abase, afflict). 

And I think I was right in the first place to treat each verse separately. We’ll go into verse 5 tomorrow.

The takeaway today, for me, is to never take for granted or underestimate what Jesus suffered on His way to the cross and on the cross.  Even those who witnessed it, many of them, turned away and could not bear to watch.  And there were also those, of course, who delighted in what they believed was the end of this Man from Galilee.