Isaiah 53 – Despised and Rejected of Men

He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.

Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.

This chapter in the old testament is rightly used often to show the suffering of the Christ on our behalf.  His crucifixion, the pain and the reason for it, are vividly described in Isaiah 53, written approximately 750 years before Jesus’ time on earth in human form.  This prophetic passage has been used countless times in the Lord’s Supper to focus on the sacrifice of body and the blood of Jesus for our sins.  I want to mention here another aspect of Jesus’ suffering that is not discussed as often, though It certainly played a part in his crucifixion and the reason for it.  

Jesus was not only tempted in every way we are, he was familiar with all aspects of the suffering and pain of human life in this world.  He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.  He did not cast a stately or majestic figure.  At best, he was just normal looking.  However, not only were people not naturally drawn to him, rejection was a major aspect of his life, maybe his entire life.  In fact, Jesus was the most hated of men.  Isaiah 53:3 says: “He was despised and rejected by mankind; a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.”  

To be condemned and crucified as a truly innocent man is an ultimate form of rejection, to say the least.  We know that the religious leaders hated and rejected him.  We know the fickle crowds yelled “hosanna” one day and “crucify” the next.  However, rejection appears to have been the norm for Jesus’ life.  Jesus was different.  He was perfect!  He never did anything morally wrong.   People don’t really like different; they are comfortable with normal.  Jesus was not “normal”, he was perfect.  That would make people even less comfortable.  In fact, he was, “Like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.”  People hide their faces from those they really don’t like.  The don’t want to see them or be seen by them.  They won’t look them in the eyes.  Jesus was hated and looked down on.  People didn’t think much of him.  We held him in low esteem.  Notice the use of the words “we” and “our” in these verses.  

Isaiah 53:4 says, “Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering”, but what was our response?“ …Yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted”.  Scriptures abound in both New and Old Testaments that attest to this; Psalm 22 is another of the prominent ones, as well as the gospels.  We hated him and he is God.