Verse by verse analysis of Isaiah 53. A missionary favorite!

Salam!
In this article, we will be analyzing a common missionary passage, verse by verse. So strap in and get ready!
Introduction:
Ever since the rise of Christianity, one debate continues through the ages between Christianity, and Judaism, and that debate is the messiahship of Jesus Christ. While the Christians say that Jesus Christ is the prophecied jewish messiah, final sacrifice for the sins of humanity, and also God, the jews vehemently reject all of these concepts, using their scripture, the Tanach, or as the Christians call it, the old testament, to prove their case.
Recently, among the various prophecies that Christian missionaries quote in an attempt to show that Jesus is the messiah from the Tanach, one of them is starting to rise to the top as the favorite, and that of course being, Isaiah 53. In this article, we will be taking a look at the opinion of the Christians, and the jews, and examining which opinion is more in line with the text. We will be reviewing each and every single verse to determine if they can apply to Jesus. Note that if any of these verses can be applied to another prophet, or another group, the Christian claim fails.
Isaiah and the servant songs:
Before we begin, we must expound on the servant songs, and Isaiah as a whole.
The servant songs, of which there are four, are a collection of songs that describe a particular character who is identified as God’s servant. This character is said to be Jesus by the Christians, and Israel, or the righteous remnant, by the jews.
Isaiah 53 is part of the last and final servant song, with the song beginning at chapter 52 verse 13. It is important to note that the scroll of Isaiah was to be read as one entire scroll, meaning that it originally did not have chapter dividers in place. The chapters were given to it later.
Another thing of importance is that the passage we will be examining is highly allegorical in nature, similar to about 90 percent of Isaiah. It is important to remember this fact when analyzing the verses themselves, as Christians are quick to assign a literal interpretation to the verses, ignoring their allegorical nature.
Determining the individuals speaking:
Before we analyze the verses, it is also important to determine who is speaking within them.
As mentioned previously, the servant song starts from chapter 52, verse 13.
We see in verses 13-15 that God himself is speaking, as the person speaking in this verse refers to the servant as, my servant.
From chapter 53 verses 1-8, a gentile nation is the one speaking, representative of what the nations will say during this period, and God speaks in the remaining four verses.
Initial problems with the Christian view:
Before we begin our line by line analysis, its important to point out several problems with the Christian interpretation of the servant songs that are irrelevant of the verses themselves. The first and most obvious issue is that nowhere does Jesus ever attribute the servant song of Isaiah 53 to be about himself. Jesus quotes Isaiah several times throughout his ministry, however he never quotes any section from Isaiah 53.
Christians believe Jesus attributed the prophecy of the son of man to himself, so if this is truely the clearest prophecy which points to Jesus and him alone, why is there no mention of it by Jesus himself?
Another issue is that none of the gospel writers shared the interpretation of the Christians. Consider the gospel of Matthew, who’s main purpose was to spread the message of Jesus to the jews. Attempting to convince the jews that Jesus is the true messiah, Matthew quotes from Isaiah 7, and Hosea 11, all biblical prophecies that will be analyzed in later articles.
Point being, if Matthew had shared the Christian interpretation of Isaiah 53, why did he never quote it to the jews in the way that fits the Christian understanding? Being that this prophecy is viewed as the clearest example of a prophecy pointing to Jesus, it would be a no brainer for Matthew to quote this in an attempt to prove to the jews that jesus is the true Messiah worthy of being followed. However, Matthew only quotes one verse from Isaiah 53, and even then, his understanding completely contradicts the common Christian interpretation, as you will see.
The identity of the servant:
One more thing before we get into our line by line analysis. It is important to establish the identity of God’s servant, as this is the biggest point of contention between the jews and the Christians. The method by which we do this is to look throughout the book of Isaiah, as well as the Tanach, old testament, as a whole.
When we do this, we find that the Tanach, old testament, continuously states that the servant is Israel in the following passages.
Isaiah 41 verse 8 reads:
“But you, Israel, my servant,
    Jacob, whom I have chosen,
    you descendants of Abraham.
Isaiah 43:10 reads:
“You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,
    “and my servant whom I have chosen,
so that you may know and believe me
    and understand that I am he.
Before me no god was formed,
    nor will there be one after me.
Within this context, we can establish that God is calling Israel his servant.
Other verses in which God addresses Israel as his servant are Isaiah 44:1-2, 45:4, and 48:20.
Objection: Singular?
A common contention from the Christian side will always come up at the mention of the identity of the servant being Israel. The objection is, why does the Tanach refer to the servant in the singular, when Israel is an entire nation?
One does not have to look very far to answer this one. We see within the Tanach that it is rather common to refer to the jewish nation in the singular.
The following passages prove this:
Dute. 32:
9.  For the Lord’s portion is his people, Jacob his allotted inheritance.
10. In a desert land he found him, in a barren and howling waste. He shielded him and cared for him, he guarded him as the apple of his eye.
Hosea 8:3, But Israel has rejected what is good, an enemy will pursue him.
Hosea 14:5, I will be like the dew to Israel; he will blossom like a lily. Like a cedar of Lebanon, he will send down his roots.
Exitus 4:22, Then say to Pharaoh, ‘This is what the Lord says: Israel is my firstborn son.
As we can see, it is quite common for the jewish nation to be refered to in the singular throughout the old testament.
However, we also find that the new testament identifies the servant as Israel in the following verse.
Luke 1:54, He has helped his servant Israel, remembering to be merciful.
So, if Christians wish to use this argument against the interpretation that the servant is Israel, they should then go a step further and use it against Luke.
One last thing to note is that if Christians believe that this prophecy applies to Jesus the messiah, who is also God’s personification on earth according to the Christian view, then how can God be his own servant? This makes no sense.
52:13-14:
We will now begin our verse by verse analysis, starting from chapter 52, verses 13-14.
The verses read:
13. See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
14.  Just as there were many who were appalled at him, his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being and his form marred beyond human likeness.
As we have already established from the previous sections of the article, the servant is identified as the nation of Israel, or the righteous remnant of the nation. Hence, the appearance and form should be talking about the same subject matter.
Verse 15:
so he will sprinkle many nations,
    and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
    and what they have not heard, they will understand.
Who are the nations being referenced here?
As we have previously established in the article, God is speaking within this verse. Thus, it is rather obvious to conclude that God is speaking about the gentile nations.
The same rhetoric can be found in Micah chapter 7 verses 12-17, that speak of the gentile nations astonishment at the flourishing of the jewish nation during the messianic age.
12 
In that day people will come to you
    from Assyria and the cities of Egypt,
even from Egypt to the Euphrates
    and from sea to sea
    and from mountain to mountain.
13 
The earth will become desolate because of its inhabitants,
    as the result of their deeds.
14 
Shepherd your people with your staff,
    the flock of your inheritance,
which lives by itself in a forest,
    in fertile pasturelands.
Let them feed in Bashan and Gilead
    as in days long ago.
15 
“As in the days when you came out of Egypt,
    I will show them my wonders.”
16 
Nations will see and be ashamed,
    deprived of all their power.
They will put their hands over their mouths
    and their ears will become deaf.
17 
They will lick dust like a snake,
    like creatures that crawl on the ground.
They will come trembling out of their dens;
    they will turn in fear to the Lord our God
    and will be afraid of you.
53:1:
Who has believed our message
    and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
As established, the gentile nations are the ones speaking in this verse.
The term the arm of the lord, or hand of God, refers to God’s power, strength, and God’s intervention on behalf of his people.
Some examples of the arm of the lord term within the old testament are as follows.
Exodus 6:6, “Therefore, say to the Israelites: ‘I am the Lord, and I will bring you out from under the yoke of the Egyptians. I will free you from being slaves to them, and I will redeem you with an outstretched arm and with mighty acts of judgment.
Dute. 5:15, Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
Dute. 26:8, So the Lord brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, with great terror and with signs and wonders.
Verse 2:
He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
This fits the narrative of the songs refering to the jewish nation, or the righteous remnant of it, as this is speaking of the growth of the jewish nation, when it was young, and the gentile nations not desiring them as they had not found their identity in the world.
Verse 3:
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.
The first line states that he was despised and rejected by man. However, an honest reading of the new testament would make this verse and Jesus’s life irreconcilable with each other.
We se all throughout the new testament that Jesus is the opposite of rejected, rather he is described throughout his ministry to be highly praised and popular.
Luke 4:
14.  Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
15.  He was teaching in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
Mark 3:
7.  Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed.
8.  When they heard about all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.
Matthew 4:
23.  Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
24.  News about him spread all over Syria, and people brought to him all who were ill with various diseases, those suffering severe pain, the demon-possessed, those having seizures, and the paralyzed; and he healed them.
Other instances of Jesus’s popularity on full display include the story of the feading of the 5000, Jesus raising Lazarus in front of a crowd of morners, and a large crowd spreading their cloaks on the road for him and welcoming him. After all this, does the description of this verse fit Jesus during his lifetime? Of course not.
Another thing to note is that the verse refers to the servant as, a man of suffering and familiar with pain. However, an examining of Jesus’s life reveals no such characteristics about him. The only place throughout the gosples in which there is a reference to Jesus and suffering is the last 48 hours of his life. However, that would not constitute being familiar with something, as the verse describes.
Not only could this entire verse apply to the jewish nation always being rejected and suffering because of the gentile nations, or the righteous remnant, being rejected for their message and suffering because of the gentile’s, this section of the verse in particular could apply to several much better biblical candidates than Jesus himself.
Examples of this include Job, Isaiah, and Geremiah, who is known by the jews as the weaping prophet. He didn’t just suffer for the last 24-48 hours of his life, rather he suffered for 40 years.
Verse 4:
Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
Christians will point to this verse as one of the clearest verses pointing to Jesus. However, the new testament itself exposes their flawed interpretation.
We read in Matthew 8:
16.  When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.
17.  This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
“He took up our infirmities
    and bore our diseases.”
The NIV, New International version of the bible states in the footnote for this verse:
Isaiah 53:4 (see Septuagint.
We can clearly see that the new testament’s understanding of this verse is that it was fulfilled when Jesus healed the sick, and not at the cross when he supposedly died for all of our sins.
Verse 5:
But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
The jewish interpretation of this passage is that the kings of the gentile nations realize their faults and Israel, or the righteous remnant, are suffering as a result of them.
Another thing to note is that according to Isaiah 42:4, which reads,     he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”, the messiah will not die until he completes his mission. Jesus being crucified and dying before his mission is complete would make no sense.
Verse 6:
We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.
Again, this could be applied to the jewish nation, as they were instructed to be a light to the nations, but rather they rebelled against God.
Verse 7:
He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
Originally, the first part of the verse seems perfectly in line with the crucifiction narrative. However, a deeper dive into this shows us the real meaning.
First off, we find this exact terminology found within other parts of the old testament.
For instance, Geremiah 11, verses 18-19 state:
18.  Because the Lord revealed their plot to me, I knew it, for at that time he showed me what they were doing.
19.  I had been like a gentle lamb led to the slaughter; I did not realize that they had plotted against me, saying,
“Let us destroy the tree and its fruit;
    let us cut him off from the land of the living,
    that his name be remembered no more.”
Furthermore, in psalms 44:22, David peace be upon him is refering to those righteous of the jewish nation as sheepp to be slaughtered.
The verse reads:
Yet for your sake we face death all day long;
    we are considered as sheep to be slaughtered.
We can see that the old testament uses the term as an allegory, and not as a literal act of one being a sacrificial lamb.
Verses 8-9:
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.
9 
He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Many things to note here. The first is that these verses use terminology that can be interpreted as speaking of literal death. However, Isaiah, and in particular the servant songs, are poetic songs filled with allegorical and symbolic statements.
The same allegorical terms can be found in the following verses from Ezekiel 37.
11.  Then he said to me: “Son of man, these bones are the people of Israel. They say, ‘Our bones are dried up and our hope is gone; we are cut off.’
12.  Therefore prophesy and say to them: ‘This is what the Sovereign Lord says: My people, I am going to open your graves and bring you up from them; I will bring you back to the land of Israel.
13.  Then you, my people, will know that I am the Lord, when I open your graves and bring you up from them.
14.  I will put my Spirit in you and you will live, and I will settle you in your own land. Then you will know that I the Lord have spoken, and I have done it, declares the Lord.’”
The same allegorical terms that are used in Isaiah 53 are also used within these verses. However, contextually, we know that they do not mean a literal death, or a literal grave, rather it is an allegory for the calamity of the jewish nation, and God bringing them out of their graves, IE restoring them, if they turn back to him.
The same metaforical language can be found in psalms 27:13, and psalms 116:9.
And again, even if granting the Christian interpretation of such terminology, we find that there are better biblical candidates, including the prophet Geremiah himself.
Violence and deceit?
Verse 9 says that the servant was not violent, nor was there deceit in his mouth. Are there any such examples in which jesus was either violent or deceitful? Christians would of course say no, but let’s find out for ourselves.
We first start with acts of violence. We read in John 2:
13.  When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
14.  In the temple courts he found people selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.
15.  So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple courts, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
We have other examples of Jesus commanding violence, or being violent himself. Examples include his killing of a herd of pigs in Matthew 8:30-32, and Luke 22:36-38 where he instructs his disciples to purchase swords.
But that’s not all. A closer look at the new testament will let you in on a shocking secret.
Matthew 16:20, Then he ordered his disciples not to tell anyone that he was the Messiah.
Mark 4:
10.  When he was alone, the Twelve and the others around him asked him about the parables.
11.  He told them, “The secret of the kingdom of God has been given to you. But to those on the outside everything is said in parables.
12.  so that,
“‘they may be ever seeing but never perceiving,
    and ever hearing but never understanding;
otherwise they might turn and be forgiven!’
These examples are clear evidences that the biblical Jesus was deceitfull. Not only is not wanting people to be guided a clear example of deceit, but giving guidance to the people is the mission of a prophet. Yet, we find that jesus specifically gives his disciples instructions to not explain the meaning of his parables, as the people would have been guided, had they understood Jesus’s message.
However, since this is the bible, we can’t have this without at least one contradiction. Let us examine what jesus says about himself in John 18.
19.  Meanwhile, the high priest questioned Jesus about his disciples and his teaching.
20.  “I have spoken openly to the world,” Jesus replied. “I always taught in synagogues or at the temple, where all the Jews come together. I said nothing in secret.
This is an outright lie. Jesus explained to his disciples what his parables meant in secret, so this is a clear example of jesus contradicting himself.
Verse 10:
Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
Christians would love for us to focus on the part of the verse which speaks on God making him a life offering for sin, however a deep analysis of the Tanach, old testament, shows us that deliberate, or intentional sins, did not actually have a set sacrifice which God accepted. Rather, for such sins, all that is required by God is sinceer repentance.
Furthermore, Ezekiel 45, verses 20-23, clearly state that even when Israel and the temple are restored, sacrifices will continue as they were.
This is not only completely contradictory to the Christian perspective of atonement, which will probably be overviewed in a later article, but it poses an important question to the Christians. if Jesus was truely the final sacrifice for all mankind, who was also sinless, why is it that sacrifices will continue upon the temple’s restoration, and why will he offer a sacrifice for himself, as well as the people?
Another important thing to note is that the verse says that he will see his sead, and his life will be prolonged. However, not only did Jesus die young, but it makes no sense to say that a supposedly eternal being’s days are pro-longed.
With regards to the servant seeing his sead, of course we kno that Jesus peace be upon him never had kids, therefore it could not be about him. In response to this, many Christians say that this is a metaphorical sead rather than a biological one. However, there are many issues with this.
The first one is that Christians switch the interpretation from a literal to a metaphoric one to suit their neads, which is highly inconsistent. For instance, Christians would interpret verss 4, 7, 8, 9, and so on to be literal, while interpreting verse 10 to be metaphorical.
The second one is that the Hebrew word used in this verse makes this interpretation an impossibility. The word used here is, זֶ֖רַע, zera. This word is always used throughout the old testament to indicate biological children, not metaphorical ones.
Examples that prove this are: Genesis 4:25, Genesis 38:8, Psalms 22:23, 1 Samuel 2:20, Isaiah 45:19, Geremiah 31:27, and Geremiah 33:26.
It is also important to highlight that there is a term for figurative children within the old testament. This word is בָּנִ֣ים, ben, singular, or benim, plural. This word is used in Dute. 14:1, as well as Isaiah 45:11.
Verse 11:
After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
Again, this verse could be easily applied to the jewish nation, as their job was to inform others about the oneness of God and lead by example. However, since they themselves became idolaters, they failed in this mission.
Verse 12:
Only one more verse to go!
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.
The first part of the verse indicates that Jesus will be rewarded by God, as verses 9-12 are all God’s words. However, if Jesus is supposedly god, how does it make any sense that he can reward himself? Would it not make more sense if it applies to the jewish nation or the righteous remnant?
Conclusion and the Islamic perspective:
In islam, the quran states that Jesus, peace be upon him, is the messiah, explicitly in the following verse.
Quran 4:171, O People of the Scripture! Do not exaggerate in your religion, and do not say about Allah except the truth. The Messiah, Jesus, the son of Mary, is the Messenger of Allah, and His Word that He conveyed to Mary, and a Spirit from Him. So believe in Allah and His messengers, and do not say, “Three.” Refrain—it is better for you. Allah is only one God. Glory be to Him—that He should have a son. To Him belongs everything in the heavens and the earth, and Allah is a sufficient protector.
However, the only way to accept this doctrine truely is by accepting islam and the quran, as there is not a single verse from the old testament that supports any of the Christians views. There is no prophecy which specifically applies to Jesus, no verse which states that the messiah will be a final sacrifice for all mankind, the opposite actually, and no verse which states that the messiah is to be God on earth.
Now that we have debunked and dismanteled the strongest prophecy of Jesus in the old testament, Christians should consider the problems with their interpretation, and rethink their beliefs. And, if Allah wills, accept the only religion that honors Jesus, may peace be upon him, in the way he deserves to be honored.