Letter 13. The Vicarious Sufferings and Death of the Messiah
Predicted as Well as Typified
Dear Brother,
1. In describing the eternal covenant between the Father and the Son, it was shown that the Messiah voluntarily engaged to suffer and die in the place of his people. It has also been shown that this engagement was made known to our first parents in paradise, in the promise of a Messiah, and illustrated by the institution of sacrifices, and more fully typified under the Levitical priesthood. I will now endeavor to prove that it was also predicted by the prophets, not only that the Messiah was to suffer before he entered into his glory, but that his sufferings and death were to be of a vicarious nature. The sufferings and death of the Messiah predicted in Daniel chapter 9th, have already been noticed, and will again be referred to hereafter. I shall confine myself more particularly to the predictions of David and Isaiah.
2. It is very evident that the 22d Psalm speaks of the Messiah. It is plain from the whole of the Psalm, that one single individual person is spoken of; this person is distinguished from those called brethren, congregation of Israel, and those that feared the Lord (v 22, 23).
Hence the person suffering could not be the congregation of Israel, as Kimchi would have it. And though David met with much opposition, yet there are several circumstances mentioned which are by no means applicable to him. See verses 14-18. Beside, the happiness which was to flow from his sufferings, and the conversion of the Gentiles, which was to follow, show that the sufferer was none but the Messiah, "in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed." The title of this Psalm, whether it signifies "the hind of the morning" or "the morning star," or as the Targum, "the daily morning sacrifice," points out the Messiah, and has all been fulfilled, (as we shall show, God willing,) in Jesus of Nazareth, who from his birth, like a hind, was persecuted, is called the morning star, and is the antitype and fulfillment of all the sacrifices.
Several parts of this Psalm have been applied to the Messiah by our Rabbins.(85)
Here we have a brief description of the outward sufferings of the Messiah, but we shall now consider the nature, design, and effects thereof, as foretold by the prophet Isaiah in 53d chapter
[For more on Isaiah 53 please see our online book An Exposition of Isaiah 53 by David Baron.]
3. The prophecies of Isaiah contain the clearest revelations of the Messiah, and are written in the loftiest style of any part of the Old Testament; but this chapter is an eminent instance of both. It contains an exact description both of his sufferings and his glories, represented in bright and lively colors, and in a phrase exceeding lofty and sublime. The veil of the temple seemed to have been drawn aside, though not yet rent asunder, and the light of the Gospel shone forth with a brighter glory than ever it had appeared before.
This chapter ought to commence with the last three verses of the preceding one, "Behold my servant." Thus Abarbanel begins it, and hath divided the whole into three parts; the first comprises the last three verses of chapter 52, the second part from verse 1-9, and the third part contains the last three verses.
4. That the prophet does not speak of himself, is allowed on all hands; and that he spake of the Messiah, will appear from the following considerations.
a. From the beginning to the end of this prophecy, there is but one and the same person spoken of.
b. He is characterized as the righteous servant of Jehovah; as a most innocent, blameless, and holy person, who deserved no punishment on his own account (52:13, 53:9,11).
c. His condition, from his birth to his death, is described as lower than any of the sons of men. Thus he is represented as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief; as wounded and bruised to death; as judicially condemned and cut off out of the land of the living, pouring out his soul unto death, and put in his grave.
d. His sufferings and death are ascribed to the purpose and immediate hand of God. "Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (v 6). "It pleased Jehovah to bruise him; He hath put him to grief" (v 10).
e. The design of God in thus dealing with the person, was to inflict upon him the punishment due to our sins, that thereby he might accomplish the work of redemption. This is such an important article, that the prophet mentions it repeatedly in a variety of expressions.
Verse 4, "Surely he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted"; verse 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." Again, verse 6, "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Again, verse 8, "For the transgression of my people was he stricken.'' Again, verse 10, "When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin." Again, verse 11, "He shall bear their iniquities." Again, verse 12, "He bare the sin of many."
f. This sufferer is described as voluntarily putting himself in the place of the guilty, to suffer in their stead; and when actually engaged in the work, he endured his sufferings with unparalleled patience. For though "he was oppressed and afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth" (v 7).
g. That because of his humble, mean, and suffering condition, many would conclude that he was a deceiver, and therefore reject him, but would afterwards acknowledge their error. "Who has believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; he has no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has born our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted" (vv 1-4). Yet after this person "was cut off out of the land of the living, and his grave made with the wicked" (vv 8, 9), he shall live again, "and shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high" (52:13); "shall sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouth at him" (v 15); "he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands, and he shall justify many" (53:10,11).
5. From the whole it appears that some eminent person is here described, under the title of the servant of the Lord, who should go through much undeserved shame and suffering, even unto death, for the sake and benefit of other people, who should endure all indignities with the greatest meekness and patience, even offering up himself, of his own accord; and at last should be highly honored and exalted, in reward of his obedience, and see the success of all his sufferings in the justification of those whose iniquities he had borne, and in their admission to divide the spoil of his enemies, and enjoy a state of glory and happiness with him. Now, my dear Benjamin, let me ask, who could the person be to whom all these characters belonged, without any strain or violence put upon the words, without any breach or violation of that unity which the whole contexture of the passage requires?
6. Surely it is not applicable to King Josiah, notwithstanding his piety. The expedition in which he fell at Megiddo, was no advantage to his character. It was rashly undertaken, not only without just provocation, but against the express warning and command of God. His death therefore was manifestly the punishment of his own sin and temerity; much less had it the virtue of an expiation or atonement; it averted not the divine vengeance from our people, but left them exposed to the ravages of the Chaldeans, who, a few years after, led them captive into Babylon.
7. No more is it applicable to Jeremiah the prophet. He was indeed remarkable for piety, zeal and faithfulness, and on that account was much hated and persecuted; still he is very far from answering the character of this prediction. He relates of himself, that he bore his sufferings very ill. He cursed the day of his birth; he expostulated with God for giving way to the treachery of his people; he prayed that he might see God's vengeance on them; and very unwilling to die, he at last capitulated for his life (Jer 12:1-4, 20:12,14,17,18). Let the learned Grotius and his followers say whether this be the carriage that suits the "meekness of the lamb, and the silence of the sheep before her shearers?" Does it come up to "interceding for the transgressors, or the making himself freely an offering for sin?" His sufferings possessed no merit. They did not procure him a seed, a long succession of disciples; nor were they the means of converting Gentile kingdoms.
8. Much less does this prophecy relate to the supposed Messiah ben Joseph. The person characterized is to suffer and die for the sins of his people, that they might be healed and justified; but our Rabbins tell us that Messiah ben Joseph is to be engaged in war, and that he and his people are to be slain in battle. Again, this person is said to rise again, to be very prosperous, to have many kings subjecting themselves to him, and to have a multitude of people as his followers; but no such things are believed concerning Messiah ben Joseph. Besides, I have already shown that the whole story of two Messiahs is without foundation in the sacred Scripture, and is a mere fiction of our Rabbins.
9. Once more I will show that this prophecy does not relate to the sufferings of our nation. It has been said that our nation's sufferings are to atone for the sins of the Gentiles, and to be the means of their becoming proselytes to Judaism. But this cannot be the case. For it has already been observed, that the sufferer is described as a most innocent, blameless, and holy person, who deserved no punishment on his own account. Has this been the character of our people at any time? Ask the prophets, and they will tell you that those in their days were a sinful and rebellious people; and they prophesied of those who should live under the second temple, that their sins would be the ruin of the city, and the cause of the dispersion of our nation. Ask our historian Josephus, and he will confirm the truth of their predictions. For thus he testifies:
"If the Romans had delayed to come against them, the earth must have opened and swallowed them up, or fire been rained upon them, as on Sodom; for the Jews were then a much wickeder generation than those that had suffered these extraordinary punishments."(86)
Nor do our Rabbins differ; for, as has already been shown, they affirm that the coming of the Messiah has been delayed because of the sins of our people.
Again, the sufferer is said to put himself voluntarily in the place of the guilty, and to bear his sufferings with unparalleled patience; but this is not applicable to our people. Notwithstanding their obedience to the laws of the countries where they live, and their prayers and supplications for "the powers that be"; yet their sufferings are not voluntary. It is well known that the obstinate resistance of our fathers to the Roman power was the cause of the destruction of Jerusalem, together with our beautiful temple, and the awful calamities which succeeded, too heart-rending to be described; nor would they willingly continue any longer in exile, if the God of our fathers were to open a door for their return to the land of promise, as he will surely do in his own time, as will be shown hereafter. Hence their daily prayers for deliverance.
Again, the person is said to be cut off from the land of the living, to be buried and to rise again; which expressions are to be understood literally, as all the rest of the prophecy, and consequently are not applicable to the sufferings of our nation.
10. Before I dismiss this part of the subject, I will just take notice of "a Jewish Tract, on the 53d chap, of Isaiah, written by Dr. Montalto, in Portuguese, about the year 1650, and translated and published in London, by Philo-Veritas. Au.1790." The author agrees in the opinion just stated, that the sufferer mentioned means our people collectively; but he asserts that they suffer for their own sins, and not for the sins of any other. For in verse 8th he translates the last clause, "for the transgressions of my people were they stricken," and in his explanation he saith,
"God declares that the punishments of Israel were for his own iniquities, and not for those imputed to them by different nations."
Again, he saith,
"It becomes us to bear with fortitude those inflictions which our own transgressions have merited."
Now my dear Benjamin will easily anticipate an objection against this author's sentiment. As he acknowledges that Israel is a sinner and deserves punishment, therefore Israel cannot be the sufferer described by Isaiah; for he is said to be innocent, and to suffer on account, in the place, and for the good of others. Again, he saith that the persons speaking and the sufferer are distinct. The former he saith are the Gentile nations, and the latter our nation, spoken of collectively as one man.
"In the 14th and 15th verses (chap 52,) is expressed, the astonishment of all nations, to behold our redemption!—In the 1st, 2d and 3d verses of the 53d chapter, their wonder breaks out at this sudden exaltation, by the hand of God, of a people, in whose countenances nought but shame and dejection had appeared during their long dispersion."
But these persons contradict the author; whilst he asserts that the sufferer is afflicted for his own sin, they repeatedly affirm that he suffered for their sins. See verses 4-6, 11, 12. Yea, this author contradicts himself, for he thus paraphrases verse 4th:
"the nations exclaim, that surely Israel had borne the punishment of all their sins and violations."
Such is the confusion and contradiction which runs through the whole of this tract: an awful specimen of the blindness which "has in part happened unto Israel."
11. At the close of this tract the author has an observation which is too true, even in the 19th century. It is as follows:
"I hope I may be permitted to advert with more of pleasantry than asperity to the extreme readiness of Christians to leave us in undisturbed possession of all the evil foretold us, and which we at present experience, whilst they kindly interpret of themselves those pleasing promises which hold forth with equal certainty the felicity of our latter days."
12. Having, I trust, satisfactorily refuted the misapplication of this prophecy, I shall now show that our ancient Rabbins understood it of the Messiah. Instead of those words, "Behold, my servant shall deal prudently," the Targum hath it,
"behold, my servant the Messiah shall be exalted, and increase and grow up, and shall greatly increase, and prevail."
R. Tanchuma says,
"Behold my servant, &c. this is King Messiah, who shall be established above Abraham, shall be exalted above Moses, and be higher than the ministering angels."
Aben Ezra says,
"This chapter is very difficult, and many have explained it of the Messiah."
R. Solomon Yarchi, on the place, saith,
"our Rabbins understand this of the Messiah";
and the reason he assigns for their interpretation is
"that they say that the Messiah is stricken, as it is written, 'He took our infirmities arid bare our griefs,'"
which are the words of the 4th verse of the 53d chapter. Hence, it appears, that our ancient Rabbins joined the last three verses of the 52d chapter with the 53d, and applied the prophecy to the same person. Besides, he cites a certain Midresh out of Bereshith Rab. on Genesis 28:10, where mention is made of
Zechariah 4:7,
"Who art thou, O great mountain?" he answereth, "That great mountain is the Messiah."
Again, he asks,
"Why does he call the Messiah a great mountain?" he answereth, "Because He is greater than the fathers; as it is written, 'Behold my servant, &c. this is the Messiah.'"
In the same book, on Genesis 24:67, it is said that Messiah the King was in the generation of the wicked; that he gave himself to seek for mercies for Israel, and to fasting and humbling himself for them, as it is written, "he was wounded for our transgressions," &c.(87) R. Moshe Alshech saith,
"Behold, our doctors of blessed memory, concluded with one mouth, as they have received from their ancestors, that this is spoken of the Messiah."
In the Talmud Bab. Sanhedrin the question being asked
"what is the name of the Messiah?" It is answered, "the Leper, as it is written, Isaiah 53:4, Surely he hath borne our griefs," &c.
Certainly, our people have no cause to blame the evangelists and apostles in applying it to the Messiah. Some of our ancient Rabbins have plainly taught that the Messiah was to suffer and die in the place of his people. In Neve Shalom it is thus written:
"The purification which the Messiah will make, shall be for the expiation of sin in general, for destroying transgression and making an end of sin, which retains mankind under its yoke. For as the first Adam was the first that sinned, so Messiah shall be the last, who shall completely take away sin"(88)
In the same sense are the words, Psalm 2:12, explained in Medrash Thil,
"This may be illustrated by a parable. A certain king was angry with his subjects. They therefore went and made his son their friend, that thus they might conciliate the mind of their king. The son departed and reconciled his father, as they had reconciled to themselves the son. They went to give thanks to the king, but the king said to them, you give thanks to me, but go and offer them to my son, for had it not been for him, I should have destroyed the province."(89)
13. It is evident, therefore, dear Benjamin, that the prediction under consideration respects the Messiah, and describes his sufferings and death as a real vicarious sacrifice for the sins of his people; and the language is so significant, that there is no way by which it could be more clearly denoted, or more properly expressed. Thus what the Messiah had engaged in the eternal covenant, to suffer in the place of his people, was predicted by the prophets. In my next letter I will endeavor to show that Jesus of Nazareth answered all that was typified and predicted concerning the priesthood of the Messiah. May the Lord prepare your heart to receive Christ crucified, as the wisdom and power of God unto salvation. Farewell.
Predicted as Well as Typified
Dear Brother,
1. In describing the eternal covenant between the Father and the Son, it was shown that the Messiah voluntarily engaged to suffer and die in the place of his people. It has also been shown that this engagement was made known to our first parents in paradise, in the promise of a Messiah, and illustrated by the institution of sacrifices, and more fully typified under the Levitical priesthood. I will now endeavor to prove that it was also predicted by the prophets, not only that the Messiah was to suffer before he entered into his glory, but that his sufferings and death were to be of a vicarious nature. The sufferings and death of the Messiah predicted in Daniel chapter 9th, have already been noticed, and will again be referred to hereafter. I shall confine myself more particularly to the predictions of David and Isaiah.
2. It is very evident that the 22d Psalm speaks of the Messiah. It is plain from the whole of the Psalm, that one single individual person is spoken of; this person is distinguished from those called brethren, congregation of Israel, and those that feared the Lord (v 22, 23).
Hence the person suffering could not be the congregation of Israel, as Kimchi would have it. And though David met with much opposition, yet there are several circumstances mentioned which are by no means applicable to him. See verses 14-18. Beside, the happiness which was to flow from his sufferings, and the conversion of the Gentiles, which was to follow, show that the sufferer was none but the Messiah, "in whom all the nations of the earth were to be blessed." The title of this Psalm, whether it signifies "the hind of the morning" or "the morning star," or as the Targum, "the daily morning sacrifice," points out the Messiah, and has all been fulfilled, (as we shall show, God willing,) in Jesus of Nazareth, who from his birth, like a hind, was persecuted, is called the morning star, and is the antitype and fulfillment of all the sacrifices.
Several parts of this Psalm have been applied to the Messiah by our Rabbins.(85)
Here we have a brief description of the outward sufferings of the Messiah, but we shall now consider the nature, design, and effects thereof, as foretold by the prophet Isaiah in 53d chapter
[For more on Isaiah 53 please see our online book An Exposition of Isaiah 53 by David Baron.]
3. The prophecies of Isaiah contain the clearest revelations of the Messiah, and are written in the loftiest style of any part of the Old Testament; but this chapter is an eminent instance of both. It contains an exact description both of his sufferings and his glories, represented in bright and lively colors, and in a phrase exceeding lofty and sublime. The veil of the temple seemed to have been drawn aside, though not yet rent asunder, and the light of the Gospel shone forth with a brighter glory than ever it had appeared before.
This chapter ought to commence with the last three verses of the preceding one, "Behold my servant." Thus Abarbanel begins it, and hath divided the whole into three parts; the first comprises the last three verses of chapter 52, the second part from verse 1-9, and the third part contains the last three verses.
4. That the prophet does not speak of himself, is allowed on all hands; and that he spake of the Messiah, will appear from the following considerations.
a. From the beginning to the end of this prophecy, there is but one and the same person spoken of.
b. He is characterized as the righteous servant of Jehovah; as a most innocent, blameless, and holy person, who deserved no punishment on his own account (52:13, 53:9,11).
c. His condition, from his birth to his death, is described as lower than any of the sons of men. Thus he is represented as a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief; as wounded and bruised to death; as judicially condemned and cut off out of the land of the living, pouring out his soul unto death, and put in his grave.
d. His sufferings and death are ascribed to the purpose and immediate hand of God. "Jehovah hath laid on him the iniquity of us all" (v 6). "It pleased Jehovah to bruise him; He hath put him to grief" (v 10).
e. The design of God in thus dealing with the person, was to inflict upon him the punishment due to our sins, that thereby he might accomplish the work of redemption. This is such an important article, that the prophet mentions it repeatedly in a variety of expressions.
Verse 4, "Surely he hath born our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted"; verse 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." Again, verse 6, "The Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all." Again, verse 8, "For the transgression of my people was he stricken.'' Again, verse 10, "When thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin." Again, verse 11, "He shall bear their iniquities." Again, verse 12, "He bare the sin of many."
f. This sufferer is described as voluntarily putting himself in the place of the guilty, to suffer in their stead; and when actually engaged in the work, he endured his sufferings with unparalleled patience. For though "he was oppressed and afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth" (v 7).
g. That because of his humble, mean, and suffering condition, many would conclude that he was a deceiver, and therefore reject him, but would afterwards acknowledge their error. "Who has believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground; he has no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. Surely he has born our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted" (vv 1-4). Yet after this person "was cut off out of the land of the living, and his grave made with the wicked" (vv 8, 9), he shall live again, "and shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high" (52:13); "shall sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouth at him" (v 15); "he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hands, and he shall justify many" (53:10,11).
5. From the whole it appears that some eminent person is here described, under the title of the servant of the Lord, who should go through much undeserved shame and suffering, even unto death, for the sake and benefit of other people, who should endure all indignities with the greatest meekness and patience, even offering up himself, of his own accord; and at last should be highly honored and exalted, in reward of his obedience, and see the success of all his sufferings in the justification of those whose iniquities he had borne, and in their admission to divide the spoil of his enemies, and enjoy a state of glory and happiness with him. Now, my dear Benjamin, let me ask, who could the person be to whom all these characters belonged, without any strain or violence put upon the words, without any breach or violation of that unity which the whole contexture of the passage requires?
6. Surely it is not applicable to King Josiah, notwithstanding his piety. The expedition in which he fell at Megiddo, was no advantage to his character. It was rashly undertaken, not only without just provocation, but against the express warning and command of God. His death therefore was manifestly the punishment of his own sin and temerity; much less had it the virtue of an expiation or atonement; it averted not the divine vengeance from our people, but left them exposed to the ravages of the Chaldeans, who, a few years after, led them captive into Babylon.
7. No more is it applicable to Jeremiah the prophet. He was indeed remarkable for piety, zeal and faithfulness, and on that account was much hated and persecuted; still he is very far from answering the character of this prediction. He relates of himself, that he bore his sufferings very ill. He cursed the day of his birth; he expostulated with God for giving way to the treachery of his people; he prayed that he might see God's vengeance on them; and very unwilling to die, he at last capitulated for his life (Jer 12:1-4, 20:12,14,17,18). Let the learned Grotius and his followers say whether this be the carriage that suits the "meekness of the lamb, and the silence of the sheep before her shearers?" Does it come up to "interceding for the transgressors, or the making himself freely an offering for sin?" His sufferings possessed no merit. They did not procure him a seed, a long succession of disciples; nor were they the means of converting Gentile kingdoms.
8. Much less does this prophecy relate to the supposed Messiah ben Joseph. The person characterized is to suffer and die for the sins of his people, that they might be healed and justified; but our Rabbins tell us that Messiah ben Joseph is to be engaged in war, and that he and his people are to be slain in battle. Again, this person is said to rise again, to be very prosperous, to have many kings subjecting themselves to him, and to have a multitude of people as his followers; but no such things are believed concerning Messiah ben Joseph. Besides, I have already shown that the whole story of two Messiahs is without foundation in the sacred Scripture, and is a mere fiction of our Rabbins.
9. Once more I will show that this prophecy does not relate to the sufferings of our nation. It has been said that our nation's sufferings are to atone for the sins of the Gentiles, and to be the means of their becoming proselytes to Judaism. But this cannot be the case. For it has already been observed, that the sufferer is described as a most innocent, blameless, and holy person, who deserved no punishment on his own account. Has this been the character of our people at any time? Ask the prophets, and they will tell you that those in their days were a sinful and rebellious people; and they prophesied of those who should live under the second temple, that their sins would be the ruin of the city, and the cause of the dispersion of our nation. Ask our historian Josephus, and he will confirm the truth of their predictions. For thus he testifies:
"If the Romans had delayed to come against them, the earth must have opened and swallowed them up, or fire been rained upon them, as on Sodom; for the Jews were then a much wickeder generation than those that had suffered these extraordinary punishments."(86)
Nor do our Rabbins differ; for, as has already been shown, they affirm that the coming of the Messiah has been delayed because of the sins of our people.
Again, the sufferer is said to put himself voluntarily in the place of the guilty, and to bear his sufferings with unparalleled patience; but this is not applicable to our people. Notwithstanding their obedience to the laws of the countries where they live, and their prayers and supplications for "the powers that be"; yet their sufferings are not voluntary. It is well known that the obstinate resistance of our fathers to the Roman power was the cause of the destruction of Jerusalem, together with our beautiful temple, and the awful calamities which succeeded, too heart-rending to be described; nor would they willingly continue any longer in exile, if the God of our fathers were to open a door for their return to the land of promise, as he will surely do in his own time, as will be shown hereafter. Hence their daily prayers for deliverance.
Again, the person is said to be cut off from the land of the living, to be buried and to rise again; which expressions are to be understood literally, as all the rest of the prophecy, and consequently are not applicable to the sufferings of our nation.
10. Before I dismiss this part of the subject, I will just take notice of "a Jewish Tract, on the 53d chap, of Isaiah, written by Dr. Montalto, in Portuguese, about the year 1650, and translated and published in London, by Philo-Veritas. Au.1790." The author agrees in the opinion just stated, that the sufferer mentioned means our people collectively; but he asserts that they suffer for their own sins, and not for the sins of any other. For in verse 8th he translates the last clause, "for the transgressions of my people were they stricken," and in his explanation he saith,
"God declares that the punishments of Israel were for his own iniquities, and not for those imputed to them by different nations."
Again, he saith,
"It becomes us to bear with fortitude those inflictions which our own transgressions have merited."
Now my dear Benjamin will easily anticipate an objection against this author's sentiment. As he acknowledges that Israel is a sinner and deserves punishment, therefore Israel cannot be the sufferer described by Isaiah; for he is said to be innocent, and to suffer on account, in the place, and for the good of others. Again, he saith that the persons speaking and the sufferer are distinct. The former he saith are the Gentile nations, and the latter our nation, spoken of collectively as one man.
"In the 14th and 15th verses (chap 52,) is expressed, the astonishment of all nations, to behold our redemption!—In the 1st, 2d and 3d verses of the 53d chapter, their wonder breaks out at this sudden exaltation, by the hand of God, of a people, in whose countenances nought but shame and dejection had appeared during their long dispersion."
But these persons contradict the author; whilst he asserts that the sufferer is afflicted for his own sin, they repeatedly affirm that he suffered for their sins. See verses 4-6, 11, 12. Yea, this author contradicts himself, for he thus paraphrases verse 4th:
"the nations exclaim, that surely Israel had borne the punishment of all their sins and violations."
Such is the confusion and contradiction which runs through the whole of this tract: an awful specimen of the blindness which "has in part happened unto Israel."
11. At the close of this tract the author has an observation which is too true, even in the 19th century. It is as follows:
"I hope I may be permitted to advert with more of pleasantry than asperity to the extreme readiness of Christians to leave us in undisturbed possession of all the evil foretold us, and which we at present experience, whilst they kindly interpret of themselves those pleasing promises which hold forth with equal certainty the felicity of our latter days."
12. Having, I trust, satisfactorily refuted the misapplication of this prophecy, I shall now show that our ancient Rabbins understood it of the Messiah. Instead of those words, "Behold, my servant shall deal prudently," the Targum hath it,
"behold, my servant the Messiah shall be exalted, and increase and grow up, and shall greatly increase, and prevail."
R. Tanchuma says,
"Behold my servant, &c. this is King Messiah, who shall be established above Abraham, shall be exalted above Moses, and be higher than the ministering angels."
Aben Ezra says,
"This chapter is very difficult, and many have explained it of the Messiah."
R. Solomon Yarchi, on the place, saith,
"our Rabbins understand this of the Messiah";
and the reason he assigns for their interpretation is
"that they say that the Messiah is stricken, as it is written, 'He took our infirmities arid bare our griefs,'"
which are the words of the 4th verse of the 53d chapter. Hence, it appears, that our ancient Rabbins joined the last three verses of the 52d chapter with the 53d, and applied the prophecy to the same person. Besides, he cites a certain Midresh out of Bereshith Rab. on Genesis 28:10, where mention is made of
Zechariah 4:7,
"Who art thou, O great mountain?" he answereth, "That great mountain is the Messiah."
Again, he asks,
"Why does he call the Messiah a great mountain?" he answereth, "Because He is greater than the fathers; as it is written, 'Behold my servant, &c. this is the Messiah.'"
In the same book, on Genesis 24:67, it is said that Messiah the King was in the generation of the wicked; that he gave himself to seek for mercies for Israel, and to fasting and humbling himself for them, as it is written, "he was wounded for our transgressions," &c.(87) R. Moshe Alshech saith,
"Behold, our doctors of blessed memory, concluded with one mouth, as they have received from their ancestors, that this is spoken of the Messiah."
In the Talmud Bab. Sanhedrin the question being asked
"what is the name of the Messiah?" It is answered, "the Leper, as it is written, Isaiah 53:4, Surely he hath borne our griefs," &c.
Certainly, our people have no cause to blame the evangelists and apostles in applying it to the Messiah. Some of our ancient Rabbins have plainly taught that the Messiah was to suffer and die in the place of his people. In Neve Shalom it is thus written:
"The purification which the Messiah will make, shall be for the expiation of sin in general, for destroying transgression and making an end of sin, which retains mankind under its yoke. For as the first Adam was the first that sinned, so Messiah shall be the last, who shall completely take away sin"(88)
In the same sense are the words, Psalm 2:12, explained in Medrash Thil,
"This may be illustrated by a parable. A certain king was angry with his subjects. They therefore went and made his son their friend, that thus they might conciliate the mind of their king. The son departed and reconciled his father, as they had reconciled to themselves the son. They went to give thanks to the king, but the king said to them, you give thanks to me, but go and offer them to my son, for had it not been for him, I should have destroyed the province."(89)
13. It is evident, therefore, dear Benjamin, that the prediction under consideration respects the Messiah, and describes his sufferings and death as a real vicarious sacrifice for the sins of his people; and the language is so significant, that there is no way by which it could be more clearly denoted, or more properly expressed. Thus what the Messiah had engaged in the eternal covenant, to suffer in the place of his people, was predicted by the prophets. In my next letter I will endeavor to show that Jesus of Nazareth answered all that was typified and predicted concerning the priesthood of the Messiah. May the Lord prepare your heart to receive Christ crucified, as the wisdom and power of God unto salvation. Farewell.
JCR - The Controversy Between Jews and Christians, Part 4, Joseph Samuel C. F. Frey
JCR: The Controversy Between Jews and Christians
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