THE SUFFERING SERVANT
July 15th | Pastor Gino
He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief, he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed, and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. — Isaiah 53:3, 5–6
Now the passage of the Scripture that he was reading was this: ‘Like a sheep he was led to the slaughter…’ Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning with this Scripture he told him the good news about Jesus. — Acts 8:32, 35
The New Testament apostles did not invent the message of Jesus—they inherited it from the OT Scriptures. One of the clearest examples is found in Acts 8, when Philip is led by the Spirit to meet an Ethiopian official reading from the prophet Isaiah. The man is reading Isaiah 53, a profound portrait of a suffering servant, and asks, “Who is the prophet speaking about? Himself or someone else?” (v.34)
Philip responds with clarity, and starting with this Scripture, begins to share the good news about Jesus with him (v.35). To the apostles, the suffering servant of Isaiah 53 was not a mystery, but a prophecy of the Messiah—the crucified Savior and risen Lord.
Isaiah had spoken centuries before of One who would be ‘pierced for our transgressions’ and ‘crushed for our iniquities.’ This wasn’t some vague metaphor, but rather the gospel in prophetic form as Isaiah was ‘carried along’ by the Holy Spirit in writing these words (2 Peter 1:21). The apostolic church read the Old Testament as Christian Scripture, not merely as history or law, but a Spirit-inspired witness to Christ. Jesus Himself had taught them to read it this way (Luke 24:27; John 5:39-40).
The apostles saw the cross not as a tragic mistake, but as the predestined fulfillment of God’s redemptive plan. Christ bore our griefs, carried our sorrows, and by His wounds we are healed. This is not only theology—it is life-changing truth! Every word of Isaiah 53 reminds us that our salvation was not cheap, and it was not an afterthought. It was promised, anticipated, and fulfilled in Jesus Christ!
Ponder the condescension of the King who came down to live the life we could not, die the death we deserve, so that, thru faith in Him we could obtain eternal life with God forever!
