A Suffering Messiah?
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On this episode we’ll be concluding our brief series through the Servant Songs by taking a look at the song of the Suffering Servant from Isaiah 53. Where exactly does this famous hymn begin, and is there any evidence that readers of Isaiah believed it pointed to the coming Messiah? Are there any references to a suffering messiah in the Dead Sea Scrolls or other ancient Jewish texts? Shane Rosenthal discusses these issues with Dr. Craig Evans, author of The Holman Quicksource Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls and, more recently, Jesus and the Manuscripts.
Show Quote:
I was raised in a Jewish home and as I got older I spoke to various Rabbis about passages like Psalm 22 and Isaiah 53. One argument I was given in response was the idea that from the very beginning, the Jewish people had always said that Jesus was not the promised messiah. Though there were thousands of first century Jews who did believe in Jesus (Acts 21:20), it is certainly true that a significant majority did not. But if you look at the specific language that we find in the famous prophecy of Isaiah 53, we’re not only told that the coming suffering servant would take away guilt and make many to be accounted righteous, but that chapter also makes clear that this same servant would also be “despised and rejected” by his people. That too was part of the prophecy.
Shane Rosenthal
Recommended:
The Holman QuickSource™ Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls
Author: Craig Evans
Book seven in a greatly successful, visually-driven yet content-rich reference series, the Holman QuickSource™ Guide to the Dead Sea Scrolls gives the reader a strong overview and understanding of the Dead Sea Scrolls and their importance for Christianity as outlined by esteemed professor and author Craig A. Evans. Topics covered will include the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, notes on the Dead Sea region, the contents and dates of the Scrolls, who wrote and gathered them, first and second generation scholars of the Scrolls, and more.
Jesus, The Final Days
Author: Craig Evans & N.T. Wright
What do history and archaeology have to say about Jesus death, burial, and resurrection? In this superb book, two of the world’s most celebrated writers on the historical Jesus share their greatest findings. Together, Craig A. Evans and N. T. Wright concisely and compellingly dubunk popular myths about the historical Jesus and convey the true, world-shattering significance of Jesus’ final days on earth.
The Gospel According to Isaiah 53
Edited by: Darrell Bock & Mitch Glaser
The Gospel According to Isaiah 53 presents the redemptive work of the Messiah to the Jewish community, exploring issues of atonement and redemption in light of Isaiah chapter 53. It is clear that Jesus fulfills the specifications of the suffering servant of Isaiah 53.
More from this Series: Servant Songs
- The Servant Songs of Isaiah Listen Now ›
- I Am He Who Blots Out Your Transgressions Listen Now ›
- A Suffering Messiah? Listen Now ›
