They
made his grave with the wicked, and with a rich man in his death; although he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Isaiah 53:9
Isaiah 53 [1.] Who has believed our message?
To whom has the arm of Yahweh been revealed?
For he grew up before him as a tender plant,
and as a root out of dry ground.
He has no good looks or majesty.
When we see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised,
and rejected by men;
a man of suffering,
and acquainted with disease.
He was despised as one from whom men hide their face;
and we didn’t respect him.
Isaiah 53 [4.] Surely he has borne our sickness,
and carried our suffering;
yet we considered him plagued,
struck by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions.
He was crushed for our iniquities.
The punishment that brought our peace was on him;
and by his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray.
Everyone has turned to his own way;
and Yahweh has laid on him the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed,
yet when he was afflicted he didn’t open his mouth.
As a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and as a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he didn’t open his mouth.
He was taken away by oppression and judgment;
and as for his generation,
who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living
and stricken for the disobedience of my people?
They made his grave with the wicked,
and with a rich man in his death;
although he had done no violence,
nor was any deceit in his mouth.
Isaiah 53 [10.] Yet it pleased Yahweh to bruise him.
He has caused him to suffer.
When you make his soul an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring.
Meaning:
Isaiah 53 belongs to the last of Isaiah’s servant songs, which describes a Servant of Yahweh who suffers for the sins of others. This verse speaks of his death and burial and of his innocence. The New Testament sees its fulfilment in the death and burial of Jesus.
- “They made his grave with the wicked”
The previous lines say the Servant “was cut off out of the land of the living” for the disobedience of God’s people. He died the death of a criminal, and so his enemies intended him to share the fate of criminals, including a dishonourable grave. Jesus was crucified between two robbers (Mark 15:27), and the bodies of crucified men were often thrown into a common grave or left unburied.
- “and with a rich man in his death”
Yet the verse adds a surprising turn. The Servant would also be with a rich man in his death. This was fulfilled when Joseph of Arimathaea, a prominent council member, asked Pilate for the body of Jesus (Mark 15:42-45) and laid it in a tomb cut out of the rock (Mark 15:46-47). Matthew explicitly calls him “a rich man from Arimathaea” (Matthew 27:55-57). God did not allow his Servant’s body to be dishonoured. Already in his burial there was a sign that his humiliation was coming to an end.
- “although he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth”
The Servant suffered, but not for anything he had done. He had committed no violence in his actions and no deceit in his words. His innocence is complete. Peter quotes this line when he writes of Christ, “who did not sin, “neither was deceit found in his mouth.”” (1 Peter 2:22-23). Even Pilate asked, “Why, what evil has he done?” (Mark 15:14).
This is why the Servant’s death could benefit others. Isaiah says, “But he was pierced for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5). An innocent one bore what the guilty deserved.
The Significance of Isaiah 53:9
- The sinless Savior
Jesus’ innocence is at the heart of the gospel: “For him who knew no sin he made to be sin on our behalf; so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).
- God honours his faithful one
Though men planned a criminal’s grave, God arranged an honourable burial. God watches over his faithful people even in death, and the tomb was only the place from which Jesus would rise (Psalm 16:10).
Cross-References:
1 Peter 2:22-23: "who did not sin, “neither was deceit found in his mouth.” Who, when he was cursed, didn’t curse back." Peter applies this verse to Christ.
Mark 15:46: "laid him in a tomb which had been cut out of a rock." The burial of Jesus.
Isaiah 53:7: "He was oppressed, yet when he was afflicted he didn’t open his mouth." The same Servant’s silence.
Isaiah 53:12: "because he poured out his soul to death, and was numbered with the transgressors;" The Servant counted among sinners.
Conclusion: Isaiah 53:9 foretells that the Servant of Yahweh would be assigned a grave with the wicked, yet be with a rich man in his death, though he had done no violence and spoken no deceit. Jesus died between criminals, but was buried in the rock-cut tomb of Joseph of Arimathaea. His perfect innocence is what made his death effective for sinners, and his honourable burial pointed forward to his resurrection.
PIB Scriptures are derived from the World English Bible