Originally posted by ajwps
Isaiah 53
1 Who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
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.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering. Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Okay lets talk about the prophet Isaiah.
The verses above speaks of the suffering servant as the L-rd as he is growing up (i.e., the historical development of the Jewish people.) It is a continuation of Isaiah 52:14, where the prophet states that the servant seems, in the eyes of his enemies, the Gentiles, to have a repulsive appearance.
Untrue. It says He was not of extraordinary BEAUTY. In other words, plain.
Judging him merely on his outward features, they can find nothing positive to say about him.
Nope. It says they despise and turn away from Him because he was familiar with suffering. -Like people today cannot watch ethiopian people wasting away on their tv screens when the charities have infomercials to help starving kids.
Suddenly, the Gentile nations and their rulers will be startled by the glorious transformation that will come about in the servant's fortunes. In amazement they will exclaim: "Who would have believed our report?" And to whom has the arm of the L-rd been revealed?"
Then they reflect upon their earlier reaction to him, attributing to G-d what was really their own lack of insight as to the true nature of the servant. Accordingly, they speak of the servant as one who "grew up before Him [G-d] as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry land" which is stunted and withered and does not produce fruit or distinguish itself in any way, being both unproductive and unsightly.
Stunted and withered? How about tender because He was kind and humble like a child- a tender young plant in behavior. A root above ground like a man trying to be productive in a world unwilling to give nourishment.
Does this description fit the one of Jesus as depicted by the evangelists?
Yes. Let's look at the rest:
4 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
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.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth.
8 He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.
9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth.
10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.
11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
There are simply n indications in the Gospels that Jesus, as he grew up, could in any way be likened to a "tender plant," i.e., stunted, or to a "root out of a dry land," i.e., withered, or that he was extremely repulsive to look at,
Then your hypothesis is incorrect. -Again.
In Isiah 53:3, this verse, continuation of the theme of the previous one, speaks of the servant as being generally despised.
Gee, that's funny, I don't SEE a time frame of being despised there. As far as generalities go, you are proving the point you make as we speak.
He is described as suffering from pains adn diseases with which he is well acquainted.
Disease? Where? The only things I see as far as injuries were the ones inflicted upon Him by the people who crucified and tortured Him.
The prophet quotes the Gentiles as saying that the suffering servant of the L-rd was "despised and rejected" by their leaders, the "men of high status." They then indicate that this rejection was even more widespread, as implied in the words:"He was despised and we esteemed him not."
True. If past present and future are totalled, it still holds true. Claiming Him anything but divine is an insult and rejects who He claims He was/is.
The "we" includes a wider range of enemies than is expressed by the term "men of high status." Contrary to this verse, you Christians insist that Jesus was greatly admired by the large segments from every level of society.
There is a difference in "growing in popularity" and "being loved by everyone".
It becomes obvious that your Isaiah 53:1-3 verses do not refer to Jesus but to the Jewish people as the suffering servant of the L-rd.
Boy. That is DUMB. Where the scripture claims "him", you claim "them". It cannot, then, be divine in origin.
It is either "him" and divine, or "them" and corrupt.
In addition, everything, as I have shown, DOES fit Jesus as the Messiah.