Passover 2026: Isaiah 52:13-53:12 and the Gospel

 The "suffering servant" prophecy in Isaiah 52:13-53:12, with its picture of substitutionary atonement, is foundational for Christianity.  

The Gospels indicate that this prophecy shaped Jesus' self-understanding.  In Luke 22:37, Jesus says that Isa 53:12, which describes the servant as "numbered among the transgressors," would be fulfilled in him.  Earlier that same evening he explained to his disciples that the wine of one of the cups of Passover represented "my blood of the covenant, which is poured out for many for the forgiveness of sins" (Mt 26:28).  Here his language also reflects Isaiah 53:!2, which says that the servant "poured out his soul to death" and "bore the sin of many."

Jesus' disciples initially resisted the idea that he, the Messiah, would be put to death in Jerusalem (Mt 16:13-23), but they came to understand that Jesus indeed would be the suffering servant.  Peter, who protested against this idea when he first heard it, later held up Jesus' example of sacrificial love as one for his disciples to emulate, using Isaiah 53 (1 Pe 2:18-25).  In verse 22, Peter quotes Isaiah 53:9 ("there was no deceit in his mouth") in reference to Jesus.  He makes several more allusions to Isaiah 53 in the ensuing verses.  

Matthew sees Jesus' healing ministry as a fulfillment of Isaiah 53:4 (Mt 8:14-17).

Many people have come to faith in Jesus the Messiah through the powerful words of Isaiah 53.  One example from the first century is the Ethiopian eunuch in Acts 8.  Philip uses Isaiah 53 to explain the Gospel to the eunuch and lead him to baptism (Ac 8:26-40).  

Paul recognized in Isaiah 52:!5 a prophecy of the Gospel going to the nations (Romans 15:21.).  John and Paul both saw in Isaiah 53:1 the fact that there would also be resistance to that revolutionary message (John 12:38; Rom 10:16).  Paradoxically, Jesus' being "lifted up" on the cross would be an exaltation and a victory (Isa 52:14; John 12:32).  

I recommend the book The Gospel According to Isaiah 53 for more on the amazing message of the Suffering Servant.

Seder 152: Psalm 11---No Need to Flee

 Psalm 11 is sometimes pictured as a dialogue between David and his advisers.  In a crisis that he faces, David is advised to "flee like a bird to your mountain" (verse 1).  

Perhaps the exchange takes place during the period in which David is being pursued by Saul.  In 1 Sam 26:20, David says that Saul is "like one who hunts a partridge in the mountains."

David's dialogue partners point out the danger posed by the enemy, whose attacks are deadly but hard to detect and defend against (v 2).  The enemy has threatened the foundations of society and attacks the righteous (v 3).  

David counters that he doesn't have to be afraid.  God, the King of the Universe, is on his throne (v 4), from which vantage point he observes the deeds of men.  He tests the righteous to build their characters, and they ultimately will "see his face" (vv 5,7; Mt 5:8; 1 Jn 3:2; Rev 22:4); but the wicked, who will not respond to the challenge of being tested by God, ultimately will meet the fate of Sodom and Gomorrah (vv 4-6).    

The Bible sometimes uses the imagery of a cup containing either punishment or reward. Here we see that imagery in verse 6.  For the wicked, "fire and sulfur and a scorching wind shall be the portion of their cup."  A midrash on Psalm 11 says that God gives wicked nations four cups of punishment, based on Psalm 11:6; 75:8; Jer 25:15; 51:7.  On the other hand, God gives Israel four cups of deliverance, based on Psalm 16:5; 23:5; 116:13.  (Since "cup" is plural in 116:13, two cups are counted there.)

This imagery also appears in the New Testament, where Jesus accepts in our place the cup of punishment that we deserved (Luke 22:42). 

Seder 136: Deuteronomy 3:23-29---Moses Pleads with God

 After reminding the Israelites of events from the recent past, Moses revealed that even though God had told him he would not be leading them into Canaan, he continued to pray that God would change his mind.  Moses said that he "pleaded with the Lord at that time."  The Hebrew word for "pleaded," chanan, is a word for both asking for, and bestowing, grace or mercy.  Moses knew God's merciful character, and so he continued to pray for mercy on this matter until God let him know that he should stop.  

Moses was someone who had repeatedly received what he asked for from God.  In a sermonette at Church of the Messiah on February 25, 2023, Frank Fenton noted that one  Jewish tradition, based on using gematria with va'etchanan, the Hebew for "and I pleaded" in verse 23, said that Moses prayed 515 times  before God told him to stop.  According to this tradition, he said that he would be willing to go into the land as an animal if he could not do it as a human being.  Joseph's bones were going to be carried into the land.  Why couldn't Moses go too?  Frank urged us to keep praying as well, acknowledging that we are completely in God's hands.    

There are a number of examples of such prayers in the Bible (e,g, Psalm 123; Isa 33:2).  Jesus' parable of the persistent widow (Luke 18:1-8) urges us to keep praying.  At Gethsemane Jesus prayed one last time that his mission could be accomplished by some other means than the crucifixiom (Lk 22:41-42), even though he had come to Jerusalem for that purpose.  In a sermon at Church of the Messiah on February 25, 2023, Kyle Kettering also urged us to plead for God's grace, even for things that seem impossible.  

Seder 108: Jeremiah 31:18-34---Israel's Restoration and the New Covenant

 Chapters 30-33 of Jeremiah have been called the Book of Consolation.  At a time just before the fall of Jerusalem and the kingdom of Judah to the Babylonians (Jer 32:1-2) in around 586 BC , God gave Jeremiah a message of hope for the future of Israel, promising restoration for both the northern tribes of the House of Israel and the southern tribes of the House of Judah. 

The northern kingdom---symbolized by Ephraim, its leading tribe---had already fallen to Assyria in 722 BC.  The repentance of those tribes in exile is pictured in Jer 31:18-19. "You have disciplined me, and I was disciplined, like an untrained calf," Ephraim says.  The language here is reminiscent of Hosea 4:16, where Hosea declares, "Like a stubborn heifer, Israel is stubborn."  

God responds with compassion for Ephraim (Jer 31:20), expressing sentiments similar to those of Hosea 11:8-9.  "I will surely have mercy on him, declares the Lord."   

The prophecy goes on to say that God will restore both the northern and southern tribes from exile.  The promise of a new covenant with Israel and Judah comes in Jer 31:31-34.  Commentators Walter Kaiser and Tiberius Rata call this passage "the apex of biblical theology for both Testaments."  They note that while this is the only time the prophets  use the term "new covenant," the same basic promise is repeated, with varying language, in a number of prophecies:

• "everlasting covenant"---Jer 32:40; 50:5; Isa 24:5; 55:3; 61:8; Ezek 16:60; 37:26.
• "new heart and a new spirit"---Ezek 11:19; 18:31; 36:26; Jer 32:39 LXX.
•  "covenant of peace"---Isa 54:10; Ezek 34:25; 37:26.
• "a covenant" or "my covenant"---Isa 42:6; 49;8; Hos 2:18-20. 

Like the Sinai covenant, the new covenant involves God's Torah or instruction (v 33).  In terms of its content it is more a "renewed" covenant" than a "brand new" covenant.  Verses 32-34  explain how the new covenant will be different from the Sinai covenant:  many Israelites had not kept the Sinai covenant, but they universally would obey the new one, because God would write his Torah on the hearts of the people.   

This covenant is made with the house of Israel and house of Judah (v 31).  The first participants were Jesus' Jewish disciples (Luke 22:20; Acts 2), but people from all nations were soon added as "wild olive shoots" grafted into the olive tree of Israel (Rom 11:17).  

Seder 81: Psalm 75---Reasons to Give Thanks

 In Psalm 75, God's people together give thanks for God's "wondrous deeds," his works of creation and salvation.  

Verse 1 contains the interesting phrase, "your name is near."  This has been interpreted in two different ways.  One is that those who call on God's name tell of his wondrous deeds.  The second is that God's name is brought near to us through the story of his wondrous deeds.  Both are true.

Verses 2-5 record an oracle from God, where he assures his people that at the appropriate time, he brings righteous judgment; and when human sinfulness unleashes chaos upon the world, he holds things together.  Those who suppose that they can impose their own will in opposition to God ultimately will not be successful.  

Asaph the seer responds to this revelation from God in verses 6-8.  He affirms that indeed, there is no earthly power that determines the future.  Instead, it is God who judges the world, and people will be held accountable for what they have done.  

In verse 8, Asaph pictures the judgment of the wicked as a cup of potent wine that they will be forced to drink.  Other prophets use the same image (Ps 60:3; Isa 51:17; Jer 25:15-16; 51:7), and so does John in Rev 14:10.

We might look at Jesus' words at Gethsemane in connection with this image.  "Father, if you are willing, remove this cup from me.  Nevertheless, not my will, but yours, be done" (Luke 22:42).  Jesus at that point was looking at the prospect of bearing the world's sins on our behalf and drinking the cup of judgment in our stead.

Asaph declares that he personally will proclaim God's great works and assist him in opposing the arrogant (vv 9-10).  

Seder 18: Another Messianic Connection in Psalm 110---verse 3b

The Old Testament chapter most often referenced in the New Testament is Psalm 110.  The New Testament references are to verse 1 (about the position of David's Lord on the divine throne at God's right hand) and verse 4 (about the special priesthood of David's Lord patterned after that of Melchizedek).

Verse 3b also adds to the Messianic import of the psalm.  In the ESV, translated from the Masoretic Text, it reads: "from the womb of the morning, the dew of your youth will be yours."

It's not clear at all what this means.  But the Septuagint has a definite Messianic thrust:  "From the womb, before the morning star, I brought you forth."  This translation seems to imply that David's Lord is a Son of God with ancient origins.

On the importance of the Septuagint in bringing out the full Messianic implications of the Old Testament, a good source is Michael Rydelnik's book The Messianic Hope.  In connection with Ps 110:3b, Rydelnik notes that some scholars believe the Masoretes arranged the vowel pointing in order to obscure the messianic implications of the verse.

At any rate, in the Hebrew consonantal text, there is an important word link between Ps 110:3b and Psalm 2:7:  "The LORD said to me, 'You are my Son; today I have begotten you.' "  This verse identifies the Davidic Messiah as a unique Son of God.  The word for "begotten" is common to Psalm 2:7 and Psalm 110:3.

We see a pairing of Psalm 2 and Psalm 110 in some New Testament passages---in Heb 1:5,13; Heb 5:5-6.  There is further evidence in Luke 22:69-70 that this connection was part of Jewish understanding in the days of Jesus.  For more discussion, see the paper "Hebrew-Only Exegesis:  A Philological Approach to Jesus' Use of the Hebrew Bible," by R. Steven Notley and Jeffrey P. Garcia, pp 349-376 in The Language Environment of First Century Judaea, Brill, 2014.

Ps 110:3b, as translated in the Septuagint, was important to early Christians.  For example, Justin Martyr used it to argue in Dialogue with Trypho, chapter 63, "does not this declare to you that [he was] from of old, and that the God and Father of all things intended for him to be begotten by a human womb?"