The language here is precise but also richly evocative, as is characteristic of Isaiah. “He” is emphatic—“it was he” or “he was the one”—there was no one else through whom all God’s blessings were to come. These blessings were to flow far beyond Israel and come to the whole world.

“He was pierced.” His wounds were necessary for our salvation. The word “pierced” interestingly occurs in Isaiah 51:9 of God’s smiting of the dragon and thus shows that the destruction of the powers of darkness was at the heart of the cross as God not only smites the devil but smites himself and removes the curse of sin. Thus, he took the “chastisement”, or “punishment”, which our transgressions deserved. We’ll come back to that in a moment.

“Crushed” is used in Lamentations 3:41 of the bitterness of exile which was the consequence of the people’s sin. “Iniquities” is our twisted nature which results in sinful attitudes and actions, once again identified in Isaiah 1:4. So peace is secured by the Servant undergoing the punishment for us. This is not only substitution but penal substitution, because before we can be forgiven God’s just anger against sin must be propitiated so that we can have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.

But there is more than forgiveness; there is healing. Isaiah 1 showed that the whole nation was a wounded, dying corpse (Isa. 1:5b-6). Isaiah is going on to talk of the new creation, especially in Isaiah 65 (anticipated in such chapters as Isaiah 11, Isaiah 12, and Isaiah 35). The salvation the Servant brings is not just of souls but of bodies in a new and glorious world. Bodies like Jesus’s “glorious body” (Phil. 3:21) are the full result of the suffering of the Servant. Only the manifold grace of God can heal the manifold sicknesses of the human heart.

We cannot leave this verse without thinking of its application, for Bible study is never simply a theoretical exercise. First, truths like these lead to repentance and humility. When we were helpless and, indeed, unaware of our plight, God intervened to provide a way back to himself. Second, we are in the face of a great mystery. Charles Wesley gives us words to express this:

‘Tis mystery all, the immortal dies,
Who can explore his strange design?
In vain, the firstborn seraph tries
To sound the depths of love divine!'

These lead to praise and worship, for, ultimately, theology must end in doxology.

- Bob Fyall