Key Scripture: Isaiah 53:9 “And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.”

Followers of Jesus are extremely blessed to have the full canon of Scripture available to us, especially when we read passages like Isaiah 53 and then are able to flip over to the Gospels in the NT and see parallels. Do not take for granted how blessed we are to have all 66 books of the Bible before us in our own language.

In Isaiah 53 the writer acknowledges the Suffering Servant, specifically how He would die in innocence (vv. 7-9), ultimately be vindicated, and reign victoriously (vv.10-12). In verse 9 there is a beautiful prophetic look towards Jesus Christ. Specifically Isaiah states this servant would die with the wicked, yet be buried with the rich. It is important to know historically speaking, “In the view of the prophets of Israel, the rich were often equated with the wicked. The authorities no doubt intended to dispose of Jesus’s body in a common pit with criminals” (Apologetics Study Bible). Although the plan would have been for Jesus’s body to be disposed of with criminals in a pit, God had ordained by the time of Isaiah’s writing that Christ would be buried with the rich man. Do not miss the sovereign hand of the Father at work in the details of how the physical body of the Son would be handled after His death.

We also note in this passage that the servant who would suffer and die would do so as one who had done no violence and with no deceit in his mouth. “The servant is thus described as a person of total moral purity, the true substitute for sinners” (ESV Study Bible). This prophecy was completely fulfilled in the death of Jesus and the Father was glorified (John 19:38-41).