He was cut off

ISAIAH 53:8

"comparing scripture with scripture" by Gunther

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Today our Bible study concerns Isa 53:8 that states,

“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.”

Our three points are:

• He was Taken from Prison
• Who Shall Declare His Generation?
• He was Cut Off

He was Taken from Prison

When was Jesus “in prison”? It is true that He was in custody as He appeared before the high priest, and later before Pilate to be judged, and He was mocked and beaten by the Praetorian guard, but He was never in prison. So, to what is this referring?

In Isa 42:1-7 we learn of Him:

“Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law. Thus saith God the LORD, he that created the heavens, and stretched them out; he that spread forth the earth, and that which cometh out of it; he that giveth breath unto the people upon it, and spirit to them that walk therein: I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.”

However, this not talking about Christ being in prison; rather, it is speaking of the believers, who prior to salvation are held captive by Satan, their spiritual father, in his prison and are enslaved to sin. Deu 4:20 paints a similar picture:

“But the LORD hath taken you, and brought you forth out of the iron furnace, even out of Egypt, to be unto him a people of inheritance, as ye are this day.”

It is for these individuals – “a people of inheritance” – that Christ accomplished the greatest rescue in the history of mankind, as we read about in Isa 61:1:

“The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound.”

However, in order to save His people from eternal damnation the Lord Himself had to become sin; and, as such, He was liable for the penalty of sin, which is eternal Hell. Thus, He was spirituallyin prison on behalf of each Christian, as He bore the infinite wrath of God in their place.

Who Shall Declare His Generation?

In Isa 53:8 the question is asked, “…who shall declare his generation?” What generation is in view here? Gen 7:1 says this,

“And the LORD said unto Noah, Come thou and all thy house into the ark; for thee have I seen righteous before me in this generation.”

Here the word “generation” is associated with righteous, speaking of those who have become saved – or the generation of the righteous.

Incidentally, other usages of the word “generation” do exist in the Bible, and vary according to their context – for instance, the evil generation mentioned in Luke 11:29.

Psa 22:30-31, a Messianic Psalm that describes the agony that was inflicted upon the Lord, affirms:

“A seed shall serve him; it shall be accounted to the Lord for a generation. They shall come, and shall declare his righteousness unto a people that shall be born, that he hath done this.”

In the New Testament the believer is called to be an ambassador for Christ, as 2 Cor 5:20 asserts,

“Now then we are ambassadors for Christ, as though God did beseech you by us: we pray you in Christ’s stead, be ye reconciled to God.”

Psa 145:5 also indicates,

“I will speak of the glorious honour of thy majesty, and of thy wondrous works.”

He was Cut Off

Again, Isa 53:8 declares,

“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.”

To be spiritually “cut off” refers to the Lord Jesus Who had to be “cut off” from God by suffering the equivalent of eternal damnation for His children. This is evident in Psa 88:1-8:

“O LORD God of my salvation, I have cried day and night before thee: Let my prayer come before thee: incline thine ear unto my cry; For my soul is full of troubles: and my life draweth nigh unto the grave. I am counted with them that go down into the pit: I am as a man that hath no strength: Free among the dead, like the slain that lie in the grave, whom thou rememberest no more: and they are cut off from thy hand. Thou hast laid me in the lowest pit, in darkness, in the deeps. Thy wrath lieth hard upon me, and thou hast afflicted me with all thy waves. Selah. Thou hast put away mine acquaintance far from me; thou hast made me an abomination unto them: I am shut up, and I cannot come forth.”