commentary

[Erik3]

I was reading Isaiah 53 the other day and I was struggling not to understand this chapter as refering to substitutionary atonement.

Isaiah 53

The Suffering Servant


1(A)Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
2For He grew up before Him like a (B)tender shoot,
And like a root out of parched ground;
He has (C)no stately form or majesty
That we should look upon Him,
Nor appearance that we should [a]be attracted to Him.
3He was (D)despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and (E)acquainted with grief;
And like one from whom men hide their face
He was (F)despised, and we did not (G)esteem Him.
4Surely our [b]griefs He Himself (H)bore,
And our sorrows He carried;
Yet we ourselves esteemed Him stricken,
Smitten of (I)God, and afflicted.
5But He was [c]pierced through for (J)our transgressions,
He was crushed for (K)our iniquities;
The (L)chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by (M)His scourging we are healed.
6All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
7He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not (N)open His mouth;
(O)Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the living
(P)For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a (Q)rich man in His death,
(R)Because He had (S)done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.
10But the LORD was pleased
To (T)crush Him, (U)putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt (V)offering,
He will see (W)His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good (X)pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
11As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will (Y)see it and be satisfied;
By His (Z)knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will (AA)bear their iniquities.
12Therefore, I will allot Him a (AB)portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out (AC)Himself to death,
And was (AD)numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself (AE)bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.

From what I understand Orthodox theology doesn't agree with substitutionary atonement, and if I am understanding the theology correctly then neither do I (Since I have been trying to understand the Bible and theology more along the Orthodox lines).

So anyways I was wondering if anyone could point me to an Orthodox commentary on Isaiah 53 or just explain the Orthodox view on it.

Thanks, God Bless

 

[ExOrienteLux]

By 'substitutionary atonement', do you mean the belief that Christ was offered up upon the Cross as a sacrifice to the Father, atoning for sin and reconciling mankind to the Father, particularly as the theory was put forth by Anselm and brought to fruition by Aquinas and Luther and Co.? I, at least, am going to need a little more info before I can do this question justice.

I will tell you this much, however. Orthodoxy views the death of Christ in the light of His Resurrection. We hold to a view more of Christ as victor over sin and death as a glorious and triumphant King than a view of Him as the Suffering Servant. However, both are present in Orthodox theology. Just look back at some of the hymns we sang last week; We saw Christ's humility when we looked at the icon of Christ as the Bridegroom; We spoke of Christ's humility, even though He was equal to the Father and Spirit and founded the world, when we sang the 15th Antiphon ("Today He is suspended on the Tree Who suspended the earth over the waters. He Who is the King of Angels is crowned with a crown of thorns. He Who wraps the heavens with clouds is wrapped with the purple of mockery. He is struck in the face Who freed Adam in the Jordan. The Bridegroom of the Church is affixed to the Cross with nails. The Son of the Virgin is pierced with the spear. We worship Thy Passion, O Christ; show us also Thy glorious Resurrection!"). But, since Sunday, we have been singing that greatest of all hymns, the Troparion of Pascha: "Christ is risen from the dead, trampling down Death by death, and upon those in the tombs bestowing Life!"

It's obvious that both are present and should be present. Orthodoxy does nothing in excess, save worship the Holy Trinity and glorify the Resurrection of Christ.

CHRIST IS RISEN!
-Phillip.

 

[icxn]

Here's also the LXX version:

1 O Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
2 We brought a report as [of] a child before him; [he is] as a root in a thirsty land: he has no form nor comeliness; and we saw him, but he had no form nor beauty.
3 But his form was ignoble, and inferior to that of the children of men; [he was] a man in suffering, and acquainted with the bearing of sickness, for his face is turned from [us]: he was dishonoured, and not esteemed.
4 He bears our sins, and is pained for us: yet we accounted him to be in trouble, and in suffering, and in affliction. (compare with the above)
5 But he was wounded on account of our sins, and was bruised because of our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; [and] by his bruises we were healed.
6 All we as sheep have gone astray; every one has gone astray in his way; and the Lord gave him up for our sins.
7 And he, because of his affliction, opens not his mouth: he was led as a sheep to the slaughter, and as a lamb before the shearer is dumb, so he opens not his mouth.
8 In [his] humiliation his judgment was taken away: who shall declare his generation? for his life is taken away from the earth: because of the iniquities of my people he was led to death.
9 And I will give the wicked for his burial, and the rich for his death; for he practised no iniquity, nor craft with his mouth.
10 The Lord also is pleased to heal him from his stroke. If ye can give an offering for sin, your soul shall see a long-lived seed:
11 the Lord also is pleased to take away from the travail of his soul, to shew him light, and to form [him] with understanding; to justify the just one who serves many well; and he shall bear their sins.
12 Therefore he shall inherit many, and he shall divide the spoils of the mighty; because his soul was delivered to death: and he was numbered among the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and was delivered because of their iniquities.


I haven't emphasized all the differences, but as you can see the LXX version does not support substitutionary atonement, as the Protestants understand it, that is, appeasing a wrathful God... "MT: Smitten of God, and afflicted?"

icxn

 

[elizabethevangeline]

Thanks for the LXX, icxn. (whew, lots of initials there )

I, too, am still trying to conform my thoughts to Orthodoxy. I noticed that even in the OP text that the benefit we received is not talked about in a judicial manner...ie making us acceptable to God, but for our healing and uplifting:

The (L)chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by (M)His scourging we are healed.

Before, I would have always emphasized the scourging part, with no real idea what the healing was about.