[26] Now an angel of the Lord spoke to Philip, saying, “Arise and go toward the south along the road which goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.” This is desert. [27] So he arose and went. And behold, a man of Ethiopia, a eunuch of great authority under Candace the queen of the Ethiopians, who had charge of all her treasury, and had come to Jerusalem to worship, [28] was returning. And sitting in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah the prophet. [29] Then the Spirit said to Philip, “Go near and overtake this chariot.” [30] So Philip ran to him, and heard him reading the prophet Isaiah, and said, “Do you understand what you are reading?” [31] And he said, “How can I, unless someone guides me?” And he asked Philip to come up and sit with him. [32] The place in the Scripture which he read was this: “He was led as a sheep to the slaughter; And as a lamb before its shearer is silent, So He opened not His mouth. [33] In His humiliation His justice was taken away, And who will declare His generation? For His life is taken from the earth.” [34] So the eunuch answered Philip and said, “I ask you, of whom does the prophet say this, of himself or of some other man?” [35] Then Philip opened his mouth, and beginning at this Scripture, preached Jesus to him.1
Isaiah 53, one of the “holy of holies” in the Old Testament: where this Ethiopian man just “happened” to be reading, probably in his daily time of devotion
Jesus was considered a criminal by many and was despised by the religious leaders. Many even today consider his death on the cross to be the failure of his movement—although this passage reveals it has quite another purpose.
The iniquity (sinful errors) of all men were to be laid upon this individual. Notice the substitutionary emphasis of this portion. The individual is punished for the transgressions of others yet in his punishment those who transgressed are healed.
The individual did not attempt to defend himself from the accusations brought against him.
The individual was put to death. His death was associated with the sins of the people.
History records that Jesus was crucified between two common criminals and buried in a rich religious leader’s personal tomb.
His soul (life) was made an offering for sin. His death was required in order to atone for the sins of others.
By his death, the individual will make many righteous. This is what many Christians call “the great exchange,” when the sins of mankind are placed upon Jesus and his perfect righteousness is then accounted to those who accept his work on their behalf. The sins of man lay upon God incarnate and the righteousness of God cover/clothe the sinful ones.
The “intercession” described here relates to the reconciliation of humans, who are sinful by nature and by practice, with a holy God who will not abide with sin.
Therefore I speak to them in parables, because seeing they do not see, and hearing they do not hear, nor do they understand. And in them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled, which says: 'Hearing you will hear and shall not understand, And seeing you will see and not perceive; For the hearts of this people have grown dull. Their ears are hard of hearing, And their eyes they have closed, Lest they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, Lest they should understand with their hearts and turn, So that I should heal them.' But blessed are your eyes for they see, and your ears for they hear;17
Endnotes:
1. | NKJV, (Acts:26-35) |
2. | Ref-0038, Acts 8:27 |
3. | Ref-0038, Acts 8:27 |
4. | Ref-0934, 890-892 |
5. | Ref-0934, 890-891 |
6. | Ref-0934, 891 |
7. | Ref-0934, 891 |
8. | Ref-0934, 891 |
9. | This theory is undermined by the inspired commentary of the Apostle John who attributes both Isa. 53:1 and Isa. 6:10 to a single author named Isaiah (John 12:28-40). |
10. | Ref-0934, 891 |
11. | Ref-0934, 891 |
12. | Ref-0934, 891 |
13. | Ref-0196, 1046-1048 |
14. | Ref-0196, 1047 |
15. | Ref-0196, 1046 |
16. | Ref-0196, 1048 |
17. | NKJV, (Mat. 13:13-16) |
18. | WIKIPEDIA, Dead Sea Scrolls http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dead_Sea_Scrolls |
19. | “The Isaiah Scroll, designated 1Qlsa and also known as the Great Isaiah Scroll, was found in a cave near the Dead Sea (Qumran Cave 1) with six other scrolls by Bedouin shepherds in 1947, later known as the Dead Sea Scrolls. The scroll is written in Hebrew and contains the entire Book of Isaiah from beginning to end, apart from a few small damaged portions. It is the oldest complete copy of the Book of Isaiah known, being 1100 years older than the Leningrad Codex, and the most complete scroll out of the 220 found at Qumran. Pieces of the Isaiah Scroll have been carbon-14 dated at least four times, giving calibrated date ranges between 335-324 BC and 202-107 BC; there have also been numerous paleographic and scribal dating studies placing the scroll around 150-100 BC.”18 |
Sources:
NKJV | Unless indicated otherwise, all Scripture references are from the New King James Version, copyright © 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved. |
Ref-0038 | John Walvoord and Roy. B. Zuck. The Bible Knowledge Commentary (Wheaton, IL: SP Publications, 1983). |
Ref-0196 | Nosson Scherman, ed., Tanach - The Stone Edition (Brooklyn, NY: Mesorah Publications, Ltd., 2001). |
Ref-0934 | Adele Berlin, Marc Zvi Brettler, The Jewish Study Bible (New York, NY: Oxford University Press, 2004). ISBN:0-19-529751-2d. |