Holy Week · Good Friday
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
The Suffering and Glory of the Servant
April 3, 2026
Overview & Insights
“He was pierced for our transgressions… and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5)
Like 48:20–21, the end of the previous section, 50:4–52:12, both suggested closure and questioned it. The comment about the impossibility of shalom which followed 48:20–21 led into the new twist to the servant motif in chapter 49. The point is less explicit at the end of 50:4–52:12, but the implication is again that not all the prophet’s agenda has been handled. Everything is in place for the restoration of the community to Jerusalem and for the restoration of the city itself—but what of the community’s morale and faith, its commitment and hope, and what of its servant calling that is now long-unmentioned? Once again there is a new twist to the servant motif, and once again its implications are worked out for the city (ch. 54) and the people (ch. 55).
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Commentary
Commentary on Isaiah 52:13—53:12 Working Preacher
Luther Seminary reads the fourth Servant Song and its layered history of interpretation for Good Friday.
Isaiah 53 - The Atoning Suffering and Triumph of the Messiah Enduring Word · David Guzik
David Guzik works verse by verse through the Suffering Servant who was pierced for our transgressions.
Isaiah 53 Commentary Precept Austin
A deep evangelical resource collating many expositors on the wounds, silence, and vindication of the Servant.
Isaiah 53:1 Commentaries BibleHub
Classic public-domain commentaries stacked verse by verse from Who has believed our report.
Background & Word Study
Isaiah Enter the Bible
Luther Seminary background on Isaiah's structure and the Servant Songs of chapters 40-55.
Isaiah 52:13-53:12 Sefaria
The Hebrew text with Jewish commentary and translation for the Servant Song read on Good Friday.
Book of Isaiah Overview BibleProject
An animated overview placing the Suffering Servant within Isaiah's larger vision of judgment and hope.
Isaiah 53:1 Interlinear BibleHub
Hebrew-English interlinear for close word study of the Servant's suffering and bearing of sin.
The Church Fathers
Questions preachers ask
Why is Isaiah 53 the Good Friday reading?
The Suffering Servant, despised and rejected, bears the sin of many and is led like a lamb to the slaughter, the clearest Old Testament portrait of the cross.
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