The prophet Isaiah, through the inspiration of the Holy Spirit, devoted the whole chapter of Isaiah 53 to the prophecy concerning the sufferings and afflictions of the Messiah when He came in His first coming. Every verse of this chapter provides excellent descriptions of the Messiah’s sufferings. The gospel writers reveal in their writings that the story of the life of the Messiah reflects what Isaiah had recorded in his book. Isaiah saw that all these things would happen in the Christ.
Isaiah 53:5 in particular is talking about the vicarious sacrifice of the Lord Jesus Christ. This is to say that the Messiah would be offered to be put to death as a substitute for sinners. As Isaiah said, “But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” How terrible the afflictions that Christ had borne on our behalf! He was God, willing to take a human form, came to this world to be wounded, bruised and chastised in order to bring salvation and save sinners. Thus Calvin rightly commented, "Here the Prophet draws a contrast between us and Christ; for in us nothing can be found but destruction and death; in Christ alone is life and salvation, he alone brought medicine to us, and even procures health by his weakness, and life by his death; for he alone hath pacified the Father, he alone hath reconciled us to him."
The death of the Lord Jesus Christ on the cross is medicine for sinners, because without His death, man could not be reconciled to God. Man would not have any hope of having salvation and eternal life. Nevertheless God knew the wretchedness of man. He showed His love toward men through the sending of His Only Begotten Son to die on the cross as our substitute. This has to be done by the Messiah, for man by his own strength cannot save himself but the Lord gives hope through His Son, Jesus Christ, as the apostle Paul said, “For when we were yet without strength, in due time Christ died for the ungodly. But God commendeth his love towards us, in that, while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us” (Rom. 5:6, 8). Thus the vicarious sacrifice of Jesus was well documented in the Old Testament time so that every true believer in the Lord can prepare himself for the coming of the Messiah.
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