The Servant: Rejected (Isaiah 53:1-3)

One of the most enduring and beloved storylines is that of the unremarkable figure who turns out to be the hero, the overlooked who ends up glorified. I believe the reason that plot is so retold is because it lies in the foundations of our reality. The plan of God to restore creation through the sacrifice of the Messiah is not just wonderful great news. It is what our reality is literally built upon.

As Isaiah continues the final Servant Song in 53:1-3, he highlights this aspect of the Messiah.

Who would believe it? We love these stories, but we all know that we overlook the overlooked in real life. If we found ourselves in such a plotline, we would not recognize the hero before the climax of the story. The Messiah was going to be a completely unremarkable figure. A man born in obscurity in some backwoods place, to a family that no one would give a second thought to.

Not only that, He would be unremarkable; not a great beauty, nor an impressive, celebrated personality. Even when Jesus did become a celebrity in His day, due to His powerful authority and message, He ended up beaten beyond recognition and killed in the most humiliating way. He understood sorrow the way that no one before had experienced. He experience the greatest grief in history. He became the figure that the world refuses to look upon, the broken, crucified, picture of weakness.

He was hated, rejected, and not appreciated as a great hero right up until He was placed in the tomb. To the powers in the world, He continues to be.