The Suffering Servant of the Lord: A Prophecy of Jesus Christ, by David J. MacLeod. 2nd ed. Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock, 2018. xviii + 265 pp. $32.00.
David MacLeod is Professor Emeritus of Bible and Theology at Emmaus Bible College in Dubuque, IA. In this second edition of his monograph, MacLeod provides an insightful and detailed study of the Suffering Servant passage of Isaiah 52:13–53:12. The chapters of the book originated as a series of sermons at the 2011 Guelph Bible Conference in Ontario, Canada. MacLeod cites an array of sources influential to his study, including a number of interpreters who are likely esteemed by many readers of this journal, such as David Baron, S. Lewis Johnson, Franz Delitzsch, and E. J. Young. MacLeod’s thesis is that “the passage is a straightforward prophecy of Jesus Christ written by the prophet Isaiah some seven hundred years before the birth of the Savior” (x). The work divides into five chapters corresponding to the five stanzas of the song, followed by five appendices and four indices.
Chapter 1 introduces the study and exposits the introductory stanza (Isa 52:13–15). MacLeod sets the context with a brief foray into the reception history of the Suffering Servant song from the early church to the twentieth century. He then surveys the historical setting and the literary genre and structure of the passage. He concludes that the eighth-century prophet Isaiah composed the song as an explicit prophecy of the future Messiah, encompassing the atoning work of his first coming and the millennial reign following his second coming. He identifies the genre as “servant song,” the last of four such songs in the latter part of Isaiah. As to its form, he deems it a unique mixture of elements from lament and thanksgiving psalms. The structure of the song consists of five stanzas of three verses each, with the first and final stanzas commending the Servant and the middle three portraying his suffering and degradation. As to the identity of the Servant, MacLeod delineates compelling external and internal evidence that the identity of the Servant is Jesus Christ. The initial stanza (52:13–15) commends the Servant by announcing his exaltation (v. 13) and by contrasting the ensuing astonishment of the Jewish people with the corresponding comprehension of the Gentiles (vv. 14–15). In v. 13 Jesus’s resurrection, ascension, and session at the right hand are prophesied. In vv. 14–15 his crucifixion, substitutionary atoning work, and priestly ministry extending into the millennial kingdom are in view.
Chapter 2 surveys the second stanza portraying the suffering of the Servant due to Israel’s rejection (53:1–3). The second strophe presents the exaltation of the Servant in his future kingdom, while the first-person language reflects the eschatological, penitential prayer of “the future remnant of Israel, who will turn in faith to the Messiah at his second advent” (37). At the first coming of the Servant, Israel would reject him due to his lowly origins (v. 2a) and humble appearance (v. 2b). They despise him because they consider him offensive, contemptible, and insignificant (v. 3). Chapter 3 examines the third stanza, which prophesies the vicarious sufferings of the Servant (53:4–6). The eschatological lament of Israel’s believing remnant continues, as they confess the nation’s initial confusion over the miracles the Servant performs (v. 4a), their earlier misapprehension of the true nature of his suffering (v. 4b), their acknowledgment that now they finally understand his substitutionary atonement (v. 5), and their admission that their own sins brought God’s wrath upon him (v. 6). Here the prophet Isaiah unpacks some of the most profound theological implications arising from the Servant’s death, a death characterized as violent and painful, substitutionary and penal, and beneficial and healing (v. 5). Israel’s remnant confesses their guilt corporately and individually, affirming that his suffering resulted in their good (v. 6).
Chapter 4 analyzes the humiliating yet voluntary death of the Servant outlined in the fourth stanza (53:7–9). The eschatological remnant of Israel recognizes the gentle submission of the mistreated Servant (v. 7); his unjust, violent, and vicarious death (v. 8); and the paradoxical honorific burial he receives despite his mistreatment (v. 9). The fifth chapter examines the song’s final stanza outlining the resurrection and reward of the Servant (53:10–12). In this strophe the Servant advances the plan of Yahweh by dying as a guilt offering and rising from the dead (v. 10). He justifies his people successfully (v. 11) and receives exaltation upon the victorious completion of his mission (v. 12). MacLeod closes the final chapter with a brief survey of doctrinal and evangelistic implications arising from the passage. The last chapter is followed by five appendices that treat the following topics: (1) the understanding of Isaiah 53 among Jewish interpreters; (2) the nature of healing in the atonement; (3) answers to popular objections to the doctrine of substitutionary penal atonement; (4) Christian hymnody and the doctrine of penal substitution; and (5) the story of Handel’s Messiah and its relation to Isaiah 53. The final portion of the book comprises four indices: subject, author, Scripture, and ancient sources.
MacLeod has contributed a valuable study of a singularly important passage from the OT. His combines rigorous attention to the details of the text with a premillennial and Messianic perspective. This approach refreshingly counterbalances the increasing tendency among evangelical interpreters to reject such a hermeneutical perspective, even though the latter characterized a large share, if not the majority, of conservative Christian interpretation in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. I highly recommend the volume to all readers of this journal. From the pastor intending to preach the passage to the interested Christian desirous of supplementing his or her devotional regimen, this book will prove insightful, edifying, and informative.
