Objection: The Suffering Servant in Isaiah 53 Is Actually Israel, Not Jesus

This unusual objection is advocated by Jews, not fellow Christians.  Isaiah 53 is plainly about Jesus, the Messiah, but in order to stick with Judaism instead of converting to Christianity, Jews had to come up with some reason that Isaiah 53 is NOT about the coming Messiah.  This explanation has a LOT of flaws and you can show these flaws to any Jew you know who thinks that Isaiah 53 is about Israel.

Isaiah 52:14 (still part of the same prophecy): It would make no sense to say that Israel was “marred more than any man.”  This verse indicates clearly that what the Messiah endured was something that would be done to a man, not to a country.

Isaiah 53:3: HE was despised but WE esteemed Him not.  HE and WE (Israel) can’t logically be the same person.  WE hid our faces from HIM.  You can’t hide your face from yourself.  It makes no sense to say that Israelites hid their faces from Israelites.

Isaiah 53:4: HE bore OUR sicknesses and carried OUR pains.  HE and the owner of the sicknesses and pains can’t logically be the same person.  Also, BORE is a Levitical word that means to take something away from someone else and endure it yourself as a substitute.  No one could possibly “bear” anything away from himself.

Isaiah 53:5: HE was wounded for OUR transgressions. HE was bruised for OUR iniquities.  The punishment of OUR well-being was upon HIM and by HIS stripes WE are healed.  None of these four statements makes sense if the suffering servant is Israel.  The prophet would have had to have said “WE were wounded for OUR transgressions. WE were bruised for OUR iniquities.  The punishment of OUR well-being was upon US and with OUR stripes WE are healed.”

Isaiah 53:6: The Lord has laid on HIM the iniquity of US ALL.  It would make no sense for the Lord to “lay” our own iniquities on us, as they would already be on us with no further action required!

Isaiah 53:8: HE was stricken for the transgression of MY PEOPLE.  Israel is clearly MY PEOPLE, so who is HE (singular)?

Isaiah 53:9: HE died, but Israel did not all die.  There was no deceit in HIM.  HIM could not refer to Israel – there would be no need for all the punishment detailed in this chapter if there were no deceit in ISRAEL!

Isaiah 53:10: HIS soul was made an offering for sin – Israel consisted of many souls, none of whom would have been an acceptable offering for sin.

Isaiah 53:11: HE shall justify MANY, for HE shall bear THEIR iniquities.  Israel could not justify itself, nor could it “bear” (in the Levitical sense) its own sins.  HE and the MANY could not grammatically be the same entity.

Isaiah 53:12: Israel did not die, but Jesus did.  HE bare the sin of MANY and made intercession for the transgressors.  If HE is Israel, HE took away his OWN sin and made intercession for HIMSELF, neither of which makes any sense.