Passion & Last Supper✦ Passion CenterpieceClear Fulfillment
The Suffering Servant, Pierced for Our Transgressions
Written: ~700 BC→Fulfilled: ~AD 30
Isaiah's most famous verse prophesied that the Servant would be pierced for humanity's transgressions, fulfilled in the crucifixion.
Prophecy & Fulfillment
Old Testament Prophecy
Isaiah 53:5
"But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed."
New Testament Fulfillment
John 19:34; 1 Peter 2:24
"Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus's side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water... "He himself bore our sins" in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; "by his wounds you have been healed.""
Commentary
This verse is the theological heart of Isaiah 53 and of the entire gospel. The Hebrew word chalal (pierced) implies a violent, penetrating wound. Peter quotes this verse directly in 1 Peter 2:24, explicitly applying it to Jesus's crucifixion. The soldier's spear thrust fulfills the piercing literally.