The Messiah Must Suffer

Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and exalted exceedingly. Just as many were appalled at you - so marred beyond man was his appearance, and his form beyond the sons of Adam - so shall he startle many nations; because of him kings shall shut their mouths, for what was never told them they shall see, and what they never heard they shall perceive.

Who has believed what we heard? And the arm of the LORD - upon whom has it been revealed? He grew up before him like a sapling, like a root out of dry ground; he had no form and no majesty that we should look at him, no appearance that we should desire him. Despised and forsaken of men, a man of pains and known to sickness; like one from whom men hide the face, despised - and we did not esteem him.

Surely it was our sicknesses he bore and our pains he carried, while we esteemed him stricken, struck down by God and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his stripes there is healing for us. All we like sheep went astray, each of us turned to his own way - and the LORD laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, and he does not open his mouth; like a lamb led to the slaughter, like a ewe silent before her shearers, he does not open his mouth. From arrest and from judgment he was taken away - and his generation, who considers it? - for he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgression of my people, the stroke was his. And his grave was appointed with the wicked, and with a rich man in his deaths, although he had done no violence and there was no deceit in his mouth.

And the LORD was pleased to crush him; he made him sick. If his soul makes itself a guilt-offering, he shall see seed, he shall prolong days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. Out of the travail of his soul he shall see; he shall be satisfied. By his knowledge my righteous servant shall make the many righteous, and their iniquities he shall bear. Therefore I will give him a portion among the many, and with the strong he shall divide spoil - because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors, while he bore the sin of many and interceded for the transgressors.

And I will pour out on the house of David and on the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and of supplications; and they shall look to me, whom they pierced, and they shall mourn over him as one mourns over the only son, and be in bitterness over him as one is in bitterness over the firstborn.

(25) Know therefore and discern: from the going forth of the word to restore and to build Jerusalem until an anointed one, a prince, shall be seven weeks; then for sixty-two weeks it shall be built again, square and moat, but in the distress of the times. (26) And after the sixty-two weeks AN ANOINTED ONE SHALL BE CUT OFF, AND HAVE NOTHING; and the people of a prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary; and its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there is war; desolations are decreed.

(2:12) Let us lie in wait for the righteous one, for he is inconvenient to us: he opposes our doings, and reproaches us with sins against the law, and charges us with sins against our upbringing. (13) He professes to have knowledge of God, and names himself a child of the Lord. (14) He has become a living rebuke to our designs; he is a burden to us even to see, (15) because his life is unlike other men's, and his paths are of another sort. (16) We were reckoned by him as base coin; he keeps far from our ways as from filth. He calls the final end of the righteous blessed, and boasts that God is his father. (17) Let us see if his words are true, and test what will happen at his departure. (18) For if the righteous one is God's son, He will take his part and rescue him from the hand of those who withstand him. (19) With outrage and torture let us put him to the test, that we may learn his gentleness and prove his patience under wrong. (20) Let us condemn him to a shameful death - for, by his own words, he will be watched over.

(5:1) Then the righteous one will stand in great boldness before the face of those who afflicted him and made nothing of his labors. (2) When they see him, they will be shaken with terrible fear, and beside themselves at the marvel of his salvation. (3) Repenting, groaning in anguish of spirit, they will say among themselves: (4) This was the man we once held in derision, a byword of reproach - we fools! We reckoned his life madness, and his end without honor. (5) How has he been numbered among the sons of God? How is his portion among the holy ones? (6) So it was we who strayed from the way of truth; the light of righteousness did not shine on us, and the sun did not rise on us. (7) We filled ourselves full on the paths of lawlessness and destruction, and traveled trackless wastes - but the way of the Lord we did not know. (8) What did our arrogance profit us? What has wealth with its vaunting given us?

[For the hea]vens and the earth will listen to his Messiah, [and all t]hat is in them will not turn away from the commandments of the holy ones.

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For the Lord will attend to the pious, and call the righteous by name; over the poor his spirit will hover, and the faithful he will renew by his strength. For he will honor the pious on the throne of an everlasting kingdom: setting the bound free, opening the eyes of the blind, raising up those bowed do[wn].

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And glorious things that have never been the Lord will do, just as he sa[id]: for he will heal the pierced, and THE DEAD HE WILL MAKE ALIVE; to the poor he will announce good news.

...and you shall hang him on the tree, and he shall die. ... For those hanged on the tree are accursed of God and men, and you shall not defile the land which I am giving you for an inheritance...

(52:13) Behold, my servant the Messiah shall prosper; he shall be exalted and increase and grow very strong. (14) As the house of Israel hoped for him many days - their appearance was darkened among the peoples, their radiance beyond the sons of men - (15) so shall he scatter many peoples; before him kings shall be silent, setting their hands on their mouths, for what was never told them they have seen, and what they never heard they have perceived.

(53:1) Who has believed this our good tidings? And the strength of the mighty arm of the LORD - upon whom has it now been revealed? (2) And the righteous one shall grow up before him like sprouting shoots, like a tree that sends its roots by streams of water; so shall holy generations increase in the land that had need of him. His appearance is no common appearance and his fearfulness no common fearfulness; his radiance shall be a holy radiance, so that all who see him will gaze at him. (3) Then the glory of all the kingdoms shall become contemptible and cease; they shall be faint and mourning, behold, like a man of pains and appointed for sicknesses, and as when the face of the Shekhinah was withdrawn from us - despised and not esteemed.

(4) Then he shall pray on behalf of our sins, and our iniquities shall be forgiven for his sake - while we were esteemed crushed, smitten from before the LORD and afflicted. (5) And he shall build the Temple that was profaned for our sins and handed over for our iniquities; and by his teaching, peace shall increase upon us, and when we attend to his words, our sins shall be forgiven us. (6) All we like sheep were scattered, each of us gone into exile his own way; and from before the LORD it was a pleasure to forgive the sins of us all for his sake.

(7) He prays, and he is answered, and before he opens his mouth he is accepted; the strong ones of the peoples he shall hand over like a lamb to the slaughter, like a ewe silent before her shearers; and there is none before him who opens his mouth to speak a word. (8) Out of chastisements and punishment he shall bring our exiles near; and the wonders that will be done for us in his days - who shall be able to recount? For he shall remove the dominion of the peoples from the land of Israel; the sins my people sinned shall reach unto them. (9) And he shall hand over the wicked to Gehenna, and those rich in possessions seized by violence to the death of destruction, so that the workers of sin be not established, nor speak deceits with their mouth.

(10) And from before the LORD it was a pleasure to refine and purify the remnant of his people, to cleanse their souls from sins; they shall look upon the kingdom of their Messiah, they shall multiply sons and daughters, they shall prolong days, and the doers of the Torah of the LORD shall prosper in his pleasure. (11) From the servitude of the peoples he shall deliver their souls; they shall look on the punishment of those who hate them and be satisfied with the plunder of their kings. By his wisdom he shall justify the just, to subject many to the Torah; and for their sins he shall pray. (12) Then I will divide to him the plunder of many peoples and the possessions of strong fortresses; he shall divide the spoil - because he handed over his soul to death and subjected the rebellious to the Torah; and he shall pray for many sins, and the rebellious shall be forgiven for his sake.

{Verse numbers follow the Hebrew Bible; the Aramaic column runs continuously.}

(1) They will say: Come, let us return to the worship of the LORD, for he who struck us will heal us, and he who brought ruin upon us will give us rest. (2) He will give us life in the days of consolation that are to come; ON THE DAY OF THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD he will raise us up, and we shall live before him. (3) And we shall learn, and press on, to know the fear of the LORD - like the light of morning arrayed at its rising; and he will bring blessing upon us like mighty rain, like the latter rain that soaks the earth.

The BOY (talya) whom the builders abandoned - he was among the sons of Jesse, and worthy to be appointed king and ruler.

And this mourning [of Zechariah 12:12] - what is it for? Rabbi Dosa and the rabbis differ on it. One said: for Messiah son of Joseph, who is killed; and one said: for the evil inclination, which is killed.

Granted, according to him who said 'for Messiah son of Joseph, who is killed' - that is what is written: 'And they shall look to me because of him whom they pierced, and they shall mourn over him as one mourns over the only son.' But according to him who said 'for the evil inclination, which is killed' - is this an occasion for mourning? It is an occasion for rejoicing! Why should they weep?

Our rabbis taught: To Messiah son of David, who is destined to be revealed speedily in our days, the Holy One, blessed be He, says: Ask something of me and I will give it to you, as it is said, 'I will tell of the decree... this day I have begotten you; ask of me, and I will give the nations for your inheritance' (Ps 2:7-8). And when he sees that Messiah son of Joseph is killed, he says before Him: Master of the world! I ask of you nothing but life. He says to him: Life? Before you ever said it, David your father already prophesied it of you, as it is said, 'He asked life of you; you gave it to him' (Ps 21:5).

He said to him: When will the Messiah come? He said to him: Go, ask him himself. - And where does he sit? - At the gate of Rome. - And what is his sign? - He sits among the poor who bear sicknesses; and all of them unbind and rebind [their bandages] all at once, but he unbinds one and rebinds one. He says: Perhaps I will be wanted - let me not be delayed.

What is his name? The school of Rabbi Shila say: Shiloh is his name, as it is said, 'until Shiloh comes' (Gen 49:10). The school of Rabbi Yannai say: Yinnon is his name, as it is said, 'may his name endure forever, before the sun his name is Yinnon' (Ps 72:17). The school of Rabbi Chanina say: Chanina is his name, as it is said, 'where I will not give you Chanina [favor]' (Jer 16:13). And some say: Menachem son of Hizkiyah is his name, as it is said, 'for Menachem [a comforter], the restorer of my soul, is far from me' (Lam 1:16). And the Rabbis say: the leper of the house of Rabbi is his name, as it is said, 'Surely he has borne our sicknesses and carried our pains, yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted' (Isa 53:4).

...And what is 'in your light shall we see light' (Ps 36:10)? This is the light of the Messiah, as it is said, 'And God saw the light, that it was good' (Gen 1:4) - which teaches that the Holy One, blessed be He, gazed on the Messiah and his deeds before the world was created, and hid him away for his Messiah's generation beneath his throne of glory. Satan said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Master of the world, the light hidden beneath your throne of glory - whose is it? He said to him: His who will turn you back and put you to shame with everlasting confusion. He said: Master of the world, show him to me. He said: Come and see him. And when he saw him, he trembled and fell on his face and said: Surely this is the Messiah, who will cast me and all the princes of the nations of the world into Gehenna...

At that hour the nations were shaken. They said before him: Master of the world, who is this into whose hand we fall? What is his name, and what is his nature? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to them: He is the Messiah, and his name is Ephraim, the Messiah of my righteousness. He raises his own stature and the stature of his generation; he gives light to the eyes of Israel and saves his people; and no nation or tongue can stand against him... and all his enemies and foes are put to flight... and even the rivers cease in the sea...

The Holy One, blessed be He, began to stipulate with him, and said: These who are hidden away with you - their iniquities will one day bring you under a yoke of iron, and make you like this calf whose eyes have grown dim, and they will choke your spirit under the yoke; and because of their iniquities your tongue shall cleave to the roof of your mouth. Is this your will? The Messiah said before the Holy One, blessed be He: Perhaps that anguish will last many years? The Holy One, blessed be He, said to him: By your life and by the life of my head, one week of years have I decreed upon you; if your soul is grieved, I will banish them from this moment. He said before him: Master of the worlds, with the exultation of my soul and the joy of my heart I take it upon myself - on condition that not one of Israel perish; and that not the living only be saved in my days, but also those hidden in the dust; and not the dead only be saved in my days, but the dead who have died from the days of Adam the first man until now; and not these only, but even the miscarried; and not these only, but even all whom it arose in your mind to create and they were not created. To this I agree; on these terms I take it upon myself.

...'And I will turn their mourning into joy' (Jer 31:13) - to what does this speak? To the days of the Messiah... It teaches that the fathers of the world will rise in Nisan and say to him: Ephraim, Messiah of our righteousness, though we are your fathers, you are greater than we; for you bore the iniquities of our children, and hard and evil measures passed over you such as passed over neither the former nor the latter, and you were laughter and mockery among the nations for Israel's sake, and you sat in darkness and gloom, and your eyes saw no light, and your skin shriveled upon your bones, and your body dried like wood, and your eyes darkened from fasting, and your strength dried up like a potsherd - all these because of the iniquities of our children...

The fathers of the world say to him: Ephraim, Messiah of our righteousness, let your mind be at rest, for you have set at rest the mind of your Maker and our own minds. Rabbi Shimon ben Pazi said: At that hour the Holy One, blessed be He, raises the Messiah to the heavens of heavens and spreads over him the splendor of his glory before the nations of the world, before the wicked Persians. He says to him: Ephraim, Messiah of our righteousness, be judge over these, and do with them what your soul desires; for had not mercies prevailed exceedingly over you, they would have destroyed you from the world in a single moment, as it is said, 'Is Ephraim a dear son to me, a darling child? For whenever I speak of him, I earnestly remember him still; therefore my heart yearns for him; I will surely have mercy on him, says the LORD' (Jer 31:20). Why 'I will surely have mercy' - mercy twice? Mercy - for the hour when he was bound in the prison-house, when day after day the nations of the world gnashed their teeth and winked their eyes and wagged their heads and curled their lips, as it is said, 'All who see me mock me; they open wide the lip; they wag the head' (Ps 22:8)...

'On the third day Abraham lifted up his eyes' (Gen 22:4). It is written: 'He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up, and we shall live before him' (Hos 6:2). On the third day of the tribes: 'And Joseph said to them on the third day' (Gen 42:18). On the third day of the spies: 'And hide yourselves there three days' (Josh 2:16). On the third day of the giving of the Torah: 'And it came to pass on the third day' (Ex 19:16). On the third day of Jonah: 'And Jonah was in the belly of the fish three days and three nights' (Jonah 2:1). On the third day of those returning from the exile: 'And we stayed there three days' (Ezra 8:32). On the third day of THE RESURRECTION OF THE DEAD: 'He will revive us after two days; on the third day he will raise us up.' On the third day of Esther: 'And it came to pass on the third day, that Esther clothed herself in royalty' (Est 5:1) - she put on the royalty of her father's house. By what merit? The rabbis and Rabbi Levi: the rabbis say, by the merit of the third day of the giving of the Torah; and Rabbi Levi said, by the merit of the third day of Abraham our father.

Another interpretation: the verse speaks of the King Messiah. 'Come here' - draw near to the kingship. 'And eat of the bread' - this is the bread of kingship. 'And dip your morsel in the vinegar' - THESE ARE THE SUFFERINGS, as it is said: 'And he was pierced for our transgressions' (Isa 53:5). 'And she sat beside the reapers' - for his kingdom is destined to be taken from him for a time, as it is said: 'I will gather all the nations to Jerusalem to battle, and the city shall be taken' (Zech 14:2). 'And he reached her parched grain' - for it is destined to return to him, as it is said: 'And he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth' (Isa 11:4). Rabbi Berekhiah in the name of Rabbi Levi: As the first redeemer, so the last redeemer. As the first redeemer was revealed and then hidden from them - and how long was he hidden? three months, as it is said: 'And they met Moses and Aaron' (Ex 5:20) - so the last redeemer will be revealed to them and then hidden from them. And how long will he be hidden from them? Rabbi Tanchuma in the name of the rabbis: forty-five days...

And Trypho said: Be assured that our whole nation awaits the Christ; and we confess that all the Scriptures which you have cited are spoken of him; and I admit, too, that the name of Jesus, given to the son of Nun, has moved me to be more yielding on this point as well. But whether the Christ was to be so dishonorably CRUCIFIED, we are at a loss - for the one crucified is said in the Law to be accursed; so on this point I remain, as yet, hard to persuade. THAT THE CHRIST IS TO SUFFER, THE SCRIPTURES PROCLAIM - that is evident; but we wish to learn whether it is through the suffering that is cursed in the Law - if you can demonstrate that too.

[Justin answers:] If the Christ were not to suffer, I said to him, and if the prophets had not foretold that because of the lawless deeds of the people he would be led to death, and be dishonored, and be scourged, and be reckoned among the lawless, and be led as a sheep to the slaughter...

I remember once, in a disputation with those called wise among the Jews, using these prophecies. At this the Jew said that these things were prophesied of the WHOLE PEOPLE as though of a single man, since it was scattered in the dispersion and smitten, so that many proselytes might be won on account of the Jews being sown among the rest of the nations; and in this way he explained 'your form shall be inglorious among men,' and 'those to whom nothing was announced concerning him shall see,' and 'a man under the stroke.' Many things were said in that inquiry to refute the claim that these prophecies concerning a single person can reasonably be referred to the whole people. And I asked: whose persona is it that says, 'This one bears OUR sins and suffers pain for US'? And whose the words, 'he was wounded for OUR sins and bruised for OUR lawless deeds'? And in whose persona does one say, 'by HIS wound WE were healed'?

On Sanhedrin 98a: "'Bearers of sicknesses' - stricken ones; and he too is stricken, as it is written, 'and he was pierced for our transgressions' (Isa 53:5), and it is written, 'our sicknesses he has borne' (Isa 53:4)."

On Isaiah 52:13: "'Behold, my servant shall prosper' - behold, in the end of days my servant JACOB shall prosper - the righteous who are in him."

Behold, my servant shall prosper. This passage is exceedingly difficult. The misguided of spirit have said that it hints at their god, interpreting 'my servant' as his body - which cannot be, for the body has no understanding even while a man lives; and what sense then is 'he shall see seed,' when he had no son? and 'he shall prolong days,' which did not happen? and 'he shall divide spoil with the strong'? The complete proof is what stands above - 'for the LORD goes before you' - which is Israel; and afterward, 'Sing, O barren one,' which is the congregation of Israel. So the sense of 'my servant' is: whoever of Israel is in exile and is a servant of the LORD. AND MANY HAVE INTERPRETED IT OF THE MESSIAH, because our ancients of blessed memory said that on the day the Temple was destroyed the Messiah was born, and that he is bound in chains...

...And afterward they [the souls] roam and look upon those masters of pains and the sons of illness, those who suffer for the unity of their Lord, and they return and tell the Messiah. When they tell the Messiah of the anguish of Israel in their exile, and of the wicked among them who take no heed to know their Lord, he lifts up his voice and weeps over the wicked among them - as it is written, 'And he was pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities' (Isa 53:5). The souls return and stand in their place.

In the Garden of Eden there is one hall which is called the Hall of the Sons of Illness. Then the Messiah enters that hall and calls for all the illnesses and all the pains and all the sufferings of Israel to come upon him - and they all come upon him. And were it not that he lightens them off Israel and takes them upon himself, no man could endure the sufferings of Israel from the punishments of the Torah - as it is written, 'Surely our sicknesses he has borne' (Isa 53:4).

In like manner Rabbi Elazar on the earth. For there is no reckoning of the sufferings that stand over a man every day from the punishments of the Torah; and all of them came down into the world at the hour the Torah was given. And while Israel were in the Holy Land, by those rites and offerings that they performed they removed all those illnesses and sufferings from the world; now the Messiah removes them from the children of the world.