-Caveat Lector-
Second Isaiah is the part of Isaiah starting with 40:1, "Comfort, comfort ye
my people, saith your God..." The style is very different from the earlier
chapters, indicating a different author of the same prophetic school. Look
at it from the viewpoint of a Jewish scholar, who obviously isn't interested
in Jesus as Messiah: this part of Isaiah was probably written just before
the Exile, when Israel (the northern part of the Divided Kingdom) had been
absorbed by Babylon and Judea was waiting nervously for the ravening beast
to turn in its direction. There was already a tendency to personify Israel,
which would become much more significant after the return. Read through
Kings and Chronicles--all of the evils visited upon the two kingdoms are
attributed to monarchs who "departed from the ways of his fathers..."; that
is, turned to the old semi-pagan forms of worship instead of worshipping
Yahweh alone. By the same token, anything good is because the king "walked
in the paths of righteousness." The Suffering Servant verses focus on the
evil periods, and (according to this interpretation) portray Israel (the
land, not the kingdom) as bearing the brunt of the people's sins. This is a
quite legitimate interpretation from a Jewish viewpoint; the Christian
assumption that it applies to Jesus is based on Jesus' application of its
metaphors to himself. Indeed, there is some evidence that Jesus deliberately
sought to embody *all* of the many different messianic images found in the
Hebrew Scriptures.
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Terry Trainor [SMTP:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> Sent: Thursday, December 16, 1999 7:22 AM
> To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> Subject: Re: [CTRL] Politically Correct Jesus
>
> -Caveat Lector-
>
> Hmm. There's only one Isaiah. This passage is located in Isaiah 53:3.
> Reading the entire chapter (only 12 verses) leaves one with little doubt
> that it is Jesus being spoken of here. Like that 'All we like sheep have
> gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath
> laid
> on him the iniquity of us all' (53:6), and 'He was wounded for our
> transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: . . .' (53:5). With
> all
> respect to modern scholars, I don't see how Israel bore my sins, spent
> time
> in prison, or was punished by God for my failures.
>
> > -----Original Message-----
> > From: Tatman, Robert [mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED]]
> > Sent: Wednesday, December 15, 1999 3:34 PM
> > To: [EMAIL PROTECTED]
> > Subject: Re: [CTRL] Politically Correct Jesus
> >
> >
> > -Caveat Lector-
> >
> > It *is* in Second Isaiah, but I can't remember the exact
> > verse. The verse
> > forms one of the most striking passages in Handel's
> > *Messiah*: "He was a man
> > of sorrows and acquainted with grief." It's part of the
> > "suffering servant"
> > theme, which many modern scholars believe refers not to a
> > specific person
> > but rather to Eretz Israel, the ever-suffering Land of Israel itself.
> > Evangelical theologians, of course, generally consider the "suffering
> > servant" passages to apply to Jesus Christ.
> >
>
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