Isaiah 51-53

Isaiah 51
1-23 Blessings in Store for God's People

1-3 Listen, you who seek righteousness: "Look to the rock from which you were hewn": Abraham (and Sarah), who was only one when I called, but who became many. Likewise I will bless Zion, making an oasis out of a desert.
4-6 Listen, my people: My teaching and my justice will be a light to all peoples. The heavens and earth will pass away, but my salvation will be forever. The eloquent poetry here in essence foreshadows Jesus' words in Matthew 24:35, Mark 13:31 and Luke 21:33: "Heaven and earth will pass away, but My words will not pass away." Salvation is in God's teaching, in His word, and in His Word, the Messiah.
7-8 Listen, you who know righteousness: Do not fear the reproach of others, for they will be destroyed, but my salvation is to all generations.
9-11 Response: Lord, use your strong arm – the one that rescued us from the hands of the Egyptians – to rescue us once more, so that the ransomed will return to Zion with singing and everlasting joy.
12-16 God: I am the one who comforts you; there is no need to be afraid of vulnerable men. I am the One who created the heavens and the earth, and I can and will free the oppressed, for you are my people.
17-20 Stand up, you who are realizing punishment from the LORD. There is no one to rescue you; your children experience the wrath of the LORD. The commentaries don't agree on this one. Some say it refers to the unrepentant Jews during the time of Christ; others say it describes their state in Babylon before their rescue. I tend to agree with the second interpretation in context; though of course the first applies as a general rule. If we don't depend on God, if we rebel against him, no mortal can rescue us from his anger – but he can.
21-23 Hear this, you who are wounded: I will take the cup of wrath from your hand and will place it in the hands of your tormentors, "who have said to you, 'Bow down, that we may walk on you.'" I will punish those whom I have used to punish you. (Even more evidence that the previous passage must refer to their misery in Babylonian Captivity.)

Isaiah 52
1-12 Let Zion Rejoice

1-2 O Jerusalem, awake, get dressed, shake off the dust, for the uncircumcised and the unclean will enter you no more. You are once again my holy city, unadulterated by unbelievers.
3-6 My people were sold for nothing; they shall be redeemed for nothing. Just as I freed them from slavery in Egypt, I will (or did) free them from the Assyrians. Because the Assyrian leaders despise(d) my name, my people shall know it. "The Assyrians" here either refers to Babylon or is another example of how God can rescue his people.
7-10 How beautiful are the feet of the messengers of peace and salvation, who announce the LORD's return to Jerusalem, whose salvation the whole world will see. See Romans 10:15 for a New Covenant context.
11-12 Purify yourselves before you carry out the vessels of the LORD. You don't need to hurry - the LORD will both lead you from the front and protect you from the rear. In immediate context, this would refer to the priests and Levites carrying temple vessels back to Jerusalem from Babylon (Ezra 1:5-11). In the spiritual context, seeing Romans 10:15 talks about evangelists, this would refer to those who carry the word of God to others. See 1 Peter 1:14-16

13-15 The Suffering Servant
Note: I tread carefully here, because a paraphrase can only ruin the beauty of this passage. From here to the end of Chapter 53 I consider one of the most significant and poignant passages in the Scriptures. Isaiah could only imagine the person he wrote about; we know exactly who he is.

13-15 My servant shall prosper. As many – including world leaders – as marvel at his marred appearance shall marvel at his glorious appearance.

Chapter 53
1-12 The Suffering Servant (cont'd)

1-3 Who would have believed that the "arm of the LORD" would come from nowhere, look like a nobody, and be rejected, despised and disdained by so many?
4-6 He looks despicable to us because he's carrying around our own ugliness – our sins and our punishment. Oh yes, we've all sinned; we all have our share in those bruises we see on him.
7-9 Yet he never complained about his unjust punishment, a humiliating and painful death, with a private burial not in a family tomb but in the tomb of a wealthy stranger.
10-12 Yet his painful death will result in a long life through those that benefit from his sacrifice. In their lives, he lives on, satisfied because of their righteousness, their purity that comes from his bearing their sins. He will be called great because he became like a sinner in order to carry the sins of others.