NOTES for Isa 52:13-53:12
Even if we did not know the traditional reading of these lines, it would still be impossible not to compare them with the Gospel passages that preserve the sufferings and humiliations of Christ; Isaiah is therefore quite rightly called “the Old Testament Evangelist.” Yet we know that several centuries later, many of those who knew and constantly reread the Book of Isaiah did not recognize in Jesus the One of whom the prophet spoke. The prophecy remained misunderstood.
Should we Christians exalt ourselves above the ancient Jews on the grounds that we understand the prophetic words more correctly? Are we always ready to see the image of God in someone who does not conform to our ideas of prosperity, giftedness, and success? A “theology of success” is still popular among some Christians, seeking to declare life’s good fortunes a reward from above—which is possible, but far from true in every case—and misfortunes evidence of God’s disfavor...
But every seductive attempt to adapt doctrine to earthly interests and pragmatic notions was rejected beforehand both by Isaiah’s prophecy and, all the more, by the One of whom the prophet spoke.