Isaiah 53 (Part 5) – Isa 53:6

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Isaiah 53 (Part 5) – Isa 53:6

Isa 53:6 – 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. 

1. All we like sheep have gone astray;
   1. Sheep n. – 1. a. Any animal of the ruminant genus Ovis (sometimes horned), closely allied to the goats; esp. of the widely domesticated species Ovis aries, of which there are many varieties, and which is reared for its flesh, fleece, and skin. 2. Similative (often passing into figurative) uses. a. In allusions to: (a) The sheep’s timidity, defencelessness, inoffensiveness, tendency to stray and get lost: chiefly in echoes of biblical passages, and sometimes with allusion to sense 4. fig. In biblical and religious language, applied (as collective plural) to persons, in expressed or implied correlation with shepherd. With varying specific reference: said, e.g., of Israel, the Church, or mankind generally, viewed as under the guidance and protection of God, and as owing obedience to him; of those who are led by Christ as the Good Shepherd (John x. 1-16); and of those who are under the charge of a spiritual pastor, or who are viewed as needing to be spiritually fed or directed.
   2. Astray adv. – 1. Out of the right way, away from the proper path, wandering. Away from the right; in or into error or evil.
   3. Sheep have a tendency to go astray which is why they need a shepherd.
      1. Shepherd n. – 1. a. A man who guards, tends, and herds a flock of sheep (grazing at large); usually one so employed for hire; or one of a pastoral people who herds (his own) sheep, goats, etc. 2. a. A spiritual guardian or pastor of a ‘flock’; = pastor b. In Biblical use, applied to God in relation to Israel or the Church; also to Christ (esp. with reference to John x. 12).
      2. Sheep need to be guarded and herded by the shepherd to keep them from going astray.
   4. Children of God are likened unto sheep in the Bible (Eze 34:6; Joh 21:15-17).
   5. Like sheep, we have a tendency to go astray (Psa 119:176).
   6. God is our shepherd (Psa 80:1).
   7. Jesus is the good shepherd (Joh 10:14) and great shepherd of the sheep (Heb 13:20).
   8. Like a good shepherd, Jesus seeks His lost sheep (Mat 18:11-13; Luk 15:4-7; Eze 34:11-16; Joh 10:16).
   9. We were as sheep going astray but are now returned unto the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls (1Pe 2:25).
2. we have turned every one to his own way;
   1. We have turned to our own way.
      1. We alone are responsible for our sin (Jam 1:14-15).
      2. We cannot blame God (Jam 1:13; Pro 19:3; Jer 7:9-10).
      3. We cannot blame others (Gen 3:12-13).
      4. We cannot blame Adam, for though we inherited our fallen nature from him, we all have sinned on our own (Rom 5:12).
   2. We have turned to our own way.
      1. This is the root of all sin, wanting to do things our way instead of God’s way (1Jo 3:4).
      2. God’s way is perfect (2Sa 22:31).
      3. Left to his own devices, man will corrupt his way (Gen 6:12).
      4. Our way is contrary to God (Isa 55:7).
      5. Our ways are not God’s ways (Isa 55:8-9).
   3. We have turned every one to his own way.
      1. Depravity is universal (Rom 3:9-12).
      2. All have sinned and come short of the glory of God (Rom 3:23).
      3. There is not a man who has ever lived who has not sinned (Ecc 7:20).
3. and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
   1. The Father made Jesus to be sin for us by laying our sins on Him (2Co 5:21).
   2. Jesus came for His lost sheep (Mat 15:24).
      1. God laid the iniquity of His sheep on Jesus.
      2. Jesus laid down His life for His sheep (Joh 10:11, 15).
      3. Jesus suffered and died for His lost sheep to bring them to God (1Pe 3:18).
      4. He returned us to the Shepherd and Bishop of our souls (1Pe 2:25).
   3. Jesus was the antitype of the scapegoat which had all the iniquities of the children of Israel put on his head and took them away (Lev 16:21-22).
      1. Jesus took away our sins (Joh 1:29).
      2. Jesus removed our transgressions from us as far as the east is from the west (Psa 103:12).