Isaiah 53:8-9 He was taken from prison and from judgment,
And who will declare His generation? For He was cut off from the land of
the living; For the transgressions of My people He was stricken. And they
made His grave with the wicked-- But with the rich at His deaths [plural in
the Hebrew], Because He had done no violence, Nor was any deceit in His
mouth.
Acts 3:15 and killed the Prince of life [in Hebrew, lives], whom
God raised from the dead, of which we are witnesses.
An interesting parallel exists between these two passages of
scripture: Isaiah 53:9 and Acts 3:15. Isaiah renders the "death" of the
messiah in the plural form, "deaths" ("motav"). Acts renders the life of
the Prince of Life as "lives" ("chaim"). Some scholars suggest that the
plurality of the word death indicates a violent death this servant would
suffer, and that making the noun plural is a way of emphasizing the
terrible intensity of his experience. Jewish counter-missionaries suggest
that the "death" in plural shows that the suffering servant is not an
individual man, but a group of people, specifically the nation of Israel,
thus denying that the passage refers to an individual messianic
figure.
I like to look at this passage as a reminder that Yeshua suffered
death for me, personally, but also for every one else who would believe in
Him. Since we all died with Him on the cross as He died to sin, it could be
said that He suffered many deaths for all those He loved.
Tracing the parallel to the Acts passage we can understand why it
says there that He was the "Prince of Lives". The phrase is "sar ha-chaim"
in the Brit Hadashah (Hebrew New Testament), indicating a plurality of
life. In His suffering of deaths, He became the Prince of lives! How many
lives did He save? How many kinds of life? We'll find out
someday....maybe.
Yeshua's death was complete; a finished
work of comprehensive grace; totally effective and absolutely personal. His
resurrection was equally full, final and personal -- through Him we died to
sin, and need no longer walk in it; and through Him we live to God, and can
walk in newness of life, abundant life -- for He truly is the Prince of
Life! (George, Baht Rivka, Elianna & Obadiah)
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