Isaiah 50:5Meaning & Commentary from the Church Fathers

In this moment, the very countenance of Christ is revealed, highlighting His obedience in stark contrast to the rebellion of the Jews, as He seeks to unmask their hostility towards God, who invites them to salvation; for He declares, “I will call, yet there is no one who will respond.” They have grown apathetic and resistant to obeying, completely failing to comprehend what is truly beneficial to them, by which they could easily escape both the bondage of sin and the malevolence of the devil. While they remained disobedient, I will not partake in disobedience; for when God the Father chose to gather all things under Christ (Eph. 1:10), I humbled Myself and descended to the lowest state of human need, becoming human, so that I could be obedient even to death, and that death being upon the cross (Phil. 2:8).

Like students eager to learn in the early hours, he listened to the Holy Spirit for guidance in his speech, remaining obedient to divine instruction. When the Lord inquired, “Whom shall I send, and who will go for us?” he answered, “Here am I; send me” (Isaiah 6:8). As he proclaimed, “Hear the word of the Lord, you rulers of Sodom; listen to the law of our God, you people of Gomorrah” (Isaiah 1:10), he faced many trials, suffering not only verbal insults but also vicious beatings. Yet, recognizing that this was God’s commission, he stood firm, just as the prophet Ezekiel declared: “Behold, I have made your face as hard as their faces and your forehead like iron” (Ezekiel 3:8-9), resisting their onslaughts.

There are those who attempt to undermine prophecies about Christ, contorting their meanings and suggesting that if they can claim this was solely about Isaiah, they could dismiss the many clear testimonies concerning Christ that illuminate understanding for all. This passage, however, should rightly be associated with our Lord, who concluded the preceding book, having been taught through the prelude of His incarnation and endowed with a tongue of instruction to discern the right moments to speak. The one who remained voiceless in His suffering now speaks through the apostles throughout the world. Significant wisdom is necessary to provide timely nourishment to ministers and to address the congregation. Consequently, the Apostle Paul, addressing those lacking confidence in the prophets, draws upon testimonies from various thinkers: “For in him we live and move and have our being” (Acts 17:28), referencing Aratus, alongside the observation that “Bad company corrupts good character” (1 Corinthians 15:33), echoing a comedic source, and from Epimenides, he states, “The Cretans are always liars, evil beasts, lazy gluttons” (Titus 1:12).

While these phrases may lose their metrical form in translation, it is clear they originally had poetic structure in Greek. Paul articulated these quotes because he had received the gift of understanding, enabling him to discern when to articulate a thought. His ear was opened by grace, which he did not possess by nature, illustrating that we should strive for spiritual discernment, as the Lord taught in the Gospel: “He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Luke 8:8). This understanding and teaching empowered His listening, for He did not contradict but remained obedient unto death, even the death of the cross (Philippians 2). He endured wounds to His body, received multiple blows to His chest, and did not retreat from His accusers. He endured sufferings inflicted by the high priest’s servant, while the Jews spat upon Him and exchanged insults. Yet, He felt no shame, led as a lamb to slaughter and silent before His shearers. We see that the Son, due to the mystery of the Incarnation, received from the Father what to speak, expressed in the Gospel where He states, “The Father who sent me has given me a command about what to say and how to speak” (John 12:49). Additionally, He noted, “I judge only as I hear” (John 5:30).

They wished to nail Him to the Cross and suspend Him between two criminals; He did not resist, and they nailed Him and hung Him there. They contemplated inflicting further evils upon Him; He did not resist, and they carried out their intentions. As the prophet declares, “I did not resist; I did not turn back. I gave My back to those who struck Me, and My cheeks to those who pulled out the beard; I did not hide My face from insult and spitting” (Isaiah 50:5-6). In the Gospel, He states: “Because the Father loves Me, I lay down My life that I may take it up again. No one takes it from Me, but I lay it down of My own accord. I have authority to lay it down, and I have authority to take it up again. This charge I have received from My Father” (John 10:17-18). Who could have harmed Him if He had not permitted it? If He is indeed the true God, how could anyone torment Him who holds in His hands the power of life and death for all? Indeed, in a moment and in the blink of an eye, He could have struck down all His foes if He desired. But He allowed it to unfold in this manner so that He might see us redeemed.

God the Father has not merely directed me to educate humanity but has also disclosed to me the trials, the scorn, and the afflictions that I will endure from those I am called to enlighten with the truth, revealing that my teachings would fortify them against me. Yet, I do not shy away from the cup that awaits me from my adversaries. I am fully prepared to embrace what is ordained for me by the will of my Father, accepting it with submission—I do not resist, nor do I oppose it.