How (and why) did the resurrection of Jesus become the focal point of the early church? The answer seems obvious—it was a miracle—but it’s actually not that simple.

There were other accounts of resurrection. Check out 2 Kings 4 and John 11. So if other people had been raised from the dead, why was Jesus’ resurrection the center of what they believed?

What if Isaiah 53 is the reason that Jesus’ resurrection was such a big deal to the early church? What if their entire framework wasn’t just centered around the life and teachings of Jesus, but about what He fulfilled?

And maybe resurrection was an even bigger deal than we realize. Just run a search for it on Biblia.com and you will see what I mean. Resurrection had to do both with what happened, what was happening, and what would happen. It was the power of God on earth. It was the power of God overturning everything. And when I say everything, I mean everything. (I’ll unpack this more in a later post.)

It’s time to begin a new journey with the resurrected servant. Let’s discuss how a belief in the resurrected servant in Isaiah affected the early church, and still affects us today.

For starters, check out:

- Mark 12

- Romans 6

- 1 Corinthians 15

After you’ve read these passage, let me know what you think.

Get it here.

The Resurrected Servant on Logos.com

Or here.

(Since I’m the author of this book, I will receive a small royalty if you purchase it.)

Is the servant resurrected in the Dead Sea Scrolls’ version of Isaiah 53? You be the judge.

This is the translation included in my forthcoming book with Paternoster Press and Logos Bible Software. Variants between the Dead Sea Scrolls and the traditional Hebrew Text, the Masoretic Text, are in bold.

10 Yet Yahweh was pleased to crush him and1 he made [him] sick. If she/you2 places his life a guilt offering,3 he will see his offspring and4 he will prolong days and the will of Yahweh [is] in his hand, [it] will succeed.

11 From [the] trouble5 of his life he will see light6 and7 he will be satisfied.8 And9 in his knowledge, his10 righteous servant11 shall make the many righteous and he will bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore I will divide to him [a portion] among the many, and with [the] strong ones he shall divide bounty, because he exposed his life to death and was counted with transgressors, and he carried [the] sins12 of many and will intercede for their transgressions.13

What say you? Is the servant resurrected?

1 This variant is supported by 1QIsaa
2 This could be translated as a second, masculine singular or a third, feminine, singular.
3 The variants in this line are discussed in chapter three. These variants are translated in the following tables.
4 This variant is supported by 1QIsaa.
5 May be translated as “suffering.”
6 This variant is supported by 1QIsaa, 1QIsab and 4QIsad (Questionable).
7 This variant is supported by 1QIsaa and 4QIsad (Questionable).
8 May be translated as “find satisfaction.”
9 This variant is supported by 1QIsaa.
10 This variant is supported by 1QIsaa. 4QIsad reads “my servant.”
11 May also be translated as “the righteous one, my servant.”
12 This variant is supported by 1QIsab and 4QIsad.
13 This variant is supported by 1QIsaa, 1QIsab and 4QIsad.