Isaiah 53:3

The English word "despised" carries strong emotional overtones, but its Hebrew source means to be considered worthless and unworthy of attention. The Servant would not be the object of scorn, Isaiah meant, though He was that (Mark 10:33-34; Luke 18:31-33), as much as He would be hastily dismissed. One writer believed the primary meaning is that the Servant would provoke abhorrence.

"No person in the history of the Jews has provoked such deep-seated abhorrence as He who came only to bless them, and who even on the cross prayed, ’Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do.’ . . . And all through the centuries no name has provoked such intense abhorrence among the Jews as the name of Jesus." [Note: Baron, p. 74.]

People would reject Him because they would not see Him as having any significance for them (Isaiah 6:10; John 1:10-11; John 12:37-41). They would not give Him a second look.

"The chief men of His nation who towered above the multitude, the great men of this world, withdrew their hands from Him, drew back from Him: He had none of the men of any distinction at His side." [Note: Delitzsch, 2:314.]

People would also avoid the Servant because He would appear to them as one who had His own problems. Since He knew pain and grief, others would conclude that He was not in a position to help them. He would appear to them as a loser, and who goes to a loser for help or looks to one for leadership? This description does not mean that the Servant would always be sickly and morose (cf. Isaiah 1:5-6). It means that the way He presented Himself would not lead people to look to Him for strength.

"When all that the human eye saw and the human mind apprehended was added up the result was zero." [Note: Motyer, p. 429.]

"Thus the revelation of the arm of the Lord that will deliver the Lord’s people is met with shock, astonishment, distaste, dismissal, and avoidance. Such a one as this can hardly be the one who can set us free from that most pervasive of all human bondages: sin, and all its consequences. To a world blinded by selfishness and power, he does not even merit a second thought." [Note: Oswalt, The Book . . . 40-66, p. 384.]

People typically disregard those who suffer as they serve the Lord, as they continue to despise and reject the Servant.