Why does Isaiah 53:3 refer to the Messiah as a man of sorrows?

from the old testament

• Depending on the Bible translation, Isaiah 53:3 says that the Messiah would be a man of “sorrows,” “suffering,” or “pain.” The reason the Messiah was referred to as “a man of sorrows” was because of all the painful sorrows and suffering that awaited Him when He came.
• The verse about the Messiah being a man of sorrows is found in the middle on a larger passage known as the fourth Servant Song (Isaiah 52:13—53:12).
• The Servant Song repeatedly mentions the many sufferings the Messiah would endure. For example, it says, “his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance” (Isaiah 52:14), “He was despised and rejected by men” (Isaiah 53:3), “acquainted with grief” (Isaiah 53:3), “despised” (Isaiah 53:3), “he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows” (Isaiah 53:4), “stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted” (Isaiah 53:4), “pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities” (Isaiah 53:5), chastened and wounded (Isaiah 53:5), “oppressed” and “afflicted” (Isaiah 53:7), judged (Isaiah 53:8), “cut off” (killed, 53:8), and crushed by God (Isaiah 53:10).

from the new testament

• The Isaiah 53 passage is quoted and echoed throughout the New Testament. Its authors understood that the Suffering Servant was Jesus (Matthew 8:17; Luke 22:37; Acts 8:32–35).
• As the “Man of Sorrows,” Jesus was despised (Mark 9:12), hated (John 15:18), mocked (Matthew 27:29–31), derided (Luke 23:35), beaten (John 19:1), abandoned (Matthew 26:56), and killed (Mark 15:37–39).
• Peter wrote a letter about how to suffer well. His “showpiece” was Jesus, the example of one who suffered perfectly. Borrowing language from Isaiah 53, he said that Jesus “He committed no sin, neither was deceit found in his mouth. When he was reviled, he did not revile in return; when he suffered, he did not threaten, but continued entrusting himself to him who judges justly. He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree, that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed” (1 Peter 2:22–24).
• Jesus, by His suffering, lived just like Isaiah 53 said He would.

implications for today

Jesus, the Messiah, came to suffer and die. As perfectly righteous, He entered into a sinful world that hates righteousness. Though He was God, He added on humanity, submitting Himself to sinful mankind to please His Father who had sent Him (John 3:16–18) for this purpose (Isaiah 53:10). The Father crushed Him so that He could place “the iniquity of us all” on Him (Isaiah 53:6; 1 John 4:10). Despite being led to His slaughter, the Lamb of God never defended Himself (Isaiah 53:7; Matthew 26:33), entrusting Himself to the Father’s will (1 Peter 2:23).

There are two responses to this. For unbelievers, the response must be repentance. Everyone is sinful (Romans 3:9–18) and deserves to die eternally for their sin (Romans 6:23). However, because Jesus never sinned, He did not deserve death. When He suffered and died it was to die as a substitute for sinful mankind. However, if you do not repent now, remember that Jesus came once, and only once, as the suffering Messiah. He is coming again as King of Kings (Revelation 19:11–21), bringing His fierce, eternal judgement against all unbelievers.

The other response is for believers. Remember that your salvation was not cheap. In order to live perfectly, Jesus had to experience all that we experienced, yet without sin (Hebrews 4:15). Therefore, as those washed in His blood, He is the perfect example of how we are supposed to live. This world will hate us, just like they hated Him (John 15:18–19). That means that we will suffer (John 16:33). However, we can look at how Jesus did it and, with His help, bear up against the suffering that God brings our way. When we do, we show the world just how great Jesus is!