Isaiah 53:9 refers specifically to Jesus’ death and burial, and in particular to His gravesite. This is an incredibly accurate prophecy. Isaiah predicts that Jesus’ grave was supposed to be with the wicked—meaning the two men He was crucified with that day—yet in His death He was with a rich man. This points directly to Joseph of Arimathea.
Matthew 27:57–60 records the fulfilment:
' When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who also was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. Then Pilate ordered it to be given to him. And Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen shroud and laid it in his own new tomb, which he had cut in the rock. And he rolled a great stone to the entrance of the tomb and went away. '
Isaiah therefore predicts with remarkable precision the manner of Jesus’ death and burial. He would normally have been buried with wicked men, but a rich man took His body, provided a tomb carved out of the rock, and rolled a stone in front of the entrance. From that tomb the resurrection took place—an event that is now common knowledge for New Testament believers.
For an Old Testament believer hearing this prophecy, however, it would have been deeply confusing. The statement that He was “with the wicked” would raise questions: Is this an evil man? Is He a good man? Yet the same verse says He was “with the rich in His death.” Trying to understand what the prophet meant by these two contrasting statements would have been very challenging.
It would also have seemed strange that we are looking at a human sacrifice, because in Old Testament times human sacrifice was against the law. Added to this is the idea in verse 10 that “he will see his offspring; he shall prolong his days.” That statement would have been especially puzzling, because Isaiah has just said that He will die, yet now he speaks of Him seeing His offspring and living longer. There would have been a great deal of confusion in reading this passage, especially without the full context of all Scripture to help understand what Isaiah is communicating about the Messiah.