Intertextuality Pair

1 Corinthians 15:3 → Isaiah 53:5-6, 11-12

Echo

Later text

1 Corinthians 15:3BSB

For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures,

Earlier text

Isaiah 53:5-6BSB

But He was pierced for our transgressions, He was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him, and by His stripes we are healed. We all like sheep have gone astray, each one has turned to his own way; and the LORD has laid upon Him the iniquity of us all.
+ 1 more earlier text

Earlier text

Isaiah 53:11-12BSB

After the anguish of His soul, He will see the light of life and be satisfied. By His knowledge My righteous Servant will justify many, and He will bear their iniquities. Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great, and He will divide the spoils with the strong, because He has poured out His life unto death, and He was numbered with the transgressors. Yet He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.
Walk the Square · a single-voice walk of this pair around the Clowney square13:01

Significance

Paul's declaration that "Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures" (kata tas graphas) in 1 Corinthians 15:3 most directly echoes Isaiah 53, the Suffering Servant Song, which provides the primary scriptural warrant for vicarious atonement. The phrase "for our sins" (hyper tōn hamartiōn hēmōn) reflects Isaiah 53:5 ("wounded for our transgressions") and 53:12 ("bore the sin of many"). While Paul does not explicitly cite Isaiah 53, the creedal formula he received and transmitted presupposes it as the chief OT text explaining how the Messiah's death could be "according to the Scriptures." The Servant's suffering is both substitutionary (53:5, "the punishment that brought us peace") and effective (53:11, "by his knowledge he will justify many"). This is the earliest preserved Christian creed (ca. AD 35-40), demonstrating that the Isaiah 53 interpretation of Jesus' death predates Paul's letters and belongs to the foundational apostolic tradition.

Found via
Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
Reference Type
Echo
Connection Method(s)
Promise-Fulfillment — Christ is the Servant Isaiah foresaw, not a type of the person

▸ The Suffering Servant

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