Isaiah — Chapter 50
Synopsis Capitis
Synopsis: The third Servant Song (v.4-9) — the Servant's obedient suffering. 'The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary' (v.4). The Servant does not rebel but gives his back to those who strike, his cheeks to those who pull out the beard, his face not hiding from disgrace and spitting (v.6). Lapide reads this as the most detailed pre-Passion portrait of Christ's voluntary suffering in all the Old Testament.
Verse 6
Corpus meum dedi percutientibus, et genas meas vellentibus
I gave my back to those who strike and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. A precise prophecy of Christ's Passion: (1) 'back to those who strike' = the scourging at the pillar; (2) 'cheeks to those who pull out the beard' = the buffeting and mocking in the high priest's court; (3) 'did not hide my face from disgrace and spitting' = the spitting, mocking, and crowning with thorns. Lapide: every detail was literally fulfilled (Mt 26:67, 27:26, 30). The voluntary character is crucial — Christ 'gave' (dedi), He did not merely submit; His suffering was an act of supreme charity and obedience, not a defeat. 'The Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced' (v.7) = Christ's confidence in the resurrection.