What Isaiah 53, Psalm 22, Daniel 9, Zechariah 12, Exodus 12 Really Say?
To support the idea that the death of Jesus was an atoning sacrifice required by God, many have appealed to various Old Testament texts. However, a careful analysis of these texts shows that they do not speak about a ritual blood sacrifice imposed or required for the forgiveness of sins, but about the suffering of a Righteous One, unjustly treated and rejected by people.
We will examine the most important texts that are usually invoked and see what they actually say.
1. Isaiah 53 – The Suffering Servant
Isaiah 53 is often cited as proof that the death of Jesus was a sacrifice. The text indeed speaks about a servant of the Lord who suffers for others. But the meaning has to be understood correctly.
Isaiah 53:4 says:
“Surely He has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows.”
And in Isaiah 53:12:
“He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Here, “to bear sins” does not mean “to pay for them ritually,” but to bear their consequences: rejection, suffering, and death brought about by the evil of others.
Isaiah does not say that God demanded the Servant’s blood as payment for sins. On the contrary, the chapter presents the image of a Righteous One who suffers in solidarity with people and who, through this suffering, brings light and change.
This suffering is the result of human wickedness, not of a divine ritual of sacrifice.
2. Psalm 22 – A Cry of Despair and Deliverance
Psalm 22 begins with the famous cry:
“My God, my God, why have You forsaken me?” (Psalm 22:1)
This psalm is often used to connect the suffering of Jesus on the cross with prophecy. Indeed, details such as “They pierced my hands and my feet” (Psalm 22:16) resemble the description of crucifixion.
But the context of the whole psalm shows something else: after the cry of despair, the psalmist moves into trust and praise. In the end he says:
“You have answered me!” (Psalm 22:21)
and
“I will declare Your name to my brethren.” (Psalm 22:22)
The psalm is not about a ritual sacrifice, but about suffering followed by rescue and testimony.
It is the drama of a Righteous One who, although he suffers terribly, is delivered by God and then brings praise because of this.
3. Daniel 9:26 – The Anointed One Will Be Cut Off
Daniel 9:26 says:
“After the sixty-two weeks, the Anointed One shall be cut off and shall have nothing.”
The text speaks about the death of an anointed one (a messiah), but it does not say that this death is a ritual sacrifice.
The term “cut off” means eliminated, killed, removed, without the text implying any idea of a sacrifice required by God.
It is simply a prophecy about the unjust killing of a chosen person.
4. Zechariah 12:10 – They Shall Look on the One They Have Pierced
Zechariah 12:10 states:
“They will look on Me whom they have pierced.”
This prophecy describes the moment when the people will repent as they look upon the one whom they rejected and pierced.
It does not speak about sacrifice, nor about atonement through his blood, but about regret and turning back to God as a result of recognizing the crime committed.
The piercing is a crime, not a liturgical act.
5. Exodus 12 – The Passover Lamb
In Exodus 12, God commands the Israelites to sacrifice a lamb without blemish and to put its blood on the doorposts of their houses. This was the Passover (Pesach), the marking of the families who were to be protected on the night of judgment over Egypt.
Exodus 12:13 explains:
“The blood shall be a sign for you on the houses where you are.”
The Passover lamb was not a sacrifice for sins.
It was a sign of protection, a measure of physical deliverance on that night, not a moral atonement.
Therefore, the direct association of Jesus’ death with the Passover lamb must be handled carefully: the Passover lamb protected, it did not pay for sins.
6. Leviticus 16 – The Day of Atonement
Although the Day of Atonement involved sacrifices for sins, it must be emphasized that:
- The sacrifice was annual and repeated,
- Animals were brought, not human beings,
- It was an act of ritual purification for the camp, not a total penal substitution of one person.
Thus, Leviticus 16 also does not provide a basis for the idea that a man – namely Jesus – had to be sacrificed in the sense of the Jewish ritual of atonement.
Conclusion
The Old Testament texts, carefully examined, do not support the idea that God demands the blood of a righteous man for the forgiveness of other people’s sins.
They describe:
- The suffering of a Righteous One, rejected and persecuted by people,
- The deliverance granted by God,
- The call to repentance and sincere turning back,
- The protection and salvation offered through faith and relationship, not through a blood ritual.
This correct reading of Scripture confirms that the death of Jesus must be understood as a confrontation with evil and as the supreme proof of love and truth, not as a bloody ritual imposed by God.