We All Like Sheep Have Gone Astray: What Does Isaiah 53:6 Mean?

Isaiah 53:6, “All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.” (King James Version)

Also see the meaning of Every Tongue Shall Confess

We All Like Sheep Have Gone Astray: Matthew Henry’s Concise Commentary

53:4-9 In these verses is an account of the sufferings of Christ; also of the design of his sufferings. It was for our sins, and in our stead, that our Lord Jesus suffered. We have all sinned, and have come short of the glory of God.

Sinners have their beloved sin, their own evil way, of which they are fond. Our sins deserve all griefs and sorrows, even the most severe. We are saved from the ruin, to which by sin we become liable, by laying our sins on Christ.

This atonement was to be made for our sins. And this is the only way of salvation. Our sins were the thorns in Christ’s head, the nails in his hands and feet, the spear in his side. He was delivered to death for our offences.

By his sufferings he purchased for us the Spirit and grace of God, to mortify our corruptions, which are the distempers of our souls. We may well endure our lighter sufferings, if He has taught us to esteem all things but loss for him, and to love him who has first loved us.

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Isaiah 53:6 | Jamieson-Fausset-Brown Bible Commentary

6. Penitent confession of believers and of Israel in the last days (Zec 12:10).

sheep … astray—(Ps 119:176; 1Pe 2:25). The antithesis is, “In ourselves we were scattered; in Christ we are collected together; by nature we wander, driven headlong to destruction; in Christ we find the way to the gate of life” [Calvin]. True, also, literally of Israel before its coming restoration (Eze 34:5, 6; Zec 10:2, 6; compare with Eze 34:23, 24; Jer 23:4, 5; also Mt 9:36).

laid—”hath made to light on Him” [Lowth]. Rather, “hath made to rush upon Him” [Maurer].

the iniquity—that is, its penalty; or rather, as in 2Co 5:21; He was not merely a sin offering (which would destroy the antithesis to “righteousness”), but “sin for us”; sin itself vicariously; the representative of the aggregate sin of all mankind; not sins in the plural, for the “sin” of the world is one (Ro 5:16, 17); thus we are made not merely righteous, but righteousness, even “the righteousness of God.” The innocent was punished as if guilty, that the guilty might be rewarded as if innocent. This verse could be said of no mere martyr.

Also see the meaning of Commit Your Way to the Lord