The skeptic's question
“Didn't Christians just write that in later?”
In 1947, shepherds near the Dead Sea found clay jars in a cave, stuffed with ancient scrolls. One of them is a complete copy of Isaiah, chapter 53 included, dated to around 125 BC. That's more than a century before Jesus was born.
Tap the glowing jar to open it.
It proves the words came first. Whoever you think the servant is, nobody can say this passage was written after Jesus to fit his story.
One more thing: in this scroll, Isaiah 53:11 says that after he suffers, “he will see the light of life.” Later Hebrew copies leave out “light,” so the NIV follows the scroll. The servant dies, and then he lives.
The Great Isaiah Scroll (Israel Museum)More real photo · tap to enlarge