The second part of Isaiah 52:13 says that Christ as the Servant of Jehovah will be exalted and lifted up and very high. The Bible tells us that Christ has been exalted to the third heavens, to the right hand of God (Phil. 2:9; Heb. 4:14; 7:26; 8:1). Christ was not only exalted but also lifted up. In the history of mankind there has never been one who was as exalted and lifted up as Christ was. The human mind cannot understand the meaning of Christ's being exalted and lifted up, because the "economy" of the human mind is natural. The record in the New Testament is according to the economy of God, which is much higher and much deeper than man's economy.
Isaiah 52:14 says, "Even as many were astonished at Him— / His visage was marred more than that of any man, / And His form more than that of the sons of men." Christ is exalted and lifted up and very high, but when men saw Him, He was different from what they expected Him to be. Hence, many were astonished at Him because His visage was marred, or disfigured, and His form also was marred. In your thought, in your imagination, what kind of Jesus do you have? In Christianity there is a so-called picture of Jesus, portraying Him as a very handsome man. However, we might be astonished to see that instead of being handsome, the Lord was disfigured.
Isaiah 52:15 begins, "So will He surprise many nations; / Kings will shut their mouths because of Him." Just as many great men on this earth were astonished at Jesus (v. 14), so Jesus will also surprise many nations, and kings will shut their mouths because of Him. Jesus will surprise many nations because what He is, is altogether different from what they imagined. Many will be shocked, and the kings will shut their mouths because of Him. These kings told their people how great Christ is. But when Christ comes, He is not as great as they thought. Thus, the kings' mouths will be shut because of Him.
Verse 15 continues, "For what had not been recounted to them [as revealed in the next chapter] they will see." The kings will see something that had never been recounted to them. Quite often, even today, when we go to contact sinners to preach the gospel to them, especially to the learned ones such as the professors and the philosophers, they have their concept about Christ. Their concept is that Christ is a great man, a giant in history. However, they are surprised when we read some of the verses in the New Testament telling them that when Christ was on the earth, He was a small man who lived in the despised region of Galilee, in the despised city of Nazareth, and in a poor home. Upon hearing such a word, the thoughtful people would ask, "Why did such a great person in history live in a small house in a despised city in a despised region? And why was such a great person rejected?" This is difficult for the natural mind to understand.
All the great teachers, such as Confucius and Socrates, spoke great words, but Jesus always tried to speak small words. For instance, in John 4 the Lord Jesus asked an immoral Samaritan woman to give Him some water to drink (v. 7). This does not seem to be fitting in a classical writing such as the Bible. Is this the divine economy, or is this the human economy? Many thoughtful people would reject such a small Jesus. Thus, what the New Testament records is absolutely different from our human thought.
Verse 15 concludes, "And what they had not heard of [as reported in the next chapter] they will contemplate." There are many things concerning Christ that the kings have never heard. For example, the Bible tells us that Christ died, and we died with Him (1 Cor. 15:3; 2 Cor. 5:14; Col. 3:3a). According to human logic, since Christ died for us, it is not necessary for us to die. It is very difficult for the natural human mind to understand such things.