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A Man of Sorrows

Seven centuries before Calvary, Isaiah described a Servant nobody expected, who would carry our griefs and heal us by His wounds

  • 📖 Adult Sunday School
  • Week 41
  • 📅 Sunday, October 11, 2026
💡 The big idea

Isaiah 53 testifies that Jesus Christ was despised, wounded and silent for us, carrying not only our sins but our griefs and sorrows; because He was bruised we can be healed, and because He knows sorrow from the inside, He knows how to help us.

I can bring both my sins and my sorrows to Jesus Christ, trust that He understands them, and let Him heal me.

Study it yourself firstRead Isaiah 50–57 in Gospel LibraryCome, Follow Me manualOpen this week (Isaiah 50–57)
Know the chapters

Isaiah 50–57 moves from promises of rescue to a portrait of the Rescuer. In 50:6–7, a Servant gives His back to the smiters and sets His face “like a flint.” In 52:1–2 and 7, Zion is told to “awake” and “shake thyself from the dust.” The feet of those who bring good tidings are “beautiful.” Then comes Isaiah 52:13–53:12, often called the Suffering Servant. After that, the tone brightens. In 54:10 the Lord promises that “my kindness shall not depart from thee.” In 55:1 He calls out to everyone who thirsts. The temple is a house of prayer “for all people” in 56:7. And in 57:15, God dwells with the contrite.

Who is the Servant? Someone asks that exact question in Acts 8:34. Many Jewish readers see the Servant as the people of Israel. The New Testament, the Book of Mormon and latter-day prophets testify that Isaiah was describing Jesus Christ. Abinadi quoted the whole chapter to King Noah’s priests and explained it in Mosiah 14 and 15. The details fit closely. Jesus stood silent before His accusers in Mark 15:3–5. He was crucified between two thieves in Mark 15:27–28. He was buried in a rich man’s new tomb in Matthew 27:57–60. The night before He died, Jesus quoted Isaiah 53:12. He said it “must yet be accomplished in me.” That’s Luke 22:37.

Here’s a word note that helps adults. The Hebrew words behind “griefs” and “sorrows” in 53:4 are elsewhere translated sicknesses and pains. In Matthew 8:16–17, Matthew quotes this verse after a day of healing the sick: “Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” Alma teaches the same thing in Alma 7:11–12. The Savior took on our pains, afflictions, sicknesses and infirmities “that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people.” His Atonement answers our sins and our sorrows too.

Twenty-five minutes is enough for one chapter read well. Stay in Isaiah 53. Take it in four short stops of three verses, with one question after each. Let the class notice the pronouns, and give people room to be tender. Isaiah 55:1–3 is a short bonus if there’s time. The Acts 8 story is in the extras.

Only have 5 minutes?

Read Isaiah 53 in four short stops: verses 1–3, 4–6, 7–9 and 10–12. Open with the job-description question. Ask one question after each stop. Spend the most time on Acquainted with Grief. Close with 53:5, and invite everyone to bring one sin or sorrow to the Savior this week.

What to bring2 items

Tick what you have. Forgot something? Every step that needs a supply has a no-supplies version in the plan below.

Before class

  1. Read Isaiah 52:13–53:12 out loud once. Then read Alma 7:11–12 and Mosiah 15:10–11 so you can explain each in a sentence.
  2. Think of your honest answer to “When did the Savior carry a sorrow of yours, not only a sin?” If the room is quiet, you’ll go first.

Discussion tips

  • Quiet class? Isaiah 53 is tender, and silence may mean people are feeling, not bored. Wait a little longer than feels comfortable, then share your own answer first.
  • One question catches fire? Stay with it. A great discussion doesn’t cover every question. Let the rest go.
  • One voice filling every pause? Thank them warmly, then say, “Let’s hear from someone who hasn’t had a chance yet.”
  • Someone may be carrying a heavy grief. It might be a death, a diagnosis, abuse they didn’t choose, or a struggling child. Make it clear the Savior carried sorrows, not only sins. No one should hear that their pain is their fault.
  • Someone asks who the Servant is? Welcome it. Say that readers have understood the passage in different ways. Then look at how closely it fits the Savior’s life. End at Luke 22:37, where He applies it to Himself.
  • Visitors or new members? Explain in one sentence that Latter-day Saints read Isaiah 53 as a prophecy of Jesus Christ. Never ask anyone to read aloud without checking first.

The 25-minute plan25 min + bonus

Bonus steps are for when you have extra time. Each “On the screen” line is what the class sees on a shared screen in Teach Mode in the Gospel Sparks app; on paper, read it aloud or write it on the board.

1. Hook

Hiring a Rescuer

3 min

Surfaces our assumptions about what a savior should look like, so Isaiah 53 can overturn them.

  1. SAY“Imagine you’re writing a job description for the Messiah. He’s the rescuer of the whole world. What goes at the top?”
  2. Take three or four answers without comment.
  3. Read Isaiah 53:2: “he hath no form nor comeliness… there is no beauty that we should desire him.”
  4. SAY“Isaiah described a Savior almost nobody would have picked. Today let’s find out why He came that way.”

On the screen: 📝 If you were choosing a rescuer for the whole world, what would you look for?

2. Story

Isaiah 53 in Four Short Stops

9 min

Walks through Isaiah 53 three verses at a time, from misunderstanding to realization to victory, with one question at each stop.

  1. SAY“We’ll walk through Isaiah 53 in four short readings. Listen as if you’d never heard it before.”
  2. Show one scene at a time. You or a volunteer reads each passage. You read the last one, where the Lord speaks.
  3. Before each reading, give the one-line setup on the screen. Afterward, ask the scene’s question and take two or three answers.
  4. Keep each stop to about two minutes. After the last reading, let the quiet sit for a few seconds.

On the screen: 🌱 Isaiah 53: the Servant who was despised, wounded and silent for us · Four short readings: 53:1–3 · 4–6 · 7–9 · 10–12

No supplies? Do this instead

Instead of: The shared screen (TV or device) with Teach Mode open

  1. SAY“We’ll walk through Isaiah 53 in four short readings. Verses 1 to 3, 4 to 6, 7 to 9, and 10 to 12. Listen as if you’d never heard it before.”
  2. Before each reading, give the scene’s setup in your own words. You or a volunteer reads. You read verses 10–12.
  3. After each reading, ask the scene’s question aloud and take two or three answers. Keep each stop about two minutes.
3. Scripture

Our Griefs, Our Sorrows

4 min

Studies Isaiah 53:4–5 closely so class members see how personal the Savior’s suffering was.

  1. SAY“Let’s slow down on two verses.”
  2. Read Isaiah 53:4–5 while the class follows on the screen.
  3. Ask: “Count every ‘we,’ ‘our’ and ‘us’ in verses 4 to 6. Now count ‘he’ and ‘him.’ What do you notice?”
  4. Point out that “griefs” and “sorrows” can also mean sicknesses and pains, as Matthew 8:17 shows. Then read Alma 7:11–12.
  5. Ask: “Why does it matter to you that He carried our sorrows, and not only our sins?” Then share Elder Holland’s words below.

On the screen: 🩹 Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows… with his stripes we are healed. · Isaiah 53:4–5 · Count: our, we, us. Then he, him.

4. Talk it over

Acquainted with Grief

6 min

Helps adults connect the Savior’s suffering to their own sins and sorrows, and to how they treat others who suffer.

  1. SAY“Isaiah calls Him ‘a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief.’ Let’s talk about what that means.”
  2. Pick two or three questions. Ask one, wait, then ask its follow-up before you move on.
  3. Let silence work. Count to seven before you rescue a question. If needed, share your own experience first.
💬 Ask the class
  • Verse 3 says “we hid as it were our faces from him.” When have you looked away from someone who was hurting, maybe without meaning to? Follow-up: What helped you turn back toward them?
  • Verse 4 says people thought He was “smitten of God.” Why do we sometimes see suffering as a sign that God is displeased? Follow-up: How does Isaiah 53 answer that?
  • The Savior knows sorrow from the inside. When has that changed how you prayed, grieved or waited? Follow-up: What would you say to someone in that place right now?
  • Verse 6 says we have turned “every one to his own way.” What does going astray look like for good, busy people? Follow-up: What has helped you notice it and come back?

On the screen: 🕯️ A man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. · Isaiah 53:3

5. Testimony

With His Stripes We Are Healed

3 min

Ends with testimony of Jesus Christ as the One who carried our sins and sorrows, and one private, specific invitation.

  1. SAY“Verse 5 ends with a promise: ‘with his stripes we are healed.’”
  2. SAY“Would one or two of you share how He’s carried something for you?”
  3. Bear a short testimony. Jesus Christ is the Servant of Isaiah 53. He knows our sorrows from the inside, and He heals.
  4. Invite: “Pick one specific sin or sorrow. This week, pray about it by name, and let Him carry it.”

On the screen: 🐑 He was wounded for our transgressions… and with his stripes we are healed. · Isaiah 53:5 · This week: bring Him one specific sin or sorrow.

6. Talk it over

Without Money and Without Price

4 minBONUS

Turns from what the Savior did to His open invitation to come and receive it.

  1. SAY“Right after Isaiah 53 comes an invitation.”
  2. Read Isaiah 55:1–3 yourself. Here the Lord is speaking.
  3. Ask one or two questions and their follow-ups, then close on time.
💬 Ask the class
  • Verse 2 asks why we “spend money for that which is not bread.” What do people chase that never quite satisfies? Follow-up: What has actually filled you?
  • Why is it sometimes harder to accept a free gift than to earn something? Follow-up: How does that show up in the way we come to the Savior?
  • Verse 3 says, “hear, and your soul shall live.” What helps you actually hear Him in a noisy week? Follow-up: When did you last feel that?

On the screen: 💧 Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters. · Isaiah 55:1–3

Read it together

The Servant Nobody Expected

Isaiah 53:1–3; Isaiah 53:4–6; Isaiah 53:7–9; Isaiah 53:10–12 ↗

Scenes

  1. 🌱 A root out of a dry ground

    At the end of chapter 52, the Lord promises His Servant will be lifted up. Yet “his visage was so marred more than any man.” Now let’s read Isaiah 53, verses 1 to 3. Listen for the confession: “we esteemed him not.”

    💬 Ask: Why do you think people looked right past Him? Follow-up: Where might we still miss Him today?

  2. 💔 “Surely he hath borne our griefs”

    Now verses 4 to 6. They thought God was punishing Him. Then it dawns on them. Listen for the small words. Our griefs. Our sorrows. Our transgressions. Us all.

    💬 Ask: Read verse 5 again. This time, say “my” instead of “our.” What changes for you?

  3. 🐑 As a lamb to the slaughter

    Now verses 7 to 9. He doesn’t argue. He doesn’t defend Himself. Seven hundred years later, Jesus stood silent before Pilate. He died between two thieves. And He was laid in a rich man’s tomb.

    💬 Ask: What strength do you see in His silence? Follow-up: When has holding your peace taken more courage than speaking?

  4. 🌅 “He shall see his seed”

    I’ll read the last part, verses 10 to 12. Here the Lord Himself speaks of “my righteous servant.” The suffering isn’t the end. He shall see His seed. And He “shall be satisfied.”

    💬 Ask: Abinadi says His seed are all who look to Him for redemption. That’s Mosiah 15:10–11. What does it mean to you to be His?

Key verse

Isaiah 53:4–5 ↗
“Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.”
In plain words: The Savior carried our pains and sorrows as well as our sins. People thought God was punishing Him, but He was suffering for us, and His wounds are how we are healed.

More verses

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.”
In plain words: Every one of us has wandered in our own way, and the Lord placed all of it on His Son.
Isaiah 50:7 ↗
“For the Lord GOD will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.”
In plain words: The Servant faced suffering with complete determination, trusting that God would help Him. Luke says Jesus “stedfastly set his face” toward Jerusalem.
Isaiah 54:7–8 ↗
“For a small moment have I forsaken thee; but with great mercies will I gather thee. In a little wrath I hid my face from thee for a moment; but with everlasting kindness will I have mercy on thee, saith the Lord thy Redeemer.”
In plain words: Hard seasons can feel as if God has turned away, but those moments are small next to His everlasting kindness.
Isaiah 55:1 ↗
“Ho, every one that thirsteth, come ye to the waters, and he that hath no money; come ye, buy, and eat; yea, come, buy wine and milk without money and without price.”
In plain words: The Lord’s invitation is open to everyone who is thirsty, and what He offers can’t be bought. It is a gift.

From general conference

“We are to remember in as personal a way as possible that Christ died from a heart broken by shouldering entirely alone the sins and sorrows of the whole human family.”

— Elder Jeffrey R. Holland, “Behold the Lamb of God,” April 2019

Share in Our Griefs, Our Sorrows, after the class counts the pronouns in Isaiah 53:4–6.

Read the talk ↗

Songs

  • I Know That My Redeemer Lives Hymns, no. 136

    A joyful witness of the risen Redeemer: the Servant of Isaiah 53 who was wounded and now lives. Find it ↗

  • The Lord Is My Shepherd Hymns, no. 108

    Pairs with Isaiah 53:6: we are the sheep who went astray, and He is the Shepherd who brings us back. Find it ↗

This week’s invitation

Let Him Carry It

This week, pray about one sin or sorrow by name. Ask the Savior to carry it with you. Then read Isaiah 53 once more, slowly. Each time you see “our” or “we,” read it as “my” and “I.”

Take it home

In Sunday School we read Isaiah 53. Isaiah wrote it seven hundred years before Jesus was born: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows… and with his stripes we are healed.” That’s Isaiah 53:4–5. At home, read Acts 8:30–31 and 34–35 together. An Ethiopian traveler reads this chapter and learns it’s about Jesus.

📝 After class

What worked? Who needs a check-in this week? Jot it here on a printed copy, or in the app’s private class notes.

Got extra time?

⛰️ Beautiful upon the Mountains · 4 min

  1. Read Isaiah 52:7, then Mosiah 15:14–18, where Abinadi explains whose feet are beautiful.
  2. Point out Mosiah 15:18. Abinadi says the Lord Himself is the one who publishes peace most beautifully.
  3. Ask: “When have someone’s ‘feet’ brought you good tidings?”

⛺ Enlarge the Place of Thy Tent · 4 min

  1. Read Isaiah 54:2: lengthen the cords and strengthen the stakes.
  2. Read Doctrine and Covenants 82:14. Zion’s borders must be enlarged and her stakes strengthened. That’s where our word “stake” comes from.
  3. Ask: “What would it look like to enlarge the tent in our own ward this year?”

🪨 A Face like a Flint · 4 min

  1. Read Isaiah 50:5–7. The Servant gives His back to the smiters and sets His face like a flint.
  2. Read Luke 9:51, where Jesus “stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem.”
  3. Ask: “Look at Isaiah 50:7. Where did His resolve come from?” Follow-up: “Where do we need that kind of resolve?”

📜 Understandest Thou? · 5 min

  1. Read Acts 8:27–31. An Ethiopian official is reading Isaiah in his chariot. Philip asks, “Understandest thou what thou readest?”
  2. Read Acts 8:32–35. He’s reading Isaiah 53:7–8, and Philip “preached unto him Jesus.”
  3. Ask: “Who helped you understand the scriptures?” Follow-up: “How can we start, like Philip, where people already are?”

Sources

Scripture quotations are from the King James Version, the Bible used by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. Tap or click a reference to open it in Gospel Library. Start with the official Come, Follow Me manual; these ideas are here to help it come alive.

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