Mike Winger Critique Episode 12: Does Isaiah 53 Teach PSA?

Isaiah 53 is considered the “chair passage” for the doctrine of penal-substitutionary atonement (PSA). Known as the Suffering Servant Passage or the Fourth Servant Song, Isaiah 53 is the cornerstone of atonement-school theology. Should the atonement school’s interpretation of this passage prove incorrect, the entire system of PSA would crumble.

Mike Winger characterizes his interpretation of Isaiah 53 as "beautiful" and claims it incorporates both the Old and New Testaments. However, Paul Vendredi argues that Winger's view is overconfident and fails to provide a thorough exegesis of the entire passage. Indeed, Winger only covers parts of Isaiah 53 and neglects the other three servant songs altogether. Additionally, Winger does not provide any exegesis for Isaiah 52:13-14 and Isaiah 53:7-9. Paul suggests that Winger's overconfidence hinders his ability to learn and understand the text in a new light.

To Winger's claim of having looked “long and hard” for non-PSA analyses of Isaiah 53, Paul responds that they are readily available, including podcasts that Paul himself recorded in 2013 (see www.paulvendredi.com). Non-PSA analyses can even be found in the recordings of Winger’s fellow Protestants, as shown in a video clip by COGIC bishop, Gilbert E. Patterson. While Winger sees the passage as a depiction of vicarious atonement, Patterson interprets it as a representation of vicarious victory and healing. According to Patterson, the wounds and suffering of Christ are not for his own punishment but for the healing of various physical ailments, such as arthritis, migraines, and stomach problems. Similarly, Eastern Orthodoxy sees sin as a disease, preferring the phrase “remission of sins” over “forgiveness of sins” in their translations of the Divine Liturgy. Paul also points out that Isaiah himself was associated with healing in his prophetic career.

The hosts spotlight a number of other faults in Winger’s analysis. While he understands the word “sprinkle” to refer to the Levitical sacrifices, it is likelier that this refers to Exodus 24, where the Covenant between God and Israel is ratified with the blood of oxen. Paul explains that this event signified an exclusive covenant between God and one nation, the Israelites, making them unable to return to their false gods and the bondage of Egypt. By contrast, the sprinkling in Isaiah 53 refers to Christ’s making a covenant with many nations.

Regarding Winger's understanding of Isaiah 53:4, Paul argues that Winger overlooked the conjunction "yet" in the passage, which changes the meaning from "Clause A equals Clause B" to "Clause A does not equal Clause B." Paul explains that this literary device, called antithetic parallelism, is common in the prophets, Psalms, and Proverbs. Furthermore, John MacArthur (Winger’s elder in the atonement school) agrees with the Eastern Church's interpretation of "griefs" in Isaiah 53:4 as referring to the damaged human condition, which includes sorrow, pain, sickness, infirmity, and calamity.