Mosiah 14

Chapter Overview

What happens in Mosiah 14

Abinadi quotes Isaiah 53 in its entirety, presenting the prophetic portrait of the Suffering Servant who would bear the griefs and sorrows of all humanity. This chapter is one of the most powerful Messianic prophecies in all of scripture.

Scripture

The Despised and Rejected Servant

Study note

Abinadi begins his quotation of Isaiah with the lament that few would believe the report of the Suffering Servant. The Messiah would grow up without outward beauty or majesty, despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows acquainted with grief. This description stands in stark contrast to the worldly expectations of a triumphant king.

1 Yea, even doth not Isaiah say: Who hath believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?

2 For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground; he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him there is no beauty that we should desire him.

3 He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief; and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not.

He Bore Our Griefs and Carried Our Sorrows

Study note

The heart of the Messianic prophecy declares that the Servant was wounded for our transgressions, bruised for our iniquities, and that with His stripes we are healed. The powerful image of all humanity going astray like sheep and the Lord laying upon Him the iniquity of us all captures the substitutionary nature of Christ's Atonement in some of the most moving language ever written.

4 Surely he has borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows; yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.

5 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.

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 iniquities of us all.

The Silent Lamb and the Unjust Trial

Study note

The Servant is depicted as a lamb led to the slaughter, silent before his shearers, taken from prison and from judgment. Despite His innocence and having done no violence nor spoken deceit, He is cut off from the land of the living. This prophecy would be fulfilled with precise detail in the trial and crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb so he opened not his mouth.

8 He was taken from prison and from judgment; and who shall declare his generation? For he was cut off out of the land of the living; for the transgressions of my people was he stricken.

9 And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no evil, neither was any deceit in his mouth.

The Lord's Purpose Fulfilled Through Suffering

Study note

Isaiah concludes by revealing that it pleased the Lord to bruise the Servant because His soul was made an offering for sin. Through this sacrifice, He would see His seed, prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord would prosper in His hand. The Servant's reward is to divide a portion with the great because He poured out His soul unto death and was numbered with the transgressors.

10 Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him; he hath put him to grief; when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.

11 He shall see the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied; by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

12 Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death; and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bore the sins of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.

Key Themes

Themes in Mosiah 14

The Suffering Servant as a prophecy of Jesus ChristThe vicarious suffering of the Messiah for all humanityThe meekness and submission of ChristVictory through sufferingThe universality of sin and the universality of redemption

Prophetic Connections

How this chapter points to Christ

Mosiah 14:1-12 Isaiah 53:1-12

This entire chapter is a direct quotation of Isaiah 53, the Suffering Servant prophecy, which finds its ultimate fulfillment in the life, trial, crucifixion, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.

Mosiah 14:7 John 1:29

The imagery of the Servant as a lamb led to the slaughter connects to John the Baptist's declaration upon seeing Jesus: 'Behold the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world.'

Mosiah 14:4-5 1 Peter 2:24

Peter directly applies Isaiah 53's language to Christ, declaring that He bore our sins in His own body on the tree, that we, being dead to sins, should live unto righteousness: by whose stripes ye were healed.

Apply This Today

Living Mosiah 14

Isaiah 53, quoted here by Abinadi centuries before Christ's birth, gives us the most intimate portrait of what the Savior would endure for each of us. He was wounded for our transgressions and bruised for our iniquities. This is not abstract theology -- it is deeply personal. With His stripes, we are healed. Meditating on these words should fill us with wonder, gratitude, and a desire to give our whole hearts to the One who gave everything for us.

Go Deeper

Study Mosiah in Covenant Path

Read every chapter with study aids, bookmarks, and daily reading plans — free in the app.

Download for iOS Download for Android