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1 Clement

First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians

About this book

Christ’s Example of Humility

Chapter 16

1 For Christ is with those who are humble, not with those who exalt themselves over the flock. 2 The scepter of the majesty of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, did not come in the pomp of arrogance or of pride, though He could have done so, but in humility, just as the Holy Spirit spoke concerning Him. 3 For He says, “Lord, who believed our report? and to whom was the arm of the Lord revealed?⁠ We announced Him in His presence. He was like a child, like a root in thirsty ground. There is no form in Him, nor glory. And we saw Him, and He had no form or beauty, but His form was lowly, lacking more than the form of men. He was a man of wounds and of toil, and knowing how to bear weakness: for His face is turned away. He was dishonored and counted as nothing.” 4 “He bears our sins and suffers pain for our sakes: and we considered Him to be in toil and in wounds and in affliction.” 5 “And He was wounded for our sins and has been afflicted for our iniquities. The discipline of our peace is upon Him. With His bruises we were healed.” 6 “We all went astray like sheep, each man went astray in his own path.” 7 “and the Lord delivered Him over for our sins. And He does not open His mouth, because He is afflicted. As a sheep He was led to slaughter; and as a lamb before his shearer is silent, so He does not open His mouth. In His humiliation His judgment was taken away.” 8 “Who shall declare His generation? For His life is taken away from the earth.” 9 “For the iniquities of my people He has come to death.” 10 “And I will give the wicked for His burial, and the rich for His death; for He did no iniquity, nor was deceit found in His mouth. And the Lord desires to cleanse Him from His wounds.” 11 “If you offer for sin, your soul shall see long-lived descendants.” 12 “And the Lord desires to take away from the toil of His soul, to show Him light and to mold Him with understanding, to justify the Just One who is a good servant to many. And He shall bear their sins.” 13 “Therefore He shall inherit many, and shall divide the spoils of the strong; because His soul was delivered to death, and He was counted among the transgressors.” 14 “and He bore the sins of many, and for their sins He was delivered up.” 15 And again He Himself says; “But I am a worm and not a man,⁠ a reproach of men and an outcast of the people.” 16 “All who saw me mocked me; they spoke with their lips, they wagged their heads, saying, ‘He hoped in the Lord; let Him deliver him, or let Him save him, for He desires him.’” 17 You see, dear friends, what the pattern is that has been given to us; for if the Lord was so humble, what should we do, who through Him have been brought under the yoke of His grace?

Texts in conversation

Compare LXX Isaiah 53:1 and Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 16:3

Septuagint · Early Christian

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Summary

In 1 Clement, the author quotes all of Isaiah 53 in the Greek Septuagint translation and takes the suffering servant to be Jesus, but uses the chapter mainly as an example of humility for the Corinthians to copy and less to explain the death of Jesus.

Passages

LXX Isaiah 53:1

Septuagint
1 Lord, who has believed our report? and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? 2 We brought a report as of a child before him; he is as a root in a thirsty land: he has no form nor glory; and we saw him, but he had no form nor beauty. 3 But his form was ignoble, and inferior to that of all men; he was a man in suffering, and acquainted with the bearing of sickness, for his face is turned from us: he was dishonored, and not esteemed. 4 He bears our sins, and is pained for us: yet we accounted him to be in trouble, and in suffering, and in affliction.
100–1 BCE (scholarly estimate) Read in LXX Isaiah

Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 16:3

Early Christian · First Epistle of Clement to the Corinthians
2 The scepter of the majesty of God, our Lord Jesus Christ, did not come in the pomp of arrogance or of pride, though He could have done so, but in humility, just as the Holy Spirit spoke concerning Him. 3 For He says, “Lord, who believed our report? and to whom was the arm of the Lord revealed? We announced Him in His presence. He was like a child, like a root in thirsty ground. There is no form in Him, nor glory. And we saw Him, and He had no form or beauty, but His form was lowly, lacking more than the form of men. He was a man of wounds and of toil, and knowing how to bear weakness: for His face is turned away. He was dishonored and counted as nothing.”
90–100 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Clement of Rome, 1 Clement

References

“... The traditional character of the christology is further demonstrated in the rather formulaic references to Jesus’ salvific death. There are references to Jesus’ blood as “poured out” (1 Clem. 7.4), “given for us” (1 Clem. 21.6; cf. 1 Clem. 49.6), through which redemption has come (1 Clem. 12.7). In 1 Clement 16.3-17 there is an extended appropriation of Isaiah 53:1–12, explicitly taking the suffering servant of the latter passage as Christ suffering for the sins of the redeemed. Characteristic of this author, however, is the emphasis placed on Christ’s sufferings as ethical example for Christian life (1 Clem 16.17). ...”
Ralph P. Martin and Peter H. Davids, eds., Dictionary of the Later New Testament & Its Developments (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 1997), 313.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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LXX Isaiah 53:1 and Clement of Rome, 1 Clement 16:3

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