Who is the “Man of Sorrows?”

Would you believe it if I told it?
How this story took root
The ones that He saved didn’t know Him
The same ones He rescued

What’s another way I could explain it?
Was like out of the thorns in the ground
A flower sprung out of containment

Nothing could hold Him down

Man of sorrows
He bore our grief
And went to the gallows
To purchase our release

And have you ever wanted to hit back
After someone hits you first?
A typical system is set up like that
But with Him it reversed

Cuz every wrong we could ever commit
Came crushing down on His head
The sentence was served by the innocent
The guilty went free instead

Man of sorrows
He bore our grief
And went to the gallows
To purchase our release

He gave His life
That we would live

Was chained for our freedom
And finish it, He did

And if you were looking for celebrities
Or for the beautiful few
You would have missed Him entirely
shrugged Him off, it’s the truth

So listen in and hear what God has done
The arm of the Lord is revealed
Through Him the many are righteous ones
By His wounds we are healed.

Man of Sorrows: Isaiah 53

Excerpted lyrics from “Man of Sorrows” by Melanie Penn and Ben Shive, from the album The Rising, used with permission. © 2025 Equally Well Music, LLC. All rights reserved.

For deeper reflection, listen to Isaiah 53 today!

  1. Isaiah 53

Embed

Copy and paste this code to your site to embed.

Be Inspired with our interview with Broadway musical songwriter, Melanie Penn!