Posted on 04/12/2017 11:36:41 AM PDT by pastorbillrandles
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. He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 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 bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.(Isaiah 53:10-12)
It was the LORD himself who crushed the Servant, it pleased Him to do so. The plight of sinful man required this self offering as a substitution, for a righteous God can only receive sinners on righteous terms. Sin must be paid for, Holiness must be satisfied, the punishment must be carried out.
The LORD appointed the Servant, that He might take our place in the judgment of our sin. All of the humiliation, pain, perplexity and estrangement that He experienced, is summed up in this terse, “He(the LORD) hath put him (the Servant) to grief“. It can also read, “He hath made him sick”.
The death of the Servant was an offering of propitiation for our sins, that is a satisfaction offering. All of the demands of the broken law of God, and the offended holiness of God against sinners, have been satisfied by the offering of the Servant.
…when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin…This is addressed to the reader or hearer of this prophecy, “… When You make His life your sin offering…”. We are to approach God solely by the offering of this life, for this is the only sacrifice acceptable to God.
…he shall see his seed… Death will not be the last word for the Servant, for the Servant will see the outcome of his agony, a believing seed will arise out of his work. He will be the source of a congregation , redeemed by His blood. They will be faithful and true believers in Him, and in the God whom He came to reveal.
…he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand… The Servant will live forever. This refers to the promise given in Psalms to David’s seed,
He asked life of thee, and thou gavest it him, even length of days for ever and ever. His glory is great in thy salvation: honour and majesty hast thou laid upon him. For thou hast made him most blessed for ever: thou hast made him exceeding glad with thy countenance.(Psalm 21:4-6)
God’s pleasure, (to redeem sinful men unto Himself), will succeed by the hand of the willing Servant. There will be many of every tribe and tongue who shall come to know the “only true God” through the work of the servant. The good purposes of the Lord shall flourish by the suffering of this one.
…He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied… This too is a reference to the resurrection of the Servant, and the satisfactory outcome of his work. He will see the result of what he suffered for, and will be satisfied. It will have been worth pouring out his very soul to death, when He sees the redeemed company, knowing and loving God.
…by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities… Accepting in humble faith, the report of what the Servant has done for us; with all of it’s implications as to our persons, (that we are sinners in need of redemption, utterly separated from God by our sins), amounts to saving faith.
Knowing and receiving the risen Servant of the LORD, and his work of sin bearing, taking upon himself the guilt for our sins, is the only way sinful man can be justified before a holy God. It is the God appointed way to be saved.
As “Abraham believed God and it was accounted to him for righteousness“, even so the many, who simply believe the report of the Servant, shall receive as a free gift right standing with God. This is only possible because the offering of the Servant has satisfied the claims against us, and given the LORD a Righteous way to justify us.
Too wonderful for words!
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