Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities. - Isaiah 53:10-11, ESV
He Shall See and Be Satisfied
I have a very tricky question for you: What does a dead man see? Here's another: How long does a dead man live?
Why am I asking such bizarre and obvious questions? A dead men doesn't see anything, and he obviously doesn't live at all. He's dead. I'm bringing up these questions because so many people read Isaiah 53 and miss the resurrection.
If you've read Isaiah 53, you're probably familiar with the theme of the suffering servant. We explored that theme yesterday. Yet we must notice that the righteous servant doesn't just suffer in Isaiah 53. He dies. How else can we interpret "they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death"? By the end of verse 9, the servant of God is dead and buried.
Strangely enough, this servant dies as a sinner, a condemned wicked man who is nonetheless buried with a rich man, or perhaps in a rich man's tomb. The level of specific detail regarding the death and burial of Christ is astounding, as it is in Psalm 22. Yet somehow people read these very specific words and miss the resurrection in verses 10-12.
After the righteous servant is dead and buried, it is said of him that "he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days" and "he shall see and be satisfied." Clearly the dead man is alive again, alive and rejoicing to see "the will of the Lord . . . prosper in his hands." Not only is this a clear prophesy of the resurrection, but it is also very encouraging.
Jesus sees our salvation. He sees it and rejoices in it, finding satisfaction that His death was not in vain. He justifies many and is satisfied to see us justified through His perfect righteousness and obedient death. We are "accounted righteous" because He bore our iniquities. Praise God!
Hebrews 12 describes "Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God." What was the joy set before Jesus as He faced the cross? It was the knowledge that His suffering would not be in vain. He would accomplish the purpose for which He went to the cross: Our salvation.
Are you trusting in Jesus? Do you wonder some days if you're going to be able to persevere in faith? Do you ever wonder if you're really going to be saved in the end? Consider this: Will Jesus look on the purpose of His loving suffering and be disappointed? Will Jesus' soul fail to be satisfied? Absolutely not! And His satisfaction is in our salvation.
Lord Jesus, You died to redeem me, to make me righteous and to bear my iniquity. Though my sins are great ad my doubts are pesky, Your loving sacrifice is more powerful still. You love me and You will be satisfied with nothing less than my full and final salvation from sin. I know You can save me and You will save me, for You have already done all of the work and You have already received Your satisfaction. I praise You! Amen.
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