Victory Eternal

The only workable offering for our guilt

(Isaiah 53:10-12, Preaching: Pastor Stephen Magee, April 14, 2019)

[10] 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.

[11] 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.

[12] Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,

and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,

because he poured out his soul to death

and was numbered with the transgressors;

yet he bore the sin of many,

and makes intercession for the transgressors.

The will of the Lord – The Father and the Son

We often give much attention to the will of an individual human being, and for good reason. The Lord has made us to be creatures that make important decisions and take significant actions that can have far-reaching consequences. Yet what about the will of the Lord who made us? What is the purpose of the Almighty? Should we not be interested in his plans, since God's will must be freer than any creature's?

Isaiah ends his ancient servant songs that speak so clearly about a suffering savior with a shocking revelation regarding the delight of the Lord. Verse 10 of our passage tells us several significant truths regarding God's plan for his son. 1. It was the desire of the Father to crush his beloved Son and put him to grief. Who can fathom this? 2. The underlying goal of such horrific sadness was that the life of the Son of God would be a guilt offering (Lev. 5:15-16), not for his own sin, but for the sin of others. 3. Having accomplished that payment through his death, God would “prolong his days” thus giving life again to his Son. 4. The Son would have “offspring” that he would “see.” 5. He would continue as an agent of the delight of God which would “prosper in his hand.”

Consider the breadth of these five statements. God intentionally gave his Son to die and then to live again, with the plan that Jesus would be our perfect eternal ruler.

The victory of the servant

These central truths are amplified in the verse that follows. Jesus' life was one of “anguish,” yet he would “see” the fruit of his suffering “and be satisfied.” He would make “many” to be “accounted righteous.” This would go far beyond the truth that “he shall bear their iniquities.” The hopelessly guilty would receive the blessings of the one amazingly holy substitute.

In short, on the cross, the one who is called by God “my servant,” would take our hell upon himself, and grant us title to his heaven. He would do all this without being utterly consumed by the awful enterprise. His victory would be so complete that he would wrestle death to the ground and throw it in the place of eternal destruction as a defeated adversary. In his resurrection he would give the church and the world proof that he had the “power of an indestructible life.” (Hebrews 7:16)

The benefit to many transgressors

Who would be considering and receiving all of this? The Father, who according to Psalm 22:1, would forsake the Son for us, but not forever. The Father, who together with the Son and the Spirit, has a perfect delight beyond the imperfect desires of humanity.

The Father would judge the work of Christ rightly, and would distribute the spoils of the war of wars among all those who would call upon Jesus as Lord and own him as the resurrection king. Christ was obedient, even to the point of the cross. He “poured out his soul to death.” He was numbered with us, “the transgressors,” so that he could carry away our guilt and shame as far as the east is from the west. Even to this day, “he makes intercession for the transgressors,” and he is heard. Through him we know God's love.

Application: The place for glimpses of glory as we wait for the perfect glory. Let's back up before the cross and the resurrection to Palm Sunday anticipated and enjoyed.

[Luke 13:31] At that very hour some Pharisees came and said to him, “Get away from here, for Herod wants to kill you.” [32] And he said to them, “Go and tell that fox, ‘Behold, I cast out demons and perform cures today and tomorrow, and the third day I finish my course. [33] Nevertheless, I must go on my way today and tomorrow and the day following, for it cannot be that a prophet should perish away from Jerusalem.’ [34] O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! [35] Behold, your house is forsaken. And I tell you, you will not see me until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord!’”

[Luke 19:37] As he was drawing near—already on the way down the Mount of Olives—the whole multitude of his disciples began to rejoice and praise God with a loud voice for all the mighty works that they had seen, [38] saying, “Blessed is the King who comes in the name of the Lord! Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!” [39] And some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, rebuke your disciples.” [40] He answered, “I tell you, if these were silent, the very stones would cry out.”

Jesus knew he was the suffering servant. He knew about the pain, and he knew about the victory. He knew about Jerusalem and her sin, and he knew the blessings his disciples would shout at him as he entered the city. It was a small taste of victory. Yet he also knew Isaiah 53, and he faced it with great courage, and with true knowledge of what he was doing and the much bigger ultimate victory. Imagine these words in his heart:

“It is the will of my Father to crush Me; he will put me to grief; when my soul makes an offering for guilt, I shall see my offspring; he shall prolong my days; the will of my Father shall prosper in my hand. Out of the anguish of my soul I shall see and be satisfied; by my own knowledge, I, the righteous one, the servant, shall make many to be accounted righteous, and I shall bear their iniquities. Therefore my Father will divide my victory portion with the many, and I will divide the spoil with the strong, because I pour out my soul to death, and I am numbered with the transgressors; and I bear the sin of many, and will forever make intercession for the transgressors.”

The Lord had a costly plan for eternity. Jesus had that plan on his mind and so should we. When he was given a taste of glory he received it. He did not reject the praise of Palm Sunday, nor was he seduced by it into thinking that that great moment would change His Father's will for the coming Friday. He was living for the resurrection morning ahead and for the great coming age of glory that no man can ever take away.

Old Testament Reading—Psalm 104 – Creation, providence, and the eternal kingdom

New Testament Reading—1 Corinthians 15:56-57 – The victory