The good pleasure of the Lord—Easter Series Part 10
But the Lord was pleased to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days, and the good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand. Isaiah 53:10
Jesus, the Lamb of God, slain from the foundation of the earth, was manifested for this purpose: through being crushed, He would crush the serpent’s head. Through the depths of the grief He bore, the tears of all the saints would one day be wiped away.
But the Lord was pleased to crush Him…
God was not, is not, and never will be a sadist. Like the Son who despised the shame of the cross (see Hebrews 12:2), the Father could not look upon His Son at the height of His agony. The sin, corruption, disease, and depravity of mankind hung on His Son as His Son hung on that cross. The agony of His Son bearing His wrath and buy usa tablets viagra the penalty for sin was not a pleasure to God; it was grievous. And as the cup of indignation against man’s sin was filled to the brim, God could not look upon His Son, the sin Substitute hanging upon the cross. Jesus knew it. He cried, “My God, My God! Why have You forsaken Me?” (See Matthew 27:46.)
Why, then, does the Word say that it pleased God to crush Him? It was because of what the crushing would bring about for humanity. Jesus was crushed so that you and I could be redeemed. He was forsaken so that neither you nor I would be forsaken. Like the Son, who for the joy set before Him endured the cross, despising its shame (Hebrews 12:2), the Father’s pleasure was in all the sons and daughters who would be raised to newness of life through faith in His Son’s selfless sacrifice.
… putting Him to grief…
The Hebrew word for “grief” in this verse is chalah and means “to be or become weak, be or become sick, be or become diseased, be or become grieved, be or become sorry” (see http://www.blueletterbible.org/lang/Lexicon/Lexicon.cfm?strongs=H2470&t=KJV). Once again, as in Isaiah 53:3-5, the act of redemption is revealed to apply not only to the human soul but also to the human body. Jesus, by His redemptive work, made provision for the total man—spirit, soul, and body.
…if He would render Himself as a guilt offering…
The word “if” reveals something important here—Jesus had a choice in the matter. If He would render Himself as a guilt offering… In the Garden prior to His arrest, Jesus longed for the cup of suffering to pass from Him, but told His Father, “Not My will, but Thine, be done” (see Luke 22:42). He came to do His Father’s will, not His own (see John 6:38)—but He could have backed out. His refusal would have sealed our eternal damnation.
When Peter sought to prevent the Lord’s arrest by cutting off the ear of the High Priest’s slave, Jesus stopped him and declared, “Do you think that I cannot appeal to My Father, and He will at once put at My disposal more than twelve legions of angels?” (See Matthew 26:53.) Jesus understood that He could call it quits whenever He wanted; He chose to render Himself as a guilt offering.
Three outcomes of His obedience to this supreme sacrifice are delineated in this verse.
- He will see His offspring
- He will prolong His days
- The good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand
He will see His offspring
You and I, along with an innumerable company of men, women, and children from every nation, race, tongue, and dialect are the offspring born of God due to Jesus’ willingness to render Himself as a guilt offering.
He will prolong His days
“In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God… And the Word became flesh, and dwelt among us” (see John 1:1, 14). Jesus was in the beginning with God. He also declared that He would continue to live after leaving the earth: “After a little while the world will no longer see Me, but you will see Me; because I live, you will live also” (John 14:19). Jesus was eternal; He dwelt in eternity past; He would dwell in eternity to come.
Therefore, when Isaiah prophesied, “He will prolong His days”, he wasn’t referring to the eternal aspect of the suffering Servant—Jesus already was eternal. I believe this statement, instead, refers to His impact as the Son of Man on the Earth.
Here’s my thinking: Jesus’ days on the earth as a Man filled the span of thirty-three years, from the day He was born in Bethlehem until He breathed His last on the cross at Calvary. IF He would render Himself as a guilt offering, then He would prolong His days. How would this take place? Through His offspring—the sons and daughters born from above by faith in His redemptive sacrifice!
Ever since the days when Peter and the others believed on Him unto eternal life, Jesus has had a body in which to dwell on the earth. He dwelt in His disciples, then in Paul and kamagra avenelucioles.fr Barnabus, Silas, Timothy, Phoebe, Priscilla, and Aquila. He dwelt in the true believers throughout the first, second, third, and fourth centuries. He dwelt in the true believers throughout all of the dark ages and into the Reformation and then on into the seventeenth, eighteenth, nineteenth, and twentieth centuries. He picked up a lot of us during this last century, and now He is still dwelling in His body here in the twenty-first century. By rendering Himself as a guilt offering, He really has prolonged His days here on earth—through His body!
The good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand
Jesus did render Himself as a guilt offering. Therefore, from that day forward, the good pleasure of the Lord has prospered in His hand. You may look around yourself at all of the strife, sin, sadness, and sickness that has yet to be transformed by His resurrection touch, but look in the mirror! You belong to God; you were pulled out of darkness and depravity and were cleansed, delivered, and placed in the kingdom of His dear Son. That’s a miracle!
And He’s not finished. The Lord will bring many more sons and daughters to glory (see Hebrews 2:10), He will fulfill His Word, He will perform His good work, and He will sum up all things in Christ (see Ephesians 1:10). And as for you? He who began a good work in you will indeed perfect it until the day of Christ Jesus!
You are the good pleasure of the Lord; because Jesus did not turn away from rendering Himself as a guilt offering, you will prosper in His hand.
Dorothy
And I am convinced and sure of this very thing, that He Who began a good work in you will continue until the day of Jesus Christ [right up to the time of His return], developing [that good work] and perfecting and bringing it to full completion in you. Philippians 1:6, Amplified