“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” (KJV, Is. 53:11).
“He shall see of the travail of his soul”
Jesus Christ saw the travail of His soul. The Greek word translated travail is amal, meaning wearing effort or worry, grievance, pain, sorrow, travail, and trouble. Thus, Jesus Christ’s soul was in anguish as He fulfilled the Messianic prophecy of the Suffering Servant.
However, the KJV uses the word travail, which is no longer used in English. The word travail means to labor or toil and is also one of the definitions of amal. Indeed what Christ went through would have been laborious and filled with sorrow.
Before His death, Christ said of His soul, “…My soul is exceeding sorrowful unto death…” (Mark 14:34). Elsewhere it is said, “And being in agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground” (Luke 22:44). The will of God was heavy for the Son. He realized what was to come. He would take upon Himself the wrath of Almighty God for the sake of fallen humanity.
“and shall be satisfied”
But the Bible states, “…for the joy that was set before him endured the cross…” (Heb. 12:2). The sacrifice of the Son has atoned for sin once and for all. God could not rest until all was accomplished. When Christ came to the earth, He stated that His Father and He were working. God is at work and will not rest until all is accomplished.
During the first coming of Christ, there was a way in which Jesus looked upon His atoning work and was satisfied with it. However, this does not mean that God is entirely satisfied yet. There is still much work to do, and God is bringing His plan of redemption to a close with the new heavens and new earth.
Nevertheless, the matter of atonement has been settled. There is no need for sacrifices or for Christ to return to earth and die again. Full atonement has been made, and Christ purchased it by His blood.
Not only has atonement been made, but Jesus is the Great High Priest of the New Covenant. He has entered the heavenly tent not made with hands but in the heavenly places. He offered Himself upon the mercy seat of God and has secured an eternal redemption.
As a result of Christ’s atoning work, John could say, “My little children, these things write I unto you, that ye sin not. And if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous: And he is the propitiation for our sins: and not for ours only, but also for the sins of the whole world” (1 John 2:1-2). Therefore, Jesus is the propitiation for the sins of the whole world.
When John used the word propitiation, he spoke of the wrath of God being satisfied in Christ. Sin brings wrath. When man’s sin increases, God responds by storing up His wrath for the Day of Judgment. However, Christ died in place of sinners, and God poured His wrath out on His Son, thus satisfying or propitiating His wrath for the believer. Therefore, Jesus could also be satisfied with His atoning death.
“by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many”
Christ knew what needed to be done to solve the problem of sin. He was the Righteous Servant of God. A justifying work had to take place for man to be made right with God, and the Bible tells us that Christ knew what to do.
Justification is a legal deceleration that speaks of someone being declared not guilty in a court of law. Thus, the sinner is declared not guilty though still a sinner. God is not blind to the believer’s sin. Instead, God declares the sinner to be not guilty. But how does He do such a thing, and why does He do such a thing?
First, God declares the guilty sinner not guilty by faith in Christ. The first instance of justification can be seen explicitly in the life of Abraham. God spoke directly to Abraham and promised Abraham a son. Abraham believed God, and the Bible states that God credited it to Abraham as righteousness. It is essential to see that Abraham believed in God’s redemptive plan.
A significant part of God’s redemptive plan was the promises given to Abraham. The Messiah would come through His family line. Abraham did not have a lot of the story, but what he did have, he believed. Thus, he looked forward to the coming Messiah through the revelation he had been given, although incomplete.
When the Bible states that God credited righteousness to Abraham based on Abraham’s faith, it is important to gain an understanding of the word credit. Credit is an accounting term. Accounting uses both debits and credits to record business transactions.
In the case of a bank, when a man puts money in his account, the bank credits the account, thereby increasing the amount in the account. On the other hand, if the man were to use his debit card and thus debit his account, he would take money out of his account.
If a different man were to put money in the first man’s account, the bank would still credit the man’s account. So it does not matter who puts the money in. The bank credits the account as long as the money goes into the bank.
When someone believes in the work of Christ, God credits the believer’s account with righteousness. Thus, righteousness is now the believers. Herein the believer is given a righteousness that was not his own. Instead, the Father has gifted it to the believer through faith.
“for he shall bear their iniquities”
But why does God justify the believer? God justifies the believer based on Christ’s atoning work. Salvation has only come by grace through faith, whether in the Old or New Testament. Jesus was always the Lamb of God slain. God saw the Son’s work and overlooked the people’s sins in the Old Testament through a recollection of Christ’s work.
However, Christ could not only be the Lamb of God in thought, but He also had to be the Lamb of God in deed for the work to be accomplished. Therefore, at just the right time, Christ came born under the law to deliver those who were under the law.
The requirement in Deuteronomy 28 for blessings is to fulfill the law perfectly. Essentially, someone could be right with God through absolute adherence to the law. Nevertheless, it has never been done, nor will it ever be done. But Christ took on flesh and lived under the law. But He fulfilled the law perfectly. Thus Jesus secured the blessing of God through perfect fulfillment.
However, Jesus was not blessed but cursed, for the Bible states that whoever is hung on a tree is cursed. He took upon Himself the sin and iniquity of man. He took upon Himself the curse, and God punished the Son. Herein one can see the first side of the coin.
But the righteousness of Christ did not disappear as though He was righteous for nothing. Instead, just as He took upon Himself the sin of man, the believer takes on himself the righteousness of Christ through faith.
Jesus has been given many names. Undoubtedly one of the most remarkable is the Lord is our Righteousness. Jesus is righteousness for all who would believe. The law does not necessarily go away for the believer. Instead, God looks at the believer as perfectly fulfilling the law through the work of Christ. Thus, the law is no longer over him as a condemning force. Instead, the believer is no longer under the law as a condition of acceptance with God, for Christ has fulfilled it perfectly.
Final prayer
Father, I thank You for Christ’s atoning work. Jesus is a wonderful Savior and a glorious King. It is a blessing to be united in body and soul with my Savior, Jesus Christ. In Jesus’ name, Amen.