THRU THE BIBLE EXPOSITION

Isaiah: Jahweh Is Salvation

Part LXII: Messiah's Suffering And Glory, Isaiah 52:13-53:12

B. Israel's Confession Regarding Messiah At His Second Coming, Isaiah 53:1-12

4. Israel's Confession Of Messiah's Exaltation And Church Era Ministry After His Atonement

(Isaiah 53:12)

I. Introduction

A. 1 Peter 3:15 directs Christians to defend their faith to all who question it, and the complete Isaiah scroll of the Dead Sea Scrolls, dated 150 B. C. (Z. P. E. B., v. Three, p. 321) that contains Isaiah 53:12, predicts Christ's exaltation and current ministry in the Church era after His work on the cross!

B. We thus study this passage for our insight and edification (as follows):

II. Israel's Confession Of Messiah's Exaltation And Church Era Ministry After His Atonement, Isa. 53:12.

A. Believing Israel in the Messianic Kingdom will confess that after Messiah's death for man's sin and His burial and resurrection (Isaiah 53:9-10), God will have divided a portion of the victor's spoils to Messiah with the "many," and "among" ('et, a particle; here, focusing on location, J. A. Alexander, The Proph. of Isaiah, 1974, p. 306) the "strong" will God have divided spoil with Messiah, Isaiah 53:12 ESV; B. K. C., O. T., p. 1107, 1109. This proclamation predicts the positional blessings believers in Christ will enjoy in the Church era:

1. The "many" in Isaiah 53:12 translates the same Hebrew word, rabim, as the "many" back in Isaiah 53:11 who will have been justified by Messiah (The Wycliffe Bib. Com., 1971, p. 647; Kittel, Bib. Heb., p. 684), so Isaiah 53:12 predicts the inheritance of the saints as joint heirs with Christ as taught in Romans 8:17.

2. We clarify important aspects of this truth as it is taught in New Testament passages (as follows):

a. At the cross, Christ defeated Satan, spoiling him like a general who takes spoils in war, Col. 2:13-15.

b. Accordingly, Jesus distributed gifts from the spoils of victory in the form of spiritual gifts to believers, equipping each believer with a supernatural enabling for Christian service to God's glory, Ephesians 4:7-11 with 1 Peter 4:10; Ryrie Study Bible, KJV, 1978, ftn. to Ephesians 4:8.

c. Also, Christ by the cross made possible that this world's kingdoms now under Satan's control (1 John 5:19) will one day become Christ's Kingdom, which Kingdom will also belong to believers, Daniel 7:27.

d. God's reward to Messiah also includes His present enthronement at the Father's right hand far above all powers and names of all the ages, Ephesians 1:18-23;. This enthronement provides great spiritual riches and God's infinite power directed toward Christians for His glory, Ephesians 1:18-19.

B. The reason for this exaltation of the Messiah will be God's rewarding Him for pouring out His soul unto death, being numbered with the transgressors as if He were a criminal in thus being executed (Isaiah 53:12b; Phil. 2:5-11) though in it all He was doing the immense work of bearing the sin of many, Isaiah 53:12c ESV.

C. Isaiah 53:12d then adds that Messiah will have made entreaty (paga', B. D. B., A Heb.-Eng. Lex. of the O. T., p. 803) for the transgressors, what Christ is now doing for Christians in Church History (as follows):

1. Messiah's making entreaty for transgressors is the work of making intercession for sinners before God, what Jesus is said to be doing right now in heaven for believers in Christ according to Hebrews 7:25.

2. In this ministry, Christ acts as our High Priest in heaven representing us before God the Father (Hebrews 4:14; 1 John 2:1b), a High Priest Who is touched with the feelings of our infirmities because He has been tempted like we are, yet without sin in His earthly life (Hebrews 4:15). Thus, we can come boldly to the throne of grace to obtain mercy and find grace through prayer to find help in time of need (Hebrews 4:16).

Lesson: Long before Jesus' birth, Isaiah 53:12 predicted Messiah's post-resurrection great exaltation in heaven, the sharing of the spoils of His conquest at the cross with believers and His current intercessory ministry before the Father for Christians in the Church era! Thus, we can rejoice in the validity of the Christian faith as it was predicted so long before Christ's birth by Isaiah, and we can take advantage of Christ's current ministry for us.

Application: (1) May we believe and defend the Christian faith as true because Isaiah 53:12 predicted our Savior's post-resurrection ministry to us long before Jesus was even born. (2) As believers, (a) may we utilize the spiritual gift God has given us at salvation to serve the Lord effectively. (b) May we come to God in prayer for victory over temptation and for help with human frailty through the intercessory work of our Lord Jesus Christ. (c) May we rejoice in our blessings in Christ and joyfully anticipate the day when we will not only live in His Messianic Kingdom, but also be participants in it as joint heirs of our Lord in possessing His Messianic Kingdom with Him!