He is Risen!

Sunday: Resurrection Day

Christians often overlook that Isaiah 53 describes the death of the Messiah and his return to life! Isaiah 53:10 affirms, “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him, he has put him to grief.” 

We often hear the question, “Did the Jews kill Jesus, or was it the Romans?” Both their leaders played their part in the crucifixion, but ultimately God planned that his servant should suffer and die. Later Peter would charge the Jewish leaders with blame but would carefully convey the balance: “This Jesus, delivered up according to the definite plan and foreknowledge of God, you crucified and killed by the hands of lawless men” (Acts 2:23). Isaiah 53:10 then adds, “When you will make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; and the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand.” 

Thus, His death would be a sin offering, but after He became that offering for sin, the servant would “see his offspring and he will stretch out the length of his days” (literal translation). A Jewish objection to this Messianic prophecy goes like this: “Isaiah 53 cannot be talking about Jesus because it says he will have many children and will live to be an old man. We know Jesus died unmarried as a young man.” 

But this verse does not teach that. When it says, “he shall see his offspring (seed),” it is not describing his physical offspring. Instead, it is talking about his spiritual “seed.” Psalm 22:30 affirms that “a posterity (“seed”) will serve him.” Passages such as Zechariah 8:12 and Malachi 2:3 also use this word for “followers.” Also, “he shall prolong his days” does not mean that he will live a long life but that he will lengthen his days after he dies since the verse describes him earlier as dying. This verse can only mean that the suffering servant will come back to life after he dies as a sin offering. So not only did Isaiah prophesy in this chapter about the Messiah’s death, but he also prophesied about his resurrection!

Verse 10 thus describes how a multitude of spiritual followers will come to believe in him. That is also the meaning of verse 11: “Out of the anguish of his soul, he shall see and be satisfied.” The ancient Greek translation (the Septuagint) says, “he will see light.” The ancient copy of Isaiah found among the Dead Sea scrolls supports this translation. In other words, there would be a purpose to his death, and he would be satisfied when he sees life: life after his death! The verse continues: “by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.” When the Messiah comes and bears the iniquities of his people and then comes to life, many will believe in him and be justified. That is, they will be declared righteous. 

They will be justified (declared righteous) by trusting him as their sin-bearer, Messiah, and Savior. Could anyone write a clearer presentation of the Gospel than this? And to think that it was written over 700 years before Jesus died and rose again in AD 30.

Prayer for Reflection: 

“Lord Jesus, scripture not only foretold your death but also your resurrection! I thank you so much. Because you live, I can live also. We often talk about your death and resurrection, but how rarely do we talk about your sitting down with the Father! We often talk about what you did and what you will do, but we think little about what you are doing now! I come boldly to your present throne of grace because I need your mercy for my past sins and your grace to help me in my struggle against future sins. Your grace is sufficient.”

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©2023 William Varner. Used with permission.