My Righteous Servant Shall Justify Many

• My Righteous Servant Shall Justify Many - We read this intriguing question in Job 15:14 reveals, “What is man, that he should be clean? and he which is born of a woman, that he should be righteous?” and in Job 25:4a, “How then can man be justified with God…?”. Unfortunately, in our day and throughout history, man has been actively engaged in the sinful pursuit of developing various “religions” and man-made “salvation” programs. The fact remains that man cannot be righteous by anything he does on his own. Isa 64:6 affirms, “But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags; and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away”. With respect to these “do-it-yourself” efforts, God declares in Luke 16:15, “And he said unto them, Ye are they which justify yourselves before men; but God knoweth your hearts: for that which is highly esteemed among men is abomination in the sight of God”. Pro 20:9 asks, “Who can say, I have made my heart clean, I am pure from my sin?”. Then how can one be justified or made righteous in the eyes of God? Rom 3:20-25 declares, “by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight”, but we are “justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus”. The Bible outlines for us the profound truths that Christ, Who is Eternal God, had to empty Himself of His glory to take on human flesh as the Ultimate Servant. He had to become sin and then – the greatest mystery of all – He had to suffer the unimaginable agony of everlasting Hell for His elect people to procure their righteousness and eternal salvation. What is the significance of the phrase, “a minister [or servant] of the circumcision for the truth of God” in Rom 15:8? Circumcision has to do with “cutting off”, and Christ was “cut off” when He suffered Hell for His people, as Isa 53:8 reveals. We have been looking at some verses that feature the word “many”, and there are numerous other passages that feature the word “all” as well with reference to salvation. However, these can only be understood properly by comparing Scripture with Scripture and see how God qualifies the word “all” with regard to all of the elect. Take the case of 2 Tim 4:8: “Henceforth there is laid up for me a crown of righteousness, which the Lord, the righteous judge, shall give me at that day: and not to me only, but unto all them also that love his appearing.”

Php 2:5-8 “Let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But made himself of no reputation, and took upon him the form of a servant, and was made in the likeness of men: And being found in fashion as a man, he humbled himself, and became obedient unto death, even the death of the cross.”

Isa 42:1-4 “Behold my servant [Lord Jesus Christ], whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.”

Rom 15:8 “Now I say that Jesus Christ was a minister of the circumcision for the truth of God, to confirm the promises made unto the fathers:”

Isa 53:8 “He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he [Lord Jesus Christ] was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken.”

Rom 3:20-25 “Therefore by the deeds of the law there shall no flesh be justified in his sight: for by the law is the knowledge of sin. 21But now the righteousness of God without the law is manifested, being witnessed by the law and the prophets; 22Even the righteousness of God which is by faith of Jesus Christ unto all and upon all them that believe: for there is no difference: 23For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God; 24Being justified freely by his grace through the redemption that is in Christ Jesus: 25Whom God hath set forth to be a propitiation through faith in his blood, to declare his righteousness for the remission of sins that are past, through the forbearance of God;”

• He bare the Sin of Many, and made Intercession for the Transgressors - We read in Rom 5:19, “For as by one man’s disobedience many were made sinners, so by the obedience of one shall many be made righteous”. What the “first man” (or Adam) failed to accomplish, the “second man” (or the Lord Jesus) gloriously fulfilled. Heb 7:25 explains, “Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them”. Also, 1 Pet 3:18 serves to identify Christ’s redemption for His people, who are referred to as the “unjust”, from sin, spiritual death, and Hell, as follows: “For Christ also hath once suffered for sins, the just for the unjust, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh, but quickened by the Spirit”. Here we see the greatest exchange that has ever taken place in this universe. Here we see righteous God, Who is holy, pure, and sinless become unholy, impure, and sinful. Simultaneously, we see unrighteous unsaved man, who by nature is unholy, impure, and sinful become holy, pure, and sinless by the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ that is given, or imputed, to him. In other words, those who are “justified” (or “made righteous”) have had their sins forgiven like the publican who was “justified” (or saved) in Luke 18:14, “I tell you, this man went down to his house justified rather than the other…”. Isa 53:11, describes the mission of the Lord Jesus: “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”. God is identifying justification with sin-bearing and by extension with the payment for sins, as we also learn from 2 Cor 5:21, “For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him”. This underscores the fact that God is incapable of merely “pronouncing” a person to be “righteous” or “holy” without His divine justice being actually satisfied. What this signified is that the punishment for sin – eternal damnation – must be paid either by the Lord Jesus or by each guilty human being himself. Of course, Christ made that payment for all of God's Elect. The “travail”, or “work”, that Christ had to endure was eternal damnation, which the Bible calls the “second death” in Rev 21:8. Psa 130:3 poses the very relevant question, “If thou, LORD, shouldest mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand?” Indeed, the Lord Jesus was able to successfully atone for the sins of His people as Isa 53:11 so triumphantly announces. Lord Jesus was not only a spotless passover lamb but also a high priest who makes intercession for His Elect. All who do not possess the righteousness of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Savior will hear the words of the Lord Jesus Christ as the Judge in Mat 7:22-23 echoing throughout eternity: “Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, have we not prophesied in thy name? and in thy name have cast out devils? and in thy name done many wonderful works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity”.

Isa 59:16-17 “And he saw that there was no man, and wondered that there was no intercessor: therefore his arm brought salvation unto him; and his righteousness, it sustained him. For he put on righteousness as a breastplate, and an helmet of salvation upon his head; and he put on the garments of vengeance for clothing, and was clad with zeal as a cloke.”

2 Cor 5:21 “For he [LORD] hath made him [Lord Jesus] to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.”

Isa 53:11 “He [LORD] 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. 12Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Mark 10:45 “For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister [as a servant], and to give his life a ransom for many.”

Heb 9:28 “So Christ was once offered to bear the sins of many; and unto them that look for him shall he appear the second time without sin unto salvation.”

Mat 26:28 “For this is my blood of the new testament, which is shed for many for the remission of sins.”

1 Pet 1:18-19 “Forasmuch as ye know that ye were not redeemed with corruptible things, as silver and gold, from your vain conversation received by tradition from your fathers; 19But with the precious blood of Christ, as of a lamb without blemish and without spot:”

Luke 23:34 “Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.”

Heb 7:24-26 “But this man [Lord Jesus Christ], because he continueth ever, hath an unchangeable priesthood. 25Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them. 26For such an high priest became us, who is holy, harmless, undefiled, separate from sinners, and made higher than the heavens;”

• He shall Divide the Spoil with the Strong - In the Luke 11:21-22 account we witness the plundering of the “strong man’s palace”. In this context the “strong man” is Satan; his “palace”, or house, represents his kingdom, where we all start (Col 1:13), that Christ vanquished at the Cross. In accordance with God’s salvation program, all of God’s elect throughout history are being “freed” from Satan’s prison, as we learn from a citation that outlines the Savior’s divine mission in Isa 61:1. The “darkness” and “power of Satan” that underlies an unsaved person’s life are carefully delineated in 1 Cor 6:9-11. In order to defeat Satan, Christ had to became sin for every true Christian; and then had to suffer the equivalent of eternal damnation on their behalf, as expressed by His agony in the Garden of Gethsemane (which means “winepress”) as Heb 5:7 relates: “Who [Jesus] in the days of his flesh, when he had offered up prayers and supplications with strong crying and tears unto him that was able to save him from death, and was heard in that he feared;” Although Christ defeated Satan in real time at the Cross, Jesus spoke of Satan’s impending downfall as if it had already happened in Luke 10:18, “And he said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven” and affirmed in John 12:31, “Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out”. Satan was spiritually “bound” at the cross and through out during the New Testament “Church Age” and is released for a “little season” during great tribulation, to deceive the nations  – but his doom is sealed. He will be judged on the Last Day and be cast into the eternal “lake of fire”, as we read in Rev 20:7-10.

Isa 53:12 “Therefore will I divide him [Lord Jesus] a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong [Satan]; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”

Mark 3:26-27 “And if Satan rise up against himself, and be divided, he cannot stand, but hath an end. 27 No man can enter into a strong man’s house, and spoil his goods, except he will first bind the strong man; and then he will spoil his house.”

Luke 11:21-22 “When a strong man [Satan] armed keepeth his palace, his goods are in peace: But when a stronger [Lord Jesus Christ] than he shall come upon him, and overcome him, he taketh from him all his armour wherein he trusted, and divideth his spoils.”

Isa 61:1 “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me; because the LORD hath anointed me to preach good tidings unto the meek; he hath sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to them that are bound;”

1 Cor 6:9-11 “Know ye not that the unrighteous shall not inherit the kingdom of God? Be not deceived: neither fornicators, nor idolaters, nor adulterers, nor effeminate, nor abusers of themselves with mankind, 10Nor thieves, nor covetous, nor drunkards, nor revilers, nor extortioners, shall inherit the kingdom of God. 11And such were some of you: but ye are washed, but ye are sanctified, but ye are justified in the name of the Lord Jesus, and by the Spirit of our God.”

Col 1:12-14 “Giving thanks unto the Father, which hath made us meet to be partakers of the inheritance of the saints in light: 13Who hath delivered us from the power of darkness, and hath translated us into the kingdom of his dear Son: 14In whom we have redemption through his blood, even the forgiveness of sins:”

Rev 20:7-10 “And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, 8And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea. 9And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them. 10And the devil that deceived them was cast into the lake of fire and brimstone, where the beast and the false prophet are, and shall be tormented day and night for ever and ever.”