He Shall Prolong His Days – Isaiah 53:10-12

Did Jesus deserve to die?  Did he need to be resurrected?  He did not deserve to die.  He was sinless.  And the resurrection is proof of that and of God’s acceptance of Jesus’ sacrifice.  There are other reasons why he needed to be resurrected.  Most fascinating is that Isaiah predicted it.

Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities.  Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the  transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the  transgressors. (Isaiah 53:10-12, ESV)

Despite his innocence, Yahweh is determined to “crush” His servant, making his death a guilt offering.  But that is not the final end of the servant.  He will see the fruit of his service.  He will see those whose guilt he paid, he will prolong his days, he will come back to life.  And everything God is seeking to accomplish through him will prosper.

Though the servant will suffer greatly, he will also greatly rejoice at the many who will have his righteousness reckoned to their account, having borne their iniquities.  Because he has served Yahweh in this way, Yahweh will reward him like a conquering warrior.  His battle scars were earned because he willingly took on death, bore the sin of transgressors, and prayed for their salvation.

Isaiah wrote this prophecy 700 years before the birth, death and resurrection of Jesus.  Yet it stunningly depicts the history of Jesus, his death and resurrection, and interprets it for us as an atoning sacrifice approved by God as evidenced by resurrecting the Son.  And it accurately depicts the gospel, that we are accounted as righteous, not actually made righteous but declared so, as a result of Christ’s sacrifice in our place.  And now he intercedes for us (Hebrews 7:25) and guarantees our salvation.  What a Savior is this Servant of Yahweh!

Discussion Questions

1. If you could control your future, what would you like it to look like?
2. Do you think the “offspring” of the Servant of Yahweh means actual children?  Why or why not?
3. The “will of the Lord” for the Servant that has previously been mentioned is that he would restore Israel back to relationship with Yahweh.  Has that happened yet?
4. What do you take from the phrase, “He will divide the spoil with the strong”?
5. What do you think about Jesus interceding with God for you?
6. What do you need Jesus to intercede about for you?