Jesus' Reward

As we’ve studied Isaiah 53 we’ve seen the delight of the Father and the Atonement of the Son, but let’s look at one more thing—the reward given to Jesus.

We see it woven throughout these three verses—first in verse 10, “…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.”

How can One of whom it was said that He would be cut from the land of the living and given a grave see his offspring and prolong his days? The first reward we see in this passage is the resurrection of Jesus! Isaiah spoke of One who would be killed and buried seeing and living—750 years before Jesus walked the earth the prophet saw His resurrection.

Second, in verse 11 we see the satisfaction of Jesus.

“Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied.”

How does Jesus view His work? From the cross He said, “It is finished.” He paid the price and is now satisfied. Jesus doesn’t look back at the cross with regret—He is fully satisfied with it because He did what He set out to do. The writer of Hebrews said it this way, “Who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising its shame…” The one thing Jesus did not have before the cross was us—the will of the Father and the redemption of His children was the joy that was set before Jesus and He is now full of joy because He made the necessary atonement.

Jesus told us that “there is joy before the angels of God over one sinner who repents.” The one thing I know about the angles in heaven is that their eyes are on the Throne so if they are rejoicing over the sinner who repents you rest assured of this—they are doing nothing more than reflecting the joy of the One who sits on the Throne and is full of the satisfaction of Redemption Accomplished!

Verse 12 closes out with the full statement of the reward of Jesus. Verse 12 carries with it the image of the battlefield where the victorious general returns with the spoil. We saw this in 2 Corinthians 2:14, “But thanks be to God, who in Christ always leads us in triumphal procession, and through us spreads the fragrance of the knowledge of him everywhere.” The first stanza said, “Kings shall shut their mouths because of him…” Isaiah had already said in chapter 9, “For unto us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end on the throne of David and over his kingdom…” This will be done and is being done.

After discussing the cross Paul said, “Therefore God has highly exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and every tongue confess that Jesus Christ is LORD, to the glory of God the Father.” The writer of Hebrews said of Jesus, “He is the radiance of the glory of God and the exact imprint of his nature, and he upholds the universe by the word of his power. After making purification for sins, he sat down at the right hand of the Majesty on high, having become as much superior to angels as the name he has inherited is more excellent than theirs.”

Jesus voluntarily poured out his soul to death, Jesus identified with sinners by being numbered with them, and Jesus bore the sin of many and made intercession for them even as He is now making intercession for us. He bore the sin of many, He made many righteous, and He will share the spoil of His victory with many. You and I, those who have come to Him as our substitute, will share in the spoil of His victory and will be with Him for an eternity. Why? Why should we enjoy the glory of heaven when so many others who have rejected him will spend an eternity in hell? It is because of one thing and one thing only—the grace of God. I don’t understand it, but I know this I’ll keep talking about it until the day I die because you and I have no hope apart from it.

Isaiah 53 is a song of substitution, it is a song of atonement, it is a song of grace, and it is a song of victory. Jesus accomplished what He set out to do. God isn’t satisfied by what we do, but He is more than satisfied by what Jesus did. Our ultimate satisfaction should be in what Jesus did for us in His death, burial, and resurrection. The true measure of who you are is found in what delights your soul—if it isn’t Jesus something is dreadfully wrong.