THE SERVANT ENJOYS HIS FAMILY

In the movie City of Angels, an angel has purposely decided to fall from heaven to earth in order to become human. When asked by another angel why he gave up heaven to become human, he simply showed him pictures of his family.

The movie resonates with the story of Jesus, who is depicted in the gospels as longing for a family. When he celebrated the Passover with his disciples, they treated him as the head of a family, asking, "Where do you want us to prepare for you to eat the Passover?" (Matthew 26:17). Looking at those who were gathered around him on another occasion, he said, "Behold, my mother and my brothers" (Matthew 12:49). The prophet Isaiah, in Isaiah 53:10-12, writing hundreds of years before the birth of Jesus, shows how much he would long for a family and what he was willing to go through to get a family and enjoy his family. His family, as it turns out, is us, those who follow him. Jesus takes great satisfaction in us, his family.

We have come to the final stanza of Isaiah’s fourth Servant Song. The stanza is linked by the word usually translated "soul" or "life," which appears in all three verses. In each appearance, the soul of the Servant endures some difficulty—it is offered up, it is in anguish and it is poured out. But the Servant’s travail in each case gets him what he wants, and in each case what he wants has something to do with his family.

The final stanza sums up the entire Servant Song, gathering pieces from the previous stanzas, particularly the first (52:13-15) and the third (53:4-6).

The first two lines in verse 10 make the Lord look like a sadist. Isaiah says that the Lord was actually "pleased" to crush his Servant, putting him to grief. Earlier we saw that the Servant was "crushed" to death for our iniquities (verse 5). We also saw that he was "acquainted with grief" because he bore our grief, becoming, in a sense, ill and weak for bearing sin (verses 3 and 4). Now we see the identity of the executioner: It was the Lord. And carrying out the task of execution somehow gives the Lord pleasure. The word translated "putting" was used in Isaiah 49:2 of the preparation of the Servant, there translated "made." The Lord prepared the Servant to be crushed.

The Lord is the executioner, but it’s not as if the Servant doesn’t have a choice. He volunteers for the job. He renders himself—literally his "soul" or "life"—as a guilt offering. A guilt offering involved the sacrifice of a ram without defect to make atonement for sin (Leviticus 6:6-7). The Servant is willing to do what pleases the Lord, even if it means bearing sin and being crushed to death for it.

Yet death doesn’t seem to be the end of the line for the Servant. In fact, he is promised that if he offers himself up, he will be rewarded in three ways. First, he will "see his offspring." He will somehow live to see his children. Second, he will "prolong his days." Such language is used elsewhere in the Hebrew scriptures of long life but nowhere for one who has died. Something unusual will happen to the Servant after death. Nothing less than a resurrection must be in view. Third, the "good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in his hand." He will do the work that pleases the Lord, and that work will be successful.

The word translated "good pleasure" is the noun for the verb translated "pleased" in the beginning of the verse. Here is what ultimately pleases the Lord—the work accomplished by the Servant. The result of crushing the Servant is so pleasing to the Lord that it can actually be said that crushing his Servant pleases the Lord as well.

The Lord crushed his Servant, Jesus of Nazareth, by piling the sins of the world on him when he hung on the cross. This is what the Father prepared his Son for. Knowing what pleases the Father and wanting to please the Father, Jesus offers himself up as a guilt offering, as a ram without moral defect, for the sins of the world. Jesus said, "I always do the things that are pleasing to him" (John 8:29). Jesus was killed, but that wasn’t the end of his story. He saw his seed, his offspring—his family. He who had no wife or children was given a family. We who are born again through Jesus are his offspring, his family. In prolonging his days, Jesus is resurrected from the dead. Isaiah said that the Messiah would be called "Eternal Father" (Isaiah 9:6). Jesus lives to see his family—us!—forever. The good pleasure of the Lord, then, turns out to be the family of Jesus. We are what gives the Father pleasure. We prosper in the hand of Jesus, as he leads us into his family through his death and as he leads us in life through his Spirit.

Can you trust the hand of Jesus to lead you? Well, he renders himself as a guilt offering for your sake and is crushed in the process. If you ever wonder whether you can trust the hand of Jesus, all you have to do is look at it. If you look at it, you’ll see an ugly scar from a nail that pierced his flesh long ago. You, who bring pleasure to the Father, prosper in the hand of Jesus.

In light of what gives the Father pleasure, it is not entirely surprising that he was pleased to crush his Son. Some forms of execution use multiple executioners so that none of them knows whose actions actually killed the criminal and no one has to live with the guilt. Yet the Father not only takes responsibility for executing his Son, he actually seems to enjoy it. How can this be? The question speaks to our worth to the Father. We are worth so much to the Father that it can be said that he takes pleasure in executing his Son because of the family that proceeds from it. The Father takes pleasure in crushing the Son because he takes pleasure in us.

The word "Gethsemane" means oil press. It’s likely that there was an oil press at the site that crushed olives in order to produce valuable oil. When Jesus goes to Gethsemane, he is on the verge of being crushed for the sins of humanity. But like an olive, his crushing produces something very valuable—in his case, a family.

Don’t you find within yourself the hope that something greater lies ahead? Don’t you hope that you’re being prepared for something, though you may not know what it is? As servants of the Lord, we are being prepared for something—for many things. But what we may not know is that we’re being prepared to be crushed somewhere along the line. There are seasons when the Father in his "severe mercy" crushes us, putting us to grief. Something deeply re-creative happens in this process, and we emerge with wisdom and compassion to share. There will be oil from the olive and offspring from the servant. There will be fruit to "see." We too will be resurrected from the dead, and we will see everything clearly then. Because of all this, it can be said that the good pleasure of the Lord prospers in your hand.

In verse 10, we saw how the Lord felt about executing his Servant. In verse 11, we see how the Servant himself feels about it.

The experience of being crushed caused anguish in the soul of the Servant. The word translated "soul" in verse 11 is the same word used in the Hebrew text in connection with the Servant’s offering in verse 10. The Servant would render his "soul" as a guilt offering. Lest there be any doubt, Isaiah tells us that this causes the Servant anguish. This is not just physical pain, but pain that is felt in the soul.

But the anguish has a result. The result is that the Servant will "see." Verse 11 does not specifically say what the Servant will see, only that he will see. In the seeing, he will be satisfied. In the flow of the stanza, however, it is not difficult to understand what the Servant sees and what gives him satisfaction. The verb "see" was used in the previous verse in connection with the Servant. What does the Servant see there? He will see his "offspring." He will see his family. Seeing his family gives him satisfaction. As God "saw" what he had made in creation, particularly the creation of the first family, and deemed it "very good" (Genesis 1:31), so the Servant will see his work in the creation of a new family, the new family of God, and be satisfied. How does the Servant feel about being executed? It hurts him and it satisfies him.

How is it that the Servant generates this new family? He does it "by his knowledge." Before he does anything, he first must know something. He has an understanding of God’s revelation in the sweep of history. And he knows the will of God for him—even God’s desire to crush him—and he agrees with it. The Servant is called the "Righteous One"—the one who keeps the covenant, belongs to God and acts like he belongs to God. By his knowledge the Righteous One will "justify the many." The word translated "justify" is the noun connected to the adjective "righteous." The Righteous One will also make others righteous—they will be declared part of God’s covenant family and they will begin acting like they belong to God. The Servant, then, will make others like himself—righteous. The term "many," which appeared earlier in the poem (Isaiah 52:14-15), refers to all those who benefit from the Servant’s work. The Servant justifies the many by his knowledge, and his knowledge leads him to "bear their iniquities." Instead of the many bearing their own iniquities, the Servant bears them; thus, the many are brought into God’s family.

One look at the New Testament tells us that Jesus endured anguish of soul, which reached a climax on the cross when he cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?" (Mark 15:34). He felt great pain in his soul as he became sin (2 Corinthians 5:21) and the Father abandoned him. As a result of this anguish, he saw a whole new family, he saw his children, and that brought him great satisfaction. Jesus looks out at the family he has created—he looks out at us—and what is his reaction? Is he disappointed or angry? No, he’s satisfied. He could have been bitter for the anguish we caused him, but instead he is satisfied. If you are part of the family of Jesus, you give him great satisfaction. What is it that he finds so satisfying? You are his offspring, his child. What does a father enjoy most about his child? If he’s a good father, he simply enjoys the relationship. Some fathers don’t enjoy their children because their children are somehow disappointing to them. Such is not the case with Jesus. He enjoys us; we are satisfying to him. We give the Father pleasure and the Son satisfaction. Wow.

Jesus is the "Righteous One" who knew what needed to be done. He knew what the Father wanted and what we needed. In the garden (Mark 14:32-43), when asking the Father if it was possible that the cup be taken from him, Jesus looked for the answer in his disciples, who represent all of us. Jesus had told them to watch and pray, to stay connected to God, but he found them asleep, disconnected. The Father’s will—that Jesus go to the cross—was expressed through the neediness of the disciples, through our neediness. Jesus saw our need and met it. Thus he bore our iniquities, and thus we are justified. Thus we are part of God’s covenant family. Even now, the Son knows what the Father wants and what we need. We don’t know what we need, but Jesus does.

Do you ever experience anguish of soul? Anguish has a result for servants of the Lord. First of all, it improves their vision. They will "see." Anguish of soul improves spiritual perception. It also leads to more meaningful relationships as we desire to connect with others in a deeper way. It leads us to see others—and to enjoy them—in a new, deeper way. We will "see and be satisfied." And as we emerge from the various Gethsamanes that the Lord takes us to, we will know what the Father wants from us. We don’t justify anyone or bear anyone’s iniquities (although it may feel that way at times!), but we are more inclined to point "the many" in the direction of the one who does. And can you imagine what it will be like, when Jesus returns and we are given perfect spiritual sight (1 John 3:2), to see the result of the anguish of our souls? None of us has any idea how many lives we have touched, or how our influence on one person affected that person’s influence on someone else, and so on. One day we will see the complete picture that the anguish of our souls has painted. We will be stunned and, by the way, satisfied. Now we hurt. Later we’ll be satisfied.

The final stanza, verses 10 to 12, gathers up pieces from the entire poem, and that is especially seen in the final verse, verse 12, which summarizes the poem.

It begins with the word "therefore." Because the Servant acted to justify the many and bear their iniquities, the Lord rewards him. The first line in verse 12 can be translated this way: "Therefore, I will allot to him the many." Given the flow of the poem, this is a more fitting conclusion than simply saying, "Therefore, I will allot him a portion with the great (or many)." The Servant is not simply one among the great or the many; he is greater than the great or the many. Similar wording in Job 39:17 argues in favor of an interpretation that has the Servant receiving the many as a reward. The word in the first line can be translated "great" or "many," but in light of the fact that the same word has been used elsewhere in the poem, even the previous verse, and is seen in those places as the "many," it should also be understood this way in verse 12.

The Servant has justified the many, and he receives the many as his reward. These are the offspring that he will see, those whose iniquities he bore. His reward for his anguish is those for whom he suffered.

Then the Servant, having received his reward, divides the booty with the strong, or the numerous. The word translated "divide" in the second line of verse 12 is the same one that is translated "allot" in the first line. The "strong" are the same people as the many. In fact, "strong" can also be translated "numerous." It looks as if the many have now become the strong. The Lord gives the many to the Servant, and the Servant gives the booty to the many, or the strong. It looks as if the Servant will win a great victory and will share the spoils, whatever they be, with his family.

The word "because," which begins the third line in verse 12, has a similar effect as the word "therefore," which begins the first line. Both point to the reason for the Servant’s being honored. The reason, as noted earlier, has to do with his actions. In this case, he was honored because he "poured out himself to death" and "was numbered with transgressors." Here is another take on the atoning sacrifice of the Servant. The word translated "himself," as in verse 10, would more literally be translated "soul" or "life." In verse 10, he is seen as rendering his soul or life as a guilt offering; here he seen as pouring out his soul or life. In rendering his soul as a guilt offering and in pouring out his soul, he felt anguish of soul (verse 11). In verse 11, the Servant is giving everything he has—his soul, his life—until there is no more life, until he dies. In being numbered with transgressors, the Servant was seen as a rebel, yet in fact was not one. But his willingness to be considered a transgressor is another reason the Lord honored him. He was willing to be completely misunderstood.

Yet he wasn’t a transgressor. Thus, clarification is provided at the end of the verse. He appeared as a transgressor because he "bore the sin of many" and "interceded for the transgressors." The reason he was numbered with transgressors is because he was suffering for their sins and interceding for them. He cared so much for them and got so close to them that he looked like one of them.

Many parallels can be found between verse 12 and Luke 22:14-38. It is likely that Luke, knowing that Isaiah 53:12 summed up the entire Servant Song, had this verse in mind when writing his account:

Isaiah: "Therefore, I will allot to him the many." Luke 22:29: "‘Just as my Father has granted me a kingdom….’"

Isaiah: "And he will divide the booty with the strong." Luke 22:29-30: "‘…and just as my Father has granted me a kingdom, I grant you that you may eat and drink at my table in my kingdom, and you will sit on thrones judging the 12 tribes of Israel.’"

Isaiah: "Because he poured out his soul to death…." Luke 22:20: "And in the same way he took the cup after they had eaten, saying, ‘This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.’"

Isaiah: "And was numbered with transgressors." Luke 22:37: "‘For I tell you, that this which is written must be fulfilled in me, "And he was classed among criminals"; for that which refers to me has its fulfillment.’"

Isaiah: "Yet he himself bore the sin of many." Luke 22:27: "‘But I am among you as one who serves.’"

Isaiah: "And interceded for the transgressors." Luke 22:31: "‘Simon, Simon, behold, Satan has demanded permission to sift you like wheat; but I have prayed for you, that your faith may not fail…."

There is a parallel also with Philippians 2:5-11. Isaiah says the Servant "poured out himself to death." Paul says Jesus "emptied himself," becoming obedient "to the point of death, even death on a cross" (Philippians 2:7-8). Isaiah says, "Therefore, I will allot to him the many." Paul says, "Therefore also God highly exalted him, and bestowed on him the name which is above every name" (Philippians 2:9).

In the New Testament, the crucifixion of Jesus is seen as a great victory in which God triumphed over and disarmed demonic forces (Colossians 2:15). What is Jesus’ reward for winning this great victory? He receives "the many," who turn out to be us, those who he went to war to liberate. You may not feel as if you are much of a reward for anyone, but the Father considers you the best gift he can give to his Son, and Jesus considers you the best gift he could receive. The Father and the Son went to war to win you back from the clutches of the evil one. You’re worth fighting for! Then, as a conquering king assumes his throne, Jesus ascended to heaven and gave us gifts (Ephesians 4:8). Those gifts, commonly called spiritual gifts, are given to followers of Jesus to build up the body of Christ, his family (Ephesians 4:12). We, brought into the family of Jesus and gifted by Jesus, are now the "strong" ones who build up his family. We are given the awesome privilege of implementing the great victory that Jesus has won.

Jesus was thought to be a transgressor. He was misunderstood. Far from being a transgressor, he interceded for transgressors on the cross when he prayed, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Luke 23:34). Jesus intercedes for us that we might draw near to the Father (Hebrews 7:25).

Jesus does not take satisfaction simply in accomplishment or victory. In and of itself, accomplishment is empty. In the movie For the Love of the Game, aging pitcher Billy Chapel throws a perfect game in what turns out to be the last game of his career. Alone in his hotel room that night, he sobs. The accomplishment, in the end, meant nothing in his loneliness, so he wept. The victory of Jesus means so much to him because he won something for others—for us—and because he gets to share the spoils of his victory with us.

As servants of the Lord, we receive "the many" as well—many brothers and sisters in this new family: "And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or children or farms for my name’s sake, shall receive many times as much, and shall inherit eternal life" (Matthew 19:29). The accomplishments with deep meaning are those for the sake of others and shared with others. We don’t hand out spiritual gifts, but we can confirm what we see in others and encourage them to serve (2 Timothy 2:6). We may be numbered with transgressors. We may be completely misunderstood. That seems to be part of the call, even as we pour out our lives for transgressors and intercede for them (Romans 8:26, 9:3-5). The times where you are misunderstood the most are often when you care the most.

When we take in the sweep of this final stanza, we see how valuable we are. We please the Father, and we satisfy the Son. They love us so much that we’re worth fighting for. When the victory is won, the Father and Son think so highly of us that the Father gives us to the Son as his reward and the Son is satisfied. Then the Son gifts us to carry on his work. The two threads that run through the stanza are the themes of "soul" and "family." Jesus is willing to endure great anguish of soul in order to enjoy us, his family.

Scripture quotations are taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE ("NASB"). © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. Where indicated, Scripture quotations were also taken from the HOLY BIBLE, NEW INTERNATIONAL VERSION ("NIV"). © 1973, 1978, 1984 International Bible Society. Used by permission of Zondervan Bible Publishers.

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