(Continued-Chapter XVIII)

The sufferings thus depicted result in the death of the Servant for "He is cut off out of the land of the living." If justice and righteousness had been meted out to everyone, the death sentence would have fallen upon the entire nation, but the mercy of God interposed and allowed the stroke which was due to the race to fall upon Him.

The latter part of this verse likewise has been variously translated and about it a great discussion has raged. In the ordinary English version it is translated "for He was cut off out of the land of the living because of the transgression of my people to whom the stroke was due." This translation, grammatically speaking, is correct. Another rendering, however, is likewise correct, which is: "He was cut off out of the land of the living; on account of the transgression of My people, vengeance fell on Him." These two renderings yield the same net result, which accord with the facts of the context.¹

Not being satisfied with the cruel death which they imposed upon Him, those in authority planned to heap disgrace and ignominy upon His name perpetually by burying Him with the wicked. According to Josephus, such was the custom among the Jews at that time. "He that blasphemeth God let him be stoned, and let him hang upon a tree all that day, and let him be buried in an ignominious and obscure manner." Since the plans and counsels of men are brought to nought while the counsels of God stand fast (Psa. 33:10,11), and since this Servant is innocent "because He had done no violence and neither was deceit in His mouth," God providentially interposed by giving Him favor "with a rich man in His deaths" (Author's Tr.). Therefore He was not buried with the wicked, according to the plan of His enemies, but was in the hands of His friend.

VI. THE NECESSITY FOR ATONEMENT

"Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise him." It was in the great plan and purpose of God that the Messiah should suffer and die in order to make atonement. Three considerations render it obligatory.

A. The Presence of Sin in the World

That "sin" is in the world is evident from the wreckage seen on every hand. When God established the world, He created it "not a waste" (Isa. 45:18). According to Gen. 1:2, "the earth became a desolation and a waste" (Author's Tr.). During six days God was "reconstructing" it preparatory to the creation of man. When God created him, He placed him in the most favorable surroundings in a garden eastward in Eden. By yielding to the temptation of הַשָּׂטָן "the Devil," man disobeyed God. This rebellion brought the curse upon the earth under which it has been groaning to the present time and will continue to do so until it is lifted when Messiah returns in glory (Zech. 14:11).

This disaster was not confined to the material world but reached unto man. God created man "in His own image, in the image of God created He him." From this statement it is clear that man, bearing the image of God, was in a perfect, healthy condition, both physically and spiritually. When he sinned, the curse likewise fell upon him (See Gen. 3:16,19). David recognized the fallen condition of humanity: "Behold, I was brought forth in iniquity; And in sin did my mother conceive me" (Psa. 51:5). עָקֹב הַלֵּב מִכֹּל וְאָנֻשׁ הוּא מִי יֵדָעֶנּוּ׃ "The heart is deceitful above all things, and it is exceedingly corrupt: who can know it?" (Jer. 17:9).

Prior to Adam's transgression, sickness and disease were unknown. The day he sinned, the statement, "dying, thou shalt surely die" was fulfilled (Author's Tr.).²

Not only did man die on that day physically but also spiritually, for he was driven out from the presence of God, Who is the source of all spiritual life. This spiritual death terminates in eternal death. "The soul that sinneth, it shall die" (Ezek. 18:4). This statement refers not to physical, but to spiritual and eternal death. "There is no peace, saith my God, to the wicked" (Isa. 57:21). "And they (people living during the reign of the Messiah) shall go forth, and look upon the dead bodies of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die,³ neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh" (Isa. 66:24). From this verse it is clear that those living during the reign of Messiah and enjoying the unbounded spiritual blessings of that age will have spiritual vision and will see the wicked suffering in a place separated from God, from which place they can never go forth; hence spiritual death terminates in eternal banishment from the presence of God.

Such great wreckage and havoc as has been wrought throughout the entire realm of nature and in the human kingdom argues the presence of a force or power in the world antagonistic to God and capable of such unspeakable ruin. From different Scriptures it is evident that "the Devil" who is hostile to God was back of this disaster.

Moses and the prophets speak of עָוֹן וָפֶשַׁע וְחַטָּאָה "sin, transgression and iniquity." The first of these doubtless refers to what is known as "sin in the flesh" and is the cause of sin and transgression in the life. Sin in the flesh can be called spiritual gravitation. As there is the power of gravitation in the physical world, which, according to Newton's law, draws all physical objects toward the center of the earth, so there is a downward spiritual, evil force which pulls man down to a life of degradation and sin. Therefore the presence of this hostile deadly power of sin in the flesh which works itself out into a life of disobedience and transgression must be dealt with; hence the absolute necessity for the atonement of the Messiah.

B. God's Character

וַיַּעֲבֹר יְהוָה עַל־פָּנָיו וַיִּקְרָא יְהוָה יְהוָה אֵל רַחוּם וְחַנּוּן אֶרֶךְ אַפַּיִם וְרַב־חֶסֶד וֶאֱמֶת׃ נֹצֵר חֶסֶד לָאֲלָפִים נֹשֵׂא עָוֹן וָפֶשַׁע וְחַטָּאָה וְנַקֵּה לֹא יְנַקֶּה פֹּקֵד עֲוֹן אָבוֹת עַל־בָּנִים וְעַל־בְּנֵי בָנִים עַל־שִׁלֵּשִׁים וְעַל־רִבֵּעִים׃

"And the Lord passed by before him, and proclaimed, the Lord, the Lord, a God merciful and gracious, slow to anger, and abundant in lovingkindness and truth; keeping lovingkindness for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin; and that will by no means clear the guilty, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children's children, upon the third and upon the fourth generation" (Ex. 34:6,7).

God, in proclaiming His name, declared His character. Since everything is related in some way to God, it is necessary to view each item in the light of this relationship.

In the above statement He affirms seven things concerning Himself: (1) "merciful and gracious"; (2) "slow to anger"; (3) "abundant in lovingkindness and truth"; (4) "keeping lovingkindness for thousands"; (5) "forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin"; (6) "that will by no means clear the guilty"; and (7) "visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children. ..."

God's mercifulness and lovingkindness is sufficiently great to overlook any and all sins and to save every individual, if it were a matter purely of love. The characteristic of righteousness--absolute and uncompromising--demands that every sin shall be dealt with impartially upon the merits of the case. If it were purely a matter in which righteousness alone functioned, there would be no salvation for anyone since all have sinned, as declared the prophets. "They are corrupt, they have done abominable works; There is none that doeth good" (Psa. 14:1). God's righteousness is a check upon His love and vice versa.

He has to deal with Satan and sin because He is of "purer eyes than to behold evil, and that canst not look on perverseness" (Hab. 1:13). Therefore His holiness demands that they be dealt with adequately. In order to be true to Himself, He must deal with the problem. That He will be is seen in the statement which He made to Moses at the burning bush, אֶהְיֶה אֲשֶׁר אֶהְיֶה "I will be that I will be."

C. Man's Good

Since man's disobedience (Gen. 3), he has never been supremely happy as God originally intended that he should be. Into every life come more or less frequently--and usually most frequently-- experiences that mar his happiness. Such are unavoidable.

The one thing which destroys happiness in the life of every man is the consciousness of sin. "They are all gone aside; they are together become filthy; There is none that doeth good, no, not one" (Psa. 14:3). With a heart from which flows such a life of sin, shame and unprofitableness, no man can experience real joy and satisfaction. Therefore it is imperative that an atonement sufficient to meet man's need and restore him to full and free fellowship with God must be made.

Having seen in this section that there is a spiritual downward pull of sin which has wrecked the material world and corrupted man's nature, that God's grace, righteousness, and holiness demand that the problem be dealt with adequately, and that man's good likewise demands the counteraction of sin and its removal in order that he may be supremely happy, one immediately recognizes that the sin question and its solution are vital not only to God but also to every individual who has ever lived, lives, or will live. Only God can grapple with and solve such a problem which concerns the happiness of each individual not only in time but through-out eternity.

VII. THE BLOOD OF THE ATONEMENT

"When his soul shall make an offering for sin." As seen above, since sin is such a mighty power, which has wrecked all of God's work in connection with this earth, the Messiah--God in the flesh--takes hold of the situation and solves it. The way he does it is by His soul's making itself an אָשָׁם, "trespass offering" for sin. The principle of justice demands eye for eye, tooth for tooth, and life for life. Since "the soul that sinneth, it shall die," since God wishes to rescue every soul from eternal punishment, and since the animal sacrifices mentioned by Moses: "for it is the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life" could not atone completely for man's sin, as is seen from the fact that this blood had to be shed yearly, it is the good pleasure of God to bruise Messiah whose blood is able to counteract all of the evil effects which resulted from man's sin. His "pouring out His soul unto death," since He is the Infinite God, is adequate to meet all of the demands of righteousness and to make complete atonement for man's sin.

"And the blood shall be to you for a token upon the houses where ye are: and when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and there shall no plague be upon you to destroy you, when I smite the land of Egypt. 14. And this day shall be unto you for a memorial, and ye shall keep it a feast to Jehovah: throughout your generations ye shall keep it a feast by an ordinance forever" (Ex. 12:13,14). If the blood of the Passover lamb--a mere animal--was efficacious in protecting the first-born of the children of Israel from death when they screened themselves behind it by sprinkling it upon the door-posts and lintels, much more can the Blood of King Messiah protect the one who hearkens to His voice from the stroke of the death angel and save him from eternal death. Only those who were protected by the blood of the Passover lamb were safe; in every house of the Egyptians the first-born lay dead. The reason for sparing the first-born of Israel and the slaying of the first-born of the Egyptians was not that Israel morally was better than the Egyptians, but the explanation of the difference is to be found in the fact that there was power in the blood. Thus it will be when God comes to judge the living and the dead: Only those who have screened themselves behind the Blood of Messiah by accepting His atonement will be saved from eternal wrath and indignation. There is power, eternal cleansing power in the Blood of King Messiah.

One may not understand how the blood of the lamb upon the door-posts protected the first-born of the Israelites. The fact is that it did the work. A person who is sick with some deadly disease may not understand how a certain kind of medicine will enter the life-stream of the blood and destroy the death-dealing germs, but when he by faith takes the medicine, it does the work. One does not understand how food which is eaten is assimilated and is built into the protoplasm of the cell tissues but he knows that such is true. Likewise, he may not understand how the Blood of Messiah can cleanse from all sin, can break evil habits of long standing, and can make one acceptable in the sight of God. It is not necessary in order to enjoy some blessings to understand the whys and the wherefores. A knowledge of the fact that it does the work is all that is necessary. Being fully assured that there is power in the Blood, one can by faith--unwavering and unfaltering--accept this only way of approach to God and can enjoy the fullness of blessing with God not only in time but in eternity.

The power of the Blood of Messiah can break and crush the power of sin in the flesh of all those who accept Him. It was a matter of free choice and faith on the part of the Israelites when they protected themselves by the blood of the Passover lamb. It is a matter of free choice and faith with one today as to whether he accepts or rejects the Blood of Messiah. To accept in faith and abiding trust is to be in absolute security and safety; to refuse or to neglect to accept the atonement of Messiah is to reject God's ONLY way of redemption and salvation.

In society, when it has been proved that one is incurably insane, or a criminal, he is segregated to an institution for that purpose for the, good of said society. God will be just as careful for the society of the redeemed in the eternal world. Those who do not accept Messiah's atonement and permit Him to cleanse them from all sin but choose rather to have Satan to be their master will be separated from the redeemed family of God in eternity and segregated in a place from which there shall be no escape and to which no hope can ever come. The justice of God and the redeemed, cleansed, and glorified society demand such an institution throughout eternity.

VIII. THE SUFFERING OF THE SERVANT IN THE PLAN OF GOD

In the words of Delitzsch, one may say "the supreme causa efficiens was God Who made the Son of Man subservient to His pleasure, His will, and predetermined counsel." Since God does not delight in the suffering of any of His creatures, He caused the stroke of judgment to fall upon His Servant that they may go free.

A. The Voluntary Sacrifice of the Servant

The words אִם־תָּשִׂים אָשָׁם נַפְשׁוֹ are variously translated by different ones. That translation which appears to the writer to be in harmony with the context is "When His soul shall make a trespass offering." There were various offerings in the Levitical system, but the one referred to here is the trespass offering concerning which Dr. Culross remarks "That while the sin-offering looked to the sinful state of the offerer, the trespass-offering was appointed to meet actual transgressions, the fruit of the sinful state. The sin-offering set forth propitiation, the trespass-offering set forth satisfaction. It was brought by the transgressor 'to make amends for the harm that had been done.'" The use in this passage of the Levitical terms connected with the sacrifice points definitely to the thought that this suffering Servant is the One Who was typified by the sacrifices which were required of Israel. In Lev. 17:11 God declares that the life of an animal is in the blood, and that it is "the blood that maketh atonement by reason of the life." Evidently, the Levitical sacrifices were insufficient to atone for the sins of the people; therefore this Servant of the Lord, being one of the Divine Personalities in human form, is the One Who makes complete satisfaction and atonement for the sins of man.

On the eve of the ninth of Tishri pious Hebrews provide themselves with a Kapporah--"means of atonement--a, rooster for the male and a hen for the female." After he has recited the prayers the man swings the fowl three times around his head and devoutly recites: "This is my change, this is my redemption, this rooster is going to be killed and I will be admitted to a long, happy, and peaceful life." In the law God did not command that a rooster or a hen should be used as an atonement for the soul; He prescribed two goats; one for the Lord and one for Azazel (see Lev. 16). The blood of those goats, however, could not atone for sin, but in a symbolic way rolled the sins of the pious worshipper forward one year when another sacrifice had to be offered. The importance of obeying the Lord implicitly may be seen in the case of the death angel's passing over Egypt the night Israel left. In strict obedience to the demand of the Lord, the blood of the Passover lamb was sprinkled upon the door-posts and lintels of every Hebrew home. The Egyptians had no passover with its blood. When the death angel passed over the land he slew the first-born of the Egyptians, whereas the first-born of the Israelites, being screened behind the blood, was spared. No substitute on the part of Israel would have saved the first-born; neither will it today.

Since the blood of the goat could not make atonement for sins, God, according to this prediction, allowed His Righteous Servant, the Messiah--the Spotless, Sinless Son of God--to offer His soul as a sacrifice for the sins of the people. Dear friend, no substitute will suffice. You must accept this sacrifice made by the Servant and offered freely to you, without money and without price, or be banished eternally from the presence of God into a place of anguish and misery.

Though this Servant before His death seems to have "labored in vain" and "have spent My strength for nought and vanity" (Isa. 49:4), He sees results from His labors and the sacrifice of Himself. Having been slain, He rises from the dead and, "prolongs His days" (see Psa. 16:10f). In another Messianic psalm (21:4) the inspired writer, speaking of King Messiah, said: "He asked life of thee, thou gavest it him, Even length of days for ever and ever." That אֹרֶךְ יָמִים refer to the future life is seen in the Targum of Jonathan and in the commentary of Kimchi, who interpret them to refer to "the life of the world to come." Hence this Servant lives for ever and ever.

His sacrifice is not in vain, for He "shall see seed," not in a literal fleshly posterity, for He is cut off out of the land of the living, but a spiritual seed--those who accept His atonement and His righteousness. That זֶרַע "seed" is used in the figurative sense is clear from Isa. 1:4, which refers to the children of Israel: "A seed of evil-doers, children that deal corruptly!" Again, in 57:4 the same prophet indicted the nation by saying: "Are ye not children of transgression, a seed זֶרַע of falsehood?" Therefore the "seed" is the one to whom the Psalmist David (Psa. 22:30) referred: "A seed shall serve him."

Not only does He make atonement for man's redemption, but the entire plan, purpose, "and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hand." Part of this plan and pleasure of God may be seen in the following quotation: "Behold, my servant, whom I uphold; my chosen, in whom my soul delighteth: I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the Gentiles ... I, the Lord, have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thy hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; to open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison-house." "And now saith the Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, and that Israel be gathered unto him ... yea, he saith, It is too light a thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth" (Isa. 42:1-7; 49:5,6).

B. The Righteous Servant

God declares that this Servant is righteous. No individual could make an offering for the sins of others except a righteous one. That He is righteous in the absolute sense of the term is obvious from the fact that this Servant is Messiah, the Son of David, Who is God manifest in the flesh (Isa. 9:6,7 (5, 6). This conclusion is confirmed by Jeremiah who in speaking of the Messiah said that God "will raise unto David a righteous Branch" and He shall be called יְהוָה צִדְקֵנוּ "the Lord our Righteousness" (Jer. 23:5,6). Hence this king is King Messiah, is God in the flesh, and is the righteous One Who Justifies those who accept Him and His atonement. Notwithstanding the fact that not all are made righteous but that "many" are--i.e., all are not willing to accept His atoning sacrifice for their sins; hence are not made righteous--all who do accept Him genuinely will be clothed in His Righteousness (Isa. 61:10). שׂוֹשׂ אָשִׂישׂ בַּיהוָה תָּגֵל נַפְשִׁי בֵּאלֹהַי כִּי הִלְבִּישַׁנִי בִּגְדֵי־יֶשַׁע מְעִיל צְדָקָה יְעָטָנִי כֶּחָתָן יְכַהֵן פְּאֵר וְכַכַּלָּה תַּעְדֶּה כֵלֶיהָ׃" I will greatly rejoice in the Lord, my soul shall be joyful in my God; for he hath clothed me with the garments of salvation, he hath covered me with the robe of righteousness, as a bridegroom decketh himself with a garland, and as a bride adorneth herself with her jewels."

This righteous Servant makes those who accept Him righteous "by his knowledge." Grammatically, this expression may refer to the knowledge which this servant possesses and which enables him to work out the perfect plan of God and thus make it possible for many to become righteous by accepting him; or, it may mean that by learning of the sacrifice which the servant has made and by accepting Him, one has not only the mental concept of Him but has an experimental, spiritual, heart knowledge of Him. One cannot be dogmatic here. From other Scriptures it is clear that both positions are correct. Since the Word of God is so very replete with meaning it is quite probable that both meanings are expressed.

Not only does He make an atonement for those who accept Him and bring them to a condition of righteousness and acceptance with God, but He intercedes with God both for transgressors and for those who in loving faith and obedience accept His sacrifice.

The sufferings and sacrifice of the Servant are richly rewarded for He shall "see of the travail of his soul and shall be satisfied."

C. The Servant's Supreme Sacrifice

"Because he poured out his soul unto death." This is a voluntary, willing submission to death. Neither circumstances nor individuals force Him to such a tragic death; but He through love for lost man willingly drinks the cup of death, even its very dregs. In submitting to the ignominious death which He suffers He is by His executers "numbered with the transgressors." In this verse the two great fundamental doctrines of the sovereignty of God, on the one hand, and the freedom of mankind, on the other, flow into a single stream. Man can never harmonize these two seemingly contradictory teachings of Holy Scripture. He must, however, accept them as true because such is the teaching of the entire Tenach and such is the case as is seen by every spiritually minded person who seriously studies life and its problems. Thus the sufferer voluntarily offers His life a ransom for the sins of the world and at the same time His executers voluntarily, of their own free-will and accord, put Him to death. Hence they in executing Him, are simply carrying out the divine program. Though carrying out these purposes, they are responsible to God for their wickedness because they upon their own initiative put Him to death.

In His bearing the sin--the sin of many--at the time of pouring out His soul unto death, He makes "intercession for the transgressors," i.e., during His sufferings which are caused by the ill treatment accorded to Him and His having been "pierced," He makes fervent intercession to God in behalf of His executers. In other words, the dying Servant of the Lord, free from all malice, envy, and hatred toward His persecutors and executers, prays God's forgiveness of them. What marvelous grace, what outpouring of love! My dear Hebrew friend, this dying, bleeding Messiah, as He dies, pleads to God for your salvation and forgiveness.

As a concluding remark it is well to call attention to the excellent summary of the chapter by Dr. Alexander who observes that these "frequent repetitions so far from being rhetorical defects or indications of another author, are used with obvious design, namely, that of making it impossible for any ingenuity or learning to eliminate the doctrine of vicarious atonement from this passage by presenting it so often, and in forms so varied and yet still the same, that he who succeeds in expelling it from one place is compelled to meet it in another. Thus in this verse, which fills up the last particulars of the humiliation and sufferings of the Messiah even unto death, it is once again repeated that it was 'for the transgression of my people' that the stroke fell upon Him."



Footnotes:

¹ The controversy, alluded to above, pertains to the word למו. Is this singular or plural? The position has been taken that it is plural and refers to the Hebrew nation; therefore the Servant is the nation personified. Kimchi is the first to have made this argument, claiming that למו is plural and equivalent to להם. But in his grammar he contradicted himself, for he says "מו (mo) occurs as an affix of the 3rd person singular as in Job 20:23; 22:2." Again he affirms "מו (mo) is used both of many and of one." His statements in his grammar are correct for in poetry it may have the plural signification but in the passages referred to it is undoubtedly singular. Likewise in Isa. 44:15 it is singular. "He maketh it a graven image and falleth down thereto למו." Hence the context is to determine its significance. In this context it is clear that an individual suffers for the rest; therefore it is singular.

² This statement is scientifically correct. According to modern biology, the katabolic processes are functioning in the body of every individual from conception to death. Up to mid-life the anabolic processes, however, are in the ascendancy; after that time the former gain the ascendancy the result of which fact terminates in death.

³ Throughout the Tenach the word שׁאל occurs. Its origin is somewhat doubtful; some scholars, however, trace it back to the word "ask" while others trace it back to the word which means "to be hollow." Sometimes it is translated "grave" or "pit." In several passages the dead are said to be gathered in companies; hence the oft-recurring expression "gathered unto his fathers." This phrase, as the different contexts indicate, refers to something quite different and distinct from burial. Jacob was gathered unto his people; afterward his body was embalmed, and later buried. "Sheol" among the Hebrews was similar to "the realm of shades" in Babylonian mythology, to which Ishtar descended. It was a place of cessation from activity, and by Job is spoken of as a "place of rest," but not necessarily peaceful rest.

In Psa. 49 the writer, speaking of the irreligious wealthy class of people, said, in verse 14, that, "They are appointed as a flock for Sheol; Death shall be their shepherd: And the upright shall have dominion over them in the morning; And their beauty shall be for Sheol to consume, That there be no habitation for it." In the next verse the poet triumphantly declares, "But God will redeem my soul from the power of Sheol; For he will receive me." In the former verse the irreligious, godless ones are compared to a flock of sheep which is gathered into Sheol as its fold, there to remain and to be under the authority of the "upright" "in the morning"--the morning of eternity. The Psalmist affirms that God will not allow him to go to Sheol but rather will receive him into His fellowship. This passage most clearly teaches that there is a place of punishment to which the wicked go upon their departure from this life.

On this same subject Isaiah spoke as follows: "And it shall come to pass in that day, that the Lord will punish the host of the high ones on high, and the kings of the earth upon the earth. And they shall be gathered together, as prisoners are gathered in the pit, and shall be shut up in the prison; and after many days shall they be visited (punished)." The "host of the high ones on high," who are the evil spirits under Satan, according to this passage, will be gathered together with the kings of the earth, as prisoners are gathered into the pit, and shall be shut up; after many days punishment shall be administered to them. The duration of this punishment is not stated in this passage.

Daniel, however, in 12:2 answers that question. "And many of them that sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt." There will be two classes of people raised from the dead: first, those who are raised to everlasting life--unending; second, those to everlasting contempt--never-ending shame and punishment.

<<<< previous     next >>>>