Isaiah 53:11
After he has suffered,
he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 53:10-12
In the second half of Isaiah 53:11, the speaker changes. We have been reading the words of the redeemed Jewish remnant looking back on what happened to Jesus and reflecting on the fact that they missed it. Jesus was the Messiah who came to save them from their sins and they (Jews) are the ones who crucified him.
Now the passage shifts from the first person plural to the first person singular and God the Father speaks. God is not looking back, He is looking ahead. God will speak about what He sees to Isaiah as He looks ahead to the cross.
God begins by saying, “By his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many.” What exactly is “his knowledge?” Like always, we start with the original Hebrew. The Hebrew word for “knowledge” is daʽat which encompasses more than merely knowing facts. It combines God’s perfect understanding, His insight and His wisdom. This knowledge is powerful and leads to the correct way of living.
“The fear of the Lord is the beginning of knowledge (daʽat)” (Prov 1:7).
“For the Lord gives wisdom;
from his mouth come knowledge (daʽat) and understanding” (Prov 2:6).
“By wisdom a house is built,
and through understanding it is established;
through knowledge (daʽat) its rooms are filled
with rare and beautiful treasures” (Prov 24:3-4).
“They will neither harm nor destroy
on all my holy mountain,
for the earth will be filled with the knowledge (daʽat) of the Lord
as the waters cover the sea” (Isa 11:9).
The question then becomes, is this the knowledge of Jesus or is it our knowledge of him? Some think that our redemption comes when Jesus becomes known to us. That it is our knowledge of Jesus that leads to our justification in him.
I personally lean the other direction in that this knowledge is the knowledge of Jesus fully understanding what he is doing when he goes to the cross for us. This was not a mystery to him. He had full knowledge of the Father, his place as the Son, and his mission to justify the world back to God by going to the cross. This seems to fit best in this context. But it could be both as well – the knowledge that Jesus possesses and also the knowledge that he imparts.
Either way, we know from this passage that Jesus is the Father’s righteous servant who will justify many and bear their iniquities. Jesus is described as righteous:
“But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1).
“You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you” (Acts 3:14).
“Then he said: ‘The God of our ancestors has chosen you to know his will and to see the Righteous One and to hear words from his mouth’” (Acts 22:14).
It was through the righteousness of Jesus that we would become righteous as well. His righteousness would justify us to God. But not all of us would be justified – only many would obtain this status. Justified means to be declared righteous. This is a pronouncement as a judge would pronounce an accused person innocent. To be declared righteous means that you are not guilty of sin which means you are also holy.
“It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption” (1 Cor 1:30).
“This righteousness is given through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Rom 3:22).
“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Cor 5:21).
“For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous” (Rom 5:19).
We don’t measure up to God’s righteousness. We are sinners and not holy. In order to be in the presence of God, we must be holy. So God made a way through Jesus to make us holy. Because of the sacrifice of Jesus, his righteousness can become our righteousness if we simply believe in him. He will bear our iniquities and we will stand justified before a Holy God.
Christ in the Old Testament 
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