Isaiah 53:12
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
and made intercession for the transgressors. (NIV)
Today’s Reading: Isaiah 53:10-12
Jesus made intercession for the transgressors. We certainly see this from the cross:
“Jesus said, ‘Father, forgive them, for they do not know what they are doing’” (Luke 23:34).
The Hebrew verb translated as “intercession” is pāgaʽ which paints a picture of two people crossing paths or a meeting of two parties. This meeting could be friendly or hostile, accidental or intentional. Pāgaʽ is written in the imperfect tense indicating that Jesus is continually interceding for the transgressors. What began on the cross has not yet concluded:
“But because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them” (Heb 7:24-25).
Because Jesus intercedes for those who come to God – the transgressors – he is able to save them completely. Paul confirms Jesus current position with God:
“Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died—more than that, who was raised to life—is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us” (Rom 8:34).
Jesus is currently in God’s presence interceding to Him on our behalf:
“For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence” (Heb 9:24).
“My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One” (1 John 2:1).
Like a good defense lawyer, Jesus is pleading our case before the Father. The accuser points God to our faults and sins so that we will stand condemned. However, Jesus’ case is water-tight because our debt is paid in full through his sacrifice on the cross. His righteousness is imputed to us once we accept his gift of payment on our behalf:
“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).
Jesus alone is our mediator. Prayer to any other god or person or in anyone else’s name carries no weight. Jesus stands before God on our behalf and he alone makes a way for us to enter God’s kingdom.
“For there is one God and one mediator between God and mankind, the man Christ Jesus, who gave himself as a ransom for all people” (1 Tim 2:5-6).
Christ in the Old Testament 
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