He shall see the labor of His soul, and be satisfied.
By His knowledge My righteous Servant shall
justify many, For He shall bear their iniquities.
Isaiah 53:11
The Suffering Servant of Isaiah 53 is perhaps the clearest description of the Messiah found in the Old Testament scripture. Here, the Man of Sorrows is clearly portrayed as Rejected by men and as the Lamb led to slaughter. The prophecy says He made His grave with the wicked (the thieves crucified with Jesus) and with the rich at His death (Christ was buried in a wealthy man’s tomb). Finally, it is noted that God was well-pleased with the job done by His Anointed.
The detail that appears in this verse, but is not found anywhere else in the Bible, is that Christ was God’s Righteous Servant. Typical adjectives that describe a servant might be loyal, trustworthy, faithful, or hardworking. The term “righteous” doesn’t seem to be appropriate for domestic help and might appear more fitting for someone higher up on the career food chain than a mere servant.
The important point to remember with this title is that the Savior was God’s servant, not man’s. Righteousness is a divine quality and part of this servant’s job description. God’s Righteous Servant came to this world to justify many and bear their iniquities. For this to happen, the Son of God had to be holy, sinless, and blameless. Without doubt, He was Righteous.
A servant’s job is to do the will of his master. In this case, it meant being cursed, rejected, tortured, and killed. The skills required for the task involved blessing the tormentors, rejoicing in suffering, loving the unlovable, and dying in triumph. Anyone less than a Righteous Servant would have failed at the task.
February 23
