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Numbered With The Transgressors |
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When Jesus died on the Cross, Isaiah said "he was numbered with the transgressors," and bore the sins of many. So many today smugly reject the Cross because of self-righteousness and don't grasp the fact we all are transgressors before God and in need of a Redeemer. Man is more lost than he'll ever know without Christ. As I write this journal today I thank God with tears that He was numbered with ME, the chiefest of sinners, and bore my sins today. His blood still sets the captives free!
By Chris McDonald
TEXT: Isaiah 53:12 - Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
He was numbered with the transgressors and thank God that means He was numbered for me! He was nailed to cross for me, as the old gospel song goes, He was nailed to the cross for me. On the Cross crucified, for ME He died, He was nailed to the Cross for me!! What a wonderful, wonderful Savior, who would Die on the Cross for me. Freely giving His precious life's blood, so that the sinner might be set free! The words of that song echo in my ear as I sit down and write this journal today. This journal is for the transgressors among us who recognize their need for God and realize their only hope is faith in the Cross and what Christ accomplished for us there. Every believer can have total complete victory in every capacity of life and living but especially deliverance when it comes to victory over sin. The Cross is the means by which Jesus accomplished this victory for all through His death, burial and resurrection! Easter may be past but the power of its message is not a one-day celebration. It is the only power through which men can be saved, delivered and healed. Jesus Christ did not come and die 2,000 years ago to have man establish a secondary way to God and secondary way to obtain such. By His Atoning death, Christ justifies man before a thrice Holy God and sets believers in a spiritual sense literally before the Throne of God in the Righteousness of God. Once the believer places their faith in Christ, then the Holy Spirit who comes and causes them to live righteous lives.
In the great 53rd chapter of Isaiah the very last verse becomes the text of this
journal that I pray the Holy Spirit will help me explain in detail how by being
numbered with the transgressors, Christ identified Himself with a fallen race,
but yet He Himself was NOT fallen, but perfect. Only a perfect Man and Lamb
could redeem sinful humanity through His shed blood. Praise be to God this
happened 2,000 years ago at the Cross. The
aspects of the crucifixion are not spoken of in such prophetic terms in any
other chapter in the Bible than this 53rd chapter to be frank; the only other
passages which come close are found in the Psalms and certain aspects of the
gospels. The Holy Spirit gave Isaiah such an insight to the sufferings of the Messiah
that it made Israel's rejection that much more grievous. The
prophet foretold that the One who was to come as Her redeemer was coming not to be an earthly
ruler at first but a spiritual deliverer for man's more important problem - sin.
Israel wanted a military deliverer; Jesus came in the flesh not to deliver
Israel from Rome, but to deliver Israel and the entire world from the clutches
of Satan, sin and hell! Some 2,700 years after this great prophetic declaration,
we little understand even today the depth of love and suffering that went into
Heaven's plan of redemption for man through the Cross.
A Portion with the Great, and He Shall Divide the Spoil With the Strong
Isaiah 53:12 - Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
Isaiah begins this final verse of the 53rd Chapter by giving us a strong figurative picture expressing full victory as a champion coming back from battle. This speaks of Christ Who, by His death, delivered mankind, who was held captive, from Satan. It proclaims the tremendous victory won at the Cross over every power of darkness known to mankind. Hear that young man, young lady. Hear that mister. I don't care how ugly or how deep the sin - Jesus Christ has paid the price to destroy its power! It proclaims that man can be free from drugs, from alcohol, from lust, from anger, from pornography, from lying, from stealing, from dishonesty, from jealousy, from resentment, from unforgiveness, from rejection, from hurt, from pain, from suffering. Glory to God. Man can be set free! Homosexual, if you're reading this you may think you were "born" to be this way but friend, let this writer assure you that is not the case. Satan has deceived you into thinking this lifestyle is normal and how you ought to be. But in all the love this writer can muster let me not send out condemnation today but a love letter from Jesus that says "AT THE CROSS" He paid the price for you to be FREE from that perverse spirit and be set on a path to a normal and healthy sexual identity in Him. Let me say to you in LOVE that He has paid the price today for you to be delivered from the very desires that drive you to this lifestyle that in God's sight is an abomination. He don't see YOU as an abomination but the spirit and lifestyle you're in He abhors. And if this lifestyle is not repented of, eternity without God is not a possibility but it will be reality as it has become for millions before you who went out of this life believing a lie and as a result their soul was damned forever to a devil's hell. Some of you reading this know deep inside the way you are living don't feel right or normal and have wanted to get out but because of the bondage can't. If you will reach out to Him today as you feel the tug of the Holy Spirit on your heart, I can 100%, let me change that, 1000% assure you that Jesus will respond to your cry and set you free!! It's why He came to die - to set captives FREE!
There is no way out but through the Cross. And this goes not just for the homosexual but for the liar, the drug addict, the drunk, the prostitute, the whoremonger, the adulterer, the fornicator, the one bound by pornographer, the demon possessed, the oppressed, the lonely, the hurt, the depressed, the angry, the selfish, the self-righteous - there is NO WAY OUT BUT THROUGH THE CROSS OF CHRIST. But praise be to God once one finds their way to the Cross through repentance and faith there is ONE waiting who has divided the spoil with the strong as He has defeated every single demon power that has man bound today. Satan's power is not broken by man's pitiful efforts because he is "strong" but there is ONE STRONGER than the DEVIL who has COME and broke the chains and the shackles of sin off of mankind! And to those who come to Him in faith- the HOLY GHOST comes into that person's life and GREATER IS HE WHO IS WITHIN YOU than HE that is in the WORLD!!! GLORY TO GOD.
The prophet declares that God will account the Messiah among the GREAT, and He (the Messiah) will divide the spoils of the strong referring to His mighty victory over Satan and all supernatural powers against God. And in doing so this means that ALL who come to Him in FAITH will share in the blessing of victory as becoming HEIRS and JOINT HEIRS with CHRIST! I'm free because of HIM! I'm free because of the shed blood of Jesus. And friend you can be set free too! (Romans 8:16-17)
He Poured Out His Soul Unto Death
Isaiah 53:12 - Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
The phrase "poured out His Soul unto Death," means that Christ no only died for man, but as it were, did all of this voluntarily and totally without reservation and without leaving any ounce of doubt of His commitment to fallen humanity and to the Will of God in doing so. There was nothing left on the table sort to speak when Christ died. In other words, He laid down His Own life, no man took it from Him! (John 10:18). The Jews didn't take it; the Romans didn't take it; the ungodly ones casting lots didn't take it; the ones spitting on Him didn't take it; and above all things SATAN did not take it. HE LAID IT DOWN! That screams at a backslidden church to get back to preaching this great message of the Cross because in the power of its words and meaning we find the avenue through which Christ having paid the price whereby God can declare a totally guilty man to be thoroughly RIGHTEOUS and NOT GUILTY! We call that JUSTIFICATION!
The prophet had said in verse 11 that Christ would "see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied," meaning that He would literally pour out His blood for the restoration of man and man's dominion before the fall. (! Cor. 15:24-28). One drop of blood appropriated by faith destroys the powers of hell and shakes Satan to his core! He knows its power and wants NOTHING to do with the blood of Jesus!! How sad it is that demons understand the power of the blood but modern churches do not!!! This "pouring out" also speaks to us of His humiliation and the broken heart He endured while on the Cross so that all of this could be accomplished. Many of the Psalms paint a deeply troubling picture of sorrow unknown to human man to explain or comprehend as He hung between heaven and earth. Yet without the Cross God's judgment on sin had to be dealt with somewhere, somehow. Sin can NEVER go without payment - never! In standing between God and man and receiving the blow the sinner deserves upon Himself, He took the punishment the sinner should have received, to save the guilty.
As the old song goes, "WE (I) should have been crucified. We should have suffered and died." There was no other reason why Christ had to do this except to take what we deserve and that is eternal hell so man can now be free before a thrice Holy God. When a sinner accepts this by faith and surrenders his life in gratitude to God he becomes JUSTIFIED. There was a transfer of consequences and results of conduct to Christ, yet we partake of the consequences and results of His sufferings on His behalf. As Dake puts it, "guilt is a personal quality and cannot be transferred. The consequences of sin may pas from one to another, and sufferings for sin can be assumed by another. This was done by Jesus Christ!" Praise God Praise God!
He Was Numbered With The Transgressors.....
Isaiah 53:12 - Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.
This does not mean Jesus became a transgressor but means that He identified Himself with fallen humanity and took upon Himself our sin so we could be set free from sin!
2 Cor. 5:17-21 - Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creation; the old has gone, the new has come! 18All this is from God, who reconciled us to himself through Christ and gave us the ministry of reconciliation: 19that God was reconciling the world to himself in Christ, not counting men's sins against them. And he has committed to us the message of reconciliation. 20We are therefore Christ's ambassadors, as though God were making his appeal through us. We implore you on Christ's behalf: Be reconciled to God. 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin (a sin offering) for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God
One commentator states that as He was crucified between two thieves, the Jews condemned Him as a "blasphemer," (Matthew 26:65), as one crucified with malefactors (Luke 23:32), as one called "that deceiver," (Matthew 27:63), and regarded generally by the Jews as one accursed (Deut. 21:23). It speaks to us that it was OUR sin which placed Him on that Cross 2,000 years ago yet He was not ashamed to be numbered with us. It speaks to us today to "look to the Cross" and behold the Lord and the majesty of His great work upon Calvary hanging with two thieves, a type of fallen humanity; yea, in the middle of them, as if the greatest malefactor of the three; and, what is the most awful part of the subject, not only was He thus considered by the Jewish leadership rabble, He was truly the sinner's representative. Jesus was thus beheld in Jehovah's view; "numbered with the transgressors," and virtually, the great surety and sponsor of them all. Think about that friend and think about it for a while. Let it sink in deep into your heart. Pause for a quick second how heaven could view and reckon One as such who was so numbered, then must it have been, not for Himself, for He had no sin, but for His people; and if made sin and a curse, surely He hath taken away both sin and the curse, by the sacrifice of Himself, that they might be made the righteousness of God in him? And when we pause and wonder - our hearts proclaim "HOW GREAT YOU ARE OH GOD!" Oh, what a Saviour, Oh, Hallelujah! His heart was broken on Calvary; His hands were nail-scared, His life was driven; He gave His life's blood for even me!" Glory to God. As Hawker explains this powerful analogy, "There is one circumstance in this representation of Jesus being reckoned with the transgressors, as a sin and a curse, yea, sustaining the whole of sin and the curse in his own sacred person, that is particularly striking; I mean, that amidst all the shadowy representations under the law, the only type on this subject, and a most decisive one it was, is that of "the brazen serpent." Of all the creatures of God's creation, it was the serpent only that was pronounced cursed at the fall; and therefore, though the blood of many beasts may be, and indeed was made typical of redemption by the sacrifice of Christ, yet none but the serpent could represent Christ as a curse for his people. There is somewhat very striking in this. Christ, in redeeming us from the curse of the law, must be represented as a curse for us: the serpent therefore, the cursed beast, shall be lifted up in the wilderness; and Jesus himself will graciously explain it: "As Moses lifted up the serpent in the wilderness, so must the Son of man be lifted up, that whosoever believeth in him shall not perish, but have eternal life.'" By lifting up the serpent in the wilderness, Moses was signifying the nature of man that Christ came to destroy - the nature of the devil - and if man will but believe and put their faith in what He did for them at the Cross - Satan's power will be broken! This shows us the measure and depth of God's love for all humanity. The degree of His sacrifice in saving us from the penalty of our sin would have been enough but He chose to identify Himself with us by enduring the most horrific death by crucifixion. The distance between the divine and human was gulfed together at the Cross as Christ showed us in dying for a fallen race He considered us worthy of His great sacrifice. John Piper wrote years back "God didn't die for frogs so He was responding to our value as humans." Neighbor lets be frank. We were and are worse than frogs!!!! This turns grace on its head. Frogs have not sinned. They have not rebelled and treated God with the contempt of being inconsequential in their lives and living selfishly. God did not have to die for frogs, they aren't bad enough. WE ARE. Our debt is so great, only a divine sacrifice could pay for it. It was all free, it was infinite, it was divine love, it was beauty, it was wonderful grace that identified Christ with the transgressors. And the number one transgressor He identified with was ME. It was Chris McDonald for who He came to be numbered and identified with. Yet, it was not just me He identified Himself with but everyone reading this journal at this moment! As Paul declares, I am the "chiefest" of sinners and humbly Praise God for the fact Jesus was numbered with the transgressors! Only redeemed sinners can only hang their head in shame yet lift their head in glorious worship to the Lamb of God whose sinless grace and perfection shown through that day 2,000 years ago amidst the sin and darkness God reckoned on Him so man could be saved. That's why we worship HIM! That's why we preach CHRIST CRUCIFIED! That's why the church should be ashamed of itself for preaching this new age humanism it so delves into today. That's why we sing! That's why we praise Him and that's why we write! The Hope of all the ages hung on Calvary 2,000 years ago identified with humanity yet sinless, perfect so fallen man could live eternally with God. Neighbor, I'm sorry - but Hollywood's best can't hold a speck of dust to that! Glory to God! Let me tell you this and hear this writer plain and clear. ONLY THE SELF-RIGHTEOUS REFUSE TO SEE THIS. Only those who refuse to admit they are sinners refuse to see this. But that self-righteousness blinds us to the very grace that beckons us come to HIM and be saved, set free, healed and delivered today. Israel never got this message and perished a terrible death as a nation; if we reject the same message today, we are in line for her same doom spiritually! He Bare the Sin of Many and Made Intercession for the Transgressors Isaiah 53:12 - Therefore will I divide him a portion with the great, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong; because he hath poured out his soul unto death: and he was numbered with the transgressors; and he bare the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors. Jesus not only died and was numbered with the transgressors, He arose on the third day and by doing so secured that which His death accomplished. The phrase "And He bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressor," is, in the Hebrew language, an act, though begun in the past, is not yet completed. The intercession for the transgressors was begun on the Cross, in effect, made possible by the Cross, with the compassion of Jesus when He prayed "Father, forgive them for they know not what they do!" From that prayer to this very moment, Jesus has been praying at the right hand of God for fallen humanity and His children as well. That intercession has continued ever since, and will continue until the last day, which refers to the Resurrection. (Romans 8:34, Heb. 7:25). Thank God He no only made intercession for mankind at the Cross but He continues to make intercession for us now, and does by by His very presence at the Throne of God. He will do this until we stand in His presence. Let me take a few moments here and talk about that intercessory work at the Throne of God as we close this journal today. Neighbor it's one thing to have our pastor pray for us; it's one thing to have our parents or children pray for us; it's one thing to have our friends and close associates pray for us; but it's a WHOLE OTHER THING to have the KING OF KINGS, LORD OF LORDS praying for us!! Glory to God. The One who breathed "LET THERE BE LIGHT" and there was LIGHT is the ONE who is uttering your name, my name, and the names of the entire world to God at this very moment. Revelation speaks of the fact that the intercessory work of Christ is the central framework upon which all of Heaven stands at this very moment. Night and day the heavenly creatures cry "HOLY HOLY HOLY" non stop as the prayers and tears of the saints come up before God. This speaks to us that we as believers must enter into that same ministry today of intercession and become His intercessors on earth to see His great work at Calvary accomplished in all men who will believe. That is why the preaching of the Cross is so important in these last days. That with the prayers of the saints are going to be two main ingredients for Holy Ghost revival and the outpouring of the Holy Ghost. What are you telling me preacher? I'm telling you that He is PRAYING FOR YOU this very moment. The Risen Christ is alive and well and He is praying for you to be saved right now. He is praying right now for our healing, our deliverance, our victory over sin, the flesh and the Devil. Let me tell you something sinner. You may reject this great gospel message and the call of the Holy Spirit but if you die and go to hell you're going to hell over the prayers of Jesus and His saints! Some of you reading this are running from God but a praying mom and a praying dad have not given up on your soul even to this point. You can run from home young person but you can't outrun God the Holy Ghost! You can run from a church but you can't outrun God the Holy Ghost! Praise God Praise God, we have been called to the greatest calling in the entire universe, one that the Son of God Himself, has been called to as well - the ministry of intercession and pouring our souls out to God. He was numbered with the transgressors and through His death, burial and resurrection, He has accomplished victory for all mankind. For those who come to Him in faith, He now makes intercession for them as well. When we say "HE" we're referring to Christ the Son and the Holy Ghost. Christ intercedes for us in the presence of God, while the Holy Spirit intercedes for us on the earth! The two work in unison with each other to make sure what was accomplished at the Cross is realized in all those who believe. (Romans 8: 27, 34) We were ALL transgressors at one time or the other. Some may reject that and through self-righteousness not believe themselves to be sinners. But friend let me assure you. Man is more lost than he'll ever know without God and in being in this condition he stands in danger of eternal damnation unless he repents and comes to Christ. I pray you know this Risen Christ today. We could delve so much deeper into this passage to be frank, we've only touched the surface. If you're not sure today where you'd go if you were to die, please make that decision TODAY. No one is promised of tomorrow and friend, there is no greater tragedy than that of an individual rejecting Christ and winding up in eternal hell. He was numbered and identified with ME and my sin so that what He did I can be FREE of that sin today! The same applies to every single individual reading this journal at this moment. Be saved today before it is too late. In Jesus name..................Amen.
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