Isaiah 52:13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. 14: As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men: 15: So shall he sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.

Isaiah 53:1 Who hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the LORD revealed? 2: For he shall grow up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of a dry ground: he hath no form nor comeliness; and when we shall see him, there is no beauty that we should desire him. 3: He is despised and rejected of men; a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief: and we hid as it were our faces from him; he was despised, and we esteemed him not. 4: Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. 5: But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed. 6: All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. 7: He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth: he is brought as a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth not his mouth. 8: He was taken from prison and from judgment: and who shall declare his generation? for he was cut off out of the land of the living: for the transgression of my people was he stricken. 9: And he made his grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death; because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his mouth. 10: Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 11: He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities. 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.

Introduction

We read in Isaiah 52:13, "Behold, my servant ..." As Isaiah invites the people of God to behold the Servant of Jehovah, so I invite you to do the same. Last Sunday we beheld His sorrows, His suffering and His silence or submission, but this morning I call you to behold His satisfaction.

Please turn to ...

Isaiah 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied ...

In this 53^rd chapter, Isaiah gives us a graphic detail of the suffering of the Servant of Jehovah. He describes to us the Messiah's sorrows, suffering and silence. But His sorrows, suffering and silence is not the whole story in this chapter. The suffering, death, and burial of Jehovah's Servant shall bring great redemption to sinners which in turn would bring great satisfaction to Him.

Even in the midst of that suffering He prospers, and He is victorious. God's pattern is ever first the cross, then the crown. First the suffering then the exaltation. 

Isaiah 52:13 Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.

The Servant of the Lord shall be exalted and be extolled and be very high. He shall see the travail of His soul shall be satisfied! His severe trial and deep humiliation shall be rewarded. This morning I want us to see His reward and His reward is seen in the following: His Posterity, His Perpetuity, and His Prosperity.

I — His Posterity

First, we see the reward of our Lord in His posterity — He shall see His seed.

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed ...

The first reward of the Jehovah's suffering servant is that He shall see His seed. These are those Jews and Gentiles who will be saved by believing in Jesus Christ and His substitutionary sacrifice on the cross. 

Hebrews 2:9 But we see Jesus, who was made a little lower than the angels for the suffering of death, crowned with glory and honour; that he by the grace of God should taste death for every man. 10: For it became him, for whom are all things, and by whom are all things, in bringing many sons unto glory, to make the captain of their salvation perfect through sufferings.

The Messiah who suffered and died for all will "bring many sons to glory". These are the millions upon millions of souls, both Jew and Gentile, who placed their faith and trust in the Messiah.

Those who went astray like sheep return as children.

Isaiah 53:6 All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned every one to his own way; and the LORD hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.

We went astray like sheep, but we return as sons and daughters. The Servant's work is rewarded, He shall see His seed.

Thompson wrote, "The Hebrew verb see is in the imperfect tense meaning that Jesus Christ would continually be able to see His offspring come into His family because of His sacrifice. He would see millions and millions of people come into the family of God. Who of us does not want to see our offspring? Not only do most grandparents want to see their offspring, but they want you to see them too. They pull out their pictures and take you on a journey so you can see their pedigree. What is actually amazing is that the thing that would enable Him to see His offspring would be His death. This is such an odd thing because most people who die cannot see their offspring. But in this case, His death would lead to Him seeing all of His offspring."

Revelation 5:9 And they sung a new song, saying, Thou art worthy to take the book, and to open the seals thereof: for thou wast slain, and hast redeemed us to God by thy blood out of every kindred, and tongue, and people, and nation; 10: And hast made us unto our God kings and priests: and we shall reign on the earth.

Revelation 7:9 After this I beheld, and, lo, a great multitude, which no man could number, of all nations, and kindreds, and people, and tongues, stood before the throne, and before the Lamb, clothed with white robes, and palms in their hands; 10: And cried with a loud voice, saying, Salvation to our God which sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb.

A great multitude, a large crowd from every nation, tribe, people, and language will be the reward of His suffering and He shall be satisfied.

May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering!

II — His Perpetuity

Not only do we see the reward of His suffering in posterity - seeing His seed, we also see His reward in His perpetuity — His prolonged days.

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days ...

Even though He died, Jesus shall see His seed.  How is that possible? It is possible, because of His perpetuity — "he shall prolong His days." This phrase refers to the resurrection of Jesus Christ. For Christ to see His seed He had to come to life after death. For Christ to see His offspring, He had to be resurrected from the dead. Which He did!

The resurrection of Jesus Christ is clearly declared and confirmed in the New Testament.

1 Corinthians 15:3 For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; 4: And that he was buried, and that he rose again the third day according to the scriptures:

Not only did He die on the cross as our substitute, but He also rose from the dead three days later. And in Him, we have life.

Thompson notes that "in the case of the Lord Jesus Christ, He died and came back to life three days later. His days were prolonged after His death. One of the results of Christ paying the price for our sins is that God would not allow His body to be in that grave very long. He did prolong His days and Jesus came out alive."

Hear the testimony of our Lord Himself in ...

Revelation 1:18 I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death.

Hebrews 7:25 Wherefore he is able also to save them to the uttermost that come unto God by him, seeing he ever liveth to make intercession for them.

Our salvation is eternal because "He ever liveth." 

"It has been pointed out that men see 'their seed' whilst they are still alive, but He would see them after he had 'poured out his soul unto death.'" - Anonymous

This reward of prolonged days is in agreement with the promise in ...

Psalm 16:10 For thou wilt not leave my soul in hell; neither wilt thou suffer thine Holy One to see corruption.

God will not abandon His Son to death, nor will He allow His Holy One to experience corruption or decay. Death on the cross was not the end of the Servant's life. He is "alive for evermore" and "death hath no more dominion over him" (Romans 6:9).

May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering!

III — His Prosperity

Not only do we see the reward of the Lord in His posterity and perpetuity, we also see His reward in His prosperity.

Isaiah 53:10 Yet it pleased the LORD to bruise him; he hath put him to grief: when thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed, he shall prolong his days, and the pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in his hand. 

The pleasure of the LORD shall prosper in the hand of His suffering Servant, the Lord Jesus Christ. But what is the pleasure of the LORD? The pleasure of the LORD is God's gracious purpose to save people from their sin and its consequences. It is the bringing healing to the sin-sick soul. It is the bringing peace and reconciling God's enemies to Himself. It is the justifying the ungodly. It is the bringing many sons to glory. It is the saving of sinners. It is rescuing sinners from the deserved punishment in hell and to bringing them into a blessed assurance of Heaven. 

While others are rejecting the message of the Gospel, many will believe the message and know the arm of the Lord. Many will experience the power of the gospel.

Isaiah 53:11 He shall see of the travail of his soul, and shall be satisfied: by his knowledge shall my righteous servant justify many; for he shall bear their iniquities.

Yes, there was travail but there was triumph and joy! This is not to minimize the agony of the Lord, He truly and really suffered. He both suffered in His body and in His soul.

Matthew 26:38 Then saith he unto them, My soul is exceeding sorrowful, even unto death: tarry ye here, and watch with me. 39: And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.

Luke 22:44 And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.

He travailed in His soul, He made His soul an offering for sin, He poured out His soul unto death, but He shall see the reward of His suffering and shall be satisfied for the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in His hands.

Thompson explains "Everything Jesus Christ would do would please the Lord and prosper the Lord's work. That word "prosper" is one that means everything Jesus Christ would do would continually cause the work of God to succeed and flourish. The entire program of God will come to complete success through Jesus Christ." To which i say a loud, AMEN!

May the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering!

Closing Thoughts

Our Lord Jesus has not died in vain. His suffering shall be rewarded. Having suffered and died for sinners, He shall see His seed, God shall prolong His days, and the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper on His hand. He shall see of the travail of His soul and shall be satisfied.

Hebrews 12:2 Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.

He endured the cross for the joy that was set before Him. He looked toward the end of His suffering and know it is worth it all.

Thomas Manton once said, "He count the salvation of sinners to be satisfaction enough for all His pains."

Isn't that what we read in ...

Luke 15:4 What man of you, having an hundred sheep, if he lose one of them, doth not leave the ninety and nine in the wilderness, and go after that which is lost, until he find it? 5: And when he hath found it, he layeth it on his shoulders, rejoicing. 6: And when he cometh home, he calleth together his friends and neighbours, saying unto them, Rejoice with me; for I have found my sheep which was lost. 7: I say unto you, that likewise joy shall be in heaven over one sinner that repenteth, more than over ninety and nine just persons, which need no repentance.

Luke 15:10 Likewise, I say unto you, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner that repenteth.

When a sinner repents and runs to the Saviour for forgiveness and salvation, there is joy in the presence of the angels of God. When somebody comes weeping to the Lord that ought to thrill us. O what joy it brings to the Saviour when sinners come Him for salvation!

We too can share with the joy and satisfaction of Christ when sinners brought to Christ. It's a great thing to see people get saved. We need to pray that the Lord will save souls and add them to the church.

May the Lord give us great joy and satisfaction in being used such souls for His glory and may the Lamb that was slain receive the reward of His suffering! 

Revelation 5:12 Saying with a loud voice, Worthy is the Lamb that was slain to receive power, and riches, and wisdom, and strength, and honour, and glory, and blessing. 13: And every creature which is in heaven, and on the earth, and under the earth, and such as are in the sea, and all that are in them, heard I saying, Blessing, and honour, and glory, and power, be unto him that sitteth upon the throne, and unto the Lamb for ever and ever.

AMEN!