7 He was oppressed and He was afflicted,
Yet He did not open His mouth;
Like a lamb that is led to slaughter,
And like a sheep that is silent before its shearers,
So He did not open His mouth.
8 By oppression and judgment He was taken away;
And as for His generation, who considered
That He was cut off out of the land of the [k]living
For the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke was due?
9 His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
Because He had done no violence,
Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.10 But the Lord was pleased
To crush Him, [l]putting Him to grief;
If [m]He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His [n]offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the [o]good pleasure of the Lord will prosper in His hand.
11 As a result of the [p]anguish of His soul,
He will see [q]it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great,
And He will divide the booty with the strong;
Because He poured out [r]Himself to death,
And was numbered with the transgressors;
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.
As this chapter continues, we see more confirmation that God would send His “Servant” to suffer for the “sin of many”. In v. 9, it becomes pretty clear that He would actually die, and so Jesus told His disciples (Matthew 16, Mark 8 & 9, and elsewhere). Just prior to that, Peter had said boldly, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God. But as soon as Jesus told them He would die, Peter proclaims, “This shall never happen to you!”
Peter is rightly rebuked for not having God’s plans in mind, but those of the enemy. He wasn’t the only one who couldn’t wrap his mind around how the Son of God could die, as some questioned this in John 12:34. On the flip side, it is possible that some of the religious leaders were figuring it out (12:42), and elsewhere we see some of them named specifically.
Fortunately, they were too afraid of the other pharisees to speak up, and so Jesus continued on to fulfill God’s plan. Or perhaps they knew the prophet’s words too well, and knew what must come as they watched in agony. In Matthew 27:57, one of them would fulfill v. 9 by placing Jesus’ body in his own tomb instead of being consigned to the burial pit with the other criminals.
Ever noticed how things don’t go as we plan? Sometimes it’s just frustrating, but other times it comes with heartache and sorrow. In the middle of this, we might wonder, “where is God?” As the disciples fled after Jesus arrest, and watched as He was crucified, I’m sure they had similar thoughts. Yet God was working, and His plan, that He had foretold centuries earlier, was being fulfilled to the letter.
When your plans don’t work out, remember that God’s plans cannot be thwarted. When things seem hopeless, look to the Author of Hope, the very One who gives us life and light. As it says in v. 12, even now Jesus intercedes for us, and we are on His mind. It doesn’t mean you have to be happy about how things are going, pain and hurt is all too real.
Still, in the middle of our pain, we can find the crazy and amazing peace that only comes from God. Why? Because His plan is still moving forward, and whatever we face, God can and has already overcome it, and is working things for our good. We see the anguish of Jesus in v. 11, but even still He was “satisfied”, because He knew the Father was doing something amazing through His pain. Put your hope in God’s plan, and your trust in the One who holds it all in His hands, and who holds you in His hands also.