“Therefore I will give him the many as a portion, and he will receive the mighty as spoil, because he willingly submitted to death, and was counted among the rebels; yet he bore the sin of many and interceded for the rebels.” (Isaiah 53:12 CSB)
Devotional
That phrase catches me every time. Not counted among the righteous, not standing off to the side looking sympathetic. Counted among. Lumped in with them. Treated as one of them, when he was not one of them at all.
We tend to picture Jesus on the cross as a righteous man suffering an unjust death, which is true, but Isaiah is saying something sharper than that. He was not just suffering near sinners. He was numbered with them. Counted in their column. If you have ever sat in a waiting room and had your name called with a group you did not think you belonged to, you know how that word “counted” lands differently than “near” or “beside.” God did not put Jesus next to the rebels. He put him among them, on purpose, as part of the plan.
And here is the part that gets me every time I actually sit with it: he interceded for them. Present tense in spirit, even if the verb is past. He did not just die in the place of rebels and leave it there. He kept speaking up for them. For us. While we were still the ones who needed defending, not after we cleaned up and became defensible.
I think about the moments I have wanted to distance myself from what I have done. The quiet reflex to explain, to soften, to say “it’s not really who I am.” Jesus did not need that distance and he still walked toward us anyway. He let himself be counted with us so that we could be counted with him instead. That is the trade this verse is describing, and it is not close to fair, in his favour.
This is not a verse about God being disappointed in rebels and finally doing something about it. It is a verse about God being so committed to rebels that he sent his own Son to stand in their place, take their number, and speak on their behalf. That is who he was willing to be for us. That has not changed.
Reflection
I know the places in me that still want to explain themselves before God, as if he needs convincing to accept me. I read this verse and I am reminded that Jesus already took the place I was afraid to admit I was in. I do not have to defend myself in front of him. He already stood there, on purpose, for me.
Prayer
Father, thank you that Jesus was willing to be counted among us, not distant from our failure but right in the middle of it. Thank you that he did not just die for us but keeps speaking up for us even now. Help us stop explaining ourselves to you and just receive what he already did. We would not choose this trade, and we are grateful you did.