10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
11 After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

Following on from the death of Jesus:

  • There will be converts: ”…he will see his offspring”(10b); ”…by his knowledge my servant will justify many..’(11); ”Out of that terrible travail of soul, he’ll see that it’s worth it and be glad he did it.” The Message.

In the King James Version of the Bible, Isaiah 53:11 reads:

 ”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”

‘Travail’ is a word associated with childbirth. David Pawson pointed out that if a mother dies in child birth, tragically, she does not see her child. In effect Jesus died ‘in child birth’ and yet sees all His children

Note that the ”many” in 52:14,15: ”Just as there were many who were appalled at him…so he will sprinkle many nations…” are echoed by ”…my righteous servant will justify many…For he bore the sin of many…” in 53:11,12. The story of church history is that there have been ”many” converts over the centuries, and we have every reason to believe for ”many” more. Yes, the gospel often meets with rejection (53:1-3), and we should not be surprised at this. But here is truth to hold in tension. While big numbers may reject Christ, massive numbers will also turn to Him.

”Through what he experienced, my righteous one, my servant,
    will make many “righteous ones,”
    as he himself carries the burden of their sins.” The Message.