“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 53:12).
The prophet Isaiah detailed what men did to the Messiah. What happened to Christ was shameful. In the days of His humiliation men despised the Messiah and rejected Him. Men hid their faces in His presence and did not honor Him. He was oppressed and He was afflicted. On the Cross the whole universe, the angels in heaven, the demons in hell, and the mass of humanity could witness what men did to Jesus.
Those who were spiritually minded could also see what the Father did to His Son for it pleased the Lord to bruise Him. Not because God is sadistic but because He delighted in the fulfilling of the Divine decree whereby sinners can be saved. As we witness the bloody spectacle of Golgotha our hearts are moved to contemplate what the Son did for His own. He was wounded for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
Now, consider what the Father gave to His Son for the redemption He accomplished. When God the Father looked at the redemptive work of His Son at Calvary, He was determined to honor the work that was accomplished.
Jesus as the suffering servant justified many. Jesus bore the sins of the elect in His own body. Therefore, in light of so great a salvation, God the Father will honor the Son in a specific and special way. The Father will divide Him a portion with the great. The word great refers to mighty men of conquest.
There are many men in the course of human history who have become victorious on the battlefields of the world and have been given the title “great”.
For example, there is the Persian, Cyrus the Great, the conqueror of Babylon and ruler of that city from 539 BC until his death in 530 BC.
There is Alexander the Great. At age 16, Alexander took command of his father’s army and with lightning speed conquered the known world of his day. At age 32 he was dead. There was Herod the Great. This Idumaean in race, Jew in religion, was a heathen in practice and a monster in character. As a king, he was crafty, jealous, cruel, and revengeful, yet history accords him the title Herod the Great for with his power he did accomplish much. As the prophet Isaiah considered the victors of time, he understood that they would receive the spoils of the victory. In like manner, but in a far more worthy way, Jesus as the Suffering Messiah would be given His portion.
Look now at what the Father gives to His Son. First, the Father has given to the Son all power in heaven and on earth. After His resurrection from the dead, Jesus appeared to His disciples and plainly stated, “All power is given unto me in heaven and on earth? (Matt. 28:18).
All political power invested in the nations of the Earth is ultimately under the sovereign control of the glorified Christ. No Christian should ever be afraid of any form of government or the outcomes of any election. Remember that the beast is destroyed.
All economic power has been given to Christ to dispense as He sees fit. All nuclear power has been entrusted to Christ. He holds the universe together by the power of His Word alone.
All spiritual power is found in Christ. The Lord has authority over disease, and even death. He commands the devils and they obey. He sends the angels on errands and they go. Unlike mortal men, Jesus Christ can be trusted with the power He possesses. He works all things according to infinite wisdom and holiness.
Second, God has given to the Son an exalted position. We can understand that. On 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue in Washington D.C. there is an exalted office, for in the Oval Office of the White House sits the President of the United States. In many ways the President of the United States is the most powerful person on planet earth. The president has the authority to mobilize money and men, and military firepower to any spot on the globe. The Presidency is an exalted position. And yet, God has given to the Suffering Messiah a much greater place in the universe.
This Jesus hath God raised up, whereof we all are witnesses. 33 Therefore being by the right hand of God exalted, and having received of the Father the promise of the Holy Ghost, he hath shed forth this, which ye now see and hear. 34 For David is not ascended into the heavens: but he saith himself, The Lord said unto my Lord, Sit thou on my right hand, 35 Until I make thy foes thy footstool. 36 Therefore let all the house of Israel know assuredly, that God hath made that same Jesus, whom ye have crucified, both Lord and Christ” (Acts 2:32-36).
Earthly thrones pale into insignificance compared to the exalted position the Father has given to the Son.
Third, the Father has given to the Son a name. By that we mean the proper honor and esteem that is identified with the name. For example, the names of Abraham Lincoln and George Washington evoke, for most Americans, a deep sense of gratitude and admiration. George Washington is given the title “Father of Our Country” and Abraham Lincoln made sure it stayed one nation under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. Oh, but at the name of Jesus, God the Father has decreed that “every knee should bow, of things in heaven and things in earth, and things under the earth. And that every tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the Father” (Phil. 2: 10-11).
Christians love the name of Jesus. We love to sing about His name reflected in the songs of our hymnal such as, “Take the Name of Jesus with You”, and “Oh, How I love Jesus”.
Not only has the Father given to the Son an exalted place, all power, and a wonderful name, the Father has given to the Son a special people. Jesus Christ did not die in vain. He shall see His seed (Isa. 53:10). He shall see the travail of His soul and He shall be satisfied.
There is a vast multitude for whom Christ has died. The old Puritans like to argue that there would be more people in heaven than there will be in hell. It is possible. The apostle Peter tried to teach the early Christians how special they were to Christ. “Ye are a chosen generation,” he wrote, “a royal priesthood, a peculiar people” (1 Peter 2:9). There is an essential glory to the Church that should never be given away. The Church alone is the object of Christ’s greatest work. The Lord loved the Church and died for her.
It should come as no surprise to learn the portion the Father gives to the Son, the Suffering Servant shares with others. The prophet Isaiah said the Messiah would “Divide the spoil with the strong”. Jesus Christ divides the spiritual victories and fruits (spoils) with His people. If we were to list all the spiritual gifts of our Lord for His own, we would be here a very long time indeed. But let me share with you some of the spiritual gifts graciously and lovingly bestowed.
First, there is the gift of eternal life. Romans 6:23 states that the “wages of sin is death (physical and spiritual) but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord”. Because Christ lives, His people shall live. Here is comfort for all who are facing death. “For God so loved the world, that He gave His only begotten Son that whosoever believeth in Him should no perish, but have everlasting life” (John 3:16).
Second, there is the gift of the Holy Spirit. Once God dwelt in a Tabernacle and then in a Temple. But now the body is the temple, the dwelling place of the Holy Spirit for all that belong to Christ. Acts 10:45 declares that “on the Gentiles also was poured out the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Here is a marvelous and wonderful spiritual truth full of great mystery. The Holy Spirit indwells every Christian. He is the gift of Christ.
Third, every believer has also been given a spiritual gift for the work of the ministry. Paul told Timothy, “Neglect not the gift that is in thee” (1 Timothy 4:14). Over thirty years ago President J.F. Kennedy challenged the nation by saying, “Ask not, what can my country do for me. Rather ask, what can I do for my country”. That same spirit needs to be found in the Church today. It is wrong to contribute nothing to the ministry of the body of Christ. When the Church gathers for worship and work, there the gifts of God for the people of God are to be made manifest. There are diversity of gifts and they are to be used.
Finally, the Lord has given to His people one another. There are so many people in desperate need of love and comfort. Multitudes are searching for spiritual strength and comfort. People are looking for a stabilizing place. Let them find their need met in Christ through the Church.
Unless people are careful, small, petty things will destroy the body of Christ. Non-support is deadly to relationships. What does it matter if a ministry is well organized, if the program is excellent, and yet there is no love? It is all very meaningless.
If there is love, what does it matter if the program is not all that would be nice to have. Love can cover a multitude of mistakes and imperfections.
Christian, God has given us to each other, and, as Paul commands, we must not devour and destroy one another.
There is a final thought.
The Son shares the spoils of His great victory which include, an exalted place at the Father’s right hand, all power in heaven and in earth, a name that is above every name, and a special people to love and cherish. Christ in turn gives to His bride access to the Father in heaven, power to defeat the world, the flesh, and the devil, and an eternal commitment of His eternal love.
Look at what the Father gave to His Son, and then look at what the Son gives to His bride.
