Isaiah 50 describes God's strengthening of Messiah to complete the saving of His people by sacrificing Himself for poor sinners whom He loves. Jesus muses about how He will not turn away from shame and spitting, because He knows He will be vindicated, and His cause will triumph.
God then exhorts His people, in light of Messiah's confidence, to trust in God no matter how dark things may be. If Messiah could face such darkness for us and be vindicated, then surely He has the power to rescue us from the darkness.
But there is a surprising similarity between Messiah's vindication and the Saints' hope as described by Paul in Romans 8. It appears that Paul actually was appropriating two specific promises made to Messiah in Isaiah 50, and placing them upon God's elect in Romans 8.
Paul too is encouraging believers to persevere as God's sons no matter the suffering, because of the glory about to be revealed in us. He notes that all things work together for our good, that God's purpose in saving us cannot be broken, that God is for us so who can be against us?
Paul sets up the believers to expect to inherit what is Christ's, to be conformed unto Christ's image, and to be given everything in Christ.
But then Paul explicitly borrows the very language of Christ's vindication and lays it upon the Saints!
For Messiah was assured that nobody can successfully contend with Him, because God is near and He will justify Messiah.
So Paul says to believers: Who can lay any charge against God's elect? It is God that justifies us!
Then, of Christ it was said, that nobody could condemn Him because God helps Him!
Paul exults: Nobody can condemn us because Jesus helps us!
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John Pittman Hey was born in 1961 in Jackson, Mississippi, to Godly parents who from the beginning raised him in the nurture and admonition of the Lord. With child-like faith he came to Christ on his fourth birthday at his mother's knee. He received his education at church...
