Growing with God: A daily devotional with Tonia Slimm.
Isaiah 50:8 (NIV)
“He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me!”
Isaiah 50:8 (MSG)
“My champion is right here. Let’s take our stand together! Who dares bring suit against me? Let him try!”
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“He who declares Me in the right is near; who will [dare to] contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; who is My adversary? Let him approach Me.” -AMPLIFIED
“God is at hand to declare that the servant is innocent, and stands in a right relationship with the law, being free of iniquity. In this case the declaration agrees with the actual state of the servant, for the righteousness the servant possesses is his own. The claims he has made for himself as to his person and work are thus declared by the sovereign Lord to be true and just. Thus the pronouncement of the divine Judge fully vindicates the servant. Enemies had thought he was being punished for his own sins, but the divine vindication shows how wrong they were.” ~Young
In yesterday’s text, we found Isaiah foretelling that the Messiah would be empowered by God Most High, and He would not be disgraced or humiliated. In fact, His attitude would be one of perseverance, and endurance, and in the end, He would overcome. Isaiah prophecies about the Messiah in this way:
“The Lord Yahweh empowers me, so I am not humiliated. For that reason, with holy determination,
I will do his will and not be ashamed.” -Isaiah 50:7 (The Passion Translation)
In today’s passage, we find Isaiah continuing in his foretelling of the Messiah, and we find him declaring that God will be on the Messiah’s side, and He will declare Him innocent.
Remember, the Messiah is supposed to be speaking these words in this passage.
“My hero who sets things right is near. Who would dare to challenge me? Let’s stand and debate this head-to-head! Who would dare to accuse me? Let him come near.” -(VOICE)
The Messiah declares to His antagonists and adversaries this Message:
My hero, my champion, the One who vindicates me, He is near. Who is His champion? It is Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty! This should put the fear of God into those who stand against Him. For who could fight against God and win?
The Messiah asks, “Who has a dispute with me? Who dares to challenge me? Who has a case against me? If so, let us take it to the Judge right now. He will bring out the truth, and justice will be served.”
The point being made here is that the Messiah would be without sin.
“He who gives me justice is near. Who will dare to fight against me now? Where are my enemies? Let them appear!” -(TLB)
“No one will be able to contend with Jesus Christ or condemn Jesus Christ. God the Father will wipe them all out who demean His Son.” ~David Thompson
The writer of Hebrews reminds us that Jesus was tempted in every way that we are tempted, but He remained sinless, for He never gave into those temptations.
“For we do not have a High Priest Who is unable to understand and sympathize and have a shared feeling with our weaknesses and infirmities and liability to the assaults of temptation, but One Who has been tempted in every respect as we are, yet without sinning.” -Hebrews 4:15 (AMPC)
Paul, writing to the church in Corinth, reminded them that Christ, who had no sin, became sin for our sakes. So that we could become right with God. Paul wrote:
“God made this sinless man be a sin offering on our behalf, so that in union with him we might fully share in God’s righteousness.” -2 Corinthians 5:21 (Complete Jewish Bible)
Paul, writing to Timothy declares the mystery of God becoming man, in human flesh, Jesus, and expresses the truth that Jesus would be justified and vindicated in the Spirit.
“And great and important and weighty, we confess, is the hidden truth (the mystic secret) of godliness. He [God] was made visible in human flesh, justified and vindicated in the [Holy] Spirit, was seen by angels, preached among the nations, believed on in the world, [and] taken up in glory.” -1 Timothy 3:16 (AMPC)
If you ever wondered about how much God truly loves you, take a cue from something that Paul wrote to the Roman church:
“So, what do you think? With God on our side like this, how can we lose? If God didn’t hesitate to put everything on the line for us, embracing our condition and exposing himself to the worst by sending his own Son, is there anything else he wouldn’t gladly and freely do for us? And who would dare tangle with God by messing with one of God’s chosen? Who would dare even to point a finger? The One who died for us—who was raised to life for us!—is in the presence of God at this very moment sticking up for us. Do you think anyone is going to be able to drive a wedge between us and Christ’s love for us? There is no way! Not trouble, not hard times, not hatred, not hunger, not homelessness, not bullying threats, not backstabbing, not even the worst sins listed in Scripture: “They kill us in cold blood because they hate you. We’re sitting ducks; they pick us off one by one.” None of this fazes us because Jesus loves us. I’m absolutely convinced that nothing—nothing living or dead, angelic or demonic, today or tomorrow, high or low, thinkable or unthinkable—absolutely nothing can get between us and God’s love because of the way that Jesus our Master has embraced us.” -Romans 8:31-39 (MSG)
“In fact, the reason why Romans 8:31 applies to us is that it first applies to Jesus, and we are in Christ. If Jesus stands in this place of victory, then all those who are in Christ stand there also.” ~David Guzik
My friend, Jesus Christ, the Messiah, the Savior for the whole world, became sin for our sake. He was God, yet He put aside deity, so that He could become flesh to dwell among man, to live as a man, to experience life as we experience. But He remained sinless; He showed us that it could be done. Not only that, but He died for our sins. He paid the price that we could not pay. He is our Messiah, our Savior, our Deliverer; He has made a way where there seemed to be no way, for us to approach the very throne of Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty. And there we can stand before the Creator of the Universe and be declared, “Not guilty.” Hallelujah! Take time to give thanks to the Savior today.
“Jesus knew that He would be falsely accused but also knew His Father was always “near” and would vindicate Him and bring (eternal) shame on His enemies. And remember as Man, He had emptied Himself of His divine prerogatives, and therefore when we read His declaration “He Who vindicates Me is near,” this is an expression of His faith in His Father’s faithfulness to vindicate Him.” ~ Preceptaustin.org (Isaiah 50:8)
My Prayer:
Adonai–Tzva’ot, God Almighty, I will forever be grateful for the gift of your Son, Jesus. He is my Messiah, my Savior, my Deliverer, and my Lord. Without His willingness to come to earth, to live as I live, and experience what I experience, I would never know that living without sin was possible. I would not have the perfect example to follow. And more importantly, I would not have a Savior. Jesus, thank you for putting aside your deity and taking on the form of the Suffering Servant. I am so thankful for what you have done for me, and what you continue to do for me. I am so blessed to be counted among your children. Thank you. ❤
Growing with God 