The King on His Cross

Isaiah not only saw the King of Glory "high and lifted up" on his heavenly throne and that same King in his cradle as a virgin-born baby, but he also saw a future when the Servant-King would be "high and lifted up" on a cross. "Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted” (Is. 52:13). It is clear from what follows in Isaiah that this exaltation comes, unthinkably, through the Servant-King's condemnation and execution. The little King in his cradle, born of a virgin, human like us in all ways yet without sin, was born to die.

But how could a sinless king die? All of the kings of Judah died because of their sin, unable to fulfill the covenant that God made with David. Though some of them "did what was right in the eyes of the LORD," they did so imperfectly (2 Chron 14:2; 24:2; 25:2: 26:4; 29:2; 34:2). Their reigns did not last. The King of Isaiah's visions, however, was the perfectly obedient servant of Yahweh, the delight of his Father. The Father testifies of his Son, "Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations (Isa 42:1)."

So how could the righteous King who would bring justice to every nation die unjustly? The answer to this question rests at the heart of the Christian faith. Before the government was fully and finally placed upon his shoulder (Isa 9:6), the King took the sins of his people upon his back. Jesus could die only because he was so identified with us—our sin so totally imputed to him—that he was treated as if he was the sinners he came to save.

Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
. . . upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace
. . . and the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all
he shall bear their iniquities . . .
he bore the sin of many . . . (Is. 53:4-12)

The perfect King's life was exchanged for the life of his enemies. "But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities...the LORD has laid on him the iniquity of us all" (Is.53:5-6). The Father's will, expressed in the covenant with David, was that his Son would reign as King forever. He would be as sovereign as he is sinless. Yet it was also "the will of the LORD to crush him" on the cross in the place of his people for their sins (Is. 53:10). The King willingly died to spare us from the second death, eternal separation from God. He died; they live.

So how can this King who dies as the substitute for sinners live forever to rule in righteousness? Isaiah saw Christ high and lifted up in his humiliation, supreme in his substitution, exalted in his excoriation. But he also saw him triumphant in victory over death. "[H]e shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the LORD shall prosper in his hand" (Is. 53:10). How else, other than by resurrection, could the crucified King see his offspring after dying in our place? By the power of his eternal life we also live.

There was more to Christ's exchange than taking our sin; he also gave us his righteousness. "Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities" (Is. 53:11). What a mystery that such anguish at the cross could bring such satisfaction for our sweet Christ "who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God" (Heb. 12:2)! Christ is satisfied in seeing us saved, clothed in his righteous robes, washed in his blood, delivered from our sins, reconciled to our Father. The Father himself put his Son forward as a "propitiation," a wrath-satisfying sacrifice, to fully please divine justice, "so that he might be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus" (Rom. 3:26; see Heb. 2:17).

The King, through his cross and resurrection, is building his Father’s kingdom, accomplishing his Father’s will, fully pleasing his Father. And the Father is not satisfied to have his Son as an only child in his kingdom. The Father wants other sons and daughters in his "house." He delights to share his kingdom with the children who were purchased by the blood of his only begotten Son, giving them the Spirit of adoption. "For those whom [the Father] foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers" (Rom. 8:29). "For it was fitting that he, for whom and by whom all things exist, in bringing many sons to glory, should make the founder of their salvation perfect through suffering" (Heb. 2:10).

Alas! and did my Savior bleed,
and did my Sovereign die!
Would he devote that sacred head
for sinners such as I?

Was it for crimes that I have done,
he groaned upon the tree?
Amazing pity! Grace unknown!
And love beyond degree!*

The Father's house has rooms for all his redeemed, where we will dwell with him in the presence of Christ our King forever. God our Father is building us up into a house, that Christ might live not only in heaven but in hearts, too. But don't take my word for it, take the testimony of Christ, "the One who is high and lifted up:"

“And it shall be said, 'Build up, build up, prepare the way, remove every obstruction from my people's way.' For thus says the One who is high and lifted up, who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy: 'I dwell in the high and holy place, and also with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit, to revive the spirit of the lowly, and to revive the heart of the contrite'" (Is. 57:14-15).

Good Christian, fear for sinners here
The silent Word is pleading.
Nails, spear shall pierce Him thru,
The cross be borne for me, for you:
Hail, hail the Word made flesh—
The babe, the son of Mary!**

"And the angel said to her, 'Do not be afraid, Mary, for you have found favor with God. And behold, you will conceive in your womb and bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus. He will be great and will be called the Son of the Most High. And the Lord God will give to him the throne of his father David, and he will reign over the house of Jacob forever, and of his kingdom there will be no end'" (Luke 1:30-33).

The King, high and lifted up on his throne in heaven, was manifested in the flesh as a baby, the King in his cradle. High and lifted up on a cross, he was exalted in holy humiliation so that he might lift up the fallen and contrite with him to heaven.

Kingdom without end, amen

+Alas and Did My Savior Bleed , Isaac Watts, Ralph E. Hudson
**What Child Is This?, William Chatterton Dix