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 was a prophet in ancient Israel writing roughly 700 years before Jesus was born. Chapter 53 describes a mysterious figure called the "Suffering Servant" — someone who would die a humiliating death, be treated as a criminal, and bear the moral weight of other people's wrongs. Christians have long understood this passage as one of the most direct prophecies about Jesus in the entire Old Testament. "Numbered with the transgressors" means he was crucified alongside criminals and officially categorized as one of them. "Made intercession for the transgressors" means that even in the act of dying, he was advocating for the guilty. The word "therefore" at the opening is critical — his suffering and humiliation are precisely the reason for his vindication and honor.
Jesus, the fact that you were numbered with the guilty — with people like me — is almost too much to absorb. You didn't observe my failures from a safe distance. You stepped into them. Thank you for the intercession that happened while I was still the problem. Amen.
The most powerful person in a room is usually the one who doesn't need to prove it. But this verse describes power that arrives through something that looked, in the moment, like total defeat. "He poured out his life unto death" — that phrase carries the image of something completely emptied, given all the way until nothing remains. And then the detail that should stop you cold: he was "numbered with the transgressors." Not mistaken for one briefly. Not standing near them. Numbered. Filed alongside. Jesus wasn't accidentally associated with criminals on the cross; he was officially placed in their category. On purpose. And then — while being executed as a transgressor — "he made intercession for the transgressors." He was praying for them. For you. Not after it was over. During. Isaiah wrote this seven centuries before it happened, and it still reads like eyewitness testimony. Whatever category you privately place yourself in today — whatever puts you on the wrong side of the ledger in your own mind — this is the verse that says someone already stood in that place. And didn't just endure it. Chose it. For you.
Isaiah wrote this passage about 700 years before Jesus was born. What does it mean for your faith that this description aligns so closely with the story of the crucifixion? Does prophecy like this affect how you think about Scripture?
Jesus was "numbered with the transgressors" — placed in the same official category as criminals. Why do you think that specific detail matters? What does it mean for how you see yourself in relation to him?
"Therefore" — because of his suffering — he is given greatness and honor. How does that challenge the way our culture typically defines strength, success, or recognition?
He made intercession — prayed — for the very people who were executing him. Who in your life is hardest for you to advocate for or extend grace toward, and what would even a small step in that direction look like?
If Jesus chose to stand in the place of the guilty, how might that shift the way you approach someone in your life who is clearly in the wrong right now?
Verily, verily, I say unto you, Except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth alone: but if it die, it bringeth forth much fruit.
John 12:24
But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.
Isaiah 53:5
Then said Jesus, Father, forgive them; for they know not what they do. And they parted his raiment, and cast lots.
Luke 23:34
For I delivered unto you first of all that which I also received, how that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures;
1 Corinthians 15:3
Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
Isaiah 53:4
For he hath made him to be sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him.
2 Corinthians 5:21
And beginning at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself.
Luke 24:27
And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly , triumphing over them in it.
Colossians 2:15
Therefore, I will divide and give Him a portion with the great [kings and rulers], And He shall divide the spoils with the mighty, Because He [willingly] poured out His life to death, And was counted among the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore and took away the sin of many, And interceded [with the Father] for the transgressors.
AMP
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors.
ESV
Therefore, I will allot Him a portion with the great, And He will divide the booty with the strong; Because He poured out Himself to death, And was numbered with the transgressors; Yet He Himself bore the sin of many, And interceded for the transgressors.
NASB
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.
NIV
Therefore I will divide Him a portion with the great, And He shall divide the spoil with the strong, Because He poured out His soul unto death, And He was numbered with the transgressors, And He bore the sin of many, And made intercession for the transgressors.
NKJV
I will give him the honors of a victorious soldier, because he exposed himself to death. He was counted among the rebels. He bore the sins of many and interceded for rebels.
NLT
Therefore I'll reward him extravagantly— the best of everything, the highest honors— Because he looked death in the face and didn't flinch, because he embraced the company of the lowest. He took on his own shoulders the sin of the many, he took up the cause of all the black sheep.
MSG