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. Isaiah 53:11
Jesus makes many to be accounted righteous. What does that mean? Put Isaiah 53:11 together with this astonishing verse in the New Testament: “To the one who does not work but believes in him who justifies the ungodly, his faith is counted as righteousness” (Rom. 4:5).
Paul uses the same language as Isaiah—accounted or counted as righteous. And who does God count as righteous? Paul says God “justifies the ungodly.” You may look at that and say, “Is that really right? Surely it should say, ‘God will justify the godly because they are righteous?’”
But think about what that would mean. If God justified the godly because they are righteous, then in order to be justified, you would have to become godly, and not just a little bit godly, but godly through and through, and all the time. We would have to pray more, witness more, serve more, and give more. And if we did not, then we would not be justified.
How could any of us become godly enough for God to justify us? We are sinners by nature and practice, and if the teaching of the Bible was that God justifies the godly, there would be no hope for any of us. Instead, God justifies the ungodly, despite their ungodliness. God justifies people who have not lived as they should—who have not prayed, served, or loved as they should.
God even justifies people who have not believed as they should. Yes, we must believe if we are to be justified, but which of us believes as we should? We stumble along with our questions, doubts, and fears. “Lord, I believe, help my unbelief.” We are made right with God, not by being good enough, but by being counted as righteous.
Who does God count as righteous? Why is this good news for you?
