Albert Barnes Commentary Isaiah 50:8

"He is near that justifieth me; who will content with me? let us stand up together: who is mine adversary? let him come near to me." — Isaiah 50:8 (ASV)

He is near that justifieth me — That is, God, who will vindicate my character and who approves what I do, does not leave or forsake me, and I can with confidence commit myself and my cause to Him (see the note at Isaiah 49:4). The word "justify" here is not used in the sense in which it is often used in the Scriptures—to denote the act by which a sinner is justified before God—but in the proper, judicial sense: that He would declare him to be righteous. He would vindicate his character and show him to be innocent.

This vindication was accomplished by all the testimonies of God in His favor: by the voice that spoke from heaven at His baptism; by the miracles He performed, showing that He was commissioned and approved by God; by the fact that even Pilate was constrained to declare Him innocent; by the wonders that attended His crucifixion, showing that He was a righteous man (Luke 23:47), even in the view of the Roman centurion; and by the fact that He was raised from the dead, taken to heaven, and placed at the right hand of the Father. All this demonstrated that His entire work was approved by God, providing the most ample vindication of His character against all the accusations of His enemies.

Who will contend with me? — This question indicates confidence in God and in the integrity of His own character. The language is taken from transactions in the courts of justice, and it is a solemn call on any who would dare to oppose Him to enter into a trial and allege the accusations against Him before the tribunal of a holy God.

Let us stand together — Before the seat of judgment, as in a court (compare the note at Isaiah 41:1).

Who is mine adversary? — The margin reads, ‘Who is the master of my cause?’ The Hebrew is ‘Lord (בעל ba‛al) of judgment.’ The expression means not merely one who has a lawsuit or a cause, but one who is ‘lord of the judgment,’ that is, possessor of the cause, or one who has a claim and can demand that the judgment should be in his favor. And the call here is on any who should have such a claim to prefer against the Messiah, who should have any real ground of accusation against Him; that is, it is an assertion of innocence.

Let him come near to me — Let him come and make his charges, and enter on the trial.