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Are You God’s Suffering Servant?
A study in Isaiah
God’s people have a purpose: We are to serve the world—to show them through our sacrificial service, even in our putting our lives on the line, who God is and that God wants to have a personal relationship with them. Those who are chosen by God to be His people have a mission—to serve others, to even suffer for the sake of others, all for the glory of God! We are to be a light to the nations, shining forth the love and glory of God. We learned this last week when we studied John 12—Jesus proclaimed that we must be like Him, like a kernel of wheat that falls to the ground to die for the sake of others.
24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The person who loves his life will lose it, while the person who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me…32But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw everyone to myself.” 33He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. (John 12:24-26, 32-33)
Jesus has called us to be his “servants.” Those who serve Him must follow Him. Where did Jesus go? He went to the cross. He gave up his life as the greatest act of service.
He said in Mark 10 the same kind of thing. The brothers James and John, in their pride, asked Jesus to sit in the highest places of honor with Jesus in glory, on His right and left side. Jesus set them straight: in order to be great, one must be willing to give up his or her life the same as Jesus did.
“You know that in this world kings are tyrants, and officials lord it over the people beneath them. But among you it should be quite different. Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many.”
(Mark 10:42-45)
Here is a great lesson for those of us who consider ourselves leaders! Attention fledgling CEOs and Presidents and Church Elders and Head of Families! Jesus’ words ring true for you: “Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all.” Jesus is the ultimate servant of all—He did not come onto this planet to be
served but to serve others! How? By giving his life as a ransom for many.
Here is something that many of us miss about why Jesus died on the cross: We have been called to be God’s Servant. But, being sinful human beings, we fall way short of this glorious calling (we are far too often more concerned about
ourselves than for the good of others). So, Jesus, the Perfect Servant of God, is perfectly obedient in this calling—all the way to the cross! What this means is that Jesus empowers
his followers to fulfill their calling to be God’s Servants!
Jesus, the perfect Servant of God, enables us to fulfill our calling through His obedience. We were created for great things, we who are the People of God. We were created for God’s glory! And God’s glory shines forth when God’s people serve the people around them in giving their lives for their sake,
for their salvation! We are called to give up our lives so that others can gain a relationship with God! That is what God’s People are supposed to do!
This has always been the case: God called Abraham his “servant” (see Genesis 26:24). What was Abraham’s service supposed to be?
“Should I hide my plan from Abraham?” the LORD asked. “For Abraham will become a great and mighty nation, and all the nations of the earth will be blessed through him.” (Genesis 18:17-18)
God said to Abraham, “Through your descendants, all the nations of the earth will be blessed—all because you have obeyed me.” (Genesis 22:18)
Abraham was blessed in order to be a blessing. Abraham’s descendents, the Israelites, had the mission: to be obedient to God, to seek to be a blessing to the all the rest of the peoples of the earth. That word, “nations” can also be translated “gentiles,” in other words, the Israelites were always meant to be a blessing to every other people group on the planet! How can Abraham’s descendents fulfill their calling? By being what Abraham was—by being a God’s Servant.
The prophet Isaiah develops this theme. As you move your way through the book of Isaiah, tracing the use of the Hebrew word
‘ebed (servant) throughout, you realize what God’s People were called to be, and how God’s People are enabled to be what they have been called to be! God’s People have been called to be the Servant of the Lord!
Do you want to know what your calling in life is? Do you want to get over your own selfish desires in order to perform your God-inspired calling? The story of the Israelites in Isaiah explains to you who you are and how you can do what you’ve been called to be!
Let’s take a “fly-over” of Isaiah and discover the movement of this incredible truth about the Servant of God:
The story of the Servant in Isaiah:
1. The Nation of Israel was called to be God’s Servant for the sake of all people (Isaiah 41-45)
8“But as for you, Israel my servant, Jacob my chosen one, descended from my friend Abraham, 9I have called you back from the ends of the earth so you can serve me. For I have chosen you and will not throw you away. 10Don’t be afraid, for I am with you. Do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen you. I will help you. I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.”
(Isaiah 41:8-9)
There you have it: God speaks to Israel (also called “Jacob”—the two names of the same man that is the original ancestor of the nation of the Jews). What does he call them? “My servant.” The reason God called them? God says, “So you can serve me.” He urges them to hold to their calling, to not be afraid, to boldly live for God’s glory.
Skip ahead to the next chapter:
1 “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him
and he will bring justice to the nations (the Gentiles).
2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his law the islands will put their hope.”
5 This is what God the LORD says—
he who created the heavens and stretched them out,
who spread out the earth and all that comes out of it,
who gives breath to its people,
and life to those who walk on it:
6 “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness;
I will take hold of your hand.
I will keep you and will make you
to be a covenant for the people
and a light for the Gentiles,
7 to open eyes that are blind,
to free captives from prison
and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness.” (Isaiah 42:1-7)
Now, before you get ahead of yourself and say, “Hey, that’s in the New Testament somewhere—it describes Jesus!” Wait a minute. Imagine for a moment that you are an ancient Israelite, hearing Isaiah’s words for the first time. A few minutes ago, the “Servant” was clearly identified—he is you, along with all the rest of the nation of Israel. You are called to be God’s Servant. God told you in chapter 41, “I will uphold you with my victorious right hand.” And here he says, ““Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight.” God is still speaking to His People, the chosen nation of Israel. They, yes they, are called to “bring justice to the Gentiles,” but not by force, but by suffering: he will be a “bruised reed,” a “smoldering wick,” but God will uphold the Servant as he remains faithful—not faltering or becoming discouraged in bringing the hope of justice to all the peoples of the earth. The Servant Israel is called to bring forth justice to the nations, to be a light to the Gentiles, to open the eyes of the blind, to bring prisoners from the dungeon of darkness.
How did they do in their God-inspired calling? Look at Isaiah 42:18-20.
18 “Hear, you deaf;
look, you blind, and see!
19 Who is blind but my servant,
and deaf like the messenger I send?
Who is blind like the one committed to me,
blind like the servant of the LORD?
20 You have seen many things, but have paid no attention;
your ears are open, but you hear nothing.” (Isaiah 42:18-20)
The Servant, the one called to open the eyes of the nations, is blind and deaf himself! What a rebuke! It is a rebuke that all of us should shudder at! When you are the People of God, you are given great privilege! You are granted to hear the very words of God! You are granted to see God in everything around you—your eyes of faith allow you to understand that God is alive and active in all things. But how often do we not hear what God is saying in His Word? How often are we blind to what He wants us to see!
Here is the People of God, given great privilege—but along with great privilege comes great responsibility. And they are being shown for what they really are. What we all are—we are all fallen, we are all incapable of living up to God’s glorious standard for us. We are certainly good in some ways (we are all created in the Image of God), but that goodness is always marred. Our goodness is so tarnished that, in the final evaluation, we all are sinful and fall short.
“For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard.” (Romans 3:23)
Don’t believe it? How often have you sought to do the right thing, and even though you have had the best of intentions, you let somebody down? You screwed up, you allowed yourself to get in the way of helping others. How often have you discovered that you really didn’t want to do something that you really knew was the best for somebody else, but it got in the way of your agenda, your plans, your personal comfort or pleasure?
You want to do something to help the thousands of people dying of AIDS in Africa (5,500 die every day!), but instead, you buy one more movie for your new DVD player. That is our selfishness coming through. That is our sinfulness. God said to His Old Testament People,
“Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send? Who is blind like the one committed to me, blind like the servant of the
LORD?” He says, “There is more blessing in being a blessing to others, but you are blind to the fact!”
So God determines to do something about it. He will not let His People go in their blindness and deafness to righteous living. He will redeem them; He will bring them back to Himself. In Isaiah 49 (verses 1-7), God promises to rise up the Perfect Servant to redeem Israel, and in Isaiah 52-53, this Servant is described.
2. The Perfect Servant accomplished what the original Servant was called to do (Isaiah 52:13-53:12)
52:13 See, my servant will act wisely;
he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted…
53:2 He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
3 He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows, and familiar with suffering.
Like one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he took up our infirmities
and carried our sorrows,
yet we considered him stricken by God,
smitten by him, and afflicted.
5 But he was pierced for our transgressions,
he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was upon him,
and by his wounds we are healed.
6 We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
each of us has turned to his own way;
and the LORD has laid on him
the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 52:13, 53:2-6)
Here is the description of what Christ accomplished upon the cross, described 700 years before the fact! Picture Jesus on the cross—pierced for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities.
This is the Gospel! We Gentiles were in need of the Perfect Suffering Servant—one who would be willing to die for the sake of others! We needed the peace that could only come through the death of Christ on the cross! We all are sinful, falling short of God’s glorious standard—like sheep that had all gone astray, each of us turning to our own way. But the Lord laid on Jesus the iniquity of us all. Romans 3 puts it this way:
22We are made right in God’s sight when we trust in Jesus Christ to take away our sins. And we all can be saved in this same way, no matter who we are or what we have done. 23For all have sinned; all fall short of God’s glorious standard. 24Yet now God in his gracious kindness declares us not guilty. He has done this through Christ Jesus, who has freed us by taking away our sins. 25For God sent Jesus to take the punishment for our sins and to satisfy God’s anger against us. We are made right with God when we believe that Jesus shed his blood, sacrificing his life for us. (Romans 3:22-25)
Ahh, the Perfect Suffering Servant! Because He perfectly obeyed, giving up his life for the sake of all the people, we who have faith in Him and what He did are declared righteous in God’s sight. We are made right with God.
3. Because of the Perfect Servant’s suffering, the People of God are expanded to all who have faith and they are called to be God’s New Servants (Isaiah 54-66)
Very interestingly, the Hebrew word ‘ebed, “Servant” in Isaiah is
singular (“Servant”) all the way until the Suffering Servant is identified in Isaiah 52-53. That Servant is the final singular Servant. From that point on, every instance of the word ‘ebed
is plural! These “Servants” are identified as Israel (as in Isaiah 54:17) but they are also identified as
foreigners (in Isaiah 56:6)!
In other words, Isaiah is prophesying that because of what the one Suffering Servant will accomplish on the cross (depicted in chapter 53), God will raise up a vast array of “Servants,” to follow
that singular “Servant.”
They will be identified by their FAITH, not necessarily by family ties. In fact, the point is clearly made that these servants will actually include “foreigners,” people who are not members of ethnic Israel! This is exactly what God did through Christ—the
Jewish Messiah, as it turned out, was not just the Savior of the ethnic Jews, but for the Gentiles as well. Every nation, every tongue, every tribe are brought to God through the Israelite that perfectly served God—Jesus of Nazareth!
According to Isaiah 65:8-9, God will not destroy all who are ethnic Israel, but will redeem those who will authentically seek Him. They will be brought back to Him by way of their faith. Those who do not forsake God will rejoice, they will be called by a new name (Isaiah 65:13-15). The hand of the Lord will be with His servants (Isaiah 66:14). The promise is this: The Servant has indeed been a light for the Gentiles—so that we can meet God. Jesus Christ perfectly shined forth the light, by dying as the Suffering Servant.
4. Therefore, even though we are Gentiles, we are now God’s People along with Israelites who have faith in Christ. And we are now called to carry on as God’s Servants for the sake of others.
Whoever wants to be a leader among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be the slave of all. For even I, the Son of Man, came here not to be served but to serve others, and to give my life as a ransom for many. (Mark 10:44-45)
24I tell you the truth, unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds. 25The person who loves his life will lose it, while the person who hates his life in this world will keep it for eternal life. 26Whoever serves me must follow me; and where I am, my servant also will be. My Father will honor the one who serves me…32But I, when I am lifted up from the earth, will draw everyone to myself.” 33He said this to show the kind of death he was going to die. (John 12:24-26, 32-33)
Are you willing to do for others? Are you willing to see yourself as a Servant for others?
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