"The Servant of the Lord" Sermon: Isaiah 42:1-9 (manuscript)

“The Servant of the Lord”

(Isaiah 42:1-9)

June 14, 2020 YouTube

            Last week, we looked at the idolatry of Jerusalem – how easily they turn from trust in God and put their faith in creations of their own hands.  And God invites them to bring their idols into the courtroom to judge between God and them – and God is vindicated.  The idols do not know the future and they cannot do anything.  God knows everything that shall be because He has ordained everything that will be.

            Now God turns and gives a prophecy about something that will begin to happen some seven hundred years after the prophecy is given.

            First, God tells them His Servant is coming.

“Behold my servant,”

The obvious question is, Who is the Servant?

Israel has been called God’s servant.  And Cyrus is called God’s servant.  And these options are argued for by various people even to this day.  However, God reveals Who this is, so we have no need to wonder.  In Matthew’s Gospel, we read of Jesus:

“But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

“Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

“’Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; and in his name the Gentiles will hope’” (Matthew 12:14-21, ESV).

If we believe that the Bible is the Word of God, inerrant and infallible, superintended over by God the Holy Spirit over the generations, there is no question as to Who the Servant is in this text.

So, “Behold – look – see, My Servant, Jesus!”

“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.”

Jesus, the Son and Servant, is upheld by the Father – He is exalted, glorified, filled with God the Holy Spirit.  He is held in deepest affection by the Father, God delights in Him with His Whole Being. God the Son is chosen to Incarnate as the vehicle of salvation – it is through Him and His work alone that any are saved.

We remember this well at His Baptism:

“And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased’” (Matthew 3:16-17, ESV).

And we remember the angels appearing to the shepherds:

“And the angel said to them, ‘Fear not, for behold, I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. For unto you is born this day in the city of David a Savior, who is Christ the Lord’” (Luke 2:10-11, ESV).

And His work is to bring justice to all peoples – the Jews and the Gentiles.

What does that mean?

We live in a strange time when we don’t understand what justice is.  Justice is the impartial assignment of what is right according to the law.

But by that definition, Jesus coming to bring justice is terrifying – because sin rightly deserves eternal punishment according to the Law!  However, we must take the whole context into consideration:  Jesus came to take on justice for all those who would ever believe and to confirm it on those who never believe:

Jesus says, “Whoever believes in [Jesus] is not condemned, but whoever does not believe is condemned already, because he has not believed in the name of the only Son of God” (John 3:18, ESV).

What is the Servant like?

“He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.”

Three characteristics:

First, He will not come proclaiming Himself; He will not announce Himself with loud cries.  He will not be like the conquering armies that Jerusalem is used to – who come in screaming, announcing themselves, making bold announcements of conquest.

No, Jesus came as a little baby.  The only people who knew about Him were some shepherds and some astrologers.  It wasn’t until He was thirty that His ministry began.  Even then, He frequently told people not to tell anyone Who helped them.

            Second, He will support the weak and the broken-hearted.

            Jesus does not treat the weak and broken-hearted as lesser people – as unworthy of His presence.  Rather, He uplifts them, and His heart goes out to them, and He promises to work through the sparks and smoke to bring forth a blaze of light that shows others Who He is.

            Jesus spoke of His Kingdom and those who were too busy to come:

            “So the servant came and reported these things to his master. Then the master of the house became angry and said to his servant, ‘Go out quickly to the streets and lanes of the city, and bring in the poor and crippled and blind and lame.’ And the servant said, ‘Sir, what you commanded has been done, and still there is room.’ And the master said to the servant, ‘Go out to the highways and hedges and compel people to come in, that my house may be filled” (Luke 14:21-23, ESV).

            The ultimate statement is made as Jesus says, “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep” (John 10:11, ESV).

            Third, He will complete the work He is sent to do.

            Jesus is completely human, and He has the same bodily weaknesses we have, but in His Will and Spirit, He pressed forward to do the Father’s Will, even when He wished the cup could be taken away.  Jesus never turned from the work the Father sent Him to do – He went forward with joy, as the author of Hebrews tells us – to see the elect of God – all of His chosen – the sheep of His pasture, saved, made right with God, and brought into His Kingdom:

            “Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us, looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, 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” (Hebrews 12:1-2, ESV).

            This is the Servant God would send:  He Who is chosen by God to be the One to come to proclaim God’s Will.  One Who will not be conceited and push the weak and suffering aside but will gather them close to Him and eventually restore them to perfect health in His Kingdom.  One Who will do everything necessary to save His people – not just from the horrors of captivity – but from the Wrath of God.  Rather, He will give them His Righteousness and Holiness and changed them to be like Him and fit for His Kingdom.

            The people of Jerusalem did not know Jesus, but they understood that Isaiah is proclaiming God’s Word and promise that God will send a Servant Who will deliver them from every ill and make them right before God.  So there is hope – in the slaughter of war and in being carried off into captivity – there is hope because God does not forget His people, and He has sent His Servant to eternally heal and secure His people to be with Him.

            Second, God says that the Servant is sent to glorify God.

            And we have three sections:

            First, God is the God Who creates and sustains all things, so He is to be glorified.

            “Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:”

Before God created, there is God.  Everything that exists apart from God, God created.  And God caused all life to come to life and God keeps all life living.  Without God continuing intervene in history and life, nothing would be alive, and nothing would continue to live.

As Paul explains, “The God who made the world and everything in it, being Lord of heaven and earth, does not live in temples made by man, nor is he served by human hands, as though he needed anything, since he himself gives to all mankind life and breath and everything. And he made from one man every nation of mankind to live on all the face of the earth, having determined allotted periods and the boundaries of their dwelling place, that they should seek God, and perhaps feel their way toward him and find him. Yet he is actually not far from each one of us, for ‘In him we live and move and have our being’; as even some of your own poets have said, ‘For we are indeed his offspring’” ( Acts 17:24-28, ESV).

Another strike against the idols is that God created everything that is – including the stuff that the idols are made from.  No idol can claim to be self-existent and to have existed before everything else existed or to have created everything in existence, or to be He Who keeps everything living alive for as long as He wills it.  This is God alone.

            Second, God calls the Servant to His work and empowers Him to carry it out, so He is to be glorified.

            “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you;”

            God calls the Servant – God gives Him His mission – God establishes Him in faithfulness and secures His completion of His mission.  God gives the Servant immediate assistance when He needs it and promises that He will always take His Hand and lead Him in faithfulness and to the accomplishment of His work.  God chose Him and will sustain Him for this work.

            The people of Jerusalem needed to hear this and Jesus needed to hear this and we need to hear this. 

The people of Jerusalem knew that God promised in the Garden to send a savior – but they didn’t know who or when, and some assumed that the savior would be a mere human being.  So, to know that God would supply the ability and secure the outcome of the work of the Savior is an encouragement.

            Jesus also needed to hear this because He is at the same time in One Person the One True God and a real human being – with two natures and two wills.  So, Jesus could be tempted, He could be afraid and not wish to go ahead – we remember Him in the Garden asking if there was any other way because He knew the horrors He was about to face.  So, He knows He will be upheld by God, empowered by God, and He will complete the work of salvation.

            And we need to hear this because Jesus is a real human being – the same as you or me – though He is also God and we are not.  But we might be tempted to say that Jesus doesn’t really understand our temptation because He is also God and God would prevent Him from ever acting on temptation.  And it is true that Jesus never sinned.  However, He also was truly tempted to sin because the Incarnate God has two natures and two wills.  So, Jesus had the ability to sin.  He had the ability to abandon the work of the Gospel.  So, He truly understands our temptation and sin – though He doesn’t excuse it.

“I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,”

God says the Servant will be given as a covenant for the people.  How can that be?  God already made a covenant with Abraham that God cannot breach.

We read: “Now the LORD said to Abram, ‘Go from your country and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. And I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed’” (Genesis 12:1-3, ESV).

The promise to bless all the nations of the earth – Jews and Gentiles – is an unconditional promise.  God swore to do what He promised, and nothing was required of any mere human for it to come to pass.

So, what does it mean for God to tell the Servant that God is giving Him as a covenant for the people?

The answer is found as Paul tells us, “For no one can lay a foundation other than that which is laid, which is Jesus Christ” (I Corinthians 3:11, ESV).

And, “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek” (Romans 1:16, ESV).

What does this add up to?

God gives the Servant to be the Foundation of the Covenant between God and all types of humans.  Without Jesus, the Servant, the promise to bless every type of person – with salvation – would not be possible.  So, God is not talking about a new covenant, but He is explaining what the Abrahamic Covenant stands on.  Without the Servant, Jesus, there is no salvation.

“to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”

As Isaiah has been telling Jerusalem – they are going into captivity, but the day will come when God will set them free.

            John tells us this about the Servant:

            “The true light, which gives light to everyone, was coming into the world. He was in the world, and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own, and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood nor of the will of the flesh nor of the will of man, but of God” (John 1:9-13, ESV).

            And as John the Baptist is waiting to be executed, he sends his disciples to Jesus just to double-check to make sure that He is the Savior – the promised Servant, Jesus says, “And Jesus answered them, ‘Go and tell John what you hear and see: the blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and the poor have good news preached to them. And blessed is the one who is not offended by me’” (Matthew 11:4-6, ESV).

            Jesus, the Servant of God, is the Light of the World.  He removes the darkness from our hearts and in that day and on the Final Day, He will remove the darkness from our bodies, and we will be filled with His Light never to experience the effects of sin again.

            And third, God alone is to be glorified and He will only allow Himself to be glorified.

“I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.”

God speaks using the same Name He told Moses, “I AM” (YHWH).  And what God says should immediately remind them of what God said regarding idolatry to Moses: 

“You shall not bow down to them or serve them, for I the LORD your God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers on the children to the third and the fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing steadfast love to thousands of those who love me and keep my commandments” (Exodus 20:5-6, ESV).

God will not share His Glory with anyone or anything else.  God will not deny Himself – all glory is His. 

We remember that last week we saw that God defines covetousness as idolatry and says that those who remain unrepentant in their idolatry will not be welcomed into the Kingdom but will suffer the Wrath of God.

Why?  Because only God is God, and God knows all things and causes all things to come to pass.  And we come full circle:

“Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”

God says that He prophesied things that would come to pass that the people of Jerusalem know came to pass, so it only makes sense to trust God for the promises that He has made concerning the future yet to come – including the coming of the Servant Savior.

And to us, let us turn away from all those things we talked about last week that are idols for us – all those things that we covet.

            As God continues to condemn idolatry, let us remember that God promised to send the humble Servant Savior to bring the Father’s promise to pass regarding the salvation of His people.  And let us recognize that the Servant did come in the Person of Jesus, and we are now sent out by Him, filled with God the Holy Spirit Who leads us and strengthens us and brings God’s promise to pass that there is salvation in Jesus alone – and one day He will return to judge all those who have ever lived throughout time and space.  Those who have believed in the Servant will be received into God’s Kingdom, and those who reject Him will receive God’s Eternal Wrath.

            The Servant of the Lord proves that God is greater than idols and worthy of all glory for the salvation He gifts us.

            Let us pray:

            Almighty God, we are humbled as You reveal Yourself and Your Sovereign Plan throughout history.  Help us to trust You and to follow You always.  Strengthen us by the power of God the Holy Spirit and lead us in all holiness that You would be known and glorified.  For it is in Jesus’ Name we pray, Amen.