Satisfying Servanthood - Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Introduction

The original lie is that more personal freedom for the sake of more self-indulgence will lead to a better and more satisfying life. That’s what the serpent sells to Adam and Eve. If they can eat of any fruit they want and do whatever pleases them, no happiness or pleasure will be held back at them. But, they ended up shivering and ashamed, dissatisfied rather than more satisfied.

Indulgence doesn’t work. In fact, indulgence delivers the exact opposite of what it promises. It seems like indulgence will lead to a successful life, but you end up feeling like a failure when success doesn’t overcome your misery. It seems like indulgence will lead to a meaningful life, but living every day trying to fill your stomach only ends up showing how empty you really are. It seems like indulgence will lead to a content life, but it only takes you to the top of one hill to show you another still to climb.

God’s Word

No, indulgence doesn’t work. Israel didn’t believe it, and you could summarize the problems they’re facing in Isaiah to that singular lie believed. America doesn’t believe it, and you can trace our problems in a similar way. And, you probably have trouble believing it, too. It’s the original lie. And, one summary of the cross is to say that the cross is where Jesus saves us from the lie of self-indulgence through the greatest act of self-denial in cosmic history. Self-indulgence created the problem, and self-denial remedied it. And, on the cross, Jesus invites us to a new life of great success, deep purpose, and lasting contentment by inviting us to deny ourselves, take up our crosses, and follow him. So, because we grow up in a time that believes the lies about indulgence, I want us to see Three Surprises About Servanthood: (Headline)

Servanthood is “success.”

Young children have a lot to teach us about success. It’s so simple for them. When Josiah used the toilet for the first time, we celebrated him as though he’d won a Pulitzer Prize. But, as we get older, success becomes more difficult to define and harder to recognize. It becomes a moving target. An indulgence mentality creates a success trap where you can even appear to everyone around you as a success and still feel like a failure. We have the goal to attain a certain position in our company, and then we attain it, only to find ourselves not feeling as successful as we thought and aiming for a higher position yet. The same is true about what we deem successful in raising our kids, saving money, or whatever else we choose to measure as success.

The success trap is another reminder that indulgence doesn’t work. We need newer and simpler definitions. The simpler the definition of success is the more you can know whether or not you are successful. It simplifies the ability to be happy. Thus, a true sense of success can be found in an unsuspecting place — servanthood. Success is clearly defined for servants by their master. We see that here of God’s Servant.

He will be “successful.”

Isaiah 52:13 “Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted.”

God is speaking on his own behalf, and He states in no unequivocal terms how He views his Servant. He’s a success in the highest order. “Wisely” means more than just he’s good with his money or he knows how to see the truth. It holds within the understanding of the outcomes of a wise life. He knows how to prosper, and He’s prospering. It means, quite simply, He’s a great success in his life. In fact, you’ll notice that there’s a three-fold exclamation of God’s approval of him: “He’ll be a success! He’ll be high and lifted up! He’ll be exalted!” That is, this Servant is so successful that all of heaven stands to their feet and shouts their praises at him.

And, that’s what Isreal would’ve expected of their Messiah, their coming King. I’ve pointed out to you throughout the last four weeks that “my servant” carries with it a double meaning. It means, on one hand, someone who is obedient to the will of God, and it would’ve meant to these early readers, on the other hand, as a sign of kingship after David who was called by God, “my servant.” So, they would’ve expected a wise and exalted king who would be celebrated by all of heaven for his success in God’s will. But, what they didn’t expect, what would’ve made Isaiah’s prophecy so shocking is that....

His “success” will look like “failure.”

Isaiah 52:14-15 “As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind— so shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.”

I use the word “shocking” on purpose. That’s the intent here — to shock the people of God. The success of God’s Servant will look shockingly different than they expect. They will be “astonished.” And, “astonished” doesn’t just mean shocked. It means to be “appalled,” “revulsed,” to see something as “detestable” and “abhorrent.” They won’t just be shocked at the appearance of the Messiah. They will judge him a failure. The one who is to be exalted in the highest heaven will be so “marred” that he’ll look more like a thing than a man. The one of highest dignity will appear as though He has no dignity at all.

Yet, through him, through his marred body, through his forsaken dignity, through his detestable appearance, through his apparent failure, “he shall sprinkle many nations.” That is, his blood will cover them and cleanse them. Kings of highest honor and highest achievement will be given eyes to see him in his true glory and exalted state, and their mouths will be shut in awe.

You see, in the economy of heaven, the indulgent are emptied, and the Servants are exalted. We all have to decide on our definitions of success. Is our definition of success to out achieve all of our colleagues? The target will keep moving. Is our definition of success to look like a success to all of our friends? The target will keep moving. Is our definition to have the least wrinkly face and the most up-to-date house? The target will keep moving. Or, is it that all of heaven would stand to their feet and exalt us as Servants of the living God? Servanthood is the way to success. It’ll look like failure to your friends. It may look like failure to your parents. But, their judgements won’t hold.

And, Keith, deacons are the servants in the church that remind us of true success. Deacons are the servants that remind us that cross-shaped lives may look like a waste but are ultimately the path to glory. We need you to lead us as a servant.

Servanthood is “significant.”

More than one psychologist has noted that human beings are meaning makers. We see something or experience something and immediately, we either say: “This is what it means” or we ask “what does this mean?” The software given us by our Designer instinctively asks, “Where do I fit?” And, that’s where our post-modern world does us a great disservice. It tells us that there are as many versions of the truth as there are people. Individual truth and expression are the greatest values, which means there is nothing greater than the individual. There’s nothing larger for us to fit into. The only purpose of life is to indulge yourself on what makes you happy. Indulgence fails to discover any real significance at all.

And, what Jesus shows us is that actual significance and meaning may be found in the last place we would look: servanthood. The fourth Servant Song is made up of five stanzas. And, it’s meant to cause the third, middle stanza to be highlighted as it’s main point. So, verses 4-6 are the main portrait, and it’s framed by the surrounding stanzas (1-3) and (7-9). Jesus’ servanthood is framed by two curse words in a self-indulgent world.

Frame: He is “lowly.”

Isaiah 53:1-3 “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not.”

Nothing about Jesus looks significant. Here is the one before whom the mouths of kings will be shut and for whom the myriads in the heavens will stand, but he’ll look like just another guy to us. He won’t be the GQ cover model. He won’t appear as one dignified with a crown or the adoration of men. He’ll be born in a barn, laid in hay, and then nailed to a cross. His life won’t be one that is characterized by ease and comfort. He’s “a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief.” That is, and see if this rings a bell, he’ll be more known for his suffering than He will for his accolades. He’ll be more known for his crown of thorns than for his crown of gold.

That is, to the onlooking world, he won’t look like a great man. He’ll look like just a man. He won’t appear as a mighty Lord; He’ll look more like a lowly servant.

And, that leads us to the second half of this frame:

Frame: He is “submissive.”

Isaiah 53:7-9 “He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth.”

As Servants do, He’ll submit to the task his Master sets before him. He won’t make his case for a better life or an easier assignment. He won’t proclaim his innocence in the face of a Mickey Mouse trial. He won’t appeal his sentence or speak up in his own defense. He will submit to the Father’s will. He will go where He is sent. He will answer when He is called. His is a self-effacing Servant, unconcerned with being impressive in the eyes of his neighbors.

Now, when we think of someone who is lowly, unimpressive, submissive, and subservient, we think of someone who is weak. Power, we think, is found with those who direct servants, not those who are servants. But, it’s his humility and submissiveness that are meant to frame up the shocking glory of his power. Living is dying and dying is living. Wisdom is foolishness, and foolishness is wisdom. Power is weakness, and weakness is power. This is the foolishness of the gospel.

Because what we’re seeing is a portrait of God’s power!

Portrait: He is “powerful.”

Isaiah 53:4-6 “Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.”

You see, the question that’s being answered in this fourth song is being asked by the promises given in earlier chapters. Isaiah 53:1 “Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?” Through whom will God’s saving power flow? That’s the question. Who is within God’s plan to be used by God to accomplish his plan? And, the answer is — the Servant!

We deemed him “stricken, smitten”, cursed by God, and we’re half right! He was stricken, but it wasn’t because of his sins, it was because of our sins. It was through his marred appearance and sorrows and grief and submission that God was working to channel his saving power for our redemption. You were owed God’s curse, but He subjected himself to the curse instead. You should’ve be crushed and chastised, but He submitted himself to his Father’s wrath where He was crushed and chastised. He gave you peace. You should’ve been wounded, but He bent his back to be striped so that you could be healed. What looked like a wasted life was actually so significant that it altered what the next ten billion years will look like for us.

Servanthood, our society would convince us, is the most insignificant and meaningless work of all. You have to live by someone else’s truth. You can’t self-indulge. But, Jesus flips our values inside-out to say that only when you know where you fit and to whose will you should submit can you find meaning and significance.

Servanthood isn’t an enemy of meaning; it’s a discovery of it. You see, the cross declares to all of us that there’s no service too low or too hard or too reviled for God to use. He brought peace and healing by a cross. And so, we can take up our cross — even if it looks like failure — knowing that by doing so we’re doing the most significant work in the universe.

And, Keith that’s your job to remind us. Servanthood is where we find our meaning. The cross is where we find our power.

Servanthood is “satisfying.”

Americans have a lot of baggage when it comes to the concept of servanthood and slavery. We have in our minds chattel slavery where men and women are treated like a commodity and without honor. That’s not the picture here. We’ve already seen that this Servant will be most honored in heaven and on earth. The picture here is that of a bondservant. Paul often called himself a “bondservant of Christ.” The picture of a bondservant isn’t one where the person is treated as a commodity and held against their will. It’s where someone makes themselves a willing slave because life as their master’s servant is better than life on their own. It’s the declaration that I want to be your servant because I’m happier, more satisfied, more content being your servant than I am on my own.

And, it’s important to note that this is exactly how this Song ends. It says of the Servant, “Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied.”

Isaiah 53:10-11 “Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. 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, and he shall bear their iniquities.”

Now, how is it that “anguish” can be satisfying? The “anguish” is satisfying because He deems the pain He experienced worthy of the what He now “sees?” And, what does He see? He sees the “many to be accounted righteous” because of him. He sees us. He sees the harvest of the painful seed He’s sown. He sees the effect that his crushing and chastisement and curse has brought about. He sees those once bound for Hell now enjoying the goodness of God. He sees the healing where the brokenness used to be. He sees the peace where the misery once lived. Satisfaction came at the high price of “anguish,” but it was worth the price.

You see, the reason so many people come into their thirties, fourties, and fifties so dissatisfied, is they look at the fruit their lives have produced, and they don’t find that it amounts to much. There may be a nicer boat in the driveway. There may be a fancier nameplate on their desk. There may be a list of degrees hanging on their wall. But, what good has it actually done? They just want a nicer boat. They just want another job. Their degrees have done nothing to make them stop feeling like an imposter everywhere they go. Indulgence doesn’t work.

But, if there is a tear to be found in all of heaven, I imagine that it will be streaming down the face of the unknown mother who stands at the gates when her children follow her there. Everyone tells the missionary how they’re wasting their retirement or the youth of their children, but there’s no cynics left when the missionary with dirt under their nails stands at the gates of heaven to witness the fruit of their labor. You see, satisfaction may come at a price. But, in the end, it proves priceless. There’s more joy for the next billion years in the life of a janitor who served Christ than the wealthiest CEO who lived for indulgence.

Indulgence doesn’t work, but servanthood does. Keith, we need you to walk in the way of the cross that we can follow after you.