See the Servant
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Introduction:
Introduction:
Please turn your Bibles to Isaiah 42
How many of you today have ever in your life experienced a painful night?
Maybe you have had a night of sickness or stayed up with a baby or could not sleep because of a trial in your life.
A few years ago I had a night like this that I felt was memorable like this. I was backpacking in the mountains above Shaver lake, and after the first day, my brother and I got altitude sickness that night. Unfortunately, we could not sleep at around 1am due to headaches and really a gross feeling. Because it was dark, we couldn’t get to any of our food that was tied up, and we did not want to wake anyone of our friends up to borrow some painkillers. So we stayed up the rest of the night eating big league chew bubble gum and staring at the fire. As memorable as this was, I remember thinking during that night, I cannot wait for the darkness to pass, and for the light. And when the dawn came, despite how tired I was, it was such a happy and amazing feeling to see the sun rise. It felt like there was victory and that the pain of the night had passed. I’m sure many of you have had a similar feeling, and we understand how amazing it feels when darkness has turned to light.
This is how the Bible talks about the spiritual as well. Since sin has entered the world, we have lived in a time of darkness. When we read the Bible, there are people living in darkness. Yet the light of the world is promised. Let’s read about this light from Isaiah 42:1-9
1 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen one in whom My soul is well-pleased.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 “He will not cry out or raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3 “A crushed reed He will not break
And a faintly burning wick He will not extinguish;
He will bring forth justice in truth.
4 “He will not be faint or crushed
Until He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”
5 Thus says the God, Yahweh,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its offspring,
Who gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it,
6 “I am Yahweh, I have called You in righteousness;
I will also take hold of You by the hand and guard You,
And I will give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations,
7 To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who inhabit darkness from the prison.
8 “I am Yahweh, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to graven images.
9 “Behold, the former things have come to pass;
Now I declare new things;
Before they spring forth I cause you to hear them.”
Let’s Pray
Main Point:
Today, Isaiah 42:1-9 give us three reasons to praise our faithful God.
Praise the Lord for a Person (v.1-4)
Praise the Lord for a Person (v.1-4)
1 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold;
My chosen one in whom My soul is well-pleased.
I have put My Spirit upon Him;
He will bring forth justice to the nations.
This section begins with the word BEHOLD, which marks a contrast between the servant and the idols that were previously mentioned. It is a word that tell the audience to look at something. It these Scriptures, God call the hearer to look at the idols and then look at the servant and see the difference. This SERVANT is described in vs. 1-4. Now who is the servant? In this passage, and in the Bible many are described as a servant of God, if you are a believer today in some sense you are a servant of God. In the verses immediately following this section, the nation of Israel is described as a servant of God. However, this servant is spoken very highly of. The text calls this servant the one who the Lord “UPHOLDS” “is WELL PLEASED” “SPIRIT EMPOWERED” and “bringing JUSTICE TO THE NATIONS”. This servant pleases the soul of the LORD. This strong wording speaks of one who the Lord delights in every way. The word JUSTICE here is the hebrew word mishpot which is used to describe justice is a broad sense. Today, we think of justice as deciding correctly between right and wrong and punishing accordingly. Yet this word is more wholistic, including this as well as a society that honors God in all aspects, loving neighbors, living in peace, and praising God. This certainly describes what Israel was supposed to be.
6 and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.’ These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel.”
The nation of Israel had been commissioned to be a means by which God could bless the world. That the justice of God could be shown through this nation. This nation was to be an example of doing right and righteously punishing wrong. It was to show the world a just and God centered society of peace and love for one’s neighbor. But time and time again, the nation failed to worship and obey God, and the nation was a failure as a servant of God.
Because of this, the servant in Isaiah 1-4 cannot be Israel because this servant is one who actually succeeds in bringing justice to the nations and completely pleasing God. This servant has such a close connection with the Father that this was a different unusual sort of servant. This servant is the real deal.
The description continues, verse 2 and 3
Isaiah 42:2–3 (LSB)
2 “He will not cry out or raise His voice,
Nor make His voice heard in the street.
3 “A crushed reed He will not break
And a faintly burning wick He will not extinguish;
What is the servant like? Verse 2 describes a servant that is not loud, but quiet. There is a picture of a humble and meek ministry of this servant. It also shows a man not obsessed with self promotion.
In modern and ancient culture, there are people who create a following through being loud about themselves. Sometimes if someone calls themself an expert, the crowds will view them as an expect. This description is the exact opposite of the servant being described.
The servant is also compassionate. A CRUSHED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK AND A FAINTLY BURNING WICK HE WILL NOT EXTINGUISH. This sentence has strong negation, saying that this servant is strongly compassionate.
This servant looks upon the weak and the outcast and the oppressed
The last line of verse 3 along with verse 4 clarify this description
Isaiah 42:3–4 (LSB)
He will bring forth justice in truth.
4 “He will not be faint or crushed
Until He has established justice in the earth;
And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.”
Understanding the quietness and compassion of the servant, we must also understand this servant
Will certainly bring forth justice. Even though he is quiet, there is no doubt he will accomplish the goal He sets out to do.
He is also strong. The words faint and crushed are the exact same Hebrew words used in verse 3 of the reed and the wick. The message is this: although the servant certainly has great compassion on the weak, he is by no means weak.
There is no one that is more faithful, more worthy of trust than this servant
And even though this servant does not publicize himself, the affects of His justice and law will be seen worldwide. The coastlands is an expression talking about the countries that must be reached by sea. Even the most remote country will be affected by this servant.
Who is the Servant?
Who is the Servant?
I hope based on the description you see that this servant can only be one servant. This is why Matthew 12:17-21 explain that this section in Isaiah is fulfilled in Jesus Christ.
If you have ever played the game, Guess Who, it is a game where you try to figure out which character the other player has on their card. And you ask questions about the person’s features to try to guess who this person could be. There are certain questions that can narrow down the answer like “does your character have brown hair?”. But there are other questions that are so narrow like does your person have brown glasses? and these questions can narrow the character down to one person. This is what we have today in the passage. There are many servants of God, but only one who is completely well pleases the Father. Only one who is faithful. Only one who will establish justice not just in one place but in the entire world. It is Jesus Christ.
From a positive side, this description of the character fits into the Gospels description of Jesus so effectively. I hope that through this explanation of these first four verses, you could barely stop yourself from interrupting the sermon and yelling: “It is Jesus!”. Reading the Gospels, you can see these qualities strongly in the person of Jesus. Born in a manger, talk about lowly beginnings. What kind of person heals the sick, and then asks them to keep the healing private. What kind of person cares for the outcasts of society, the weak, the disabled, the spiritually sick. What kind of person takes such painful abuse and physical torture from the Roman soldiers without resistance or defense? It is certainly our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ who could do what no one else could do! Praise the Lord for such a faithful servant!
Isaiah 42:1-4 calls us to praise the Lord for a person, we now turn to praise the Lord for a plan
Praise the Lord for a Plan
Praise the Lord for a Plan
5 Thus says the God, Yahweh,
Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
Who spread out the earth and its offspring,
Who gives breath to the people on it
And spirit to those who walk in it,
The track record of God in the past is brought up. We are reminded that the God who is about to speak is the one who “CREATED THE HEAVENS” “SPREAD OUT THE EARTH” “GIVES BREATH TO THE PEOPLE” and “SPIRIT TO THOSE WHO WALK IN IT”. The words here are the exact words used in Genesis 1 and 2 to describe creation. This is the God who created the entire universe by the word of His mouth. This is the God who gives life to any living creature. This is the God who gives consciousness and the ability to think to every human. A wildly powerful God is about to speak. Let’s hear what He has to say.
6 “I am Yahweh, I have called You in righteousness;
I will also take hold of You by the hand and guard You,
And I will give You as a covenant to the people,
As a light to the nations,
7 To open blind eyes,
To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who inhabit darkness from the prison.
The Lord now speaks to the servant
Verse 6 mentions CALLING, highlighting the plan and sovereignty of God. This sending of the servant is extremely intention by God.
This servant will be led by God, which is certainly characteristic of Jesus
And the servant will be given as a COVENANT or an agreement that God will do what He promised. There is a strong sense of certainty to this plan
What is this plan?
That the servant would be a LIGHT TO THE NATIONS, OPEN BLIND EYES, BRING OUT PRISONERS FROM THE DUNGEON, AND THOSE WHO INHABIT DARKNESS FROM THE PRISON
In the Bible, light is associated with prosperity, good, and righteousness and darkness is associated with evil.
Because of Jesus Christ, the whole world can have access to this righteousness
32 A Light for revelation to the Gentiles,
And for the glory of Your people Israel.”
47 “For so the Lord has commanded us,
‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles,
That You may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’”
The New Testament takes this light to be talking about being saved from sin. Isaiah 42:7 fits with this topic.
The verse speaks of Jesus opening blind eyes, most likely in a spiritual sense. But Jesus did physically heal the blind as well.
The main sense being spoken of here is spiritual. 2 Corinthians 4:4 explains that those who reject the light of Christ are blind.
4 in whose case the god of this age has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God.
Mark 10:45 shows that Jesus came to give His life as a ransom, which means to pay for release from slavery or captivity.
45 “For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many.”
Might I suggest that if you are a Christian here today, this is certainly true of you. Whether or not you understand it, you lived a dark life full of slavery to sin. You were so deeply consumed with sin that you could not see the goodness of the Gospel. You were so captive to sin, that you have no hope of freeing yourself. And because of the work of the servant Jesus Christ, your eyes were opened and you saw the light of the Gospel.
Praise the Lord for a Purpose
Praise the Lord for a Purpose
8 “I am Yahweh, that is My name;
I will not give My glory to another,
Nor My praise to graven images.
9 “Behold, the former things have come to pass;
Now I declare new things;
Before they spring forth I cause you to hear them.”
14 And God said to Moses, “I AM WHO I AM”; and He said, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘I AM has sent me to you.’”
15 And God furthermore said to Moses, “Thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, ‘Yahweh, the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob, has sent me to you.’ This is My name forever, and this is My memorial-name from generation to generation.
This is the reason for sending the servant
The first reason he gives is that HE IS YAHWEH. There is deliberate reference to some of the most important and complex verses in the Bible Exodus 3:14-15, where God introduces His covenant name Yahweh to the people Israel. Certainly, you cannot reduce the name of Yahweh down to a particular part of the character of God because this name includes all that He is. However, there is certainly an emphasis on God’s faithfulness and unchanging nature in the giving of this name.
These same qualities are emphasized as the reason for sending the servant.
Not only is He the one and only Yahweh, but He will not share His glory or praise with any idol or object of worship. Many people often fail to see the jealousy of God as a good thing. Certainly, human jealousy is usually sinful. But there are cases such as a marriage, where jealousy is a positive thing. Is a husband approved of their wife seeing other people, there is a problem understanding the true purpose and covenant of marriage. It is not right. In the same way, it is not right that anyone should have praise accept God. We as humans are called to not praise ourselves, not because praise is bad, but because we are unworthy. Yahweh is worthy.
Have you ever thought about the question of why God sent the servant Jesus Christ to die?
The modern preacher will say: it is because you are so worth it and supremely valuable
God was thinking about you and not about Himself
While we certainly do not want to minimize the selflessness of Jesus on the cross in giving of Himself, the Bible is straightforward about the reason of the atonement
The glory and praise of God, God sent His Son to show who He is to the world
Vs. 9 we have a summary clarification
First look to the past of the FORMER THINGS
God has created all that exists
God gives life to any living thing
God is faithful as a deliverer now, just as He was in the Exodus
Now, understand that God speaks of NEW THINGS, He speaks BEFORE THEY SPRING FORTH
This is a clear indication of prophecy, God clarifies that He is predicting the future
In the study of Isaiah, it can be difficult partly because many writers on Isaiah consider themselves critical scholars of the Bible. What this really means is that they feel that the Bible is a merely human writing without being from God. And so, many feel that the Bible cannot predict the future. And so many twist the details of this passage and others to try to fit that maybe this servant was Hezekiah or Cyrus or the nation Israel. And not only is this conclusion wrong, but it twists the point of these verses. God is the God of the past and of the future. There is nothing you can be so sure of as the faithfulness of the servant and the faithfulness of God to do as He has predicted.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Summary:
God will send His servant who will restore justice to the world, justice in a complete sense, in every way
We know this is true because of the faithfulness and the power of God to keep His promised bring light to the world through the servant. What amazing news!
When You think of Jesus, how would you describe Him? Not a lot of people would go straight to the quality of justice. Yet this is what this passage says His mission is justice.
There are two major ways my friends, and we must praise God for these every day of our lives.
The first way that this servant Jesus Christ has brought justice is through the cross. If you read the Bible, you will notice that God being a holy and just God is actually a huge problem for the sinner. This is because we have all sinned, and there will never be a sin committed that a just God will overlook. God’s justice makes the destruction of all of us who have sinned absolutely certain. God punishes all sin, and only thanks to this servant for all who believe in HIs name, the servant has taken the justice of God upon Himself on the cross. Sin deserved justice, and Jesus died in the place of sinners. Isaiah 42 talks about the light that will come to the world through this servant. Yet on the cross, darkness fell upon the land as the wrath of God was poured out upon the giving of light Jesus Christ. He experienced the darkness of God’s wrath so that all who believe may have light.
The justice that the servant brings is not only past but future as well. The servant not only brings justice through the cross but through the New Earth as well. We can praise God and look forward to the fact that because Jesus is faithful, He will rule the New Earth in perfect justice. Nothing will be wrong, nothing will be sad, and we will see perfect joy and peace. The complete idea of justice will be fully fulfilled in the New Earth, where those who have been saved by the servant will be. In this place, there will be no more night. Revelation 21:23 explains.
23 And the city has no need of the sun or of the moon to shine on it, for the glory of God has illumined it, and its lamp is the Lamb.
Jesus the lamb of God will finally and completely establish and bring light into the world, and a place with absolutely perfect justice, just as promised in Isaiah 42.
So how else can we respond today than with complete praise to the Lord. Today, praise the Lord for sending His servant Jesus Christ to bring light into the world. Praise Him for the cross. Praise Him for the New Earth. Praise Him for who He is!
Pray