The Chosen Servant
Notes
Transcript
Isaiah 42:1-4
“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.
He will not shout
or
cry out,
or
raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and
a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
he will not falter
or
be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
Isaiah 42:1-4 (NIV)
Behold, the coming Servant!
Upheld
(Verse 1) “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
Chosen
(Verse 1) my chosen one
Delighted in
(Verse 1) in whom I delight;
Spirit filled
(Verse 1) I will put my Spirit on him,
Just, and brings justice
(Verse 1) and he will bring justice to the nations.
(Verse 3) In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
(Verse 4) he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth.
He comes in humility
Comes in humility
(Verse 2) He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.
He comes in gentleness and strength
Will not break us, but lifts and supports
(Verse 3) A bruised reed he will not break
Will not quench us, but will fan into flame
(Verse 3) and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
He will not lose patience with us, but bears with our afflictions.
(Verse 4) He will not falter.
He will uphold our faith, and persevere with us in our afflictions.
(Verse 4) or be discouraged.
1. Introduction (1 min)
Good morning,
Our text this morning is from the Old Testament Book of Isaiah.
Although Isaiah is a book in our Bibles, it's also the name of the author.
Isaiah was a Prophet, someone who spoke on behalf of God, and in this book, he brings messages both of judgment and hope.
First, he warned of God’s judgment on His people if they continued to disobey Him.
But he also brought a message of hope.
Hope that one day God would send a King from the line of David, a Saviour, who would set up God’s kingdom, bring justice to the nations, and save His people from their sins.
Our section this morning - 41: 1-4 - is part of that message of hope.
Let’s remind ourselves of what Isaiah said,
2. Scripture (2 min)
“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.
He will not shout
or
cry out,
or
raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and
a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
he will not falter
or
be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
Isaiah 42:1-4 (NIV)
3. Prayer
3. Prayer
4. Story (3 min)
Tunstall Bay sits on the West side of Bowen Island.
It's a popular, but somewhat secluded beach, and somewhere Sandra and I have often gone to slow down and relax.
A few years ago, while visiting the bay, we came across an old campfire that someone had abandoned.
The wood was cold and charred, the ash blew lazily about in the sea air, and all signs of life were gone.
It was tempting to just walk on by, but on that day, I stopped.
I bent down and carefully held my palm over the center of the fire.
To my surprise, there was the faintest sense of warmth.
As I looked closer, I could see the tiniest hint of a glowing ember.
The fire wasn’t completely dead.
Now, if you know me well, you’ll know my love for fires.
I have taught all our kids to light fires with a flint and steel.
And my oldest son can even light a campfire in the pouring rain now.
Pretty useful living in North Vancouver.
So, given all this, there was no way I was not going to let this one die.
Over the next five minutes or so, I gently, carefully nursed that fire back to life again.
It took some time and gentle caressing.
It took searching for dry tinder and twigs.
It took stripping away the dead, burnt wood and carefully adding new dry fuel.
And it took getting in close and gently blowing new life back into the embers.
But slowly, patently, the fire came back to life again.
From what initially seemed like a dead, lifeless pile of ash came a living, roaring flame.
It took some love and care.
Along with some time and patience.
But that small, faintly glowing ember soon became a roaring, blazing fire.
5. Setting the Scene (1 min)
And that's what this passage is about this morning.
It's about God’s servant coming in power.
A humble servant, coming to serve, not to be served.
A gentle servant who will not crush or break us, but strengthen us and care for us.
And whose mission of forgiveness and redemption can not be thwarted.
To help us, I’ve broken the text down into three key points.
In our first point, we’ll hear the announcement: “Behold, the coming Servant!”
Second, we will see this servant coming in humility.
And finally, we’ll see how He comes in gentleness and strength.
Let’s start with point one, “Behold, the coming Servant!”
6. Behold, the coming Servant! (9 mins)
Let's remind ourselves of the text, verse 1 says,
“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.
Our passage starts with an exclamation - “Here!”
It is the Hebrew word הֵן (hēn) and could be better translated “Behold!”
“Behold my servant,”
We can think of it as “Look at my servant!” or “See my servant!”
The writer is trying to get our attention, trying to make us stop what we’re doing and pay attention to what comes next.
We see this ecamation all across the Bible when God is trying to make us pay attention to something.
Trying to show us something important.
Let me give you some examples,
Genesis 3:22,
“Behold, the man has become like one of us
in knowing good and evil.”
Matthew 1:23
“Behold, the virgin shall conceive
and bear a son,
and they shall call his name Immanuel.”
Revelation 21:5
“Behold, I am making all things new.”
Whenever we see this word, the Bible is telling us something important is coming.
In this instance, the author calls us to look to the servant,
“Behold my servant,”
So a question we should start with is who is talking?
Who is calling us to behold his servant?
If we read on to verse 6, we see it is God who is talking,
“I am the LORD;
I have called you in righteousness;
I will take you by the hand
and keep you.”
Isaiah 42:6
So we see God is saying,
“Behold my servant.”
So the next question should be, who is this servant we are to behold?
At this point in the story, it would have been unclear.
We know the Israelites were waiting for a king to come, but as to the actual person, it had not been revealed yet.
However, for us, we have the complete story.
If you keep your finger in Isaiah, quickly flip over to the New Testament.
In Matthew 12, we see the story of Jesus healing the man with the withered hand.
After Jesus had miraculously healed the man, we read once again the Pharisees were not happy. In verse 14, we read,
But the Pharisees went out
and plotted how they might kill Jesus.
Aware of this,
Jesus withdrew from that place.
A large crowd followed him,
and he healed all who were ill.
He warned them not to tell others about him.
This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
“Here is my servant,
whom I uphold,
my chosen one
in whom I delight.”
So Jesus is the servant whom God says we are to behold.
Ok, so now we know God is talking about his Son, Jesus, but what is He saying?
Well, we see a number of key things.
God ‘upholds’ Jesus,
Jesus is God’s ‘chosen’ one,
And God ‘delights’ in Jesus.
God ‘upholding’ Jesus talks about Him being ‘exalted’, ‘raised up’.
This word ‘exalted’ was often used of God Himself, such as in the Psalms.
For example, Psalm 46:10,
He says,
“Be still,
and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth.”
But here we see Christ is the one being exalted by God the Father.
God will lift up Jesus, sustaining Him in his hour of need.
When Christ was tempted in the desert, God was there with Him, upholding Him.
When He was sorrowful and troubled in the Garden of Gethsemane, God was there beside Him.
And when he hung on the cross, taking our punishment upon Himself, God was also there, ready to raise Him up on the third day.
We also see God ‘chose’ Christ, what does this mean?
Jesus didn’t thrust Himself into the role of saviour, rather God called Him.
Jesus comes as a servant, not to serve but to be served.
He comes in humility.
And we’ll see more of this later.
In this electing of Christ, God calls Him as an excellent servant.
One who will not fail, but will bring reconciliation to His people.
During His Transfiguration, Jesus hears these words from His Father,
“This is my Son,
whom I have chosen;
listen to him.”
Luke 9:35
And we also see God delighting in Christ.
He is fully accepted, fully loved.
All that the Son does, the Father finds delight in.
He is truly loved.
Remember the words of God as Jesus comes out of the water, following His baptism.
“This is my beloved Son,
with whom I am well pleased.”
Matthew 3:17
So Jesus is upheld by God’s mighty hand.
He is chosen, God’s only begotten Son.
And He is delighted in, loved and cherished.
Now listen to this wonderful news.
When we put our trust in Christ’s death for our sins.
When we put our faith in His finished work on the cross.
The Bible says we are now ‘in-Christ’.
Our sins forgiven, Christ's righteousness imputed to us.
When God sees us, He sees us ‘In-Christ’.
We are now upheld.
We are chosen.
We are delighted in.
For all the promises of God
find their “Yes” in him.
That is why it is through him
that we utter our “Amen”
to God for his glory.
2 Corinthians 1:20
When you’re struggling with temptation.
Remember that promise, God will uphold you.
He will not let you down.
When you wonder if God really loves you.
When the devil whispers in your ear, “You are not a child of God.”
Remember, you are chosen.
God loves you, and he will not let you go, no matter what.
And when you feel you don’t measure up.
When you feel a failure and a fraud.
Remember, God delights in you.
You are His son, you are his daughter.
He knows everything about you.
He knows every mistake you will ever make.
And he still loves you.
He still delights over you.
We are told that God put His Spirit upon Christ, and this same Spirit empowers us today.
The given Holy Spirit, the Comforter, the Counsellor, He is with us every day.
The ‘Paraclete’ παράκλητος (paraklētos).
God with us,
The very Spirit of God dwelling in us.
Helping us, uplifting us, strengthening us.
Behold Christ, the suffering servant who made all things possible.
7. He comes in humility (5 mins)
Ok, so our first point was “Behold, the coming Servant!”
Our second, and shortest point is that He comes in humility.
Back in Isaiah 42, we read in verse 2,
He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
. . . .
Over the years, when a new King of England was born, various types of anouncments where made.
For example, the birth itself often took place with various courtiers, officials and even the public present at the time.
An official proclamation was given by a herald and Town Crier, who would cry out in the streets,
“Hear ye, hear ye!
Subjects of the realm!
I bring joyous news from the royal court!
On this day, the heavens have blessed our noble King and gracious Queen with a healthy daughter!
We present to you the ‘Princess Buttercup’, the rightful heir to the glorious throne of England!”
All while ringing a loud bell.
Also, an official signed bulletin would be published, detailing the baby's gender, time of birth, health, etc. This would often been dispayed in an ornate golden easel in front of Buckingham Palace.
And finally, you’d see widespread celebrations including the firing of artillery salutes, the ringing of church bells, and widespread feasting.
However, and maybe surprisingly, the coming of the King of Kings, Jesus Christ, was a much quieter, humbler event.
Born to a virtually unknown Jewish teenager.
Born not among royalty but among animals and laid in a manger, which is basically a feeding trough for donkeys, sheep and goats.
He grew up as a skilled craftsman in a small Palestinian town called Nazareth.
Although at the time, the Romans ruled the known world from Rome, Italy, Jesus instead preached “the Kingdom of Heaven is at hand” from small backwater towns situated around the Sea of Galilee in Israel.
This was not a mistake; it was all by design.
The Apostle Paul tells us,
“...though he [Jesus] was in the form of God,
did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped,
but emptied himself,
by taking the form of a servant,
being born in the likeness of men.
And being found in human form,
he humbled himself
by becoming obedient to the point of death,
even death on a cross
Philippians 2:5–8
No, he did not arrive with the pomp and splendour of Queen Elizabeth of England.
Nor did He draw attention to himself like so many celebrities today.
Instead, He came in humility, quietly, gently.
He came not to be served, but to serve.
He came obediently before the Father.
“...not my will, but yours, be done.”
Luke 22:42
And even when they spat at Him.
And struck Him.
And crushed Him.
He remained quiet
“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.”
Isaiah 53:7
For our sake, he endured it all.
Humbly going to the cross in our place.
He was
“...pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities…”
Isaiah 53:5
The one whom the Father delights in took our sin apon Himslef.
The one whom the Father upheld
“..was despised and rejected by men…”
Isaiah 53:3
This is the servant we behold.
The one who came to save us from our sins.
Who paid the price we could not.
Who took our sin apon himself so we could be saved.
“Behold, the Lamb of God,
who takes away the sin of the world!”
John 1:29
So let us Behold, the coming Servant!
The one who comes in humility.
Now see the one who comes in gentleness and strength.
8. He comes in gentleness and strength (x mins)
