and restoring the protected ones of
We cannot save ourselves—like a
drowning man who cannot swim, as a woman falling from a cliff who cannot fly,
as a person trapped in a fire that cannot escape, as one who is terminally ill
and there is no cure. It is
hopeless. We are helpless. We must have a Savior!
God has done for us what we could never
do for ourselves and has done it in such a manner as to manifest His supreme
glory. He sent His Son to become a
servant bearing our sin that we who are servants of sin might bear God’s image
as sons!
Isaiah’s focus in a section of his
prophecy, stretching from chapter forty nine through fifty seven, is on this
Servant of Yahweh—the Lord Jesus Christ.
Chapter forty nine presents to us the salvation the Servant has secured
for us.
There was His INCARNATION.
“Coastlands, listen to me; distant peoples, pay attention. The Lord called me before
I was born. He named me while I was in my mother's womb.” (Isa.49:1)
All the world needs to hear; the most
distant peoples need to be told. He could
only save us by becoming one of us—and would be tempted at all points as we
are, yet without sin. Through the
miracle of a supernatural conception in a virgin’s womb, He would be born fully
human and yet wholly divine, with the flesh of Adam’s race, but untainted by
the sin of Adam’s nature. Before His
birth, the Servant was named—Jesus: “Yahweh is Salvation” and Immanuel: “God
with Us.”
Paul puts it this way concerning Jesus,
“who, existing in the form of God, did not consider equality with God as something to be used for His own advantage. Instead He emptied
Himself
by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8 HCSB)
by assuming the form of a slave, taking on the likeness of men. And when He had come as a man in His external form, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross.” (Philippians 2:6-8 HCSB)
Isaiah also points to His
DECLARATION.
“He made my words like a sharp sword; He hid me in the shadow of His hand.
He made me like a sharpened arrow; He hid me in His quiver.” (Isa.49:2)
He made me like a sharpened arrow; He hid me in His quiver.” (Isa.49:2)
He would be the Living Word—the
ultimate revelation of God. In all He
expressed by life and lips He declared the Word of the Lord. Those who heard Him marveled that no one had
ever spoken like He did. His words would
be like a sword—the Sword of the Spirit—by them routing the forces of darkness,
penetrating to the depths of men’s souls, laying bare their hearts.
He was hidden for a time, until He
would be revealed at the precise moment in history that God decided to manifest
Him as His Servant. The Apostle Paul
said,
“When the time
came to completion, God sent His Son, born of a woman, born under the law, to
redeem those under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons.”
(Galatians 4:4-5 HCSB). To see Jesus is
to see the Father; to hear His voice is to hear the voice of God.
Isaiah shares His SUBMISSION.
“He said to me,
‘You are My Servant, Israel
Christ is so identified with His people
that He is called by their name—and we might add that His people are also
called by His! He was the fulfillment of
all that the man Israel
ought to have been but could never be; the servant the nation Israel
Jesus lived as man was meant to live. Although God in the flesh, He lived in the
flesh as a Servant—only doing what the Father said—utter reliance, utmost
obedience marked His every moment. He
came to do His Father’s will. Zeal for
it consumed His every thought, desire and action.
Then, the prophet describes His
REJECTION.
“But I myself said: I have labored in
vain, I have spent my strength for nothing
and futility…” (Isa.49:4a).
Such zealous servants are branded by
the carnal as fanatics. They are
rejected by those who do not understand them and are made uncomfortable by
them. None would ever be more disturbing
than Jesus.
His family thought Him insane. The religious leaders branded Him a
devil. The nation at last evaluated Him
and said He was only worthy of death.
John phrased it like this, “He was in the world, and the world was created through Him,
yet the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.” (John 1:10-11)
yet the world did not recognize Him. He came to His own, and His own people did not receive Him.” (John 1:10-11)
At His birth He was rejected from
a place in the inn and was given a manger in a stable. In His ministry, He was driven away and
despised—no place to pillow His head, though even foxes had their dens and
birds their nests. He prayed in Gethsemane in such agony—no man cared—His closest
disciples were sound asleep, until He was seized by an angry mob and then they
deserted Him. Betrayed by Judas, denied
by Peter, He was in the darkness of a dungeon awaiting His death—rejected,
alone.
But, the story doesn’t end
there. Isaiah speaks of His VINDICATION.
“yet
my vindication is with the Lord, and my reward
is with my God.” (Isa.49:4b)
Rejected in His crucifixion, He would
be vindicated in His resurrection!
Because He was crowned with thorns, He would ultimately be crowned in
triumph!
Look again at the passage in
Philippians:
“He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death—even to death on a cross. For this reason God highly exalted Him and gave Him the name that is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus every knee will bow—of those who are in heaven and on earth and
under the earth—and every
tongue should confess that Jesus
Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father.” (2:8-11)
In His incarnation, there was His
declaration, submission and rejection which led to His vindication.
Isaiah goes on to add that this
culminates in His DOMINION.
“And
now, says the Lord, who formed me
from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob
back to Him so that Israel might be gathered
to Him; for I am honored in the sight of the
Lord, and my God is my strength—He
says, ‘It is not enough for you to be My Servant raising up the tribes of Jacob
and restoring the protected ones of Israel. I will also
make you a light for the nations, to be My
salvation to the ends of the earth.’
This is what the Lord, the
Redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, says to one who is
despised, to one abhorred by people,
to a servant of rulers: ‘Kings
will see and stand up, and princes will bow down, because of the Lord, who is
faithful, the Holy One of Israel—and He has
chosen you.’” (Isa.49:5-7)
He has ascended, and will one day
return to earth in power and glory—the Servant who will be Sovereign. Christ will gather Israel
under His dominion and all Israel
Isaiah looked forward to these wondrous
events. He was earnest to predict
them. We can look back at all the
Servant has done and anticipate the climactic moment of His return. We should be eager to proclaim Him!
This is the practical point Paul makes
in the aforementioned text—the second chapter of Philippians. The mission of the Servant is to be embraced
by us. As He was sent into the world, so
we have been sent as the Body of Christ—willing to suffer, to stand alone if
need be, in order to be rewarded with the welcome to heaven some day, “Well
done, good and faithful servant!” There
we will reign with Christ!
The Apostle Paul puts this message
between two bookends. On one side stands
the foundational appeal, “Make your own attitude that of Christ Jesus…” (Phil.2:5) and
on the other the fundamental application:
“So
then, my dear friends, just as you have always obeyed, not only in my presence,
but now even more in my absence, work out your own salvation with fear and
trembling. For it is God who is working in you, [enabling
you] both to desire and to work out His good purpose. Do everything without grumbling and arguing, so that you may be blameless and pure,
children of God who are faultless in a crooked and perverted generation, among
whom you shine like stars in the world.” (Phil.2:12-15)
Let your light shine!
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