Mission of the Servant
June 25, 2019
Commentary
In this passage we find the first of four “Servant Songs” in Isaiah, referring to God’s servant (vv. 1-9). The other songs can be found in (Isa. 49:1-6; Isa. 50:1-11; and Isa.52:13-53:12). The “servant..mine elect” is none other than Christ Jesus Himself (v. 1). As God’s Servant, Jesus did what Israel could never do. He perfectly carried out the will of the Father so that people every where may believe in Him. Because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ, one day there will be a glorious kingdom; and God will “bring justice to the nations” (vv. 1-4). The simple point of this passage is that the Messiah will come, not as a worldly king or conqueror, as the Jews had expected him to do, but as the humble Servant of the Lord. His work will not be limited to Israel, but will extend to the whole world (v. 4).
God promised to assist the Servant in His mission, which only God can do because He is the creator of the heavens and the earth (v. 5). Speaking to His Servant, God assured him that he had been called to perform the will of God (vv. 6-7). His purpose will be to “open the blind eyes” and to “bring out the prisoners from the prison” (v. 7). Spiritually unredeemed, Israel and the Gentiles are blind and they are captured “in darkness.” Isaiah was affirming that God, unlike idols, can tell the future, and this divine ability adds to His glory (vv. 8-9). In view of all that God had already done for Israel, “the former things” of which He had been speaking would certainly happen. Jesus would fulfil the task and show God himself to the world.
Application
In order to be a true servant of Christ, I must first seek His righteousness (Matt. 6:33). Then I must be a light myself before I can shine to others (Matt. 5:15).
Isaiah 42:1– 9 (NET)
1 “Here is my servant whom I support, my chosen one in whom I take pleasure. I have placed my Spirit on him; he will make just decrees for the nations.
2 He will not cry out or shout; he will not publicize himself in the streets.
3 A crushed reed he will not break, a dim wick he will not extinguish; he will faithfully make just decrees.
4 He will not grow dim or be crushed before establishing justice on the earth; the coastlands will wait in anticipation for his decrees.”
5 This is what the true God, the Lord, says— the one who created the sky and stretched it out, the one who fashioned the earth and everything that lives on it, the one who gives breath to the people on it, and life to those who live on it:
6 “I, the Lord, officially commission you; I take hold of your hand. I protect you and make you a covenant mediator for people, and a light to the nations,
7 to open blind eyes, to release prisoners from dungeons, those who live in darkness from prisons.
8 “I am the Lord! That is my name! I will not share my glory with anyone else, or the praise due me with idols.
9 Look, my earlier predictive oracles have come to pass; now I announce new events. Before they begin to occur, I reveal them to you.”
Illustration: Sam Walton Despised Corporate Fat Cats
The most classic example of a modern servant leader was Sam Walton. He despised corporate fat cats. He could, and would, handle the cash register as well as stock the shelves in any of his Wal-Mart stores. He drove an old, rusty, dented pickup not to prove a point but because it still had plenty of good mileage left in it. He told his staff on more than one occasion that “if American management is going to say to their workers that we’re all in this together, they’re going to have to stop this foolishness of paying themselves $3 million and $4 million bonuses every year and riding around every where in corporate jets like they’re so much better than everybody else.” (Source Unknown)