Servant

 

“Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by mankind, a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces, he was despised,
and we held him in low esteem.

Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all.

He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
so he did not open his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living,
for the transgression of my people he was punished.
He was assigned a grave with the wicked, and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence, nor was any deceit in his mouth.

Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
After he had suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
and he will bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will give him a portion among the great, and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many, and made intercession for the transgressors.”
Isaiah 53

This is one of the passages that gives me goosebumps every time I read it. Stop and read the passage again. Take your time and really consider how each line can be seen in the life of Jesus Christ.

How could the victorious king who was meant to come and save the people suffer like this? How could he be rejected and die? The two ideas seem disparate and yet in Jesus, we see the possibility.

Jesus came to earth in a lowly form, with nothing to mark Him out as royal or regal. He would share in our pain and suffering and would be rejected by men. He would be offered up by his own people for a shameful and horrible death. Although He was guilty of no wrongdoing, He bore the punishment for our sins and through His death, offered us peace with God. His death was with the poor, but He would be buried in the grave of a wealthy man. But with His resurrection, His days were prolonged, and He has been exalted to the very right hand of God.

Jesus’ first coming was that of a servant. He served the will of God and He served all of humanity with His sacrifice. But when He returns again, He will come victoriously and His kingdom with last forever. Jesus is the fulfillment of it all. We just have to remember that we cannot put our wants and wishes upon Him. He came for the good of all mankind and that meant coming as the suffering servant. Praise be to God for His great goodness and compassion!

New Testament passages that quote/reference Isaiah 53:
Matthew 8:14-17, John 12:37-41, Luke 22:35-38, 1 Peter 2:21-25, Acts 8:26-35, Romans 10: 11-17

 

Lord,
Your ways are far too high for us. May we never forget that You see all and know all and You are working all things for the good of those who love You. We can lose sight of that when it doesn’t match with what we think should happen, but we thank you Lord that the final say is not with us.