We humans, and the world in general,
like flashiness. We like power. We like superheroes,
don't we? It was not so for the first coming
of the Lord Jesus. He did not come as a superhero.
He did not come in great power. That's for the second time. And
it was a real shock to the world. His own people rejected him.
They were looking for something different. And this is all portrayed
and foretold in Isaiah very clearly. And it just struck me that if
you were a good Hebrew back then and you studied the scriptures,
you should know this. So let's look at the four suffering
servant passages in Isaiah today to get an idea of what the Bible
very clearly predicted this first coming of the Messiah was gonna
be like. Isaiah's ministry lasted about 40 years, from 740 B.C. to 701 B.C. It was during that
period of time, about halfway during that period of time, that
the northern kingdom, the ten tribes, were taken captive by
Assyria. They were the first to go, and
then Babylon took the southern kingdom later on. So this is
an amazing book of prophecy. It's divided into three parts
by this one author. A lot of liberal theologians
think it was written by three different people, but we believe
it was written by just Isaiah, as proven by the quoting of it
in the New Testament. Quotes are given from both Isaiah
610 and 5310, the two very extremes of Isaiah, by John, and he attributes
it to Isaiah. So there's really no doubt about
it. But the amazing thing about it is, in chapters 1 through
39, He really addresses the nation while they are there and before
the Assyrian invasion. And there's a lot of warning
of we're gonna be judged because of our lifestyles and so forth. Then in chapters 40 through 55,
he actually addresses the exiles in Babylon before it happens. So he's talking to those exiles,
and this is way before it happens. And then in chapters 56 to 66,
he addresses the community after the return from Babylon, which
happened between 539 and 500 BC. So you have Isaiah prophesying
through the spirit, of course. The three different periods,
the period while they were in the country, then while they
were absent in Babylon, then when they came back, even though
he himself was way before those times. So it was obviously the
Lord showing him these things. One of the famous personalities
during this time was Cyrus, king of Persia, who let them come
back to the land. So Isaiah preaches against Israel's
rebellion. And he does it very strongly.
But along with this, he prophesies about a servant who's going to
come along, and this servant is going to bring justice, going
to be a light to the Gentiles, that was a radical message, was
going to take away sins and was going to suffer and then be rewarded.
All the things that happened to our Lord Jesus Christ the
first time he came. So, let's look at this servant. In chapter 40, which is the real
demarcation between the earlier part of Isaiah and the later
part, is where it starts. In chapter 40, verses one through
five, he's done all this preaching against Israel, and then all
of a sudden he says, Comfort, oh comfort my people, says your
God. Speak kindly to Jerusalem, and
call out to her that her warfare has ended, that her iniquity
has been removed, that she has received of the Lord's hand double
for all her sins, a voice is calling, clear the way for the
Lord in the wilderness." Who's that? That's John the Baptist,
very clearly, and it is quoted as such in Matthew 3.3. Make smooth in the desert a highway
for our God. Let every valley be lifted up,
and every mountain and hill be made low, and let the rough ground
become a plain, and the rugged terrain a broad valley. Then
the glory of the Lord will be revealed, and all flesh will
see it together, for the mouth of the Lord has spoken." Here
we go. He's saying there's gonna be a voice in the wilderness
crying out, saying, make your paths straight. This was John
the Baptist so many years later to announce the coming of the
Lord Jesus. Then in verses 10 and 11 in chapter 40, we see
that it's actually going to be the Lord himself to come. Behold, the Lord God will come
with might, with his arm ruling for him. Behold, his reward is
with him and his recompense before him. Like a shepherd, he will
tend his flock. In his arm, he will gather the
lambs and carry them in his bosom. He will gently lead the nursing
ewes. So it's actually gonna be the
Lord God himself to come to the earth and to his people. In chapter
41, by the way, in chapter 40 verse 31 is that famous verse
about renewing your strength. Those who wait upon the Lord
will renew their strength. They'll mount up with wings like
eagles, run and not get tired, walk and not become weary. Great
verse. In chapter 41, verse 2, Cyrus
is mentioned, and he's actually named in chapter 45, 11, by name. So God allowed a man who was
going to come on the scene in a couple hundred years to be
named by name in this book of Isaiah. In chapter 41, verse
2, he says, who has aroused one from the east, whom he calls
in righteousness to his feet. He delivers up nations before
him, and so forth. So that's Cyrus, who was on the
scene from 550 to 530 BC. All right, let's get into the
servant passages. But before we look at the four
specific servant passages, we gotta lay the groundwork. At
first, in Isaiah, the servant is portrayed as Israel. But it
morphs from that, away from Israel, into an individual. So it's very
important to see this. I want to show you how at first
it's Israel, the nation itself that's the servant. Let's look
at 4310. You are my witnesses, declares
the Lord, and my servant, whom I have chosen, so that you may
know and believe me and understand that I am he. Before me there
was no God formed, and there will be none after me. Now look
at 44.1. But now listen, O Jacob, my servant,
and Israel, whom I have chosen. Thus says the Lord who made you
and formed you from the wound, who will help you, and do not
fear, O Jacob, my servant. So, Jacob and Israel, that's
the names for the northern and southern kingdoms, are the servant. In verse 21 of 44, remember these
things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant. I have
formed you, you are my servant, O Israel. You will not be forgotten
by me. Then look at 45.4, for the sake
of Jacob, my servant, and Israel, my chosen one, I have also called
you by your name. I have given you a title of honor,
though you have not known me. And then finally 48.20, go forth from Babylon, flee from
the Chaldeans, declare with the sound of joyful shouting, proclaim
the Ascendant to the end of the earth say, the Lord has redeemed
his servant, Jacob. Okay, so that's the server. Well, it's not the end of it
though, because it changes. And look at 42, 19. 42, 19. Who is blind but my servant,
or so deaf as my messenger whom I sent? Who is so blind as he
that is at peace with me, or so blind as the servant of the
Lord? And he goes on all the way through
verse 25 to start saying that this servant is not doing what
he expected. The servant is in rebellion. And then After this, we have
four clear passages of the suffering servant who is very certainly
an individual. It's the Messiah, it's the Christ
who's going to come that is the real servant of God, the suffering
servant. You know, as we head into these
four passages, I said at the beginning that humans like flashy
stuff. We love our superheroes. We love
people who are powerful, kings, or glorified people. But God's plan didn't work that
way in the first coming. It's quite amazing when you just
sit back and think about it, that this Messiah did not come
as the night on the shining white horse. He came as a very lonely
person. And it's quite amazing that God
would choose to come to the earth in such a way. Our God is quite
a patient God, a long-suffering, patient God. In many ways, a
secret God to this world. and he does not show himself
in a flashy way much. But this coming of the Lord Jesus
was the epitome of that. So let's look at these four passages,
and the real reason for doing it is to get better insight on
what our Lord was like when he was here. So first, Chapter 42,
verses 1 through 9. We'll take you through the four
suffering servant passages of Isaiah. In chapter 42, verses
1 through 9. Now, how do we know it's really
Jesus that they're talking about? Well, let me prove that first,
and then we'll read it. Go to Matthew 12, 15 through
21. Matthew 12, 15 through 21 quotes this exact passage. Look
how it starts out. But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew
from there. Many followed him, and he healed
them all, and warned them not to tell who he was. Did you ever
find that interesting? He warned people, don't, don't
go telling him. This was to fulfill what was
spoken through Isaiah the prophet, and then we go through now. Let's
go back to Isaiah 42 and actually read it where it happens. 42, one through nine. This is
most definitely about Jesus Christ, the Messiah. Behold my servant
whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to
the nations. Let's take these down as points
in our head as we go. So first of all is justice to
the Gentiles. This servant is gonna bring justice
to the Gentiles. We appreciate that. He will not
cry out or raise his voice, nor make his voice heard in the street,
A bruised reed he will not break, and a dimly burning wick he will
not extinguish. He will faithfully bring forth
justice. He will not be disheartened or
crushed until he has established justice in the earth, and the
coastlands will wait expectantly for his law. Thus says God the
Lord, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread
out the earth and its offspring. who gives breath to the people
and a spirit to those who walk in it. I am the Lord. I have
called you in righteousness. I will hold you by the hand or
watch over you and I will appoint you as a covenant to the people,
as a light to the nations, to open blind eyes, to bring out
prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from
the prison. I am the Lord. This is my name. I will not give
my glory to the nether, nor my praise to graven images. Behold,
the former things have come to pass. Now I declare new things.
Before they spring forth, I proclaim them to you." So here's the first
one. What's he going to do? He's going
to bring justice to the Gentiles. He's not going to be real flamboyant.
He's not going to even bother the reed that's about to break. He's not going to knock it off.
In other words, he's not going to be flamboyant. He's not going
to fail, however, until justice does come forth. He's going to
be a covenant to the people and a light to the Gentiles. And
he's going to open blind eyes. And he did a lot of that when
he was here. So when the Lord came, he showed that he was the
fulfillment of these things by the miracles he did, by opening
the blind eyes and by healing the sick. And so that was fulfillment
of this servant passage. Let's go to the second one. Chapter
49, one through seven. So we're getting a picture of
what the Messiah is going to be like and how in the world
That the Hebrews, who studied the word carefully, got the idea
that he was coming then as a king, I don't know, because it's pretty
clear right here. 49, one through seven, let's
look at it. Listen to me, O islands, and
pay attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from
the womb. This is the servant talking.
From the body of my mother he named me. He has made my mouth
like a sharp sword. So he's a preacher. In the shadow
of his hand he has concealed me and he has also made me a
select arrow. He has hidden me in his quiver.
He said to me, you are my servant, Israel, in whom I will show my
glory. But I said, I have toiled in
vain. I have spent my strength for
nothing in vanity. Yet surely the justice due to
me is with the Lord and my reward with my God. And now says the
Lord who formed me from the womb to be a servant, to bring Jacob
back to him. Now, that's significant. You
can tell right here that this servant is not Jacob because
he is referring to Jacob as another entity. So the servant is going
to bring Jacob back to God. Now, I used to think, like a
lot of people, that was maybe all of Israel. Now I'm tending
more to think it's just the elect of Israel. And 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 too small a thing
that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob
and to restore the preserved ones of Israel. I also will make
you a light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to
the end of the earth. Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer
of Israel and its Holy One, to the despised one, he was despised,
wasn't he? To the one abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers, kings will see and arise, princes will
also bow down because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy
One of Israel who has chosen you. So in this passage, we learn
that he is going to conquer through preaching, polished shaft, his
mouth is a sharp sword, that he is the real servant, not Israel,
that the Messiah is the real servant, in whom the Father will
be glorified, suffering and rejection in verse four. Jacob is mentioned, so the servant
is not equal to Jacob. He's gonna be a light to the
Gentiles, here that says that again. the Redeemer of Israel,
then the Holy One to Him whom man despises. So all of these
things came true in the first coming. Now let's go to chapter
50, verses four through 11. The Lord God has given me the
tongue of disciples. that I may know how to sustain
the weary one with a word. So he learned from the father.
That was what distinguished him from the very early visit to
the temple on. He learned from his father and
he shared it with the world. He awakens me morning by morning.
He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple. The Lord God has
opened my ear and I was not disobedient, nor did I turn back. I gave my
back to those who strike me. That happened. And my cheeks
to those who pluck out the beard. That happened. This is amazing
detail. I did not cover my face from
humiliation and spitting. They spit on you too. Remember? For the Lord God helps me, therefore
I am not disgraced. Therefore I have set my face
like flint. And I know that I will not be
ashamed. He who vindicates me is near.
Who will contend with me? Let us stand up each other. Who
has a case against me? Let him draw near to me. Behold, the Lord God helps me.
Who is he who condemns me? Behold, they will all wear out
like a garment. The moth will eat them. Who is
among you that fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant,
that walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the
name of the Lord and rely on his God. Behold, all you who
kindle a fire, who encircle yourselves with firebrands, walk in the
light of your fire, and among the brands you have set ablaze,
this you will have from my hand. You will lie down in torment. So, chapter 50, we have that
he learned his speech from the father, He listens to the father
constantly. He said he never did the will,
his own will, but he did the will of his father. He was suffering. He was struck, his beard was
plucked, and he was spit on. Read Matthew 26, 67 to show that. He looks to the father. and he
will be the judge. That's what the last of those
verses show in this chapter. He's going to be the judge of
all of us. The good news of redemption to
Israel from Babylon and a shadow of the gospel is in chapter 52. Now let's go to the great passage
and the final one of the suffering servant. In chapter 52, 13 to
53, 12, a long one. But so much in it. And this is so definitive of
what happened. Behold, my servant will prosper. He will be high and lifted up
and greatly exalted. So he is going to be glorified. Just as many were astonished
at you, my people, so his appearance was marred more than any man. So he was disfigured in all of
this stuff that happened to him. And his form more than the sons
of men. Thus he will sprinkle many nations. Kings will shut their mouths
on account of him. Now that hasn't happened yet,
that'll be the second coming, but that's going to happen. For
what had not been told them, they will see, and what they
had not heard, they will understand. Who has believed our message?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? For he grew
up before him like a tender shoot. And like a root out of parched
ground, he has no stately form or majesty. All these pretty
pictures of him with the beautiful hair and all that, just not so. I mean, it may be hard to take,
but he wasn't a good looking man. He has no stately form or
majesty that we should look upon him. It wasn't about the physical. nor appearance that we should
be attracted to him. He was despised and forsaken
of men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief. And like
one from whom men hide their face, he was despised, and we
did not esteem him. Surely, now this is why, surely
our griefs he himself bore, and our sorrows he carried. Yet we
ourselves esteemed him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed
for our iniquities. The chastening for our well-being
fell upon him. And by his scourging, we are
healed." He was scourged too, beat with a whip, remember? All
of us, like sheep, have gone astray, and each of us has turned
to his own way. But the Lord has caused the iniquity
of us all to fall on him. He was oppressed, he was afflicted,
yet he did not open his mouth. He was silent. He did not defend
himself. He was like that sheep who's
dumb to the person who's coming to slit their throat. You know,
he could have called the, what was it, 12 legions of angels,
but he didn't do it. He stayed quiet. Like a lamb
that is led to slaughter, and like a sheep that is silent before
its shears, he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment,
he was taken away. And as for his generation who
considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
he died. for the transgression of my people, to whom the stroke
was due. His grave was assigned with wicked
men, yet he was with a rich man in his death. There's another
one, remember the rich man who buried him, Joseph Arimathea. Because he had done no violence,
nor was there any deceit in his mouth, but the Lord was pleased
to crush him. putting him to grief, if he would
render himself as a guilt offering. That's the whole thing. He will
see his offspring, so this is the resurrection, that's not
the end of it. He will prolong his days, and the good pleasure
of the Lord will prosper in his hand. As a result of the anguish
of his soul, he will see it and be satisfied. By his knowledge,
the righteous one, my servant, will justify the minute. as he
will bear their iniquities. Therefore, I will allot him a
portion with the great, and he will divide the booty with the
strong, because he poured out himself to death and was numbered
with the transgressors, yet he himself bore the sin of many
and interceded for the transgressors." Marvelous passage. Unbelievable.
All the detail that's told hundreds of years, I guess 700 or so years
before it happened. in this detailed passage of prophecy
for the suffering servant. Three more passages as we close.
Look at Isaiah 55, one and two. I love this passage. So what
does it mean to us? It means it's all paid for. Everything's
paid for by that suffering. So what do we do about it? Well,
look at 55, one and two. Ho, everyone who thirsts, come
to the waters. All we got to do is thirst, and
God does that for us. He makes us thirsty. And you
who have no money, come, buy and eat. How do you buy something
without money? Come, buy wine and milk without
money and without cost to you. Why do you spend money for what's
not bread? And your wages for what does
not satisfy? Listen carefully to what is good
and delight yourself in abundance. What a passage for the world.
The world, everybody's buying all this stuff that's doing them
no good at all for their souls. God says, come and buy what doesn't
cost you a penny. Just thirst for the Lord Jesus
and you're there. Okay. including the Gentiles in chapter
56, six through eight. I gotta emphasize this one more
time. Such a blessing that the Gentiles, us, were included in
all this. 56, six through eight. Also the
foreigners who join themselves to the Lord to minister to him
and to love the name of the Lord, to be his servants. Everyone
keeps from profaning the Sabbath and holds fast my covenant. Even
those I will bring to my holy mountain and make them joyful
in my house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their
sacrifices will be acceptable on my altar, for my house will
be called a house of prayer for all the peoples. The Lord God
who gathers the dispersed of Israel declares, yet others I
will gather to them, to those already gathered. So you've got
the elect of Israel and you've got the elect of the Gentiles
all coming to that holy mountain that's described in Revelation,
the new Jerusalem. which is all of chapter 60, if
you read that in Isaiah. Read all of chapter 60, that's
the New Jerusalem, that's what Revelation talks about. It all
is saying the same thing. Finally, let's turn to Luke. Actually, look at Isaiah 61,
one through three. The spirit of the Lord God is
upon me because the Lord has anointed me to bring good news
to the afflicted. He has set me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives, freedom to prisoners,
to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord and the day of vengeance
of our God, to comfort all who mourn, to grant those who mourn
in Zion, giving them a garland instead of ashes, the oil of
gladness instead of mourning, the mantle of praise instead
of the spirit of fame, so they will be called oaks of righteousness,
the planet of the Lord, that he may be glorified. Look at
Luke 4, and I know you know this, but it's so cool. Luke 4, the
Lord Jesus quotes this for himself, verses 18 through 20. So just to paint the picture,
Jesus had returned to Galilee, and I think this was after his
temptation, right? And he returned to Galilee, and
he began teaching in the synagogues, right? He came to Nazareth, where
he had been brought up. He entered the synagogue, and
the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to him. So he turns
right to this passage. He opened the book and found
the place where it was written, the spirit of the Lord is upon
me, because he anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor,
and he has sent me to proclaim release to the captives. and
recovery of sight to the blind set free those who were oppressed
to proclaim the favorable year of the Lord. And he closed the
book, gave it back to the attendant, and sat down. Wouldn't you have
loved to have been there? Probably just dead silence. So
did you notice where he left off? If you turn back to Isaiah
61, one through three, the last one was to proclaim the favorable
year of the Lord. What did he leave off? And the day of vengeance of God. So that's the future. So he just
took it to where he was there. So he is the fulfillment of all
of this. And he's declared it. There's
no doubt about it. And he sat down, closed the book,
and that was it.