I'd like for you to turn to Philippians,
the second chapter to start off, but we're going to end up in
Isaiah. It meant a lot to me the other day when the pastor
talked to us about Isaiah 53, that great prophetic passage
that we all know so well. In reading around that passage,
there are several other servant songs in Isaiah that I thought
we'd go through today. It's just amazing how accurate
Isaiah's prophecies are, 700 or 800 years before the Lord
Jesus came, and a great testimony to the Word of God, its accuracy. So that's what we'll go through
today a little bit. But this is concerning the servant of
Jehovah. And these are the passages in
Isaiah that are so meaningful. So when we think of the servant
of Jehovah, the passage that comes to mind in the New Testament
is Philippians 2, 5 through 11. And we ultimately know that that
servant became the Lord Jesus Christ. And so in Philippians
2, five through 11, it shows how he was a servant to Jehovah
for our salvation. So in verse five, let this mind
be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus, who being in the
form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God, but made
himself of no reputation and took upon him the form of a servant
and was made in the likeness of men and being found in fashion
as a man he humbled himself and became obedient unto death, even
the death of the cross. Wherefore, God also hath highly
exalted him and given him a name which is above every name, that
at the name of Jesus every knee should bow of things in heaven
and things in earth and things under the earth, and that every
tongue should confess that Jesus is Lord to the glory of God the
Father. So keep this passage in mind
as we go back to Isaiah and look at some of the other passages
that talk about the servant of Jehovah. It's amazing to me how
many different aspects of the prophecy of Christ Isaiah talks
about. He talks about his humiliation,
his beatings. It talks about him pulling the
Gentiles into the fold, which was another astounding thing
to think of back in Isaiah's day. So let's look at some of
these things and just be thankful today for what the Lord has done
for us. Isaiah lived or actually ministered from about 740 to
701 BC. So this is a long time before
Our Lord Jesus came to earth and lived. These prophecies happened
back then. Isaiah 53, of course, is the
famous passage, and we won't read that just yet. We're going
to go chronologically here, but look at Isaiah 53, 11. just to set our minds under the
servant aspect of this. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
So this portion of Isaiah, starting about in chapter 40 through 53
at least, is talking about the servant of Jehovah. And as you
look at this, the primary aspect of the servant when we start
out, we'll see that in just a minute, is Israel. Israel or Jacob is
the servant to start out with. Then there are passages that
seem to refer to, or they do by name, Cyrus, the Persian who
came and defeated the Babylonians. But then ultimately we know that
this servant is the Lord Jesus. And you can see this change from
it being Israel, a nation, and then at times being Cyrus, to
being plainly a single person and someone who is going to die
and suffer and rise again and do all these things we know now
so clearly on this side of things. So it's just quite amazing. The
passages or the chapters that talk about servanthood here are
41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 49, 50, 52, and 53. And in Isaiah 40, it starts out
after the captivity. Now, Isaiah is prophesying way
before they go to Babylon and they get captive and all of that,
but these are prophecies. And he starts in chapter 40,
start to talk about comfort and about the return of the exiles
from Babylon and how God, Jehovah God, is going to save them. And
there's a double meaning there. And you know the passage in chapter
40, it starts out, comfort ye, comfort ye my people. So, Isaiah
is starting to head us toward God, Jehovah God, coming through
with some comfort, with some salvation. And that's what this
whole section of Isaiah is talking about. In Isaiah 41.8, turn to
there, he says, But thou, Israel, art my servant, Jacob, whom I
have chosen, the seed of Abraham my friend. So there very clearly
we're starting out this whole idea where it is clearly Jacob
or Israel that is the servant. But we're going to go beyond
that very quickly. The Hebrew word for servant is
avad, and it means just that, servant, slave. In the Septuagint,
the Greek translation, it's the Greek word pais, which means
servant also. It can be used of a minister
as the basis and therefore could refer to
the Messiah obviously. In chapter 41 verse 2 notice
that who raised up the righteous man from the east we're going
to see several references to Cyrus and we're not going to
get stuck on that but Cyrus the Persian did come in 549 BC and
defeat the Babylonians and and he was part of the reason Israel
got to come back to their land so there is a sense in which
he took a role of this servant for a time, a period of time.
So you've got Israel, you've got Cyrus, but you've got ultimately
the Lord Jesus Christ as the servant. So let's just head down
through these passages and look at some of the amazing ways that
this predicts our Savior seven or 800 years before he ever came
on the scene here on earth. In chapter 41, We can clearly
see, as we just said, that it starts out being Israel, very
clearly. Let's look at verse 40, we already
read verse 8, let's continue on down through this passage.
Thou whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called
thee from the chief men thereof, and said unto thee, thou art
my servant, I have chosen thee, and not cast thee away. Remember
how Abraham came from far away into the land of Israel. And verse 10, fear not, Fear
thou not, for I am with thee. Be not dismayed, for I am thy
God. I will strengthen thee. Yea, I will help thee. I will
uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness. Behold,
all they that were incensed against thee shall be ashamed and confounded.
They shall be as nothing, and they that strive with thee shall
perish. This is still clearly Israel.
And then verses 12. Thou shalt seek them and shall
not find them, even them that contendeth with thee. They that
war against thee shall be as nothing, as a thing of naught.
For I, the Lord thy God, will hold thy right hand, saying unto
thee, Fear not, I will help thee. So God is going to give Israel
help against the Babylonians to come back into their land
and against their enemies. So we see in 11 through 13 opposition,
and there was opposition to Israel. And then in verses 15 and 16,
he says, I'm going to make thee a new sharp threshing instruments,
so with the idea of judgment, that Israel will be turning judgment
on others. And then finally in verses 25
to 27 in this chapter, you see Cyrus mentioned, I have raised
up one from the north, he shall come from the rising of the sun,
call upon thy name and he shall come upon princes as upon mortar
and as the potter treadeth clay. who hath declared from the beginning
that we may know, and before time that we may say he is righteous.
Yea, there is none that showeth ye, there is none that declareth
ye, there is none that heareth your words. So that's Cyrus. Notice he's also talking about
good tidings. So we have the idea of good tidings,
which in the New Testament is the gospel already. Now, let's
turn to chapter 42. There are generally considered
to be four servant songs in Isaiah, and they are in the following
passages. Chapter 42, 1-9. That's the first
servant song. Chapter 49, verses 1-7 is the
second. Chapter 50, verses 4-11 is the
third. And the famous passage that the
pastor preached on weeks ago, 52-13 to 53-12, is in the fourth servant song. So let's look at the first servant
song in chapter 42, and we'll read verses one through nine
mainly, and these are the ones in this first song. Notice how
this is starting to turn from Israel to at least have double
meaning, Israel and some individual. And we know it's mainly the individual. Behold my servant whom I uphold,
mine elect, so this is a chosen one, in whom my soul delights. I have put my spirit upon him. And we won't go to the New Testament,
but I know as I read this, you'll be thinking as I do of several
passages in the New Testament that relate this to the Lord
Jesus. He shall bring forth judgment
to the Gentiles. He shall not cry, nor lift up,
nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. So he's somewhat
silent or gentle. A bruised reed shall he not break,
and the smoking flax shall he not quench. He shall bring forth
judgment unto truth. That's judgment or justice. So
he's not violent. He's bringing forth justice and
truth. He's gentle, at least in his
first advent. Verse 4, he shall not fail nor
be discouraged till he have set judgment in the earth and the
isles shall wait for his law. So he's not going to fail. He's
not going to be discouraged. He's going to set judgment in
the earth. So we have the idea of judgment and justice. In Matthew
12, I said we wouldn't look at a whole lot, but let's just look
at Matthew 12, 17 to 21. That it might be fulfilled, which
was spoken by Isaiah, the prophet saying, Behold, my servant whom
I have chosen, my beloved and whom my soul is well pleased,
I will put my spirit upon him and he shall show judgment to
the Gentiles. And it just quotes what we just read. So we know
that this was referring to the Messiah. It's very clear. So
that was verse 4. Now on to verse 5. Thus saith
God the Lord, he that created the heavens and stretched them
out, he that spread forth the earth and that which cometh out
of it, he that giveth breath unto the people upon it and spirit
to them that walk therein, I the Lord have called thee in righteousness
and will hold thine hand and will keep thee and give thee
for a covenant of the people. All right, here we are to the
covenant. And we know that the Messiah brought us the new covenant. For a light of the Gentiles. This was such a blessing to me
reading these passages the other day and realizing that here we
are in the Old Testament. The Gentiles are prophesied as
being part of this salvation. Very clear. So he's going to
be a light to the Gentiles, to open the blind eyes, to bring
out prisoners from the prison. And that can, of course, be literal,
and it can also be spiritual. And them that sit in darkness
out of the prison house. I am the Lord, that is my name,
and my glory will I not give to another, neither my praise
to graven images. Behold, the former things are
come to pass, and new things do I declare. Before they spring
forth, I tell you them. So this was the first of the
songs and look in verse 10. Sing unto the Lord a new song.
This is a new song. And we know from the New Testament
that this is that mystery that the pastor mentioned this morning.
This is the mystery of the gospel going to the Gentiles. This is
a new song. And then in verses 18 to 20.
This is not really in the servant passage, but it's interesting.
Here ye deaf and look ye blind that ye may see. Who is blind
but my servant? Okay, now this is back to Israel. Again, you really got to keep
your thinking straight through these passages because now the
Lord is going back to the fact that his first servant, Israel,
is blind. He's got a problem. And we can
see through this that he's not ultimately the right servant.
He's not the one this is mainly talking about because he says
that my servant is blind or deaf as my messenger that I sent,
who is blind as he that is perfect and blind as the Lord's servant.
So, interspersed in these passages is the fact that Israel is sinning. And part of this whole 40 through
52 or three is the fact that Jehovah God is going to save
Israel. And the means of saving Israel
is this other servant, is the Messiah. So you have to keep
these things straight as you're looking at these passages. In the whole chapter 44, which
we're not going to read, is he addresses Israel in terms of
them being sinful and him saving them, Jehovah. Look at verses
21 and 22 in chapter 44. Remember these, O Jacob and Israel,
for thou art my servant. So once again, clearly it's Israel
and Jacob, Israel that is the servant. I have formed thee,
thou art my servant. And you're not going to be forgotten,
et cetera. I have blotted out as a thick cloud thy transgressions,
and as a cloud thy sins. Return to me, for I have redeemed
thee. Now look at verse 28, you have
the other thing that can be confusing, and that is, part of this relates
to Cyrus. That saith of Cyrus, he is my
shepherd, and shall perform all my pleasure. years before Cyrus
came on the scene, that was about 550 BC, this is about 740 to
701 BC, the Lord named in prophecy that Cyrus would come by name. It's an amazing prophecy. In
chapter 45 we have a whole chapter essentially about Cyrus. Notice
now something very significant. In chapter 45 verse 4 It says this, for Jacob my servant's
sake, and Israel mine elect, I have even called thee by thy
name. I have surnamed thee, though
thou hast not known me. So he's talking about Cyrus.
Once again, he names Jacob, or Israel, as his servant. So we know that Israel is the
main servant, at least chronologically here. He's the first servant.
It's going to move off of Israel very clearly now. In chapters
45 through 48, we have Israel's sin and that God is going to
redeem them and that they are the servant. But then, by the
way, Cyrus is also mentioned in 46.11 and 48.14 and 15. But
now look over at 48.20. Go ye forth of Babylon, flee
ye from the Chaldeans with the voice of singing, declare ye,
tell this, utter it even to the end of the earth, and say ye,
the Lord hath redeemed his servant Jacob. So, now he's about the
fact that Israel, this servant, needs redeeming. So when we move
to the second servant song, I mean, the first one clearly had prophecy
relating to the Messiah, but it's going to get even more and
more so. Look at 49, 1 through 7. Let's read that. This is the
second of the Servant Songs. Listen, O Isles, unto me, and
hearken, ye people, from afar. The Lord hath called me from
the womb. From the bowels of my mother
hath he made mention of my name. and he hath made my mouth like
a sharp sword in the shadow of his hand hath he hid me and made
me a polished shaft in his quiver hath he hid me so he's a sharp
sword a polished shaft we have preaching and judgment in that
passage continue on and saith unto me thou art my servant oh
israel in whom i will be glorified then i said I have labored in
vain, I have spent my strength for naught and in vain, yet surely
my judgment is with the Lord and my work with my God. So here
is the idea of laboring in vain, rejection that we know our Messiah
suffered. Verse five, and now saith the
Lord that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring
now. See how verse three changes into
verse five. In verse three, thou art my servant,
O Israel. Now, and now saith the Lord,
that form me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob
again to him. This is somebody else. This is
someone bringing Israel back to Jehovah. Though Israel be
not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the Lord,
and my God shall be my strength. So he's going to gather Israel,
at least the true Israel, to Jehovah. So it's not Jacob anymore. It's not Israel. Verse six, and
he said, it is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant
to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved
of Israel. I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles.
Thank the Lord for that. That thou mayest be my salvation
under the end of the earth. Thus saith the Lord, the redeemer
of Israel and his holy one to him who man despises. to him
whom the nation abhors, to a servant of rulers. Kings shall see and
arise. Princes also shall worship because
of the Lord that is faithful and the Holy One of Israel, and
he shall choose thee. So kings are going to see this
and arise. This is his glorification. This
is yet to be. It hadn't happened yet. Verse
8. Thus saith the Lord. In an acceptable
time have I heard thee, and in a day of salvation have I helped
thee, I will preserve thee, and give thee for a covenant of the
people to establish the earth to cause to inherit the desolate
heritages." So, we have the idea of a covenant to restore the
earth, to free prisoners. And look down at, even though
it's outside the song, look at verse 13. Sing, O heavens, and
be joyful, O earth. Break forth into singing, O mountains,
for the Lord hath comforted his people. and will have mercy upon
his afflicted." So here is the idea of comfort. This servant
is going to come and comfort Israel, the true Israel and the
Gentiles. Now let's move to the third song
in chapter 50, 4 through 11. The Lord hath given me the tongue
of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season
to him that is weary. He wakeneth morning by morning,
he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned. The amazing part
of our gospel is that our Lord, Jesus Christ, submitted himself
to become a servant. And that wasn't our servant,
that was Jehovah's servant. And here he is learning and doing
what he should on earth. Matthew 11, 28 says, come to me all ye who labor
and heavy laden. So he's the comforter. He's got
a word to the weary. The Lord God hath opened mine
ear and I was not rebellious, neither turned way back what
do you think of there don't you think of Gethsemane I gave my
back to the smiters and my cheeks to them that plucked off the
hair I hid not my face from shame and spitting there's the abuses
by the Romans spelled out in clear language you know this
is these are wonderful passages to two people that doubt our
faith to show them that Years and years ahead of all this happening,
it was prophesied. For the Lord God will help me. Therefore shall I not be confounded.
Therefore have I set my face like a flint. The Lord Jesus
was determined to do what he needed to do. And I know that
I shall not be ashamed. He is near that justifieth me. Who will contend with me? Let
us stand together. Who is my adversary? Let him
come near to me. So he's determined, he's trusting
this servant in Jehovah. In verse nine, behold, the Lord
God will help me. Who is he that shall condemn
me? Lo, they all shall wax old as a garment. The moths shall
eat them up. Who is among you that feareth the Lord, that obeyeth
the voice of his servant? Now, here you go. the obeyeth
the voice of his servant now this the servant is to be Lord
and we are to obey this servant so it's now taken a real turn
that walketh in darkness and hath no light let him trust in
the name of the Lord and stay upon his God behold all you that
kindle the fire that compass yourselves about with sparks
walk in the light of your fire and in the sparks that you have
kindled this shall you have of mine hand you shall lie down
in sorrow. So we have the idea of obeying
this servant. That's the lordship of the Messiah. Chapter 51, the whole chapter
is Jehovah the Lord speaking. And so he's talking. We won't go through that one.
And then we get to chapter 52. And we start seeing, look at
verses 7 through 10. You know this passage from the
New Testament. How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet
of him that bringeth good tidings. Here is the prediction of the
gospel. That publisheth peace, that bringeth good tidings of
good, that publisheth salvation, that saith unto Zion, thy God
reigneth, thy watchman shall lift up the voice, with the voice
together shall they sing, for they shall see eye to eye when
the Lord shall bring again Zion. Bring forth into joy, sing together,
ye waste places of Jerusalem. For the Lord hath comforted his
people, he hath redeemed Jerusalem. The Lord hath made bare his holy
arm in the eyes of all the nations, and all the ends of the earth
shall see the salvation of our God." So that is predicting what
the servant is going to do. And we want to end by looking
at the last of the servant songs in Isaiah 52, 13 through 53,
12. So we're going to see very clearly
the sin bearing servant that he suffered for us. He took our
sins upon himself. So you have the ideas of substitution
and redemption all in here. Let's look, starting at now,
this song starts in verse 13, and we're going to go on into
chapter 53. So 52, 13. Behold, my servant shall deal
prudently. He shall be exalted and extolled
and be very high. So he's going to be glorified,
but first comes something else. As many were astonished at thee,
his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more
than the sons of men. So this was his disfigurement
at the crucifixion clearly prophesied. And that's in Matthew 26 and
Matthew 27. We all know those passages. They
put the crown of thorns on his head. They beat him with a rod. They made fun of him. and took
it all. So shall he sprinkle many nations. The kings shall shut their mouths
at him, for it is coming the day. For that which had not been
told them shall they see, and that which they had not heard
shall they consider. What other religion talks about,
prophesies about their leader 700, 800 years ahead of time
to this amount of detail. Then in chapter 53, we'll go
on. So when he sprinkles many nations,
that's the gospel going to the world. That's all the nations. Who hath believed our report,
and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed? For he shall grow
up before him as a tender plant, and as a root out of dry ground.
He hath no form nor comeliness. And when we shall see him, there
is no beauty that we should desire him. He was not outwardly good-looking. That's all the world cares about
these days, but he wasn't. It didn't matter. No outward
beauty. Verse 3. He is despised and rejected
of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with grief. And we
hid, as it were, our faces from him. He was despised, and we
esteemed him not. So there's rejection, being despised,
a man of sorrows and grief, all his suffering. And this is in
John 12. We could read about that. Surely
he hath borne our griefs and carried our sorrows. Yet we did
esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. This is
all the substitutionary atonement right there. But he was wounded
for our transgressions. He was bruised for our iniquities.
The chastisement of our peace was upon him, and with his stripes
we are healed. So he took our sins so that we
would be healed. All we like sheep have gone astray.
We have turned everyone to his own way, and the Lord hath laid
on him the iniquity of us all. This is clearly not Israel anymore.
This is the Messiah. He was oppressed and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth. And we know how he was silent
in front of the Romans. He is brought as a lamb to the
slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is dumb, so he openeth
not his mouth. He was taken from prison and
from judgment. And who shall declare his generation?
For he was cut off out of the land of the living. He died.
The servant will die. For the transgression of my people
was he stricken. And he made his grave with the
wicked and with the rich in his death. Talk about details. There
is Joseph of Arimathea who gave him the grave, the rich man.
Because he had done no violence, neither was any deceit in his
mouth. Yet it pleased the Lord to bruise
him. So this is Jehovah God bruising
the Messiah. He hath put him to grief. When
thou shalt make his soul an offering for sin, he shall see his seed. He shall prolong his days. and
the pleasure of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. This is
the resurrection. It's not the end. His death and
his suffering is not the end. The Father bruised him, made
him an offering for sin, that's propitiation, but he shall see
his seed and prolong his days. He shall see of the travail of
his soul and shall be satisfied. This satisfaction is a wonderful
theme. I think of the words he uttered,
it is finished. I think that was a cry of satisfaction. He knew that it was all done. By his knowledge shall my righteous
servant justify many, for he shall bear their iniquities.
So there's justification. Therefore, will I divide him
a portion with the great, And he shall divide the spoil with
the strong. He's going to get spoil. He's
going to get something for all this. And we know that he's gotten
the whole universe as he's the Lord of all of it. Because he
hath poured out his soul unto death and he was numbered with
the transgressors. There's the three of them on
the cross together. And he bear the sin of many and made intercession
for the transgressors. In conclusion, I just want to
point out two passages after these songs. Look at chapter
54, verse 1. Sing, O barren, thou that didst
not bear. Break forth into singing and
cry aloud. Thou that didst not travail with
child, for more are the children of the desolate than the children
of the married wife, said the Lord. Isn't that interesting
that this this verse is right on the heels of that one, and
this once again is us Gentiles, isn't it? You remember the allegory
in the New Testament between where it talks about that. So
we Gentiles are clearly in the game in the Old Testament. It's
wonderful. The result of the servant's work.
And then just look at chapter 61 verse 1. You remember when The Lord Jesus
came back to his hometown, Nazareth, and he came into the synagogue,
and they handed him the scripture, this big, huge scroll to read
from. Where did he go? He went to Isaiah
61.1. The spirit of the Lord God is
upon me, because the Lord hath anointed me to preach good tidings
unto the meek. He has sent me to bind up the
brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening
of the prison to them that are bound, to proclaim the acceptable
year of the Lord and the day of vengeance of our God." Did
you notice that he stopped right there? He did not read on, and
the day of vengeance of our God, because that first time wasn't
that time. That's coming next. Our Messiah
came, he read that passage, he all but said, you know, all of
this stuff in Isaiah is me.