STUDY 21: THE SUFFERING SERVANT #3– ISAIAH 50
© Rosemary Bardsley 2024
In this study we look at the third Servant Song, Isaiah 50:4 - 11.
The third Servant Song gives us insight into the heart of the Servant, the heart of Christ, and also into the intensity of the rejection and abuse he suffered. We learn:
A. The words of the Servant – verse 4.
The Servant comes as the messenger of God, speaking the words of God, words that ‘sustain the weary’, words that give rest to our souls.
What do these New Testament verses teach about this?
John 3:34
John 6:63, 68
John 8:42 – 47
John 14:10, 24
John 17:8, 14
Matthew 11:25 – 30
B. The obedience and submission of the Servant – verse 5
We have seen the obedience/commitment of the Servant previously. Although he is God the Son, he is submissive to the will of the Father. His heart and mind are perfectly aligned with the heart and mind of God. Everything he does he does in accordance with the Father’s will and purpose.
How do these verses express this?
Luke 2:49
Luke 4:4, 8, 12
Luke 22:42
John 8:29
Philippians 2:5 – 8
Hebrews 10:7
C. His deliberate embrace of suffering – verse 6, 7
The suffering of Jesus Christ, this Servant of the Lord, was not accidental. Nor was he the helpless victim of human hatred and anger. Nor did he have a martyr complex. Here in 49:5 – 7 Isaiah tells us that the Servant deliberately embraced the suffering inflicted upon him, and that for him to have turned his back on the suffering would have been an act of rebellion against God.
Rather than draw back from the suffering, the Servant offered his back to those who beat him; he offered his cheeks to those who pulled out his beard; he did not turn his face away from those who mocked him and spat on him (verse 6).
Knowing fully what he was doing, knowing fully what would be accomplished through his degradation and death, knowing what would happen on the other side of that apparent disgrace and that death, the Servant set his face like a flint and faced the abuse head on (verse 7).
What did Jesus himself say about his commitment to God’s purpose?
Matthew 16:21
Matthew 26:51 – 54, 56
Mark 10:45
Luke 22:37
Luke 24:25, 26
John 12:27
John 19:11
D. The Servant’s subjection to unjust abuse and mockery – verse 6
Isaiah does not list everything that happened to Jesus. For more detail read Matthew 26:67, 68; 27:26 – 31, 39 – 44; Mark 14:56 – 59, 65; 15:16 – 20, 29 – 32; Luke 22:63 – 65; 23:10, 11, 35, 36.
E. The Servant’s confidence – verse 7 – 9
In the first and second Servant Songs God has affirmed his support and sustenance of the Servant. Here in the third Song, the Servant states his confidence in that support and sustenance.
He has already acknowledged:
It is ‘the Sovereign LORD’ who gave him the words to speak – verse 4.
It is ‘the Sovereign LORD’ who showed him what to do – verse 5
And now he explains the reason that he can face the trauma of his arrest, trial and crucifixion:
Because the Sovereign LORD helps him, he will not be disgraced – verse 7.
He who vindicates him is near – verse 8.
It is the Sovereign LORD who helps him ... no one who accuses and condemns him is of any significance, they are only transient humans who all wear out like a garment – verse 9.
As we have seen in the previous two songs, God affirms and vindicates the Servant. Beyond the false accusations, beyond the false trial, beyond the rejection, scorn and ridicule, is the resurrection, by which God vindicates the Servant. And beyond the resurrection is his return to his rightful glory, and, at the end, his return to earth in power and glory.
F. The appropriate response to the Servant – verse 10 & 11
The first two songs ended with an exhortation to joyous praise because of the Servant and what he accomplished. But this song ends differently. We find here a solemn warning rising out of the Servant’s suffering and God’s vindication of the Servant.
The resurrection of Christ vindicated Christ from two perspectives:
[1] By his resurrection all of Christ’s claims to equality with God, all of his statements about his oneness with God, are proved to be correct – Romans 1:4. He was not, as the Jews accused, ‘a mere man’ claiming to be God (John 5:18; 10:33). He was not guilty of the blasphemy they accused him of (Matthew 26:65). He was exactly who he claimed to be – he is the Christ, the Son of God; he is the Son of Man, sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One’ whom they would one day see coming ‘on the clouds of heaven’ – Matthew 26:63, 64.
[2] By his resurrection the validity of his death as our perfect substitute – the one, perfect atoning sacrifice for our sins - is affirmed (1Peter 1:3; 3:21b).
Because of this vindication of both his person and his work, our response to him is the critical factor determining our eternal destiny – Isaiah 50:10, 11: Either, we obey the word of the Servant, trusting in him, walking in his light; or, walking in our own puny light, we will end up lying down in torment.