The Gospel of Isaiah: The First Servant Song, Chapter 42: 1-7

The Gospel of Isaiah: The First Servant Song, Chapter 42:1-7. 

WANTED: An imaginative scribe who can write exquisite poetry. A faithful, articulate believer in Yahweh who can switch from one extreme to another at the Lord’s command… from a sublime vision of God’s glory, to a ridiculous demonstration of shameful nakedness; from confronting the people over their sinfulness, to comforting people with hopefulness; from being an outspoken messenger one minute, to a living object lesson the next; from having one foot in the immediate surroundings one minute, to one foot in the future messianic realm the next. Must be adaptable, thick-skinned, and extraordinarily brave. Person who answers, “Here I am. Send me!” will be especially considered. (from The Jerusalem Post, 740 BC).

“Behold my servant, who I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him. He will bring forth justice to the nations. He will not cry aloud or lift his voice, or make it heard in the street. A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench. He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice on the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law. Thus says God, the Lord Yahweh, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it. I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness. I will take you by the hand and keep you. I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from their dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.” (42:1-7). 

The Lord Yahweh Delights in His Servant. Father God is one proud Papa. The Father loves the Son and is delighted in Him, and He wasn’t afraid to show this for all the world to see:

1. Consider: When Jesus, referred to as Wisdom in Proverbs 8, experiences the pleasure of the Creator during the creation: “I was there close to the Creator’s side as His master craftsman. Daily He was filled with delight in Me as I playfully rejoiced before Him.” (Prov. 8:30);
2. Consider: During Christ’s high priestly prayer in John 17 in which Jesus acknowledges that the Father has loved Him since even before the foundation of the world, before the beginning of time (John 17:24);
3. Consider: That God is eternally pleased with Jesus because His Son will do whatever it takes to please the Father. They have a mutual admiration society (John 8:24);
4. Consider: The beauty and grace of the Father’s blessing given at Jesus’ baptism, “This is the Son I love, and my greatest delight is in Him.” (Matt. 3:12);
5. Consider: The tender words of Matthew as he quoted Isaiah 42:1, “Take a careful look at my Servant, my Chosen One. I love Him dearly, and I find all my delight in Him.” (Matt. 12:18);
6. Consider: The Father’s affirmation of Jesus at His Transfiguration, almost a duplicate of the Father’s blessing at Jesus’ baptism, “This is my Son, marked by my love, focus of my delight. Listen to Him.” (Matt. 17:5).
7. Consider: The insight St. Paul threw into his letter to the Colossians almost as an afterthought, as if what he casually mentioned at the end of his thought was assumed by all its readers, “The Father has delivered and drawn us to Himself out of the control and dominion of darkness, and has transferred us into the kingdom of His beloved Son, the Son He loves so much, the Son of His love.” (Col 1:13, Amplified).

Can there be any doubt that the Son has delighted the heart of the Father for eternity? No, there’s no doubt. The love and delight between the Father and the Son is the most solid fact of the universe. It’s true… The Father takes great pleasure in the Son. The Father finds the Son to be delightful.

“This is a picture of a true Servant. He doesn’t bully; he befriends. He doesn’t shout; he speaks softly. There’s no hard sell with those who dismiss him and no harsh argument with those who deny him. He won’t brush aside a person who is bruised and hurt, nor will he disregard the small and insignificant. There’s no element of coercion in his approach. Only compassion.” (from a sermon by Eugene Peterson).

The Gentle Servant. One gets the clear sense that gentleness is a key aspect of the Lord’s Servant in this passage… a kind and humble disposition; calm and even-tempered; not needing to force one’s way; peaceable; considerate; reasonable; tender. Gentleness is an aspect of love, and thus in the very heart of the Godhead: God the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit. It’s not surprising, then, that gentleness is listed as one of the seeds of the main fruit of love in St. Paul’s Fruit of the Spirit in Galatians 5:22-23, the other seeds of love being jy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness and self-control. 

1. The Father’s Gentleness. “You empower me for victory with your wrap-around presence. Your power within makes me strong to subdue, and by stooping down in gentleness you strengthened me and made me great.”  (Psalm 18:35, TPT). “He tends his flock like a shepherd. He gathers his lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart, and he gently leads those that have young.” (Isaiah 40:11, NIV). “A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.” (Isaiah 42:3).
2. The Son’s Gentleness. “By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you.” “Now, please listen, for I need to address an issue. I’m making this personal appeal to you by the gentleness and self-forgetfulness of Christ.” (2 Corinthians 10:1, NIV and TPT). “Are you weary, carrying a heavy burden? Then come to me. I will refresh your life, for I am your oasis. Simply join your life with mine. Learn my ways and you’ll discover that I’m gentle, humble, easy to please. You will find refreshment and rest in me.”   (Matthew 11:28-29, TPT). “Tell Zion’s daughter: ‘Look, your king arrives! He’s coming to you full of gentleness, sitting on a donkey, riding on a donkey’s colt.” (Matthew 21:5, TPT)).

Tapping into the Source of Gentleness. God’s gentleness is the origin of any gentleness coming from us. We can’t manufacture gentleness like this without a divine source. The fruit of the Spirit implies that unless we tap into the vine of Jesus and receive the Holy Spirit’s life in us, there is no hope for producing anything of the sort. The Holy Spirit, the Spirit of the Father and the Son, will surely displace our harsh and forceful ways with that of divine gentleness. Gentleness seems impossible, and not even preferable. Our own human nature makes it very difficult to be gentle in any consistent way. In our weak moments, most of us are not exactly gentle. And gentleness surely runs counter to how things are done in our society. One doesn’t run a business by being gentle. Politicians don’t win an office by being gentle. Competitors don’t realize victory by being gentle. One doesn’t confront an injustice by being gentle. One usually doesn’t win an argument by being gentle. It seems that if one wanted to be successful or any type of cultural influence, a person would need to be the opposite of gentle. But when you study scripture with gentleness in mind, it appears that society has it all wrong. Do you want to be a success in God’s eyes? Be gentle. Do you want to influence people in a positive way? Be gentle. Do you want to reflect God’s character during a conversation? Be gentle.

“Simeon took the baby Jesus up in his arms and blessed God and said, ‘Lord, now you are letting your servant depart in peace, according to your word; For my eyes have seen your salvation which you have prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the nations, and the glory of your people Israel.”  (Luke 2:28-32).

The Servant Brings the Light. According to the Hebrew Bible, one of the signs of the Messianic era would be that the Chosen One would open the eyes of the blind. “In that day the deaf shall hear the words of the Book, and the eyes of the blind shall see out of obscurity and out of darkness. The humble also shall increase their joy in the Lord, and the poor among men shall rejoice in the Holy One of Israel.” (Isaiah 29:18-19). “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped.” (Isaiah 35:5). “I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness, and will hold your hand… To open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness.” (Isaiah 42:6-7).  Healing blindness was considered so extraordinary, so miraculous, that surely only the Messiah was able to it. So these healings of the blind were accomplished by Jesus to affirm that He indeed was the long-awaited Messiah. This truth was confirmed when Jesus had to prove to the imprisoned John the Baptist that He was the Messiah. How did Jesus prove it? “Jesus told John’s disciples, ‘Go back to John and tell him what you have seen and heard – the blind see, the lame walk, those with leprosy are cured, the deaf hear, the dead are raised to life, and the Good News is being preached to the poor.” (Luke 7:20-22). Jesus told John that He is fulfilling the prophetic words in the Hebrew Scriptures regarding the Sent One. And Jesus underlined that truth with His every healing of the blind.

The Light of Understanding. Jesus had told the disciples, “You have good eyes, yet you still don’t see.” (Mark 8:18). This observation was certainly fresh in the minds of the disciples, and Jesus’ comment was fully in line with the Hebrew tradition of using physical sight as a metaphor for spiritual understanding. “Look, a righteous king is coming! Then everyone who has eyes will be able to see the truth, and everyone who has ears will be able to hear it.” (Isaiah 32:1, 3). Bring all who claim me as their God, for I have made them for my glory. It was I who created them. Bring out the people who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf. Gather the nations together!” (Isaiah 43:7-8). “I entered this world to render judgment – to give sight to the blind and to show those who think they see that they are blind.” (John 9:39). Was this gradual healing a spiritual lesson aimed at His disciples? Perhaps Jesus was revealing the Hebraic idea that some truths are understood gradually, that clear sight sometimes comes step by step. Sometimes spiritual insights come to the mind in stages, and are not necessarily understood instantly. Spiritual vision comes to us gradually, just as physical sight came to this blind man.