NEW SERIES: “The Gospel in Isaiah”
TEXT: Isaiah 42:1-9
MESSAGE: “Beholding the Servant”
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Q: What do you believe God is like?
“What comes into our minds when we think about God is the most important thing about us.” ― A.W. Tozer
TEXT: Isaiah 42:1-9
What do we learn about Jesus and who He is from this text?
He is a: (1) Humble Ruler (2) Wounded Healer (3) Faithful Conquerer
1. Humble Ruler (v. 1-2)
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations. 2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street…”
“…behold, a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” — Matthew 3:17
“ the three verbs here are cumulative, stressing his quiet, unaggressive demeanor, not out to dominate and shout others down, not out to advertise himself.” — Alec Moyter
“When God came to earth in the form of Jesus Christ, He was born in the feed trough. When His parents took Him to circumcision, their offering was two pigeons—the offering that was accepted for those on the lowest rung on the economic ladder. Jesus was essentially homeless. He said, “Foxes have holes, birds have nests, but the Son of Man has nowhere to lay his head.” He rode into town on a borrowed donkey. He ate His last meal in a borrowed room. He was buried in a borrowed tomb. He was poor!” — Timothy Keller
2. Wounded Healer (v. 3)
“…a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.”
“If Christ be so merciful as not to break me, I will not break myself by despair, nor yield myself over to the roaring lion, Satan, to break me in pieces.” — Richard Sibbes (The Bruised Reed)
Isaiah 61:1 — “…he has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the opening of the prison to those who are bound…”
3. Faithful Conquerer (v. 4)
“He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.”
“Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us.”— Romans 8:35-37
TAKEAWAYS: How can we apply this to our lives?
By remembering that as we behold God’s servant…
*He shapes our character, so be encouraged
*He doesn’t give up, so don’t give up
“Do not minimize your sin or excuse it away. Raise no defense. Simply take it to the one who is already at the right hand of the Father, advocating for you on the basis of his own wounds. Let your own unrighteousness, in all your darkness and despair, drive you to Jesus Christ, the righteous, in all his brightness and sufficiency.” — Dane Ortlund
*He heals our wounds, so live with purpose
“Nobody escapes being wounded. We are all wounded people, whether physically, emotionally, mentally, or spiritually. The main question is not, ‘How can we hide our wounds?’ so we don’t have to be embarrassed, but ‘How can we put our woundedness in the service of others?’ When our wounds cease to be a source of shame, and become a source of healing, we have become wounded healers.” — Henri Nouwen
“Behold my servant…” — Isaiah 42:1
“On a Friday morning, two thousand years ago, Jesus stood before the people, and Pilate declared, “Behold the man! (John 19)” It was the sixth day of the week, the day God created man. And now the second Adam was undoing the first Adam’s sin. Adam was always meant to wear a crown. Now Jesus would wear one. Adam had been sentenced to toil among the thorns. Now Jesus would have those thorns twisted into His brow. Adam was ashamed of his failure and sought to hide behind fig leaves. Now Jesus would wear the purple robe and hear the taunts of the mockers. The hands of humanity that reached out for the forbidden fruit were the fists that beat the face of the precious Savior. “Behold the man!” Pilate didn’t know what he was saying…Jesus is the perfect man. The image of the invisible God, the beginning and the end, the One in whom all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell. The one who shows us what God always intended humanity to be like. He is the One who takes the shame of our sin and bears the mockery of evil.” — Trevin Wax
“Thus says God, the Lord, 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…” — Isaiah 42:5