One of the most interesting and puzzling sections of scripture is what is known as the Servant Songs of Isaiah. It is said that this section of scripture is the one most discussed and debated by scholars. Certainly these scriptures have been an enigma since the days of the Ethiopian eunuch, because he asks about them in Acts chapter eight. The Servant Songs are first introduced in Isaiah 41:8, after an opening burst of Messianic glory in Isaiah forty. This unique section of scripture continues on at least through the sixty-first chapter of Isaiah.
WHO IS THE SERVANT?
The question disturbing scholars throughout the centuries is this: “Who is the servant?” The very surprising answer is revealed to us in Isaiah 41:8, where God exclaims: “…O Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen…” With no shadow of doubt, Israel is named as the servant of the Lord. We see this truth revealed here and in several other places in the book (cf. Isa. 44:1; 44:21; 45:4).
What has also troubled and baffled scholars over the centuries is the manner in which Isaiah presents the servant. At times this servant seems fainthearted, despondent and even a failure. At other times he seems totally victorious. Sometimes the servant can be interpreted as the nation of Israel but at other times he is clearly a person.
Although Israel is named as the servant, it is evident that this servant has failed God. The Lord says in Isaiah 42:19, “Who is blind but my servant, and deaf like the messenger I send…” Throughout these songs we see a clear pattern developed. Israel is designated as the servant; Israel grows discouraged and fails; and finally God encourages and helps Israel. This cycle is clearly seen in each of the chapters 41-44.
THE SERVANT FURTHER REVEALED
It is the actual songs themselves that make a further revelation of the servant. In the first song of Isaiah 42:1-9, we see that God delights in his servant. This is reminiscent of the language of Matthew 3:17, where God says of Jesus at his baptism: “…This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” We see in Isaiah 42:4, that this servant will not falter or be discouraged till he brings justice on earth. He will become a light to the Gentiles and the islands will put their hope in him. In Matthew 12:18-21, a portion of this song is actually quoted and applied to Jesus.
In the second song of Isaiah 49:1-13, Israel is named again as the servant (v.3) but the writer switches immediately to one greater than Israel. Clearly this one has the task of rescuing Israel. This is an astounding passage of scripture. It is surely one of the most important passages in the whole Bible. Here, it is revealed that the Messiah has a two-fold task. Part “A” of his task is to bring Israel back and gather the nation to himself (v.5). Concerning this task, God says an amazing thing to his Messiah: “…It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept…” (v.6).
Imagine that! It is too small a job for this servant to take care of Israel for thousands of years; to save them in persecution; to bring them from the terrible Holocaust and to resettle them in their own land against the outright rage and opposition of most of the nations on earth.
We see in this passage that there is a second job for the servant Messiah. This is part “B” of his assignment. God says: “…I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth” (v. 6b). These two themes are picked up in the gospels and emphasized in the song of Mary (Lk. 1:54) and in the statements of Simeon concerning the baby Jesus (Lk. 2:30-32).
CAN JESUS BE THE SERVANT?
When we look at this crucial passage we are caught in a dilemma. We must ask, can Jesus be this servant? He sure thought he was the servant. The Gospel writers certainly thought so, as did the early Christians.
No doubt, most Christians today would quickly identify Jesus with the words of the third servant song in Isaiah 50:4-11. Here the servant says, “I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting” (cf. Mt. 27:26-30). We would also quickly identify Jesus with the fourth and last song of Isaiah 52:13-53:12. In this passage the “suffering servant” is clearly revealed. Here we read that the servant will suffer and die for the sins of his people (53:5); that he will be led like a lamb to the slaughter (v.7). Surprisingly we see that all this was in the Lord’s will (v.10).
Now, what is the dilemma we speak of? If Jesus is the servant of Isaiah, then he always had two jobs. His first job was to take care of Israel and his second job was to gather the Gentiles. We Gentile Christians tend to think that we are the first and only job the Messiah has. Throughout our history we have cared little for the Jews and often have actually persecuted them.
There is something else that is quite interesting. When we go back to that key chapter of Isaiah 49:8b-9, we learn other things about the work of the servant. God says of him: “…I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people, to restore the land and to reassign its desolate inheritances,to say to the captives, ‘Come out,’ and to those in darkness, ‘Be free!’ They will feed beside the roads and find pasture on every barren hill.” What incredible news for the church! The servant also has the job of physically restoring the land of Israel and bringing the captive Jews home.
WHAT DOES IT MEAN IF JESUS IS THE SERVANT?
We cannot just pick and choose the verses in the Bible that we feel apply to Jesus. If Jesus is spoken of in the servant song of Isaiah 53, then the servant song of Isaiah 49 and the other songs will apply to him as well. What does all this mean? It means that our two-thousand-year-old church theology is stood on its head in the whole area of the Jews
and Israel.
If Jesus is the servant of Isaiah then it is our Jesus who has suffered with Israel in all the persecutions forced upon them by the church. The scripture does say: “In all their distress he too was distressed, and the angel of his presence saved them…” (Isa. 63:9). If our Jesus is the servant of Isaiah, it is he who has brought Israel from the prisons and dungeons of the Holocaust. This destruction was surely brought on the Jews by Christians who dismally failed to speak out against evil. It is also Jesus who has apportioned and settled the modern land of Israel (Isa. 49:8). In Isaiah 8:8 the Bible does say that Israel is “Immanuel’s land.”
All this is news to most of the church today. Christians have maintained only a marginal concern for Israel. They might go to Israel on a visit if there is no trouble brewing. When most Christians get to Israel they often arrive with haughty and condescending attitudes toward the Israelis. Many only want to see where Jesus walked. They don‘t seem to have a clue that Jesus is presently walking there in the restoration of the land and people of Israel. They don’t realize that Israel’s return to the land in our time is a miracle of greater magnitude than when they came out of Egypt long ago (Jer. 16:14-15). They don’t realize that the beautiful trees and even the delicious Jaffa oranges in their hands are evidences of the Messianic work of restoration.
How can we change all this? We need to first fall on our faces and repent for all the sorrow and suffering we have brought to the House of Israel over the centuries. Then we need to repent of all the haughty attitudes we have displayed toward the Jews and the Israeli people. We should finally realize that if it is Jesus who is restoring Israel, then we have been doing everything we possibly can to hinder his work for two thousand years. All of us must not only repent, but we must ask God to set our lives in a new direction concerning Israel. We certainly must ask him to open the eyes of our understanding.
Sometimes we Christians are like a little boy helping his dad build a house. The little lad happily says, “Look what I am doing daddy!” as he nails two little boards together. The daddy looks and says “Ah, that is really nice son.” But what is the daddy thinking? He is thinking, “I will sure be glad when my little son can read blueprints.” Isn’t it about time we took the Bible and began to read God’s blueprints for Israel?
-Jim Gerrish
April, 2002