Examining The Scripture CIV: Songs That Sing of A Servant

There are folks that have told me that some of my posts are difficult. I have tried to explain myself as thoroughly as possible. If people are expecting this stretch of Old Testament to get any easier they are mistaken. This coming portion of the Old Testament will be the most difficult to understand, and it will probably be the hardest for me to explain in a coherent manner without losing folks. We are entering the prophets. Explaining the nuances of Books like Daniel and Ezekiel will be anything but simple. So sit down, close the door and buckle up, we're about to smoke the tires on this series and leave a trail of flames towards the Book of Malachi.

**obligatory pause for dramatic effect**

Due to the organization of English Bibles we will visit the major prophets first and then the minor prophets second. They are grouped this way by their general size not by their importance. It goes without saying the nothing in the Bible is unimportant. Since the prophets point to the future to either Jesus Christ, his time or beyond we need to understand the prophetic bridge that needs to be crossed to make sense of the prophets in their time. I will show how these prophecies point to Christ whenever possible as He is the fulfilment of many of the prophecies pointed out in the Old Testament. Many of these prophecies are the connections to the New Testament that were missed by the Jewish people and caused people like Cleopas' and the other man's hearts on the road to Emmaus to burn within them when they heard Jesus' words and knew them to be true.

He said to them, "How foolish you are, and how slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken! Did not the Christ have to suffer these things and then enter his glory?" And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself. ~Luke 24:25-27

If we read the New Testament we see Isaiah used quite often as an obvious example of an Old Testament prophet clearly pointing forward to Jesus Christ. Here we see Isaiah 42:1-9 is the first of four “Servant Songs” that Christians have regarded as messianic and applied them to Jesus; the other texts are in Isaiah 49, 50, and 53. The New Testament relates to these verses for two many reasons. They are foundational to the understanding of Jesus and His role in the Old and New Testament. They are also foundational to understanding God’s omniscience and foreknowledge of the future event in these prophecies and the role Jesus plays connecting the Old and New Testament together into a consistent picture.

"Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; and in his name the Gentiles will hope." ~Matthew 12:18-21

The Servant Songs of Isaiah are one of the main anchors that hold the entire Bible in a coherent and harmonized whole. It is the Old Testament abutments of the theological bridge where Matthew 12:18-21 and Christ incarnate as prophecy fulfillment are the New Testament side and the mirror image to Isaiah 42. These verses in Isaiah are replete with references to the coming Messiah. I will list them below with the allusions that are made to Jesus and how they relate back to Isaiah. As with anything that comes in sets like the four “Servant Songs” they should all be taken together in the same context and taken symbiotically. All four pertain to Christ and/or some aspect of Jesus Christ’s attributes, actions or atonement. The verses in Isaiah 42 correspond to many verse in the New and Old Testaments but it directly corresponds to Matthew 12:18-21 and being a reiterated in Matthew we know that Matthew is showing the bridge between the Old and New Testament and that bridge is Christ. He is showing how Jesus Christ fulfilled Isaiah’s prophecy of God’s servant Messiah. All roads old and new converge or diverge at the cross.

(1) Matthew 12 distinctly reiterates that the Messiah, Jesus will be:
(1a) God’s servant whom He (the Father) will uphold
(1b) God’s chosen with whom His soul delights
(1c) God will put His Spirit upon Him and he will also reach the Gentiles/nations: It is upon this Redeemer that God will pour out His Spirit. As a result of this He will carry out His duties including justice.

(2) Isaiah and subsequently Matthew then draw a sharp distinction between the Messiah (Christ) and His wicked enemies
(2a) He will not be confrontational but he will faithfully bring forth justice
(2b) He will not quarrel or shout nor will any hear His voice in the streets: These are not shouts of joy but they are shouts more akin to ravings of a fool being referred to here. Specifically it will not be shouting associated with arguing. We do indeed see this when Jesus arrives and fulfills his ministry. He spoke with His own authority or the authority of the Father. He did need to shout and argue. It was clear the Spirit of God was upon Him. The fact that the Pharisees and Sadducees were willing to debate scripture with Him lends credence to this assertion.

(3) The coming Messiah would not “break a bruised reed” nor “quench a smoldering wick” until He brings justice and victory” basically to all men: Figurative wordage that tells us that the weak and helpless and of little faith would not be ignored. They will be treated with sympathy until He brings justice and victory when God ultimately triumphs.

(4) We then have a slight reprise of Isaiah’s statements/prophecies in chapter 40 where he goes through a litany of praise/statements about God being immutable unshakable, He cannot be “disheartened or crushed” He that “created the heavens and stretched them out”, etc.

(5) Then we hit Isaiah 42:6 and a statement that appears to be from the Father to the Son telling the Son that He (Father) will assist the Son, calling Him in “righteousness” as a “covenant to the people” and as a “right to the nations”. Jesus was called to do the righteous will of God and Jesus would fulfill the covenant made with Israel and also be the “Light” for Gentiles.


(6) Verse 7 is direct prophetic reference to the miracles that should be expected from the Messiah, “to open blind eyes” both literally physically blind and spiritually/figuratively blind as mentioned next: “ring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.”

(7) We then get the culminating blanket statement concerning why this prophecy is all taking place and why the coming of the Messiah will take place:
(7a) “Isaiah 42:9: “ I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to graven images. "Behold, the former things have come to pass, now I declare new things; before they spring forth I proclaim them to you."

(8) We then understand why the promised and prophesied Messiah will need to suffer as outlined in Isaiah 52:13-53:12, and be pierced, crushed for our iniquities, by the suffering servants suffering men would be justified in the eyes of God and deemed righteous. He would be exalted because of his suffering (also mentioned in Philippians 2:5-11)…
(8a) through the fulfillment of prophecy…God is glorified
(8b) Through the suffering of His servant the Father, Son and Holy Spirit are glorfied
(8c) Through the work at the cross man is justified and imputed with righteousness
(8d) In doing this He lifts an unworthy sinner dead in sin from Hell and back into life.
(8e) God is a covenant keeping God and upholds His side of the deal…and it brings Him glory
(8f) In doing so he demands that we not worship worthless idols and rightfully so
(8g) He would do all these things forthcoming, in light of previous things prophesied by other prophets that came to pass and were done (former things)
(8h) He would do all future things the way He has stated even thought they hadn’t happened yet (new things). Only an Omnipresent and Omniscient God could know and do these things.

Hendricksen, William. "Chapter 12." Gospel of Matthew (New Testament Commentary). Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Academic, 1981. 522-523. Print.

Martin, John., John Walvoord. "Isaiah." Bible Knowledge Commentary Old Testament: An Exposition of the Scriptures (Bible Knowledge). Acambaro: Victor, 1985. 1095. Print.

Wiersbe, Warren. "Wanted: A Prophet." Bible Exposition Commentary: Old Testament: The Prophets (Bible Knowledge). Acambaro: Victor, 2003. 52-53. Print.