The servant

Today, we conclude our series based on great passages from the Old Testament, the Hebrew Bible.

Next Wednesday is Ash Wednesday, and next Sunday is the first Sunday in Lent when our Easter journey will begin.

Today, we meditate upon one sacred chapter. For me, this chapter is the heart and soul, the genius and faith of Israel.

It is found in Isaiah 53 and is the last of the four servant songs found in this second section of Isaiah (chapters 40-55).

In Isaiah 40-55 there are four servant songs. They describe how the servant of the Lord God fulfils God’s purpose through his suffering.

The fourth of these‘songs’is utterly profound. Its opening verse captivates our attention: ‘Who has believed our report and to whom is the word of the Lord revealed’(Isaiah 53.1).

The servant’s form and appearance are repulsive, a sure sign that he is rejected by God (Isaiah 53.2-3).

He is described in two ways.

Like a lamb ready for the sacrifice, or a victim in court given no justice(Isaiah 53.7-8).

Isaiah 53 then declares the gripping message that the servant’s suffering is all our fault: All we like sheep have gone astray and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all’(Isaiah 53.6).

The servant’s fate, ’He was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquity, our chastisement was upon him, and with his stripes we are healed’ (Isaiah 53.4-5).

We do not know the identity of the servant of the Lord.

The Jewish people claim he represents their nation, and their history of persecution.

The Early Church immediately claimed that this was a description of Jesus’passion-filled life and death.

In my theology, the description of the suffering servant is the finest description of Jesus.

That is why I call Isaiah 53 the ‘gospel’of Isaiah.

This thought of the suffering servant who fulfils God’s mission through his distress teaches us so much about Jesus.

Jesus’acts were motivated by compassion, his caring heart embraced the distressed and suffering.

Jesus’teaching was the gospel of hope, found in serving care and suffering concern.

But the idea of the suffering servant is deeper.

We learn of the very nature of Jesus’Father God.

Some of our Easter hymns are so misleading.‘Ride on, ride on in majesty tells us of the Father on his sapphire throne’.

This idea of God aloof in heaven, far removed from the broken lives and tear-filled affairs of people is simply wrong.

Our God, whom we encounter in Jesus, is full of compassion for men and women.

We only encounter God in and through Jesus.

We only encounter Jesus at Calvary.

We only know the one and only true God in the Jesus who, for us, became the suffering servant of God.

Calvary’s Cross is buried deep in the soil of humanity.

But that Cross was shaped and fashioned in the workshop of heaven, according to the plan and purpose of God.

The image of the servant of the Lord gives the shape to our Christian living.

The servant’s example brings tenderness to our praying and sincerity to our worship.

Following Jesus the ServantSon we are encouraged to be careful and kind with others.

Then in obedience and trust we can come nearer to Jesus and closer to God.

Because when we think of Jesus the suffering Servant-Son of God we ponder on the mystery of God’s compassion, and meditate on the deep innermost secret of God.

God reveals himself as our God of compassion in Jesus.

We can understand only a tiny portion of the mystery of God’s compassion.

But this we know, the mystery of God’s compassion becomes in Jesus the miracle of our salvation.

Before the compassion of the Fatherhood of God encountered in Jesus, we can only bend low in wonder, worship and praise.

The Son of man came not to be served but to serve, And to give his life a ransom for all’(Mark 10.45).

A little prayer – gentle Father God, bring us home for all we like sheep have gone astray. Repeat to us the gospel message that Jesus carries our griefs and bears our sorrows. Have mercy upon us for Jesus’sake. In His Name, AMEN