The Servant Who Brings Justice

Armal Porodini

Joel Gilbert

The Perfect Servant • Sermon • Submitted a year ago • Presented a year ago • 30:43

Isaiah 42:1–9

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Title: The Servant who brings Justice

Text: Isaiah 42:1-9

Date: Sunday, June 2nd, 2024

Intro: (Show Slide 1)

I recently attended a preschool graduation at Sunita’s school. During the program the kids shared with everyone in attendance what they wanted to be. The answers were very encouraging and very aspirational I might say, as some included military, doctor, singer, lawyer, construction worker. I am sure we all at some point in our childhood, were asked this very question right, “What do you want to be when you grow up?” In retrospect, how many of you actually became what you set out to do when you were young? Life does not always work out as we picture it does it?

Illustration Story: (Show Slide 2)

Last month during Teacher Appreciation week, I came across reading a kid’s book that just touched my heart. The book was written by Weird Al Yankovic, called “When I grow Up?”. It’s about a kid named Billy, who couldn’t wait to tell his teacher what he wanted to be. Billy, with excitement, great theatrics & confidence provided a very comprehensive list from being a world-renown chef to a snail trainer, a rodeo clown, a movie director, professional pickle inspector, big sumo wrestler, hedge-fund investor, to a TV repairman and so on and so on. The teacher, looking at Billy, asked him to please make up his mind—this was getting quite silly! Which one of these things are you going to choose--she asked. Billy replied by saying “that his great-grandfather Bob’s been a whole lot of things, had a whole bunch of jobs. You know what? He just turned a hundred and three, and he still is not quite sure what he wants to be!”

As the bell rang and the kids went to lunch, Billy was sipping in his pineapple punch. He pondered professions that he’d like to enter like a brave firefighter or crazy inventor… or maybe, just maybe now—when I grow up, he thought… I can be a great teacher like dear Mrs. Krupp.

The profession of teacher is an honorable one but also a difficult one. Not all of us are going to be presidents, doctors and teachers, but we can all be servants like Jesus. In actually, how many of us would choose a profession of service? Not pursuing wealth, status, power but actually living your life daily to serve people and the Lord. Such person was Isaiah, who became a prophet at a young age and served God during a critical period in O.T. history.

The book of Isaiah is one of the most significant books of the O.T. times as it relates to the Messianic prophecies. Commentator Karl Delitzsch (Delich) called Isaiah the “universal prophet” (Richards, p.365; BTC), because his message was for the whole world.

Isaiah began his ministry in the year that King Uzziah died (739 BC) recorded in chapter 6. Isaiah’s vision of God, and his experience of cleansing, prepared him for a lifetime of ministry. He then was called and commissioned to be God’s special representative to His people. When Isaiah heard God ask, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for Us?” he responded immediately. “Here I am, Send me.” His role as a prophet was to speak for God, confronting and warning people of their evil ways and regularly reminding them to repent and turn away from their sin and disobedience. The life of a prophet was a very difficult one, it wasn’t for the faint of heart. His charge was a staggering task, his message would often fall on deaf ears and be rejected it for over a century. Isaiah as a servant of God, faced opposition just like the prophets that came before him, but despite that, he served the Lord faithfully for 60 years (739-681 B.C.). Let’s me provide a quick snapshot of the book to help us better understand the context of today’s sermon. (Show Slides 3-5)

The overall theme of the book: God will punish His people but he will also send a Messiah, a Savior who would bring salvation and hope.

When we look at the blueprint of the entire book we can divide the book into two parts.

The Blueprint of the book of Isaiah taken from the Life Application Study Bible:

A. Words of Judgment (chapters 1-39)

B. Words of Comfort (chapters 40-66)

(Life Application Study Bible pg. 1088-1089; NLT)

In the first part of the book (Isaiah chapters 1-30), Isaiah brings a message of judgment and repeated warnings to Judah, Israel and the surrounding pagan nations for their wickedness and disobedience toward God.

In the second half of the book (Chapters 40-66), Isaiah brings a comforting message of hope for the people of God. This message of hope looks forward to the coming of the Messiah. Isaiah speaks more about the Messiah than any other O.T. prophet. According to Lawrence Richards, the N.T. mentions Isaiah over 250 times and quotes Isaiah at least 50 times(Richards, p. 365). One of the main themes found in the second part of the book is the one about “The Servant of the LORD”.

Today we are going to be looking at the first of the “Servant Songs” recorded in Isaiah 42:1-9. As we look at this passage, we will look at the identity of “the Servant of The Lord”, his character & mission. First, let’s wrestle with this question: (Show Slide 6-7)

I. Who is The Servant?

Let’s read together Isaiah 42:1 “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.”

In the beginning verses of our text, we learn that “The Servant”…is

A. Sent by God (v. 1,6)

B. Chosen by God

C. He has the Spirit of God

D. He has been given a mission by God

Who is this True Perfect Servant of God?

· In the Bible there were many who were called “servants of God.”

· God calls Isaiah “My Servant” in Isa. 20:3

· Israel is also called my servant. Read with me…(Show Slide 8)

Isaiah 41:8-9 – But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant,”

This passage make reference to the nation of Israel.

God chose the nation of Israel to bring about salvation and be a blessing to the rest of the world. They were to be his “true servants” and be a light to the gentile nations by teaching them about God and His commands. Sadly, as a nation, Israel rather than being set-apart from the other nations, they followed the pagan practices and were influenced by their neighbors. They lived in rebellion and failed to fulfill the plan God had given them. The servants mentioned in the previous chapter 41 and this chapter 42 are not the same as indicated by the bible references in this next slide (Show slide 9).

Who is the servant? We have to look at the N.T. writings to identify this servant. God has given us His complete word so we can know that “My Servant” referred to here is Jesus, the Messiah. There are numerous passages in the N.T. that support this answer.

In Matthew 12:17-21, the author uses this very passage 42:1-4 to point to Jesus. This passage was read earlier. In both Matthew and Mark, we have the account of Jesus’ Baptist. Jesus tells John to baptize him to fulfill all righteousness and after being baptized, the heavens were opened and he saw the Spirit of God descending as a dove and lighting on Him. 17 “and behold, a voice out of the heavens said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased.” (Matt. 3:3, 16,17; Mark 1:1-2; 10-11). Both the ministry of John the Baptist and that of Jesus were fulfillments of Isaiah’s prophecies regarding “The Servant of the Lord”. John was making ready the way of the Lord Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah, The Anointed one of Israel.

Isaiah when he wrote his prophecies hundreds of years earlier didn’t know the true identity of the Messiah, but we do. The “My Servant” is Jesus. Jesus was chosen by God the Father, and took the form of a servant and was appointed or chosen to carry out the Father’s mission as Philippian 2 tells us. He willingly obeyed the Father and submitted Himself to the Father’s will. He came to represent the Father and also as the Messiah, the Anointed One, in human form, He depended on the Holy Spirit to carry out his mission as a humble servant. He did not rely on his own strength and did not fulfill his mission on his own. He had the Spirit of God with Him during his entire life on earth! There are O.T. passages that prophecy that the Spirit of God would be on Him, The Servant, the Messiah, and the Spirit was active with Jesus from His birth to His resurrection. (Isaiah 11:1-2; 61:1) (Show Slide 10)

In Luke 4:17, during Jesus public ministry He goes to the synagogue in Nazareth teaching the people about God. Lo and behold he is given the book of the prophet Isaiah for Him to read. Follow along with me… Jesus reads what Isaiah wrote in Isa. 61 and at the end, He stated this “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.” Jesus Himself quoted Isaiah 61 passage and applied it to Himself as the fulfillment of that prophecy in Luke 4:18 thus proving His identity! Jesus is the true and perfect Servant of the Lord! This brings us to the next question…

2. What are The Servant’s qualities? (vv. 2-4)

Let’s read this next part of the text verses 2-4 together. We find out that this servant…

A. Does not seek attention

B. Meek

C. Caring and gentle

D. He is just and faithful

The descriptions in these verses show us the actions and attitude of the coming Messiah, Jesus. He would serve with humility and come to bring justice and hope to those who were broken, bruised and seemed worthless to the world. Isaiah here gives us this imagery of a bruised reed and a burning wick to describe the character qualities of the Servant (Show slides 12-14). These visual metaphors refer to people who are “spiritually, physically, morally weak and wounded.” The religious establishment cast these individuals aside but Jesus did not! As a humble and gentle servant, he took care of them. He didn’t come to condemn the sinners but to save them (John 3:17)

The images of the bruised reed and the dimly burning wick, would have been understood by his readers. These instruments would be worthless and thrown away. They were of no use, however, to The Servant of the Lord, they have great value. Jesus cared for the marginalized. He regularly surrounded himself with sinners. We see his humility on display in Matthew 12:16. Turn with me to the text. Jesus confronts the religious leaders and heals the sick man on the Sabbath. In most cases, Jesus worked quietly, intentionally not drawing too much attention to His popularity but rather accomplishing God’s will. As he healed many, he told them not to say anything (Matthew 12:16). He did not come to seek fame and status and become King. He came to serve us!

The Jewish people were expecting the Messiah to save them from oppression and slavery. If they had heard the words of Isaiah, they would have known the kind of servant or Messiah that would come to save them and bring justice. Jesus did not come as a conquering king but as a gentle one. We see this in the account of the Triumphal entry into Jerusalem, a week before his death, Jesus riding on a donkey and not a war horse.

This brings us to the last question?

3. What is The Servant’s mission? (vv. 5-9) (Show Slide 15)

Read vv. 5-9 first.

a. To demonstrate God’s righteousness (v.6)

b. To be a light for the Gentiles

c. To be a covenant-fulfiller

d. To bring forth justice

e. To rescue people from sin

Three times in the song, we read about the justice the LORD’s Servant will bring forth and establish.

a. He will bring forth justice to the nations (v.1)

b. He will faithfully bring forth justice (v.3)

c. Until He has established justice in the earth (v.4)

The Servant of God, the Messiah did not come to seek his own glory (John 8:50), but to carry out his mission to completion. God the Father, the creator of all things, had appointed and choose the Servant to be a covenant for His people. He identified Himself with the nation of Israel, that He might become the representative of the nation as the perfect servant. God sent his Son, as the Messiah to fulfill the covenant and Israel’s mission on earth. In doing so, He would bring true justice, meaning He would make things right, fix what was broken and bring about restoration. He would bring judgement and wrath against all the wicked and also bring salvation between God and Israel and the Gentile nations.

He would…

Open eyes that are blind

Free captives from prison

Release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness (Isaiah 42:7). All these are images of those who are lost and in bondage to sin, those who are spiritually dead. He came to save all of mankind!

Jesus came to set us free and bring salvation to everyone, which includes both Jews and Gentiles. He took on the sins of the entire world, taking the wrath of the world upon Himself (Col. 2:14). Through His death, all who believe can be justified in Him and be declared righteous in the sign of God. He as the perfect Servant fulfilled that plan when he gave his life as the ultimate sacrifice on the cross.

We live in a fallen world filled with injustices. Because of humanity’s sinful state, we can’t get perfect justice from imperfect people. We see these in our justice system, wars, world conflicts, etc. where criminals are going free and unpunished. But in Jesus, we have one that is just and faithful and will bring true justice to this unjust world. People will stand before him and will have to give account of all their actions. To those who are broken and hurting and who have believed in Him, he brings healing and harmony. To the hopeless, he brings hope through His salvation. Jesus came to free us from spiritual blindness and set us free from the power of sin.

As believers, through Jesus, we all have the opportunity to share on his mission. God calls us to be servants of His Son, demonstrating God’s righteousness to a wicked world and bringing his light to those who live in spiritual darkness. We must continue to share the good news of the gospel so many can come to find hope and joy in His redemptive work. Because of what Jesus has done, God freely offers forgiveness of sin to all who turn to him in faith. Just like Isaiah’s message, this is God’s message of comfort to us today because those who hear it and respond will gain eternity with him. Let’s Pray: Lord, thank you that you came to make things right between us and God and bring about justice. The day will come when all will be restored and until that day, help us to trust in you and not be discouraged by the evils and uncertainties of this world. Help us to serve with the same attitude and actions that Jesus served and be ambassadors of hope bringing good news and your light and truth to a lost people. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Transition to Lord’s Supper message