Isaiah 42 … Consider Him, the Chosen Servant

Originally posted: 4/04/2021

“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,“ (42:1).

God had chosen and called others to be His servants (Abraham, Psalm 105:42; Moses, Exodus 14:31; Caleb, Numbers 12:24l; Joshua, Joshua 24:9; David, 2 Samuel 7:4; Jeremiah, 7:25; Isaiah, Isaiah 20:3; the redeemed, Psalm 34:22; and [His] chosen people, [His] servant, Israel.)

“But you, Israel, My servant,
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of Abraham My friend,
⁹ You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its remotest parts
And said to you, ‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and not rejected you,’” (Isaiah 41:8-9).

But now, those who had been chosen and called to be His people, those who had been set apart as His messengers, chose to shut their eyes and ears to His glorious Truth; and as a result, they would bear the consequences of rejecting God’s gracious covenant: to live as a people trapped and plundered, and seemingly without any hope of deliverance.

“I have kept silent for a long time,
I have kept still and restrained Myself.
Now like a woman in labor I will groan,
I will both gasp and pant…
¹⁸ Hear, you deaf!
And look, you blind, that you may see.
¹⁹ Who is blind but My servant,
Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of the Lord?
²⁰ You have seen many things, but you do not observe them;
Your ears are open, but none hears.
²¹ The Lord was pleased for His righteousness’ sake
To make the law great and glorious.
²² But this is a people plundered and despoiled;
All of them are trapped in caves,
Or are hidden away in prisons;
They have become a prey with none to deliver them,
And a spoil, with none to say, “Give them back!” (42:14, 18-22).

But in His perfect time, God would Choose One to send on their behalf. God would Choose One, only One; for only One would come in perfect fulfillment of God’s Word, only One.

“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,” (42:1).

Only One would delight His soul as He came with the Spirit of God upon Him.

After being baptized, Jesus came up immediately from the water; and behold, 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,” (Matthew 3:16-17).

Only One would fulfill His promise to bring forth His justice to all peoples.

And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up; and as was His custom, He entered the synagogue on the Sabbath, and stood up to read. ¹⁷ And the book of the prophet Isaiah was handed to Him. And He opened the book and found the place where it was written,
¹⁸ “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me,
Because He anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor.
He has sent Me to proclaim release to the captives,
And recovery of sight to the blind,
To set free those who are oppressed,
¹⁹ To proclaim the favorable year of the Lord.”
²⁰ And He closed the book, gave it back to the attendant and sat down; and the eyes of all in the synagogue were fixed on Him. ²¹ And He began to say to them, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing,” (Luke 4:16-20).

Only One would live in complete obedience.

“For I have come down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me,” (John 6:38).

Only One, His Son Jesus Christ, the Chosen Servant.

“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many,” (Mark 10:45).

Consider Him, the Chosen Servant

And again, I am undone, by His grace, His mercy; undone by Who He gave that we might be saved. He gave perfection; He gave Him, the Chosen Servant.

There is just so much in this chapter, too much to even try and capture in one sitting. But one thing is Irrefutable; every word of Isaiah 42 describing the Chosen Servant, perfectly reveals Jesus Christ, our Redeemer and Savior.

• Jesus Christ, the Chosen Servant Who would bring His peace.
  •  “He will not cry out or raise His voice,
    Nor make His voice heard in the street,” (42:2).
    • “Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, nor let it be fearful,” (John 14:27).

• Jesus Christ, the Chosen Servant Who would bring His healing.
  •  “A bruised reed He will not break
    And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish…” (42:3).
    • and He Himself bore our sins in His body on the cross, so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness; for by His wounds you were healed, (1 Peter 2:24).

• Jesus Christ, the Chosen Servant Who would establish His perfect justice.
  • “…He will faithfully bring forth justice.
    ⁴ He will not be disheartened or crushed
    Until He has established justice in the earth;
    And the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law,” (42:3-4).
    • for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God, ²⁴ being justified as a gift by His grace through the redemption which is in Christ Jesus; ²⁵ whom God displayed publicly as a propitiation in His blood through faith. This was to demonstrate His righteousness, because in the forbearance of God He passed over the sins previously committed; ²⁶ for the demonstration, I say, of His righteousness at the present time, so that He would be just and the justifier of the one who has faith in Jesus, (Romans 3:23-26).

• Jesus Christ, the Chosen Servant Who would come as the Light to open the eyes of the blind and bring prisoners out of darkness.
  • Thus says God the Lord,
    Who created the heavens and stretched them out,
    Who spread out the earth and its offspring,
    Who gives breath to the people on it
    And spirit to those who walk in it,
    ⁶ “I am the Lord, I have called You in righteousness,
    I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You,
    And I will appoint You as a covenant to the people,
    As a light to the nations,
    ⁷ To open blind eyes,
    To bring out prisoners from the dungeon
    And those who dwell in darkness from the prison,” (42:5-7).
    • Then Jesus again spoke to them, saying, “I am the Light of the world; he who follows Me will not walk in the darkness, but will have the Light of life,” (John 8:12).

• Jesus Christ, the Chosen Servant, Who Would Be Glorified with His Father.
  • “I am the Lord, that is My name;
    I will not give My glory to another,
    Nor My praise to graven images,” (42:8).
    • Jesus spoke these things; and lifting up His eyes to heaven, He said, “Father, the hour has come; glorify Your Son, that the Son may glorify You… ⁵ Now, Father, glorify Me together with Yourself, with the glory which I had with You before the world was,” (John 17:1, 5).

• Jesus Christ, the Chosen Servant Who would make all things new.
  • “Behold, the former things have come to pass,
    Now I declare new things;
    Before they spring forth I proclaim them to you,” (42:9).
    • Therefore if anyone is in Christ, he is a new creature; the old things passed away; behold, new things have come, (2 Corinthians 5:17).

• Jesus Christ, the Chosen Servant Who will come again as the Man of War to prevail against every enemy.
  • The Lord will go forth like a warrior,
    He will arouse His zeal like a man of war.
    He will utter a shout, yes, He will raise a war cry.
    He will prevail against His enemies, (42:13).
    • And I saw heaven opened, and behold, a white horse, and He who sat on it is called Faithful and True, and in righteousness He judges and wages war. ¹² His eyes are a flame of fire, and on His head are many diadems; and He has a name written on Him which no one knows except Himself. ¹³ He is clothed with a robe dipped in blood, and His name is called The Word of God. ¹⁴ And the armies which are in heaven, clothed in fine linen, white and clean, were following Him on white horses. ¹⁵ From His mouth comes a sharp sword, so that with it He may strike down the nations, and He will rule them with a rod of iron; and He treads the wine press of the fierce wrath of God, the Almighty. ¹⁶ And on His robe and on His thigh He has a name written, “KING OF KINGS, AND LORD OF LORDS,” (Revelation 19:11-16).

How do we respond to Him, the Chosen Servant?

Jesus Christ, Chosen as a Servant. And while He was the Chosen Servant, He also Chose to empty Himself of His deity and to lay aside His rights and His equality with the Father; and that Truth should never get old.

…Christ Jesus, ⁶ who, although He existed in the form of God, did not regard equality with God a thing to be grasped, ⁷ but emptied Himself, taking the form of a bond-servant, and being made in the likeness of men. ⁸ Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross, (Philippians 2:5-8).

Today’s reading ends with some questions, once again expressing the truth that we have a choice. Will we give our ear to heed, to listen and obey Him, that we would be rescued from the day of His wrath through faith in Him, the Chosen Servant?

Who among you will give ear to this?
Who will give heed and listen hereafter?
²⁴ Who gave Jacob up for spoil, and Israel to plunderers?
Was it not the Lord, against whom we have sinned,
And in whose ways they were not willing to walk,
And whose law they did not obey?
²⁵ So He poured out on him the heat of His anger
And the fierceness of battle;
And it set him aflame all around,
Yet he did not recognize it;
And it burned him, but he paid no attention,  (42:23-25).

The truth is, many today refuse to recognize or pay attention to His Truth. But, if we have given our ear to His Truth, and have placed our faith in Jesus, if we have received His peace and healing from our sins through His sacrifice on the cross, if we have had our blind eyes opened and have been rescued from the domain of darkness, if we have been made new creations in Christ Jesus, then we are called to have the same attitude as Jesus Christ, the Chosen Servant. Oh, that we would serve others that they may recognize, know and believe Truth.

Do nothing from selfishness or empty conceit, but with humility of mind regard one another as more important than yourselves; ⁴ do not merely look out for your own personal interests, but also for the interests of others. ⁵ Have this attitude in yourselves which was also in Christ Jesus, (Philippians 2:3-5).

And Jesus told us that as we serve others, we are serving Him, the Chosen Servant; and this is His way of honor.

“If anyone serves Me, he must follow Me; and where I am, there My servant will be also; if anyone serves Me, the Father will honor him,” (John 12:26).

When I was a brand new, baby believer, there was a simple chorus I loved to sing in church, “Make Me a Servant,” by Maranatha Singers, released on their Kids Praise Album in 1982.

Make me a servant, humble and meek.
Lord, let me lift up those who are weak,
And may the prayer of my heart always be:
Make me a servant
Make me a servant
Make me a servant today!

Oh, that our desire would be just that humble: to be conformed to the image of Him, the Chosen Servant.

As we come to Him in simplicity and child-like faith, we can trust His power to do what Only One can. Oh, may the prayer of our heart always be: to serve in humility and meekness, following Him as His obedient children, that others would receive Him, the Chosen Servant.

Sitting down, He called the twelve and said to them, “If anyone wants to be first, he shall be last of all and servant of all. ³⁶ Taking a child, He set him before them, and taking him in His arms, He said to them, ³⁷ “Whoever receives one child like this in My name receives Me; and whoever receives Me does not receive Me, but Him who sent Me,” (Mark 9:35).

Let’s Grow Together!