The Servant of God

Who is the Servant of God in Isaiah 42:1-9?  In the previous chapter, the Servant is identified as Israel (41:8), but in today’s text and further on in Isaiah it clearly refers to an individual.  Since the Servant is never clearly identified, today’s text focus more on the character of the Servant and what the Servant accomplish.  The Servant “will bring justice to the nations,” and the Servant will do so by “not shouting or crying out, or raising his voice in the streets” (42:1-2).  It is clear that God is not only interested in the what of his plan, but also the manner in which it is achieved.  Justice is not to be accomplished through force but through meekness.  In the Old Testament, that is what God always expected from Israel as his Servant among the nations.  Then Jesus came as the ultimate Servant who brought righteousness to the world by way of the cross.  He had to endure persecution for the sake of achieving God’s righteousness through meekness.  And eventually Jesus promised us his Spirit so that we can be God’s servants in the neighborhoods and towns where we live.  How will we be recognized as such?  In what manner does God expect us to be his Servant?  And what do we have to endure by taking up our cross for the sake of God’s righteousness?

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