The Servant and His Commission

Isaiah 42:1-7

According to all the experts we live in a postmodern culture, one that has its own ideas about what is true and what is real.

To the post-modernist, reality is whatever the individual imagines it to be. That means what is “true” is determined subjectively by each person, and there is no such thing as objective, authoritative truth that governs or applies to all humanity universally. The post-modernist naturally believes it is pointless to argue whether opinion A is superior to opinion B. After all, if reality is merely a construct of the human mind, one person’s perspective of truth is ultimately just as good as another’s. John MacArthur (Read the entire article here)

Yet every postmodernist behaves, at least a large part of the time, as though there is objective reality and objective truth. You get the idea that there is some innate sense of truth possessed by every individual. That is exactly what we should expect from Paul's statement to the church at Rome in Rom_1:18-23, where he refers to those "who by their unrighteousness suppress the truth"; having known God they did not honor him as God but turned instead to idols.
In Isa_41:21-24 God offers up a challenge to the idols whom Israel has been worshiping and taunts them to do something, anything, knowing all the while there will be no response. Again in Isa_41:28-29 God declares he has searched for one among the pagan pantheon who will respond to his questioning, concluding his remarks with the assessment that "they are all a delusion; their works are nothing; their metal images are empty wind." ESV

On the other hand, God says "look at MY SERVANT!" He is not a pretender, a charlatan, a wind-bag; he's the real thing. He is qualified for his task, he has the conduct proper to one called "my servant" and he has been commissioned to do something world-shaking and life-changing. Those who are seeking for real answers to life's questions (albeit mostly in the wrong places) will recognize the genuine when they see it. Thus, it is absolutely vital we point them to the one who is the real thing.

A. His qualifications v.1, 4-6a

1. chosen

particularly

the one who is held securely

the one who completely satisfies

for a purpose

the word is used to express that choosing which has ultimate and eternal significance

2. endued

furnished with everything necessary to complete his assigned task

a. graced with the Spirit

"filled without measure at his incarnation, and which rested upon him, and qualified him for his work and office, as Prophet, Priest, and King" Gill

3. called

officially commissioned - called to a righteous task

providentially prepared for the work of a servant

4. sustained

ensuring his success

a. he will not run out of gas (be darkened) nor will he crack under pressure; in fact, those whom God has prepared to hear his message are waiting expectantly for it, a fact which encourages him

b. held by the hand - to guide and strengthen

c. guarded by the Father

B. His conduct v.2-3

1. humble

unostentatious, unobtrusive - will not advertise or draw attention to himself

2. gentle

contrasting to earthly conquerors

patiently, gently raises up the hurting and broken

supports the weak, tenderly leads them in the right way

3. faithful

he will stay focused on his God-given task

he will use resources approved by God - the truth

it is the truth that has victory over all other things

4. diligent

truth and justice will eventually conquer

true religion will ultimately reach all corners of the earth

C. His commission v.6b-7

1. be a covenant

not merely the mediator of the new covenant

the embodiment of the new covenant

all the blessings of the covenant are embodied in, have their root and origin in, and are dispensed by him

he is at the center of all the blessings

to receive the blessings is to receive him

those to whom God gives the grace of salvation, receive the Servant

Christ is a covenantee, a party concerned in the covenant of grace; the representative of his people in it; the surety, Mediator, messenger, and ratifier of it; the great blessing in it; the sum and substance of it; all the blessings and promises of it are in him, and as such he is "given"; it is of God's free grace that he was appointed and intrusted with all this in eternity, and was sent in time to confirm and secure it for "the people"; given him of his Father, redeemed by him and to whom the Spirit applies the blessings and promises of the covenant; Gill

2. be a light

to the nations

to sit in darkness is to be bound in sin Psa_107:10-12

only the light of salvation relieves the darkness of sin

the Servant is a Savior to the nations, not merely Israel

3. the specific tasks

to open blind eyes

"all sinners are blind in that they cannot see reality as it is." E. J. Young

it is the light of the Gospel accompanied by the working of the Holy Spirit that opens mens' eyes to perceive their true condition.

to deliver prisoners

God in his bestowal of saving grace is the only one able to deliver those imprisoned in sin.

"Man's normal condition is not really normal. Because of sin he is bound and not free. Freedom comes only when the Servant sets men free." E. J. Young

Lyrics to the popular song by Hal David from 1965 go:

What the world needs now is love, sweet love
It's the only thing that there's just too little of
What the world needs now is love, sweet love,
No, not just for some but for everyone.

Lord, we don't need another mountain,
There are mountains and hillsides enough to climb
There are oceans and rivers enough to cross,
Enough to last till the end of time.

What the world truly needs now as it has since Adam's Fall is not the freedom found in "love, sweet love" but Christ; He is the one of whom there is plenty - plenty to deliver all who come to him by faith, plenty to comfort all who come to him in need.

The Servant has commissioned his followers to labor with him to carry on the work he began during his incarnation. We are to be witnesses to him, make followers of him, point others to him, teach them about him first by our lives, then by our words. In His absence we must carry on the work He began 2000 years ago and entrusted to his disciples. We must take the truth of Christ to a dying world.