The Description of the Servant | Clip from Servant Song V

Well, let's look at the description of the servant in verses 4 through 9.

We find the faithful servant described. Let me read these. The Lord has given me the tongue of disciples, that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word.

He awakens me morning by morning. He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple.

The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not disobedient, nor did I turn back. I gave my back to those who strike me, and my cheeks to those who pluck out the beard.

I did not cover my face from humiliation and spitting. We'll just stop right there.

Strangely, we're going to see the perfect obedience of the Messiah and the terrible opposition he suffers because of that.

Well, the description of the Messiah doesn't start where I would have started it. Isaiah starts in a different place.

He starts by describing the effectiveness of the Messiah's ministry. He has words to say to people that bring real comfort, real strength.

His words, as the disciples in the New Testament said, they are life. That's where he starts.

Then he moves back and describes the root system of such a life, and that is that he is a responsive servant.

So, first his words. The New Testament tells us that in sending the Son, God would send us a messenger unlike any other.

Remember Hebrews 1, verse 1? God, after he spoke long ago to the fathers and the prophets, in many portions and in many ways, in these last days, he has spoken to us in his

Son, whom he appointed heir of all things, through whom also he made the world.

Does the New Testament prove that Isaiah 50 told the truth? Yes. The enemies of Jesus said, no one ever spoke like this man.

The friends of Jesus said, as I already mentioned, you have words of life. Where else can we go? Or, do you remember the disciples on the road to Emmaus?

Did not our hearts burn within us as he explained the scriptures? No one ever spoke as this servant spoke.

Isaiah 50 explains how this came about. You might think that Jesus knew what to say to people when he was in those situations because he had kind of a divine invisible antenna, a direct connection, you know, and that God the

Father, everything that the Father wanted said just was automatically known by the Son. But I think that that really is a mistaken view of the ministry of the

God man. Jesus of Nazareth ministers, serves God in his true humanity, depending upon the

Holy Spirit to give him all he needs for perfect obedience as we have to depend upon the

Spirit. And Jesus used the same tools, we call them the means of grace, the same tools that we have.

Now, of course, there is the sinless humanity of Jesus and there's no sin nature clogging this channel, but it is a true human nature.

Christ, obviously, spent a lot of time meditating upon the scriptures, memorizing the scriptures, wrestling with the

Father in prayer, pouring out his heart, learning from the Father. If you want some good examples of that, just read the red letters, the words of Christ in the

Gospel of John, if you have a red letter Bible, and see where Christ explains how he knew what to say.

And you will find things like this. I speak the things which I heard with my Father. I speak the things which

I was taught by my Father. The words that I give you are not my words, but the words of him who sent me.

How? Isaiah 50, wonderful picture. He, the Father, awakens me, the

Messiah. Morning by morning, he opens my ear. I wanted to tell you about the

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