Messianic Perspectives

Chris Rodriguez: Shalom, and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the Scriptures from a distinctive first-century Jewish point of view. Today, our Bible teacher, Stephen Ger, continues his five-part series on the Servant of the Lord. And now with today’s teaching, here’s Stephen Ger.

Stephen Ger: Shalom. This is Stephen Ger. Welcome to our continuation of the series The Servant of the Lord in Messianic Prophecy. What we saw last time as we began our discussion on Isaiah 49, the second servant song, we saw in the first four verses that this is written in the first person. This servant song, this servant of the Lord passage, records the words of the servant the Messiah himself. Who is it addressed to? First of all, it's addressed to the Gentiles, to the nations.

The Messiah explains that his mission was given to him prior to his birth. He goes on to explain that he is the very personification of the nation of Israel. Ultimate Israel will accomplish what Israel proper never could. However, he goes on in verse four to tell us that the Messiah experiences some discouragement. It doesn't explain why, but for some reason, the Messiah's mission has not been successfully received.

Verse five allows us to continue. And now says the Lord, who formed me from the womb to be his servant. So here's the Lord's response. The servant is now quoting the Lord, who formed him from the womb to be his servant. And here we have the servant's mission summarized in a few succinct points. To bring Jacob back to him so that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the sight of the Lord, and my God is my strength.

First thing the Messiah was to do was to sound a clarion call for Israel to return to God, to bring Jacob back to him in other words, to call Jacob, to call Israel to repentance. The second point of the servant's mission is that Israel's repentance was to serve as the means, and indeed the prerequisite, for their regathering to the land. To bring Jacob back to him so that Israel might be gathered to him.

The prophetic picture here is that the regathering of the Jewish people to the nation of Israel must be preceded by their repentance. So what we see today with the Jewish people returning to the nation of Israel, roughly a third of the worldwide Jewish populace lives in Israel now. That's not what's being referred to here. That's not the ultimate regathering that Isaiah speaks of. That's just a foreshadowing.

What we see today in the nation of Israel is merely a foretaste, not that it's unimportant and not to disparage it in any way. It's awesome and glorious, but it is just a foretaste of what God actually has planned for his people when they corporately repent. But then in verse six, we get the third mission point. And he says—this is the servant quoting the Lord—it is too small a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel.

That's an important job. But for a guy like you, that's too small an assignment. That can't be all there is. It doesn't use all of your talents, all of your abilities. For my son, no, a bigger job is going to be called for. Because let's face it, when we talk about the Jewish people today, for example, 15 or 16 million Jewish people, it’s an important job, but there's more to the Messiah's power and talent and ability than that.

So it's too small a thing for you to raise up the tribes of Jacob and restore the preserved ones of Israel. Here's what I'm going to add to your job description in verse six: I will also make you a light of the nations so that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth. Now you're talking. Now that's an assignment that is fit and worthy for the servant of the Lord.

The third point—and really think about this, this is an eighth-century Hebrew document—it should knock your socks off. This servant is not just going to call Israel, but will be a light to the Gentiles. This Messianic light is going to result in Gentile salvation. Now Jesus' name itself, Yeshua, means salvation. So my salvation, my Yeshua will reach to the end of the earth. Indeed, that's the power of the servant of the Lord. The salvation of the Lord, the Yeshua of God, will reach to the ends of the earth.

But then verse seven really shakes things up a little bit. Thus says the Lord once again, the servant quoting the Lord: Thus says the Lord, the redeemer of Israel and its Holy One, to the despised one, to the one abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers. Kings will see and arise. Princes will also bow down because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel who has chosen you. God calls this Messianic figure suddenly by three names. None of them sound very good.

The despised one. That doesn't sound very nice. The one abhorred by the nation. That's worse. Notice that the one abhorred by the nation, nation is singular. Which nation abhors this one? Israel, of course, is the one who's going to abhor this servant. And the servant of rulers. So although the servant is going to experience rejection, the rejection is only going to be temporary. Why? How come? Pourquoi? Not because people will eventually get a clue to his identity or status of their own accord, but because of the faithfulness of the Lord who has chosen his servant.

In fact, it's a common misunderstanding to assume that it would have been possible for any more than a remnant of Israel to have recognized the Messiah in his first advent. We get these kinds of suppositional possibility questions all the time. Well, what if Israel had actually recognized Jesus en masse in his first advent? Never could have happened. You can't even imagine it, because Isaiah reveals it could never have been the case.

If you want confirmation that Jesus is the true Messiah, I'll give you the confirmation. He was rejected wholesale by the Jewish leadership, by the representatives of the nation. That's your confirmation that he's the true Messiah. That's how Isaiah writes about him. Israel has no shortage—the Jewish people have never had a shortage—of Messianic claimants. But other Messianic figures, pick any, Bar Kokhba, any of them, they were hailed and they were received joyfully.

But these Messiahs were only rejected as Messiah once they were killed. That's how you knew they weren't the Messiahs. They were rejected because they were killed. They couldn't possibly have been the Messiah. But Jesus, unlike the others, was first rejected, and that is specifically why he was killed. So the order with Jesus is reversed compared with any other Messiah. Jesus was first rejected specifically by the leadership, and that was why he was killed.

Verse eight. Thus says the Lord: In a favorable time I have answered you, and in a day of salvation I have helped you. I will keep you and give you for a covenant of the people, to restore the land, to make them inherit the desolate heritages, saying to those who are bound, "Go forth," to those in darkness, "Show yourselves." Along the roads they will feed and their pasture will be on all bare heights. They will not hunger or thirst, etcetera, etcetera.

Then he goes on to conclude in verse 13. Shout for joy, O heavens, rejoice, O earth. Break forth into joyful shouting, O mountains, for the Lord has comforted his people and will have compassion on his afflicted. Once again the Lord calls this servant a living covenant, a new covenant, the very embodiment of every divine covenant. What does this particular guy, this living ultimate covenant promise?

He promises Israel's restoration to their restored land. A restored people in a restored land. No matter how far they have been dispersed, the Lord will call them back. It's only through the Messiah and only through his work that Israel, through the exercise of eventual faith in Messiah, will experience the Messianic kingdom. Is this a Jewish position? Well, the Midrash certainly seems so. Both Midrash on Proverbs and on Psalms references this specific passage regarding the Messiah.

Does the New Testament recognize this passage as Messianic? And how. I don't know how else you can read Matthew 1:21, that he's called from the womb. She shall bear a son and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. That's a direct shout-out to Isaiah 49. How about old Simeon in the temple in Luke 2 when he sees the baby Jesus? He says, "My eyes have seen your salvation which you've prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light of revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people Israel."

Certainly Jesus fulfilled the servant's mission to call Israel back to God. You'll remember in the Gospels, it was Jesus' opening declaratory salvo at the onset of his ministry in Matthew 4:17. From that time Jesus began to preach and say, "Repent, for the kingdom of God is at hand," or "the kingdom of heaven is at hand." This characterized the opening call. The first thing out of Jesus' mouth is to call the nation of Israel back to God.

And it's also the last thing out of his mouth recorded in the Scriptures back in Acts 1:8. You'll receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you and you shall be my witnesses both in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria and even to the ends of the earth. So he calls Israel to repentance, but ultimately his salvation extends to the ends of the earth.

Isaiah 49 is a very powerful and potent Messianic prophecy, and truly a critical key for us to understand what's going on in the Gospels and the book of Acts. Well, the plot's going to thicken by the time we get to our next passage, but I'm afraid for the time being, I'm going to have to leave you in suspense. We'll pick it up next time. Shalom.

Chris Rodriguez: Thank you, Steve. If you missed part of this series or would like to share it with a friend, you'll be glad to know that it's available on one convenient compact disc for the suggested gift of just six dollars. Just point your web browser to our online store at messianicspecialties.com and search for "Servant of the Lord" and place your order with our secure server.

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This is Chris Rodriguez. Join us tomorrow for another edition of the Servant of the Lord right here on Messianic Perspectives. Messianic Perspectives is heard Monday through Friday at this same time right here on this fine station. This program is sponsored by CJF Ministries in San Antonio, Texas, and is made possible on this station by the freewill contribution of our listeners in this area.