The Bible Courseනියැදිය

The servant, suffering and hope – the Messiah is coming

Reflect:

We are hope-based creatures, constantly creating stories or pictures of the future. Hope for the marathon runner is the picture of the finish line. For those of us going through the daily grind, it might be the holiday or the house that the grind pays for. There’s no force in life more powerful than hope. The people of God were about to need it more than ever.

Isaiah wrote to the Southern Kingdom of Judah, warning them that unless the people turned back to God, his patience would run out. But into the darkness, hope shines.

What is the hope of Israel in exile according to Isaiah?

Speaking through Isaiah, God described a person he called his ‘servant’ who would one day free the people from the chains of oppression. What a picture to cling to – God was promising to send a rescuer!

In Isaiah 52, God told Jerusalem that a new time was coming so his people should put on their ‘garments of splendour’ (verse 2) and be ready to burst into song and dance (verse 9). And he says the same to us today.

How can God say this to suffering people?

God knew what he was doing and what Judah needed – a king who would fight and overthrow their oppressors, but not in the way they expected. The Messiah – God’s chosen and anointed one – fought not with swords and spears but with silence and suffering. God was raising up a saviour-king like a root out of dry ground, and there would be nothing warrior-like about him (Isaiah 53.2–3). Instead, he would be despised and cast out, but through his suffering, the servant was to achieve the greatest victory of all.

What does this hope of a servant mean for us today?

Isaiah points us to Jesus, the one who laid down his life, suffering on our behalf, to save us from exile – our separation from God and his Kingdom. On the cross, we see him take the punishment for our sin so that we can be at peace, reconciled with God. The hope for the world is in Jesus, the servant-king, because one day, just as Jesus has been exalted (Isaiah 52.13), God will exalt those who trust in him.

Despite deep injustice and suffering, Jesus was faithful to God and to us to the very end. Knowing he was faithful then, do we really think he’ll abandon us now? He will not.

Respond

Jesus was a man of sorrows. Whatever you’re going through, Jesus knows what it’s like.