THE SERVANT OF THE LORD

​“Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth” (Isaiah 42:1-4 NIV).
 
Today, when you and I read the above passage through the lens of the New Testament, we understand that the Servant referred to here by Isaiah is none other than Jesus, the Son of Man who did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many (Matthew 20:28). Indeed, we probably think, yes, it could only be Jesus the Messiah himself, because the assignment given this Servant of the Lord is no small potatoes, but BIG/HUGE: He is to bring justice to the nations (Isaiah 42:1b). He will establish justice on earth (Isaiah 42:3b). And he will not falter or give up until he completes his mission (Isaiah 42:4).
 
And get this: the way he does all of that is without calling attention to himself, or generating fanfare, or earning the most “likes” on Instagram. He is no self-serving, hubristic and narcissistic “I’m Da Man”-type celebrity. He’s not some Great Sage on a Grand Stage. Instead, he will not shout or cry out or raise his voice in public (Isaiah 42:2). Rather, he is humble and nondescript. He avoids the adulation of the crowds and prefers the anonymity of a night out in the hills talking with his Abba Father (Luke 6:12). His ministry is tender, merciful and compassionate toward the hurting and grieving, the downtrodden and the losers. He will not break bruised reeds nor snuff out smoldering wicks (Isaiah 42:3), for he came to save the lost and to heal the sick and to raise the dead.
 
In other words, he’s a true servant rather than a king—even though he’s the King of kings and the Lord of lords! How different is all that to the leaders we have today, including some Christian leaders—not just in America but the world over. Jesus told his disciples: “You know that the rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their high officials exercise authority over them. Not so with you. Instead, whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant, and whoever wants to be first must be your slave” (Matthew 20:25-27 NIV). And Jesus showed his disciples what godly servanthood was about by washing their feet (John 13:1-17).
 
To be able to do what he did—wash their feet—was a truly remarkable thing when you consider the fact that the foot-washing episode would be followed by a series of terrible events, with each succeeding event worse than the one before it: Judas will betray Jesus. Jesus predicts that Peter will disown him 3 times, which Peter does. Jesus will be arrested, tortured and crucified. And yet Jesus resolutely did what the Father called him to do. He stuck it out and persevered to the very end—even death on the cross. And he completed his assignment; as he says in John 4:34, “My food is to do the will of him who sent me and to finish his work.”
 
And so, we realize that Isaiah 42 isn’t just about Jesus; it’s equally about you and me as we follow in our Master’s footsteps: We too are called to bring justice to the nations. And we do so with God’s Spirit on us. We won’t seek the attention and praise of men. We minister to the lost tenderheartedly and compassionately—because our God is tender, merciful and compassionate. And we will not falter or lose heart all the way to the day where we will say: our good fight has been fought, our race is finally complete, our faith, kept. A missionary doctor from Singapore, Dr. Tan Lai Yong, once put it this way: “When God calls us to be servants, don’t stoop to be kings.” Wow and amen!