Isaiah 42:1-4 – Emulating Jesus, the Messiah

While talking about Cyrus and the would-be deliverance of Judah from their Babylonian captivity, Isaiah was led to talk about a greater deliverance. He was led to talk about the deliverance of sinners from the bondage of sin. Isaiah’s prophecy here leads us to conclude that the Servant of the LORD described in Isaiah 42 is none other than Jesus the Christ. For it is easy to see how naturally the description of this unique Servant fits so perfectly with what we know of Jesus Christ in the Gospels.

Firstly, the Servant described in verse 1 is God’s Servant, whom He upholds. Furthermore, He is God’s Chosen in whom God finds great delight. Jesus as the Son of God was appointed from eternity to serve God and to fulfill His plan and purpose. In the Gospels, God twice openly declared Jesus as His Son, in whom He, the Father God was well-pleased, once at Jordan during His baptism, and once at the mount of transfiguration. Truly God had chosen Jesus as His Messiah Servant to bring redemption to mankind.  

 

Secondly, like what is described of the Servant here, Jesus was conscious of the Spirit of God within and had operated under that strong anointing. He Himself during his ministry quoted exactly what Isaiah 61:1 had said, to authenticate His Spirit-filled and led ministry. So we read in Luke 4, His declaration that “The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He anointed Me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim release to captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, to set free those who are oppressed.”

 

Thirdly we see in the Gospels, how Jesus devoted Himself to bring justice to the people. He did so with meekness and gentleness and not with a loud cry of violence. He tenderly dealt with the needy and oppressed, who were wounded by sin and the bitter realities of life in a fallen world. Jesus did so without compromising the justice that God required. Though He had to face harsh oppositions, He was not easily discouraged. Neither did He show any sign of weakness till the demands of God’s justice on earth be met. Here we see hints of the suffering Jesus the Messiah as God’s Servant had to endure, to bring about the redemptive plan of God.

 

What a picture! The Master became the servant of all. In Him, we see how authority can be exercised in humility. He shows us how we can lead through serving. And like Him, we must seek to recognize our place in God’s plan and destiny, and obediently and humbly fulfill our call. Jesus is our ultimate example!