The Servant Songs

The greater context for the Servant Songs is chapters 40-55. Throughout this section, we see much language that is reminiscent of the Exodus (see “How Does Isaiah Use the Exodus Motif?”). Just like the Exodus, God uses a Moses-like figure to lead his people out, fulfilling Deuteronomy 18.

Isaiah 42:1-7

Some only include verses 1-4 in the first Servant Song, but a close look at the context sees the thought develop all the way to verse 7.

¹ Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights. I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the nations.

Matthew applied this first of the Servant Songs to Jesus (Mt. 12:17-21).

God loves the Servant. God called Cyrus his “anointed” or “messiah” (Isa. 45:1), but he didn’t like him. He was a bloodthirsty, evil king. And yet, God loves the Servant (“in whom My soul delights”). This is a Chosen One that God approves of (Mt. 3:17).

God gives the Servant his Spirit. In the OT, God’s Spirit is associated with his presence (Ps. 139:7) and power (Ps. 33:6). He occasionally gave it to leaders to direct them (Num. 11:16; 1 Sam. 16:13). This was mentioned of the messianic figure in Isaiah 11:2-4 and 61:1-3 (cf. Lk. 4:18-19). The combination of “Spirit” and “upon Him” is only found in Isaiah 11:2-4, which is clearly a messianic passage.

The Servant has a worldwide influence. Motyer writes, “Justice is the Lord’s truth and the truth about the Lord… The verb is ‘bring forth’ as in verse 3c: the truth is not something they search for and progressively find but something brought to them by a revealing agent.” The concept of justice could refer to God’s will being done on Earth (Mt. 6:10).

² He will not cry out or raise His voice, nor make His voice heard in the street.

The Servant has a quiet and unassuming service. Even though he has a worldwide influence, he will be quiet (Mt. 12:19). This could be a figure of speech (called lilotes), which means that the author is telling us that the Servant will be quiet—not necessarily silent.

³ A bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish; He will faithfully bring forth justice.

The Servant will be gentle. The concept of a “bruised reed” was used of Egypt being unable to harm anyone with their impotent army (Isa. 36:6). Likewise, the Servant will be non-violent.

⁴ He will not be disheartened or crushed until He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law.

The Servant will succeed in his mission. Lindsey writes, “‘Be discouraged’ is literally ‘be crushed, bruised’ and echoes the ‘bruised’ reed of verse 3.”

The Servant will have a worldwide influence. People outside of Israel on the distant islands will wait for this person’s teaching. The Hebrew word for “law” can be rendered as “teaching” or “instruction” (Isa. 1:10).

⁵ Thus says God the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and its offspring, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it.

God’s incredible power to create the universe is now “channeled for the support of his servant in the doing of his will.”

⁶ I am the LORD, I have called You in righteousness, I will also hold You by the hand and watch over You, and I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, as a light to the nations.

God promises to hold the Servant by the hand and protect—almost like a father would with his child.

Moses transmitted the “covenant” to the people, but the Servant is himself the “covenant.”

⁷ To open blind eyes, to bring out prisoners from the dungeon and those who dwell in darkness from the prison.

The language of opening “blind eyes” is similar to Isaiah 35:5-6.

The language of freeing the “prisoners” is reminiscent of Isaiah 61, where we read, “The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me, because the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the afflicted; He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to captives and freedom to prisoners” (Isa. 61:1). Jesus cited this passage as referring to himself (Lk. 4:18-19).

Isaiah 49:1-7

¹ Listen to Me, O islands, and pay attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called Me from the womb; from the body of My mother He named Me.

The Servant will have a world-wide influence. He speaks to the “islands” and “peoples from afar.”

The Servant is the only person who ever speaks for God in a direct sense. While the OT prophets often said, “Thus saith the Lord…” the Servant stands in the place of Yahweh. Motyer writes, “To me is not used by any prophet other than Isaiah, and in Isaiah it is used only of the Lord (46:3, 12; 48:12; 51:1, 7; 55:2). How can the Servant address the world as only the Lord would address them (cf. 41:1)?”

The Servant mentions his human mother, but not his human father. This doesn’t predict the virgin birth (Mt. 1:18; Gal. 4:4), but it is consistent with it (cf. Gen. 3:15; Ps. 22; Mic. 5:3). Lindsey notes, “It is significant that there is no mention of Messiah’s human father in the Old Testament.”

² He has made My mouth like a sharp sword, in the shadow of His hand He has concealed Me; and He has also made Me a select arrow, He has hidden Me in His quiver.

The Servant will be God’s secret weapon. Grogan writes, “Concealment in the quiver suggests, as does v.1 more literally, an eternal purpose manifest at the appropriate time (cf. 1 Peter 1:20).” There is a hidden component to the Servant’s ministry. God didn’t reveal that the Messiah would have two comings in the OT. He didn’t lie to us, but he merely concealed it (see “Why did Satan Crucify Jesus?”).

The Servant will speak for God. The sword in his mouth refers to God’s word (Eph. 6:17; Heb. 4:12; Rev. 1:16).

³ He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel, in Whom I will show My glory.”

The Servant will be a representative of Israel. As we read on through the Servant Songs, this becomes quite evident (see verses 5 and 6). The Servant is from the nation of Israel, and he represents the nation. Just as a newspaper headline might read, “America declares war on Canada…” It could also read, “The President declares war on Canada…” Originally, the name Israel was given to an individual, then later it was given to the nation. Here it is again used by an individual (For a complete defense of this, see Evidence Unseen: Exposing the Myth of Blind Faith, pp.77-81).

The Servant will reveal God’s glory. John writes, “The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us, and we saw His glory, glory as of the only begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth” (Jn. 1:14; cf. Jn. 2:11).

⁴ But I said, “I have toiled in vain, I have spent My strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely the justice due to Me is with the Lord, and My reward with My God.”

The Servant’s work seemed to fail. And yet, when the dust settles, it is clear that he accomplished his mission and pleased God. In fact, as a result of his “failure,” God declares that his work will reach the world (vv.5-6).

⁵ And now says the Lord, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, 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),

The Servant is separate from Israel. God uses the Servant to rescue Israel (“Jacob… Israel”).

The Servant is empowered by God. He states that God is honoring him, and God is his strength.

⁶ He says, “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; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

The Servant will rescue Israel and the world. Isaiah states that he will reach the “nations” and “the end of the earth.”

The Servant IS God’s salvation. The Hebrew states that the Servant doesn’t just bring salvation, but rather, he himself is the salvation. Motyer writes, “The Hebrew resists the NIV’s that you may bring my salvation and requires ‘that you may be my salvation’, for in the parallelism of the verse, ‘that you should be my servant’ and ‘that you should be my salvation’ balance each other. The thought is not that the Servant is the agent in communicating salvation but that he is in his own person the salvation the world needs, and, in the same way, the world’s light. However such a vocation is to be fulfilled, it runs beyond that of a (mere) prophet—indeed it runs beyond that of a mere human. But Isaiah will tell his story in his own time.”

Luke applies this passage to Jesus (Lk. 2:32). Since Jesus continued his work through his Body (i.e. the Church), Paul and Barnabas apply this passage to themselves (Acts 13:46-47).

⁷ 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.”

The Servant would be acknowledged by the Gentile rulers, but largely rejected by his own nation. Which other Jewish messianic candidate would be largely rejected by ethnically Jewish people, but would be embraced by Gentiles?

Isaiah 50:4-9

The earlier context (vv.1-3) speak about the unbelief and failure of Israel. Here, we see a contrast in God’s Servant. While the term “servant” is not used until verse 10, there are many literary connections between this passage and the other Servant Songs.

⁴ The Lord God 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 Servant helps the weary. In Isaiah 40:27-31, Yahweh helps Israel who is “weary.”

The Servant would wake up early to hear from God. Mark records, “In the early morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house, and went away to a secluded place, and was praying there” (Mk. 1:35).

The Servant is the perfect disciple of God. The author of Hebrews writes, “[Jesus] learned obedience from the things which He suffered” (Heb. 5:8; cf. Jn. 17:7-8).

⁵ The Lord God has opened My ear; and I was not disobedient nor did I turn back.

The Servant is obedient to God. Israel was disobedient (Isa. 1:2; 48:8), but the Servant was perfectly obedient.

⁶ 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.

The Servant suffers from his oppressors. He is beaten, insulted, and humiliated. The concept of having your beard plucked was a sign of humiliation (Neh. 13:25), as were mocking and spitting (Deut. 25:9; Num. 12:14; Job 30:10). Jesus suffered this humiliation (Mt. 26:67; 27:30; Mk. 15:19; Lk. 22:63).

⁷ For the Lord God helps Me, therefore, I am not disgraced; therefore, I have set My face like flint, and I know that I will not be ashamed.

The Servant would be undeterred in his mission. Luke writes, “When the days drew near for him to be taken up, he set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Lk. 9:51 NRSV).

⁸ He who vindicates Me is near; who will contend with Me? Let us stand up to each other; who has a case against Me? Let him draw near to Me.

⁹ Behold, the Lord God helps Me; who is he who condemns Me? Behold, they will all wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them.

The Servant is declared innocent by God. Even though the people reject him, the Servant knows that God has supported him (Jn. 8:46). The terms here are legal in nature, as though the Servant is being put on trial. Motyer writes, “Vindicates is a forensic term meaning ‘brings in a verdict of innocence’: He who vindicates me is ‘the one who accounts me righteous.’” The Servant wouldn’t see this justice until after his death (Isa. 52:13; 53:10-12).

¹⁰ Who is among you that fears the LORD, that obeys the voice of His servant, that walks in darkness and has no light? Let him trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God.

Here we see a general call for people to “obey” the Servant. They are told to come out of darkness and into the light.

Isaiah 52:13-53:12

For a verse by verse evaluation of this final Servant Song, see our earlier work Evidence Unseen: Exposing the Myth of Blind Faith, Chapter Five.

Further Reading

Lindsey, F. Duane. “The Call of the Servant in Isaiah 42:1-9.” Bibliotheca Sacra. January-March. 1982.

Lindsey, F. Duane. “The Commission of the Servant in Isaiah 49:1-13.” Bibliotheca Sacra. April-June. 1982.

Lindsey, F. Duane. “The Commitment of the Servant in Isaiah 50:4-11.” Bibliotheca Sacra. July-September. 1982.

Lindsey, F. Duane. “The Career of the Servant in Isaiah 52:13-53:12.” Bibliotheca Sacra. October-December. 1982.

Brown, Michael L. Answering Jewish Objections to Jesus: Messianic Prophecy Objections. Volume Three. Grand Rapids, MI: Baker, 2003.

Kaiser, Walter C. The Messiah in the Old Testament. Grand Rapids, MI: Zondervan Pub., 1995.

Newman, Robert C. The Evidence of Prophecy: Fulfilled Prediction as a Testimony to the Truth of Christianity. Hatfield, PA: Interdisciplinary Biblical Research Institute, 1988.

Rydelnik, Michael. The Messianic Hope: Is the Hebrew Bible Really Messianic? Nashville, TN: B & H Academic, 2010.