Jesu Juva
“Behold, the Servant!”
Text: Isaiah 42:1-9 (with First Passion
Reading)
Behold, my servant! Isaiah begins his first Servant Song with
those words - those words which are really what this season of Lent is all
about. That we behold Jesus. That we
fix our eyes on Him. That in the midst of our
struggles, in the face of our sins, in the mire of our doubts and fears, behold,
your Saviour! The servant of
the Lord who has come to serve and to save you.
This
saving is the work of the triune God for you. Isaiah’s very first verse tonight
spelled that out: there is the Father, the Servant, and the Spirit put upon the
Servant. All working together. All
in harmony. And when Jesus was baptized, this Word of God was fulfilled.
For there, in the Jordan, the Spirit descended upon Jesus in the form of a
dove, and the voice of the Father called out from heaven: this is My beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased. Or as
Isaiah put it, the one in whom my soul delights.
But
the Father delights in you too, and so sends His beloved to serve and to
save you. To bring forth and establish
justice. Three times that was said in this reading from Isaiah. Justice. Judgment. That’s what this
Servant will do. Which, actually, when you know you’re a
sinner, doesn’t sound particularly good.
Except notice how the Servant will do His work.
It’s not what you might expect. He’s not going to shout and argue,
trying to be right by being the loudest guy in the room (like we do!). He’s not
going to break a bruised reed, nor quench a faintly burning
wick - He’s going to heal, not break; and give life, not put it out.
He’s going to open the eyes of the blind - and not just the
physically blind, but the spiritually blind, the ignorant, and give us the eyes
of faith. And He’s going to bring the prisoners from the dungeon
- literally, again, yes, but He will also rescue those who are powerless and
locked in sin and death.
This is how the Servant will establish justice
on the earth - not a judgment of condemnation, but in helping and raising and
saving - and He will not grow faint or be discouraged until He
does so. Because, Isaiah tells us, the God who created all things and gives
breath and life to all people, is doing this. He is with the
Servant. He is in the Servant. He is the Servant.
Behold, my servant! How good for us, then, to hear these
words tonight. We who are often that broken reed -
broken by the sin and harshness of this life and the condemnation of the world.
We who are often that faintly burning wick - the fire
of faith smothered by the pressures and fears of life. We who often grow faint and discouraged. We who
perhaps even feel like we’re in that dungeon of sin and death, in which
there is no hope and from which there is no escape.
Behold, my servant! Behold, you have a Saviour.
That
is Isaiah’s message to Israel then and to us tonight. No matter how heavy and
tough and hopeless life seems, no matter how weak and powerless and struggling
you are, and no matter how sinful and lost and ugly you may be, behold, you
have a Saviour! You are loved. And you have hope.
I am the Lord,
God said through Isaiah. Three times that name is in these verses, which
is surely no accident. I am the Lord. That was the name God first
revealed to Moses in the burning bush, right before rescuing His people from
their slavery in Egypt. That, therefore, is the name He proclaims here, in this
promise that He will rescue all people from a slavery which is
much worse than Egypt’s - our slavery to sin, death, and hell.
And
so, He says then at the end of this section, the former things have come
to pass. The first and old exodus is done. New things I now
declare. A new thing, a new exodus, by a new way . . .
And
that’s all Isaiah says for now! He’ll explain more later,
in the coming Servants Songs that we’ll look at in the coming weeks. But for
now, in these verses, he leaves it at that. A tantalizing teaser . . .
But
we know the rest. We know how God would do this. And Isaiah does give us a hint
as well, when God says of the Servant: I will give you as a covenant
for the people. That’s an important word - covenant - and we heard it
from the lips of Jesus in the Passion reading, when Jesus said: Drink of
it, all of you; this is my blood of the new testament
(or new covenant - same word), which is shed for you and
for many for the forgiveness of sins. Jesus is the new covenant.
Jesus is the Servant. Jesus is the one who rescues us from sin,
death, and hell. Jesus is the one who is our strength and hope and life.
Jesus is the new thing who will accomplish the new thing in a new way: the
way of the cross.
And
so not with strength but in weakness, not with shouting but in silence, not
with vengeance but with compassion, Jesus brings forth and establishes justice.
On the cross He bears in Himself the justice and judgment of God against sin, that our life not be broken or quenched, but we be
raised to life and given hope in the forgiveness of our sins.
And
not only giving Himself for us, Jesus now also gives Himself to
us. The Spirit given to Him in His baptism He now gives to us in our baptism.
He is taken captive to free us captives, and the Body
and Blood of the Servant on the cross is now the Body and Blood of the Servant
on the altar, that what He gave for us He now gives to
us. And eating and drinking the Body and Blood of our Passover Lamb, we pass
over in Him from sin to righteousness, from death to life, from hell to heaven.
A new exodus to live in even now. A
new exodus that will be completed in the resurrection, when we enter the
Promised Land of heaven.
That’s
what Isaiah wanted Israel to know. When Isaiah proclaimed these words, Israel
was in a bad way, a way of rebellion and idolatry. But though they had turned
from their God, their God had not turned from them. And the same message is for
you tonight. The season of Lent is a season of repentance, recognizing our sin
and rebellion, our idolatry and faithless, rebellious, lives. But God has not
turned away from you. So no matter what you have done, no matter where you are,
no matter how weak or powerless or a failure you feel,
behold! Look! Something new. Something
wonderful. A Saviour and His
love for you.
In the Name of the Father and of the (+)
Son and of the Holy Spirit.
Amen.