The Suffering Servant

Transcription

1 Cole Community Church Growth Groups Leaders Guide for Isaiah 50:4-11 Week of January 7, 2018 The Suffering Servant Introduction: This passage contains the third Servant Song; however, unlike the previous two, it contains no specific reference to the servant. It is told in the first person, as if the servant himself is speaking. The distinctive feature of this song is the emphasis on the servant s obedience to the Lord which results in suffering for him. The song is divided into four sections, each containing the title The Sovereign Lord and each revealing how the Sovereign Lord acts on behalf of his servant. The first two sections show how he prepared the servant for ministry, and the second two how he stands by the servant in adversity. In Chapter 49:14-50:3, Isaiah insisted that the Sovereign Lord has both the power and the will to deliver his people from their sin. In this passage, he tells how through the obedience of his Servant. Read Isaiah 50:4-11 paying particular attention to ways the passage points to Jesus. 1. What traits of the Servant do we see in verse 4? How does Jesus exemplify these characteristics? The servant is a scholar with an instructed tongue (NIV) given to him by the Sovereign Lord. His instruction is that of a disciple not a student in a classroom. See Jesus own words in John 12:49 For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment what to say and what to speak. Emphasis on the Servant s speech reminds us of what is said elsewhere in Isaiah about the Messiah. He will strike the earth with the rod of his mouth (11:4) and the LORD has anointed me to preach good news to the poor (61:1). Much of Jesus ministry was performed through the spoken word. According to Oswalt, words and language are at the heart of God s revelation and Jesus is his ultimate communication with humans. Page 1 of 5

2 His word sustains the weary. Jesus own words in Matthew 11:28-29 offer encouragement to the weary: Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. His ears are open to the teaching of the Lord and he is in fellowship with the Lord on a daily basis unlike God s hard-hearted people. God s word was daily sustenance for Jesus (Matthew 4:4, man shall not live by bread alone but on every word that comes from the mouth of the Lord. 2. How do we know from verses 5 and 6 that the Servant is Jesus? Give examples of how Jesus fulfilled this prophecy. This song points to a servant who will willingly endure suffering, torture and humiliation as an act of obedience. This is clearly not a reference to the Israelites who suffered as a result of their rebellion, not their obedience. Where they have been rebellious, he has not. Read the following scriptures and observe what Jesus was subjected to: Matthew 26:67 Then they spit in his face and struck him. And some slapped him Matthew 27:26 Then he released for them Barabbas, and having scourged Jesus, delivered him to be crucified. Mark 15:19 And they were striking his head with a reed and spitting on him and kneeling down in homage to him. Luke 22:63 Now the men who were holding Jesus in custody were mocking him as they beat him. Page 2 of 5

3 Now note Jesus response in these passages: Isaiah 53:7 He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. John 14:31 but I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father. Phil 2:8 And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. Heb 5:8 Although he was a son, he learned obedience through what he suffered. Luke 23:34 And Jesus said, Father, forgive them, for they know not what they do. 3. What do verses 7-9 tell us about how the Servant is able to patiently endure his suffering? In both verses 7 and 9, the Servant expresses his reliance on the help of the Sovereign Lord. Because he has the Lord s help, he is neither disgraced nor condemned. He has confidence in the certainty of the outcome he will be vindicated! Again, we see a court scene (this is more apparent in some translations than in others) where the Servant invites his accusers to confront him, knowing that the one who will vindicate him is near. This court scene foreshadows the times Jesus stands trial in the New Testament. Jesus words in John 8:46, Can any of you prove me guilty of sin? parallel the Servant s words in verse 9, Who is he that will condemn me? At this point, the reader is not told what form the vindication will take, but we know now that the ultimate vindication will be the resurrection. As for his accusers, they will eventually wear out, unable to substantiate their claims against him. The moths will eat them up. Page 3 of 5

4 4. J. Alec Motyer calls verses 10 and 11 a tailpiece which calls for a response to the Servant. What are the two responses we see in these verses? What are the results of these choices? Although both groups in these verses are God s people in the same situation-- walking in darkness--their responses are very different. It is the Servant who will force the division between the true and the false in God s people. Note: The darkness referred to here is not the darkness that comes from the absence of God s presence spiritual darkness but the darkness that life brings, the struggles of living in a fallen world. These were people experiencing captivity, exile, and forced slavery. According to Matthew Henry, They walk in darkness when their evidences of heaven are clouded, their joy in God is interrupted, the testimony of the Spirit is suspended, and the light of God s countenance is eclipsed. One group, in spite of the fact that they can see no glimmer of light, trusts in God and relies on him to carry them through their circumstances. These people will live in hope and go on to inherit all the glorious things he has promised. The second group tries to light their own way, dealing with life s difficulties by using their own resources and self-sufficiency. The blazing torches mentioned in verse 11 are flashes of light that are quickly extinguished. The ultimate fate of those who try to make it on their own without trusting God is torment grief, pain and unending darkness. 5. Does it seem unfair to you that suffering would follow obedience? What does obedience look like to you? Are you willing to suffer pain, abuse, humiliation or even death as Jesus did? Jesus gave ample warning that following him would not be easy. He told his disciples in Matthew 20 that they must be willing to drink the cup that he would drink and in Matthew 10, he told them they would be hated by all for his Page 4 of 5

5 name s sake. But the one who endures to the end will be saved. In a culture that thrives on instant gratification, we are an anomaly if we are willing to endure hardship now as we press on toward the goal for the prize of the upward call of God in Christ Jesus. (Phil 3:14) However, along with the assurance that we will suffer, we also have the promise of God s presence through it. He will never leave us nor forsake us and his rod and staff will comfort us even when we walk through the Valley of the Shadow of Death. Some thoughts to ponder: According to John Oswalt, Jesus was abused more for what he said than what he did. If he had not claimed to be the Son of God, if he had not pronounced judgment on the religious leadership, if he had not said he alone was the Way, he might not have been put to death. Are you willing to speak up, not just do good deeds without saying anything about your motivation? Are you willing to have people criticize and condemn you for your beliefs? We tend to think we are blessed when people speak well of us, but in the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely on my account. Rejoice and be glad, for your reward is great in heaven, for so they persecuted the prophets who were before you. (Matthew 5:11-12) This is a paraphrase of some of Oswalt s thoughts: We believers in North America have been largely free of persecution for 300 years and it has dulled us to the reality of life. Suffering by Western believers has occurred but in isolated instances. The majority of us have even experienced favored status as the government was for years peopled with at least nominal believers. That is changing today, and most of us are unprepared for it. Some are still promoting the prosperity gospel, but this is not the message of this passage, nor is it the message of Christ. We are called to submissive obedience, knowing perfectly well that in the short term, this will probably mean we will not be as comfortable, wealthy, powerful or prominent as we might be otherwise. But we must set our faces like flint to obey God at all costs, following in Jesus footsteps. We do this with joy, knowing that we are living in the way our Creator intended and because we know that in the end, faith will be vindicated and unfaith unmasked for the tragedy it is. kbs Page 5 of 5