INTRODUCTION

1. The Lord Jesus Christ

a) He came to be the Saviour

b) He came to be the Governor

c) He came to found the Church

2. But He also came

a) In a very special capacity

b) He came to be God’s Servant

 

ISRAEL AS A SERVANT OF GOD

8 “But you, Israel, are My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen,

The descendants of Abraham My friend.

9 You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,

And called from its farthest regions, And said to you, ‘You are My servant,

I have chosen you and have not cast you away:

10 Fear not, for I am with you; Be not dismayed, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you, Yes, I will help you,

I will uphold you with My righteous right hand.’ Isaiah 41:8-10

1. Israel was chosen to be God’s servant

2. God had given this Calling to Israel to be His servant

3. Mighty promises had been given to Israel to help him succeed

a) His Presence

b) His help

c) His upholding power

4. But Israel had failed

a) The nation had not served God

b) It had turned its back on the Lord and served idols instead

 

THE MESSIAH AS THE SERVANT OF GOD

1 “Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights!

I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.

2 He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street.

3 A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not [c]quench;

He will bring forth justice for truth.

4 He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth;

And the coastlands shall wait for His law.” Isaiah 42:1-4

1. The Messiah was called “My Servant”

2. He succeeded where Israel had failed

3. The Spirit of God was upon Him (Isaiah 11:2)

4. He would demonstrate how one may succeed as a servant of God

 

THE MINISTRY OF THE SERVANT OF GOD

6“I, the LORD, have called You in righteousness, And will hold Your hand;

I will keep You and give You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the Gentiles,

7 To open blind eyes, To bring out prisoners from the prison,

Those who sit in darkness from the prison house. Isaiah 42:6-7

1. The calling of the Servant of God

2. The New Covenant that He would give

31 “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new

covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah—

32 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day

that I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt,

My covenant which they broke, [h]though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.

33 But this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days,

says the LORD: I will put My law in their minds, and write it on their [i]hearts;

and I will be their God, and they shall be My people.

34 No more shall every man teach his neighbor, and every man his brother, saying,

‘Know the LORD,’ for they all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them,

says the LORD. For I will forgive their iniquity, and their sin I will remember no more.” Jeremiah 31:31-34

3. His ministry was declared and confirmed

18 “The Spirit of the LORD is upon Me, Because He has anointed Me

To preach the gospel to the poor; He has sent Me to heal the brokenhearted,

To proclaim liberty to the captives And recovery of sight to the blind,

To set at liberty those who are oppressed;

19 To proclaim the acceptable year of the LORD.” Luke 4:18-19

a) The preaching of the gospel

b) The healing of the broken hearted

c) The proclamation of liberty to the captives

d) The recovery of sight to the blind

e) The freeing of those who were oppressed Cf. Isaiah 61:1-3

 

CONCLUSION

1. Praising the Lord for the Lord Jesus

a) Our Saviour

b) Our King

c) The Servant of the LORD

2. Appropriate response to the LORD

a) To be faithful servants of the LORD

b) To emulate the example of the Lord Jesus Christ