The Servant of the Lord - Part 03

Chris Rodriguez: Shalom, and welcome to Messianic Perspectives, a daily program where we look into the scriptures from a distinctively first-century Jewish point of view. Today, our Bible teacher, Stephen Ger, continues his five-part series on the Servant of the Lord. And now, with today's teaching, here's Stephen Ger.
Stephen Ger: Shalom, this is Stephen Ger. Welcome back to our series on the Servant of the Lord in Messianic prophecy. These are the Servant of the Lord passages that are found in the second half of the book of Isaiah. These Messianic diamonds are studded throughout the book of Isaiah and reveal different aspects of the Messiah's identity and His mission. Last time in Isaiah 49, we saw the Servant's mission summarized in three succinct points. First, the Messiah was to sound a clarion call for Israel to repent, to return to God. Second, Israel's repentance was to serve as the means and prerequisite for the regathering to the land. And then we also saw that the Servant was to be a light to the Gentiles because His salvation would indeed reach the ends of the earth. We also saw, and this is going to be very important in our next passage, Chapter 50, we saw the Messiah is called the despised one. For one on such a noble mission to be called the despised one creates a certain cognitive dissonance, a certain confusion. But it gets worse because He's called the one abhorred. Abhorred by who, or whom? By the nation. Not by nations, but by the nation, a specific nation—the nation, Israel. And it is this fact that will inform our understanding of Chapter 50. Chapter 50 focuses less on the Messianic mission and more on His training regimen. And the Servant, we'll see, is described as being taught by God Himself. What is there for the Messiah to learn? We will see His learning comes through suffering. Isaiah 50, starting in verse 4 and going to 9, reveals the Messianic training program. "The Lord God has given me the tongue of disciples, that I may know how to sustain the weary one with a word." Again, first person, the Servant is speaking, the Messianic figure. "He awakens me morning by morning; He awakens my ear to listen as a disciple. The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not disobedient, nor did I turn back." Well, this sounds positively pastoral—being awakened by God morning by morning to harken to His instruction as a disciple. But in verse 6, He says, "I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pluck out the beard; I did not cover my face from humiliation and spitting." This doesn't sound good. Part of His training program was suffering. Verse 7: "For the Lord God helps me, therefore I am not disgraced; therefore I have set my face like flint, and I know I will not be ashamed. 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. 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." You don't hear a lot of messages regarding Isaiah 50. It's a very, very important passage because without Isaiah 50, we wouldn't be sufficiently informed and prepared for what exactly happens to Jesus prior to His execution. These words should haunt us: "I gave my back to those who strike me, and my cheeks to those who pluck out the beard." So despised—remember Isaiah 49—so abhorred by the nation is this figure that people are going to abuse Him by beating Him, by grabbing His face and pulling out hunks of beard, by spitting right in His face. But what's beautiful is how the Servant retains His perspective during this suffering, this humiliation. He is said to be spat at in the face, to have hunks of beard torn out from the roots, to be beaten. "It does not disgrace me. I will not be ashamed, and I have set my face like flint." How come? What's your secret, Messianic figure? The secret is, "He who vindicates me is near. Who's trying to contend with me? If the Lord God is on my side, who is he who condemns me? This is just temporary. The Lord is eternal." This passage is fulfilled in Matthew 27, verses 26 through 31, which reads, "Then he (Pilate) released Barabbas for them; but after having Jesus scourged, he handed Him over to be crucified." "The soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole Roman cohort around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And after twisting together a crown of thorns, they put it on His head and a reed in His right hand; and they knelt down before Him and mocked Him, saying, 'Hail, King of the Jews!' They spat on Him, and took the reed and began to beat Him on the head. After they had mocked Him, they took the robe off Him and put His own garments back on Him, and led Him away to crucify Him." But the question remains, how is it that the Messiah could learn? What was it He needed to learn? Well, the author of Hebrews helps us out there. In Hebrews 5, verses 8 and 9, we see that although He was a Son, He learned obedience—ah, Isaiah 50 indeed—He learned obedience from the things which He suffered. And having been made perfect, He became to all those who obey Him the source of eternal salvation. And while I take no joy in the fact that our Messiah had to suffer, I certainly am grateful for it because through His suffering, He became the source of eternal salvation for me and, my friends, for you, if you'll simply put your faith in Him and trust what He has done for you. If more evidence is needed, if Isaiah 42, 49, and 50 are insufficient to make the Messianic case for Jesus, for Yeshua as the Messiah, we turn to the most important, by far and away the richest treasury of Messianic data in the prophetic collection of literature that we have: Isaiah 53. Isaiah 53 serves as a Rosetta Stone for us, an interpretive key helping us to unlock the other Messianic prophecies regarding our Messiah and to truly understand the impact and the import of what is happening in the Gospels during Jesus' final hours. It helps us not only to understand His suffering, His passion, His execution, but it is mandatory in understanding the resurrection. Not only in understanding the resurrection, but not being caught by surprise when it happens. In Isaiah 53, which actually doesn't begin in 53—the passage itself begins in the previous chapter, Isaiah 52:13. Remember that when the Bible was written, there were no chapters and verses; these were added later. It was one large, continuous piece of writing. And so these chapters and these verses only help us to be able to divvy it up so that we can manage it. But the passage itself, the context of Isaiah 53, begins in Isaiah 52:13 and extends all the way to 53:12. If there is a passage that is worth memorizing, a chunk of scripture that is not only filled with context but prooftext without winding up being pretext, it's Isaiah 52:13 to Isaiah 53:12. In this passage, which we are going to explore next time, we're going to see not only that the Messiah is going to suffer, we're not only going to see that He'll be rejected, we'll not only see that He's executed in the prime of life, but we're going to see that He will be, He must be, resurrected from the dead. So don't miss our next session together. Until then, I'll have to leave you in suspense. We'll pick it up next time. Shalom.
Chris Rodriguez: Thank you, Stephen. If you missed part of this series or would like to share it with a friend, you'll be glad to know that it's available on one convenient compact disc for the suggested gift of just $6. Just point your web browser to our online store at MessianicSpecialties.com and search for "Servant of the Lord" and place your order with our secure server. If you'd prefer ordering by phone, just call our toll-free order line at 1-800-926-5397, and our operator will be glad to assist you. That number again is 1-800-926-5397. Of course, you can still order by mail; just address your request to Messianic Perspectives, PO Box 345, San Antonio, Texas, 78215. That's Messianic Perspectives, PO Box 345, San Antonio, Texas, 78215. Be sure to ask for Stephen Ger's series titled "The Servant of the Lord" when you call or write. Our program is available online at OnePlace.com, where you'll find it available as a daily webcast or downloadable podcast, as well as an archive of many of our past programs. Just point your web browser to OnePlace.com and search for Messianic Perspectives. And as always, when you're in touch with us, whether it's through mail or by phone, if you would please mention the call letters of this station. This is Chris Rodriguez. Join us tomorrow for another edition of The Servant of the Lord, right here on Messianic Perspectives. This program is sponsored by CJF Ministries in San Antonio, Texas, and is made possible on this station by the free-will contribution of our listeners in this area.