The Suffering Servant
THE HEART OF ISAIAH
How can a people sick with sin (Is 1:4-6) be restored to the God who is “holy, holy, holy” (6:3)? This is the question we’ve been waiting to be answered throughout all of Isaiah. In 49:1-7, we learned that the Servant of the Lord is God’s champion given to achieve victory over his enemies, establish God’s reign, and bring his people home. But Is 52:13-53:12 comes to us to say that just getting back to the Promised Land wouldn’t be enough. Having an easier go in a time when it’s harder than ever to be an ordinary Christian wouldn’t be enough. Having our circumstances changed just wouldn’t be enough. Even the establishment of this Kingdom wouldn’t be enough, because left to ourselves we don’t belong there anyway! This is because our deepest problem is not the enemies, the culture, or any causes of collapse “out there,” but the enmity toward God, tendency to compromise, and sinfulness that plagues us “in here.” Into this predicament, God sends the Servant who had done everything we were meant to do (49:1-7) to suffer the consequence for everything we’d failed to do and pay the price for our sins (53:4-6). In the death of the Servant, God’s uncompromising holiness and unwavering commitment to his people would perfectly converge. Justice and mercy would embrace. And the answer to the question, “How can we be saved?” would be answered once and for all in the cross of Jesus Christ.