Epiphany 2
Isaiah 49:1-6
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to eavesdrop in on a conversation where God the Father is speaking to God the Son? Wouldn’t it be interesting sometime to be a fly on the wall when members of the Holy Trinity sat down and discussed things together? Well, Isaiah had that opportunity. And in our text for this morning, the prophet writing by inspiration records a conversation between God the Father and God the Son.
Verse 3 of this reading speaks of a Servant that God was going to use. And many people have had many different ideas of who this servant might be. Some have thought that Jeremiah, who lived 100 years after Isaiah, was this servant. Some have thought that King Cyrus of the Persians, who let the Israelites out of captivity, was this servant. Some have suggested that the “Servant” was a personification for the nation of Israel. But the real answer of who this servant is is really much easier. Jesus, God’s Son, is the Servant that this reading speaks of. So this morning, we will look at God commissioning his Son with the words, “You are my Servant, Israel.” 1. You are the Servant who would speak with piercing words. 2. You are the Servant who would appear to have a failed ministry. 3. You are the Servant whose work would extend to Israel and to all the nations of the earth.
Part I
Did you notice whom this reading is addressed to? Whom is this Servant talking to? He’s talking to you, and he’s talking to me. He says, “Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations.” Isaiah wrote to the Israelites, but here, his audience is much greater. It includes people who live far away from Israel, and it includes people who are separated from biblical times by thousands of years. Here, the Servant of God is talking to you.
And first, he reminds you that he was God’s choice to save the world even before he was born. Remember when the angel Gabriel appeared to Mary? When people these days have babies, they spend literally hours and days trying to come up with the perfect name for their new child. Well, Mary didn’t have to worry about that. Gabriel told Mary what God was going to name her baby even before he was born. The child’s name would be Jesus – Why? Because the name Jesus means Savior, and that was God’s way of letting the world know that this child was his choice to save the world from sin.
And as Jesus grew up, he proved with his words that he was the Son of God. And Jesus had some powerful words to speak. He wasn’t afraid to call the religious leaders of his day white-washed tombs, which looked good on the outside, but on the inside housed the stinking corruption of sin. He wasn’t afraid to rebuke his own followers the disciples when they showed little or no faith in him. But the most powerful words that Jesus spoke were his words of comfort. Think of the paralytic, whose friends lowered him down through the roof in front of Jesus, so that Jesus could say, “Cheer up! Your sins are forgiven. Oh, and by the way, just to prove that I do have the authority to forgive your sins, why don’t you get off your mat and walk?” and the paralyzed man was healed just like that! Think of the criminal dying on the cross next to Jesus, hearing from Christ, “Today, you will be with my in paradise.” Jesus was telling that dying man that his previous life of sin didn’t matter. Jesus was on that cross to do away with sin.
Application
The Servant’s words would be like a razor-sharp sword, like an arrow that would cut right through the heart. And Christ’s words of comfort are still doing their work. They’ve done a number on your heart. You aren’t here today because you want to feel guilty for your sin. Maybe you came because you already feel guilty for the many times you’ve broken God’s law this past week. You aren’t here to listen to how scary hell is. You are here to let Jesus’ words of comfort pierce right into your heart. The Servant has spoken with piercing words; words of comfort…words of peace…words that remind you that Jesus has taken away all your sins…words that remind you that heaven is waiting for you.
Part II
But not everything was going to be all cheerful for God’s Servant Jesus. God says about this Servant that he is Israel “in whom I will display my splendor.” God the Father is saying to his Son, “your work is going to be magnificent. You are going to impress people with the work you are going to do.”
But then God the Son looks back on his work and says, “but I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing.”
And here you get a sense of how low Jesus felt on Maunday Thursday. After 3 years of preaching and doing dazzling miracles, his last 11 followers had abandoned him. A 12th had betrayed him. And this was after Jesus pleaded with his Father, “If it’s possible, please take this cup from me. But, Heavenly Father, if this is what you need me to do, then I will do it.” And how much of a failure did Jesus look like the next morning, when he was crucified in public? It did look like Jesus had spent his strength in vain and for nothing.
Application
And sometimes that’s how we are going to feel also. We feel like failures when we struggle against a sin and think we have it beaten, only to find ourselves slipping right back into it a little while later. Maybe you feel like a failure when you are thinking back to a chance that you had to open up your mouth and make a difference in someone’s spiritual life, but you failed…the words you could have said came to your mind long after the conversation was over. But you know what? You have a Savior who can identify with you. Jesus went through the same temptations that plague you, except Jesus was without sin. And Jesus told us that it was going to be with way. He said, “if they persecuted me, you better believe that they are going to persecute you.” Which wouldn’t be very comforting except that Jesus also said, “but take heart, I have overcome the world.” You see, the Servant would appear to be a failure, but he wasn’t. And sometimes our efforts are going to seem to fail. But you can’t be a failure if you are in Christ. Because Jesus’ work was really magnificent and impressive. When you are with Jesus, he forgives your failures and he promises to bless your efforts to struggle against sin, your efforts to live a Christian life, and your efforts to be a Christian light.
Part III
And being a light…that was the last thing the Father was going to have his Son do. Verse 6 has sometimes been called the “great commission of the Old Testament,” when God the Father says to God the Son, “It is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring my salvation to the ends of the earth.” In other words, God is saying, “it’s not good enough if just the Israelites are saved. I want those people from the islands and the distant nations to also be in my family.”
And here we see why we have this text in the Epiphany Season – The Christmas Season of the Gentiles. God was never satisfied just to have the Israelites as his covenant nation. This mighty prophecy was already contained in Noah’s blessing, in the promise to Abraham, confirmed to David and Solomon, and repeated and expanded upon by the prophets. That’s why St. Paul in his Letter to the Ephesians was able to say that Jews and Gentiles have equal access to God. In other words, it was God’s plan all along that both Jews and non-Jews would share in the salvation that Jesus would win. No wonder aged Simeon as he held baby Jesus in his arms sang that Jesus would be “a Light to lighten the Gentiles, and the Glory of his people, Israel.”
Application
This Servant was thinking of you as he went to the cross. This servant was thinking of you when he gave the command, “go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation.” This Servant Jesus is thinking of you right now, as he is in heaven directing the world for you, and as he is here with us in this room, sending his Holy Spirit into your heart. It was God’s plan all along that Jesus would be your Savior too.
Conclusion
I wonder what God the Father and God the Son talk together about these days. I know one thing that brings them great joy is looking back on the completed work that Jesus, the Servant has done. But until that day when you and I can talk to God face to face, know for sure how happy God is to have you in his kingdom. And you can spend today and the rest of your days thanking God for sending this Servant Jesus to be your servant, the one who will bring you to heaven.
