Isaiah 42 Devotional
by Pastor Lawrence
It is no wonder that the Ethiopian eunuch had a hard time understanding the scroll of Isaiah when he was reading it seated in his chariot in Acts 9. When Phillip asked him if he understood what he was reading about the servant of God in Isaiah, the eunuch asked Phillip, “About whom does the prophet say these things, about himself or about someone else.” It’s interesting, there are times in which Isaiah describes the nation of Judah as the servant of the Lord, which he does in the latter half of this chapter (see v.19ff), but there are also times in which he describes some other person, a messianic figure, which Isaiah does in the first half of the chapter. Clearly, the servant in vv.1ff cannot refer to the Jews, for they never opened the eyes of the blind or became a light to the Gentiles. Additionally, those prophecies given in vv.6-7 refer to an individual addressed in the second person singular, not to a group of people.
If it were not for Jesus’ own testimony concerning his identity and for the further revelation given in the New Testament epistles, we would still be left in the dark concerning this mysterious person. In Matthew 12.18-21 the disciple of Christ makes it very plain for all to understand that this passage is referring to Christ, for there he says that Jesus is the servant of the Lord who was chosen by God, who was well pleasing in God’s sight, as seen at his baptism, who was also filled with the fullness of the Spirit of God and who preached justice to the Gentiles. He is the bruised reed that would not break; he is the smoldering wick that will not be quenched, and in his name the Gentiles will hope.” This last point concerning the Gentiles is brought out from Isaiah’s focus on the coastlands mentioned in this chapter, for the coastlands always represented the descendants of Noah’s son Japheth, Gentiles living on the other side of the sea.
Of course, Matthew did not come to this conclusion concerning this prophecy on his own. Jesus himself admitted that he was the servant of the Lord mentioned in the scroll of Isaiah, for in Luke 4:18ff he read from the scroll in the synagogue in Nazareth, his hometown. After reading of the Spirit of the Lord coming upon the servant of God anointing him to proclaim liberty to the captives, and recovery of sight to the blind, and to set at liberty those who were oppressed, he rolled up the scroll and sat down saying, “Today this Scripture has been fulfilled in your hearing.”
Similarly, at the birth of Christ, in Luke 2, Simeon takes up the baby Jesus and using the language of Isaiah says, “my eyes have seen your salvation that you have prepared in the presence of all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and for glory to your people Israel.” These are just a few of the examples of how the New Testament writers used the scroll of Isaiah in identifying Jesus as the servant of the Lord; there are many more. The reason why they continually bring up these passages is precisely because they were a mystery in ages past, but now they have been fully understood with the coming of Christ. He is the suffering servant of the Lord that we will be reading about over the next few weeks. He is the one who would be despised and rejected by men, but chosen and precious in the sight of God. He is the one upon whom God would pour out his wrath for our transgressions and iniquities. He is the man of sorrows acquainted with grief and the Lamb of God who takes away the sin of the world.
When this great savior would come, Isaiah foresees new songs being sung unto the Lord, for his marvelous work of salvation through his suffering servant. In vv.10ff he envisions not only the Jews but all the Gentiles singing new songs unto God from the coastlands to the mountains and the deserts, and from every village and city on earth. Is that not what is happening this day all around the world? Are there not Christians singing unto Christ in almost every place around the globe? What Isaiah saw as a distant dream is now a present reality. We are the coastland peoples who now are waiting upon the Lord to give us His law this very day that we might know the Lord and that we might learn how to please the God who has saved us from our sin that we might give him all the glory, honor and praise that is due his name.