Get to Know the Real Savior
Isaiah 49:1-7

January 20, 2008
Second Sunday After the Epiphany

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Dear friends in Christ,

"We have won!" The President elect screams to his supporters. It has been a hard fought campaign. Now it is over and the new President can breathe a sigh of relief. However the country wants to hear him speak. What does he have to say to us now that he is elected? How is he going to do the things he promised he would do? Last week Isaiah showed us God's chosen servant, the one who is our Savior. We learned of his qualifications to be Savior and we learned of the full support that God the Father gave him. Today the Servant speaks to us, his people and gives us an inside glimpse at the real servant of God.

The Servant of God stands at the podium and calls out for all to listen. He says, "Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations." The servant uses the terms "islands" and "distant nations" to refer to all the people from the far corners of the earth. These words that he is about to share with us are for us. He wants us to hear what s being said.

He says, "Before I was born the LORD called me; from my birth he has made mention of my name." Sometimes people say, "I knew from the time I was very small that this is what I wanted to be." For Jesus, the role as Servant of God and Savior was something that was determined even before he was born. God knew that the world would need a Savior before he even created it! The plan of how this world would be saved began before God commanded, "Let there be light." When Adam and Eve came out of there hiding place in the trees of Eden, God had a plan already in place of how he would rescue them from sin and he shared it with them.

When God's time was right, the Savior was born. The message of Christmas is still ringing in our ears as we think about these verses. We just reviewed how it happened. We just rejoiced that it happened. As we look at the life of Jesus, however, he just doesn't seem right for the job. Wouldn't the salvation of the world require a Savior who has exceptional leadership? Wouldn't the defeat of the spiritual enemies of God require someone with great power? Yet Jesus is characterized as someone who is gentle and meek, in fact, Isaiah described him that way in the verses from chapter 42 last week!

From the beginning, Jesus' power was going to be wrapped up in a message. His power was going to be in his Word. Isaiah said, "He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver." The weapon that Jesus uses to fight against his foes is his Word. Remember that God created the world with his Word. God reveals himself to people with words. Jesus also uses words to accomplish his mission. The writer to the Hebrews expands on this thought when he says, "The word of God is living and active. Sharper than any double-edged sword, it penetrates even to dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow; it judges the thoughts and attitudes of the heart." Jesus word cuts through pretense, it chops out excuses and exposes sin and unbelief. But it also applies the healing balm of grace for sinners.

You have experienced the sword of the word, haven't you? I know that I have. God's law pierces our heart. It exposes our sin. It shows us what we have done wrong and points out the spiritual capital punishment that we deserve because of our sin. It pierces us like a finely polished arrow that drives right through our heart. We have felt that kind of pain as the Word of God shows us that we have failed to measure up to God's standard of perfection. As sharp as the sword of the law is, so powerful also is Jesus' message of grace. Jesus says, "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will never die." The same powerful Word of Jesus has brought us to see and believe that through him we have the forgiveness of sins. The wound that the Word created in us also is healed by that same Word. Jesus, God's servant is our servant for the salvation of our soul: the forgiveness of our sins.

We often imagine what it would be like to be another person, someone famous or powerful. We see their persona on television or in the public spotlight, but we wonder what it is like to be them when the cameras are off or when they are at home away from the spotlight. What are they really like as a person? Isaiah gives us a look at God's servant Jesus and what he is really like as a person. Isaiah says, "He said to me, "You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor." 4 But I said, "I have labored to no purpose; I have spent my strength in vain and for nothing."

God's grand plan of salvation did not come about by some glorious spectacle. The splendor of God was revealed, just not in a fireworks display. Instead it was a sad and bloody one. The Son of God set aside his glorious power and majesty in order to be a servant. He became nothing—humbled himself—and became obedient to death. If you honestly look at his ministry, by today's ministry standards he would be judged a failure. Sure he had a year of popularity where crowds followed him but one by one they began to leave him by the third year, until he stands in the Garden of Gethsemane and even the last eleven desert him and the twelfth leads a group of soldiers to arrest him. It seemed that only death awaited him. God's servant had failed. Even a few hours later his Father abandons him as Jesus cried out, "My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?"

If you really want to know Jesus, look at these words from Isaiah. They show us what he was really like, true God and true man in one person. Jesus did not just seem to be human; he was human—but without sin. This may cause us to ask, "Should God experience despair? Should God doubt that what he is doing has any purpose?" What this section of Scripture does do is show us a Savior who has been tempted in every way, just as we are yet was without sin. It shows us a Savior who is able to sympathize with our weaknesses.

The Messiah experienced the temptation to despair, but he did not sin. With the words "Yet what is due me is in the Lord's hand," the Messiah expresses his confidence in God even though it appeared as though he had failed. It was enough for Jesus to do God's will and to trust that God would give success to his labors. Therefore he did not falter or become discouraged.

In this the Messiah gives an example for every servant of God. Our work does not always give us immediate rewards. What God does with our labors is in his hands. Our place as his servants is to trust that he will use our labors to glorify himself and further his kingdom. When we doubt this, we must look to Jesus, because God accepts us as his servants for the sake of the one who served God perfectly in our place.

God the Father shows his confidence in his servant. "And now the LORD says—he who formed me in the womb to be his servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself, for I am honored in the eyes of the LORD and my God has been my strength—he says: '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.'" It seems unfair to say to a servant that seems to be losing confidence in his ability to carry out his work by giving him more, but that is exactly what the Father does. He adds the added responsibility that Jesus would not only be the Savior for the Jewish people, but also for the world. We can't even imagine what a monumental task this was for the Savior. But he had the Lord's strength behind him, there was no way he was going to fail.

Do you know your Savior better? We always approach Scripture asking, "What does this mean for me today?" Sometimes the Scripture answers that question by simply allowing us to get to know the Savior better and that is certainly the case today. We are reminded of how the Savior works in the world, and that is through his Word. That is why we gather to hear it. That is why we read it. That is why we love it. It is a Word that has worked in us and continues to work to draw us even closer to God. We see that Jesus was God's special servant, true God and true man in one person, a Savior who knows what we are going through, one who can actually say, "I know how you feel." We also see a Savior who did not come to save someone else, but came to save me. He is our light and he is our salvation.