Deo Gloria
Sermon for October 24, 2021
Pastor Martin Bentz
Text: Isaiah 53:10-12
Theme: A Servant Like Non Other
- A righteous servant
- A suffering servant
- A justifying servant
- A victorious servant
Who in your opinion is the greatest or most famous servant of all time? I realize that’s a bit of an unusual question since servants aren’t usually considered great or famous, but perhaps there are a few that come to mind. Would it be Lurch from the Adams family? Would it be Jeeves from the show Jeeves and Wooster or maybe Alfred Pennyworth from Batman or maybe Max from Hart to Hart? Or would it perhaps be Joseph from the Bible?
In the verses we have before us this morning from Isaiah ch. 53 we find a description of a servant. As we examine this description, it becomes very obvious that this servant is different. This servant is special. This servant is unlike any other servant who has ever lived or will ever live. He is a servant like non other, a servant who is worthy of our worship and honor and praise. Let’s take a closer look, shall we?
The first thing we note about this servant is that he is the servant of the LORD. In verse 11 he is called “my righteous servant.” And since the LORD is the one speaking in v. 11, that makes him the LORD’s servant. Wow! So this isn’t the butler for the Adams family or the housekeeper for the Partridge family or an intern who works at the White House. This is the servant of God himself. That in itself would make him rather special, rather unique; but there is more.
A second thing we notice is that he is a righteous servant. Again in v. 11 he is referred to as “my righteous servant.” I’ve heard of servants being described as dependable or hard-working or dedicated, but righteous? A servant who never does anything wrong? A servant who never grumbles or complains or talks badly about his master behind his back? A servant who never sluffs off or messes up? A servant who never makes the coffee too black or the tea too hot or the crumpets too crumbly? A servant who always does all his duties faithfully, every single day, and does so perfectly? A righteous servant? That would be amazing, a servant like non other!
A third thing we notice in this description is that he is a suffering servant. In fact, the idea of his suffering is mentioned in each one of these verses. In verse 10 it says that “it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer.” In verse 11 it says, “After the suffering of his soul….” In verse 12 it adds that “he poured out his life unto death.” To be crushed, to suffer both in body and in soul, to pour out your life unto death—wow! That’s some pretty severe suffering. It makes you wonder why, doesn’t it? Why would he have to endure such terrible suffering, even to the point of pouring out his life? Was he that lousy of a servant? Did he mess up that badly? Did he forget about making coffee like 3 weeks in a row? Why in the world would he have to undergo such horrible suffering?
For the sake of others. Did you pick up on that? The suffering he endured was not because anything he had done, not because of any wrong he had done, but because of the wrongs others had done. Look again at verse 10. There it says, “Though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering….” The Hebrew word used here for “guilt offering” is asham. An asham was something of value offered as recompense. It made good for some damage done by rendering abundant compensation. So let’s say you were playing football with your kids in the front yard and you threw this beautiful pass to your son who was running for the end zone, only your pass went a little too far. It went over his head and hit the neighbor’s car instead and broke one of the side windows. Naturally you felt badly about what happened, so you went over to your neighbor and offered to pay for his broken window. In fact, you offered to give him twice as much money as it would cost to fix it. That would be an asham, an offering that would more than compensate your neighbor for the damage done. Here it says that this servant’s life would be an asham, an offering that would more than compensate for the damage that was done or the wrong that was done. That’s a pretty costly payment, don’t you think, that this servant should have to give his life? So what would demand such a costly payment? And who committed these wrongs? Who did this damage that he has to pay for? Did he do it or someone else?
We find the answer in verses 11+12: “…by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities…because he poured out his life unto death, and was numbered with the transgressors. For he bore the sin of many and made intercession for the transgressors.” This servant is not paying for his own sins, for any damage he had done or any wrongs he had done. No, he is paying for the sins of others, for the sin of many, for the iniquities of many, for the transgressors. His life would be the payment that would more than compensate for the wrongs they had done, for the sins they had committed. Again, we have to stand back and marvel. If you or I were to offer our lives to pay for our sins, it wouldn’t be enough. It wouldn’t even come close to paying off the debt that we owe for the sins we have committed. But this special servant would give his life as a payment for many people’s sins and it would be more than enough to compensate, more than enough to pay off their debt. Wow! A suffering servant who pays off the debt of other people’s sins—that would make him a servant like non other.
Yet another thing we notice about this servant is that he is a justifying servant, a servant who justifies others. Here is what it says in verse 11: “…by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many….” The word used for “justify” means “to make righteous” or “declare righteous.” This special servant, this righteous servant, would make many righteous. He would declare many righteous. How would he do that? “By his knowledge….” There is another way to translate those words. I would suggest perhaps a better way to translate them: “By knowledge of him….” “By knowledge of him my righteous servant will justify many.” This righteous servant would justify many by knowledge of him, by knowing him. In other words, he would justify those who know him, those who believe in him. He would declare them to be righteous. Again, what an amazing servant this is. Not only is he himself righteous, but he also declares those who know him, who believe in him, to be righteous.
And one final feature we want to take note of is that he is a victorious servant. Again this is something we see in all three verses. First, in verse 10 it says, “…and though the LORD makes his life a guilt offering, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand.” In other words, his life being offered as a guilty offering will not be the end for him. He will still see offspring. His days will still continue. They will be prolonged. And he will continue to carry out the LORD’s will.
Next look at verse 11: “After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied.” Yes, his soul would suffer. In fact, as it mentions in the following verse, he would pour out his life unto death, but that wouldn’t be the end for him. After the suffering of his soul, he would see the light of life. You don’t see the light of life when you’re dead, so that can only mean one thing, friends: that he comes back to life, that even though he dies, he rises from the dead and is alive again. Even death can not stop this servant. Even death cannot hold him down.
And then let’s add what it says in v. 12: “Therefore I will give him a portion among the great and he will divide the spoils with the strong.” Do you get a place in the Hall of Fame if you lose most of the games you play in? Of course not. Do you get to divide up the spoils of war with the other soldiers if you lose the battle? Of course not. Only winners get a place among the great, a place in the Hall of Fame. Only victorious generals get to divide up the spoils with the other generals or the other soldiers. That’s the point here. This servant is a winner. This servant is victorious. Yes, he has to give his life as a guilt offering, but look at what it accomplishes. It pays for the sins of many. And because their sins are paid for, he is able to justify them, to declare them righteous. Yes, he has to give his life unto death, but death is not the end for him. He comes back to life and sees the light of life and his days are prolonged and he sees his offspring, a whole host of descendants, of children. So even though dies, he wins the victory and is given a place among the great and gets to divide up the plunder like a conquering general.
So who is this servant, a servant who serves the LORD himself; a servant who is righteous and carries out the LORD’s will perfectly; a servant who suffers and gives his life as a payment for other people’s sins; a servant who declares those who know him, who believe in him, to be righteous; a servant who dies and comes back to life and is given a place in the Hall of Fame with the greatest of all time? This is Jesus, isn’t it? This is a description of Jesus, a prophecy of Jesus recorded 700 years beforehand by the prophet Isaiah. And what a beautiful description it is!
Jesus is that perfect servant of the LORD, that righteous servant who always did what was right and who carried out the LORD’s will perfectly. Jesus is that servant who suffered and gave his life as a payment for other people’s sins, for all people’s sins, yours and mine included. Jesus is that righteous servant who declares those who know him, who believe in him, to be righteous and holy in God’s sight. Jesus is that servant who poured out his life unto death, but who didn’t stay dead, who came back to life and whose days still continue and who sees lots of offspring, lots of children like you and me. Jesus is that victorious servant who won the victory over sin and death and who has been given the place of honor and glory at God’s right hand in heaven.
Give him honor, friends! Give him honor and glory and worship and praise because he truly deserves it. No servant in the world even comes close to Jesus—not Lurch, not Jeeves, not Alfred, not Joseph, not anyone. As we see in these verses from Isaiah ch. 53, Jesus is a Servant like non other! Jesus is a Savior like non other! Amen.