Christ, The Servant of God

Isaiah 42:1-4

Introduction:

As glorious as Jesus Christ is as the Son of God, yet in God the Father’s redemptive purpose, He was made to be His servant, Philippians 2:7,8, Hebrews 2:7,9. What a humbling office and title for such a wonderful Savior! Yet, how necessary it was that the Lord Jesus should so come into this world for the salvation of God’s elect!

It is this point that the Jewish nation missed in reading the Scriptures. When the Lord Jesus came to them, they were looking for a king to establish an earthly Jewish kingdom, not a servant who must first suffer and die and then enter into glory. But what flesh and blood could not see, God revealed unto His elect, and it is in such a Savior that His redeemed, regenerated people do rejoice and confess- Matthew 16:16,17 with Acts 8:26-40.

What then are the characteristics of the Lord Jesus as the Servant of God?

I. When a master has an important work to do, he will choose his most gifted and able servant to accomplish it. Christ was chosen by God the Father and set apart for the greatest work ever- the salvation of elect sinners- Isaiah 42:1- “Behold my Servant whom I have chosen.” Christ was the Father’s first Elect, and then He chose out sinners in Him.

II. Servanthood is an office that is inferior in rank to any other. Yet, it is this office that the Lord Jesus willingly accepted to accomplish the work of the Father, Philippians 2:6,7. As a man, the Lord Jesus Christ did not cease to be God, but rather as God, humbled Himself as a man, taking on the FORM of a servant, being obedient as a man, in order to satisfy all the just requirements of God’s law as the Representative of those He came to save.

III. The labor of a servant is hard and difficult. In the matter of salvation it is not only difficult, but even impossible, except by one who is both God and man. The Lord Jesus Christ was employed in the most difficult work a servant could ever undertake.

a. The redemption of sinners- paying the ransom that a just God requires for salvation.

b. The satisfaction of a Holy God- obeying perfectly all of the precepts of His law, and submitting willingly to its penalty through death.

IV. A faithful servant does not seek His own glory, but that of his master. Christ said, “ I honor my Father,” John 7:49 . See also John 7:17.

V. A servant who serves a faithful master may rightfully expect appropriate wages for the work done. The Lord Jesus Christ will most certainly receive the reward of His labors at the hand of His Father. What is that reward? The salvation of everyone for whom He died! Isaiah 40:10, 53:11 and 62:11. Unlike Jacob, who after working 7 years for Rachel, was tricked by Laban in not receiving her until laboring another 7, the Lord Jesus Christ, having served a just Father and Savior, will most certainly receive the wife for whom He labored.