”This is what the Lord says: “Was your mother sent away because I divorced her? Did I sell you as slaves to my creditors? No, you were sold because of your sins. And your mother, too, was taken because of your sins. Why was no one there when I came? Why didn’t anyone answer when I called? Is it because I have no power to rescue? No, that is not the reason! For I can speak to the sea and make it dry up! I can turn rivers into deserts covered with dying fish. I dress the skies in darkness, covering them with clothes of mourning.” The Sovereign Lord has given me his words of wisdom, so that I know how to comfort the weary. Morning by morning he wakens me and opens my understanding to his will. The Sovereign Lord has spoken to me, and I have listened. I have not rebelled or turned away. I offered my back to those who beat me and my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard. I did not hide my face from mockery and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore, I have set my face like a stone, determined to do his will. And I know that I will not be put to shame. He who gives me justice is near. Who will dare to bring charges against me now? Where are my accusers? Let them appear! See, the Sovereign Lord is on my side! Who will declare me guilty? All my enemies will be destroyed like old clothes that have been eaten by moths! Who among you fears the Lord and obeys his servant? If you are walking in darkness, without a ray of light, trust in the Lord and rely on your God. But watch out, you who live in your own light and warm yourselves by your own fires. This is the reward you will receive from me: You will soon fall down in great torment.“
Isaiah 50:1-11 NLT
The Servant of the Holy One begins to take even more shape in this passage. This servant takes on the specific quality of humility. The reason is a telling one. It is not because he is weak. It is not because he lacks sovereignty. He is because he aims to accomplish the task of comforting the weary. Specifically, he follows the Lord’s wisdom so that he can understand how to do so. He sees being beaten and mocked as a means of empathy. An empathy that is integral to upholding God’s character amongst a weak people who are weary from their finite journey back to a place of right standing with God. He affirms that there is no other way. Even more so, he affirms that to this skillset of empathy will be the thing which vindicates God in the end. This knowledge firms his trajectory and stalwartness. It sets in motion the type of salvation for his people, and also the judgment for those who reject God. Learning to trust in suffering, and to patient in waiting is the only way receive the crown that so many princes and principalities have vied for. It is only by grace that we can be made right with God. And only a servant who is willing to trust and suffer can know that, claim it, and offer it to others. Jesus had to be more than a conquering king. He had to be an empathic savior for God’s redemptive plan to work properly.
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