The prophet Isaiah, writing in about 740-700 B.C., gave us several passages, collectively known as the Servant Songs, that describe a coming Servant of God. These songs are found in Isaiah 42:1-9, 49:1-13, 50:4-9, and 52:13-53:12. Christians, including the Gospel of Matthew (Matthew 12:17–21) and the book of Acts (Acts 8:32–35) consider Jesus to be the ultimate fulfillment, the final Servant to whom the prophecies are pointing.
Note: To save space, I am not quoting all 39 or so verses. They aren’t very long to read, however, and can be reached at the links above, in a choice of translations. I’ll repeat the links in the sections below. Also, space (as well as my knowledge level!) prevents this from being an exhaustive exposition on these passages. I hope simply to bring them to your attention for your own further study.
Servant: Collective or Individual?
A competing interpretation is that the Servant is the entire nation of Israel rather than a single individual. In the chapter immediately preceding the first Song, Israel is even explicitly named as God’s servant.
But you, Israel, My servant,
Isaiah 41:8-9
Jacob whom I have chosen,
Descendant of Abraham My friend,
You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth,
And called from its remotest parts
And said to you, ‘You are My servant,
I have chosen you and not rejected you.
That seems clear enough, doesn’t it? There are other similar references elsewhere in Isaiah, for instance verses 43:10, 44:1-3, 44:21, 45:4, and 48:20.
However, just a few verses after the first Song is a rebuke to a servant:
Who is blind but My servant,
Isaiah 42:19-20
Or so deaf as My messenger whom I send?
Who is so blind as he that is at peace with Me,
Or so blind as the servant of the LORD?
You have seen many things, but you do not observe them;
Your ears are open, but none hears.
Is that a servant who pleases God? Doesn’t sound like it to me. Plus, part of the second Song is the Servant speaking and saying…
And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,
Isaiah 49:5
To bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him
So here, the Servant is rescuing Israel…meaning that the Servant cannot be Israel. This is getting confusing!
First Song: Isaiah 42
In the first song, the Servant is introduced: “Behold, My Servant, whom I uphold; My chosen one in whom My soul delights.” The Servant’s purpose is given as 1) to bring justice, 2) to be a covenant, and 3) to bring light and freedom. The Song also says that the Servant will be gentle with the hurting, with the “bruised reeds” and the “dimly burning wicks“. Finally, it says that God is declaring something new, that former things have come to pass.
Looking at Jesus, I can see fulfillment of all of those points.
- He allowed justice to be fully satisfied — while also allowing me to be forgiven — by taking God’s wrath onto Himself.
- Just before He was arrested and crucified, He told His disciples that “This cup which is poured out for you is the new covenant in My blood.” (Luke 22:20 [my emphasis], see also Matthew 26:27-28 and Mark 14:23-24)
- He gave sight to the blind, while declaring “I am the Light of the world.” (John 8:12)
- To repentant sinners, He simply said “Go and sin no more.” without harshly punishing them (John 8:10-11, John 5:11-14).
I don’t see any similar fulfillment in Israel, either ancient or modern. For that matter, how could any nation or group do those things?
Second Song: Isaiah 49
The second Song tells us that the Servant was foreordained even before being born, that He will get discouraged and be despised, but that he will ultimately prevail and be honored. It also says that the Servant is to bring Israel back to God. And not only Israel, but all the nations, meaning that Gentiles are part of the story also. I love verse 6:
He [God] says, “It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant
Isaiah 49:6
To raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel;
I will also make You a light of the nations
So that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”
Adding to the confusion above, though, verse 3 explicitly says “You are My Servant, Israel, in Whom I will show My glory.” How can that mean Israel, the nation, when the Servant is to restore that nation?
- A common reconciliation is that the Servant is an individual who embodies “true” Israel, as the nation was intended to be but failed to live up to its full destiny.
- Another interpretation is that this is an example of the frequent multi-layered fulfillment that is used often throughout Biblical prophecy 1.
- A third idea that occurs to me (and I find that I am not alone in this) is that the word “israel” has meaning beyond simply being a name. It can mean “one who contends with God”, in the sense of clinging to God as Jacob did to earn this as his new name in Genesis 32:24-29. Another valid translation is “God prevails”, as He did in freeing slaves to become a nation, and as His Servant will do in restoring that nation.
The later verses of the Song describe the Servant as leading the people to peace and safety instead of a desolate and dangerous land. He will provide everything needed so that people from even distant lands can rejoice. These verses sound very like the descriptions of Heaven, in Revelation 7:16–17, for instance. There are also echoes of Psalm 23 with the Lord as a shepherd guiding and providing for His flock, which in turn brings to mind Jesus as the ultimate Good Shepherd.
Third Song: Isaiah 50
The third Song is the Servant speaking in first person, describing how He remains faithful to God and to His mission even in adversity.
I gave My back to those who strike Me,
Isaiah 50:6-7
And My cheeks to those who pluck out the beard;
I did not cover My face from humiliation and spitting.
For the Lord GOD helps Me,
Therefore, I am not disgraced;
Therefore, I have set My face like flint,
And I know that I will not be ashamed.
The Servant is humble and obedient. He trusts that God will see Him through and will vindicate Him in the end. This sounds pretty similar to Jesus as Paul wrote to the church at Philippi:
Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name, so that at the name of Jesus EVERY KNEE WILL BOW, of those who are in heaven and on earth and under the earth, and that every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father
Philippians 2:8-11 (for more context, see Philippians 2:5-11)
Fourth Song: Isaiah 53
The fourth Song is the one best known and loved by Christians. It is quoted or alluded to by Matthew, Mark, Luke, Acts, and several of Paul’s letters, all considering Jesus to be its fulfillment. I can’t help myself: I just have to quote a good portion of it here:
Behold, My servant will prosper,
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.
Just as many were astonished at you, My people,
So His appearance was marred more than any man
And His form more than the sons of men.
…
He was despised and forsaken of men,
A man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
…
But He was pierced through for our transgressions,
He was crushed for our iniquities;
The chastening for our well-being fell upon Him,
And by His scourging we are healed.
All of us like sheep have gone astray,
Each of us has turned to his own way;
But the LORD has caused the iniquity of us all
To fall on Him.
…
His grave was assigned with wicked men,
Yet He was with a rich man in His death,
…
But the LORD was pleased
To crush Him, putting Him to grief;
If He would render Himself as a guilt offering,
He will see His offspring,
He will prolong His days,
And the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.
As a result of the anguish of His soul,
He will see it and be satisfied;
By His knowledge the Righteous One,
My Servant, will justify the many,
As He will bear their iniquities.
…
Yet He Himself bore the sin of many,
And interceded for the transgressors.
These verses describe Jesus so perfectly that they may as well have been written after the fact! How could a nation such as Israel, or any human being other than Jesus…
- Start with insignificant appearance, then be so marred as to be unrecognizable?
- Keep silent in the face of false accusations?
- Be associated with both the wicked and the wealthy in His death?
- Be severely punished for our sake?
- Present Himself as a guilt offering, bearing the sins of many and interceding for transgressors?
- Beyond death, “prolong His days” and “be satisfied“?
Bonus Fifth Prophecy: Isaiah 61
While not a Servant Song, Isaiah 61 does have a Messianic prophecy that Jesus applied to Himself. The people of His home town of Nazareth knew exactly what He was saying. In fact, they tried to kill Him for saying such a thing: It would have been terribly blasphemous…if it weren’t true!
The Spirit of the Lord GOD is upon me,
Isaiah 61:1-2 (See Jesus’ appropriation of this prophecy in Luke 4:14-22, 28-30)
Because the LORD has anointed me
To bring good news to the afflicted;
He has sent me to bind up the brokenhearted,
To proclaim liberty to captives
And freedom to prisoners;
To proclaim the favorable year of the LORD
Bottom Line
Isaiah is one of the most prominent prophets of the Old Testament. He advised, exhorted, scolded and warned four of Judah’s kings (Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz and Hezekiah) during a time of threat from the Assyrian empire. Against a backdrop of potential devastation, he offered hope through dependence on God and warned against depending on mere human strength. He encouraged his hearers to look to God — and to God’s promised Servant — as their Source of security, protection, and salvation.
As the Servant who came to fulfill that mission, Jesus has become our Source for those things, as well.