Prophets and Kings: "The Glorious Servant"

Prophets and Kings: The Glorious Servant            

Isaiah 52:13-53:12

Isaiah 1:21-23

 Isaiah 9:6-7

I. The Exalted Servant.     (Isaiah 52:13,15)

John 8:28 - “Jesus said, "When you have lifted up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am…”  

Revelation 7:9-10 - “…a great multitude…from every nation… standing before the throne and before the Lamb… saying… thanksgiving, honor, power and might, be to our God forever and ever.” 

 Romans 15:21 - “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”

II. The Abused Servant.    (Isaiah 52:14)

Mark 15:19-20 - “They kept striking His head with a staff and spitting on Him. And they knelt and bowed before Him…after they had mocked …they led Him out to crucify Him.”

III. The Rejected Servant.     (Isaiah 53:1)

John 12:37-38 - ^“Though He had performed so many signs before them, yet they were not believing in Him. This was to fulfill the word of Isaiah… ‘Lord, who has believed our report?’”

IV. The Overlooked Servant.       (Isaiah 53:2)

Luke 2:6-7 - ^“… she gave birth to her firstborn son; and she wrapped Him in cloths, and laid Him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.”  

John 1:46 - “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?”

V. The Suffering Servant.   (Isaiah 53:3)

John 8:41 - “…We weren't born of sexual immorality, they said. We have one Father-God.”

John 7:5 - “For not even His brothers were believing in Him.”

Matthew 26:74 - “Then (Peter) began to curse and swear, ‘I do not know the man!’ And immediately a rooster crowed.”

Matthew 26:67-68 - “Then they spat in His face and beat Him with their fists; and others slapped Him, and said, ‘Prophesy to us, You Christ; who is the one who hit You?’”

Augustine - “Christ’s deformity is what gives form to you…”

VI.  The Substitute Servant.     (Isaiah 53:4-9)

Matthew 8:14-17 - “Jesus came into Peter’s home, He saw his mother-in-law lying sick in bed with a fever. He touched her hand, and the fever left her… others who were demon-possessed…He cast out the spirits … and healed all who were ill. This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: ‘He Himself took our infirmities and carried away our diseases.’”

Mark 10:45 - ^“For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

VII. The Obedient Servant.     (Isaiah 53:7-8)

Mark 14:61 - “But He kept silent and did not answer. Again, the high priest was questioning Him, and saying to Him, ‘Are You the Christ, the Son of the Blessed One?’”

John 6:37-38 - “All that the Father gives Me will come to Me… For I came down from heaven, not to do My own will, but the will of Him who sent Me.”

Philippians 2:8 - “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.”  

VIII. The Appointed Servant.   (Isaiah 53:9)

Matthew 27:57-60 - “When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named Joseph, who had become a disciple of Jesus… Joseph took the body and wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and laid it in his own new tomb…”

IX. The Truthful Servant.   (Isaiah 53:9)

John 8:46 - “Which one of you convicts Me of sin? If I speak truth, why do you not believe Me?”

John 8:28 - “Jesus said, "When you lift up the Son of Man, then you will know that I am He, and I do nothing on My own initiative, but I speak… as the Father taught Me.”

John 14:6 - “Jesus said, ‘I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father but through Me.’”  

X. The Victorious Servant.     (Isaiah 53:10-12)

Luke 22:37 - “For I tell you that this which is written must be fulfilled in Me, ‘And He was numbered with transgressors’; for that which refers to Me has its fulfillment.”

John 2:19-22 - “Jesus answered them, ‘I will destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up.’ The Jews said, ‘It took forty-six years to build this temple, and will You raise it up in three days?’ But He was speaking of the temple of His body…”

Matthew 1:21 - “She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

Matthew 28:6 - “He is not here, for He has risen, just as He said...”

XI. The Praying Servant.   (Isaiah 53:12)

John 17:1-10 - “Jesus said, ‘Father…I have manifested Your name to the men whom You gave Me… they were Yours and You gave them to Me, and they have kept Your word.  I ask on their behalf; I do not ask on behalf of the world, but of those whom You have given Me; for they are Yours…’”

XII. The Returning Servant.    

John 14:3 - “And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and will take you to myself, that where I am you may be also.”

 Faith Sheet for Friends and Family This Week

 1.  What are some ways people are recreating Jesus today to make Him more appealing?

2. How might we be tempted to “recreate” Jesus in our evangelism?

3. What’s the difference between sharing a testimony and sharing the gospel?

4. Take a few moments to compare Paul’s words in Philippians 2:5-11 with the Isaiah passage. What similarities do you see? What differences?

5. What does Jesus’ substitutionary work for us reveal about how God sees our sin and us? (Romans 5:8)

6. Have you ever thought of yourself as a gift to Christ that was purchased at the cross? How can this impact our desire to live for Him? (1 Peter 2:22-24)

7. What does it mean for us that the Servant lives to intercede for His people?

8. How are we identified with Christ in suffering and service? (Matt. 25:31-45).