The Suffering Servant in Isaiah

The Suffering Servant in Isaiah

The Suffering Servant is a figure in the book of Isaiah, specifically in chapters 42, 49, 50, and 53. This figure is described as a servant of God who suffers on behalf of others, and is often interpreted as a messianic figure.

**Isaiah 42:1-4**

The Servant's Anointing

"Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations. He will not cry out or shout; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope."

**Isaiah 49:1-6**

The Servant's Mission

"Listen to me, you islands; hear this, you distant nations! Before I was born the Lord called me; from my mother's womb he gave me my name. He made my mouth like a sharpened sword, in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver. He said to me, 'You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.' But I said, 'I have labored in vain, I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is left of my official fee comes to me. And the Lord said, 'You will be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.'"

**Isaiah 50:4-9**

The Servant's Humility

"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 ears to listen to his words. The Sovereign Lord has opened my ears, and I have not been rebellious; I have not turned back. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting. Because the Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced. Therefore have I set my face like flint, and I know I will not be put to shame."

**Isaiah 53:1-12**

The Suffering Servant

"Who has believed our message and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? He grew up before him like a tender shoot, and like a root out of dry ground. He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him, nothing in his appearance that we should desire him. He was despised and rejected by mankind, one of us; he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by whose wounds we are healed. We all, like sheep, have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was assigned numbers, he bore the chastisement that made us whole, and by his wounds we are healed. All of us like sheep have gone astray, each of us has turned to our own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. He was oppressed and he was afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before its shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. By oppression and judgment he was taken away. And who can speak of his descendants? For he was cut off from the land of the living; for the transgressions of my people he was stricken. After the suffering of his soul, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities."

The Suffering Servant is a powerful and poignant figure in the book of Isaiah, and has been interpreted in many ways throughout history.