Jehovah's Servant (1)

The glory of Christ as Jehovah's Servant Will be commensurate with His sufferings. The call of Isaiah 42:1 is renewed in Isaiah 52:13 "Behold My Servant". Th the latter scripture we are told beth of how He would act and, as a consequence, of the glory that His wise dealing would yield, and also of the sufferings that this would bring upon Himself. The sufferings of the Lord are threefold; (1) His suffering at the hand of God, when He suffered for the sins of others; (2) His sufferings at the hands of men, because of His obedience to God; and (3) His sufferings at the hands of the devil in the temptations which He endured. He suffered, being tempted.

God through Isaiah says, "Behold, My Servant shall, deal wisely (or shall prosper), He shall be exalted and lifted up, and shall be very high". Wisdom, which is the principal thing, ever characterized the ways and works of the Lord. Indeed it could not be expected that it should be otherwise, for the Lord was not only wise, He was the Wisdom of God (Luke 2:40). So that it is no wonder that we should read the astonished question of the multitudes, "Whence hath this Man this wisdom, and these mighty works?" (Mat. 13:54).

The Lord's closest followers never imagined in the early days of His ministry that He would end that ministry silent and dead upon the Cross of shame. Peter himseff could not tolerate the thought. When the Lord began to tell the disciples of His sufferings and death he said, rebuking Him, "Be it far from Thee, Lord:

this shall never be unto Thee" (Mat. 16:22). Indeed it seemed almost up to the very end that He as Messiah would then ascend the throne, for but a few days prior to the Cross Jerusalem rang with the acclamations of the crowds "Hosanna to the Son of David; blessed is He that cometh in the Name of the Lord: Hosanna in the highest" ~aL 21:9).

J Miller

Extracted from Needed Truth 1952

unknown | Jan 1993
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