Behold My Servant

by J.R. LUCK | Category: Devotional Meditations | Oct 1961

"Behold My Servant, whom I uphold; My Chosen, in whom My soul delighteth:" (read Isaiah 42.1-3).

This word of prophecy came to Israel by Isaiah concerning Christ, and is applicable to the Lord from the words in Matthew 12.18-21.It is for us today; and how needful it is that our gaze be directed to Him who came, the Sent-one from the Father, not to do His own will, but the will of Him who sent Him!

This series of articles will, under God, point to Him of whom John the apostle wrote, "The Word became flesh, and dwelt among us (and we beheld His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father), full of grace and truth." His namesake, the Baptizer, announced on Jordan's banks, "Behold, the Lamb of God, which taketh away the sin of the world!

Much of His glory, in connexion with grace and truth, has been, from time to time, the inestimable privilege of men to behold, and it can be seen foreshadowed in the prophecy to which reference is made at the head of this article.

(a) God's Servant. That He, as God, knew that He was a Servant, is seen in His own words, "For I am come down from heaven, not to do Mine own will, but the will of Him that sent Me," and again, "Even as the Son of Man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister (serve), and to give His life a ransom for many."

(b)The delight of His Father God, by whom He was upheld. Twice the heavens opened and the voice of Jehovah was heard by mortal men, "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased ... hear ye Him! ".

(c) How fully the Gospels speak of Christ's character! fulfilling to the letter the delineaments here seen, "A bruised reed shall He not break." While He spoke in appreciation of John the Baptist as one unlike a reed shaken by the wind, yet, knowing our human frailty, He was always strengthening bruised and broken reeds.

He speaks to the woman at Jacob's well. She had had five husbands, now she has none, for the man with whom she is cohabiting is not lawfully hers. Yet He attends to this bruised reed, "If thou knewest the gift of God, and who it is that saith to thee, Give Me to drink the water that I shall give him shall become in him a well of water springing up unto eternal life." The human reed, bruised by sin and the circumstance of life, that day beheld the Messiah, and heard Him say, "I that speak unto thee am He," and thenceforward she was revivified by the life which alone flows from Him.

The widow bereft of her only son, a reed bruised at the heart in the Nain funeral procession, He supports with marvellous words and deeds. "When the Lord saw her, He had compassion on her and said to her, Weep not," and to the dead son, "Young man, I say unto thee, Arise. And he that was dead sat up, and began to speak. And He gave him to his mother. And fear took hold on all: and they glorified God, saying,... God hath visited His people." We hear the echo of John's voice, "We beheld His glory".

There was another woman in a crowd a bruised reed in a milling throng, who had spent all her means on attempts, without success, to" be healed of a long-standing illness of twelve years. Only those who have been in a similar position know just how bruised and bent such an experience can make the sufferer. With her hopes of healing continually dashed, and her slender resources dwindling, and her pain increasing, and fear for the future gripping her, should the weary existence drag on much longer, and her prayers for release unanswered; then this sufferer contacts the Saviour, she beholds Him, she touches the border of His cloak in the throng and, immediately, she is cured! The Chosen of God fully understands all that is conveyed in that remote touch, the faith, the renewed hopes upon first sight, the fear lest she may be swallowed up in the crowd, the confidence as she presses nearer, "If I do but touch His garment ... "she thinks. Revealed by that touch of faith, tremblingly she falls before Him to hear words of sweetest music, "Daughter, thy faith hath made thee whole; go in peace." She was healed immediately and another bruised reed stands erect to meet every wind that blows.

To one and all He cries, (and oh! that we might hear the lovely cadence of His voice, as well as see the appeal of His figure), "Come unto Me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest."

(d)" The smoking flax shall He not quench." The figure here is of a lamp which once burned brightly; but for lack of oil or attention, its wick is now burning but dimly, smoking instead of glowing. How tenderly our Saviour, in His day, cared for those to whom this description applied. Behold Him, as He enters feelingly into the circumstances of the Baptist whom He commended as a lamp that burneth and shineth. John, now in the darkness of Herod's prison, has become like smoking flax, his faith may be burning low and his spirit like a smouldering wick. (We cannot blame him when we remember his circumstances.) As he cannot go himself he sends representatives to the Lord, saying in effect, "Are you the One of whom the prophets speak, God's Servant who should be upheld by Him, in whom He delights?" How tenderly our Lord breathes upon the smoking flax, and fans it into a flame, and that without one expression of surprise or criticism. " Go your way, and tell John what things ye have seen and heard"; upon which report Herod's dungeon would be lit with a heavenly light and the smouldering wick would burn brightly, and in the light John went willingly to martyrdom.

We cannot now see that lovely Face, but we can hear, "concerning all that Jesus began both to do and to teach, until the day in which He was received up." By faith we behold Him, as through the story that never grows old we catch glimpses of the blessed Son of God as He lived amongst men, and our lamps will be refilled with the oil of the Holy Spirit, under whose direction and care the flame of our life's witness will burn strong and bright again.

Another smoking flax was Simon Peter. Not long before, by divine revelation, he had confessed (in line with the Isaiah prophecy), "Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God." Upon the approach to Calvary he boasted, "Lord, with Thee I am ready to go both to prison and to death," and now he stands in the precincts of the high priest's palace, warming himself in company with the Lord's enemies. Within a few minutes Peter is denying that he ever knew the Prisoner. He denies with an oath, "I know not the Man"; a dimly-burning wick indeed! Peter heard the crowing of the cock and remembers his conversation with the Lord, who, knowing of Peter's denial, turns and looks upon him. That look sent him away with remorseful and bitter tears. It was not long until Peter heard the beloved voice in resurrection, wistfully saying, "Simon, son of John, lovest thou Me more than these? ... follow thou Me." What comfort may be found here by all of us, broken reeds and dimly-burning wicks, at times, in the bleak or sultry climate of the world.

(e)As Isaiah foretold, all this was accomplished in such an unusual manner; "He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause His voice to be heard in the street." No spectacular publicity, no forceful interjection here; just a calm reliance on His Father and God every day and every moment! As surely and noiselessly as the seasons of nature's year revolve, even so, incredibly greater wonders are performed without affectation and without imposition of will, by the sent Servant of Jehovah, upon broken, unlovable, unloving men and women, who are His by right of creation. Thus the gentle Son of God makes His way to Calvary, and blessing springs up at every step.

Finally, let us venture with unshod feet into Pilate's judgement hall and behold the Prisoner at the bar. Is it, can it be, the One who healed the broken-hearted and fanned the flickering flame of many a life who now faces His judge? The very same, but His head wears the crown of thorns, and on His face the spittle; His back bears the bleeding furrows. But, in contrast, we behold "His glory, glory as of the Only Begotten from the Father, full of grace and truth." Having examined Him, Pilate brings Him out to the people and says, "I find no fault in Him" ... "Behold the Man!

Invited by the Law and the Prophets which testify of Him, by the Jewish prophet Isaiah and the heathen ruler Pilate, by the Gospelwriters and by the words of the Saviour Himself, "See My hands and My feet, that it is I Myself," shall we not " behold Him who hath been made a little (while) lower than the angels, even Jesus, because of the suffering of death crowned with glory and honour ... "?

J.R. LUCK | Oct 1961
Devotional Meditations