God’s Wise Servant (Isa. 52:13-15)

‘Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. As many were astonished at you — his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind — so shall he sprinkle many nations; kings shall shut their mouths because of him; for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand.’

A striking use of Isaiah 53 is recounted in Acts 8:26-40. An important official in the government of Candace, the queen of the Ethiopians, was heading home after visiting Jerusalem to worship, which could mean that the official was a Jew or a proselyte living in the diaspora. As he was returning home in his chariot, he was reading Isaiah 53. We are not told why he was reading it – had a believer mentioned it to him while he was in Jerusalem? In any case, Jesus, the subject of the prophecy, and the builder of his church as recounted in the Book of Acts, had his eye on the official and sent Philip to help him understand what the prophecy was about. The official believed in Jesus as a result, and he may have the honour of being the first person in the New Testament era converted through Isaiah 53.

It is well-known that the Song focuses on what took place on the cross when Jesus suffered in the place of sinners, but it would be a mistake to conclude that it only focuses on the cross. In addition, the Song mentions periods of his life both from before the cross and after he suffered on the cross. Indeed, it includes references to his life before he came to earth and to his life after he left the earth at his ascension to heaven.

In the Song, there are different speakers. For example, it is obvious that God the Father speaks in 52:13 and it is obvious that the prophet himself speaks in 53:1. We will note the various speakers as we make our way through the passage in the coming chapters. In this chapter our focus is on Isaiah 52:13-15.

This fourth Servant Song in Isaiah opens with the heavenly Father drawing attention to his Servant by highlighting several truths. The word ‘behold’ suggests a prolonged consideration on our part to see what can be discovered by us from concentrating on what happened to and through the Servant. Such focussing will bring great discoveries of the divine intentions through the work of the Servant.

Jesus, the Servant of the Father

The Father describes his beloved Son as ‘my Servant’. In doing so, he reveals that he called his Son to this role and gave him a lifelong task to perform as well as activities to engage in after his death. It is obvious from this opening set of verses that the Servant pleased the Father greatly and this reminds us of what happened at the baptism of Jesus when the Father declared that he was well-pleased with what his Son had done in the thirty or so years since his birth.

The wisdom of the Servant

The feature of the Servant that the Father addresses here is his wisdom. What does the Father mean by wisdom and where and how did the Servant reveal it?

Wisdom in the Bible is spiritual intelligence. It is more than the knowledge of knowing what to do in a demanding situation because it is possible to know what to do and not do it. The basic feature of wisdom is the fear of the Lord (Ps. 111:10; Prov. 9:10). Job tells us that real wisdom is the fear of the Lord ‘and to turn away from evil is understanding’ (Job 28:28). The wisdom of Jesus will be seen in whether he will put God first and whether he will refuse to get involved with evil.

We can think of Jesus as a child and note that, remarkably, Luke describes him as increasing in wisdom as a child (Luke 2:40) and as an adolescent (Luke 2:52). Only one incident from the first thirty year of his life is recorded in the Gospels, the occasion when he went to the temple in Jerusalem during a family visit to a feast. The details of the visit show that in his young years Jesus wanted to put his Father first (he told his parents that they should have known that he would be concerned about his Father’s business). ‘Behold,’ says the Father, ‘my servant deals wisely.’

As an adult, his wisdom was revealed in his words and actions. A wise teacher at that time did not only say how a person should live, he also showed how it should be done. Jesus did not only teach how to live, he also showed how one should live. This was the case with prayer, with speaking to the needy such as the woman of Sychar, with answering questions from hostile religious leaders, and in countless other ways. He revealed his wisdom wherever he was, whether in towns, in villages, in crowds, in Gethsemane and at Calvary. Everywhere and always, he put the Father first and had nothing to do with evil.

We know that wise living usually results in progress in life. Because Jesus lived wisely, he received honour from God. The Father describes the honour by using three words: high, lifted up, and exalted. Some think that the words describe three stages in the experience of Jesus with ‘high’ describing his resurrection, ‘lifted up’ describing his ascension, and ‘exalted’ describing his enthronement. That may be true, but I suspect that a more likely way of interpreting them is to see the combined words stressing the astonishing height to which Jesus is now highly exalted.

The Father brings to our attention two aspects of the Servant’s wisdom and does so by saying that so great was the wisdom displayed in both aspects that it caused great astonishment among those who heard about it. Why?

The astonishment of the onlookers

In the first line of verse 14, the Father addresses the Servant directly and says that many were astonished by what they saw and heard about him. Their astonishment is twofold: they are astonished at the depth of his sufferings and at the extent of his subsequent activity which will even influence kings.

The sufferings of the Servant

When the Father says that his Servant’s physical appearance will show the marks of great suffering, I don’t think he means that Jesus on the cross looked worse than others, say, who have survived fires or bomb explosions. Instead, I suspect he is saying that the marks of the suffering show that his Servant has experienced a form of suffering never undergone by humans and a degree of suffering that was not known by all of mankind combined in human history. So what was unique about the sufferings of the Servant that would cause surprise in those who heard about it.

First, his sufferings are surprising to those who understand what happened because it was a sinless person who experienced the sufferings. A sinless person should not suffer because suffering is a consequence of sin. While we cannot say that a person deserves a particular form of suffering, we can say that if sin had not entered the world there would not be any suffering in it. So, if an individual lives a sinless life, he should not suffer. Jesus was sinless, so it is a matter of astonishment that he suffered. This was an obstacle to the Jews because they knew why suffering occurs, and they automatically assumed that his suffering meant he was a sinner. Yet the onlookers and hearers referred to in the section here realised that he suffered although he was sinless, and they were astonished.

Second, his sufferings are surprising because chosen voluntarily. When a soldier suffers horrific bodily suffering in war, we know that while he may have chosen to fight, he would have hoped to escape the suffering. It would be very strange for a soldier to choose to fight because it was certain he would suffer. Yet the Servant chose to suffer. He did not come to perform his mission merely knowing about the possibility of suffering but hoping that he could avoid it. Instead, he knew that his mission involved this awful suffering, suffering that could not be avoided as the answer to his prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane makes clear.

Third, his sufferings are surprising because endured on behalf of others who deserved to suffer. We have read about or perhaps met individuals who have suffered because they were hurt during the process of rescuing another person. Yet the person they rescued, from the point of view of the rescuers, did not deserve to suffer. Perhaps they rescued a person who was in great danger. They did not look at the person and conclude that he deserved to be there. What they saw was an individual needing rescue. With Jesus, it was so different. He had come into this world to suffer on behalf of others, but he did so knowing that they deserved the suffering he endured. Why did they deserve it? Because it was the penalty due to them for their sins. His sufferings were for sins not his own, and yet he was willing to proceed through the awful experience of the cross.

Fourth, the sufferings of the Servant are surprising because he loved all the ones he suffered for. When a soldier suffers in war, he is often described as loving his country. But he could not love each person who belonged to his nation. That would have been impossible since he had never met most of them and did not know them. And if he had been told that his countrymen were all criminals who had broken the law of the land, he might not have been so willing to suffer for them. In contrast, Jesus loved all the ones for whom he suffered, yet he knew that they were all great sinners.

Fifth, the sufferings are surprising because they did not result in permanent death. There is no other record in the whole of human history of a rescuer suffering a fatal illness and then after his death beginning to perform great tasks. A few individuals, such as Lazarus, experienced resurrection from the dead, but they returned to their previous way of life. How different with Jesus! His death was real, but his death was not the end because he now lives and continues to engage in activities that astonish those who understand.

The Success of the Servant

The Father now describes the future activities of his suffering Servant and uses Levitical language to express what Jesus would do as raised from the dead and highly exalted. In the Old Testament rituals, the people of Israel were sprinkled with blood, with water, and with oil. Each of these elements depicts different necessities and since the verse does not specify one of them, I suspect we should use the three to discover what the Servant will do for the nations.

Blood was sprinkled to show that atonement had been made and that the benefits of the atonement would be given to those upon whom it was sprinkled (Lev. 5:9) – the Father tells us that his Servant will apply the benefits of his stoning death to the nations. Water was sprinkled on the Levities to indicate that they had been purified (Num. 8:7) – the Father informs us that his Servant will purify the nations. Oil was sprinkled on lepers to show that they had been cleansed from defilement (Lev. 14:7) – and here the Father says that his Servant will cleanse the nations.

The worldwide ministry of the Servant will be a constant source of wonder for the inhabitants of the earth. It will be constant because the reference to the nations is not merely a geographical one; it is also an historical one because down the centuries, as the gospel spreads throughout the world, the Servant will save and purify those who were dead in trespasses and sins. People often talk about the Seven Wonders of the World, and when they see their ruins, they express wonder at even the thought of what they looked like in the days of their splendour. But these buildings are not the real wonders of the world; instead, each of the people of God – cleansed and purified – is an ongoing wonder at which we should be astonished.

The Father identifies one group to illustrate the success of his Servant. Among the many who will marvel at the achievements of the Servant are kings and rulers. The description merely says that they will be silent, which does not suggest that they will be converted. Their silence is evidence of their astonishment because the suffering and exalted Servant will achieve what they tried to do and did not achieve – world dominion that lasts.

The Father explains how these monarchs and rulers will discover about the work of the Servant. What had been kept from them will, after the Servant’s exaltation, be conveyed to them. Throughout the Old Testament period most Gentile rulers had no knowledge of the Messiah who was predicted in the Old Testament. But God says here that they will yet hear of the Servant’s achievements, and not only hear but understand, which points to some rulers being converted.

Paul quotes verse 15 in Romans 15:21 as he outlines his ministry plans to the Christians in Rome, an aspect of which was his intention to go to different places with the gospel. Paul knew the original context of the quotation and it is legitimate for us to wonder if one of his reasons for going to Rome was to take the gospel of his Master to the highest rulers in the world at that time. We know from his letter to the Philippians that, while Nero the Emperor never believed in the Messiah, many of Caesar’s household did (Phil. 4:22). Even their conversions show the triumphs of the crucified Servant who is now exalted to bring spiritual blessings to the world.

It is possible that the words from Isaiah 52:15 concerning kings have another fulfilment as well. Peter in Acts cites Psalm 2 to show that it was rulers of the earth who put Jesus to death. At that time, they had plenty to say. But when the Father says that a time is coming when kings will be silenced, he could also be referring to the Day of Judgement when every mouth, including that of kings, will be silenced when they see the once-suffering Servant enthroned on the divine judgement seat.

Whatever the fulfilment, the words make clear that the exaltation of Jesus is to such a degree that the only appropriate response is astonishment and wonder. May that be our continual response as we serve him in his kingdom!