In my last post, we looked at the issue of who The Suffering Servant in Yesha’yahu 52:13-53:12 might be. We concluded that in this passage, it was Yeshua. In this post, I want to explore the Character of the Suffering Servant as we begin to focus on Yesha’yahu53.

The Servant Was Humble

¹ Who believes our report? To whom is the arm of Adonai revealed? ² For before Him He grew up like a young plant, like a root out of the dry ground. He was not well-formed or especially handsome; we saw Him, but His appearance did not attract us. ~ Isaiah 53:1-2 (CJB)

The speakers of these verses (we) are likely Yesha’yahu and the community that he represents. The arm of Adonai refers to His victorious power, ironically revealed through a Suffering Servant.

The writers of the Gospels and Kefa describe the way that Yeshua is viewed as Adonai’s Servant, empathizing His humility and unselfishness.

For the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve — and to give his life as a ransom for many. ~ Mark 10:45 (CJB)

You call me ‘Rabbi’ and ‘Lord,’ and you are right because I am. ¹⁴ Now if I, the Lord and Rabbi, have washed your feet, you also should wash each other’s feet. ¹⁵ For I have set you an example, so that you may do as I have done to you. ~ John 13:13-15 (CJB)

Kefa speaking to the crowd in the Temple said: The God of Avraham, Yitz’chak, and Ya‘akov, the God of our fathers, has glorified His servant Yeshua – the same Yeshua you handed over and disowned before Pilate, even after he had decided to release Him. ~ Acts 3:13 (CJB) He continued by saying: So, it is to you first that God has sent His servant whom He has raised up, so that He might bless you by turning each one of you from your evil ways. ~ Acts 3:26 (CJB)

Thirty years after Yeshua’s death and resurrection, Rabbi Sha’ul wrote a more theological interpretation of His life and death. He spoke to the early Believers and encouraged them to serve one another, using Yeshua to make his point:

⁵ Let your attitude toward one another be governed by your being in union with the Messiah Yeshua: ⁶ Though He was in the form of God, He did not regard equality with God something to be possessed by force. ⁷ On the contrary, He emptied Himself, in that He took the form of a slave by becoming like human beings are. And when He appeared as a human being, ⁸ He humbled Himself still more by becoming obedient even to death – death on a stake as a criminal! ~ Philippians 2:5-8 (CJB)

In my next post, we will continue a verse-by-verse examination of The Suffering Servant ~ Part 4 in Yesha’yahu 53:3.

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