Articles
The Exalted Servant
Isaiah 53 is a very common passage in the Old testament that is often used to reference the prophecy of the cruel death of Jesus Christ. The context of that prophecy really commences in the chapter before it. Concerning the servant spoken of in chapter 53, God says of Him in Isaiah 52:13: “Behold, My servant will prosper, He will be high and lifted up and greatly exalted.” In light of chapter 53 however, this verse doesn’t quite make much sense at face value. In chapter 53 the servant is described to experience humiliation, pain, contempt and shame at the hands of many. How is it that such statements equate to one of exaltation and glory?
It is here that many people don’t truly understand the message of the cross. Indeed, Jesus Christ was humiliated and put to death on a shameful cross but that wasn’t the end. The fact that the innocent Savior subjected Himself to such a cause is in itself glorious. Jesus’ mission was the embodiment of humility and selflessness through which He received a glorious exaltation. Perhaps like other passages in the Old Testament, we find the explanation to the passage at hand in the New Testament.
In Philippians 2:8-9, the Apostle Paul says this: “Being found in appearance as a man, He humbled Himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross. For this reason also, God highly exalted Him, and bestowed on Him the name which is above every name…”The suffering servant who was brutally beaten and murdered as prophesied in Isaiah 53 is the same servant that God spoke of exalting in Isaiah 52:13. Paul explains how this happened in Philippians by pointing out the sobering fact that Jesus humbled Himself to die on a cross. He was innocent and there was no deceit found in His mouth. He was not guilty of anything, yet He was willing to offer Himself as an atonement for the sins of all men. This, Paul says is the reason He was glorified. Through His death on a cross Jesus received all the glory and honor from God and He is now seated at His right hand.
Aren’t you amazed that God took such a shameful and humiliating act of murder and turned it into one of glory and honor? May we always think about Jesus, The Exalted Servant and may we follow His example and listen to His will.
