The Servant’s Mission
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Jordan Byrd
2011 was one of the most despairing years of my life. I was in a relationship with a girl, and then she ended it. It wasn’t the first time I’d felt the sting of rejection. But this time, it hit hardest— because of how far that relationship had gone. My friends and family can tell you, I really struggled. I struggled to see any hope shining through. Maybe you’ve felt that way before. Or maybe you’re feeling it right now: Rejected, beaten down, and alone. Despairing. Hopeless. During my time of despair, I struggled to see the hope of the Lord shining through. But I had friends and family who helped me stay connected to Him. They were convinced that with the Lord, that’s where my hope would always shine, and that’s how I would make it through. Today, I want you to hear that same good news in God’s Word—from Isaiah 52 and 53: Hope always shines with the Lord.
How do you struggle with hope shining in your life today? Maybe you’re like Anne, a high school student who feels out of place. She doesn’t fit in, gets left out, and after enough rejection, she just hides in her room—wondering if she’ll always feel invisible. Or maybe you’re like Mark, a young professional recently promoted. On the outside, his life looks like it’s moving in the right direction, but behind the title are long hours, pressure, and exhaustion. Most nights, he collapses on the couch wondering, Is this really worth it? Or maybe you’re like Lucy, a manager in a high-responsibility job, doing her best but constantly criticized. Blamed for things out of her control, and starting to wonder if her best will ever be enough. Or maybe you’re like David and Katie, parents of elementary-aged kids with a busy schedule and multiple bills hanging over them. Their days are a blur with work, side jobs, kids’ school, meals, kids’ sports, and music and little family time. David works long hours. Kaite tries to hold the home together, and both feel the weight and the wear. You might relate to Karen, a single mom juggling work, home, and teenagers. She gives everything she has—but feels unseen, unappreciated, and worn out. Or maybe you’re like Mr. Thompson, a retired teacher in his late 70s. He’s given years to his work and community, but now feels the ache of age, the loneliness of being a widow, and wonders if his days of purpose and joy are behind him.
When we face rejection, weariness, or loneliness, it’s easy to slip into despair—to believe there’s no hope. And in that place, we can be tempted to turn to unhealthy or destructive actions –to just forget about our situation, or anything to give some semblance of hope. The Jewish exiles of Isaiah found themselves in a similar situation. They faced despair from years of loneliness, weariness, and suffering unjustly under oppressive captors.
In the chapters leading up to this point in Isaiah, the despair of the exiles starts to rise to the surface. They struggle to see a brighter future. They can’t see a path forward—a way out of the darkness of exile. They question whether God is still with them or whether He can really deliver them from where they are. Just like the people in Isaiah’s day, we’re often tempted to let our circumstances take over. It can feel like there’s no way out. Like God is distant—or maybe not even there at all. And when the weight feels too heavy, we’re tempted to give in to the despair. Maybe that means numbing the pain. Or trying to fight back with our own strength and wisdom to fix things; and then getting even more despairing, when it makes the situation even worse.
But the good news of Isaiah 52 and 53 is that there is another way – there is another example – that there is a way to have hope always shine, no matter the circumstance. All throughout the book of Isaiah, we see a servant figure appear again and again—standing in sharp contrast to the cries and complaints of the exiles. One of the starkest examples of this servant figure is the one we encounter in Isaiah 52 and 53. We’ll explore this figure a bit more in a moment, but for now, I invite you to consider the servant’s approach to rejection, weariness, and loneliness, compared to the despairing approach that so often was the temptation of the exiles – to believe there was no hope. But the good news we encounter in the servant of Isaiah 52 and 53 is awareness of a hope that always shine. A hope that always shines, because of God’s constant presence with the servant. The good news of Isaiah 52 and 53 is that hope always shines when we’re with the Lord. Hope always shines with the Lord.
As we continue together today, I invite you to consider something: Am I walking with the Lord right now? Am I staying close — leaning on Him, listening to Him? Or have I drifted a bit? Started looking for hope in other places, places that leave me empty? God’s heart is always open to welcome us back, just like he’s been to the exiles of Isaiah’s day. So wherever you are — there’s an opportunity for you to return to the Lord, and be with the one, where hope always shines. Hope always shines with the Lord.
Most of us have seen or read some version of the Batman character. Think about Bruce Wayne as Batman. He doesn’t have superpowers — just resources, training, and a deep commitment to fight against corruption in Gotham. Batman stands in contrast to the brokenness of Gotham, becoming a symbol of hope. But even Batman, as powerful as he is, points to something more. Gotham needs more than a symbol — it needs real restoration. It needs someone with the power to bring lasting change to the city.
In the same way, in Isaiah, we see a servant figure who also stands in contrast to the brokenness of the world. Biblical scholars offer three possible interpretations of the servant figure. First, the servant could refer to the prophetic voices — like Isaiah and others — whom God raised up to contrast His ways with the false ways of the world. Second, it could refer to a remnant of Jews who remained faithful to God during exile. Third, the servant could be a prophetic reference to Jesus, the true fulfillment of this role, who brings lasting change and contrasts the brokenness of the world in a way no prophet or remnant ever could.
Just like the role of Batman can be three things at once — Bruce Wayne, an example for Gotham, and a longing for someone greater — the suffering servant in Isaiah functions in a similar way. The servant role can point to three things at once: the prophetic voices of the past, the faithful remnant in exile, and ultimately, the fulfillment of this role in Jesus. All three references to the servant function as lights of hope, shining in the darkness of their time, and pointing to an even greater hope to come. All three endure suffering of various kinds: Isaiah describes the life of the servant as …despised and rejected…, a [person] of suffering, and familiar with pain. Like one from whom people hide their faces [the servant] was despised, and [was] held… in low esteem. (Isaiah 53:3) This servant encountered the same dynamics that tempt us to despair and hopelessness in our day. But the servant’s life stands in contrast to despair — because they remain connected to the Lord, the only one who can truly deliver and heal the oppression that causes it. The servant’s connection to the Lord is what gave them hope in the difficulties of their life. The ability of the Lord to deliver and heal their situation is what made hope shine amidst the temptation to despair. Their connection to the Lord is what made hope shine in their situation. Hope always shines with the Lord.
Like Batman, the first two versions of the servant stand for justice, but, they can't fully deliver or heal the situations they faced — whether in the days of the prophets or the exiles. Ultimately, someone greater is needed. That’s where Jesus fulfills the role of the servant. Jesus isn’t just someone who stands against corruption. He brings real change and healing to the world’s brokenness. Jesus doesn’t just point to hope—He is our hope. Jesus is where we experience the real hope that counters the rejection, weariness, and loneliness we face every day.
For a light to shine, it has to stay connected to a source of power. When we live apart from God, we disconnect from the source of life — the one who brings real, lasting hope. Like the hope of deliverance the exiles longed for or the hope we long for today — belonging, peace, purpose, and meaning. And it’s into this reality — full of suffering, weariness, rejection, and corruption — that God stepped in by taking on flesh and blood in the person of Jesus.
Isaiah describes that Jesus, as the fulfillment of the ideal servant “took up our pain and bore our suffering….” (Isaiah 53:4) God came down into our human reality, engulfed in despair, and disconnected from the life of God – to re-connect us to the source of life – to re-connect us to the Lord. The New Testament writer, Paul, says similar in his letter to the church in Philippi, [Jesus] made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. And being found in appearance as a man, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to death—even death on a cross! (Philippians 2:7-8) God humbles himself to our death-bound reality. God, who is the essence of life, wilfully allowed death to enter into his experience. Of itself, this would be tragic. A hero subjugated to the same bondage as the rest of humanity. The hope we have in Jesus, as the true Servant, is that death is not the end. Despair and hopelessness are not the final word for those connected to God. Isaiah looks beyond the suffering toward Healing (Isaiah 53:5b), “[the servant’s suffering] brought us peace…” and “...by his wounds we are healed.” (Isaiah 53:5b)
In much of Protestant Christianity, healing is often overlooked in this passage. Most theologies focus on Jesus’ suffering as satisfying justice — or paying a legal debt. But the dominant image in Isaiah 53 isn’t courtroom justice — but healing and restoration from sickness — the sickness of sin. Beyond Isaiah 53, healing was the hope people experienced when they met the fulfillment of the Isaiah servant, Jesus. The Gospels are filled with healing after healing. And Jesus himself makes it plain: “It’s not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.” (Luke 5:31) The New Testament writer, Paul, uses sin as a sickness that needs cleansed and healed, when he writes, What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body that is subject to death? (Romans 7:24) Paul confesses that his life is wasting away, unless someone heals and restores him from the disease of sin that leads to death. Isaiah 53 confesses the need for a healing from death that none of us can make happen for ourselves. But Isaiah 53 locates the one who can. The one most fully connected to God is who will heal us from our sin that leads to death, Isaiah 53:10 highlights Jesus’ connection to God that carries him through suffering, and eventual death on a cross. Isaiah 53 reveals our need for healing from death — a healing we can’t bring about on our own. But Isaiah 53 also shows us the one who can heal: Jesus. Jesus is the one most fully connected to God — the one who heals us from sin that leads to death. Isaiah 53:10 highlights Jesus' deep connection to God, which carries him through suffering and death on the cross. In the wake of Jesus’ ongoing connection to God, through suffering, he received a new, healed life from God. “He will see his offspring, and have his days prolonged. He will prosper in doing the will of the Lord. He will see the light of life, and be satisfied.” (Isaiah 53:10-11)
In the servant of Isaiah, and specifically in Jesus, we see that we don’t have to manufacture hope on our own. We don’t have to endure rejection, weariness, and loneliness alone. God is right here with us, wanting to carry us through it, if we’ll stay connected to him. Jesus relied on his Heavenly Father's hope that shined and guided him through suffering – through rejection, weariness, and loneliness. Jesus had this hope, because he was always with God, even in suffering, even in death. Jesus exemplified that: Substantial hope (new life) always shines when you’re connected to the Lord. Hope always shines with the Lord. Jesus shows us that union with God is what we most need to be healed from the despair and hopelessness we experience. We don’t just need a new life. And that new life is only possible, when we’re united to God, through faith in Jesus, We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life. For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. (Romans 6:4-5)
When we face rejection, weariness, or loneliness, it’s easy to slip into despair — to believe there’s no hope. And in that place, we can be tempted to turn to unhealthy or destructive actions – to just forget about our situation, or anything to give some semblance of hope. But the good news of Isaiah 52 and 53 is that there is another way – there is another example – that there is a way to have hope always shine, no matter the circumstance. The good news of Isaiah 52 and 53 is an awareness of a hope that always shine, because of God’s constant presence made possible to us through Jesus, who entered our suffering, so that we might enter God’s life. That by faith in Jesus, we can be more aware of God’s presence with us in the midst of our rejection, weariness, and loneliness. By faith in Jesus, we have substantial hope in a new life to come, full of acceptance, peace, and belonging. The good news of Isaiah 52 and 53 is that hope always shines when we’re with the Lord. Hope always shines with the Lord.
Unite your life to the Lord.
If you’ve never united your life to God, through faith in Jesus, please find me, or another trusted follower of Jesus. We’d be glad to help you take that step of faith: and hopefully marking that moment in baptism, participating in a death and resurrection like Jesus.
What’s your plan to stay connected to the Lord?
If you’ve already united your life to the Lord, How are you tempted to carry the weight of rejection, the weariness of life, and the loneliness you feel on your own? How might you counter the rejection you feel, by having God’s word close to your heart, to be reminded that you belong to Him, and are his cherished son or daughter? How might you counter the weariness, by sharing that burden with a brother or sister in Christ? Or maybe, it’s by sharing with a weary person, how you’ve clung to Jesus, in the midst of weariness, and how God’s carried you through the other side. How might you counter the loneliness, by meeting with God’s family every Sunday, or a regular rhythm of coffee with sisters or brothers in Christ? What’s your plan to stay connected to the Lord?
May we always be connected to the Lord of hope. Hope always shines with the Lord.