Isaiah 42:1
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If you drive to church on the interstate, you can't help notice how many billboards there are for injury lawyers. Now, I haven't paid too much attention to those billboards, but last week, Emily, our daughter-in-law, was in a line of cars getting off at the Grinstead drive exit from I-64 when a truck smashed into her car and multiple other vehicles. She's okay, a bit worried about the soreness in her back. Fortunately, no one was hurt or even killed, though it does look like her car is totaled.
All of a sudden, after Emily's accident, all those billboards started popping out at me. The ones that ask, you know, if you've been injured in a car wreck. And they tell you billions, billions have been recovered for their clients. And I got to thinking, wow, Emily could be a billionaire. I was thinking of maybe buying her a cane, or maybe better yet, a walker that she could have a baby on and go into the courtroom, you know, that kind of thing.
And have you noticed how many of these billboards call for justice? Justice. Complete with images of gavels in the courtroom. Now, the righteousness of these lawyers' call for justice doesn't hit real well. It just seems a little bit self-serving, but it must work. They keep buying more billboards. But anyhow, our verse tonight concerns justice, real justice.
Turn with me to Isaiah 42, verse 1. You can read it on the front of your bulletin as well. It's 24 words. Let me read it. You know, whenever I read the book of Isaiah, I feel akin to Isaiah in the way that Mark Twain felt about Shakespeare's Hamlet.
Wayne said that Hamlet was the play with all the quotes in it. And that's how I feel about Isaiah. It's tough to read the New Testament without noticing all the quotes and references and allusions to the book of Isaiah. And our verse tonight, of course, is no different. This verse is actually quoted in the New Testament and alluded to in a number of places, and I'll show you that in a minute. But I have two main points from this one verse. Number one, the servant's relationship with God.
And number two, his task of justice. So, first off, let's look at the servant's relationship with God. Isaiah opens this command with the sole command. And it's pretty straightforward. Behold. It's a command. Behold. Behold is sort of an unusual word. We don't use it that much in today's language.
It's sort of old, but it means to look, to see, to see with wonder, be astonished, gaze in awe. It's not the first time the word behold is used in the book of Isaiah. At the end of the previous chapter, chapter 41, God commands that his people behold the idea that Israel has come to love idols. Behold their worthlessness. Behold and be in awe of their utter failure to protect the people and wonder at the idol's ability, the rank ability to blind our spiritual eyes Isaiah calls us to wonder how Israel could have been so blind to the living God who delivered them from the land of slavery in Egypt now of course when we wonder about that
the thought must always come with a thought yet by the grace of God there I go we are so prone to trade the living God for the things of the world. And if you can't think that that can happen to you, you are especially in danger. It's the human condition. It started in the garden to worship the Creator rather than the Creator. Well, and who are we to behold in verse 1? We are to behold God's servant in sharp contrast with beholding Israel's idolatry.
It's, Behold, my servant. You know, there's many in the Bible who have been called my servant. Moses was called my servant. David, of course. Even Isaiah, in chapter 20, was called my servant. Nebuchadnezzar, the pagan king of Babylon, was called my servant. Which meant, of course, that despite himself, Nebuchadnezzar would do the work of the Lord because of God's sovereign hand. To a lesser extent, that's true for Moses and David and Isaiah.
It was God's sovereign work through them, despite themselves. This servant is different. There's a confidence and honor that flow from God to this servant. And we see it in four ways in this one verse. Our verse says God upholds him, which is to say God grips him tight. God stands with him. He has confidence in him. God calls his servant, my chosen, that is a special one, the right man for the task.
Thirdly, we notice that God delights in this servant. What a beautiful picture, to take delight, to have delight from the Lord. You know, someone can be chosen for a task but not be a delight. They just have a job to do. And Abraham Lincoln was speaking to some generals who registered their lack of confidence in General Grant. They didn't like him, they said, because he drank too much. And Lincoln asked the generals if they knew the brand of whiskey Grant drank, and they replied that they didn't.
And then Lincoln said, I'd like you to find out and then distribute it to the other officers, that whiskey, so they might fight as well as Grant. Grant was up to the task, not particularly because he was beloved, not so with this servant. He's up to the task, and God takes pleasure in him, and moreover, God's spirit is upon him. So, not only does the Lord support this servant, or choose him, or delight in him, but he also grants his personal presence through the Holy Spirit, and as a result, the servant works not his own strength but by relying on and being supported by God so four things God stands with his servant whom he has chosen with delight and puts his spirit upon him now at this point I know that you know who who we're talking about this is a well-known messianic verse and we are confident
that this verse is speaking of Jesus for the Bible tells us so in the book of Matthew chapter 12 after Jesus healed many people and they were filled with awe about him they were beholding him Matthew quotes our verse chapter 12 verse 17 this was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, behold my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, with whom my soul is well pleased.
And it's not just direct quotes like this one. The scriptures allude to this verse as well. You probably know the story in Matthew 3, when Jesus comes from Galilee to the Jordan to be baptized by John. John resists Jesus. He says, I need to be baptized by you, and you come to me. Jesus tells John it's fitting to fulfill all righteousness, and so John consents, and he baptizes Jesus. And when Jesus comes up out of the water, here's how Matthew 3, 16 through 17 reads, And behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.
And behold, a voice from heaven said, This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased. behold here like our verse is mentioned twice by matthew the sky splits open the spirit visibly rests on jesus telling the world that this strange galilean is indeed the promised one and an audible voice affirms the father's love for his son it's a confirmation that the prophecy of Isaiah, found its fulfillment in Jesus. So let Old Testament saints behold and expect the Messiah.
Let New Testament saints behold that we know his name. Christian, do you spend time beholding the Lord, the Lord Jesus? When you're in private prayer, Do you take time to behold? For me, it's sort of a breakthrough in prayer when I move from the level of just the perfunctory prayers for my daily bread to that place where I hallow His name, where I hallow Him, where I honor Him.
And that breakthrough usually comes when I spend a bit more time to wonder at His love, to be astonished with His sacrifice. To marvel at the beauty of his holiness. To see him for who he is. Sometimes it takes more time in prayer to push through. You might think about doing that this week as a point of application. Both from Matt and his marvelous sermon this morning and from this very text.
Here's the second point. His task of justice. There's one task for the servant. He will bring justice to the nations from this text. Now, first, notice the scope of this. It's worldwide. It's a worldwide task to the nations. So not only is this a messianic verse, it's a missions verse. And the specific task is justice.
We hear echoes here in the Great Commission. justice that word justice is a tricky thing on a number of levels number one we need to remember that the call for justice is a double-edged sword after all the bible is clear all have fallen short of the glory of God according to Romans so according to the bible if you call for perfect justice tonight at midnight who would be left at 1 a.m. but secondly when the bible speaks of justice, it's a far greater thing than the small-minded ways we think of justice, certainly beyond billboards and beyond mere human efforts to even write valid grievances.
When the Bible speaks of injustice, it's about the injustice that people would oppose God in treasonous rebellion that we would go our own way and not God's. The servant of the Lord will bring justice to the nations and when the Bible speaks of that he's speaking Isaiah and the Lord is speaking of divine judgment.
You know, we live in an age that sneers at divine justice but ignore it at your peril. One day those who sneer will look like the nations of Israel who sneered at the Lord while clinging to their idols. Divine justice will make the Assyrian destruction of Israel look like a tea party. Look, there are two kinds of people here in the room tonight. Those who follow Jesus as Lord and those who don't and are still on the way.
Let me say something to you if you're still on the way, if you're thinking about the Christian faith. I would suspect most of you would believe that there's a God. And I would suspect most of you would believe, as is common in our culture, that God is a God of love. And it's true. Furthermore, you probably think that a God of love can't be a God of judgment and justice. But there's just one thing about that. God loves justice.
He can't ignore it. He can't sweep it under the rug. Think of it this way. God would not be loving if he were not just. So Jesus will bring justice, perfect justice, in two ways. He will judge all who sneer at his loving offer of salvation, And they will be thrown into outer darkness. And he's just to do that. But there's another way of perfect justice.
God, in his love, offers us a perfect, life-giving justice that can't be found in other gods. It can't be found in yourself alone. It's a justice that comes to us at great cost to God, the death of his son. On the cross, love and justice came together such that Christ can offer forgiveness for all who would turn from sin and follow him in faith. You can escape divine justice against your sin by being found in Christ.
God's servant, Jesus, bore the wrath we all deserve so that he could stand before God with forgiveness Christ purchased for us on the cross. The Bible says, if you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved, Romans 10, 19. And here's the wonderful thing, the wonderful thing you should think of. And for all who follow Jesus as Lord who are here, those of us who are found in Christ have this wonder because all the promises that you see in God's servant in Isaiah 42.1 come to us.
If you're found in Christ, you'll be seen as a wonder. It will be said of you, behold, a trophy of God's grace. If you're in Christ, you have the privilege to be the servant of the Lord. If you're in Christ, you will be upheld with His mighty right hand. If you are in Christ, God has chosen you with his great love. If you are in Christ, God the Father delights in you. If you're in Christ, you have the Spirit indwelling in you.
If you're in Christ, you can take part in seeing justice come to the nations. Oh, brothers and sisters, what a wonder it is to be with Jesus. This week, take this short verse, ponder it, love it, and behold him who offers us life eternal. Amen? Amen. Let me pray. Lord Jesus, thank you for your word.
Thank you that you fulfilled the promises of Isaiah 42. And most of all, oh God, we thank you for those who are found in Christ that you offer to take hold of us in these ways, these marvelous ways so that not only will we behold you but we will be beheld as someone who is upheld by your mighty hand walking in your spirit knowing your great grace. We pray in Jesus' name.
Amen.