Holy Week and the Servant Songs from Isaiah: Part 4

See, my servant shall prosper,
he shall be raised high and greatly exalted.
Even as many were amazed at him—
so marred was his look beyond human semblance
and his appearance beyond that of the sons of man—
so shall he startle many nations,
because of him kings shall stand speechless;
for those who have not been told shall see,
those who have not heard shall ponder it.

Who would believe what we have heard?
To whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?
He grew up like a sapling before him,
like a shoot from the parched earth;
there was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him,
nor appearance that would attract us to him.
He was spurned and avoided by people,
a man of suffering, accustomed to infirmity,
one of those from whom people hide their faces,
spurned, and we held him in no esteem.

Yet it was our infirmities that he bore,
our sufferings that he endured,
while we thought of him as stricken,
as one smitten by God and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our offenses,
crushed for our sins;
upon him was the chastisement that makes us whole,
by his stripes we were healed.
We had all gone astray like sheep,
each following his own way;
but the LORD laid upon him
the guilt of us all.

Though he was harshly treated, he submitted
and opened not his mouth;
like a lamb led to the slaughter
or a sheep before the shearers,
he was silent and opened not his mouth.
Oppressed and condemned, he was taken away,
and who would have thought any more of his destiny?
When he was cut off from the land of the living,
and smitten for the sin of his people,
a grave was assigned him among the wicked
and a burial place with evildoers,
though he had done no wrong
nor spoken any falsehood.
But the LORD was pleased
to crush him in infirmity.

If he gives his life as an offering for sin,
he shall see his descendants in a long life,
and the will of the LORD shall be accomplished through him.

Because of his affliction
he shall see the light in fullness of days;
through his suffering, my servant shall justify many,
and their guilt he shall bear.
Therefore I will give him his portion among the great,
and he shall divide the spoils with the mighty,
because he surrendered himself to death
and was counted among the wicked;
and he shall take away the sins of many,
and win pardon for their offenses.

It is easy to see why the Church in her wisdom gives us this reading as the First Reading for the Commemoration of the Lord's Passion on Good Friday.  The imagery is nothing short of powerful, and the connections between this passage, and the events of Christ's life seem to shine through even more clearly than they do in the other 3 servant songs.  

I could write an entire research paper on all of the ways in which Christ fulfills this passage, but this is not the space to do that- so I will do my best to be brief- especially since there is so much here!!

"There was in him no stately bearing to make us look at him:" How many times in the Gospels do we hear people saying "is this not the Carpenter's son?" "What good can come from Nazareth?" "Do we not know his mother and his father?"  Jesus was indeed spurned, and held in no esteem, because the people saw him as a commoner, as someone who did not know what he was talking about.  Mark's Gospel even tells us that his own family thought he was crazy!

And yet, in the very next section of the text, the purpose of the servant becomes crystal clear: He, and he alone is to bear the weight of all our ills, all our sins.  But what is remarkable is the way in which he does this- The passage states:

Though he was harshly treated, he submitted
and opened not his mouth;
like a lamb led to the slaughter
or a sheep before the shearers,
he was silent and opened not his mouth.

The silence with which the servant suffers for us speaks volumes: It shows that the servant is willing to undergo this suffering!!!! He has "set his face like flint" as we heard in the third song, and takes upon himself the guilt of us all.  This is not done without considerable agony, as even the Gospels record Jesus praying before his arrest "Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass me by: Yet not as I will, but as Thou will." But once he knew that there was no turning back, he embraced his suffering willingly.

And even though in the end, all seems lost: The servant is buried with evildoers, and is cut off from the land of the living.  Yet, when all seems lost, there is a glimmer of hope at the end of the passage: The servant is promised a portion among the great, and a share of the spoils of the mighty- all because he surrendered himself, to take away the sins of many, and win pardon for their offenses.

This remarkable passage, written almost 6oo years before Christ, is fulfilled par excellence in Jesus.  And it's thought is echoed in the New Testament Writings too: Most notably in a passage from the Second Chapter of the First Letter of Peter.  It Reads:

Christ also suffered for you, leaving you an example that you should follow in his footsteps.

“He committed no sin,

and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

When he was insulted, he returned no insult; when he suffered, he did not threaten; instead, he handed himself over to the one who judges justly.
He himself bore our sins in his body upon the cross, so that, free from sin, we might live for righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed.

The remarkable thing about this passage is that Peter reminds us that Christ has left us an example to follow- meaning that we must learn to embrace our own sufferings as well, and unite them to the sufferings that Christ endured on the Cross- Remembering that suffering is not the end, and that we have a greater promise of hope because of the sufferings that Christ endured on the Cross.

Blessings to you on this Good Friday.