Did God foretell about a Servant who would bless the Gentiles, a light to guide the nations? Is that Jesus? Let’s look at Isaiah 42.
Is this Servant a clear reference to Jesus, His Elect One, who brings justice to the nations?
“Behold! My Servant whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights! I have put My Spirit upon Him; He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles. He will not cry out, nor raise His voice, Nor cause His voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.” (Isa 42:1-4 NKJV)
Does God give His qualifications to be able to make such promises concerning Jesus? Do idols made by mere men qualify?
God, the Lord, created the heavens and stretched them out. He created the earth and everything in it. He gives breath to everyone, life to everyone who walks the earth. And it is he who says, “I, the Lord, have called you to demonstrate my righteousness. I will take you by the hand and guard you, and I will give you to my people, Israel, as a symbol of my covenant with them. And you will be a light to guide the nations. You will open the eyes of the blind. You will free the captives from prison, releasing those who sit in dark dungeons. I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not give my glory to anyone else, nor share my praise with carved idols. Everything I prophesied has come true, and now I will prophesy again. I will tell you the future before it happens.” (Isa 42:5-9 NLT)
Will there be a reason for rejoicing in song throughout the region and the entire world?
Sing to Yahweh a new song, and his praise from the end of the earth, you who go down to the sea, and all that is therein, the islands and their inhabitants. Let the wilderness and its cities raise their voices, with the villages that Kedar [Arabian and Syrian Deserts] inhabits. Let the inhabitants of Sela [Petra] sing. Let them shout from the top of the mountains! Let them give glory to Yahweh, and declare his praise in the islands. (Isa 42:10-12 WEB)
Will the Lord abandon us or will he bring us blessings beyond measure?
The Lord will go out like a soldier; like a warrior God will stir up rage. God will shout, will roar; over enemies he will prevail. I’ve kept still for a very long time. I’ve been silent and restrained myself. Like a woman in labor I will moan; I will pant, I will gasp. I will wither mountains and valleys, and I will dry up all their vegetation. I will turn rivers into deserts, and I will dry up pools. I will make the blind walk a road they don’t know, and I will guide them in paths they don’t know. But I will make darkness before them into light and rough places into level ground. These things I will do; I won’t abandon them. (Isa 42:13-16 CEB)
Will those who trust in useless idols be ashamed? What does God say to religious leaders who claim to see and hear but in reality are blind and deaf?
Everyone who worships idols as though they were gods will be terribly ashamed. You people are deaf and blind, but the Lord commands you to listen and to see. No one is as blind or deaf as his messenger, his chosen servant, who sees and hears so much, but pays no attention. (Isa 42:17-20 CEV)
How is the law magnified? Is circumcision now of the heart, is Sabbath now our rest in Jesus, is Jesus our Passover Lamb?
The Lord was pleased, for his righteousness' sake, to magnify his law and make it glorious. But this is a people plundered and looted; they are all of them trapped in holes and hidden in prisons; they have become plunder with none to rescue, spoil with none to say, “Restore!” Who among you will give ear to this, will attend and listen for the time to come? (Isa 42:21-23 ESV)
Did the discipline God gave them, by being plundered by their enemies, bring about their repentance?
Who gave Jacob to the robber, and Israel to the plunderers? Was it not the Lord? Have we not sinned against Him? They were not willing to walk in His ways, and they would not listen to His instruction. So He poured out on Jacob His furious anger and the power of war. It surrounded him with fire, but he did not know it; it burned him, but he paid no attention. (Isa 42:24-25 HCSB)
Does Matthew confirm Jesus as the fulfillment of this prophecy?
“Here is my Servant whom I have chosen, whom I love, and with whom I am pleased! I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to unbelievers. He will not quarrel or shout, and no one will hear him shouting in the streets. He will not snap off a broken reed or snuff out a smoldering wick until he has brought justice through to victory. And in his name unbelievers will hope.” (Mat 12:18-21 ISV)
Did God foretell about a Servant who would bless the Gentiles, a light to guide the nations? Is that Jesus? You decide!
