Suffering Servant

1) The servant of the Lord who established Justice.

2) The servant of the Lord is the prophet calling Israel and the nation; he is the light.

3) The servant of the Lord is a teacher but is rejected; he sustains the weary.

4) The servant is rejected but intercedes on behalf of others, carries their sins and suffers for them and vindicted by God.

- The four songs in Isaiah which emphasise the suffering, exaltation and service that Jesus gave us.

- The songs show that the Messiah is God's meek and gentle servant, it describes what it will be like when the Messiah arrives, it is a prophecy foretelling how the world will react when they witness Israel's salvation.

- It is impossible to identify the servant with a known historical person. It is certain that the servants fate deeply shocked the second Isaiah, who came to the conclusion that a just man had been punished by God for the wickedness of others.

- "Lord has comforted his people" 52:9

- "My name is constantly blasphemed" 52:5

- "Many who were appauled at him, his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any other human being" 52:14

- "After he has suffered, he will see the light" 53:11

- "For what they were not told, they will see, and what they have not heard, they will understand" 52:15

- "Lord makes his life an offering for sins," 53:10

- "Surely he took upon our pain and bore our suffering" 53:4

1) Rudolf Otto: Mark 9:12 "Why then is it written that the Son of Man must suffer much and be rejected" Proof he is the suffering servant.

2) C.H Dodd: Lists a large number of places in the New Testament where he finds references to the servant passages.

3) France: Before Jesus is betrayed and dies, he makesa direct link to the suffering servant, numbered with transgressors.

4) Jeremias: Criticises ****** by saying she treats the New Testament like a mosaic, and examines each stone separately.

5) V.Taylor: Believes that Jesus had so far identified the Son of Man with the servant.

1) Burkitt: No connection and Greek speaking Christaians did not understand the original term meant slave.

2) Bultmann: The predictions of the passion, which represent his suffering and death as willed by God and necessary to salvation, were put in his mouth subsequently by the Church.

3) Moule: Believes Jesus to have gotten his mission from Daniel 7, "one like a Son of man" not Isaiah.

4) ******: Jesus did not understand himself. Her conclusion is that Jesus announcement both of the fact and meaninf of his death do not show the influence of the suffering servant.

- The suffering servants main purpose was to save Israel from darkness and to restore their beliefs, and get rid of sin. In Isaish 42:6 "Light for the Gentiles" which connects to John's Gospel in John 8:12 "I am the light of the world". Proving that Jesus is declaring himself as the one who will save humanity from darkness and sin.

- In the first song, which establishes Justice, it explains how the Lord will bring Justice into the world. In Isaiah 42:1 "He will bring Justice to the nations" Connects to John 5:22, "The Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgement to the Son," During the time of Israel, the Pharisees were cruel and punished people and Israel was unable to protect themselves.

- Morna ****** believed that Jesus was not the Suffering Servant, the Nation of Israel was. "But you Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, you descendants of Abraham my friend" Isaiah 41:8. However, Israel is unable to be the Suffering Servant because they cannot save themself. Believed thst it was written in celebration of the ends captivity for nation of Israel in Babylon

- One of the most significant assumptions about the suffering servant was that Jesus will be rejected but will sustain the weary. In Isaiah 50:6 "I offered my back to those who beat me... I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting" The suffering servant is rejected, also like Jesus in John 1:11. "He came to that which was his own, but his own did not recieve him" Jesus and the suffering servant both shared the connection of rejection.

- Morna, Jesus did not understand himself as the suffering servant. Jeremias criticises the view point and says she treats the New Testament like a mosaic and examines each stone separately, she needs to look at it as a whole.

- France believed that although Jesus did not say he was the suffering servant but he does hint at ot. Before he is betrayed and dies, he makes a different link to the suffering servant numbered with transgressons.

- Isaiah 52:13 "See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted" can be connected with John 3:14 "The son of man must be lifted up" He will bring salavation.