Summary
These are the four Servant of the Lord oracles from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. Though many identifications have been proposed for the Servant, Christians see these prophecies fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.
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Notes
Isaiah 42:1 -
Now it came to pass, when all the people were baptized, that Jesus also being baptized and praying, heaven was opened. And the Holy [Spirit] descended in a bodily shape, as a dove, upon him. And a voice came from heaven: Thou art my beloved Son. In thee I am well pleased. (Luke 3:21-22)
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42:2 -
And they asked him, saying: Master, we know that thou speakest and teachest rightly: and thou dost not respect any person, but teachest the way of God in truth. (Luke 20:21)
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42:3 -
Now when John had heard in prison the works of Christ: sending two of his disciples he said to him: Art thou he that art to come, or look we for another? (Matthew 11:2-3) The mercy of Jesus confused John, but his honest questioning was not condemned. (See note on 43:7)
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42:4 -
"The islands" refers to the lands of the Mediterranean. In the Old Testament the word often refers to the pagan lands of the West.
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42:6 -
And whilst they were at supper, Jesus took bread and blessed and broke and gave to his disciples and said: Take ye and eat. This is my body. And taking the chalice, he gave thanks and gave to them, saying: Drink ye all of this. For this is my blood of the new testament [or covenant], which shall be shed for many unto remission of sins. (Matthew 26:26-28)
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42:7 -
And Jesus making answer said to them: Go and relate to John what you have heard and seen. The blind see, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead rise again, the poor have the gospel preached to them. (Matthew 11:4-5)
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42:8 -
We believe in one Lord, Jesus Christ, the only son of God eternally begotten of the Father, God from God, Light from Light, true God from true God, begotten, not made, one in being with the Father. (Nicene Creed)
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49:1 -
And the angel said to her: Fear not, Mary, for thou hast found grace with God. Behold thou shalt conceive in thy womb and shalt bring forth a son: and thou shalt call his name Jesus. (Luke 1:30-31)
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49:3 -
Israel is the name God gave to Jacob, whose sons began the 12 tribes of Israel. By chosing 12 apostles, Jesus identified himself as Israel.
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49:6 -
And he [Simeon] came by the Spirit into the temple. And when his parents brought in the child Jesus, to do for him according to the custom of the law, He also took him into his arms and blessed God and said Now thou dost dismiss thy servant, O Lord, according to thy word in peace: Because my eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all peoples: A light to the revelation of the Gentiles and the glory of thy people Israel. (Luke 2:27-32)
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50:6 -
And some began to spit on him and to cover his face and to buffet him and to say unto him: Prophesy. And the servants struck him with the palms of their hands. (Mark 14:65)
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50:10 -
Again therefore, Jesus spoke to: them, saying: I am the light of the world. He that followeth me walketh not in darkness, but shall have the light of life. (John 8:12)
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50:11 -
Those who reject the Servant's light create their own fires for themselves. But these flames are wild and consuming, and they will suffer within them.
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52:15 -
Though the Gentiles have not been told of the Messiah, they shall learn of this act of his.
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53:1 -
The arm of the Lord is a good way to envision the relationship of the Father and Son in the Trinity. Consider your arm. It only does what you will it to. It is an extension of yourself, yet you can also see it as separate from yourself. Likewise, the Son only does the will of the Father. He is an extension of the Father (God from God) and yet he is separate from the Father, just like you and your arm.
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53:2 -
This leads me to believe that if you or I were to pass Jesus walking down the street, himself dressed in modern clothes, there would be nothing about special about his appearance to make us take notice of him. No one in the Gospels ever recognised him as the Son of God at first glance (except for some possessed by demons).
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53:4 -
When a man hath committed a crime for which he is to be punished with death, and being condemned to die is hanged on a gibbet: His body shall not remain upon the tree, but shall be buried the same day: for he is accursed of God that hangeth on a tree: and thou shalt not defile thy land, which the Lord thy God shall give thee in possession. (Deut. 21:22-23)
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53:5 -
For I delivered unto you first of all, which I also received: how that Christ died for our sins, according to the scriptures:(1 Cor. 15:3)
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53:6 -
I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd giveth his life for his sheep. (John 10:11)
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53:7 -
And [Herod] questioned him in many words. But he answered him nothing. (Luke 23:1-56)
And Pilate again asked him, saying: Answerest thou nothing? Behold in how many things they accuse thee. But Jesus still answered nothing: so that Pilate wondered. (Mark 15:4-5)
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53:9 -
This rendering is unfortunate. I prefer the New American Standard's translation: His grave was assigned with wicked men, Yet He was with a rich man in His death, Because He had done no violence, Nor was there any deceit in His mouth.* Here we can see a the circumstances of Jesus' death foreshawdowed.
The Romans buried crucified persons with their crosses near the scene of their crucifixion. They had assigned a grave for him, along side the two criminals he was crucified with, but that is not where he ended up. And when it was evening, there came a certain rich man of Arimathea, named Joseph, who also himself was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate and asked the body of Jesus. Then Pilate commanded that the body should be delivered. (Matthew 27:57-58)
(*Scripture taken from the NEW AMERICAN STANDARD BIBLE®, Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission.)
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53:12 -
For let this mind be in you, which was also in Christ Jesus: Who being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God: But emptied himself, taking the form of a servant, being made in the likeness of men, and in habit found as a man. He humbled himself, becoming obedient unto death, even to the death of the cross. For which cause, God also hath exalted him and hath given him a name which is above all names: That in the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of those that are in heaven, on earth, and under the earth: And that every tongue should confess that the Lord Jesus Christ is in the glory of God the Father. (Phil. 2:5-11)
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Scripture Source
The Scripture quoted on this page comes from the Douay-Rheims Bible (unless otherwise stated). This translation was widely used by English speaking Catholics until the mid-20th Century and is now in the public domain.
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Isaiah's "Servant of the Lord" Oracles
These are the four Servant of the Lord oracles from the Book of the Prophet Isaiah. Though many identifications have been proposed for the Servant (such as historic Israel, ideal Israel, someone who lived before or during the life of the prophet, or the prophet himself) Christians see these prophecies fulfilled in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ. In fact, the Church Fathers to refered to Isaiah as the "Fifth Gospel".
The Announcing of the Servant of the Lord
Isaiah 42:1-4 (with 42:5-9)
1 Behold my servant, I will uphold him: my elect, my soul delighteth in him: I have given my spirit upon him, he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles.
2 He shall not cry, nor have respect to person, neither shall his voice be heard abroad.
3 The bruised reed he shall not break, and smoking flax he shall not quench, he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.
4 He shall not be sad, nor troublesome, till he set judgment in the earth, and the islands shall wait for his law.
5 Thus saith the Lord God that created the heavens, and stretched them out: that established the earth, and the things that spring out of it: that giveth breath to the people upon it, and spirit to them that tread thereon.
6 I the Lord have called thee in justice, and taken thee by the hand, and preserved thee. And I have given thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles:
7 That thou mightest open the eyes of the blind, and bring forth the prisoner out of prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.
8 I the Lord, this is my name: I will not give my glory to another, nor my praise to graven things.
9 The things that were first, behold they are come: and new things do I declare: before they spring forth, I will make you hear them.
The Servant Speaks
Isaiah 49:1-7
1 Give ear, ye islands, and hearken, ye people from afar. The Lord hath called me from the womb, from the bowels of my mother he hath been mindful of my name.
2 And he hath made my mouth like a sharp sword: in the shadow of his hand he hath protected me, and hath made me as a chosen arrow: in his quiver he hath hidden me.
3 And he said to me: Thou art my servant Israel, for in thee will I glory.
4 And I said: I have laboured in vain, I have spent my strength without cause and in vain: therefore my judgment is with the Lord, and my work with my God.
5 And now saith the Lord, that formed me from the womb to be his servant, that I may bring back Jacob unto him, and Israel will not be gathered together: and I am glorified in the eyes of the Lord, and my God is made my strength.
6 And he said: It is a small thing that thou shouldst be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to convert the dregs of Israel. Behold, I have given thee to be the light of the Gentiles, that thou mayst be my salvation even to the farthest part of the earth.
7 Thus saith the Lord the redeemer of Israel, his Holy One, to the soul that is despised, to the nation that is abhorred, to the servant of rulers: Kings shall see, and princes shall rise up, and adore for the Lord’s sake, because he is faithful, and for the Holy One of Israel, who hath chosen thee.
Salvation Only Through the Lord's Servant
Isaiah 50:4-11
4 The Lord hath given me a learned tongue, that I should know how to uphold by word him that is weary: he wakeneth in the morning, in the morning he wakeneth my ear, that I may hear him as a master.
5 The Lord God hath opened my ear, and I do not resist: I have not gone back.
6 I have given my body to the strikers, and my cheeks to them that plucked them: I have not turned away my face from them that rebuked me, and spit upon me.
7 The Lord God is my helper, therefore am I not confounded: therefore have I set my face as a most hard rock, and I know that I shall not be confounded.
8 He is near that justifieth me, who will contend with me? let us stand together, who is my adversary? let him come near to me.
9 Behold the Lord God is my helper: who is he that shall condemn me? Lo, they shall all be destroyed as a garment, the moth shall eat them up.
10 Who is there among you that feareth the Lord, that heareth the voice of his servant, that hath walked in darkness, and hath no light? let him hope in the name of the Lord, and lean upon his God.
11 Behold all you that kindle a fire, encompassed with flames, walk in the light of your fire, and in the flames which you have kindled: this is done to you by my hand, you shall sleep in sorrows.
The Suffering and Triumph of the Servant of the Lord
Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12
13 Behold my servant shall understand, he shall be exalted, and extolled, and shall be exceeding high.
14 As many have been astonished at thee, so shall his visage be inglorious among men, and his form among the sons of men.
15 He shall sprinkle many nations, kings shall shut their mouth at him: for they to whom it was not told of him, have seen: and they that heard not, have beheld.
1 Who a hath believed our report? and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?
2 And he shall grow up as a tender plant before him, and as a root out of a thirsty ground: there is no beauty in him, nor comeliness: and we have seen him, and there was no sightliness, that we should be desirous of him:
3 Despised, and the most abject of men, a man of sorrows, and acquainted with infirmity: and his look was as it were hidden and despised, whereupon we esteemed him not.
4 Surely he hath borne our infirmities and carried our sorrows: and we have thought him as it were a leper, and as one struck by God and afflicted.
5 But he was wounded for our iniquities, he was bruised for our sins: the chastisement of our peace was upon him, and by his bruises we are healed.
6 All we like sheep have gone astray, every one hath turned aside into his own way: and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all.
7 He was offered because it was his own will, and he opened not his mouth: he shall be led as a sheep to the slaughter, and shall be dumb as a lamb before his shearer, and he shall not open his mouth.
8 He was taken away from distress, and from judgment: who shall declare his generation? because he is cut off out of the land of the living: for the wickedness of my people have I struck him.
9 And he shall give the ungodly for his burial, and the rich for his death: because he hath done no iniquity, neither was there deceit in his mouth.
10 And the Lord was pleased to bruise him in infirmity: if he shall lay down his life for sin, he shall see a longlived seed, and the will of the Lord shall be prosperous in his hand.
11 Because his soul hath laboured, he shall see and be filled: by his knowledge shall this my just servant justify many, and he shall bear their iniquities.
12 Therefore will I distribute to him very many, and he shall divide the spoils of the strong, because he hath delivered his soul unto death, and was reputed with the wicked: and he hath borne the sins of many, and hath prayed for the transgressors.
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