The Servant Songs, Part III

The Servant Songs are four prophetic poems, in chapters 42, 49, 50 and 52–53, and each builds on the identity of “the Servant of the Lord.” The common interpretation is that the Servant is Jesus the Christ. But Isaiah wrote some seven hundred years before Christ, and his first audience had nothing else to go on to know who this Servant was. So we view these descriptions from their perspective, building Isaiah’s portrait of the Servant and making application as we go.

Isaiah’s third Servant Song builds on the themes of the first two, emphasizing the Servant’s unwavering obedience and endurance in the face of suffering. While the Servant is indeed the one who will bring justice, the path to that justice is marked by rejection and hardship. Isaiah 49 revealed the tension between the Servant’s mission and the resistance of those He was sent to redeem. Now, in Isaiah 50, that rejection takes a more vivid form, as the Servant willingly submits to humiliation, enduring physical and verbal abuse without retaliation. His steadfastness is not rooted in human strength but in complete trust in God’s vindication. The passage also contrasts those who walk in the light of the Lord with those who rely on their own wisdom, warning of the consequences of rejecting the Servant’s example.

Songs one and two dealt with the Servant’s identity and mission, God’s voice mixed with the Servant’s, and each ended with a declaration of hope and restoration. Song three bridges the Servant’s mission and His sacrifice. The speaker is once again the Servant. We know it is the same Servant because verse 10 reveals Him as the Lord’s Servant — “that obeyeth the voice of his servant” — much as Isaiah 49:7 does. The passage keeps the Servant distinct from the Lord, yet stresses His complete dependence on Him: separate, yet intimately connected. It is the Servant Himself describing the suffering He will endure, not the Lord speaking about His Servant’s trials, and that reveals His willing submission and steadfast trust in God’s plan.

The song begins with the Servant revealing that God has taught Him all He needs to know in order to speak. “The Lord Jehovah hath given me the tongue of them that are taught” — “the tongue of the learned” in many versions. By whose authority does He speak? The Lord’s. Being taught comes before teaching (compare Isaiah 29:13–14). The Servant knows “how to sustain with words him that is weary”: the right message at the right time. “A word fitly spoken is like apples of gold in network of silver” (Proverbs 25:11).

His ability to sustain others is due to His continual communication with God. “He wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as they that are taught.” The Servant’s ear is opened, ready to hear God’s words — submission and readiness. His hearing is not ordinary; it is that of a disciple. Learned listeners apply what they hear, act on it, and grow by it.

In verse 5 God opened the Servant’s ear, and He “was not rebellious, neither turned away backward.” He accepted and followed. Israel was given the same opportunity. How did that turn out? Isaiah’s own commission foretold a people who would hear but not understand, whose ears were heavy (Isaiah 6:9–10).

The Servant’s willingness to endure suffering becomes evident in verse 6: “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair; I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” He “gave” His back — He was not forced to accept the abuse. Plucking the beard was humiliation, a deep shame in Hebrew culture. He does not hide from it or shrink from it, but faces it with unwavering resolve — what we might call “turning the other cheek.”

How does He endure such affliction? Verse 7 gives the answer: “For the Lord Jehovah will help me; therefore have I not been confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame.” Again the Lord will help His Servant, and because of the Lord the Servant cannot be disgraced. A face like a flint speaks of determination and courage. “I shall not be put to shame” — God provides the vindication.

Shame is the feeling that something is wrong with you. True shame is separation from God. “If ye are reproached for the name of Christ, blessed are ye; because the Spirit of glory and the Spirit of God resteth upon you” (1 Peter 4:14).

“He is near that justifieth me; who will contend with me?” Who justifies the Servant? The Lord Himself. With God standing near, who then can successfully oppose Him? The Servant is confident in God’s protection and assurances, and has no fear of opposition — not out of arrogance, but out of faith.

There will be adversaries: the wicked, those who reject the Servant. But are they worthy of contending? “Behold, the Lord Jehovah will help me; who is he that shall condemn me? behold, all they shall wax old as a garment, the moth shall eat them up.” They fade and decay; their opposition is temporary and futile, and they are consumed.

In verse 10 there is a subtle shift as the Servant draws a clear distinction between light and darkness. Fearing the Lord means obeying the voice of His Servant. The Servant calls both those who fear and those who are lost: “he that walketh in darkness, and hath no light, let him trust in the name of Jehovah, and rely upon his God.” The call is personal. Trust alone is not enough — true faith requires dependence on God rather than self-sufficiency.

In contrast are those who encircle themselves with fire: “all ye that kindle a fire, that gird yourselves about with firebrands; walk ye in the flame of your fire.” They trust in their own abilities and wisdom, and they find themselves on a path to sorrow and destruction: “This shall ye have of my hand; ye shall lie down in sorrow.” Reliance on God is not just beneficial but essential for spiritual endurance.

We are to trust in God fully (verse 10), and the Servant calls out those who rely on themselves (verse 11). Yet we are also called to work diligently (1 Timothy 5:8; 2 Thessalonians 3:10). The problem is prideful self-reliance: “Pride goeth before destruction” (Proverbs 16:18), and “God resisteth the proud” (James 4:6). “Cursed is the man that trusteth in man, and maketh flesh his arm” (Jeremiah 17:5). True faith is humbly working diligently while depending on God who provides.

Is the Servant Jesus the Christ? Every line of this song is matched in Him. Taught by God: “as the Father taught me, I speak these things” (John 8:28). Obedient and submissive: “he humbled himself, becoming obedient even unto death” (Philippians 2:8). Suffering without retaliation: He was struck, mocked and scourged (Matthew 26:67; 27:26–31). Silent and non-defensive in suffering: “when he was reviled, reviled not again… but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously” (1 Peter 2:23). His face set toward suffering: “he stedfastly set his face to go to Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51). Confident in God’s vindication: God justifies, and Christ is raised and exalted (Romans 8:33–34). Calling others to trust in God: He calls people to believe and walk in His light (John 12:44–46). Rejected by the self-reliant: “men loved the darkness rather than the light” (John 3:19).

Is the Servant Israel, or the faithful remnant? That reading takes “the tongue of them that are taught” as Israel as God’s prophetic voice — “Ye are my witnesses” (Isaiah 43:10); the wakened ear as Israel’s dedication to studying and obeying the Law; the suffering as foreign oppression under Babylon, the Greeks, the Romans and others; the face like a flint as Israel’s determination to remain faithful under oppression; and “he that walketh in darkness” as a call to faithful Jews in exile. Is there any truth in that? The issue is that the Servant speaks and acts as an individual, with personal obedience, personal suffering and conscious trust in God.

Is the Servant Jeremiah? He was commissioned by God to speak (Jeremiah 1:10), suffered beatings, insults and rejection (20:2), faced opposition and false accusations (20:10), and spoke of fire and judgment (5:14). But Jeremiah did not speak with authority of his own; he conveyed God’s message. He expressed frustration and anger with God (Jeremiah 20:7–9), where the Servant “was not rebellious.” And Jeremiah’s message was warning and lament, not redemptive suffering leading to restoration. Only Jesus fits the Servant of this song.

As we approach the fourth Servant Song, we have already seen the unfolding of the Servant’s mission, suffering and ultimate vindication. The second song deepened our understanding of His calling, highlighting His role in redeeming Israel while also serving as a light to the nations — despite moments of discouragement. The third song further emphasized His obedience and endurance, revealing His willingness to suffer humiliation and rejection while remaining steadfast in His trust in God. Together these songs paint a powerful picture of a Servant who brings hope, fully aware that suffering and humiliation are inevitable — not in spite of His reliance on God, but as a result of it. His unwavering trust in God’s ever-present help does not exempt Him from hardship; rather, it strengthens Him to endure it, knowing that ultimate vindication is assured.