The Servant in Isaiah

Isaiah 53 is the most well known passage about the “suffering servant,” and we often read it as if Jesus’ name is pretty much written in the original text. With a wider perspective of the book as a whole, we can gain appreciation for not only the context of Isaiah but also the overarching flow of thought for this “servant” theme.

There are actually four “Servant Songs” in Isaiah: 42:1–9; 49:1–13; 50:4–11; 52:13—53:12. Each one does seem to reference events and characteristics that describe the person and work of Jesus. We can at least see that singular pronouns are used. This would seem to suggest than an individual is in view. Yet, it may not be as clean cut as this.

What makes things fuzzy is that Isaiah initially identifies the nation of Israel as God’s servant (41:8; 44:1–2). God chose then to serve as His witness (43:10) and as a light to the Gentiles. Israel continuously failed as this mission due to idolatry and her own need for forgiveness (42:19; 44:21–22). 

But you, Israel, My servant, Jacob whom I have chosen, descendant of Abraham My friend, You whom I have taken from the ends of the earth, and called from its remotest parts and said to you, ‘You are My servant, I have chosen you and not rejected you.’” —Isaiah 41:8-9

Isaiah 49:5-6, though, mention the “servant” as clearly being distinct from Israel, whose mission is to bring Israel back to fellowship with YHWH.

And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, so that Israel might be gathered to Him…He says, ‘It is too small a thing that You should be My Servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the preserved ones of Israel; I will also make You a light of the nations so that My salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’”

For a helpful list of all mentions of the servant in Isaiah, see http://www.wordexplain.com/IsaiahServant.html.

It appears we cannot make blanket statements about the referent of the servant being Isaiah, a prophet, an unnamed individual from the 8th century BC, Israel as a nation, or the future Messiah in every case. It appears each passage must be taken on its own, but at the same time understood in light of the book as a whole.

On my “Favorite Resources” page, there’s a book called The NT Use of the OT by Carson and Beale. This is a fantastic “commentary” not only on how a NT passage interprets and “uses” an OT passage, but the trajectory of an OT passage through its original context and Jewish understandings in their literature. For Isaiah 52-53 there are dozens of entries. On page 32, here’s one simple explanation. “The most balanced conclusion seems to be that although there is no unambiguous pre-Christian evidence for a messianic perspective on the Servant Songs, and especially for a suffering messiah, ‘there is good reason to think that some initial steps had been taken in that direction’ (Page 1985: 493).’” The point being that Jewish rabbis and the literature gives mixed reviews of the passage in question. Sometimes it is clearly a messianic interpretation; other times it focuses solely on Israel as the servant. It is difficult to pinpoint date, location, and influence on these writings.

My conclusion is similar to the author of that specific article. The purpose of these “Servant Songs” then could be an example of corporate solidarity. The future Messiah will represent the nation and complete the intended mission where the nation could not. He will faithfully complete the task where they failed. He will suffer so they can be free. And He will be exalted so that the entire nation can be vindicated. 

This only makes sense in light of the covenant, disobedience, exile, New Covenant, Jew/Gentile relationships, etc. Plucking Isaiah 53 out from its 66 surrounding chapters and the entire OT canon to find substitutionary atonement seems premature. We have to work harder to allow the narrative to play out. We get the same, or at least similar, theological conclusions. But there’s a much more solid foundation biblically and logically. 

(Per my conclusion above, I do not think it is solely Israel, at least not looking back. We have the benefit of being able to do that. The difficulty is seeing these passages in their original context. If interested, see this article for one [not particularly “the”] Jewish perspective on how Isaiah 53 refers to Israel as the nation and not the Messiah.