My Servant
“Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently; He shall be exalted and extolled and be very high. Just as many were astonished at you, So His visage was marred more than any man, And His form more than the sons of men; So shall He sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths at Him; For what had not been told them they shall see, And what they had not heard they shall consider.” (Isaiah 52:13-15, NKJV)
People with this dignified Status
Moses, Caleb, Job, and David were all considered servants of Jehovah. But they were not just servants, Jehovah says they were “my servants.” Moses was probably the one with the most intimate relationship with the Lord since he talked with the Lord face to face and he spent a lot of time alone on a mountain with the Lord. Caleb was a faithful servant. He saw possibilities and not problems. Job was a suffering servant. He reminds us of the sufferings of the Lord. He justified God even though he knew his afflictions were allowed by God. David was certainly a flawed servant and yet he was considered to be a man after God’s own heart. But there was one servant who always pleased the Father (John 8:29). That was the Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord Jesus
He was crucified, yet He is going to be exalted and extolled. He was more marred or disfigured than any man. That may mean that He was unrecognizable as a man after the crucifixion. But it may also mean that while others have been just as disfigured from burnings, torture, etc., all others were marred by sin before they were disfigured. He was not. So HIs marring was greater because it started from a man not marred by sin as we are. But as the Father’s servant, He suffered in the Garden as Satan made one last attempt to keep him from going to the cross. He suffered at the hands of the Jewish leaders, the Roman leaders and was mocked by the soldiers and by the religious rulers and by “those who passed by.” But there was a thief that started out “reviling” the Lord but had a change of heart (this is called repentance) and ended up in heaven with the Lord after he died. A centurion and some with him also had that same change of heart. The Lord did this as the Father’s servant so that a few of us could truly trust Him and have our sins forgiven. Then we become His servant.
We Were the Slaves of Sin
Romans 6 makes it clear that by nature we are the servants (or slaves) of sin. Satan enslaves us but thank God that bond can be broken by faith. Paul says of believers, “But God be thanked that though you were slaves of sin, yet you obeyed from the heart that form of doctrine to which you were delivered. And having been set free from sin, you became slaves of righteousness.” (Romans 6:17-18, NKJV) Sin in the chapter seems to represent Satan and righteousness seems to represent Christ. Christians are not set free to do as they please, they are set free to serve a new master. This master was God’s servant. The one God calls “my servant.” I believe that while the Lord was a servant, His service was voluntary and not compulsory. He was willing to be marred more than any man.
Whose Servants Are We?
We are not saved by what we do, but it seems that what we do reflects what we believe and whom we trust. I hope that those of us who are saved are voluntary slaves and not compulsory slaves. I hope that as the Lord did all things that please the Father, we will do all things that please the Lord. We know many people are trying to please the Lord without the change of heart that the thief had on the cross. While they may be good people as far as society is concerned, they are still sinners that need to be saved or forgiven. Only then will they understand why those who are saved do some things that the Lord has asked us to do simply because he has asked us to do them. We are voluntary servants or slaves of the Lord.
Wouldn’t it be an honor for the Lord to call us “my servant?”
Bruce Collins
Meditation for the week of March 19, 2023