"Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the LORD makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the LORD will prosper in his hand."
{Isaiah 53:10} (NIV)
In a sense, everyone is a servant of God. From Him and through Him and for Him are all things (Rom11:36). Israel is called the servant of God, and is used by God to bring salvation to the world, in spite of their rebellious and stiff-necked natures. God calls a pagan king named Cyrus His anointed and a shepherd in Isaiah 44 & 45, although no where are we taught that Cyrus believed in the LORD, or obeyed the LORD’s will on purpose.
A Servant who deliberately and consciously does the LORD’s will is what Isaiah 53 is describing. This Servant understands that the LORD’s will is to crush Him, cause Him to suffer, and offering His life as an atonement offering, and willing submits His life to the will of the Father. Not only does this Servant understand this part of God’s will, He understands that through this suffering He will be raised up and glorified, and accomplish the great and glorious plan God has for all of creation.
Hebrews 12 teaches us that as Jesus faced the cross He could see the crown and the throne, and the great and glorious kingdom of the redeemed beyond it. He endured the cross for the joy on the other side! Are we the type of servant our Lord is? Are we the type of servant that Isaiah was? Can we see the joy that is set before us, just on the other side of the cross we must bear?
"Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles. And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God." (Hebrews 12:1,2)
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