What a Servant-Savior!

17th Sunday after Pentecost, 9/27/09
Isaiah 50:4-10

What a Servant-Savior!
I. He listens and obeys.
II. He inspires Christian living.

Throughout history humanity has benefited from unique combinations. When looking for a military leader, bravery isn’t enough. It has to be combined with intelligence and leadership. The world of sports is mesmerized when it finds superhuman strength combined with lightening speed. Advertisers want you to believe that their new product has the power to do what 3 or 4 products you currently own can do.

Did you notice how often we look for combinations that include power?
The Old Testament prophet Isaiah is known for painting some of the most vivid prophecies about the coming Savior. Those prophecies come in four large groupings scattered in the 66 chapters of his book. In each one of them he combines a stunning characteristic with this Messiah’s work as our Savior. Can you guess what that stunning characteristic is? It’s not power as we might expect. Just the opposite. It’s the characteristic of being a servant.

We see that unexpected but stunning combination in the words of our text this morning. What a Servant-Savior! He doesn’t mow sinners down with his almighty power. Instead, he lovingly serves us. Be amazed at that truth with me this morning as we see this awesome combination in Jesus Christ.

Part I.
In the movie A Few Good Men, Jack Nicholson plays an egocentric general. As he testifies in a military trial, he makes the point that his men always follow his orders. If they don’t, then men get killed. It’s just that simple. And that’s the military way. From boot camp on, soldiers are pounded with the command that they must obey orders. They are not to disobey. They are not to question why. They are to listen to the command and carry it out.

If I were to ask you, "What is one amazing characteristic of Jesus Christ?" I might get all sorts of answers. But I don’t think one of them would be, "He was the greatest listener this world has ever seen." And yet that’s exactly the truth that the Lord highlighted through Isaiah. Our text opens with the words, "The Sovereign LORD has given me an instructed tongue, to know the word that sustains the weary. He wakens me morning by morning, wakens my ear to listen like one being taught. The Sovereign LORD has opened my ears." Jesus listened to the word of his Father. We have one story about Jesus from his late childhood. It’s the story of the boy Jesus in the Temple. And what was he doing there? Studying God’s word with the best Jewish rabbis.

During his adult life we hear repeatedly that he went to the synagogue on the Sabbath Day.
Why? To hear and study God’s word. We get every impression that this was his regular practice.

And it’s clear from what Jesus repeatedly said to his disciples, the masses of people and even to his enemies, that he was in constant contact with his heavenly Father. He did and spoke the things that his heavenly Father wanted him to speak and do. He knew what to say and what to do because he listened to his heavenly Father.

The main reason Jesus spoke every one of his words while on this earth was so that people would believe what he was saying and would come to saving faith in him. The Father’s will is to save all sinners. Jesus came to accomplish that salvation and to share the truths of that salvation with others. But to do that, he had to listen to his Father.

And that listening always involved perfect obedience. Jesus never told his Father, "I hear ya, but I’m not doing that." He obeyed the word of his Father. What makes that so amazing is that he did it in spite of opposition. You would think, after waiting for thousands of years for the Savior to come, that the Jews would be overjoyed when Jesus appeared and did everything the Old Testament had foretold about him. But what was their reaction? They wanted nothing to do with him. And it wasn’t enough just to leave him alone. They opposed him. They called him a blasphemer and a messenger of Satan.

Worse still, they abused him. Isaiah foretells what the Savior would endure with these words, "I have not been rebellious; I have not drawn back. I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting." You know what they did to Jesus at his trial. It got worse than what Isaiah tells us here. They beat him bloody before they nailed him to the cross.

And yet he wasn’t guilty of a single thing. In fact, he had carried out the work of being our Savior perfectly. His heavenly Father vindicated him. Three times that we know of during Jesus’ earthly ministry the Father shouted from the heavens, "This is my Son whom I love. With him I am well pleased." His Father helped him repeatedly during his work, strengthening him in answer to Jesus’ prayers. The Servant-Savior says here, "The Sovereign Lord helps me, I will not be disgraced." Yes, it’s true the Father did forsake Jesus while he was on the cross, but only so that he could suffer hell as the payment for our sins. When that suffering ended, his Father received his soul in heaven and three days later joined that soul to his body forever. That resurrection is the resounding shout of victory for the Servant-Savior, Jesus.

Even though we sinners gave the Servant-Savior every reason not to complete his work, he listened to and obeyed his Father. What a Servant-Savior!

Jesus wasn’t the only one who listened to the word of his heavenly Father and obeyed. Believe it or not, we do to. We’re doing it right now. We’ve done it in the past. Unless God calls us home to heaven soon, we’ll listen to his word again soon. And we’ll obey. We’ll do what his word says. But for how long? Only as long as it suits us? As long as we don’t have anything else "better" to do? Unless our sinful flesh convinces us to listen to it and do what it tells us to do? The truth is, none of us are really good at listening to his word and obeying it. But that’s why Jesus did not come to mow sinners down. He came to serve them. That service included always, always, always listening to his Father and obeying. That service concluded when he paid for our disobedience on the cross. What a Servant-Savior! Has anyone ever come close to serving you in such a blessed way?

Part II.
I’ve heard others say it. I’ve said it many times myself. Love is the greatest motivator of all. You can motivate people with fear, but only as long as you’re watching over them making them do it. You can motivate them with money, but that wears thin quickly. Love is the greatest motivator. It will move parents to sacrifice their lives for their children. It’s what moved Christ to sacrifice himself for us.

And it’s that love that moves us to live for him. That’s the thought with which Isaiah closes our text.

The Servant-Savior is no longer speaking in this verse. God is speaking to us through Isaiah. And he says, "Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the word of his servant? Let him who walks in the dark, who has no light, trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God." Did you catch that last phrase? Isaiah encourages us to trust in the name of the Lord. Why not just trust in the Lord? Recall that the Servant-Savior listened to the word of the Lord. God’s name is everything he has told us about himself in his word in order to bless and save us. To trust in the name of Jesus, then, includes not only trusting that Jesus is our Savior, but also trusting everything else that his word says, such as trusting that he will help and bless us as we live for him, obeying his word.

Just so that we’re sure to get Isaiah’s point, let’s make sure we’re clear on what it means to trust. We don’t trust in the carpet beneath our feet or the paint on the walls. They can’t do anything for us. We trust something to do for us what they have promised to do for us and what we can’t do for ourselves. That’s what trusting the Lord is all about.

If we’re going to live like a Christian, we must trust the Lord. Why? Because it won’t be easy. What’s more difficult to do? To live like an unbeliever in an unbelieving world or to live like a Christian in an unbelieving world? The answer is obvious. And that’s what Isaiah is talking about when he tells us that we will walk in the dark. Jesus referred to it in today’s Gospel when he said, "If anyone would come after me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow me. For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for me and for the gospel will save it" (Mk. 8:35). There are Christians who teach success theology. They teach that the more you obey God’s word, the easier your life will become. Jesus says the opposite. The more you live like Jesus did, the more opposition you’ll face. God will bless you as you live for him, but the world will curse you.

So why should we live the Christian life if it’s not going to be easy to do? Out of love for Christ. What a Servant-Savior!

The bottom line is, don’t expect everything to fall into place in your life just because you love Jesus and try to live for him. Many aspects of your life will be more difficult when you live the Christian life. It means you’ll have to separate yourself from sinful thought patterns, attitudes, ideas, speech and behavior. And that will bring the world’s opposition and ridicule. But remember what you have. You have the love of Christ which forgives your sins daily. You have the promise of heaven. You have the promise that your Lord walks with you and sustains you. You have the Lord on your side and thus you can exclaim with Jesus, "He who vindicates me is near. Who then will bring charges against me? Let us face each other! Who is my accuser? Let him confront me! It is the Sovereign LORD who helps me."

What a unique combination! One who serves us and One who saves us. What a Servant-Savior! May he inspire you in your Christian living! Amen.