A Servant

DEVOTION

PROPHESIES AND FULFILLMENTS CONCERNING CHRIST

A SERVANT

Isa 42:1-4

"Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him and he will bring justice to the nations. 2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. 3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his law the islands will put their hope."

NIV

Jesus is the example of the ultimate servant of God, even though he is God. Who better to show us what a servant of God looks like then God himself?

Matt 12:13-21

13 Then he said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. 14 But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. 15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Many followed him, and he healed all their sick, 16 warning them not to tell who he was. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 18 "Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. 19 He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. 21 In his name the nations will put their hope."  

NIV

We are not sure why this event has been recorded as to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah. Jesus simply healed a man’s hand and the Pharisees plotted to kill him. Yet if we look at the whole of the life of Jesus we can see he was indeed the finest example of a servant of God. The reason this event was used is that after Jesus healed the man, he withdrew, but healed all those who followed after him, all their sick. But he warned them not to tell anyone. This is the reason God had Matthew record that this was to fulfill what God spoke about Jesus through Isaiah. Jesus wasn’t here to make a big splash, a big show, with all the glitter, to get the fame and fortune. We certainly have enough of those types today. Jesus simply went about doing the business of God without all the lights and music to go with him. He showed compassion to those in need, he met their needs whenever he encountered them. The Father delighted in Jesus, we know this when the Spirit descended upon him after he was baptized by John. The Father said it for all to hear, that Jesus was his Son and in him he is well pleased. Jesus did proclaim justice to all the nations. By his going to the cross that was all the justice of God being complete. God’s justice for sin was fulfilled, it was met in Jesus taking on all our sin on the cross and paying the price that the justice of God demanded, death. This act has been proclaimed to the nations. Is there any nation on this earth that has never ever heard of Jesus on the cross? Whether they believe it or not is another issue, but all nations are aware of the event. There may be some small groups of peoples within some nations who have not yet got the message, but they are not many. Today we have so many servants of God proclaiming that Good News in so many different languages, throughout the regions of those nations. The fact is Jesus did die for all mankind, all nations. When he was being on trial and being judged, condemned, and beaten and hung on that cross, he did not quarrel, give any defense, he did not cry out, no one heard him scream in pain from that punishment. He was the Lamb of God, a servant for all times. Now, here is where the rubber meets the road. Because Jesus is living within us, through us, as us, then should not we be that kind of servant of God. That is first to say we should not be doing what we are doing for any other reason than to bring glory to God. We should not be looking for any fame of fortune in our ministry to the people in need. But then that also means we should be meeting the needs of people who are sick, both physically and spiritually, if we are to do what Jesus did. We should be ministering to people. This might be done inside the church, in some sense, because there are among church believers those who are in need. Some may be babes in Christ and need teaching, training in righteousness and correction. Some may have taken on incorrect theology from sources unknown. But for the most part the sick, the truly needy both in the physical and spiritual lie outside the walls of the church. Jesus did teach in the synagogue and even heal, but he did the most of his ministry out among the people, where they lived. Even his death was outside the walls of Jerusalem. If we are to be any kind of servant of God then we need to be meeting the needs of the people. First and foremost their spiritual needs, they need to find Jesus and life. They are living in death without him. They are living in dead man’s bones. But through us, Jesus can bring life to those bones. He can raise them up. But we must be his servant, his ambassador, his representative, his reflection to the world. He showed us the way of being a servant.