Sermon text: Isaiah 42:1–4
The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, the love of God, the fellowship of the Holy Spirit be with you all. Amen.
The Baptism of our Lord is celebrated on the first Sunday in the Epiphany season. Here the church remembers and celebrates the Word that became flesh and dwelt among us, and was manifested to the nations.
The baptism of Jesus takes center stage from the gospel. Our Lord was baptized to fulfill, as He told St. John, all righteousness. The Spirit descends on Him like a dove in His baptism, and the voice of the Father declares: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
In Romans chapter 6, Paul reminds us of what our baptism into the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ means for us, and indeed for the world: “Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life.”
But what do Epiphany in general, and the Baptism of our Lord in particular, have to do with the Old Testament lesson, Isaiah chapter 42? If you look carefully at the parts that we chanted in the introit — the very beginning and the very end of it — you’ll see the connection. The promised servant is Christ, who stands in the waters of the River Jordan, who’s anointed by the Holy Spirit and proclaimed to be the chosen one in whom God the Father is well pleased in His epiphany revelation. He is the one who brings forth justice and establishes righteousness, and is a light unto all the nations.
“Behold my servant,” says the Lord to us today. Who is this servant? It is, as we know, Jesus, of course — the Christ, the anointed one — baptized as the Lord’s servant, to do the will of the One who sent Him: Christ Jesus, the anointed, with the Holy Spirit at His baptism.
Isaiah is given to write about Him so that we would know who He is when He appears. Through the prophet Isaiah, the Lord invites us to look upon Christ and to hear the cry: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.” Thus begins Isaiah 42. And thus Isaiah introduces the one who will be called the servant of the Lord.
The Old Testament lesson this morning is the first of what’s called four servant songs written in the book of Isaiah. We hear here the first of the four, chapter 42. We’ll hear the second servant song next week, Isaiah 49. The third servant song is in Isaiah chapter 50 — we hear that Old Testament text read on Palm Sunday, the Sunday of the Passion. Then the fourth and the most well-known of the servant songs in the prophet Isaiah’s book is chapter 53 — the servant song about the suffering, silent servant who goes forth to be slaughtered like a lamb. That part is read on Good Friday.
So it’s appropriate to begin today to become acquainted with the first of the servant songs, Isaiah 42, which began, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one, in whom my soul delights. I have put my Spirit upon him, and he will bring forth justice to the nations.” The prophet Isaiah lived 700 years before the birth of Christ. But the Lord knew ahead of time what He was going to do in the person and the work of His Son Jesus Christ, and He tells Isaiah, 700 years prior, to write down these words: “New things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”
So Isaiah 42 is a prophecy about the Lord’s servant. We’re not told exactly who this servant is by name in chapter 42, but we do get a pretty good description of what he will be like: how he will deal with the world and with his neighbors, what he will preach, and what he will teach. In this way, if you see somebody who matches the description, it’s a pretty good bet that he’ll be the servant of the Lord.
Behold, my servant. It is the nature of a servant and the purpose of a servant to do the will of his master, whomever that may be. Years ago, many years ago, Bob Dylan wrote a song called “Gotta Serve Somebody.” The chorus goes like this: Well, you’re gonna have to serve somebody. Yes indeed, you’re gonna have to serve somebody. Well, it may be the devil or it may be the Lord, but you’re gonna have to serve somebody.
So who is it that you serve? Who is it that I serve? Is it money? Do we seek pleasure for ourselves? We want to gratify our own desires. Well, join the club. That’s universally the sin of humanity. Everyone wants to serve himself. Everybody in the world wants to do that. And in that respect, you and I are really serving the devil.
Reminds me of what Luther wrote about Palm Sunday: that Jesus took two donkeys — one to ride on, and the other one for you. Luther quips: which donkey are you riding on? One that serves the devil, or one that serves the Lord? Well, Bob Dylan says basically the same thing. In this respect, you and I serve the devil when we’re not serving the Lord. We’re riding on the devil’s donkey, in Luther’s kind of view.
But that’s not the case with the servant of the Lord of Isaiah chapter 42. This servant is singlemindedly focused on the will of His Father and on being, quote, the Lord’s servant. Jesus said in John 6:38, “For I have come down from heaven, not to do my own will but the will of him who sent me.” And He prayed in the garden of Gethsemane, “Father, not my will, but thine be done.” By His own words and deeds, Jesus showed that He is truly the servant of the Lord. The description fits Him, and Him alone.
And the Lord upholds and affirms Jesus in His purpose: “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights.” The Father and the Son are united in purpose together. Jesus came to do the will of the Father, and the Father is well pleased with His dear Son. He upholds Christ in His mission. He has chosen Jesus for this very purpose. The Father delights in what Jesus has set out to do. And so at His baptism, the Father’s voice comes from heaven as a testimony: “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”
The Father empowers His servant Jesus to carry out His purpose: “I have put my Spirit upon him.” This is what it means when we say that Jesus is the Christ, the Messiah, the anointed one. He has been anointed with the water and the Word and the power of the Holy Spirit. God has anointed Him with the Holy Spirit. And so Jesus at His baptism sees the heavens open, and sees something that looks like a dove coming to rest upon Him. It shows that God’s favor and blessing are resting on Him.
And thus we sang as an opening hymn: Hail to the Lord’s anointed, great David’s greater Son! Hail in the time appointed, His reign on earth begun! He comes to break oppression, to set the captive free, to take away transgression, and rule in equity.
So it’s established that Jesus is the Lord’s servant. He fits the bill. But how will Jesus serve? In what way? Not in a high and powerful, puffed-up manner, but as a humble servant, tenderly caring for those who are weak and hurting. That’s what’s meant in verse two: “He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street” — as we’re seeing on TV today. “A bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench.”
So when you’re feeling weak and weary, weighed down by the burdens of life, Jesus has come into this world to care for you. Do you feel like a bruised and battered reed? Well, He comes to heal the brokenhearted. Do you feel ashamed and cast out over previous and long-ago sins? Jesus does not cast you aside. He is here to refresh your spirit and to give you a clean start. Jesus is here to strengthen your faith in Him. A bruised reed He will not break, and a faintly burning wick He will not extinguish. Rather, He keeps your faith alive, strengthening you in hope.
What is the mission of the Lord’s servant? Isaiah says He will bring forth justice to the nations, and He will not grow faint or be discouraged till He has established it on the earth. God’s justice — that’s what Jesus came to establish. That’s what He came to usher in. That’s what He came to give us. But here’s the surprising thing: it’s a justice that rules not against us, but rather on our behalf. You would think God’s justice, His righteousness, would strike us down, not lift us up. After all, we’re all sinners under God’s law. There’s not a commandment that we haven’t broken; not one that we keep, even for a day. The law demands death for those who transgress. The wages of sin is death.
But the true gift, the pure gift of God, is forgiveness of sins in Jesus Christ our Lord. So how is it that you and I are declared not guilty? How is it that the law of God serves us justice and righteousness? What kind of justice is it? It’s the kind that Jesus works. For Jesus takes unto Himself the judgment you and I deserve. He dies the death of sinners on our behalf. For the Son of Man came not to be served, but rather to serve and to give His life as a ransom for many. That’s how we’re judged righteous in God’s courtroom. Christ’s righteousness is imputed — that is, credited to our account. Our judgment He takes on Himself. We are declared, by virtue of the person and the work of Jesus Christ, not guilty. And it’s a just verdict, because Jesus has taken our punishment to Himself.
Jesus is anointed for this mission at His baptism. Jesus, the sinless one, is baptized with sinners. He stands with us in order to fulfill all righteousness. He who knew no sin became your sin, my sin, the sin of the world.
Jesus is baptized. He is sent out to accomplish God’s righteous plan. Jesus comes to do God’s will. And the will is to redeem sinful humanity. That will is to bring forgiveness of sin where there is sin. That will is to bring blessing where there was a curse. That will, the will of God, is to bring healing where there was hurting, to bring wholeness where there was strife and discord, disease and death.
That is what Jesus the servant set out to do. And that’s what He does in His word and sacrament ministry. Jesus will fulfill the mission the Lord God gave Him to do. God’s promise and His commission to His servant is this: “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.”
Thus, He gives a covenant for the people. He fulfills the covenant the Lord made with His people Israel centuries before: to bless them, and to make them a blessing to all the world, to deliver His people from bondage, and to remember their sins — and your sins — no more. A light for the nations. Christ is the light of the world, not just of Israel. In Christ, all families of the earth are blessed. “I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind.” Those are things that He literally did in His ministry. He gave deaf ears to hear and mute tongues to speak, blind eyes to see. He brought out prisoners from the dungeon of darkness, and from the prison those who sit in darkness.
You and I have been set free. We’ve been unshackled. The irons have yielded. We are free — free to serve God and free to serve neighbor in love, because Christ has set us free to do so.
“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights. … He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth.” Indeed, Jesus did not grow faint or give up until He completed His way to the cross. Then there on the cross, He cried out, “It is finished.” Therefore, the consummation of all things is assured, and Jesus will come again to raise up and restore creation, and give all who believe in Him eternal life in heaven.
If Jesus is so determined that He will not grow faint or be discouraged, let us not grow faint and be discouraged in whatever burdens we bear in this life. For our faith and confidence and courage rest in Christ alone, the Son of God, who’s declared so in the waters of Holy Baptism. He will strengthen us for the way that we are to go. Look upon Jesus in good days and bad days to find your strength.
The Lord says of Him, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights.” He says the very same thing of you, for you have been baptized: “Behold my baptized servant. I uphold my chosen ones, in whom my soul delights.” For your sins are forgiven. Christ has taken your sins upon Himself, and they’ve been washed away in Him. Amen.
May the peace that surpasses all understanding keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Amen.