My Servant

Series: The Servant Songs

Title: My Servant

Date: December 7, 2025

Scripture: Isaiah 42:1-4

Intro: Today we will begin a four-week sermon series covering the ‘Servant Songs’, found in Isaiah. In these Servant Songs Isaiah paints a picture of the Promised Messiah. Each song provides an insight into the life and mission of the Messiah. This portrait of Jesus was being painted 700 years before His birth! These songs would encourage people who were suffering from injustice, weary of wicked leaders, and desperate for healing. These Servant Songs provide us with a beautiful picture of the One who heals completely. May these Servant Songs give us a deeper insight into the person of Jesus.

Please, open your Bibles to Isaiah chapter 42. We will read verses 1 through 4 today. Our sermon for today is entitled, “My Servant”

  • Read – Isaiah 42
  • Pray

Main Points:

  • God Speaks
  • The Servant’s Qualities

Verse 1a – God Speaks

  • God the Father is speaking
  • God the Father calls out to the people to Behold!
    • Take note; To pay attention
    • The people need to pay attention and take note of His Servant!
    • His Servant is the Promised Messiah
      • Gen. 3:15 – Seed of a Woman
      • Isaiah 7:14 – Born of a virgin
      • Isaiah 9:6-7 – A child is born who will be the Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father and the Prince of Peace
  • The Promised Messiah is seen as a Servant of God the Father
    • In other O.T. Scripture the Messiah is described as a Prophet (Deut. 18:5-9), a Priest (Ps. 110:4), and a King (2 Samuel 7:12-16)!
    • But here in Isaiah we have the Promised Messiah described as a Servant!
    • Servant = One who is a slave; One who is subject, a worshipper of God, a prophet or worker for God, one who is equal (as a form of address between equals)
      • A servant is one who does not act on his own will but the will of another. A servant puts the needs of others above his own.
      • Phil. 2:5-11
        • Emptied Himself and took the form of a bond-servant
        • Humbled Himself and became obedient to the point of death
    • The first advent of Jesus, He came as a suffering servant
    • When He comes again, He will come as a conquering King!
  • The Messiah will be upheld by God the Father
    • Uphold = To support; sustain, help and follow close
    • God the Father would provide Jesus with what He needed in order to accomplish the good works (tasks/mission) set before Him.
      • To save His people from their sins!
    • Upholding Examples:
      • Sending angels to minister to Him after being tempted by Satan (Matthew 4:11)
      • Kept Jesus from premature death on different occasions (Luke 4:28-30, John 7:30, and Luke 22:53)
      • Sending people to help support Him in His ministry (Luke 8:1-3)
  • The Messiah is the Chosen One
    • Chosen One = Select, Appoint
      • 1 Peter 1:20 – Jesus was appointed before the foundation of the world
      • Rev. 13:8 – Jesus is the Lamb of God who was slain
    • God designated or appointed Jesus for the purpose of performing the work of the Messiah.
      • John 17:4 – I glorified You on the earth, having accomplished the work which You have given Me to do.
  • God the Father delights in Jesus because through Him righteousness will prevail. Relationships will be restored. Reconciliation will be accomplished. The mission will be completed perfectly!
  • The Messiah will have the Spirit of God upon Him
    •  He will have divine power to accomplish God’s desire.
    • The Messiah would be fully God and fully man. As fully God He possessed all the characteristics and attributes of God. As fully man He would need to be fully dependent on the Spirit to guide and empower Him. We see in the life of Jesus that mankind needs to depend upon God.
    • Spirit being upon Jesus:
      • Jesus was conceived by the Spirit
        • Luke 1:35
      • Jesus was anointed by the Spirit in the form of a dove at His baptism
        • Messiah = Anointed One
        • Luke 3:22
      • The miracles and teachings which Jesus did were in the power and strength of the Holy Spirit
        • Luke 4:14
  • All these things wonderful things God does for His Servant, and through Christ we can have these wonderful things as well!
    • Upholds us – He supports through all things. He will never leave us or forsake us.
    • Chosen Us – We are chosen in Christ! God the Father has loved Jesus from the beginning and has chosen Christ to be the Messiah and the foundation of mankind’s salvation. We become part of the chosen (think God’s family) through repentance and faith. We don’t deserve to be a part of God’s family but God’s love is amazing and His grace is greater than our sin!
    • Empowered – We have the Spirit of Christ dwelling in us and He provides us the with power we need to live out the character of Christ in our lives. We no longer have the spirit of fear, we now have the spirit of power, love, and discipline!

Verses 1b-4 – The Servant’s Qualities

  • The qualities of the Servant are connected to divine power. The Servant, Jesus, is empowered by God to fulfill His purpose. We too are empowered by the Spirit to fulfill our purpose as well.
    • Eph. 2:10 – For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them.
  • The Servant’s Qualities:
    • Bring Justice (v.1b)
      •  Justice = provide a verdict, right ways, divine law
      • This justice (God’s law/word) will be given to the nations (Gentiles!)
        • Luke 2:32 – A light of revelation to the Gentiles, And the glory of Your people Israel.
      • Gentile people will receive the Light of the gospel! They would no longer be outcasts but welcome guests into God’s family through the Messiah.
        • Acts 13:47 – For so the Lord has commanded us, ‘I have placed You as a light for the Gentiles, that You may bring salvation to the end of the earth.’
      • The Messiah will bring God’s Word of truth to all people!
  • Be Humble (v. 2)
    • Even though the Servant is God, He will not go around bragging and drawing attention to Himself. Instead, He will always pointed people to the Father.
    • He will not demand that people listen to Him or show Him respect.
      • The Rabbis of the day did that!
      • Matthew 23:5-7 – But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men; for they broaden their phylacteries and lengthen the tassels of their garments. They love the place of honor at banquets and the chief seats in the synagogues, and respectful greetings in the marketplaces, and being called Rabbi by men.
    • He will not get into arguments or quarrels with others to prove Himself.
    • He will not complain when others don’t recognize Him as the Messiah.
    • Instead, He will perform His mission as quietly as possible. On several occasions Jesus told others not to let everyone know who He was.
      • Matt. 16:20 – Then He warned the disciples that they should tell no one that He was the Christ.
    • Christ exemplified the role of a servant perfectly
      • Matt. 23:11-12 – But the greatest among you shall be your servant. Whoever exalts himself shall be humbled; and whoever humbles himself shall be exalted.
  • Be Gentle (v.3)
    • He would come to the people not with force to make people submit instead He would come with gentleness.
    • The Gentleness of the Servant is described in two unique ways:
      • A bruised reed He will not break
        • A bruised reed is describing a partially broken or bent reed stalk. The smallest force of twisting would cause the stalk to break into pieces.
        • This picture represents people who are broken, discouraged and oppressed. These are people who have been rejected by many in society, the world has worn them down, they are people who have been cast aside by the religious elite.
        • But, the Messiah, Jesus will not break these people! Instead, His gentleness will heal them! He would treat them with kindness, respect and compassion. In the process He would lift them up and show them that they had value.
          • Ex. Tax-Collectors, Prostitutes, Lepers, Demon Possessed, and many others.
        • John 3:17 – For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world, but that the world might be saved through Him.
  • A dimly burning wick He will not extinguish
    • Think of a weak and feeble flame of a candle. With just the slightest breeze the flame would go out.
    • The Messiah would not go around seeking a fight, being hot-tempered, or looking for arguments. Instead, He sought to present truth in a loving manner.
    • Many times, we engage people the wrong way. We may “win” the argument, but we have put any flame they had for God out.
  • Justice (verdict and right judgments) is brought in with care not oppression or force
  • Be Victorious (v.4)
    • We see in this verse that the Messiah will not be crushed or disheartened. These are the same words found in verse 3 describing a bruised reed and dimly burning wick. The Messiah will not be broken into pieces by the wickedness and evil of this world.
    • The Messiah will not fail! He will be successful! He will be victorious!
    • The victory of the Messiah is two-fold:
      • 1 – During the first advent
        • Jesus comes into our world as a Servant. He came to seek and save that which was lost. He came to provide justice, hope, and eternal life to those who were broken. Mankind rejected Him, yet He stayed the course. He endured the suffering, He endured the shame, He endured the rejection, and He provided victory by going to the cross. Jesus won the victory over sin and death at the cross, and the resurrection is proof that the victory is secured. This victory broke the power of sin, death, and evil.
  • 2 – During the second advent
    • Jesus is coming again and when He does, He will do so as the Conquering King! He will fulfill His mission by coming back to earth and establishing peace and justice across this entire globe. God’s justice will prevail; nations will come from all over to hear Jesus give His verdicts. Nations will surrender their weapons and turn them into farming equipment. Creation itself will flourish like never before. Jesus will be a victorious King whose kingdom will not be crushed or destroyed by any enemy.
  • We are living in the time between these 2 advents. Christ did indeed come into our world, He lived a perfect life, He suffered, He bleed, He died, and He rose again. Even as we await His return as the Conquering King and for the victory to be completed, we still have victory today! We have victory through Jesus.
    • 1 John 5:4-5 – For whatever is born of God overcomes the world; and this is the victory that has overcome the world – our faith. Who is the one who overcomes the world, but he who believes that Jesus is the Son of God?
  • Even though we have victory is Jesus right now, we still must deal with this sinful world. We are to live as victors by living out the character of Christ to this lost and dying world. We are to let our light shine and point people to Jesus. We are to look ahead to when our victory is final when are in the presence of Jesus and worshipping Him as He sits on His throne as the King of Kings!

What did we learn?

  • The Triune Godhead works in perfect unity
    • God the Father – Sending and Supporting
    • Jesus – being a faithful and perfect servant
    • The Spirit – Empowering
  • The Messiah is a servant
    • Faithful
    • Humble
    • Gentle
  • The Messiah will not be defeated or quit
    • He will endure and provide victory for those who follow Him.

Challenge: To follow the example of Jesus and be a humble servant for God.

  • Who is the bruised reed in your life that needs support?
  • Who is the dimly burning wick that needs encouragement?
  • Who around you needs your presence?

Closing: If you have not placed your faith in this Servant – this Savior – today is the day to humble yourself. God’s word has been presented, let’s take a moment and go to the Lord in a time of personal prayer.