Metropolitan Tabernacle Pulpit · Sermon No. 1231
“Behold, My Servant shall deal prudently, He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high. As many were astonished at you, His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men: So shall He sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at Him: for that which had not been told them shall they see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.” Isaiah 52:13-15.
MODERN Jewish writers refuse to see the Messiah in this passage, but their predecessors were not so blind. The Tar-gum and the ancient Rabbis interpreted it of the Messiah and, indeed, all attempts to explain it apart from Him are palpable failures. Christian commentators in all ages have seen the Lord Jesus here. How could they do otherwise? To whom else could the Prophet have referred? If the Man of Nazareth, the Son of God, is not right visible in these three verses, they are dark as midnight itself! We do not hesitate for a moment in applying every word to our Lord Jesus Christ.
Dear Brothers, when our Lord ascended on high, He gave us this commission, “Go you into all the world and preach the Gospel to every creature.” Our duty is to obey that command, whether men will hear or whether they will not. The commission is unconditional and is not dependent upon our success. If up to this date, 1875, there had never been a solitary convert through Christian ministry. If the whole of the Church of God had, until this time, labored in vain and the succession of saints had only been kept up by miracle, it would not affect our duty one iota. Our business is to preach the Gospel, even to those who are driven to persecution thereby. We are to sow, whether a harvest follows or not. Success is with God—service belongs to us.
I believe, therefore, that true faith, when it is in a healthy condition, will enable us to go plodding on, carefully scattering the seed even by the wayside and on stony places. But there is flesh about us all—and faith is not always unalloyed with sight—and consequently we occasionally flag and almost faint if we do not see some present usefulness. This passage may cheer us if we fear that we have spent our strength for nothing, for such certainly was the condition of the Church of God at the time when this passage was addressed to it.
There is a break made, in our version, between the 52nd and 53rd chapters, but no such break should have been made. And if we read straight on we shall see that these consoling words are meant for mourning workers. We hear even Prophets saying, “Who has believed our report, and to whom is the arm of the Lord revealed?” Even the bravest of the Prophets lamented that the offense of the Cross hindered men from seeing the comeliness of the Messiah. All-Glorious as He was to the Prophets, when they beheld His substitutionary griefs, He was not understood by the multitudes who only saw in Him a man smitten of God and afflicted, having no beauty that they should desire Him.
To support them under circumstances so dispiriting, there comes, in this comfortable word of our text in which the marred visage and disfigured form of the great Servant of the Lord are fully recognized, encouragement from the voice of the Lord that the shame and contempt caused thereby will be temporary—and the ultimate result will be sure! The issue of the great scheme of Redemption is by no means uncertain. His cause must prosper, His Throne must be established and the will of the Lord must be done. Let us brace ourselves up, this morning, with the delightful prospect of the predestinated triumph of the kingdom of our Lord and of His Christ!
In handling our text we shall note, first, that in directing us to the Lord Jesus Christ, it dwells upon the character of His dealings—“My servant shall deal prudently, He shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.” Then, secondly, it mentions the stumbling block which lies in His way, the great hindrance to the progress of His work—“As many were astonished at you, His visage was so marred more than any man, and His form more than the sons of men.” Thirdly, we
see in the verses before us the certainty of the removal of this hindrance—“So shall He sprinkle many nations; the kings shall shut their mouths at Him.” And, fourthly, the manner of its accomplishment, namely, by instruction in the Gospel—“For that which had not been told them they shall see; and that which they had not heard shall they consider.”
I. THE CHARACTER OF OUR LORD’S DEALINGS. He is called in the text, “My Servant,” a title as honorable as it is condescending. The Lord Jesus has undertaken, in Infinite Love, to become the Servant of the Father for our sakes. And He is a Servant like unto Moses, who was set over the Lord’s house to manage the affairs of the dispensation. Jesus, though a Son and, therefore Lord, has deigned to become the great Servant of God under the present economy. He conducts the affairs of the household of God and, as it is said in the text and it is to that we have to draw attention—that He deals prudently.