Isaiah 49

Order of Service

• Scripture Reading — Isaiah 49:1-13, 24-26
• Sermon
• Prayer of Benediction

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Sermon Title: Israel as It Was Meant to Be — The Suffering Servant

Scripture: Isaiah 49:1-26

I. The Servant Song — Verses 1–7

A. The Person of the Servant — Verses 1–2

1. Called from the womb — the servant's humanity and divine appointment (Isaiah 49:1)
2. Named before birth — consistent with the naming of Jesus in the Gospels (Isaiah 7)
3. Mouth like a sharp sword — the servant's word is a weapon (Isaiah 11:4; Hebrews 4:12)
4. A polished arrow hidden in the quiver — the servant held in reserve until the fullness of time

B. The Servant Named Israel — Verse 3

1. The name Israel originates with Jacob (Genesis 28:13-14), carrying the Abrahamic promise to bless the nations
2. Israel as a nation failed in this calling — falling into sin and idolatry
3. The Lord sends one who will succeed where the nation failed — the servant is the true Israel in whom God is glorified

C. The Servant's Discouragement and Confidence — Verse 4

1. "I have labored in vain… spent my strength for nothing" — the humiliation and apparent futility of Christ's earthly ministry, including rejection by his people
2. "Yet surely my right is with the Lord… my recompense with my God" — confidence that his work will be vindicated and rewarded
3. This reward is confirmed in Isaiah 53:10-12: he will see his offspring, divide the spoil, and be satisfied

II. The Scope of the Servant's Mission — Verses 5–7

A. The servant's first task: to bring Jacob back to the Lord — Verse 5

1. The great deliverance (out of Babylon via Cyrus) returns the people to the land
2. The greater deliverance is spiritual — the people must be brought back to God, not merely to the land
3. The Lord provides strength for this deeper work

B. The servant's wider mission: light to the nations — Verse 6

1. "Too light a thing" to restore Israel alone — the scope expands to all nations
2. "I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth" (Isaiah 49:6)
3. This promise includes all believers — fulfilled through the proclamation of the Gospel through the church
4. This language is picked up in John 1 and applied directly to Christ

C. The servant's suffering — Verse 7

1. Deeply despised and abhorred by his own people
2. A servant under worldly rulers (e.g., Pontius Pilate)
3. The full measure of this rejection is elaborated in Isaiah 52–53
4. All of this is according to the Lord's faithful, sovereign choice

III. Confirmation of the Servant's Work — Verses 8–13

A. The Lord confirms the servant's mission

1. Prisoners are brought out, those in darkness see light
2. God's people are sustained and fed as they come out of captivity
3. Mountains and highways are leveled for the great gathering of God's people

B. The response: all creation sings

1. "Sing for joy, O heavens… for the Lord has comforted his people" (Isaiah 49:13)
2. This comfort is the theme of Isaiah 40–55

IV. Zion's Complaint and the Lord's Answer — Verses 14–26

A. Zion's lament: "The Lord has forsaken me, my Lord has forgotten me" (Isaiah 49:14)

1. A striking juxtaposition — set immediately after the triumphant Servant Song
2. The tension between the servant's assured success and Israel's felt abandonment

B. The Lord's answer: unfailing remembrance — Verses 15–16

1. "Can a woman forget her nursing child?" — the answer is obviously no
2. Even if she could, the Lord will not forget: "I have engraved you on the palms of my hands"

C. The Lord's power to rescue — Verses 24–26

1. "Can the prey be taken from the mighty?" — the Lord answers: yes, by a mightier one
2. Jesus applies this directly in Mark 3:27 — binding the strong man to rescue the captives
3. "All flesh shall know that I am the Lord your Savior… the Mighty One of Jacob" (Isaiah 49:26)