Why I Believe Jesus Christ the Son is Also the Servant of the LORD

-

Isaiah 52-53 talks about the suffering of Christ. Isaiah 52:13 has a doctrinal footnote from the King James Study Bible called "Servant Of The Lord". This is how it's being described:

Isaiah prophetically uses the title "Servant" to designate Christ, especially concerning His suffering for sin. That suffering is indeed as both vicarious (53:4-9) and victorious (53:10-12). The title "Servant of the Lord" emphasizes Christ's faithful obedience to the Father during His earthly ministry (cf. John 5:19). The Servant passages in Isaiah were some of the key texts used in preaching the gospel in the early days of Christianity (cf. Acts 8:32-35).  

Illustration: In the New Testament, Christians described themselves as servants of God and of the Lord Jesus Christ. This title conveyed their willignness to depend upon and completely obey God (cf. James 1:1).  

Application: Christians today should also follow the example of the suffering Servant of the LORD, who obeyed the will of God even when it momentarily seemed unjust (1 Pet. 2:21-23). (First Reference: Isaiah 42:1; Primary Reference: Isaiah 52:13).

Christ is both the Son and the Servant of God the Father. Isaiah 52 talks more about the dolorous passion of Christ. Isaiah 52:14 reveals the very ugly nature of this suffering that Jesus' visage was so marred that His image was more than the sons of men. The cat-o-nine tails whip was such a brutal tool that most victims died from the beating alone. It seems that other people were flogged much less than Jesus' brutal beating at the pillar at the order of Pontius Pilate. The visage would be far worse than what the Catholic movie "The Passion of the Christ" or Chick Publications (which I no longer use) could illustrate. That's why I say that the problem of the religious movie is that it seems to make light of Jesus' suffering as a form of entertainment. Isaiah 53 has a whole detail of the suffering of Christ. Verse 11 then has God the Father call His Son His righteous servant. 

The very illustration is that yes, it's God's will that those who are His must suffer. This suffering is noti because God is cruel or isn't good. This suffering is because God is good and that His goodness can't be felt without suffering. Can you know relief from pain if you didn't know pain? Can you know the satisfaction of deliverance if you were never in danger? It would be that God has a good purpose for this suffering. It may be because of unconfessed sin in the believer's life (which is the most common thing to bring them to repentance) or in order to prove Satan wrong. The big comfort in all this suffering is that Jesus is the role model of accepting that suffering may be in God's will for your life, that Satan must get God's permission first, and that God has a role in all the suffering that Christians must go through. 

It's also pretty much the controversy done by the extreme KJV Onlyists. Most modern translations have Acts 8:26 in controversy of the translation of either son or servant. Chick Publications has even gone as far as to question if Jesus was either God's Son or Servant. I do love the KJV but I really can't agree with the extreme methods that Chick Publications and Jesus-is-Savior would use. The KJV uses the word "Son" while the other versions uses the word "Servant". Yet, the KJV also refers to Jesus as God's Servant in Isaiah 52-53. The same KJV Study Bible also calls Jesus the Servant of God the Father. While I do prefer the word Son over servant in Acts 8:26 - let's not forget that Jesus is also the obedient Servant of God the Father Himself. Jesus said, "Not My will but Thine." in the Garden of Gethsemane in Matthew 26:42 and Luke 22:42 as He readies Himself to absorb all the sins of the world. This has Jesus as not just the Son but also the Servant of God the Father. It's no wonder why some people aren't KJV Only. Charles H. Spurgeon who was dubbed as the prince of preachers wasn't KJV Only either.

See also: