Good Friday in Holy Week
THE SUFFERING SERVANT
Scripture:
Isaiah 52:13-53:12 (ESV)
Behold, my servant shall act wisely;
he shall be high and lifted up,
and shall be exalted.
As many were astonished at you—
his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance,
and his form beyond that of the children of mankind—
so shall he sprinkle many nations.
Kings shall shut their mouths because of him,
for that which has not been told them they see,
and that which they have not heard they understand.
Who has believed what he has heard from us?
And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?
For he grew up before him like a young plant,
and like a root out of dry ground;
he had no form or majesty that we should look at him,
and no beauty that we should desire him.
He was despised and rejected by men,
a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief;
and as one from whom men hide their faces
he was despised, and we esteemed him not.
Surely he has borne our griefs
and carried our sorrows;
yet we esteemed him stricken,
smitten by God, and afflicted.
But he was pierced for our transgressions;
he was crushed for our iniquities;
upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace,
and with his wounds we are healed.
All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned—every one—to his own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
the iniquity of us all.
He was oppressed, and he was afflicted,
yet he opened not his mouth;
like a lamb that is led to the slaughter,
and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent,
so he opened not his mouth.
By oppression and judgment he was taken away;
and as for his generation, who considered
that he was cut off out of the land of the living,
stricken for the transgression of my people?
And they made his grave with the wicked
and with a rich man in his death,
although he had done no violence,
and there was no deceit in his mouth.
Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him;
he has put him to grief;
when his soul makes an offering for guilt,
he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days;
the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand.
Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied;
by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant,
make many to be accounted righteous,
and he shall bear their iniquities.
Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many,
and he shall divide the spoil with the strong,
because he poured out his soul to death
and was numbered with the transgressors;
yet he bore the sin of many,
and makes intercession for the transgressors.
Some Thoughts
Isaiah 52 and 53 are key prophetic passages in the First Testament. In some Jewish circles today, chapter 53 is the forbidden chapter because of multiple conflicting interpretations as to who the servant is. Some rabbinical thought suggests the nation of Israel as the suffering servant, or a righteous Israelite man, or a Jewish messiah. In some synagogues the reading stops in the middle of chapter 52 and picks up with chapter 54, as the passage is avoided altogether. From a Christian understanding, the words of Isaiah clearly refer to Jesus and the Passion. Let’s look a little closer at the text and its structure.
In the beginning and ending of this passage, the person described was referred to as my servant. Whose voice is the one referring to my servant? It is God’s. Rather than a powerful ruling king, this servant’s power was expressed in humble servanthood, much to the Jewish people’s surprise and disappointment in Jesus’ day. This pericope described the actions occurring on Good Friday in remarkable prophetic detail even though written some 700 years earlier.
The initial section of this passage describes the physical appearance of the servant as ordinary. Isaiah then describes the servant’s demeanor and the people’s rejection of him.
Notice then the purpose of the servant emerges as humans are brought into the picture with an abundance of third person pronouns. The abundance of human sin is the reason for the servant’s mission.
Then there is the reference to sheep. Why sheep? Unlike most people today, Isaiah’s readers would have known a great deal about the nature of sheep. Having grown up on our farm, we had sheep, hence, a little lesson on sheep! Sheep have a natural tendency to wander off. They are very flock oriented and cling together doing what all the other sheep do. You can drive cattle; you cannot drive sheep. They follow. They are stubborn, dumb, near sighted, and very easily frightened. Sheep do not think deep thoughts! In contrast, horses are brilliant. For their myriad of shortcomings, sheep have excellent discerning hearing. That Isaiah compares us to sheep is quite accurate and humbling.
Is there any doubt that our society and culture have left God’s path to follow its own arrogant way, shutting out the voice of God? Humans are definitely sheep following the flock wherever it goes. Unfortunately, the sheep of today follow the loudest hireling with little discernment as to the Shepherd’s voice or where they are headed.
God laid upon his servant the sins of everyone who has ever lived. In spite of the horrendous fatal burden of bearing all of the sins of the whole world at one point in time, the servant never said a word. He was silent throughout. Having compared humans to sheep, there is another interesting correlation, sheep are silent when they are being sheared. They sit quietly on their rear as the wool is being sheared. Our servant was led away, a man who remained silent as he was unjustly condemned. As it was, his life was the perfect sacrifice for our sin. Since he had no sin of his own as a human, this servant God-man was able to carry our sin effectively, and God’s justice was perfectly eternally satisfied. He died the death we should have died. As a result, we gain the life of one who is viewed by God as righteous. This servant is accorded greatest honor having utterly destroyed the power of sin, death and hell. He made the way for countless people to be healed, forgiven, and restored to God, freed from the stranglehold of sin. While the suffering servant uttered not a word, God the Father, however, did speak. The curtain in the Temple was torn from top to bottom and the earth shook in the Father’s affirmation of the ultimate and final sacrifice of the servant, the Lamb of God. Our sins are forever forgiven.
“Lamb of God, who takes away the sins of the world, have mercy on us.”—Agnus Dei
Music “Agnus Dei,” Voces8
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0LYnNEALm6o (Some of the most beautiful music written.)
Prayer
Today he who hung the earth upon the waters is hung upon the Cross. He who is King of the angels is arrayed in a crown of thorns. He who wraps the heaven in clouds is wrapped in the purple of mockery. He who in Jordan set Adam free receives blows upon his face. The Bridegroom of the Church is transfixed with nails. The Son of the Virgin is pierced with a spear. We venerate thy Passion, O Christ. Show us also thy glorious Resurrection.
(Hymns for Good Friday, Orthodox)