THE CHOSEN SERVANT OF THE LORD This chapter includes one of the enjoyable praises to the Lord Christ, namely the praises of the ‘Servant of Jehovah’ (Isaiah 42: 1 - 4; 49: 1- 6; 50: 4 - 9; 52: 13; 53: 12). Some scholars tried to apply this praise on our hands on Israel, on Isaiah, or on Cyrus. Yet, it is very obvious that it concerns the Lord Christ Himself, as confirmed by the Evangelists (Matthew 12: 17 - 21). 1. The chosen Servant of the Lord 1-4. 2. Calling the Servant of the Lord 5-9. 3. The new praise 10-13. 4. Forsaking the works of the old man 14-17. 5. A call to the deaf and the blind people 18-25. 1. THE CHOSEN SERVANT OF THE LORD The praise here presents to us the Person of the chosen Servant of the Lord, the Lord Christ Himself; saying, (1) “Behold My Servant, whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights.” (Is. 42: 1) It is not strange for the Messiah to be called “the Servant of Jehovah,” or “the Servant of the Lord,” although He is His Word, eternally begotten, and One with Him in divine essence. But, with His divine love, He yearned to descend to our humility, to carry us up to His glory; and as our representative, He obeyed the Father to the point of death - death by the cross, in order to realize our salvation, and to abide us in Him, to be counted as obedient, “according to the good pleasure of His will.” (Ephesians 1: 3 - 5) The Father had chosen His Only-Begotten Son to realize salvation through Him, proclaiming the perfection of divine love. The Son, the Subject of the Father’s pleasure and love, also chooses us by abiding in Him, and enjoying the membership in His body! The word “My Elect” does not imply choosing one out of many, but refers to the greatness of the Father’s love toward the Messiah; and as said by the Lord Christ Himself: “As the Father loved Me, I also have loved you, abide in My love.” (John 15: 9) “That the love with which You loved Me, may be in them, and I in them.” (John 17: 26) This love is described by the words: “In whom My soul delights.” (Is. 42: 1) As the Father’s delight in Him is eternal, it was proclaimed when the Lord was baptized, when He was transfigured, and through all stages of His salvation works. The evangelist St. Matthew quoted what came here in Isaiah 42: 1-3 as a clear prophecy about the Lord Christ (Matthew 12: 17-21), confirming the following points1: a. The One chosen to consummate salvation. b. In Him, the Father delights in us. c. The pleasure and hope of nations. d. By meekness He grants conquest. e. He is compassionate toward the weak. St. Augustine comments on this text saying, [The expression “My Servant” refers 1 .275- ا رجع للمؤلف: الإنجیل بحسب متى، 1987 م، ص 273 7 to the image of that Servant, as the Most High “made Himself of no reputation, and assumed the shape of a Servant...” was given the Holy Spirit, proclaimed like a dove (John 1: 32). He issued the ‘Truth’ to the nations, proclaiming to them what was hidden from them. In His humility He does not shout or cry out, without stopping to proclaim the Truth. His voice is not raised in the streets, not heard by those outside, as those out of His body did not obey Him. He did not break the Jews, who prosecuted Him, although they were “a bruised reed” that lost its equilibrium, neither He snuffed them out, although they were “a smoldering wick,” but forgave them. He came, not to judge, but to be condemned1.] Our Christ, of whom it is said: “My Elect One in whom I delight,” came in order for us to realize that, in Him we are chosen by the Father, who loved and delighted in Him. And as the apostle Paul says, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ, just as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before Him in love, having predestined us to adoption as sons by Jesus Christ to Himself, according to the good pleasure of His will.” (Ephesians 1: 3 - 5) (2) “I will put My Spirit upon Him.” (Is. 42: 1) The Messiah is the Father’s Word, One with Him and equal to Him, in the same essence. That is why the Holy Spirit, who is the Spirit of the Father, is also that of the Son. The Holy Spirit is not a stranger from the Son. He enjoys it with no limit and with no separation. The Holy Spirit that sanctified the womb of the Virgin Mary to realize the divine incarnation has never forsaken the Son. He took the Lord Christ up the mount of temptation, to let Him go through the decisive battle with the devil. It is the Spirit that He gave to His disciples, in order to carry out their work of preaching in Christ Jesus. It is the Spirit He gave to the Church as a whole on the day of the Pentecost, to support her to testify to Him, in worship and in daily life. By that, He realized what He promised in His farewell talks (John 14: 16 - 18, 26; 15: 26; 16: 7, 8, 13, 14). And as said by St. Clement of Alexandria: [God has created man from dust, renewed him by water, and let him grow by the Spirit2.] St. Basil tells us about the work of the Holy Spirit in us, saying, [By the Holy Spirit we regained our dwelling in Paradise, our ascension to the kingdom of heaven, our return to the divine prophecy, our privilege to call God “our Father,” our participation in the grace of Christ, being called the children of light, our right in the eternal glory, and in short, our gain of the consummation of blessing in this age and the coming age3.] (3) “He will bring forth justice to the Gentiles.” (Is. 42: 1) God has chastised the nations yet He came to them, being “the Truth,” to let them receive it in their life, as a mystery of eternal salvation, saying, “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.” (John 14: 6)4 Christ dwells in the inner man, as said by the apostle (Ephesians 3: 16, 17); as to Him, the ability to behold the Truth is referred, saying, “I am the Truth.” (John 14: 6 1 City of God 20:30. الحب الإلهي، ص 2 .866 3 De Spirit. Sanct. 15. 4 On Ps. 4. 8 He Himself is Life, and the Truth. I pray He comes to save us, to separate the wheat from the tares!1 St. Augustine I cry out in a quiet and low voice, saying, ‘O You hidden within me, proclaim Your hidden mystery in me. Reveal to me Your beauty, that is inside me. O, You who created me a temple for His dwelling, cover me with the cloud of Your glory, inside Your temple!2 St. John Saba (4) “He will not cry out, or raise His voice.” (Is. 42: 2) He came to proclaim the voice of love, practical and quiet, through giving up even to the cross. His pulpit is the cross, and His words are the wounds of His body, uttering Love! The Word of God came to teach us the life of true work emerging from love, together with tranquility and quietness of the soul in Him, in place of preoccupation with plenty of words, shining with deceiving appearances. The divine Word taught us how to talk with love, and the practical life in order to be transfigured in us! If you are quiet, you will acquire peace wherever you live!3 Fr. Piamon I often regretted what I said, but I never regretted being silent! St. Arsanius (5) “A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax, He will not quench.” (Is. 42: 3) Our Christ came to the broken souls to bring them hope, not to hurt the feelings of sinner nor to flatter them, to utter the Truth with love, so as to treat every raw wound, and to support every tired soul. Christ came to call us meekly and humbly so as not to frighten us off, saying, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Thus the Lord didn’t close His door before us nor He cast us away.” (Matthew 11: 28) We should know that the Lord is a God of mercy, leaning more to forgiveness than to severity; that is why He said: “I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.” (Hosea 6: 6) When we refuse repentance, we are as if saying, ‘We shall not have a wounded in our hotel, and nobody will be healed in our Church. We do not care for the sick, being all well, we are in no need for a Physician,’ for He himself said: “The well do not need a physician but the sick.” O God, send messengers to the streets of town to collect the good and the bad, and to bring into your Church the weak, the blind, and the lame (Luke 14: 21). Give the order O God, to fill Your house with the sinners, bring them to your banquet, for You recreate the one who follows You when You call. You should not fear from perdition, whatever your condition is, or the depth of your 1 On Ps. 43. الحب الإلهي، ص 2 .62 3 Cf. Apophthegmanta. Poemen. 84. 9 fall. As the good Samaritan, a symbol of the Lord Christ, the Shepherd of souls, on His way from Jerusalem to Jericho, will pass by you, will not forsake you, and with compassion, He will heal you. The good Samaritan didn’t forsake the one who lied down there between life and death for he saw that there is still life in his breath thus hoped for his healing1. St. Cyprian (6) “He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands shall wait for His law.” (Is. 42: 4) Our Christ is characterized by practical love and meekness. In His love He opens the gates of hope before sinners, whatever their evil is, unlike man, who is cruel to his brother and think of himself as more righteous than the others, closes that gate before many. That divine meek love is consistent up to the point of death, death of the cross. In that He wasn’t broken down but was glorified by resurrection, and proclaimed the Truth by realizing salvation. Some scholars2 try to interpret the word “coastlands” here that it’s Europe or the United States or Australia. 2. CALLING THE SERVANT OF THE LORD God, in His love, created heaven and earth for man (Is. 42: 5), and here He is calling the Son, who became man, “to give Him as a covenant for the people, as a Light for the Gentiles” (Is. 42: 6), to open up the inner insight, to behold the kingdom of God, “to bring out prisoners from the prison, those who sit in darkness from the prison house.” (Is. 42: 7) What does it mean to designate the call of the Servant of the Lord, as a “Covenant”? Being the Son of God, who became a Son of Man, He was capable of reconciling the Father with humanity, in His human body. In Him, as the Father saw, that humanity was sanctified and became worthy of adoption to Him, He proclaimed His eternal fatherhood for it in His Only-Begotten Son. In Him, humanity, likewise, saw the love of the Father, who delivered His Only-Begotten Son for the sake of its salvation, to find a share in His fatherly bosom. That is the covenant set in Christ Jesus, which He sealed by His precious blood on the cross. That is why He is called “The Messenger of the Covenant.” (Malachi 3: 1) Trypho the Jewish scholar tried to interpret what came here about the covenant and the light for the Gentiles, as concerning the Mosaic Law. St. Justin the Martyr responded to his claim by saying, that if the Law has been able to grant enlightenment and edification to the Gentiles, and to all who receive it, what would then be the need to talk about a new covenant? But God proclaimed in advance, that He is going to introduce a new covenant and an eternal Law and commandment; That should not be understood as referring to the old Law, but rather, to Christ and to those who believe in Him - that is to say to us, who were previously of the Gentiles, then enjoyed enlightenment. God says, “In an acceptable time I have heard You, and in the day of salvation I have helped You. I will preserve You and give You as a covenant to the people, to restore the earth, to cause them to inherit 1 On Repentance. 2 Bultema. P. 404. 10 the desolate heritages.” (Is. 49: 8) What is the inheritance of Christ? Are they not the Gentiles? What is the covenant of God, but the Lord Christ? As it came somewhere else: “You are My Son, today I have begotten You. Ask of Me, and I will give You the nations for your inheritance, and the ends of the earth for Your possession” (Psalm 2: 7)1 St. Justin the Martyr again comments on the divine saying, “My glory I will not give to another, nor My praise to graven images.” (Is. 42: 8) [I shall say to the Jews: Do not you apprehend, my friends, that God gives glory to Him, whom He set as enlightenment to the nations, and not to anybody else?2] The Holy Trinity, being the One God in essence and Deity, gets whatever glories the Savior Son gets. “I will give You as a covenant to the people” (Is. 42: 6) We have already studied the role of “the covenant” among the primitive societies in the Old Testament, and lastly in the New Testament, when the Lord Christ offered His mystery Blood in the Chalice as a New Covenant for believers to share. That Blood, the sacrifice of Christ, capable of setting a Covenant between the Father and man, grants us a spiritual heavenly relationship, to be truly counted as children abiding in the Son, the Only-Begotten, through which we enjoy the life-giving heavenly banquet3. Fr. Theodoret says, [In our communion of the Body and Blood of the Groom we enter with Him in a marital union4.] “(I will give You) as a light for the Gentiles.” (Is. 42: 6) Christ is the divine light that opens up our inner insight to behold the light. The Psalmist says, “With Your light, O Lord, we behold light,” and the evangelist says, “The true Light which gives light to every man who comes into the world.” (John 1: 9) “Send out Your light and Your truth, let them lead me; let them bring me to Your holy hill, and to Your tabernacle.” (Ps. 43: 3) “Light” and “Truth” are actually two names for God. For what is the divine light but the divine truth? And what is the divine truth but the divine light? The Person of Christ is both of them. “I am the Light of the world. He who follows Me shall not walk in darkness.” (John 8: 12) “I am the Way, the Truth, and the Life.” (John 14: 6) He Himself is the Light, and He also is the Truth, let Him then come to save us5. My God... You are My Light; open up my eyes to behold Your divine splendor, to be able to walk along my way without stumbling in the snares of the enemy. Really, how can I avoid his snares unless I see them? And how can I see them unless I am enlightened by Your light? You are the light for the children of light! Your day does not know a sunset! Your daylight keeps Your children from stumbling! As to those who are outside of You they walk in darkness, and live in it!6 St. Augustine 1 Justin: Dial. with Trypho 122. 2 Ibid 65. 3 Fr. Malaty: Christ in the Eucharist, book 1 (The Mystery of the New Testament), Alexandria, 1968. 4 PG. 81:128B. 5 On Ps. 43. 6 .71- الحب الإلهي، ص 70 11 One lamp I behold, and with its light I get enlightened. And now I am in owe; I rejoice spiritually, having in me the fountain of life, He who is the unseen goal of the world!1 St. John Saba 3. THE NEW PRAISE “Sing to the Lord a new song, And His praise from the ends of the earth.” (Is. 42: 10) What is this praise that is characterized by seriousness, uttered by men from the ends of the earth, but that of those redeemed, coming from all nations, tribes, people, and tongues, standing before the throne and the Lamb, “Crying out with a loud voice: ‘Salvation belongs to our Lord, who sits on the throne, and to the Lamb.” (Revelation 7: 10) It is a new song as it grants a persistent renewal, through the new life in Christ. In this song, it is to be noticed: a. It is a new song that would never get old, because it expresses the ever-young life of heavenly joy. Thus the moaning of creation would turn into a fellowship in the praise of the heavenly hosts. b. It is a collective song performed by people from the ends of the earth, that reveals the joy of those dwelling on the earth, in the seas, and on the islands (Is. 42: 10); emerging from the depths of the inner heart, not of outer circumstances. That is why the believer sings it wherever he is: on land, in the sea, in the desert, in a town, in a village, or in a cave on the mountaintops (Is. 42: 10, 11). c. The mystery of the joy lies in that Christ Himself is leading the spiritual battle: “He shall cry out, yes, shout aloud. He shall prevail against His enemies.” (Is. 42: 13) It is the song of conquest of Christ who shouts victoriously over the devil and all his evil hosts. 4. FORSAKING THE OLD The mystery of our praise is forsaking of the works of the old man out of our depths, through our receiving those of the new man in Christ Jesus. It is an extremely amazing thing! Of which is said: “I have held My peace a long time, I have been still and restrained Myself.” (Is. 42: 14) He likens forsaking the old man, and enjoying the new man to a woman in childbirth, although suffering pain, yet she is delivering a new human being. So we are enjoying, through the Lord Christ, as though delivering a new world from within us. “Now I will cry out like a woman in labor, I will pant and gasp at once.” (Is. 42: 14) He is also likening the great and small nations to mountains and hills, whose vegetation He will dry up (Is. 42: 15); will dry up their love for the temporary things that are like perishable grass; also likening them to rivers, He is going to dry up (Is. 42: 15); to dry up their ancient water, to grant them the living water. Once more He likens them to blinds walking in darkness, who are in need of the removal of their blindness and darkness, in order to enjoy the light, and to walk along the new true spiritual way, instead of walking along crooked ones, saying, “I will bring the الحب الإلهي، ص 1 .75 12 blind in a way they did not know; I will lead them in paths they have not known. I will make darkness light for them, and crooked places straight.” (Is. 42: 16) 5. A CALL TO THE DEAF AND THE BLIND PEOPLE Many Fathers believe, that these deaf and blind people are the Jews, who did not listen to the voice of prophets concerning the Lord Christ, and whose eyes became blind to Him. The Lord chose them as a servant, yet only few of them received faith in the Savior, while many others denied Him. That is why He admonishes them saying, “Hear you deaf, look you blind, that you may see. Who is blind but my servant, or deaf as My messenger whom I send? Who is blind as he who is perfect, and blind as the Lord’s servant?” (Is. 42: 18, 19) He calls them ‘His servant,’ having chosen them as His people to worship Him, and ‘His messenger,’ having chosen them to receive faith, and to preach Him, as messengers to proclaim salvation, and to testify to evangelical life. He called them, ‘committed to Him,’ as He expected them to be sanctified, having presented to them all possibilities of perfect life, and even that of preaching the Lord Christ, the Grantor of perfection. He rebukes them saying, “Seeing many things, but you do not observe” (Is. 42: 20) The Lord Christ came in their midst and performed miracles; They saw Him when other nations did not; Despite that they did not realize, that He is the Savior of the world, but enviously crucified Him! They saw Him in flesh, yet they did not comprehend His identity. “Opening the ears, but he does not hear.” (Is. 42: 20) They heard the prophecies, as well as the voice of the Lord Christ, yet they did not respond to the voice of the prophets referring to Christ, nor to that of Christ Himself when He came. The fault was in them, and not in the Mosaic Law, as “The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness’ sake. He will magnify the law and make it honorable.” (Is. 42 21) But the evil one robbed these people of the depths of the law, and the spiritual prophetical concept, to let them fall into the pit of denial of faith, he robbed them of the enjoyment of Him, to whom the law referred, with no one to give them back what they have lost (Is. 42: 21 - 22), because they fell under the divine wrath. The Jews believe that what came in this section (Is. 42: 18 -25), does not apply to them, but to the pagans, or only to few people.
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