The "Carols" of Isaiah
A New Commentary on the Servant Songs.
“But what about you?” he asked. “Who do you say I am?” Peter answered, “You are the Messiah.” Jesus warned them not to tell anyone about him. -Mark 8:29-30
And when the centurion, who stood there in front of Jesus, saw how he died, he said, “Surely this man was the Son of God!” -Mark 15:39
There are four poems in the book of Isaiah that have spoken powerfully to Jews and Gentiles for centuries. They are known as the Servant Songs, and we will explore the depth of their riches one by one through Christmas and New Year’s.
The four Servant Songs of Isaiah can be found in the following passages:
Isaiah 42:1-9
Isaiah 49:1-6
Isaiah 50:4-9
Isaiah 52:13-53:12
The first introduces a servant as God’s agent of justice. In the second, the servant admits to having labored “in vain.” The third finds the servant suffering and seeking vindication against his accusers, and the fourth describes his suffering in excruciating detail before explaining why it happened.
Isaiah’s language is deeply dependent on the biblical sources he was brought up reading.1 Many of the concepts they encountered in the prophet’s words were familiar. Nevertheless, the “Suffering Servant” was innovative enough to require interpretation by those who read Isaiah’s book.
Rabbis understood God’s suffering servant not as “King Mashiach,” the Hebrew term for the “anointed one,” a descendant of King David who would usher in an era of global peace, spiritual redemption, and universal Torah observance. Instead, for the Rabbis, the servant represents the people of Israel. The suffering of the servant included the massive injustice by the Assyrians, Babylonians, Ancient Greeks, and Romans.
Just after World War I, written sources called the events of 1914-1918 the Great War, The World War, or The War to End All Wars. It didn’t become World War I for another twenty-nine years at the beginning of World War II.
A similar development of meaning took place with Isaiah’s Servant Songs. Seven hundred years after Isaiah, with the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus, the Servant Songs gained fresh strength. They inspired Jewish and Gentile followers of the God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob to see their Savior reflected in these descriptions.
For example, in the first Servant Song, we read:
Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations.
In the second Song we find the following:
It is too small a thing for you to be my servant, to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation shall reach the ends of the earth.
In the third Song we hear the Servant saying:
I have offered my back to those who beat me, my cheek to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting.
In the fourth we discover the following description:
Surely he took up our pain and bore our suffering, yet we considered him punished by God, stricken by him, and afflicted. But he was pierced for our transgressions, he was crushed for our iniquities; the punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed.
The Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John use concepts and language from Isaiah sixty times, Paul eighteen times and other New Testament authors a further sixteen times. The book of Isaiah was a rich reference for these first century authors as they sought to share the story of Christ.
As we continue this Christmas season, let us avail ourselves of the riches of these four “Carols” of our Savior, whose birth we celebrate with gratitude and joy.
At least 80 direct references, including concepts and phrasing from the Pentateuch, Joshua, Judges, Ruth, 1 and 2 Samuel, 2 Kings, 2 Chronicles, Job, Psalms, Proverbs, and Micah.