Good morning, everyone. Good morning. As you can probably tell from the handout, this morning we'll be in Isaiah chapter 49 in our continuous study on Colossians. So as we come to this passage in Isaiah 49, it's natural and profitable to ask the question, who do we hear speaking here? And we find something of an answer in verse 3. In verse 3, we read, In view of that statement, the answer to our question seems simple enough. The Lord himself identifies who is speaking in this passage. It's Israel. So while you might assume You might easily assume that we hear the nation of Israel speaking in this passage, but actually, the answer to our question is not so simple, because the servant who is identified as Israel is also distinguished. from Israel. Look at verse 5. The speaker says that the Lord formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him. So the speaker of this passage is identified as Israel so that he might bring back Israel to the Lord. He's identified as Israel and distinguished from Israel. The same thing we see in verse six, the same idea. As the servant relates to us what the Lord has said to him, it is too late a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel. So then, on the one hand, the speaker in this passage is identified as Israel, but on the other, the speaker is distinguished from Israel. So we're almost back to where we started. Who is speaking? I believe as we examine the details of this passage, it will become clear that the words of this passage find their fulfillment in Jesus Christ. But we can also see And we will see, very briefly, that this reading of the passage, this one that I proposed to you, that this is Jesus Christ himself speaking here, is confirmed by several witnesses in the New Testament. I want you to keep in mind, especially verse 6, as we turn to the New Testament, the last words of verse 6, where it says, I will give you as a light to the Gentiles, that you should be my salvation to the ends of the earth. With these words at the forefront of our mind, let us turn to the New Testament, to the gospel of Luke, Luke chapter 2. And in Luke chapter 2, The situation that we find ourselves in is Joseph and Mary are bringing baby Jesus to the temple. And in verse 25, we read, and behold, there was a man in Jerusalem whose name was Simeon. And this man was just and devout, waiting for the consolation of Israel. And the Holy Spirit was upon him. And it had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not see death before he had seen the Lord's Christ. So he came by the Spirit into the temple. And when the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him according to the custom of the law, he, that is Simeon, took him, that is Jesus, up in his arms and blessed God and said, Lord, Now you are letting your servant depart in peace according to your word, for my eyes have seen your salvation. He's holding up the child, Jesus. I've seen your salvation. What are the last words in the last line of the passage we read in Isaiah? I will give you as a light to the Gentiles to be my salvation. the extremity of the earth. So let's go back to finish what Simeon had to say. For my eyes have seen your salvation, which have been prepared before the face of all peoples, a light to bring revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of your people, Israel. It's a clear reference to the passage that we're considering today. And this is our first witness who testifies to the identity of the servant in Isaiah 49. Simeon testifies that the one speaking in Isaiah 49 is Jesus himself. Now let's turn to the Gospel of John, Chapter 1. We have two witnesses here in Chapter 1 of the Gospel of John. John is speaking about the Word, and in verse 4 he says, In him was life, and the life was the light of men. The light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it. Verse 6, there was a man sent from God whose name was John. He came as a witness to bear witness about the light that all might believe through him. He was not the light, but came to bear witness about the light. What is this light he's talking about? What's the light that we find mentioned here in our passage in Isaiah 49? I give you as a light to the Gentiles to be my salvation to the ends of the earth. So we have the testimony of Simeon, That is, Christ is speaking here in Isaiah 49. We have the testimony of John the Baptist. That is, Jesus is speaking in this passage in 49. And we have the testimony of the apostle John himself. in John chapter 1 following the testimony of John the Baptist, we have the testimony of John the Apostle beginning at verse 9. The true light which enlightens everyone was coming into the world. He was in the world and the world was made through him, yet the world did not know him. He came to his own and his own people did not receive him. And you'll When you read this in light of what's said in Isaiah 49, the words of verse 4 of Isaiah 49 may come to mind where it is written, but I said I have labored in vain. I've sent my strength for nothing in vanity. John chapter 1 verse 11 said, he came to his own and his own people did not receive him. But to all who did receive him, who believed in his name, he gave the right to become children of God, who were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God. And the Word became flesh and dwelt among us. And we have seen his glory, glory as the only Son from the Father, full of grace and truth." This is the light that is seen. It's the light of the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ. Think again of those words in Isaiah chapter 49 verse 6, I will give you as a light to the Gentiles to be my salvation to the extremity of the earth. And then finally, a fourth witness to who is speaking in Isaiah 49, that it is Jesus himself. Come from the lips of Jesus himself. In John chapter 8 verse 12, Jesus says, I am the light of the world. You got it on your sign outside. He who follows me shall not walk in darkness, but have the light of life. That's John chapter 8, verse 12. And then in John chapter 12, verse 46, Jesus says, I have come as a light into the world that whoever believes in me should not abide in darkness. The Lord gave him as a light. And so we have these four witnesses that the one we hear speaking in Isaiah chapter 49, verses 1 through 6, is Christ himself. Now, if you look at your handout, I just want to look at this passage broadly, give kind of an overview of the passage as a whole. You see I've color-coded the beginning and the end of this passage. There's five poetic paragraphs in this passage, and there's a symmetry. that unites and structures this entire passage. The focus at the beginning and the end of this passage is on the Gentiles. He says, listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. That's how he begins. And he ends, I will give you as a light to the Gentiles to be my salvation to the extremity of the earth. So this passage begins with a focus on the Gentiles, and it ends with a focus on the Gentiles. But let me also try to keep you for making a misunderstanding. This whole passage is addressed to the Gentiles. You see that clearly in verse 1. Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. He's not speaking to Israel. He's speaking to the Gentiles. And I imagine that means he's speaking to most of you. This passage just fills me with wonder and admiration and it just, there's something about it that just tickles me. That 700 years before Christ was born, Christ spoke directly to us here today. Wow. Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. We're pretty far from Jerusalem, are we not? These words are addressed to you. And in these words, there's time and eternity mixed together, mingled together in these words, because Not only is Jesus speaking to us from 700 years before he was born into this world, he's not speaking to us from the perspective of the time in which these words were written. He's speaking to us from the perspective of being able to look back at his incarnation, at his birth. Listen to me, O Cossans, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, and from the body of my mother he announced my name. Time and eternity just mingled together and addressed to us. So that's the outer edges of this passage of scripture and its structure. Then you see how verses two and three parallel verse five. How so? Well, both of those passages, both of those paragraphs speak of the preparation of the servant. Let's read them. He made my mouth like a sharp sword, and the shadow of his hand he hid me. He made me a polished arrow, and his quiver he hid me away. And he said to me, you are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Now verse five. And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring back Jacob to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him. For I am honored in the eyes of the Lord. And my God has become my strength. So you see, in both of those paragraphs, the first two lines speak about how the servant is prepared to be a servant. Jesus is prepared to be the servant as God makes his mouth a sharp sword. Jesus is prepared to be a servant as he himself is made a polished arrow. And he's formed from the womb to be the Lord's servant for the purpose of bringing Jacob back to him and that Israel might be gathered to him. And then the last line of both of those paragraphs is very interesting to compare. And he, the Lord, said to me, Jesus, you are my servant Israel. in whom I will be glorified." So, the Lord says to Jesus, in you, I will be glorified. Then look at verse 5, the last line of verse 5. Here, Jesus is speaking and he says, I am honored in the eyes of the Lord. And my God has become my strength. Do you see the symmetry of those two? In the first paragraph, the last line speaks of how the servant is going to honor and glorify the Lord. And the last line of the second paragraph that we're looking at at this point, the servant says, I am honored in the eyes of the Lord. It reminds me so much of Jesus in his high priestly prayer in John chapter 17. In John chapter 17, Jesus, on the night before he's crucified, he prays, and it says in chapter 17, beginning at verse one, when Jesus has spoken these words, he lifted up his eyes to heaven and said, Father, the hour has come. Glorify your Son that the Son may glorify you. since you have given him authority over all flesh to give eternal life to all whom you have given him. And this is eternal life, that they know you, the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom you have sent. I glorified you on earth, having accomplished the work that you gave me to do. And now, Father, glorify me in your own presence with the glory that I had with you before the world existed. See, it's just beautifully portrayed even here, these hundreds of years before Christ came into the world. He would glorify the Father, and the Father would glorify Him. And then right at the heart of this poem, it almost boggles the mind that God would draw our attention to this, to this startling revelation. It is really startling, is it not? Verse four, Jesus is speaking and he said, but I said, I have labored in vain. I've spent my strength for nothing in vanity. It surely my right is with the Lord and my compensation with my God. And we'll get back to these and look at them in a little more detail in just a moment. But I want you to consider how we can summarize this message of Jesus in this passage. What he's saying is that the Lord is accomplishing his purpose his purposes through him. Notice that this passage focuses more on the action of the Lord than it does on the action of the servant. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother. He named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword. In the shadow of his hand, he hid me. He made me a polished arrow, in his quiver he hid me. And he said to me, you are my servant Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Verse five, it is the Lord who formed me from the womb to be his servant. It is the purpose of the Lord to bring back Jacob to him. It is the Lord who purposes to bring back the preserved of Israel. Verse six, it is the Lord who gives the servant as a light to the Gentiles. The servant is the Lord's salvation to the ends of the earth. See, this was not Jesus' good idea. This was not Jesus' initiative. This all comes from the Father. He is the one who's driving all of this. The servant's focus, Jesus' focus, is on the Lord, on his purposes with regard to the servant, and on his actions with regard to the servant. Jesus did not act on his own. He did not thrust himself forward upon the public. No, the Lord initiated the ministry of this servant. And this is the meaning of the second half of verse one. The Lord called me from the womb. From the body of my mother he named my name, he announced my name. It brings to mind a passage in Matthew chapter 1, verse 20 and 21. I'm going to jump into the middle of verse 20 where it says, An angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream, saying, Joseph, son of David, do not fear to take Mary as your wife, for that which is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. She will bear a son, and note this, she will bear a son, and you shall call his name Jesus, for he will save his people from their sins. So here we learn that before Jesus was even born, God called him to perform a particular task. God's already designed his career for him. And Jesus is called to save his people from their sins. And before he's even born, God declares what he is to be named. You shall call his name Jesus. And he is to be called Jesus because that name reflects what the Lord has called him from the womb to do. The name Jesus is the Greek version of the Hebrew name Joshua, which means something like Yahweh is salvation or Yahweh saves. And so from the time that he was in the womb, he was given a name that reveals what God had called him to do. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he announced my name. Now, we come back to those two paragraphs that describe the preparation of Jesus to be God's servant. Again, let me read them, verse 2 and 3 and verse 5. He made my mouth like a sharp sword, and the shadow of his hand he hid me. He made me a polished arrow, and his quiver he hid me away. And consequently, As a consequence of his preparing my mouth and preparing me myself, he said to me, you are my servant Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Verse 5, and now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring back Jacob to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him. These two lines that begin each of those paragraphs, they mutually interpret each other. First statement in verse two focuses on Jesus' mouth, or in other words, his speech. He made my mouth a sharp sword. The second statement focuses on the entire man. He made me a polished arrow. So notice that in order to be the Lord's servant, Jesus' mouth had to be fashioned into a weapon. And Jesus himself had to be formed into a weapon. And what was the purpose of this weapon? We see the purpose of this weapon in verse five. He formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring back Jacob to him, and that Israel might be gathered to him. God is described here as a warrior. And Jesus is his secret weapon. He made my mouth like a sharp sword and the shadow of his hand. He hid me. He polished me. He made me a polished arrow in the quiver. He hid me away. God is pictured here as a warrior and Jesus is his secret weapon. And what is he fighting for? with Jesus in his hand, wielding Jesus to accomplish. What is he fighting for? To bring Jacob back to him. And that Israel might be gathered to him. To bring the people of God out of their oppression. God wields Jesus Christ as his weapon. Spiritual warfare. The first place, as far as I know, the first place where God is described as a warrior is in Exodus chapter 15, where you have the song of Moses, where they're celebrating how God just conquered the whole Egyptian army by burying them in the Red Sea. God's people had been enslaved in Egypt, they were oppressed, cry out to God, and God comes along and he appoints a servant, Moses, and through that servant, Moses, he brings the people out of Egypt and brings them through the Red Sea and destroys that oppressive enemy. And there's an oppression so much greater than any power of any political government in this world. And that is the oppression of slavery to the serpent. God said, in the Garden of Eden after the fall, he said to the serpent, I'm going to put enmity between you and the woman and between your seed and his seed, and you shall crush his heel, but he shall bruise your head. So from Genesis chapter 3, God has been at war to deliver his people. 2 Timothy chapter 2, at the end of the chapter, it says that we've been taken captive by Satan to do his will. We're all like Samson. whose enemy comes and puts out his eyes and imprisons him in darkness and enslaves him. That's what Satan has done to every person who comes into this world. He's put out their eyes and imprisoned them in darkness. God takes his weapon, his servant, in his hand, and he wields that weapon to deliver his people from their sin and to bring back his people to himself. So, then we come to verse 3. And he says, the Lord said to me, you are my servant Israel, in whom I will be glorified. And what I draw from this statement is that in this warfare, in order to deliver Jacob and bring Jacob back to him, in order for him to gather Israel to himself, the servant has to identify as Israel. In order to bring back Jacob to himself, in order for Israel to be gathered back to him, this weapon, Jesus, must be identified as Israel. You are my servant Israel, in whom I will be glorified. Did not Jesus say in Mark chapter 10 verse 45, I did not come into this world to be served, but to serve and to give my life as a ransom for many. He identifies as Israel so that he himself may become Israel's ransom to deliver them from their sin. And that statement by Jesus in Mark chapter 10 verse 45, of course, he's summarizing in just a simple few words what is said in Isaiah chapter 53. Probably the most extensive passage in all the Bible, Old Testament or new, on the substitutionary atonement of Jesus Christ for his people. He dies in their place. He takes their penalty upon themselves. He's wounded for their transgressions. And so he identifies in order to serve as this weapon to deliver his people from their sins and to bring them back to God, he must identify himself with Israel. And I think that's what is going on in Matthew chapter 3 when Jesus comes to John the Baptist to be baptized, and John the Baptist says, what are you doing? This is all backwards. You should be baptizing me. And Jesus says, no, for the sake of fulfilling all righteousness, you baptize me. I've got to identify with the people I'm going to deliver from their sins. So that is the meaning of verse 3. So now let's look at this incredible statement of verse four. And let's look at it in its context. Let's go over quickly the ground we've just covered. The Lord called Jesus to be his servant. This is God's plan. This is God's work. The Lord called Jesus to be his servant. The Lord prepared Jesus to be his servant. And so we should all be startled when we read the words of verse four. But I said, I've labored in vain. I've spent my strength for nothing in vanity. Yet surely my right is with the Lord and my recompense with my God. How can this be? He's been called by God to do this work. He's been prepared by God to do this work, and he does this work, and he spends his strength in doing this work. It's all vain and empty. What's he saying? Well, when Jesus' earthly ministry was focused on Israel, In Matthew chapter 15, verse 25, Jesus said, I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. That was his earthly ministry. That was the focus of his earthly ministry, was to preach the gospel to the nation of Israel. That was his focus. That was what he was sent to do. And that explains why he instructed his disciples as he sent them out in Matthew chapter 10. There in verse five and six we read, these 12 Jesus sent out instructing them, go nowhere among the Gentiles and enter no town of the Samaritans, but go rather to the lost sheep of the house of Israel. That was the focus God designed for Jesus for his earthly preaching ministry. But at the end of it, I think it's in the last week of his life, he comes and he's looking over Jerusalem, and he says, oh, Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it. How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing. He's expended all this strength in preaching to the nation. And he looks over Jerusalem and laments the result. And then the day he's crucified, there, the crowd calling for his crucifixion. His disciples have all fled. And he's brought to the cross. And he can survey the result of all his work as he's hanging there on the cross. I've labored in vain. I spent my strength for nothing. A vanity. And yet, He doesn't waver in his faith. Look at the next part of the verse four. Yet surely my right is with the Lord and my recompense with my God. He looks to his sovereign God and he knows despite all that he's seeing, despite that he sees no good fruit. In that moment, He looks to God and he trusts that God will come through. And the purpose for which he was called and the purpose for which he was prepared, he'll see the reward of his labor. Toward that end, he will be honored in the eyes of the Lord. And so there we are, but then we look at verses five and six. Jesus speaks the words of verse four, and the Lord responds to what he says. In verse 5 and 6, and the law of the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be a servant to bring back Jacob to him and that Israel might be gathered to him, for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord and my God has become my strength. He says, it is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel. I will give you as a light to the Gentiles to be my salvation to the extremity of the earth. Too light a thing? What? I've labored, exhausted myself. Too light a thing? Yes, too light a thing. To bring back just the tribes of Jacob and the preserved of Israel. I am going to honor you throughout all the world. I will give you as a light to the Gentiles to be my salvation to the extremity of the earth. Let's look at, let's turn to the Gospel of John chapter 12. Gospel of John chapter 12. And we could really begin somewhere around verse 27, but for the sake of time, I'm going to just go to verse 44. I recommend you to read from verse 27 to the end of the chapter with Isaiah 49 beside you as you read that, and just meditate on how those two passages gel together. But we're going to start at verse 44. And Jesus cried out and said, whoever believes in me, believes not in me, but in him who sent me. Whoever sees me, sees him who sent me. I have come into the world as light, so that whoever believes in me may not remain in darkness. If anyone hears my words, that sharp sword coming out of my mouth, if anyone hears my words and does not keep them, I do not judge him, for I did not come to the world to judge the world, but to save the world. The one who rejects me and does not receive my words has a judge. The word that I have spoken will judge him on that last day. For I have not spoken on my own authority, but the Father who sent me has himself given me a commandment, what to say and what to speak, and I know that this commandment is eternal life. What I say, therefore, I say as the Father has told me. So many connections there to our passage in Isaiah 49, are there not? He is the light of the world. And he focuses there on the fact that God has put his words in his mouth, and that's all this he's giving out. And that word is eternal life. Believe. Believe. Believe on Jesus, who is the light. He is God's salvation to the ends of the earth, This is not just a Western religion that our culture likes to prattle about. This message is for the whole world. Africa, Asia, South America, North America, Australia, the whole world to the furthest extremity as far as you can get away from Jerusalem, this message is for that place too. Let's turn now to Isaiah, and we'll close with this passage. Isaiah, I believe it's 51. Again, we could start much earlier in the chapter, but for sake of time, we'll begin at verse 10. I'm sorry, it's chapter 50. Chapter 50, verse 10. I think I said 51. Chapter 50 of Isaiah, verse 10. Who among you fears the Lord and obeys the voice of his servant? That him who walks in darkness and has no light, trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. Who's working through the servant? It's the Lord. Trust in the name of the Lord and rely on his God. Verse 11, behold, all you who kindle a fire, who equip yourselves with burning torches, walk by the light of your fire and by the torches that you have kindled. This you have from my hand. You shall lie down in torment. That's the choice held out in these words of chapter 50, verse 10 and 11. Come to the light of the messianic king. Unto us a son is born. Unto us a child is given. This is the light that dawns. Read Isaiah chapter 9. the light of the messianic king. Come, submit yourself to this king. He'll take care of you. He'll bring you to life everlasting. It's either that or walk in your own light. Walk in the light of your own desires, and those torches will soon burn out. That's our land. Walks in the light of its own desires. They're governed by their own desires. They're guided by their own desires, as if their desires are infallible. But all you have to do is look at your own experience, how often your desires have proven wrong. Why would you walk in the light of your own desires? Walk in the light of the messianic king and live. Live. because the Lord has given us a light. He is his salvation to the ends of the earth. Our Father, we thank you. We thank you that we hear in these words our Savior speaking to us from 700 years before he came into this world. From the perspective of the futility of his earthly ministry, even up to the point he's hanging on the cross, and then beyond that, when he's honored, honored in the eyes of the Lord, and rewarded, rewarded with the people, not only from Israel, but from all the world to the farthest extremes. Father, I pray that every one of us would be encouraged and strengthened and delight in our Savior, walk in his light, the light of the King, that you have appointed for all nations. We ask this in Christ's name, amen.