In yesterday’s post I showed how Jesus startled his disciples by claiming that he, as the Son of Man, would suffer and die. Though Jewish visions of the Son of Man pictured him as receiving honor and glory, Jesus said that he, as the Son of Man, had come “not to be served but to serve, and to give his life a ransom for man” (Mark 10:45). I closed yesterday’s post by wondering where Jesus got these unprecedented ideas: <\/p>\n
Nothing in the disciples’ Jewish background had prepared them for this astounding claim concerning the mission of the Son of Man. Nowhere in Jewish thought prior to Jesus was the Son of Man envisioned as a servant who surrenders his own life for others. Where in the world did Jesus get this idea? Was it a brand new thought, a novel bit of special revelation? Or was Jesus drawing from some element of Jewish tradition that was not usually associated with the Son of Man?<\/p>\n
The last option is the correct one. Jesus framed his mission as the Son of Man by combining Daniel’s fantastic dreams with Isaiah’s poignant portrait of the suffering Servant of God. In the so-called Servant Songs found in chapters 42-53 of the Isaiah, God speaks of his chosen servant, the one in whom his soul delights: “I have put my spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations” (Isa 42:1). Beyond reestablishing the kingdom of God in Israel, the Servant will extend God’s salvation “to the end of the earth” (Isa 49:6).<\/p>\n
In chapter 52, Isaiah’s description of the Servant seems at first to fulfill Jewish expectations for the one who will inaugurate God’s reign: “See, my servant shall prosper; he shall be exalted and lifted up” (Isa 52:13). But then Isaiah’s picture of the Servant takes a staggering turn. Many are “astonished” at him because “so marred was his appearance, beyond human semblance” (Isa 52:14). Not only does he lack any sign of glory, but also he is so battered that people hide their eyes rather than look at him. The Servant’s shocking suffering is not in vain, however, because he agonizes for the sake of others:<\/p>\n
Surely he has borne our infirmities and carried our diseases; yet we accounted him stricken, struck down by God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the punishment that made us whole, and by his bruises we are healed (Isa 53:4-5).<\/p><\/blockquote>\n
God’s Servant even “pours out himself to death,” giving up his life as “an offering for sin” (Isa 53:10-12). (Photo: “Crucifixion at Barton Creek Mall” by James Janknegt, 1985<\/a>.)<\/p>\n