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1 “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. 2 He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. 3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out. In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; 4 he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope.” 5 This is what God the LORD says— the Creator of the heavens, who stretches them out, who spreads out the earth with all that springs from it, who gives breath to its people, and life to those who walk on it: 6 “I, the LORD, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles, 7 to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness. 8 “I am the LORD; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. 9 See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you.” (Isaiah 42:1-9 NIV)
I have to confess that I thought first about Isaiah's wife and how difficult her role must have been in being married to a man of God whose ministry was almost centered on tomorrow and what tomorrow might bring; thankful that I had married a woman who knew who I was and what I was about. I have had dear friends called late into ministry only to lose their spouse because they initially married spouses who were something else and not ministers. My wife even told me when I told her that our housing situation might not always be easy or comfortable and she said she would gladly live under a tree just to be with me. Gosh, that works! I've had friends whose first wife left them because they were preacher's kids and had always lived in church-provided housing and finally said so out loud, or hid behind that excuse to pair up with a new love. But here we are with the woman whose husband would dream dreams and have visions and she just marveled about coming things and the arrival of the One. The One. She might have thought, "I grew up with my father and mother talking about the coming of God's Messiah, but they died with that hope; now my husband is describing in some detail about who this coming One might be. I want to believe this served only to reaffirm her love for him and the specialness and sacredness of his task. Isaiah's passage contains an introduction to the Messiah that becomes real when Jesus emerged from the waters of the Jordan: "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put m Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations." summed up by Matthew in the same way. God introduces His servant with three relational terms: "my servant"—one who carries out the Father's will; "whom I uphold"—sustained and supported by divine strength; "my chosen one"—selected, appointed, set apart for a specific mission. Then comes the declaration: "in whom I delight." The Hebrew word suggests deep pleasure, satisfaction, favor. This echoes the Father's words at Jesus' baptism: "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased" (Matthew 3:17). The Father's delight isn't earned through achievement but flows from relationship. Then the promise: "I will put my Spirit on him." At Jesus' baptism, this prophecy was fulfilled—the Spirit descended like a dove and remained on Him. The servant's mission is global: "he will bring justice to the nations." Not just to Israel, not just to the religious, but to the nations—every ethnicity, every people group. Justice (mishpat) means right relationships, proper order, God's rule established. The Baptism of the Lord inaugurated Jesus' mission to bring God's justice to the whole world.
Isaiah then describes how this servant operates: "He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out." This servant doesn't operate through force, volume, or violence. He doesn't shout in the streets seeking attention or clamoring for power. His methods are gentle, His approach compassionate. "A bruised reed"—a bent, damaged stalk that seems useless, ready to be discarded. The servant doesn't break it. "A smoldering wick"—a lamp flame barely flickering, about to go out, producing more smoke than light. The servant doesn't snuff it out. Instead, He tends the bruised and nurtures the flickering. This is revolutionary—the Messiah's power is demonstrated through gentleness, His strength through compassion for the weak. "In faithfulness he will bring forth justice; he will not falter or be discouraged till he establishes justice on earth. In his teaching the islands will put their hope." The servant is faithful—reliable, consistent, unwavering. He won't falter or be discouraged despite opposition, rejection, or difficulty. His mission is certain: He will establish justice on earth. And the result? Even distant islands—the farthest reaches of the world—will put their hope in His teaching. When Jesus was baptized and began His ministry, He embodied this servant perfectly: gentle with the broken, patient with the weak, faithful to His mission, bringing God's justice through love rather than force.
God then speaks directly to the servant: "I, the Lord, have called you in righteousness; I will take hold of your hand. I will keep you and will make you to be a covenant for the people and a light for the Gentiles." Notice the intimate care: "I will take hold of your hand... I will keep you." God doesn't just send the servant on a mission and leave Him alone; He personally guides, protects, and sustains. The servant's purpose is twofold: "a covenant for the people"—embodying God's promises to Israel, being the living covenant between God and humanity; "a light for the Gentiles"—illuminating the darkness of the nations, bringing revelation to those who don't know God. At His baptism, Jesus began fulfilling both roles. Then comes the servant's mission: "to open eyes that are blind, to free captives from prison and to release from the dungeon those who sit in darkness." This is both literal and metaphorical. Jesus physically opened blind eyes, but He also opened spiritually blind eyes to see God. He literally freed people from demonic oppression, but He also liberated those imprisoned by sin, guilt, shame, and fear. He released people from the dungeon of spiritual darkness into the light of God's presence. This is what the Spirit-anointed servant does—He brings liberation, healing, sight, and freedom.
God concludes with a declaration of His sovereignty and faithfulness: "I am the Lord; that is my name! I will not yield my glory to another or my praise to idols. See, the former things have taken place, and new things I declare; before they spring into being I announce them to you." God's name—Yahweh, the Lord—signifies His self-existence, His covenant faithfulness, His absolute sovereignty. He won't share His glory with false gods or idols. He alone deserves worship. Then the promise: "See, the former things have taken place"—prophecies fulfilled, promises kept, God's word proven true. "And new things I declare"—God isn't finished; He's announcing what's coming next. "Before they spring into being I announce them to you"—God reveals His plans before they happen so that when they occur, His people will recognize His hand at work. Isaiah spoke these words seven centuries before Jesus' baptism, but when the Spirit descended on Jesus at the Jordan, God's people should have recognized: This is the servant Isaiah prophesied about. This is the one anointed to bring justice to the nations. This is the covenant and the light. This is God's new thing springing into being. The Baptism of the Lord is God's announcement: The time is fulfilled, the servant has come, the mission has begun, and everything Isaiah prophesied is now unfolding before your eyes.
PRAYER: Lord, thank You for sending Your servant anointed by the Spirit to bring justice to the nations, to open blind eyes, to free captives, and to be a light for all peoples; help us recognize You as the gentle shepherd who won't break the bruised reed or snuff out the smoldering wick; empower us by Your Spirit to participate in Your mission of bringing light to darkness and freedom to the captive, in Jesus' name, amen.
Have a great and blessed day in the Lord! OUR CALL TO ACTION: Reflect on someone you know who is like a "bruised reed" or "smoldering wick"—someone damaged, discouraged, or barely holding on—and reach out to them this week with the gentle compassion of the servant who doesn't break or snuff out but tenderly restores.
I love you and I thank God for you! You matter to God and you matter to me! Love in a compassionate way those who others can't ses and don't want.
Pastor Eradio Valverde, Jr.
