The Gentle King Establishes Justice on Earth

Isaiah 42

[My servant] will not break a bruised reed, and he will not put out a smoldering wick; he will faithfully bring justice. (Isa 42:3)

Main Idea: The servant of the Lord, Jesus Christ, will patiently and gently build his kingdom with broken sinners, even as far as the distant islands.

1. The Gentle King and His Irresistibly Advancing Kingdom (42:1-7)
   1. The quiet gentleness of the servant of the Lord (42:1-3)
   2. The irresistible advance of his kingdom (42:3-7)
2. The Message of the Kingdom Resulting in Joyful Praise (42:8-12)
   1. The message of the kingdom: the holy glory of the Lord (42:8-9)
   2. The joyful response to the message (42:10-12)
3. The Zeal of the Warrior God Rescuing His Captive People (42:13-17)
   1. The terrifying zeal of a God who is no longer silent (42:13-15)
   2. Rescue for his people; shame for his enemies (42:16-17)
4. The Shameful Condition of God’s Sinful People (42:18-25)
   1. The shameful blindness and deafness of God’s people (42:18-21)
   2. God’s just punishment for sin: the plundering of Jacob (42:22-25)

The Gentle King and His Irresistibly Advancing Kingdom

Isaiah 42:1-7

History is dominated by the building of one vicious kingdom after another, all erected for the glory of sinful men who used conquest to etch their names in bloody monuments to their ambition. They delighted in the weakness of their enemies and trampled them down like mud in the streets. But one day a gentle Jewish carpenter stood on trial before the most powerful empire on earth and proclaimed a different kind of kingdom than the world had ever seen. In effect, Jesus said to Pontius Pilate that day, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would have fought, because that’s how worldly kingdoms are built. But my kingdom is of an entirely different nature, built by a quiet proclamation of truth” (see John 18:36).

The nature of this King and the irresistible advance of his kingdom were predicted more than seven centuries before that day in the words of the prophecy we are studying right now—Isaiah 42. In this astounding chapter, Isaiah introduces for the first time “the servant of the Lord.” This title identifies the person and work of Jesus Christ four times in Isaiah: 42:1-7; 49:1-9; 50:4-9; 52:13–53:12. The interpretive challenge comes in the fact that sometimes God identifies his people (Israel or Jacob) in this same way—“my servant” (41:8-9; 43:10; 44:1-2,21; 48:20). In some of those verses God’s “servant,” Jacob or Israel, represents the godly remnant who are redeemed by God’s power. But even in this chapter, sometimes God’s “servant” is portrayed as sinfully rebellious, even blind and deaf (42:19). But the “servant of the Lord” in those four passages above is a single individual, sent to do God’s will and save God’s people. This is the first of those four breathtaking prophecies.

In verse 1 God introduces his servant as one whom he strengthens through the Holy Spirit and in whom he delights. This delight and the empowering of Jesus for public ministry by the Holy Spirit were proclaimed at his baptism, when the Spirit descended on Jesus like a dove (Matt 3:16) and the Father proclaimed his love for his Son. Just as Jesus did nothing apart from the will of his Father (John 5:19), so it seems he did no miracles apart from the power of the Spirit (Acts 10:38). Isaiah 42:1 also highlights that the Father chose Jesus to be his instrument to establish perfect justice to the ends of the earth by his crucifixion and resurrection. Peter makes plain that this choosing of Jesus occurred before the creation of the world (1 Pet 1:20) but that God revealed it in the unfolding of human history.

The goal of Jesus’s mission for the Father is to “bring justice to the nations,” which is made clear by the fact that the word justice or judgment appears in verses 1, 3, and 4, and that the coasts and islands wait for his instruction (Hb torah, “teaching” or “law”). Throughout the history of this sin-cursed planet, strong rulers have crushed weak people, denying them justice. God has written justice in the hearts of all human beings, so we are well aware when we are being treated unjustly. The distant islands wait for the reign of the kingdom of Jesus Christ, who alone can bring perfect justice.

What is truly amazing is how this King will establish his just reign. Verses 2-4 give a series of seven negative statements that capture the essence of the peaceful and gentle advance of the kingdom of heaven. First, he will not cry out or shout or lift up his voice in the streets. This refers to the harsh sound of tyranny, like a Nazi warrior yelling, “Schnell! Schnell!” to the terrorized citizens of a newly conquered city, commanding them to run onto a waiting train to a concentration camp. Or the strident sounds of a rabble-rousing dissident, who stands on a wall to harangue the populace with ideology demanding revolution. Jesus established his kingdom by speaking words of peace and truth to brokenhearted sinners.

The astounding gentleness of Jesus was predicted in verse 3: “He will not break a bruised reed, and he will not put out a smoldering wick.” Both of these are meant to convey the frailty and brokenness of human beings suffering in this sin-cursed world. A bruised reed is hanging by a slender green strand; a smoldering wick is just about to go out entirely. So are human beings in their frailty. And whereas wicked empire builders welcome bruised reeds so they can trample them and smoldering wicks so they can extinguish them, Jesus is building his kingdom out of exactly those kinds of people. He can take weeping sinners who have lost all hope of salvation and all desire to live and whisper words of gospel power into their hearts. He said, “Have courage, son, your sins are forgiven” to the paralyzed man (Matt 9:2). He said, “Have courage, daughter, . . . your faith has saved you” to the bleeding woman (Matt 9:22). He spoke reassuringly to a grieving widow whose only son was being buried that day, saying, “Don’t weep” (Luke 7:13), and then he raised her son from the dead. Dear reader, have you experienced the gentle words of Jesus pouring like honey into your desperate soul, assuring you of forgiveness, promising you heaven?

This kingdom will spread to the distant islands where people are waiting expectantly for it to come. But the advance of this kingdom will be gradual and difficult. The later “servant of the Lord” prophecies will make plain how much suffering the servant will have to undergo. Despite the fact that the progress will be quite slow and bitterly opposed, Jesus will “not grow weak or be discouraged” until he has established his kingdom even to the distant islands (v. 4).

Verses 5-7 reveal that the same God who created the universe will also spread the kingdom of Christ to the distant islands. Nothing can stop it! The Creator gives breath to the people who walk on the earth, and he can also give eternal life by his Spirit to anyone he chooses. So God gives the servant his commission: he has called Jesus for a righteous purpose and will take him by the hand to enable him to finish what he started. God the Father made his Son to be a covenant for the people and a light to the nations so that the eyes of the blind may be opened and prisoners released from the dungeons of sin. These are amazing words, for Jesus doesn’t merely proclaim a new covenant to Israel and to the world—he is the new covenant. And Jesus doesn’t merely open physical eyes to see physical daylight—he is the light of the world by which their souls will be illuminated forever. And though Satan has kept sinners bound in the prison of sin with chains they cannot break, he is impotent to stop Christ from rescuing his people from the dominion of darkness and transferring them into his eternal kingdom (Col 1:13; Luke 11:21-22).

The Message of the Kingdom Resulting in Joyful Praise

Isaiah 42:8-12

The message of this kingdom is the glory of God in the face of Christ (2 Cor 4:6). So in Isaiah 42:8 the Lord proclaims his name and establishes that his glory is his own, never to be shared with another. The people who were in the darkness of spiritual prison cells until the message of the kingdom came were there because of idolatry. The gospel of Christ proclaims that the time has come for them to turn away from idols to serve the living God. This also reveals the deity of Christ, for the Lord said he will not share his glory and praise with anyone; but Jesus is “the radiance of God’s glory” (Heb 1:3) and is worshiped just as the Father is (John 5:23). If Jesus were not God, these things could not be said of him.

By the time of Jesus’s birth, God’s credentials of prediction will have been established through the fulfillment of the prophecies of Cyrus (Isa 42:9). But now new things are springing up, and all that he has promised he will certainly fulfill. Fulfilled prophecy gives the gospel message tremendous credibility.

The only proper response to all this is worship! So verses 10-12 call on the people of the earth to sing a new song of praise for such a great salvation (Rev 5:9; 14:3). The ends of the earth and sailors are summoned to sing. Even the desert will shout with joy: the settlements of Kedar (the Bedouin tribes of Arabia, descendants of Ishmael; Gen 25:13) and the inhabitants of Sela (Edomites). What is so amazing about these names is that they represent people who have been hostile to Israel and to God. The sovereign grace of God will guarantee elect people from every tribe will be singing eternal praises for their salvation in Christ (Isa 42:12).

The Zeal of the Warrior God Rescuing His Captive People

Isaiah 42:13-17

The meek gentleness of Christ should not mislead us into thinking that the King lacks power or zeal. Actually, this advancing kingdom will be opposed every step of the way by powerful enemies. So verses 13-15 picture God’s terrifying wrath, which is as essential to the advance of this kingdom as is the gentleness of Christ. God “advances like a warrior . . . he roars aloud, he prevails over his enemies” (v. 13). Christ is a delightful Savior but also a terrifying enemy. God’s apparent silence in the past is easy to misunderstand, but he was intentionally holding himself back from judgment on sinners who were opposing his kingdom (v. 14).

All of this power is for the purpose of saving his weak, frail people—of leading the formerly blind along paths they’ve never traveled before (v. 16). Again, this could refer immediately to the restoration of the remnant to the promised land, but the whole chapter is speaking of the kingdom of Christ. Verse 17 is a warning, however, to all who refuse the call; if they will not repent, they will be put to shame on that final day.

The Shameful Condition of God’s Sinful People

Isaiah 42:18-25

In this final section Isaiah was writing to Judah and Jerusalem before the fall into idolatry during the reign of Manasseh that would result in their degrading exile to Babylon. The events that would occur in their destruction and exile would be absolutely humiliating to God’s people. But what is worse, they could mislead observers into misunderstanding God’s purposes. It was not that God was powerless to stop the Babylonians or didn’t see them coming. No, actually, God brought the Babylonians to exact judgment on his blind and deaf “servant,” Israel. The willful blindness of the Jewish nation was more despicable than the blindness of the Gentiles because God had made his law glorious in Israel’s midst (v. 21). If there are two men who do not read and pay attention to a “Caution: Wet Floor” sign, and one is in a dark cave and the other in a brilliantly lit room, the blindness of the second is more clearly exposed than that of the first.

For this reason, God commanded the Gentiles to plunder his own people, putting them into dungeons with no one to rescue them (v. 22). The tendency among God’s people is to hate the Gentiles and wonder why God has forsaken Israel. Instead, Isaiah wonders aloud who among his people will understand the true message here: God was judging Israel (Jacob) for their willful blindness, deafness, and disobedience (vv. 24-25). Only the humble and faith-filled among the remnant (Dan 9:1-19) would recognize that the holy God was doing this because of the sins of his people.

Applications

First, simply kneel before the humble and gentle King, Jesus Christ, and by faith enter his kingdom. Jesus is the fulfillment of these words, as Matthew 12:15-21 makes plain.

Beyond this, delight in the gentleness of Jesus in dealing with sinners like us. We have a difficult time believing God loves us when we’re so sinful. Sometimes we feel like we’re a damaged reed, barely holding on by a slender green thread. We feel like the work of grace in our hearts is a flickering, smoldering, smoky fire just about to be extinguished. We must learn to trust the exquisite skill of Jesus in binding up our broken hearts and fanning into a more vigorous flame the work of grace within us.

This should also teach pastors and other Christians how to deal with those feeling guilty for sin. We must learn to be skillful and gentle in counseling sinners to a vigorous and healthy walk with Christ. It’s so easy to be judgmental and harsh in a toxic, self-righteous way.

For all of this, however, we must not underestimate how much power Christ exerts every day as a mighty warrior to destroy his enemies and rescue his chosen people. Christ is a gentle Savior but a terrifying adversary. Let us fear the Lord and warn rebellious sinners of the coming wrath.

Finally, we should delight in the spread of the gospel to the distant islands, including the Arab nations who are descended from Ishmael. Christians should continue to give full exertion to the spread of the gospel, even in Muslim nations and hard-to-reach places.

Reflect and Discuss

1. How is the spread of Christ’s kingdom so different from the way human empires are built?
2. What is the significance of the term “servant of the Lord”? How does this describe Jesus Christ?
3. How does verse 3 (“he will not break a bruised reed, and he will not put out a smoldering wick”) depict the gentleness of Jesus in dealing with brokenhearted sinners?
4. Why would it be good for all Christians to meditate on Jesus’s gentleness with them?
5. Why would it be good for pastors and all Christian leaders to imitate Jesus’s gentleness with brokenhearted sinners?
6. How does this chapter depict the spread of the gospel to the ends of the earth?
7. How can we harmonize God’s wrath against his enemies with his gentleness in dealing with humbled sinners?
8. Why should worship characterize a healthy Christian life? How does this chapter depict that?
9. How would you summarize the message of verses 18-25? Why would it have been very hard for unrepentant but suffering Jews in Babylon to embrace the message in those verses?
10. How should this chapter drive us to personal involvement in missions?