Isaiah 49:7 says, “Thus saith the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel, and his Holy One, to him whom man despiseth, to him whom the nation abhorreth, to a servant of rulers.” According to this verse, the Lord Jesus was despised by man, He was abhorred by the nation, and He was the Slave of rulers. In Hebrew the phrase “a servant of rulers” means one held in thrall by tyrants. The Lord was a Slave kept in thrall, in slavery, by tyrants.
Isaiah 50:6 says of the Lord, “I gave my back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting.” This is a very descriptive word telling us how the Lord behaved Himself as a Slave. He turned His back toward those who wanted to smite Him, He gave His cheeks to the persecutors, and He did not hide His face from shame.
Isaiah 42:2 indicates that the Lord did not cry or lift up His voice: “He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street.” This means that the Lord did not shout or make noise. Instead of crying out to make His voice known in the streets, He was calm and quiet.
Isaiah 42:3 and 4 say, “A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.” According to these verses, the Lord would not break a bruised reed or quench a dimly burning flax. The Jews often made flutes of reeds. When a reed was bruised and no longer useful as a musical instrument, they broke it. They also made torches with flax to burn with oil. The oil ran out, the flax smoked, and they quenched it. Some of the Lord’s people are like a bruised reed that cannot give a musical sound; others are like smoking flax that cannot give a shining light. Yet the Lord would not “break” the bruised ones who cannot give a musical sound or quench the ones like dimly burning flax that cannot give a shining light. On the one hand, the Lord would not break a bruised reed or quench a dimly burning flax. On the other hand, according to these verses, He would not faint as a dimly burning flax, nor would He be crushed as a bruised reed.
From Isaiah 50:4 we see that as the Slave of God the Lord was given the tongue of the instructed: “The Lord God hath given me the tongue of the learned, that I should know how to speak a word in season to him that is weary: he wakeneth morning by morning, he wakeneth mine ear to hear as the learned.” Although as a Slave, the Lord was not a teaching one, He was nonetheless given the tongue of the instructed. He was instructed by God to know how to sustain a weary one with a word. Because He had been instructed by God, He could sustain a weary one by giving him a single word. Such a word is able to minister life more than a long message.
Isaiah 50:7 says, “For the Lord God will help me; therefore shall I not be confounded: therefore have I set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be ashamed.” Here we see that the Lord trusted in God and set His face like a flint. As the Lord Jesus was walking in God’s way to fulfill God’s will, His face was like a hard stone. In the matter of fulfilling God’s will He was very strong.
In Isaiah 53:4 and 5 we have this word concerning the Lord Jesus: “Surely he hath borne our griefs, and carried our sorrows: yet we did esteem him stricken, smitten of God, and afflicted. But he was wounded for our transgressions, he was bruised for our iniquities: the chastisement of our peace was upon him; and with his stripes we are healed.” What is described in these verses is related to the Lord’s death on the cross. He bore our griefs and carried our sorrows. He was wounded for our transgressions and was bruised for our iniquities. The chastisement of our peace, that is, the chastisement for our peace, was upon Him, and with His stripes we are healed.