Lindsey Explains Isaiah’s Suffering Servant

Duane Lindsey. 1985. The Servant Songs: A Study in Isaiah. Chicago: Moody Press.

Review by Stephen W. Hiemstra

In his farewell address, Moses prophesies in Deuteronomy 30:1-3 that Israel would sin, be enslaved, cry out to the Lord, and God would send a deliverer. Walter Brueggemann (2016, 59) describes this pattern as the Deuteronomic cycle, it is repeated throughout biblical history, but especially in the Book of Judges. The deliverer is most often a charismatic warrior who throws off those enslaving the people and restores the people’s freedom.

In contrast to this physical salvation, the Prophet Isaiah writes about a suffering servant who will restore God’s kingdom and atone for sin through

self-sacrifice. It is this suffering servant that we encounter in the New Testament in the person of Jesus. The importance of the atonement and the role of suffering in Jesus’ narrative is why the prophecies of Israel figure prominently in Christmas carols and readings during Advent.

Introduction

In his book, The Servant Songs, Duane Lindsey writes:

“This volume is written as an introduction to the problems and literature relating to the Servant Songs. It is hoped that pastors and Bible students will find herein a doorway for further study and exposition of the delightful prophecies of Isaiah.” (xii)

The servant songs refer to four passages in Isaiah: 42:1-4, 49:1-6, 50:4-9, and 52:13-53:12 (3). Of these, the last passage is the best known.

Background and Organization

Franklin Duane Lindsey (1934-2022) graduated from Biola Bible College and earned a Master’s of Theology at Talbot Theological Seminary. His doctorate is in systematic theology from Dallas Theological Seminary where he taught for twenty-four years.

Lindsey writes in six chapters organized around the four servant songs:

Introduction
The Call of the Servant: Isaiah 42:1-9
The Commission of the Servant: Isaiah 49:1-13
The Commitment of the Servant: Isaiah 50:4-11
The Career of the Servant: Isaiah 52:13-53:12
Conclusion (v)

These chapters are preceded by a foreword and preface. They are followed by a bibliography, and several indices.

The Atonement Controversy

Lindsey (4) writes:

“Jesus summarized his mission by affirming that ‘even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mark 10:45).

This citation suggests that Jesus was himself aware of the servant songs and identified with them.

Lindsey observes:

“Not only the teaching of Jesus but also the earliest apostolic doctrine clearly affirmed that Jesus’ death was substitutionary and redemptive in fulfillment of the Servant of Yahweh passages of Isaiah.”

The implication of being substitutionary is that Jesus died for our sins, which is also referred to as the atonement.

The doctrine of the atonement has come under attack because it requires that Jesus be divine because the penalty of sin came as a divine curse. Only if Jesus were divine could he provide an adequate substitution for sin. For those who refuse to believe in miracles, divinity is precluded. Consequently, the doctrine of the atonement is a flash point between evangelicals and liberals within the church

Call (Isaiah 42:1-9)

Isaiah writes: “The vision of Isaiah the son of Amoz, which he saw concerning Judah and Jerusalem in the days of Uzziah, Jotham, Ahaz, and Hezekiah, kings of Judah.” (Isa 1:1) This is approximately from 739 BC to 681 BC (17), which implies that Isaiah’s prophesy of the suffering servant is centuries before the birth of Jesus Christ.  The servant songs appear in the second half of the Book of Isaiah where the theme shifts from judgment (chapters 1-39) to comfort (chapters 40-66) (19). Isaiah died, according to tradition, being sawed in two (Heb 11:37).

The servant is empowered with three tasks: 1. effecting a new covenant for Israel, 2. being a light to the nations, and 3. delivering the spiritually blind (53, 55, 69). These three tasks would not necessarily appeal to an ethnic Jew because the special relationship between God and Israel would no longer be exclusive.

Lindsey notes that: “Yahweh proves that He controls history by demonstrating His ability to prophesy.” (35) If Jesus is indeed the suffering servant in view here, then the demonstration of Yahweh’s existence—divinity—and power would be clearly evident.

Isaiah accordingly stimulates controversy because (1) the atonement requires divinity that is defined not to exist in a material world, and (2) the new covenant with Israel is open to gentiles.

Commission (Isaiah 49:1-13)

The second servant song reinforces the first but does not forget Israel. Lindsey writes:

“Yahweh’s called and gifted Servant is rejected at first by His own people Israel, but in a future day of grace He will ultimately succeed not only in fulfilling an expanded mission to bring salvation to the Gentiles but also in restoring Israel both to the land (physically and politically) and to Yahweh (spiritually).” (77)

This statement suggests that Lindsey sees the re-establishment of the Israeli state as an answer to this prophecy, but the question of spiritual restoration remains an open-ended issue.

Commitment (Isaiah 50:4-11)

The third servant song “amplifies the suffering and patient endurance of the Servant.” (79) Isaiah writes: “I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting.” (Isa 50:6)

The disgrace of the servant—the sacrificial lifestyle—is an important reason why many people cannot accept Christ.

Career (Isaiah 52:13-53:12)

Lindsey sees the fourth servant song as the most important text in the Old Testament (97). A key verse is: “But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” (Isa 53:5) This is a clear statement of the atonement.

Assessment

Duane Lindsey’s book, The Servant Songs: A Study in Isaiah, is an important read for students of the New Testament, pastors, and others interested in understanding prophecy concerning Jesus as messiah. Lindsey writes as an evangelical, which implies that he sticks closely to original text in Hebrew. Lindsey’s exposition increased my understanding of prophecy and the source of the New Testament’s strong assertion of the atonement.

References

Brueggemann, Walter. 2016. Money and Possessions. Interpretation series. Louisville: Westminster John Knox Press.

https://obits.dallasnews.com/us/obitu....

Lindsey Explains Isaiah’s Suffering Servant
Also see:
Books, Films, and Ministry
Other ways to engage online:



Author site: http://www.StephenWHiemstra.net
Publisher site: http://www.T2Pneuma.com

Newsletter at: https://bit.ly/X-mas-Dec23,  Signup

 

 

The post Lindsey Explains Isaiah’s Suffering Servant appeared first on T2Pneuma.net.