Jesus' active obedience is what saves you from your active sinning. He took your sin to the cross and that one act of obedience is what led to your justification by grace through faith on account of His glorious resurrection.
Our text for today is the third Servant Song in Isaiah. This will really help us to emphasize the Gospel in this text. The Servant in our reading will accomplish the work of the Lord by means of His mouth (42:1-4; 49:2; 53:7). This servant is also perfectly obedient to God. This is because He “listens as those who are taught” (verse 4). According to Deuteronomy 6:4, this is exactly what Israel’s response to the Lord should be. However, everyone but Isaiah’s sung servant actually does this. It is interesting to note that hearing and speaking are only accomplished because the Lord has given mouths and ears and, in this case, the Word which is received by them. It is worth noting how the Lord provides, from start to finish, the instruments which receive the Word He gives. This certainly demonstrates the graciousness of God.
It is important in verse 5 to emphasize that the Servant is listening and not being rebellious. This description shows He is unlike any other Israelite, prophet, or leader of God’s people. They have all turned their back on the Lord, unlike this perfectly obedient servant. In your sermon you could illustrate this with a serial depiction of rebellious prophets/leaders: Jonah ran away (Jonah 1:3); Moses wanted someone else to do his job (Exodus 4:13); Jeremiah confesses his own rebelliousness (Jeremiah 20:4, 19). There is only one servant who can claim to be obedient like this servant in Isaiah. It is our Lord Jesus Christ, the Servant of the Lord (John 8:29). This could also serve as the theological confession for the sermon.
Bringing in the teaching of Jesus’ “active obedience” can help your hearers see how Isaiah’s words are perfectly fulfilled in “Christ’s complete fulfilling of the entire Law of God for the rest of humanity.”[1] This connection to Christ is made so much clearer in verse 6 when the Servant in Isaiah is abused just as Christ was in His Passion (Isaiah 53:5; Matthew 26:67; 27:26; Mark 15:19; Luke 22:63). Afterall, was it not Jesus who “set His face like a flint” (verses 7-9) when He “set His face resolutely for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51)? Here you could develop for your hearers their own personal experience of rejection. Using Paul’s question: “Who is it that condemns me?” (Romans 8:33-34) when the Lord vindicates Jesus (Romans 1:4) who has justified you and because of that, you now have peace with God (Romans 5:1).
Perhaps the most important point to develop for this sermon is the teaching that Isaiah’s prophet (Suffering Servant) is the faithful messenger. When He preaches, He is scorned, just like Jesus was. When His opponents pull out His beard and spit on His face and abuse Him, how can we not see the sufferings of Jesus? But that does not stop Isaiah’s prophet. He is God’s faithful servant, and he speaks the words God gives him to speak. Just as Jesus said, “I do as the Father has commanded me, so that the world may know that I love the Father.”[2]
When He preaches, He is scorned, just like Jesus was. When His opponents pull out His beard and spit on His face and abuse Him, how can we not see the sufferings of Jesus?
Isaiah’s words are true because they are fulfilled in Christ. Christ’s words are true because He did just as the Father asked Him to do (Matthew 28:6). His active obedience is what saves you from your active sinning. He took your sin to the cross and that one act of obedience (Romans 5:18) is what led to your justification by grace through faith on account of His glorious resurrection. Therefore, when He calls you His own, a forgiven child of God, and heir of His Kingdom, it is true (Galatians 4:7), because He keeps His Word and He is faithful and trustworthy. These are most certainly true.
Perhaps a helpful structure for this sermon would be to use an expository format. Moving your hearers through an experience of the text verse by verse will allow them to unpack the richness of this pericope while also taking time to understand the beauty of a teaching of the faith (active obedience of Christ) while they see Christ through the words of the prophet Isaiah.
“This structure uses the versification of the text to lead the hearers sequentially through the reading. Rather than follow the arbitrary division of the text into verses, however, the preacher often divides the verses into sections that can be considered according to their content (like the communication of a complete thought), their form (like the first articulation of a refrain in a psalm), or their function (like the creation of an experience of tension in the opening conflict of a narrative).
The sermon can open deductively by highlighting a topic that will be addressed for the hearers through a close reading of the text or inductively by communicating a need on the part of the hearers which will be answered by a closer reading of this particular text. The introduction is important in that it communicates the value of walking slowly through the text and invites the hearers to join the preacher on that journey. The preacher then focuses on one portion of the text, offering textual exposition and hearer application before moving to the next selection of verses. Ultimately, the preacher seeks to trace a consistent theme throughout the sequence of verses for the hearers and relate this theme to the proclamation of God’s gracious work in Christ. This approach should not simply offer the hearers random exegetical comments and various reflections without a coherent theme.”[3]
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Additional Resources:
Craft of Preaching-Check out out 1517’s resources on Isaiah 50:4-10.
Concordia Theology-Various helps from Concordia Seminary in St. Louis, MO to assist you in preaching Isaiah 50:4-10.
Text Week-A treasury of resources from various traditions to help you preach Isaiah 50:4-10.
Lectionary Kick-Start-Check out this fantastic podcast from Craft of Preaching authors Peter Nafzger and David Schmitt as they dig into the texts for this Sunday!
Lectionary Podcast- Prof. Ryan Tietz of Concordia Theological Seminary in Ft. Wayne, IN walks us through Isaiah 50:4-10.
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[1] Steven P. Mueller, ed. Called to Believe, Teach, and Confess: An Introduction to Doctrinal Theology, vol. 3, “Called by the Gospel.” Eugene, OR: Wipf & Stock Publishers, 2005. 509.
[2] The Holy Bible: English Standard Version. Wheaton, IL: Crossway Bibles, 2016. John 14:31.
[3] https://concordiatheology.org/sermon-structs/textual/verse-by-verse/
