The Suffering Servant of Isaiah Refers to Jesus Christ
Title: ‘The Suffering Servant in Isaiah refers to Jesus Christ.’
Number of words: 2160
Synopsis
The identity of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah has long been debated. An examination of the Servant Songs presents a range of elements that when interpreted on their own can produce contentious conclusions regarding the identity of the Servant. Resting upon an understanding of language conventions such as the use of pronouns can lead to an individualistic conclusion. Looking at the historical context of the prophet’s writing can point toward a contemporary servant figure such as Cyrus, whereas a contextual reinterpretation of the term messiah brings with it the notion of a future Servant figure. A collectivistic view examines Israel as the Servant. A synthetic approach satisfies many of the contentions. Whether or not Jesus is the future-figure of the Suffering Servant can be discussed by comparing the character profile and mission of the Servant to that of Jesus as evident in the New Testament.
1 Introduction
The Old Testament prophets speak about the promise of a messiah and God’s coming Kingdom. Christians declare the messiah prophesied about is Jesus Christ and in doing so claim the prophetic books and indeed the whole of the Old Testament as Christian books. Many New Testament writers refer to the Old Testament prophecies when talking about Jesus. Some of the prophetic references that are used to depict Jesus include Messiah, Son of God, Son of Man, and in Isaiah we find the title Servant of Yahweh. Generally, these titles are spoken of as messianic prophesies. Though Christians view Jesus Christ as the Messiah, a number of scholars make counter arguments over who the Servant of Yahweh refers to.
In an attempt to address the statement ‘The Suffering Servant in Isaiah refers to Jesus Christ’, claims from Christian, Jewish and secular scholars will be discussed. After locating the phrase ‘Suffering Servant’ amongst the ‘Servant Songs’ the
Number of words: 2160
Synopsis
The identity of the Suffering Servant of Isaiah has long been debated. An examination of the Servant Songs presents a range of elements that when interpreted on their own can produce contentious conclusions regarding the identity of the Servant. Resting upon an understanding of language conventions such as the use of pronouns can lead to an individualistic conclusion. Looking at the historical context of the prophet’s writing can point toward a contemporary servant figure such as Cyrus, whereas a contextual reinterpretation of the term messiah brings with it the notion of a future Servant figure. A collectivistic view examines Israel as the Servant. A synthetic approach satisfies many of the contentions. Whether or not Jesus is the future-figure of the Suffering Servant can be discussed by comparing the character profile and mission of the Servant to that of Jesus as evident in the New Testament.
1 Introduction
The Old Testament prophets speak about the promise of a messiah and God’s coming Kingdom. Christians declare the messiah prophesied about is Jesus Christ and in doing so claim the prophetic books and indeed the whole of the Old Testament as Christian books. Many New Testament writers refer to the Old Testament prophecies when talking about Jesus. Some of the prophetic references that are used to depict Jesus include Messiah, Son of God, Son of Man, and in Isaiah we find the title Servant of Yahweh. Generally, these titles are spoken of as messianic prophesies. Though Christians view Jesus Christ as the Messiah, a number of scholars make counter arguments over who the Servant of Yahweh refers to.
In an attempt to address the statement ‘The Suffering Servant in Isaiah refers to Jesus Christ’, claims from Christian, Jewish and secular scholars will be discussed. After locating the phrase ‘Suffering Servant’ amongst the ‘Servant Songs’ the
Bibliography: Brown, Raymond. The Birth of the Messiah. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Co., 1977. Jenni, Ernst and Claus Westermann, editors of Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament (TLOT) France, Robert. Servant of the Lord, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. Edited by Merril C Tenney, 5 vols. Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975. Hooker, Morna. Jesus and the Servant, The Influence of the Servant Concept of Deutero-Isaiah in the New Testament. London: SPCK, 1959. Lindblom, John McKenzie, John L. Second Isaiah, Anchor Bible, vol. 20. Garden City, N.Y.: Doubleday and Co., 1968. Mowinckel, Sigmund North, Christopher. The Suffering Servant in Deutero-Isaiah. London: Oxford University Press, 1956. Onen, James. ‘Jesus Christ – Prophesy Fulfilled?’, Freethought Kampala (March 2011) Cited 1 September 2011. Online http://freethoughtkampala.wordpress.com/2011/03/22/jesuschrist-prophecy-fulfilled-part-1-the-isaiah-prophecy/ Rowley, Harold Henry. The Servant of the Lord in the Light of Three Decades of Criticism. In The Servant of the Lord, 1-60. Oxford: Basil Blackwell, 1965. Tharekadavil, Anthony. Servant of Yahweh in Second Isaiah: Isaianic Servant Passages in their Literary and Historical Context, European University Studies, Series 23, Theology 848, Frankfurt am Main; Peter Lang, 2007. Tryggve, Mettinger. A Farewell to the Servant Songs, A critical Examination of an Exegetical Axiom.Translated by Frederick Cryer. Scripta Minora: Regiae societatis humaniorum litterarum lunensis. Lund: C.W.K. Gleerup, 1983. Zimmerli, Walther and Joachim Jeremias. The Servant of God. Naperville: Alec Allenson, 1957. -------------------------------------------- [ 6 ]. Walther Zimmerli and Joachim Jeremias. The Servant of God, (Naperville: Alec Allenson, 1957). [ 9 ]. Ernst Jenni and Claus Westermann, editors of Theological Lexicon of the Old Testament (TLOT). 3 vols. Translated by M. E. Biddle. (Peabody: Hendrickson, 1997). [ 14 ]. Zimmerli and Jeremias. Servant of God, 1957. [ 16 ]. Robert France, Servant of the Lord, The Zondervan Pictorial Encyclopedia of the Bible. ed. Merril C Tenney, 5 vols. (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1975) 361.