Isaiah’s first thirty-nine chapters reveal a holy God confronting a sinful nation. Judah had replaced their devotion and trust in the Lord with empty religion, idolatry, injustice, and a confidence in political alliances. Although Isaiah repeatedly warned that judgment would come through Assyria and later Babylon, he also declared God’s steadfast covenant faithfulness, through a faithful remnant, the coming of the promised Son of David, and a future kingdom that would bless all nations.
Following Hezekiah’s miraculous deliverance from Assyria by God’s hand and the prophecy of Babylonian exile (chs. 36–39), Isaiah turns in chapter 40 from judgment to comfort and restoration. God declares as the sovereign Creator and Lord of history that He will keep His promises, and in Isaiah 42 He introduces His ultimate answer to Israel’s greatest need not just deliverance from Babylon, but the coming of His faithful Servant who will accomplish what Israel could not.
One of the keys to understanding Isaiah 42 is recognizing that there are two servants described in this chapter. Isaiah begins with the ideal servant and contrasts Him with the failed servant.
In verses 1–9 we learn of the perfect, Spirit-anointed Servant of the Lord. God delights in Him, as He will bring justice to the nations, restore those who are broken, opens blind eyes, releases prisoners, and becomes “a covenant to the people and a light to the nations” (v. 6). Israel is called God’s servant (Isa 41:8–9), but this Servant accomplishes what Israel could not. The New Testament tells us that this perfect Servant is Yeshua in Matthew 12:18–21. He directly quotes Isa. 42:1–4 and declares that He is the fulfillment.
In verse 18, the identity of the servant changes, God says: “Who is blind but My servant, or so deaf as My messenger whom I send?” (v. 19). This servant is the nation of Israel. Israel had received the Law, the covenants, and the prophets, yet became spiritually blind and deaf. This was chronicled in the first half of Isaiah in chapters 1-39. Instead of being a light to the nations, she needed deliverance. Her sin resulted in God’s discipline leading to exile to Babylon and suffering.
In the New Covenant there is a comparison of a greater and lesser servant. The first Adam versus the second Adam. In Rom. 5:14: “death reigned from Adam until Moses, even over those who had not sinned in the likeness of the offense of Adam, who is a type of Him who was to come. And in 1 Cor. 15:45 “The first man, Adam, became a living soul, The last Adam became a life-giving spirit.”
Yeshua is the second Adam, obeying where Adam failed, He is also the true Israel, succeeding where Israel failed. Jesus represents the nation before God and fulfills the covenant perfectly, restores Israel, and then accomplishes Israel’s original calling of Israel by bringing God’s light and salvation to the nations.
This representative relationship is seen throughout Scripture. Israel is called God’s “son” (Exodus 4:22), yet Yeshua is God’s beloved Son. Israel comes out of Egypt (Exodus), and Matthew applies Hosea 11:1 (“Out of Egypt I called My son”) to Yeshua (Matthew 2:15). Israel spends forty years in the wilderness and fails; Yeshua spends forty days in the wilderness and remains faithful. In every case, Yeshua does not replace Israel, He represents, fulfills, and ultimately redeems Israel so that God’s covenant purposes for His people and for the nations may be accomplished.
Isaiah 42 presents both the failed servant and the faithful Servant. Israel reveals humanity’s need; Messiah Yeshua reveals God’s answer. Through the Servant, God will accomplish what Israel and Adam who represents all mankind could never accomplish on their own. Where Israel had failed to fulfill her calling as God’s servant, this Servant would perfectly accomplish God’s will, bringing justice to the nations, light to those in darkness.
The identity of this Servant has been greatly debated within Jewish tradition. The Targum’s are a translation and paraphrase of the writings of the prophets. Targum Jonathan Isa. 42:1 “Behold My servant the Messiah, whom I bring near, My chosen one in whom My Memra delights.” The traditional Jewish position is that it’s writing dates back 2,000 years. Memra is Aramaic and means “Word.” It comes from the Aramaic root ’amar, meaning “to speak” or “to say.” where it often serves as way of describing God’s activity in the world while preserving both His transcendence and his personal involvement. This is how the Apostle John relates it to Jesus calling Him The Word in John 1.
Later Jewish commentators such as Rashi, and others taught that the Servant was corporate Israel, from the twelfth century going forward. That position came out of Jewish debates with Christians over the person of Jesus. Targum Jonathan is significant because it demonstrates that before the twelfth century, some Jewish interpreters understood Isaiah 42:1 to refer to the Messiah.
V. 1-4 This first section describes this unique servant: “Behold My Servant, whom I uphold, My Elect One in whom My soul delights!” (v. 1). He is chosen and supported by God Himself. “I have put My Spirit upon Him” (v. 1). The New Covenant confirms that this as we shared earlier in Mat. 12:18-21.
The same anointing language of the Spirit is applied messianically in Rabbinic tradition which sees this connection as well. They cite the resting of the ruach (Spirit) on the Messiah with Isaiah 11:2, in the Talmud (Sanhedrin 93b). “He will not cry out, nor raise His voice” (v. 2).
The quiet and submissive behavior of Jesus in his first coming fulfilled this prophecy as Matthew points out in Matt. 11:28-29 Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. His ways are so different from the ways of men.
V 3 compliments this as well in how he will interact with hurting people from Israel and the nations: “A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench” (v. 3). In Isaiah’s day, a cracked reed or a smoking wick was considered useless and discarded. Yet God’s Servant responds differently. Rather than ignoring those who are broken or whose faith is flickering, He gently restores and strengthens them. This compassion, however, is never at the expense of truth or justice. The Servant works in harmony with God’s righteous rule while extending mercy and kindness to those who are hurting. Yeshua perfectly fulfilled this prophecy, welcoming sinners, restoring the fallen, and offering hope to the weary. Isaiah’s words here remind us that God’s justice is accomplished not through harshness, but through truth, grace, and unwavering faithfulness.
In v 4 He does not grow faint or become discouraged “till He has established justice in the earth” meaning His gentleness is not weakness. The Servant will not break a bruised reed, and He Himself will not be broken or discouraged until His mission is complete. Though He will face rejection, suffering, and opposition, He will persevere in perfect obedience to the Father until God’s justice is established. He is never in a hurry or impatient He entrusts Himself to the will of the Father. The “coastlands” represent the Gentile nations who are waiting for His law (Torah) which is God’s instruction and revelation of God’s truth. Isaiah is looking to the day when the Messiah will not only restore Israel but also bring God’s salvation and righteous reign to all peoples. This will fully come at His second coming.
V 5–6 – The calling of the servant is not just for Israel but all the nations. This was one of the great failings of Israel. They hardened their hearts against the nations. V 5-6 describes God as creator and sustainer of all mankind assuring Israel and the nations that the mission of the Righteous Servant will be accomplished. The God who created the heavens, formed the earth, and gives life to humanity and has the power to bring His redemptive plan to completion.
“I will appoint You as a covenant to the people, As a light to the nations.” Unlike Moses who brought the covenant this Servant is appointed as a covenant. The blessings of God’s covenant are fulfilled in Him and flow through Him. “A covenant to the people” points that He would come first to Israel. “A light to the nations” extends His ministry to the Gentile world. The order is important for it is repeated by Paul in Romans 1:16 “For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek. God does not bless the nations by abandoning Israel. God through His Servant the Messiah brings light to the nations through the promises, covenants, Scriptures, and mission entrusted to Israel. Just as God did not forsake Adam and his remnant which would be the righteous among the emerging nations, so God will not forsake Israel and her remnant. Israel and the nations will fulfill their purposes for the glory of God.
V 7-9 – This servant will open blind eyes, bring out prisoners from the dungeon
And those who dwell in darkness from the prison.” This points to the miraculous healings we see in the Gospels. God’s Servant brings sight to the blind, freedom to those imprisoned and in bondage by sin, and light to those living in darkness.
The Servant will give the glory of His work to the Father who sent Him. We see in the Servant the Father, Son and Holy Spirit. I am the LORD, that is My name; I will not give My glory to another, nor My praise to idols.” “LORD” is the covenant name of God, יְהוָֹה (YHVH). God alone deserves worship. He will not share His glory with idols. Men use wood, stone, metal, wealth, political power, success, and independence in place of devotion that belongs to worship due to their Creator. The Servant’s ministry will lead people from idols back to the glory of the living God. His entire mission points to and glorifies the triune Lord.
V 9 “Behold, the former things have come to pass, Now I declare new things;
Before they sprout I proclaim them to you.” God’s ability to declare events before they occur demonstrates His sovereignty over history. The “former things” which includes the multitude of God’s miraculous works. These include deliverance from Egypt, provision in the wilderness, and most recently the rout of the armies of Assyria. The new things point to Israel’s restoration after captivity, the coming of the Servant/Messiah, and through Him God’s light reaching the nations. Still further, the return of the Servant, His coming kingdom on earth as it is in heaven. A kingdom that will display God’s justice and peace through God’s Spirit. Idols are unable to explain history or announce the future but the God of Israel does both.
V 10-12 In response to this redemption there is a call for a new song of praise. It begins at the ends of the earth and moves through the world: The sea, the coastlands, the wilderness, the cities, the mountaintops. Kedar was associated with the descendants of Ishmael and the people of Arabia. This certainly gives us hope today considering what is happening in the Middle East. Sela may refer to an area connected with Edom (today a part of Jordan) since the word in Hebrew means cliffs which describes that land. Here we see the Gentiles joining Judah in worshiping the God of Israel.
V 13-14 The gentle Servant of verses 1–4 is now followed by the Lord appearing as a warrior. As we have seen The Lord is gentle to the broken but stands against evil. Grace and truth, mercy and justice, forgiveness and judgment, all are characteristics of our God. The Lord’s patience should never be mistaken for unresponsiveness. 2 Pet. 3:9 “The Lord is not slow about His promise, as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing for any to perish but for all to come to repentance.
The silence of God during suffering can be deeply troubling. But God’s silence is not absence. His delay is not weakness. The image of labor reminds us of the words of Yeshua in Matt. 24:8 “But all these things are merely the beginning of birth pangs describing the judgment and deliverance that is coming.
V 16-17 here we see God’s grace that during judgment God will watch over His own. Even though Israel is blind, God promises to lead her. He turns darkness into light and guides and comforts them. Israel’s restoration will not come from their own efforts but God’s covenant faithfulness. Idolaters, those who defy God and His people will be put to shame.
V 18-25 Israel is now compared to the Righteous Servant. The Servant in verses 1–7 opens blind eyes. The servant here however is described as blind as a result of her disobedience and unfaithfulness to The Lord and His calling on her. Israel had received more revelation than any other nation. The Torah, the covenants, the prophets, the priesthood, the temple, and a history of God’s deliverances since her birth as a holy nation at Mt. Sinai.
This is so instructional for us as Paul writes in 1 Cor. 10 to the church at Corinth after describing rebellion and judgment of our fathers in the wilderness “Now these things happened to them as an example, and they were written for our instruction, upon whom the ends of the ages have come.
Having a relationship with God does not automatically produce obedience. We all know from personal experience that having even greater blessings than Israel does not help us if we fail to keep the commands of our Messiah.
Isaiah 42 displays two servants. Israel is God’s chosen servant, called to reveal His glory, yet she has become blind and deaf. She possesses the Torah but failed to obey. She experiences God’s discipline but does not understand why.
Then God says: “Behold, My Servant.” This Servant is everything Israel was called to be. He is chosen by God, delighting the Father, empowered by the Spirit, gentle with the broken, faithful to the truth, persistent in His mission and so much more. As John writes in the closing words of his testimony about Yeshua “And there are also many other things which Jesus did, which if they were written in detail, I suppose that even the world itself would not contain the books that would be written.
However, we need to keep in mind that Israel’s failure does not defeat God’s purpose. The Servant fulfills Israel’s calling, will redeem and restore her so that she will fulfill her calling. God’s faithfulness to Israel is an indication of His faithfulness to the church. Isaiah 42 means that God’s discipline is not the end. God will send His Servant and fulfill His covenant promises in both His first and second comings. God has not forgotten His people. Their calling remains, their Messiah has come, and their future restoration rests on the faithfulness of God.
For the Church, it means that we must behold Yeshua, reflect His gentleness, proclaim His truth, reject arrogance, love the Jewish people, bring the gospel “to the Jew first,” and carry the light of Israel’s Messiah to every nation.
The chapter leaves us with both a warning and a hope. The warning is that it is possible to possess God’s Word and remain spiritually blind. The hope is that God still opens blind eyes.
