Isaiah 52:13

Isaiah 52:13

See, my servant will act wisely; he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.

Last week, in Isaiah 50, we saw that the Servant was utterly obedient to his Lord, even when that led to painful suffering. In contrast to God’s people, who are facing his judgement because of their rebellious disobedience.

Now, in chapters 52-53 we get much more detail about the suffering which the Servant will experience, and why he is willing to endure it. But before we get into the details, we are given a quick glimpse of the end of the story. My mum has a habit of reading the final chapter of a book first, before starting again at the beginning. I don’t really understand it(!) but I think at least part of the reason is to check whether the book is worth investing time in – if the ending’s unsatisfactory, why bother reading the rest?!

If any of Isaiah’s readers were tempted to do the same thing, this verse saves them the trouble. We don’t need to wait for the end of the story to find out what happens – the outcome of the Servant’s work is guaranteed before it begins. He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted. But that ending will be a great contrast to the rest of the story. For the next few days, our verses will be long on suffering and short on victory.

Perhaps that’s why we’re told the ending in advance. We will need some hope to sustain us through the suffering. And if we – as readers - need that, how much more did the Servant need it himself, to endure what we only read about. Hebrews tells that that ‘for the joy that was set before him he endured the cross’. He, too, knew the ending before he began.  The one who set aside the glory of heaven to be born as a human baby knew that one day he would be returned to his rightful place, ruling at his Father’s right hand.  There were plenty of moments in his life when that looked – humanly speaking – impossible. We may have days now when it seems impossible that we will ever keep going till the day when we get to join him there. But the ending is certain. He has already been raised and lifted up and highly exalted, and one day we will see that with our own eyes.

Let’s praise him for that today, and ask for his help to persevere through the suffering and struggles of this world, until we join him in glory.