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Daily Devotion: Isaiah 52:13-14

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Isaiah 52:13-14     "Behold, my servant shall deal prudently, he shall be exalted and extolled, and be very high.  (14)  As many were astonied at thee; his visage was so marred more than any man, and his form more than the sons of men"

For the past 10 chapters, we have been beholding the servant of the Lord in one fashion or another. Chapter 42:1 says, "Behold my servant..." Today's verse says, "Behold, my servant..." At first glance, these words appear to have the same meaning, but punctuation makes quite the difference. Notice in chapter 42, there is no comma; whereas, in today's verse there is a comma after the word "Behold."  I don't pretend to be an English teacher, but I believe that comma makes a very distinct difference in the thoughts that are given.  Chapter 42 speaks of looking at and examining the servant and his work. Today's verse is an introduction to the person, Himself. That person happens to be Jesus, the Son of God. Behold, my servant shall come in person and He shall do these things. He shall deal prudently. He shall be exalted. and He shall be extolled, or honored. But then, the Prophet begins to speak of the suffering of the Servant of God. The people exalted Jesus when they thought He was going to deliver them from Roman oppression. But when they saw Him as is described in verse 14, they cried out, "Crucify Him!"  

"Behold, my servant...."  He will deal with people in an honorable manner. He shall teach them and guide them and yes, He shall deliver them. But that deliverance was to be a much deeper deliverance than from the Romans. Jesus came to save, or deliver, us from our sins. This was a much greater need than to be delivered from manmade oppression. "Behold, my servant... shall be marred. People shall become astonished when they looked upon Him that day in the Roman courtyard. He had given His "... back to the smiters, and my cheeks to them that plucked off the hair: I hid not my face from shame and spitting." (Isaiah 50:6) The word, astonied, means the people's stomachs were turned when they saw Him; yet, they still cried out "Crucify Him!"  Before Jesus was to be exalted and extolled, He had to endure the cruelty of mankind and the suffering of the cross.  We exalt Him today because He humbled Himself even to the death of the cross for us. Let us never forget the work of our Lord in order that we have eternal life!

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