The Suffering Servant and the Beatitudes
One of my favorite passages in Scripture is Isaiah’s description of the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 52 and 53. While in the Old Testament, it is such a beautiful explanation of what Christ accomplished on Good Friday that I have often used the passage to share the Gospel with non-believers. While the image of the Suffering Servant has always spoken to me, I have always wrestled with the Beatitudes in the Sermon on the Mount. It doesn’t make sense that those who “mourn” or are “persecuted” are somehow blessed. However, as I was looking over the lessons for Palm Sunday, a link between Isaiah 53 and the Beatitudes leaped into my heart. Isaiah 52 and 53 almost exactly match the criteria that Jesus labels as “blessed” in his Sermon on the Mount. By placing both passages side by side I began to understand both much better.
| Blessed are the poor in spirit | *He had no majesty that we should look at him- no beauty that we should desire him |
| Blessed are those who mourn | *He was a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief |
| Blessed are the meek | *Like a lamb that is led to slaughter, so he opened not his mouth |
| Blessed are those who hunger for righteousness | *The righteous one, my servant, shall make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities |
| Blessed are the merciful | *By his wounds we are healed |
| Blessed are the pure in heart | *He had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth |
| Blessed are the peacemakers | *Upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace |
| Blessed are those who are persecuted for righteousness sake |
*He was pierced for our transgressions- crushed for our iniquities |
| Blessed are you when others revile you and persecute you and utter all kinds of evil against you falsely –for your reward is great in heaven. |
The comparison is so strong that often the same words are used: “Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness for they shall be satisfied.” -Matthew 5:6 “Out of the anguish of his soul, he shall see, and he shall be satisfied”. -Isaiah 53:11
In the end, Jesus did what he did in obedience to the Father, for us sinners and our salvation. Because of his work, his suffering, and his attitude, he bore the sin of many and made an offering for our guilt and he shall see what he accomplished and shall be blessed and satisfied. Paul stated it perfectly in our Epistle for this Sunday, “Because he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, God has exalted him and bestowed on him the name that is above every name.” —Philippians 2:8-9
Jesus didn’t simply lay out a pattern of life for his disciples in the Sermon on the Mount, he actually practiced those principles in his life and especially his death. I believe he did so because he knew he was calling his disciples to a kingdom life that was the exact opposite of the values of the world that they were born into. They would have to be born again into the values of his Father and they would need the power of the Spirit to help them live radically different lives. He didn’t just call them to have the same humble obedience he had— he actually modeled perfect humble obedience. For that his reward was great in heaven, he was called the Son of God, he saw and was satisfied. His life was indeed blessed. And so too shall ours be if we follow his example on the way to the cross.
†Bp. Mark