The LORD brings forth His chosen and beloved servant. Although Israel and others have been called the LORD’s servants, the Servant described here is finally Jesus. St. Matthew and the other evangelists quote from this text and allude to it so that we might see Jesus fulfilling it in His Baptism, in His ministry of healing and preaching, in His crucifixion, and in His resurrection. As the One who bears the Spirit, Jesus serves us by sustaining us under the weariness of our sin in order to bring the justice of His justification. The LORD gives this to us by speaking His Word to us. Jesus is the LORD’s covenant promise made to sinners, so that in Him, we would have freedom from sin eternally.

Rev. Harrison Goodman, content executive for the Lutheran youth organization Higher Things, joins host Rev. Timothy Appel to study Isaiah 42:1-9.

"The Fifth Evangelist” is a series on Sharper Iron that goes through Isaiah 40-66. Though Isaiah lived one hundred years beforehand, he writes to the people of God in exile in Babylon to assure them that their God reigns and will rescue them through the work of His servant. These promises are fulfilled in Jesus Christ, whose work Isaiah proclaims vividly seven hundred years beforehand.