There is a perfect storm that might be coming to a church near you: that worldly people swept up in the growing conservative cultural wave will be washed up into a worldly church and hear worldly preaching and think themselves already Christian. Or in other words, people who treasure power, size, appearance, and comfort will come into churches that are generally conservative and also cling to these things, and these worldly people will think themselves to be Christians. Even if the message of these churches is orthodox, the cultural packaging and clever turns of phrase mute all the offensive elements of the gospel and affirm to the unbeliever that “we are really the same deep down.” It leaves searching people without God and without hope in the world (Eph 2:12).
And this “muting” trend is not new—not by a long shot. Even during the earthly ministry of Jesus, the disciples are bewildered at his predictions of his death and resurrection, especially as a fulfillment of the Old Testament. Jesus, the Messiah, repeatedly predicts his sufferings, death and resurrection (Mark 8:31-33, 9:31-32, 10:33-44), and it is completely lost on everyone. Even after his resurrection, the disciples are slow to understand.
And so Jesus must open their minds to see how his death, resurrection and proclamation were predicted by the Old Testament (Luke 24:44-46). The approach of Jesus seems to show that such predictions were a clear part of the Old Testament teaching, and yet the slowness of the disciples to understand indicates that this teaching is not immediately obvious.
Evangelical commentators often note that Isaiah 52:13-53:12 would be chief among the texts that Jesus would have used to explain his suffering and mission after his resurrection. This is fundamentally correct, as we shall see. And yet even this text is not without complexity! Many critical scholars seem to have gotten no further than the Ethiopian Eunuch did in his analysis of Isaiah 53: “About whom does the prophet speak? About himself or about another?” (Acts 8:34). Modern culture, like ancient culture, struggles with a crucified Messiah. To be fair, what evangelical student of the Bible has not walked away from a study on the latter chapters of Isaiah in a fog when he hears from the learned scholars that the ‘servant’ in Isaiah is Cyrus, Israel, and the Messiah!?
In light of the clear affirmation of Scripture that Jesus’ death and resurrection were prophesied, and also the struggle that people had in coming to believe this, the goal of this article is three-fold: First of all, it analyzes how the portraits in Isaiah of both the Messiah and the Suffering-Servant are both very different and have deep similarities, pointing strongly but subtly to Jesus as the fulfillment of both. Secondly, it examines how Paul uses the idea of “the Messiah crucified” (1 Corinthians 1-2) as the surprising essence of salvation and true spiritual knowledge. And lastly, it looks at how this reality fundamentally shapes the way we bring Christ to people, which can help guide us through the challenges of our cultural moment. We begin with a comparison of the King and the Servant in Isaiah.
The Messiah and the Servant of the Lord
By all accounts, the descriptions of the Messiah figure in Isaiah are exalted. When we read, “Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it” (Isa 9:7), it is hard not to think grandiose thoughts. Likewise, only a few chapters later, we read about the same figure, “with righteousness he shall judge the poor… and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked” (Isaiah 11:4), it is hard not see the Messiah as a powerful ruler.
Other texts could also be included here (Isa 4:2-6; Isa 32:1-2) that would further demonstrate the powerful and good reign of the Davidic King. The picture is one of growing sovereignty, righteousness and justice, punishment of the wicked, and peace for the people of God.
However, these texts seem a far cry from the Suffering-Servant of Isaiah 40-55, who seems to be a figure of humility, suffering and, at least initially, dishonour. We read of him, “He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice…a bruised reed he will not break… he will faithfully bring forth justice” (Isaiah 42:2-3). And in the climactic passage regarding the Servant, we read very hard things. He is disregarded by the people: “we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God.” He is crushed by God for sin: “upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace and with his wounds we are healed” (Isa 53:4b-5).
The contrast could hardly be more stark. One reigns Israel and the nations in victory, the other is humbly rejected by the people of God, but in a strange and redemptive way. And yet, despite the surface differences, there is an even deeper similarity. A similarity which is enigmatic and paradoxical. A similarity which could easily be missed by the disciples then and could still be missed by us today. Here are the similarities.
Both the King and the Servant are bringers of light (Isa 9:2, 42:6). It is promised that both will bring growing justice to the nations (9:7; 42:3). Their acts will bring about peace (heb. shalom) (Isa 9:6, 53:5). Their mouths are powerful in bringing about this new state of affairs (Isa 11:4; 50:4; 61:1). They are both anointed by God’s Spirit for this task (Isa 11:2; 42:1; 61:1). They are both charged with bringing restoration to Israel (Isa 9:1-2; 11:12; 49:6) and hope/salvation for the nations (Isa 11:10; 42:1; 49:6; 52:15).[1]
When we remember that these paradoxical portraits occur in the same book, we are drawn to the clear conclusion that these are indeed the same figure, even if we would not have guessed it. The King and the Servant together are our Messiah, Jesus. Indeed, Isaiah 53:1-4 clarifies that many contemporaries of the Servant (who would later come to believe, according to the narrative of the passage) will totally fail to perceive the meaning of the Servant up until his death. This is likely part of what Jesus had to clarify to his disciples in those 40 days after his resurrection (Acts 1:1-3).
The Messiah Crucified as the Mystery of God
With the paradoxical unity of the Servant and the Messiah King established, it is now worth turning to Paul and seeing how he develops this surprise in his own teaching. One of Paul’s most powerful developments of this theme is in 1 Corinthians chapters 1-2. We know that Paul has Isaiah’s Servant of the Lord in mind because he quotes Isaiah 64:4 (“What no eye has seen, nor ear heard”)in 1 Corinthians 2:9, arguing that the death of the crucified Messiah is a fulfillment of this passage. That is to say, the shock predicted in Isaiah 52:13 over the identity and nature of the Servant was manifest in Paul’s own ministry in the preaching of the gospel. With that summary, it is worth surveying his argument as a whole.
In these chapters, Paul is correcting worldliness in the church, especially with regard to their desire for rhetorically flashy teaching methods. He argues that the very nature of his message is a rejection of worldly wisdom. How? He preaches “The Messiah crucified” (1 Cor 1:23). The anointed end-time King and deliverer of Israel died on a cross. The horrors and shame of crucifixion in the ancient world are well known (e.g., Cicero, Pro Rabiro Perduellionis Re, 5.16). To common sensibilities, crucifixion could be nothing other than a stumbling block (1 Cor 1:18, 23) to belief.
Conceptions of salvation and the figure who brings it (whether Jewish or Roman) were going to be dominated by human desires and thinking, and certainly not crucifixion. And in such understanding, a rhetorically flashy presentation would only be natural. In contrast, it seems that Paul’s preaching was intentionally without rhetorical flourish (“eloquent wisdom,” 1 Cor 1:17; “brilliance of speech,” 2:1), because this simple method of communication reflected well the subversive nature of the content: a crucified King. And it would ensure that both in the medium and in the message, God would be glorified (1 Cor 1:31). He is “the Messiah, Jesus, who has become wisdom from God for us, and also righteousness, sanctification and redemption” (1 Cor 1:30).
What is more is that Paul seems to equate this crucified Messiah (1 Cor 2:2) with the mystery of God (1 Cor 2:1). God’s sovereign, glorious and wise plan from ages past, his mystery, was Isaiah’s crucified Messiah (1 Cor 2:7). And this mystery must be believed fundamentally by a work of the Spirit (1 Cor 2:4). Indeed, it was foolishness to everyone else, but “to those who are called, both Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God and the wisdom of God” (1 Cor 1:24).
That is why the rulers of that age crucified Jesus (1 Cor 2:5-8). In their worldly estimations, they failed to perceive the hidden glory of the cross (Isa 52:10-11), hence Paul’s quotation, which was mentioned earlier. The crucifixion, the suffering of Isaiah 53, is the glory that is visible to only the called, those remade by the Spirit. As Paul will say, “And we impart this [gospel of a crucified Messiah] in words not taught by human wisdom but taught by the Spirit, interpreting spiritual truths to those who are spiritual.” This remarkable gospel plan seems to be what Paul means by “the depths of God” (1 Cor 2:10). To see the depths of God, the mystery of God, the beauty of a crucified Saviour, one must be made alive and taught by the Spirit, otherwise we stumble on God himself (Isa 8:14-15).
The Messiah Crucified and Ministry
And believing in a crucified Messiah has profound effects for our service to God in the church. Clearly, the Corinthians had failed to perceive the surprising nature of the cross and how that shapes our communication of it. A presentation of Jesus that is fundamentally shaped by power, slickness, shine, and silliness is a misrepresentation of the cross. Professionalism and silliness will struggle to convince us that he bore our shame and guilt and that we needed a shame-bearer. It’s discordant. Worldly preaching is like playing ” Happy Birthday ” at a stillbirth.
And we are probably all guilty of this kind of error at some point or another. What Sunday school teacher among us has not sought to amaze children with trivia, trinkets and toys rather than Jesus? What missionary among us has not betrayed the humility of the gospel by trust in technology, wealth or methodological innovation to make the gospel more palatable or their ministry more attractive? What pastor among us has not been tempted to put hope in church “momentum” or newer facilities as a way to grow the flock rather than people being “taught by the Spirit” (1 Cor 2:13)? We can all too easily repackage the error that we so often point among Jesus’ contemporaries: looking for a Messiah of power rather than a Messiah of meekness.
To be clear, we don’t seek boring children’s classes, antiquated techniques and a lack of positive direction in the church. But the nature of our message is so profound and counter-intuitive to human nature, it should drive us to more prayer for the power of God’s Spirit among us rather than seeking more sophistication in our presentations or programs. In the West, we may be in the midst of a resurgence of conservatism and interest in church, but conservative people don’t accept a crucified Messiah; reborn people do.
Paul’s point is clear: we must renounce lesser glories in our communication and instead seek communication which is carefully tuned to the humble cross of a crucified Saviour. Or, in other words, all our efforts should make sure that we are obeying the command of God to “behold [his] Servant” (Isa 52:15) and to help others do the same. The fading glories of human showmanship will only get in the way of the most remarkable thing of all: when we behold and proclaim the Servant, we proclaim the depths of God, among children or among the nations. And what could be more attractive than that? For all and any who truly belong to Christ, this is truly the good news by which we were called.
[1] I owe much of this paragraph to the observations in John Walton’s article, “The Imagery of the Substitute King Ritual in Isaiah’s Fourth Servant Song,” JBL 122, no.4 (Winter 2003), 534-43.
