“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
Isaiah 42:1-4
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”
The next description of the servant we are asked to pay attention to is ‘my chosen one’. In Deuteronomy we see Israel reminded again and again that Yahweh had chosen them. In the prophets we are reminded of the responsibility that goes with being chosen.
Israel were chosen, fundamentally, to carry out God’s mission to bless all nations through Abraham. Yet when these words in Isaiah 42 are spoken Israel is in exile paying the price of wilful refusal to participate in that mission.
And so the servant is Yahweh’s chosen. To be the one who will bring blessing to the nation’s. He lives in himself the mission Israel were called to. This servant is all Israel should have been, but failed.
And so we read these words, and we read them knowing that Matthew will one day quote them – notice the subtle difference in ordering of the first verse – perhaps we will return to that in another post:
“Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
Matthew 12:18-21
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
21 In his name the nations will put their hope.”
Jesus is Yahweh’s chosen one, who brings about God’s mission in the world. Chosen, to bring justice to the nations. Chosen to bring hope to those on the brink of giving up altogether. Chosen to bring justice to victory, and to be the one in whom the nations put their hope.
And in that chosen one, all who put their trust in him become participants in that mission. We are known and loved from before the world began to be a part of God’s plan. As Eugene Peterson puts it reflecting on Jeremiah in Run with Horses:
God is out to win the world in love and each person has been selected in the same way that Jeremiah was, to be set apart to do it with him. He doesn’t wait to see how we turn out to decide to choose or not to choose us. Before we were born he chose us for his side…
Eugene Peterson – run with horses (p40)
To be chosen is not to enter a community from which some are excluded from any hope of ever joining. Instead to be chosen is to be brought in to the community of God’s love and to share in the mission of bringing that blessing to others and drawing them in.
There is a lovely hymn by the Iona community that expresses this truth more clearly than I can. Read these words, and listen here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4Rg_hkI47w8
We rejoice to be God’s chosen
Not through virtue work or skill
But because God’s love is generous
Unconformed to human will
And because God’s love is restless
Like the surging of the sea
We are pulled by heaven’s dynamic
To become not just to be
We rejoice to be God’s chosen
To be gathered to God’s side
Not to build a pious ghetto
Or be steeped in selfish pride
But to celebrate the goodness
Of the One who sets us free
From the smallness of our vision
To become not just to be
We rejoice to be God’s chosen
We rejoice to be God’s chosen – John Bell & the Iona Community
To align with heaven’s intent
To await where we are summoned
And accept where we are sent
We rejoice to be God’s chosen
And amidst all that we see
To anticipate with wonder
That the best is yet to be
Joshua's Tree Rooted 