Jesus, the Suffering Servant

In reviewing the first and the second Suffering Servant Songs, one might ask ‘where is the suffering?’ The third song of the four certainly refers to the Servant’s suffering:

“The Lord God has given me a well-trained tongue, that I might know how to answer the weary a word that will waken them. Morning after morning he wakens my ear to hear as disciples do; The Lord God opened my ear; I did not refuse, did not turn away. I gave my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who tore out my beard; my face I did not hide from insults and spitting. The Lord God is my help, therefore I am not disgraced; Therefore I have set my face like flint, knowing that I shall not be put to shame. He who declares my innocence is near. Who will oppose me? Let us appear together. Who will dispute my right? Let them confront me. See, the Lord God is my help; who will declare me guilty? See, they will all wear out like a garment, consumed by moths. Who among you fears the Lord, heeds his servant’s voice? Whoever walk in darkness, without any light, yet trust in the name of the Lord and rely upon their God! All you who kindle flames and set flares alight, walk by the light of your own fire and by the flares you have burnt! This is your fate from my hand: you shall lie down in a place of torment” (Isa 50:4-11).

Jesus made a point of saying that His mission could be characterized as doing the will of the Father (Jn 5:30, Jn 6:38, Jn 12:49, Jn 15:10, etc.), so it is not surprising that the Suffering Servant does much the same: “The Lord God opened my ear; I did not refuse, did not turn away.” All of that Jesus did was the will of the Father and Jesus chose to accept the Father’s will both in His own divine will and His human will. We see Jesus’ human and divine wills at work in His agony in the garden prior to His arrest: “My Father, if it is possible, let this cup pass from me; yet, not as I will, but as you will… My Father, if it is not possible that this cup pass without my drinking it, your will be done!” (Mt 26:39, 42).

And it is certain that Jesus gave His back to be beaten. It was the normal practice of the Romans to beat the back of someone about to be crucified, a beating that was a preliminary to the scourging mentioned in the Gospels. The beating of the back was meant to amplify the agony of the scourging that followed. Likewise, like the Servant, Jesus was struck, spat upon, and insulted by the Jewish soldiers (Mt 26:67), the Roman soldiers hit Him, insulted Him, mocked Him, and spat upon Him (M 27:29-30, Mk 15:18-20, Jn 19:2-3), and Herod’s soldiers struck and mocked Him (Lk 23:11).

Despite the abuse, the Servant proclaims His innocence. “Who will dispute my right? Let them confront me. See, the Lord God is my help; who will declare me guilty?” Jesus’ innocence was a problem for the Jewish authorities who wanted Him to be silenced and humiliated. They could find no crime that He committed that warranted a sentence of death. They even went so far as to inspire false testimony against Jesus, but this backfires because the false witnesses contradict one another. The Gospel of Mark tells us that “The chief priests and the entire Sanhedrin kept trying to obtain testimony against Jesus in order to put him to death, but they found none. Many gave false witness against him, but their testimony did not agree. Some took the stand and testified falsely against him, alleging, ‘We heard him say, I will destroy this temple made with hands and within three days I will build another not made with hands.’ Even so their testimony did not agree” (Mk 14:55-59).

When it comes to finding Him guilty Jesus has to help out the Jewish officials, the men of the Sanhedrin. When challenged as to whether or not He is the Messiah, Jesus confirms that fact and goes on to claim divinity as well, saying “But I tell you: From now on you will see ‘the Son of Man seated at the right hand of the Power’ and ‘coming on the clouds of heaven” (Mt 26:64). Here He quotes from the prophet Daniel (Dn 7:13-14). They now have a charge against Jesus, blasphemy, and they hand Him over to the Romans for execution. Ironically, He makes divine claims before Pilate who finds Jesus innocent (Lk 23:4, Lk 23:13-15, Jn 18:38, Jn 19:4) and wants to let Him go. It is clear to everyone except the callous Roman soldiers, men who were just following orders and didn’t care about innocence or guilt, and the leaders of the Jews that Jesus is indeed innocent. He suffers greatly nonetheless.

—Fr Booth