The book of the prophet Isaiah, written from about 700 years before Christ, is one of the most loved books of the scriptures, by both Jewish and Christian faiths. Chapter 53 is one of most moving passages, describing what is called the “Suffering Servant”. Take a moment to skim through the chapter [there’s a link below].
Whilst the understanding of Jewish and Christian readers of the Old Testament scriptures is aligned for much of the time, this is not true of Isaiah 53. Who is the “Suffering Servant”? The early Christian scholar Origen (writing in 248 CE) records:
“Now I remember that, on one occasion, at a disputation held with certain Jews, who were reckoned wise men, I quoted these prophecies; to which my Jewish opponent replied, that these predictions bore reference to the whole people, regarded as one individual, and as being in a state of dispersion and suffering, in order that many proselytes might be gained, on account of the dispersion of the Jews among numerous heathen nations.” [in Contra Celsum]
For the Jewish readers of Isaiah (and perhaps for Isaiah himself) the identification of the Suffering Servant with the Jewish nation was clear. As a people they had suffered under numerous invading armies and persecuting authorities: Babylonians, Assyrians, Greeks, Romans, crusaders, expulsions from Western European kingdoms, right up to what we remembered last week – the Nazi holocaust, and antisemitism today. It was as if the anger, hatred, bigotry of the world focused on this one people group.
But in end, Isaiah writes, when everything has been endured and their suffering complete, God will send the Messiah – a King to lead Israel out of suffering. He will reveal the greatness of the one and only God - not just to the Jewish people but to the whole world through which Jewish people have been spread through their suffering.
This is the message that was taught by Rabbis in synagogues down through centuries from Isaiah’s time.
It was the message that Jesus himself, as young man, would have heard on countless occasions.
As he listened, becoming aware of his own identify, he saw God had a deeper plan.
It was not one nation that would bear the sin of world, but one person, Jesus himself as God’s only Son.
The servant was Jesus Christ, and the suffering was his own journey to the cross.
We now come to our second reading – from Paul’s 1st letter to the Corinthian church – probably the earliest New Testament writing, written around 55 CE – before any of gospels:
“For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.”
We have two main symbols of the cross at St Stephen’s church campus: inside and outside.
The cross outside, on the grass facing the road, is a witness to Christ’s death to save humanity, as Paul writes:
“Jews demand signs and Greeks look for wisdom, but we preach Christ crucified: a stumbling-block to Jews and foolishness to Gentiles,”
People want and need different things, and we can witness God’s love in different ways accordingly, but at one level or another everyone needs the cross of Christ to receive his healing forgiveness for everything in our lives.
The cross inside the church, above the communion table, shows that we all need to keep coming back to the cross of Christ – our relationship is an ongoing thing.
We continually need to receive his help and healing in good times and bad.
It may appear “foolishness” to many, but to those that experience this relationship with God it has the ring of truth.
"For it is not from man that we draw our life but from God as we are being joined to Jesus, the Anointed One. And now he is our God-given wisdom, our virtue, our holiness, and our redemption."
1 Corinthians 1:30 (TPT)
Sermon from Jonathan Sandbach LLM 2-2-20