The Mission of the Servant
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Key Verse: “Righteousness shall be the girdle of his loins, and faithfulness the girdle of his reins.” Selected Scripture: |
THE PERSON THAT IS BEING referred to in this lesson as a faithful, diligent servant is our Lord Jesus. In the Greek, the name means Savior and in Syriac it signifies life-giver. The circumstances surrounding Jesus’ miraculous birth, and the reason for him being born a perfect human being, is declared in the word, “He shall save his people from their sins.”—Matt. 1:21
The whole world was in expectation of the birth of the Messiah. This is especially evident when we look at the visit of the Magi. “Now when Jesus was born in Bethlehem of Judea in the days of Herod the king, behold, there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem, Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him.” (Matt. 2:1,2) They had now come to Jerusalem; having traveled a far distance to observe firsthand what they thought was to be the culmination of their beliefs. They explained when they arrived, that they had come to see ‘he that is born King of the Jews, for we have seen his star, … and are come to worship him.’ When they met with King Herod, they quoted the words of the prophet Micah, “Thou Bethlehem, in the land of Judah, art not the least among the princes of Judah: for out of thee shall come a Governor, that shall rule my people Israel.”—Matt. 2:6; Mic. 5:2
Concerning Jesus’ birth, and the promise of what the blessed Son of God would accomplish, we read “Unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.” (Isa. 9:6) An angel at the time of the birth of Jesus would proclaim, “Fear not: for, behold, I bring you good tidings of great joy, which shall be to all people.” (Luke 2:10) These ‘good tidings’ refer to the Gospel, for it is a good message, which assures the deliverance and blessing of the entire world of mankind. In a greater sense, it refers to the promise from the Heavenly Father when all the deaf ears will be unstopped, and blind fearful eyes will be opened. “Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. (Isa. 35:5,6) The phrase “good will toward men” (Luke 2:14), is a declaration of what God purposes to do, and it will include the “times of restitution of all things.” This coming time of great blessing was spoken to us by the “mouth of all his holy prophets.” Both of these quotes are from Acts 3:21.
We realize that it was a prophecy of God’s purpose to bring all of this about through the newborn child, Jesus. The steps toward this would include the birth of Jesus, his death on the cross, his resurrection and ascension, and the selection of the church. The Messianic kingdom will complete the prophecy. “There shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of councel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the Lord.”—Isa. 11:1,2