Isaiah includes four songs sung about or by a person identified as God’s Servant. The nation of Israel was supposed to fill that role, but proved unwilling and incompetent. The early church immediately discerned the life and ministry of Jesus Christ in these songs. This post examines the first one.

The second half of Isaiah divides into three large sections.

The first, chapters 40-48, predict the end of the Babylonian captivity and the return of the Jews to their homeland. The Servant makes an appearance, but the passage reveals that Cyrus, and not any leader of Israel, will make it possible.… Read the rest