Episode 416 Gentle Justice (Isaiah 42:1-9)

This week BibleWorm continues on in the third week of our Advent series, reading Isaiah 42:1-9, one of the well-known Servant Songs of Isaiah. We talk about traditional interpretations of the servant, some which view the servant as the Messiah but others which view the servant as the people of Israel—or by extension, the people of faith. In typical BibleWorm fashion, we try to read it as both—a view of the Messiah we are waiting for and a model for how we should try to be in the meantime. In that light, we discuss Isaiah’s vision of the servant as one who brings justice to the nations, not through violent retribution but by showing gentleness and compassion to the most vulnerable. “I have called you for a good reason,” says God, “to open blind eyes and to lead the prisoners from prison.” That is what the servant is to do—and that is what you and I can do even here and now, as we wait for God to do a new thing.