3rd Semester / Week 7
(The following selections are from pages 493-495 of Kingdom Through Covenant by Peter Gentry and Stephen Wellum of Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, and is available here: http://Kingdom through Covenant: A Biblical-Theological Understanding of the Covenants (Second Edition) https://www.amazon.com/dp/1433553074/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glt_fabc_ZPJ253DS4SEQCC10YZ6Q)
“The First Servant Song [in Isaiah]… is devoted to the theme of the consolation of Israel and of the nations (Isaiah 40:1-42:17). The Abrahamic covenant undergirds this introductory section. At the heart of the covenant with Abraham is the promise that blessing will come to the entire world through Abraham and his family, Israel.”
“The arrangement in this section is important. The consolation of Israel comes first because at this time Israel is under a curse; she is part of the problem and not part of the solution. First, God must console and restore Israel, and only then can He use Israel to be an instrument of consolation and restoration for all the nations… At this point, three passages on the ‘Servant’ of the Lord are placed together to focus on redemption from sin.”
“The literary structure sheds light on the identity of the ‘Servant.’ Debate over the identity of the ‘Servant’ has raged for centuries and continues to the present time unabated. One good reason for this debate is in the text itself: it is characteristic of Isaiah’s style to begin discussing a topic in an ambiguous and mysterious manner and to add critical information bit by bit until the matter is plain. For example, in the oracle against Babylon in 21:1-9, Isaiah begins by talking about the wilderness by the sea. Only at the end, in 21:9, does one realize that the prophet is speaking about Babylon. Isaiah’s presentation of the servant of Yahweh is similar. At the start, in 41:8, the servant is Israel, who in the biblical-theological scheme of the larger story has inherited the Adamic roles of son of God and servant-king, and who in the covenant at Sinai in Exodus 19:5-6 was called to be a holy nation and a kingdom of priests. The servant, however, seems to be deaf and disobedient in Isaiah 42:18-19. This contradicts the picture of the servant in 42: 1-9 and especially in 50:4-11. Israel as a servant is in dire need herself, not just of rescue from exile and all that that entails but also of a full resolution of the problem of a broken covenant relationship (e.g., 43:22-28). Idolatry and social injustice are endemic in Israel. This is the dilemma: How can God keep his promises to Abraham when Israel has completely failed as “the servant” of Lord? Israel was to model three things to the rest of the nations: (1) faithfulness and loyalty in their relationship to God, (2) social justice in their human relationships, and (3) responsible stewardship of the creation/ environment.”
“The answer to this question is addressed immediately in the Second Servant Song, which begins the detailed response to this question (49: 1-13). At the beginning of this Second Song, in 49:3, we hear again the affirmation that Israel is the servant, as in 41:8. So the servant is the nation. Yet in 49:5-6, the servant’s task is to bring the nation back. This is a return from exile, both physically and spiritually, as described earlier. How can the servant be both the nation and the deliverer of the nation? There is only one possible solution that resolves this conundrum fairly, and Isaiah has prepared us for this in the first part of his work: the Servant must be the future king described earlier (eg., Isaiah 11: 1-10). As an individual, the king can say, “I am Israel.” The king can represent the nation as a whole, yet he can be distinguished from Israel. This is difficult for Americans to grasp because we have no monarchy. In monarchies, both ancient and modern, there is a sense in which the king is the nation. At the same time, the king is the deliverer of the nation and fights her battles for her. Many Christians move too quickly to identify Jesus of Nazareth as the servant of Yahweh without following carefully the progression in the text. The main problem with the standard Jewish interpretation of identifying the Servant as the nation is that the nation of Israel is neither in the text nor in history able to rescue itself, let alone atone for its own sins. What clinches the argument for the Servant being an individual is the fact that in Isaiah 49:6 the Servant delivers the nation and that in Isaiah 53 the detail is so rich that it could not be anyone but an individual (See Peter Gentry, ‘Atonement in Isaiah’s Fourth Servant Song’).”
(End of quotation from Kingdom Through Covenant)
——————————————-
To summarize what was just stated, the Old Testament makes clear that the Servant, who is clearly Jesus, is the representative King of the nation of Israel. His Kingship was even recognized by Nathanael as he boldly declared, “Rabbi, You are the Son of God! You are the King of Israel!” (John 1:49). Also note that Nathanael didn’t say someday Jesus might become King, but rather, he said Jesus is already the King of Israel. As King, He is the representative of the nation.
As was recently pointed out in the movie American Gospel, it’s sometimes taught when studying David and Goliath that we can be like David and defeat the giants in our life. However, as that movie correctly demonstrates, theologians point out that isn’t the point of the story at all, and is even a false and misleading interpretation. The Old Testament is full of “types and shadows” which point to Christ. The account of David and Goliath is Christocentric (Christ centered). In it, David represents Christ and is a foreshadowing of Christ defeating sin and death for us. In the story of David and Goliath, we’re the hopelessly scared “Israelites” completely unable to conquer our foe which is sin and death, and we thankfully rejoice when our representative King conquers them for us. We merely trust, follow and obey the Commands of our King, as He leads and guides us with His Holy Spirit.
It’s not merely that Israel=the Church, but rather, it’s critical to see that Jesus is the representative of the nation, therefore Israel=Jesus=the Church. That’s an important distinction, and we’re not connected to the name “Israel” without going through King Jesus. This distinction is something we’ll examine next semester, because throughout Church history some incorrect presuppositions have been made by those who assumed the Church is the same as the mostly unregenerate Old Covenant nation of Israel.
Stephen Wellum of SBTS put it this way: “we must think of the Israel-church relationship Christologically. The church is not directly the “new Israel” or her replacement. Rather, in Christ Jesus, the church is God’s new creation, comprised of believing Jews and Gentiles, because Jesus is the last Adam and true Israel, the faithful seed of Abraham who inherits the promises by his work (Gal. 3:16; Eph. 2:11-22). Thus, in union with Christ, the church is God’s new covenant people in continuity with the elect in all ages, but different from [national] Israel in its nature and structure. Now, in Christ, both believing ethnic Jews and Gentiles stand equally together and inherit all of God’s promises in him (Gal. 3:26-4:7). And, furthermore, the relationship between Christ and his people is inseparable. For this reason, the church receives all of God’s promises in Christ.”
We’ve seen that Jesus is King over His Kingdom, and here’s one more passage from Matthew as he shows us the fulfillment of Micah 5:2. This gives us the precise name of those of us over whom Jesus is currently ruling:
“And you, O Bethlehem, in the land of Judah,
are by no means least among the rulers of Judah;
for from you shall come a RULER WHO WILL SHEPHERD MY PEOPLE ISRAEL,” (Matthew 2:6).
In our ultimate conclusion to the question of “Who is Israel,” we can now boldly and confidently say that Scripture makes it abundantly clear that Jesus is Israel. He is the prophesied “Servant” of the Lord, and that “Servant” is directly called “Israel,” (see Isaiah 49:3, as well as 41:8). As the King of Israel, Jesus is the representative of His people, and in carrying out one of the primary functions of a King, He has victoriously fought the ultimate battle for His nation, just like the foreshadowing we were given when David fought Goliath as the representative appointed King of the nation of Israel. We also see that, according to 1 Peter 2:9-10, we as Christians are now a “nation” and are THE “chosen” people of God! Jesus represents His people and is the King of His people, the King of the Israel of God (Galatians 6:16 and Matthew 2:6), the worldwide spiritual nation under the King that now reigns over His Kingdom! Furthermore, Matthew 28:18 (as well as Hebrews 2:7-8) lets us know that “ALL” authority in Heaven and on earth has already been given to King Jesus!!!
“Helping People See Jesus and Exploring All That He Has Fulfilled” 