Isaiah 49:1–7; 1 Corinthians 1:1–9; John 1:29–34
Introduction
There are moments when Heaven leans so close to earth and whispers a single word that gathers all ears into itself, "Behold." Not any other, but "behold." To behold is to stand still before the mysterious being that knows us before we know Him. At the Jordan river, by the voice of a desert prophet, the centuries yearning Helper, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world.”
In that gaze, Scripture converges, prophetic promises become reality, history turns to be meaningful to the contemporary, and God’s Servant steps forward, not in spectacle, but in surrender.
The Servant of the LORD
Isaiah 49 belongs to the Servant Songs, where the identity and vocation of the Servant unfold with increasing clarity. The Servant speaks of his summons “from my mother's womb” (Isa. 49:1), echoing narratives in (Jer. 1:5; Gal. 1:15). This is no incidental mission, it is God's foundational purpose on each individual, rooted in divine election. The Servant is both hidden, “In the shadow of His hand He hid me” (Isa. 49:2), and revealed at God’s appointed time to the house of Jacob and the Gentiles. The tension between concealment and manifestation anticipates the Johannine motif of glory veiled in flesh when He says, "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth." (John 1:14).
The Servant is identified as “Israel,” meanwhile, the Servant is tasked to restore the house of Jacob, "...to bring Jacob back to Him and gather Israel to Himself... to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept." (Isa. 49:5, 6). John Calvin observed that the Servant embodies in Himself what the people failed to be, fulfilling Israel’s vocation by obedience rather than lineage.
The apparent failure when he says, “I have labored in vain...Yet what is due me is in the LORD’s hand, and my reward is with my God,” (Isa. 49:4) is not unbelief but lament. It resonates with the cross, where obedience appears fruitless, meanwhile, it is entrusted entirely to God’s will and justice. God’s response gives the mission the correct perspective, that restoration of Israel is “too small a thing.” The Servant becomes “a light for the Gentiles” (Isa. 49:6); this is the universal nature of salvation in Christ. Simeon, the righteous and devout, recognized this fulfillment in the infant Christ when he said, "...a light for revelation to the Gentiles, and the glory of your people Israel.” (Luke 2:32).
Unveiling of Isaiah's Servant
John the Baptist does not point to a throne, but to a Lamb, an image of Passover (Exod. 12), daily temple sacrifice, and the suffering Servant who is “led like a lamb to the slaughter” (Isa. 53:7). The phrase “takes away” (airōn) signifies not mere covering but total removal of sin, recalling the bulls and scapegoat offerings of Leviticus 16 which was repeated always, and anticipating the once-for-all sacrifice of Hebrews 9:26 which Christ made for humanity.
John’s testimony hinges on revelation, “I myself did not know Him” (1:31). We can see that recognition does not come through proximity of family relation but through the Spirit’s descent and abiding. The Servant is authenticated not by power or miracles but by the Spirit who rests upon Him, fulfilling Isaiah 42:1, "Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will bring justice to the nations."
Karl Barth rightly indicates that Jesus is known only where God chooses to make Him known, never as an object mastered, always as a subject who encounters us.
Paul’s opening thanksgiving in 1 Corinthians 1:1–9 situates the Servant’s work within the life of the Church. The Corinthians are sanctified in Christ Jesus, enriched not by self-assertion but by grace. The Servant’s faithfulness grounds their hope, “God is faithful” (1:9). The Church exists not as an end in itself, but as the community formed by beholding and confessing the Servant. Christ called us not to observe Him at a distance like spectators, but to behold and follow Him through a costly obedience journey as servants.
Across these Scriptures, the Servant is revealed as chosen, sent, rejected, vindicated, and also universal in scope. He fulfills Israel’s calling, bears the world’s sin, and creates a sanctified people who wait for His appearing. Beloved, Christ became what we are, so that He might make us what He is. The Servant’s humility cannot be weakness, but His form of divine love.
Conclusion
So the Gospel does not end with explanation, but with an invitation to fellowship. To behold the Servant is to let our expectations fall silent, to watch strength clothed in gentleness, to trust that God’s deepest work often arrives unnamed and not adorned.
Behold, the Servant of the Lord in your life and build upon His foundation, and victory works in you. Amen!
