Isaiah 50:4-7 The Lord God has given me
the tongue of those who are taught,
that I may know how to sustain with a word
him who is weary.
Morning by morning he awakens;
he awakens my ear
to hear as those who are taught.
5 The Lord God has opened my ear,
and I was not rebellious;
I turned not backward.
6 I gave my back to those who strike,
and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard;
I hid not my face
from disgrace and spitting.

7 But the Lord God helps me;
therefore I have not been disgraced;
therefore I have set my face like a flint,
and I know that I shall not be put to shame.

Scott Grant, in a sermon, “Trusting God in the Darkness”

This passage presents the third of Isaiah’s four Servant Songs, in which God’s ideal for Israel is summed up in an individual. In this song, the Servant listens to God, while Israel does not (Isaiah 50:2); the Servant is confident, while Israel is not (Isaiah 49:14); the Servant suffers for being obedient, while Israel suffers for being sinful (Isaiah 50:1); the Servant is vindicated, while Israel is found guilty (Isaiah 50:1)

The obedient servant (50:4-6)

The Servant recognizes that the Lord has given him the “tongue of disciples” so that he speaks as a disciple, as a learner, as one who has been taught. Because of this learning, he has the knowledge necessary to speak effectively. Specifically, he knows how to “sustain the weary one with a word.” He knows what those who are weary need to hear so that their faith may be strengthened.

The Lord awakens him morning by morning, demonstrating that this awakening is of first priority and that it happens on an ongoing basis. The reason the Lord awakens his Servant each day is so that he may awaken his ear. With an awakened ear, the Servant is sensitive to the words of the Lord; he listens “as a disciple”—as a learner. The Servant has an effective tongue because he has an open ear.

Having had his ear opened by the Lord to listen to the word of the Lord, the Servant was not disobedient. Evidently, the Lord spoke some hard words to his Servant. The Servant, though his ears were opened by the Lord, could have closed them when he heard the words, but he kept listening. His first act of obedience, then, was to keep listening. His second act of obedience was to move forward in the manner that the Lord asked him to, for he did not “turn back.”

He would have every reason for wanting to turn back, however, based on the description of what he encountered. He submitted to agonizing abuse at the hands of his enemies. The Lord gave his Servant the tongue of disciples, but the Servant gives his enemies his back that they might scourge him and he gives them his cheeks that they might ridicule him, plucking out his beard. He did not cover his face from humiliation and spitting but instead accepted the full force of such derision. This kind of experience is one that everyone would turn away from if he could, yet the Servant does not turn back.

Jesus, the Servant of the Lord, knew how to speak to sustain those who were weak in faith. Invariably, people of faith had their faith strengthened, or challenged that it might be strengthened, after Jesus spoke to them. He had different words for each, depending on who they were and what they needed. Although sisters Martha and Mary lost the same brother, he had different words for each (John 11:17-37). He knew how to speak because he knew how to listen. The Lord God awakened him morning by morning; thus we find Jesus leaving in the early morning, while it was still dark, for a lonely place in order to meet with God (Mark 1:35). He stayed awake in the garden while his disciples fell asleep in order that he might hear from the Father (Mark 13:32-44). He “learned obedience” (Hebrews 5:8).

Jesus heard the hard words of the Father, the words that finally led him to the darkest place on earth, a little hill outside Jerusalem. Although he was given ample opportunities to choose another path, he did not turn back, even when hanging on the cross, absorbing the sins of the world and losing the presence of the Father (John 18:11, Matthew 27:38-44, Mark 15:34). He submitted to scourging, humiliation and spitting (Matthew 27:28-31).

Are you weak in faith? Do you sometimes find yourself flagging? Do you sometimes wonder whether the life of faith is worth it? Jesus knows you. He knows your temperament, your tendencies and your circumstances. He knows the words you need to hear when you need to hear them. He knows how to sustain you, the weary one, with a word, opening your heart to the scriptures or to the words of a brother or sister. In obedience to the Father, but with you in mind, he did not turn back, but endured scourging, humiliation, crucifixion.