"Do Your Worst, and He Will Give His Best"

Scripture: Isaiah 50:4-9

Palm Sunday is one of those days when we can focus our lives on one of two ideals: We can either center on the glory and adoration of Jesus’ entry into Jerusalem, or we can consider the “Suffering Servanthood” that Jesus would soon take up. My tendency is generally to consider the triumphal entry into Jerusalem – it’s a lot easier, a lot happier, and a lot cleaner - , but today, I am taking the other road. This Palm Sunday will not be one of triumph, but rather one that reflects on the suffering to come.

As Jesus rode into Jerusalem on that day, he certainly did meet cheering crowds – thousands of them! After spending so much of his ministry in the Galilee, causing a great deal of confusion for his disciples and putting many people in a quandary over just who this man was with all of this new and strange teaching, the Lord was now coming into both the heart of Jewish Legalism, and the center of all the hostility that had turned against him.

Suffering would become a constant condition for Jesus from now until his death.
Emotionally, he would be desperate to make this one and final effort to teach the people that the truth of God was not what they had become comfortable with, and to teach them that the truth of his coming sacrifice was not a condemnation by any means, but a gift of salvation for all who would believe.
Spiritually, the very Son of the Most High God would be falsely charged, falsely testified against, and falsely convicted of the most heinous of all crimes – of sedition, even while he had never in his life said a single word against secular authority.
Physically, his torture would be unlike anything that we can even imagine – he would receive the 39 lashes of a criminal, which normally would be sufficient punishment for anyone, but he would also receive the sentence of death by crucifixion – an excruciating and humiliating form of execution.

And yet, though it all, Jesus never wavered in his journey toward the tomb. Suffering had become a way of life for him – unbelievers, doubters, scoffers, and those followers who had finally turned away from him – all caused our Lord great suffering in his soul because of their decision to follow a path of their own making instead of the one that God was preparing for them by faith. But this should never have been a surprise for anyone – the prophets had told of it centuries before.
As we approach our text for today, it is filled with dire predictions of suffering, but it is also notable that there is never a single word of reproach or condemnation against God – not one accusing him of being the source of the pain and anguish, and not one of blame for not responding to the pleas for help quicker. The struggle is humbly accepted, and the Almighty will be praised for his compassion and presence.

Read Isaiah 50:4-5

Our text begins with an acknowledgment that God has given all that is necessary to live and respond within the Divine will.
God is faithful in the gifts that come to the speaker – he has received the right words to speak to others, and he has the heart and attitude to serve the people in their need.
He opens the eyes that have been closed in sleep, that they might know the glory that is all around – sleep is ignorance, sleep is deadly, sleep is the way of the world as opposed to the way of God, it is the way that is never the Lord’s way.
He has opened ears to hear and know the truth of God, and the recipient has listened closely – he has followed the commands and has not rebelled or turned away from that truth.

This is a description of a true servant – one who is faithfully following the instructions of his Master; to live in the master’s way, to do as the Master requests, to give what the Master requires, to show honor and respect to the Master who provides for him. It’s about showing honor and respect.

Read Isaiah 50:6-7

But service to the Master will almost never produce a comfortable life. There will always be those who oppose the will of the Master, and when we are obedient to the One, we must also stand in unity with him against the onslaught of the others. Wherever the Master goes, whatever the Master experiences, however the Master responds – that must be the servant’s way, too.

The attacks that this servant is subjected to are being offered as insults and condemnations. This is not just a vilification for the things the servant stands for – they are meant to coerce the servant into renouncing his Master and to turn to the way of those who are afflicting him.

But we read that the Master – the Sovereign Lord – helps the afflicted to bear up under the attacks, and deflects any shame that is intended away from the faithful servant. The assaults that are aimed against the servant’s character and being will have little effect, for as the servant is faithful to the Master, so will the Master be faithful to him.

This describes a true and honorable Master – one who is worthy of the servant’s faithful service. Not all masters who we encounter in this life are this praiseworthy – most are only in it for themselves, and their “servants” are expected to do their bidding without any expectation of appreciation or gain in return. “You owe me your all, but don’t expect anything from me!” Who wants to serve a master like that?

Read Isaiah 50:8-9

“You want to attack me because of my allegiance to my Master? Well bring it on!” So often in the Old Testament, whenever we read of trouble and strife that befalls Israel, the people attribute it to their Almighty God as a punishment brought against them for their sin, and as a sign of his displeasure. Struggle, failure, even illness and infirmity, are all attributed to God as the response of a demanding and overbearing Task Master.

But this Master – this view of God – stands in stark contrast to the conventional wisdom. This is a benevolent and caring Master, this is a loving and supportive Master, this is a Master who is worthy of allegiance. And because of his faithfulness toward the servant, every request and command can be joyfully carried out, regardless of the conflict that may come against the servant.

This passage is written in such a way that it is all too easy to believe that it is only about the prophet. But let’s see it in a new light – one that reflects the faithful servant Jesus.

Consider the “instructed tongue” – in Matthew 4:4, we find Jesus being tempted by Satan, and he tells us that we “live by every word that comes from the mouth of God”. We also read a number of times that Jesus was always teaching the “word of God” – not his own word, but God’s (e.g. Luke 5:1). God has given, and the “Servant” has received.

He opens my eyes, he awakens my ear – how often do we read of Jesus’ taking time away, before the hustle and bustle of the day begins, to be in conversation with the Father, such as in Mark 1:35? Where would he be without the faithful and loving guidance of his Father?

Insults and mocking and attacks on his character – Jesus is subjected to this throughout the gospels, and his followers would be subjected to the same fate in the years to come.

Vindication? Jesus was condemned by the pride and jealousy of humanity, but his ministry and sacrifice was proven and justified by God. The hatred of earth will, one day, vanish in a puff of smoke, and the opposition that has continued against him for 2,000 years and more will wear out and disintegrate.

Disgrace? Shame? Our Lord would be hated and ostracized by the world, but his ministry, his teaching, his life, his sacrifice can never be diminished. Shame and disgrace will, one day, only fall on those who oppose him and who will not obey and follow his way.

On that day when Jesus rode into Jerusalem in the back of that colt, the crowds cheered him as the one who would save them from Roman oppression, and the disciples would finally bask in the warmth of adoration from the masses. But Jesus never heard the acclamation of earth – his life, his heart, his eyes and ears, they were all focused on the love of his Master – his Father – and the will and plan of salvation that had been placed squarely on his shoulders. And he accepted it humbly and graciously.

Jesus would go forward to Calvary, knowing that no matter what the world threw at him – whether doubt, or insults, or hatred, or lies, or deceit, or denial, or all the rest of it – his Father would never allow his purpose to be demeaned or diminished or interrupted by the ignorance of the people he had come to save.

The world could do its worst, and they will continue to do that very thing, but God’s plan and way will not only never be compromised by their hatred, but his best – the salvation that has been won by the faithfulness of Jesus Christ – will continue to be offered to anyone who will believe and accept that faithful servanthood.

Praise the Lord – his goodness will survive beyond the flood of animosity.
Nothing could sway Jesus from his task, because the Father cared for his every wound, and nothing can defeat us, because the Lord God Almighty will take and heal every wound that the world can ever hurl at us.

Praise the Lord for his faithful righteousness. May we be that faithful to him.