What can we learn about the service of Christ in both the Old and New Testament?

John Snyder explains in this video that when we think about the person of Christ, we can't think of Him apart from His service and ministry. In the New Testament, the Gospels help us to understand the life of Christ. The Old Testament gives us sketches or glimpses of what Christ will be like when He comes. 

Specifically, in Isaiah, there are four sections where Isaiah unveils what kind of servant Christ will be. These show up in Isaiah, 42, 49, 50, and 53. In Chapter 42, we see that Christ comes to bring justice on the earth. He repairs them instead of snapping them. 

Isaiah 42:3-4 (NKJV) - "A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench; He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, till He has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands shall wait for His law."

When we think about the person of Christ we can't think of him apart from his service or his ministry. The Gospels give us original footage. It's like watching a documentary. There's the original footage of Jesus of Nazareth on earth. What did He do?

How did He respond? The New Testament epistles are like the expert commentators who explain what we've seen in the Gospels. But the Old Testament gives us sketches. Sketches or silhouettes of what the Messiah will be like even before he comes. And one of my favorite descriptions of Jesus and his service is in the Old Testament in Isaiah's servant songs.

That is four songs in the Hebrew in which Isaiah progressively unveils what kind of servant Jesus Christ will be. What is it he will do and what will be the result for those that he rescues? And these show up in Isaiah 42, 49, 50, and 53. In Isaiah 42, God directs the gaze of all of creation and He says, Behold or look at My servant whom I uphold, My chosen one in whom My soul delights. Jesus is the man for the job but he is also the delight of the Father.

He comes to bring justice to the earth that first song says. Chapter 42 says he comes and he sees people who are like a bruised or broken reed and he repairs them instead of snapping them off. They're like a candle that is flickering and he trims the wick so they can burn brightly. The end of the song says that he will come forth from his tent like a warrior with a battle cry and all the earth is called to rejoice. Now that's the first song but the second song things are different.

In chapter 49 we find that there's resistance to what he's come to do. He's perfectly prepared. He's like an arrow that God himself has honed. It's accurate and straight. He's like a sword that's sharpened by God and then kept for battle.

But when the Messiah comes we find him saying to God that I feel as if I've spent my strength for nothing, as if all my labor is producing nothing. But the trial of his faith, it comes out pure as gold and Christ says that his reward is with the Father and The Father's response to the Messiah in that song is wonderful He says it's too small a thing For you just to rescue Israel The very thing that he seems incapable of doing is the Jews are rejecting him. He says, I will send you as a light to all the nations. You will be a covenant and even the kings and princes will come and bow before you. Then in the third song it continues to unfold.

Israel is an unfaithful servant. She's acting like a woman who's been divorced and she's looking around for a new husband but God is her husband she's acting like a slave who's been sold looking for another to obey but God is her master unlike Israel it says that the Messiah will be awakened every morning and the Father will teach him and he will have words to sustain the weary. We certainly see that in the New Testament. And when the Father awakens him morning by morning And he's sitting there learning from the Father with the Scriptures before him, even when the Father reveals that what he wants him to do next is the cross. It says the Messiah will not turn away from that command.

In the final Psalm 53, It opens up with the astonishing picture that the Messiah is not embraced but rather rejected by his people But that's God's plan because God is going to put all the shame of the sin of his people on the Messiah And he will become a sacrificial lamb but in doing so he will be victorious and he will gather together a great company of people made righteous.