Sermon Tone Analysis

Christmas Sermon

Isaiah 42:1-9

Behold My Servant

Introduction

Merry Christmas, Redemption Church.

It is great to gather with you all this Christmas Eve.

For those who made it out tonight.

I thank you.

Christmas is a special time of year.

However, it is a busy time of year.

The stores are bustling; the traffic is bumper to bumper.

Wallets are tight; families are in town.

But amongst the business of the year, Christmas is a time when we as Christians slow down and celebrate and remember the birth of our Lord Jesus Christ.

I recently read a Christmas Carol by Charles Dickens, and at the beginning of the book, there is an exchange between Scrooge and his nephew.

The nephew seeing Scrooge’s disdain for the season, says, Christmas is “a good time; a kind, forgiving, charitable, pleasant time; the only time I know of, in the long calendar of the year when men and women seem by one consent to open their shut-up hearts freely and to think of people below them as if they really were fellow-passengers to the grave, and not another race of creatures bound on other journeys.”

That is what we are doing here today.

At this time, I challenge you to be present and shut your heart and soul of worries and burdens.

Let us celebrate the birth of the only one who saves, Jesus, the son of God.

And let us show our worship by loving one another, for no one has ever proven their love more on Christmas than Christ.

Over the last four weeks of advent, we have been in a sermon series called “Christ Foretold: Advent with the prophets.”

If you are new to church, Advent is a period of the four weeks leading up to Christmas.

Advent is a Latin word meaning coming or appearance.

Advent is a time of year when Christians extend the Christmas season as we intentionally reflect upon the first and second coming of Jesus.

We started our series by looking at the 2nd coming of Jesus.

We learned from the prophet Zechariah and the prophet Isaiah.

We learned about the kingdom that Jesus is going to bring when he returns.

There will be a day when Jesus takes all that is broken and cast off, and he will redeem his people and restore the world.

We eagerly await that day.

Over the last two weeks, we have taken time to learn and reflect upon the birth of Jesus.

We learned from the prophet Micah that from the small, unassuming town of Bethlehem, there would be a baby born who would be the ruler over God’s people, he would be a good shepherd forever.

Last week we learned about the love of the coming savior.

Jesus was born to take away the sins of his people.

He was born to calm us with his love, and he was born to save his people.

This is the majesty of Jesus.

Tonight, as we come to celebrate Christmas, we will be in Isaiah 42.

If you have your Bible, please turn there for the public reading of scripture.

Scripture Reading

Isaiah 42:1-9

“Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.

He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street; a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.

He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.

Pastoral Prayer

Set The Stage

This is a beautiful passage.

It is always challenging for a pastor to look through the whole bible and pick a single passage to preach for holidays such as Christmas and Easter.

Many associate Christmas with the birth of Christ.

After all that is what Christmas is about.

It is about the birth of Jesus.

But why is the birth of Jesus significant?

Who is he?

When Jesus came what was he like?

For many Christians in America, the Christmas story starts with the birth of Jesus.

It is as if, that is where history begins.

We have spent four weeks in various prophets to show that God’s plan to redeem and save his people does not start with Jesus.

In fact, every word of the scriptures from Genesis to Revelation is about God’s plan to send his son to save us.

Today’s passage shows us a whole picture of Christ.

It shows us not him as a baby in a manger, but it shows the character of the savior we worship.

What is Jesus like?

Let’s begin.

Verse One: Christ is God’s chosen servant

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.

For the first 39 chapters of Isaiah, we have only been shown the problem.

God has told his people that they are incapable of saving themselves.

They have abandoned God, and they have sought other idols.

The judgment of God stands against all of God’s people.

How then, shall we be saved?

Or rather, who will save us?

Enter the servant of the Lord.

First, Jesus comes as a servant.

Jesus comes as a servant.

The people need a savior; God is going to send a servant.

Oh, how mysterious are God’s ways?

He is not like us.

When we are in trouble, we want someone strong and in a position of authority to save us.

But Christ as a servant.

He is not just any servant; he is God’s chosen servant.

Jesus is not just any servant; he is the servant.

It always astounds me when I read the New Testament and see Jesus as a servant.

He comes serving others.

Very rarely do you see others doing anything for him.

It was Christ himself who said, “and whoever would be first among you must be your slave, even as the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”[1]Jesus

came to serve.

Who are we that he should wash our feet.

Who are we that he should sit at the table with us.

This is the glory of the gospel.

Who are we that Christ should go to the cross, and with every painful step of bearing his cross, he is really carrying the weight of our sins on his back?

In his death, when he is weakest, Christ is serving us in our greatest need.

If you are like me, you might be tempted to feel the sentiment of, Peter.

Who said, “You shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered him, “If I do not wash you, you have no share with me.”[2]

We all need Christ to wash us.

Before we can be servants, we need to be served by Christ.

Second, Jesus is God’s answer to humanity’s biggest need.

“behold my servant, Whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights.”

Jesus is not just any old servant; he is God’s servant.

He comes to do God’s will; he is the one who denies himself and submits to the fathers will perfectly.

In the very beginning of the bible, everything was good.

God looked over his creation and said, “it is good.”

It was a paradise until the fall.

After Adam and Eve sinned, God cursed the serpent and said, “Because you have done this, cursed are you above all livestock and above all beasts of the field; on your belly you shall go, and dust you shall eat all the days of your life.