January 15,2023 (Second Sunday in Ordinary Time Year A)
Today we gain some insight into the identity of the unknown servant found in the book of the prophet Isaiah who brought God’s liberation to the people of Israel and all other nations. The identity of the suffering Servant is somewhat elusive. The first part of the passage from Isaiah for today (Isa. 49:3, 5-6) seems to indicate that the servant is the nation of Israel as a whole: “He said to me, You are my servant, in you, Israel, I show my glory.” (Isa. 49:3).
However, the latter portion of the passage implies that the servant is an individual. He does wonders for the people of Israel who have been held captive in Babylon. He was formed from the beginning in the womb by the Lord so that the nation of Israel (also identified as Jacob for whom it is named), may be gathered by the servant with honor to bring the people back to the Lord. Not only will he restore the people of Israel, but the servant’s salvation will also extend beyond Israel to bring the knowledge of God to the rest of the earth. As Isaiah describes, “I will make you a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.” (Isa. 9:6)
There are subsequent passages in Isaiah which are written about this servant. And for centuries, since the time of the early church, Christians have identified this unknown servant with Christ because of the description of the suffering that he endures for the sake of others. Much of this resembles the type of agonies that Jesus experienced during his crucifixion. Some examples include, “so marred were his features” (Isa. 52:14) from the beatings he endured. “He was spurned and avoided by men.” (Isa.53:3). “He was pierced for our sins, crushed for our iniquity, a man of suffering, knowing pain,” (Isa. 53:5a). And finally, “he bore the punishment that makes us whole, by his wounds we were healed” (Isa. 53:5b).
One specific reference in Isaiah, “Like a lamb led to slaughter or a sheep silent before shearers,” (Isa. 53:7) ties in well with the Gospel for today (Jn 1:29-34). Here we find John the Baptist baptizing people in the Jordon River and when he sees Jesus he says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world” (Jn. 1:29). A verse which is a parallel to “like a lamb led to slaughter.” We might detect the identity of Jesus as the servant of the Lord from the way John the Baptist describes him.
Of course, only God can take away or forgive sin, but Jesus’ priority flows from his having come from God. For the prologue of John’s Gospel makes it clear that Jesus existed with God from the very beginning, “He was in the beginning with God” (Jn. 1:2). John the Baptist alludes to this when he says, “he ranks ahead of me because he existed before me” (Jn. 1:30).
Jesus is thus the one through whom God takes away the sin of the world. He is the lamb for the rites of communion, like at the Last Supper and for reconciliation, as in Yom Kippur (The Day of Atonement), when the sins of the people of Israel are revealed and their union with God renewed. Jesus is the lamb, but he is not a sacrificial victim, rather he is “of God” through whom God offers reconciliation.
It is probably through divine providence that John the Baptist realizes he is in the presence of holiness. For he reveals “the one who sent me to baptize with water told me, ‘On whomever you see the Spirit come down and remain, he is the one who will baptize with the Holy Spirit.’” (Jn.1:31). And he further testifies that he “saw the Spirit come down like a dove from heaven and remain upon Jesus” (Jn.1:32).
What is most interesting is the way that John the Baptist describes Jesus. He uses a phrase which is reminiscent of the suffering servant. He says, “Behold, the Lamb of God, who takes away the sin of the world (Jn. 1:29b).” The reason why Jesus, the Son of God, comes to John the Baptist in order to be baptized is to reveal himself and make him known to the people as the suffering servant of Isaiah. Jesus is the Lamb of God and the Son of God, the one upon whom the Spirit remains and who baptizes with the Holy Spirit.
Jesus is truly the suffering servant chosen by God to bring justice, not just to Israel, but to the world. In hindsight, he bore the punishment that makes us whole and heals our wounds. (Isa: 53:5, 1 Pt. 2:24). We might ask how an event from over two thousand years ago can still bring salvation to the world today? Of course, it is through the Church established by the apostles whom Jesus instructed to “make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit” (Mt. 28:19).
We recognize this at every Mass as we ask for mercy and peace by thrice repeating “Lamb of God, you take away the sins of the world…” We then recall and make present the night of the Last Supper by doing as instructed by Jesus. We consume the bread and wine, transubstantiated to the body and blood of Christ, the suffering servant led like a lamb to the slaughter. (Is 53:7, 10). As a sin-offering for the sake of the world he endured our sufferings. And he surrendered to death so that mankind might be made whole.
