“I am the Lord; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations, to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness. I am the Lord; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.” (Isaiah 42:6-8)
Every Christian believer has the same calling and purpose. Our mission is to preach the gospel of faith with the word of God and with works of compassion and righteousness. This is the mission which God gave to Israel, to be a light of God’s love and truth to the world.
Isaiah had stressed this mission of Israel in the previous chapters, calling her the Servant of the Lord. But here, the Servant is a specific person. We know that this person is Jesus the Messiah who came into the world to save us all from sin and darkness. Isaiah prophecies that when He comes, He will fulfill the mission Israel had been called to. Jesus as Servant of the Lord is totally committed to God’s will, to perform His mission completely with gentleness, meekness, humility and patience. He came to enlighten those living in darkness and free those trapped in the bondage of idolatry and sin. He came to uphold and fulfill God’s law.
Although the Lord had called and chosen Israel to perform this duty as the Servant of the Lord, which she failed to carry out. Israel failed to give praise to God for all the blessings He had showered upon her. Over the centuries, she became deaf to His words and commands, fell into idolatry and sin and failed to be a light of truth to the gentiles. We who have faith in Jesus are called to the same mission as Israel and as Jesus because we are the servants of the Lord. We are not to copy the ways of the world. We are to value the principles of the Kingdom of God over all cultural and political ideals. We are to preach the good news that Christ came to heal and save all mankind. We are to and love those who are weak, powerless and poor. As it was with Jesus, so it is with us. The message of salvation by faith in Jesus is meant to be shared with everyone.