Reading for May 16th

 Read Isaiah 52.13-53.12. In 52.13-53.12: The suffering servant. One of the most remarkable passages in all prophetic literature, this is the fourth of the distinctive Servant passages, or Songs, which describe the fate of Israel as the servant of God. The servant will suffer as a result of his commitment to the task (50.4-9). Now what the suffering entails is spelled out in all its horrifying detail. This enigmatic passage seems to combine many experiences. Even if the references in 53.8-9 are not actual death but to an extreme of suffering, the prophet himself cannot have written it. It is not the death and torture of one person alone is being being reported here. The servant mission is divisive in its challenge. Not all the prophet's hearers respond to his demands, and many have already shown themselves to be rebellious and unresponsive. It is those who have identified themselves with this servant task, who have bore rebukes, reproaches, and wounds of their fellow, whose fate is described here. So the prophet has woven into one tapestry of suffering the terrifying experiences that many had undergone. It is a mission portrait of servanthood. There is a positive and reassuring outlook that sees beyond the immediate pain to the rich reward of such endurance (53.12). It is not a resurrection of an individual that is described in he shall see his offspring, and shall prolong his days (53.10-11). Rather it is the fruit that will be borne by those who assume the servant's task and find that for all its pain, it gains a portion with the great (v. 12). Moreover, a remarkable sensitivity to the way in which the righteous often suffer at the hands of wrongdoers leads to a new perception of the meaning of suffering. The righteous individual may bear the sin of the many who are guilty. Comments or Questions..