Shawn Lim | Why I Love Isaiah 49:6 and Who It Is About

Sunday Evening, December 21, 2025
Given by Shawn Lim | Pastoral Intern, Christ Covenant Church

Why I Love Isaiah 49:6 and Who It Is About

Isaiah 49:1-7

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Transcript

Good evening, everyone. If you have your Bibles, please turn with me to Isaiah 49. I couldn't think of a title for my sermon, and so I decided that the title of my sermon would also be my outline. So we have two parts to my sermon today. First, I want to tell you why I love Isaiah 49:6. And then we'll talk about who Isaiah 49:6 is actually referring to. I really do love Isaiah 49:6. If there's a need for me to actually prove my love for it, this is one of the verses that I come to, that point – that I think God used to call me, or at least to convince me, to enter the pastoral ministry. And it was also one of the verses that was my work password in one of my previous jobs. And part of preparing for this sermon is to make sure that that is no longer my password for any of my accounts. So here's Isaiah 49:6. Let me read it for us. He says, 

"It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel. I will make you as light to the nations that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.”

Let's pray. 

Lord God, thank you for your word that shows us your salvation and shows us your character. Would you now open our eyes that we may see wondrous truth from your word? For we ask this in the name of your son, Jesus Christ. Amen. 

One reason why I love Isaiah 49:6 is because it shows me who God is, and particularly it shows me God's gutsy attitude. Gutsy attitude. Let me show you what I mean. So, someone is speaking in Isaiah 49:6, and in the context it starts from verse 1, and let's just call him, for now, let's call him God's servant. We're going to discuss who this person is, but let's call him God's servant for now. If you look at verse 1 of Isaiah 49, God's servant is speaking to the coastlands, to the peoples from afar. You imagine him shouting these words at the highest mountain or maybe him buying a commercial during the Super Bowl. And this is what he's saying in verse 6. And God's servant in verse 6 comes across as confident. He's boasting, right? You could say he's flexing. He's saying, "You know what God said to me? You know what he said to me? He said it's too light a thing that I should be his servant to bring back the tribes of Jacob. You know, it's a bit like somebody playing basketball at the Y, and he tells his teammates or he tells everyone on the court, do you know what my coach said to me? He said, "It's too easy for me to be just like dropping 40 points on you guys. My coach is going to make me an NBA player." Or, it's a bit like a front desk personnel. He walks right up into a board of directors meeting. He sits down at the CEO's chair, and he says, "Do you know what the CEO told me? He said it's too light a thing that I should be taking phone calls, or I should be just scheduling appointments. He's going to make me in charge from now on.” Right? You sense that confidence, that flex. And I say it's just a bit like these scenarios, because there's actually something fundamentally different going on here. You see, in those two scenarios that I gave, the first clause, playing basketball at the YMCA or being a front desk personnel, it's relatively easy compared to being an NBA player or being a CEO. 

But in Isaiah 49:6, look at what is the thing that God calls too light. Is it really too light, too insignificant, too easy a thing to raise up the tribes of Jacob? Is it really so easy to bring back the preserve of Israel? Well, if you know the context, Isaiah was writing for a time when Israel would be destroyed by the Babylonians. The Babylonians made it their intention, their very intention, to not just destroy Jerusalem, not just destroy the temple, but to dilute the identity of the people of Israel. And you would know that the people of Israel will be in exile for 70 years. And so, how difficult it is for us, or for God, or for God's servant to actually be able to do this? Well, you need to know after 70 years who all the remnant of Israel is. You need to know their names. You need to know their addresses. You need to go and get them. And then you need to organize them and bring them back. And in the fall, we have been studying the book of Ezra, and we kind of get a sense of how difficult such a task would be. It's really no easy task. It's no easy task to revive the preserved of Israel. When I see the word preserved, the image that comes to mind is a Slim Jim. A Slim Jim. You know that, I think, is the definition of a preserved piece of meat. And the question is how do you change a Slim Jim back into a living cow? I say that the chances of that is pretty slim. But that's pretty much the task that is given to God's servant. And it's a task given that God himself says is too easy for you. It's too insignificant for you. 

You know, recently I've been trying to learn to be funny. And so, as a seminarian I decided to read up on theories of humor. And one of the theories of humor is called the incongruity theory. And according to this theory, humor arises when there's a mismatch between what we expect to happen and what actually occurs. Like you're expecting the sentence to go one way, but suddenly there's an unexpected twist to it. You know, I think when you read the first clause of Isaiah 49:6, you could say that there's something funny going on here. You see, don't expect God to say it's too easy to raise up the preserve of Israel. You know, it's unexpected. You expect God to say something like it's a really difficult thing to do it. And in fact, this was such an unexpected clause that some ancient Jewish translations refused to call it too easy a thing. In fact, the Septuagint, for example, they translated this as, "It is a great thing for you to be my servant.” And I guess they clearly did not catch the joke. It is not that God is belittling the return to exile or how difficult this task is, but rather he is exalting the role of his servant. 

See, God finds it too easy, I think, to do the impossible. Isn't that what we hear during this Christmas time? Is anything too hard for God? Or as the angel told Mary, nothing will be impossible with God. And in this way, we see that God speaks to his servant. We see God clearly intending to convey not just information, but he's trying to convey a certain attitude – gutsy, courageous, even defiant. It's like the Proverbs 31 woman, who laughs at the time to come. Or maybe I should say it more accurately, the Proverbs 31 woman is just like God. Strength and dignity is his clothing, and he laughs at the time to come, and because of that, the Proverbs 31 woman trusting in God can laugh at the time to come. 

But also in the next part of verse 6, we see God to be a God of ambition. It is not enough for God's servant to be well known in Israel, to be the hero of Israel. That's not significant enough. He shall also be the light to the nations. You know, dark, dreary winter days like these remind us of the importance of light. Light brings joy, warmth, comfort. Light overcomes the judgment of darkness. God's servant, God says, will be the light – one light to the nations. Here in this insignificantly small room, we have, like, more than 50 lights to try to bring visibility to our failing eyes. But God says, you'll be that one light for all the peoples who walk in darkness. He'll be that one way that God's salvation spreads through the whole earth. Only such a world-encompassing mission is worthy of this servant. This servant's glory will cover the earth like the waters cover the sea. 

And so now we are ready to ask ourselves the question, who is this servant? Who is this servant? And with that, we move to the second part of this sermon. And based on what I'm saying, I'm sure you know the obvious answer that you're expecting. Just four days before Christmas, and after today's – this morning's – sermon, it's clear that this servant is none other than Jesus Christ. So, let me read verses 1-6 for us, and see if you can see the hints that Isaiah 49:6, or this whole passage, is pointing us towards the servant who is Christ, the son of God. So let me read Isaiah 49, verse 1-6. 

“Listen to me all coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb; from the body of my mother, he named my name. He made my mouth like a sharp sword. In the shadow of his hand, he hid me. He made me a polished arrow; in his quiver, he hid me away. And he said to me, ‘You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.’ But I said, ‘I have labored in vain. I have spent my strength for nothing and for vanity. Yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God.’ And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him – for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength – he says: ‘It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel. I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.’”

Now, if you were a diligent student and also trying to find fault with the statement that this points to Jesus Christ, you might say verse 3 – verse 3 clearly identifies the servant as Israel, doesn't it? You are my servant, Israel. But I'll say that it cannot be the case, because verses 5-6 speaks about the servant going to bring back the tribes of Jacob or going to bring back the preserved of Israel. And so, it cannot be the case that Israel is bringing back Israel. And so, it's better to understand this word “Israel,” or the way that God is calling him Israel, not so much as identifying the servant but describing the function of the servant. So it's not identity, but it's function, and you'll know that Israel's function was to make God's glory known, but now this same function, this calling, has been given to the servant Jesus Christ. You see his calling in verse 1: “From the body of my mother, he named my name.” But it reminds us about Gabriel, who told Joseph, "You shall call his name Jesus, for he shall save his people from his sins." Or like verse 2, you see his ministry – his mouth is a sharp sword. That is a picture that we see, for example, in Revelation where there's a sharp sword coming out of Jesus's mouth. But here the servant is saying he's not just effective in hand-to-hand combat, like using a sword. He's also effective for people – for long-distance combat. He is a polished arrow and reminds us, for example, Ephesians 2 where Jesus says Paul says that Jesus came to preach peace to those who were near and to those who are far off. 

Verse 3, “You are my servant Israel in whom I will be glorified” – that sounds oddly familiar, because that's what God said to Jesus in the same sentence structure in his baptism and his transfiguration: “You are my beloved son, in whom I'm well pleased.” And then verse 4, we see the servants suffering. It sounds like words that we hear in Psalm 22, like “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Or like in Isaiah 53, where Jesus is despised, rejected of men. He came to his own. He ministered to his own, but his own received him not. Instead, they crucified him. But then verse 5, suddenly the tables are turned. And now it's a dramatic turn of events. Something new has arrived. Something has changed. The servant might have been despised of man, but if you look at the end of verse 5, he is now honored in the eyes of the Lord. God has become his strength, a new display of strength, a glory bestowed to him. Or you might say, then, bursting forth in glorious day, out of the grave, he rose again. And that's why God says in verse 6, it is too insignificant for you to be my servant. 

The opposite of the word “light” or “insignificant” in this verse here is “heavy,” which is also the Hebrew word for glory. Essentially God the Father is telling the Son, “Jesus, you deserve more glory than this. You will be a light for the nations.” And again, isn't this the kind of language that we hear during this Christmas season? This is what Simon meant when he said, "My eyes have seen your salvation that you prepared, a light for revelation to the Gentiles." Jesus himself declared, "I am the light of the world. Whoever follows me shall not walk in darkness." It is through Christ that the prince of darkness loses his grip on his subjects. It's through Christ that light shines in our hearts, and we can see, and we are enlightened. It's through Christ that we are able to walk in the light of the Lord. Christ is the servant of Isaiah 49:6. 

The implications of this is massive, isn't it? If indeed God's servant is, in Isaiah 49:6, is understood to be Christ, you know, we have here an intra-trinitarian dialogue. We are here invited to a conversation that the Father has with the Son. You know, we are not just seeing God's character in display. We're not just seeing God trying to build confidence in us, but we're seeing the communion that the Father has with the Son. We're seeing – we're learning the priorities that the Father has for the Son, that God the Father desires to glorify the Son so that the Son may glorify the Father. And also in these verses, then, we see the Son humbling himself even to the point of death, even the death on the cross. And we see the Father exalting the Son, giving him a name above every name, that at the name of Jesus every knee should bow and every tongue, nation, language, tribes should confess that Jesus Christ is Lord, to the glory of God the Father. 

And so, yes, in the most obvious sense, Isaiah 49:6 points to Christ. I'm sorry if you thought that the sermon was ending. There's one more point, because I think we can say that God's servant does not solely point to Christ, but it points to you and to me who are in Christ. Isaiah 49:6 is God speaking to you and me, because of our union with Christ. We can prove this case theologically speaking. For example, the Heidelberg Catechism, question 31, asks why is Jesus called the Christ, meaning “the anointed”? And the answer is because Jesus is anointed to be our prophet, priest, and king. And then question 32 says, why am I called a Christian? Answer: because by faith I am a member of Christ, and so I share in his anointing. You hear that? I share in his anointing. If verse 6 points to the glory of Christ's anointing, then because we share in this same anointing, it points to the glory that we have in Christ. 

But we can also see this in the New Testament. If you turn with me to Acts 13:47 – see the only time that Isaiah 49:6 is quoted in the New Testament, interestingly enough, it's not pointing to Christ, but rather pointing to those who follow Christ. See in Acts 13:47, Paul and Barnabas are explaining to the Jews why they are bringing the gospel to the Gentiles. And here's the reason in verse 47: “Behold, we are turning to the Gentiles, for so the Lord (and the Lord here means the Lord Jesus Christ. I think in Acts every time the Lord is mentioned, it's pointing to the Lord Jesus Christ) – the Lord Jesus has commanded us saying (and he quotes Isaiah 49:6), ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’” 

So, the verse that we taught, or we said, that most obviously applies to Jesus is actually now being applied to Paul and Barnabas. Or we could say that the commission that God the Father gave to Jesus Christ, now Jesus gives it to his followers, and he commands us to do it. Here's another way to put it that might sound more familiar to us. Just before Jesus ascended into heaven, he said, "All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. He's saying that I own the whole universe, not just because I'm the creator, but because I'm the redeemer, because I'm the king. And out of this authority, go therefore and make disciples of all nations. It is called a great commission, because Jesus's glory is great. The basis of our commission is because Jesus has all authority, all glory, and he bestows this authority and glory to us. 

So what does that mean for us today? How will we apply this verse into our lives? Well, here's my attempt. I think Isaiah 49:6 reveals God's ambitions for us. And so, in that sense, it challenges the way that see our own ambitions. If I might paraphrase C.S. Lewis, it would seem that our Lord finds our ambitions not too strong, but too weak. You see, I think one of Satan's strategies to keep us from being effective for Christ is to make us overly preoccupied or overly satisfied with what we have in life to think of how actually God wants to use us. Some of us are preoccupied with the pursuit of greatness. We strive hard to do the best in school, to earn the most at work. Or maybe we are imposing these pursuits to our children to get them to do well or maybe to just get them to some Division I baseball or something like that. I have no idea what I'm talking about. But when we are too preoccupied with these ambitions, we sometimes see, or we fail to see, that God has a greater purpose, a greater ambition for our life. He might say something like it is too insignificant a thing of what you're trying to achieve, what ambitions you have. I'm in a business of making you a light to the nations, making you display my glory to the world. 

Or some of us, on the contrary to that, might be thinking, you know what, I actually have enough on my plate. For me, it's I have 3,355 pages of reading to do before I graduate from seminary. That's enough for me. For you, you might feel like the servant in verse 4. You feel like your strength is spent every day just, maybe, just trying to put your kids to sleep. And you feel like your strength is spent just trying to get a job before January, and you're thinking how is God going to use me? How's God going to use me in any way, and you might feel like in this season of life the right thing for you to do is to double down on your commitments, to ignore everything else, and maybe even to cut back on giving, to focus on yourself before you can give yourself to others. Well, that might be true that you have to focus on yourself. But would you also remember that if Isaiah 49:6 applies to you who are in Christ, then remember that we rest in a God who laughs at the impossible. He says the impossible is too light for him. And he says that his purposes for you are greater than this. Well, he's not saying to ignore this cares and concerns of this, what you're going through. But he's saying he's in a business of making you and making us lights in the world. He's making us witnesses to our neighbors, to our friends, and to the nations beyond. See, this thing that you're trying to accomplish, whatever that thing is, God says is too insignificant for you. Christian, you and I are being invited to participate in God's – in Christ's – own anointing, and you're participating in his mission, and he's making you a light to the world, so that all may see your good works and glorify God who is in heaven. Let us pray. 

God of glory, God of light, thank you for your word today, that shows us that you're using broken empty vessels to declare your glory, your salvation, to a broken and empty world. Lord, we think of the shepherds as they saw the great light in the sky, and then they saw the even greater light in that manger, and they, too, became lights, glorifying you and praising you for the rest of their days. So Lord, I pray that you'll help us to be like these shepherds. And now, even as we come before the table to partake of the bread and the wine, would you nourish us, strengthen us, so that we may have the grace, we may have the ambition, the strength, to proclaim the Lord's death and life to this dying world? For Lord Jesus, you have commanded us to do so. And we ask all this in your name. Amen.