Sorry this has taken so long but work has consumed me.
Do you really think that, after identifying the servant as Jacob, Israel all along, all of a sudden “Isaiah” in chapter 53 drops Jacob, that—is Israel, as his servant, and introduces another one? Just curious.
Isaiah’s four Servant Songs present God’s ultimate plan of salvation: Isaiah chapters 42, 49, 50 and 52-53.
In Isaiah 42, Isaiah presents two servants. Isaiah 42:6-7 describes an individual who is a “light of the Gentiles,” and who opens the eyes of the blind; and Isaiah 42:18-20 describes a ‘blinded servant’ who sees many things yet does not understand. The Scriptures showing the contrast and distinction between God’s two servants follow:
The servant that gives light: Jesus
Isaiah 42:6-7 “I the LORD have called thee in righteousness, and will hold thine hand, and will keep thee, and give thee for a covenant of the people, for a light of the Gentiles; To open the blind eyes, to bring out the prisoners from the prison, and them that sit in darkness out of the prison house.”
Lk. 2:30-32 “For mine eyes have seen thy salvation, Which thou hast prepared before the face of all people; A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”
Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is upon me, because he hath anointed me to preach the gospel to the poor; he hath sent me to heal the brokenhearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised,”
The blinded servant: Israel
Isaiah 42:18-20 “Hear, ye deaf; and look, ye blind, that ye may see. (19) Who is blind, but my servant? or deaf, as my messenger that I sent? who is blind as he that is perfect, and blind as the LORD’S servant? (20) Seeing many things, but thou observest not; opening the ears, but he heareth not.”
Isaiah 6:9-10 “And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not. (10) Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed.”
Zechariah 3:8 testifies that the Branch, the Messiah, is God’s servant. “Hear now, O Joshua the high priest, thou, and thy fellows that sit before thee: for they are men wondered at: for, behold, I will bring forth my servant the BRANCH.” Isaiah identifies the Branch as Jesus, 11:1-2 “And there shall come forth a rod out of the stem of Jesse, and a Branch shall grow out of his roots: And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD.”
Jesus quotes this Isaiah passage as identifying himself as the servant; In Matthew 12:18-21, “ Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.”
In the second song of Isaiah 49:1-13, although Israel is named again as the servant (v.3); the writer switches immediately to one greater than Israel. Here, it is revealed that the Messiah has a two-fold task.
1. Bring Israel back and gather the nation to himself (v.5-6). “… And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength. And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel
2. . God says: “… I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.
These two themes are picked up in the gospels in the song of Mary (Lk. 1:54) and in the statements of Simeon concerning the baby Jesus (Lk. 2:30-32).
The third servant song in Isaiah 50:4-11 identifies the servant as Jesus. Here the servant says, “I offered my back to those who beat me, my cheeks to those who pulled out my beard; I did not hide my face from mocking and spitting” (cf. Mt. 26:67, “Then did they spit in his face, and buffeted him; and others smote him with the palms of their hands, and in 27:26-30 Then released he Barabbas unto them: and when he had scourged Jesus, he delivered him to be crucified. Then the soldiers of the governor took Jesus into the common hall, and gathered unto him the whole band of soldiers. And they stripped him, and put on him a scarlet robe. And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head, and a reed in his right hand: and they bowed the knee before him, and mocked him, saying, Hail, King of the Jews! And they spit upon him, and took the reed, and smote him on the head.”)
The fourth song of Isaiah 52:13-53:12 again identifies the “suffering servant” as Jesus. Here the servant suffers and dies for the sins of his people (53:5); that he will be led like a lamb to the slaughter (v.7). all this was in the Lord’s will (v.10). (John 12:38, “That the saying of Esaias the prophet might be fulfilled, which he spake, Lord, who hath believed our report? and to whom hath the arm of the Lord been revealed?”; Matt 8:17, “That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, Himself took our infirmities, and bare our sicknesses.” and Matt 27.)
The servant that gives light is Israel, the wisest nation on earth who will lead and teach the gentiles (Deut 4:5-8; Zech 8:23), because Jews are called to be the light of the nations (so the world would know the God of Israel through them). You should know that since the New Testament even says so: "salvation is from the Jews" (John 4:22)
The blinded servant: Israel...
No, it's the blindness of the people. Take for example Isa 52:15 where he makes it very clear that the Servant will cause the Gentile kings to see and hear, so how can the Servant be "blind and deaf?"
The fact that the Servant is Israel is in all the references I gave you previously: the Servant is identified by name numerous times and it ain't Jesus. You choose to ignore all of them and interpolate through the New Testament (specifically only through Luke, who is not even Jewish or an eyewitness to Christ, and whose Gospel exists in two versions) that it is all about Jesus, writing at least 400 to 500 years after the fact.
The problem, better yet, the futility is that you attempt to "prove" that Isaiah is about Jesus through the New Testament, written by fanatical Jesus followers decades after Jesus died. This is like Daniel (the last Old Testament book to be written, in the 2nd century BC) writing "prophesies" as if he were writing them 400 years prior! Or, like using the Book of Mormon to "prove" the "veracity" of the Mormon interpretation of the New Testament. Or the Muslims claiming to have the "last" revelation through the Koran.
But Isiah's vagueness is a gold mine where one could imply anything, especially after the fact and knowing there are no other historical sources to verify any such allegations. Taken on blind faith, such allegations then become internal self-serving "proof" of "prophesies" that have no external corroboration.
If Isaiah simply cannot be proven on its own (and it can't) that it is about Jesus without acceptiong the New Testament on blind faith, then it is not about Jesus, but is made to be about Jesus. It becomes a retro-egineered "proof" for a specific agenda. The New Testament was written so as to agree with the Christian interpretation, because Christians had an agenda and a motive to do so. This is not unique. Daniel was written "prophetically" after the fact as well. This is a trick used by ancient writers, to "prove" their credibility. It works for the gullible.
Some of the parallels with Jesus based on the New Testament in reference to Jesus are both supported and contradicted by the same New Testament. For example, it is said that the suffering Servant will be quiet like a lamb, and the synoptic Gospels seem to support this. But John's Gospel doesn't!
And speaking of the Servant, Isaiah 53:10 says "But the LORD was pleased [sic] to crush Him, putting Him to grief; if He would render Himself as a guilt offering, he will see His offspring [!] and will prolong His days [!]...
Isaiah 53:11 suggests that it is through the Servant's knowledge, not faith in him, that many will be justified. Etc., etc...
I was just curious to see what evidence you had that Isaiah was about Jesus and your evidence is the New Testament, specifically Luke, not Isaiah. To me, that is no different than someone quoting the Book of Mormon to "prove" the LDS interpretation of the New Testament. This is no different than Paul saying Christ commissioned him and you must take him on his word. Or that anonymous Gospel writers were really who the Bible says they were. It is like me telling you there are pink unicorns on Jupiter because I know it, and I wrote about it.