.....servant" and the Servant theme is in a series of poetic verses contained in the Book of Isaiah known collectively and alliteratively as the "suffering servant songs." They are dubbed the "suffering servant songs" because the motif of suffering suddenly seems to reach a new level of importance in the consciousness of the Jewish people, especially through subsequent series of exile experiences. The analogy of the Servant is one that is highly complex and explored in depth through the "suffering servant songs," which eloquently and lyrically define the special relationship between God and His people.Throughout what are not necessarily chronological but thematic verses, the theme of the Servant is explored in depth, suggesting a fundamental shift in religious consciousness regarding the relationship between God and humanity. Whereas the Christian worldview would later ascribe the Servant identity to Jesus, the Jewish worldview views the Servant as being the Jewish people (Brueggeman & Linafelt, 2012). One of the primary unifying themes of the suffering servant songs is the theme of human agency in the world: "God's work in the world is to be enacted by human agency," (Brueggeman & Linafelt, 2012, p. 41). The covenant is thus redefined and renewed in a Servant-Master...
Moreover, the summoning of the people of Israel to shed self-pity (as well as "self-preoccupation," especially during periods of exile) suggests that the servant-master relationship is not one of exploitation (Brueggeman & Linafelt, 2012, p. 42).
Brueggeman & Linafelt (2012) also link the servant metaphor to the covenant between God and the Jewish people, and also link the servant theme to the poetic phrase "light to the nations," the latter of which especially energized Christian communities later, suggesting a "sweeping mandate for a worldwide mission," (p. 44). In the last cluster of the suffering servant songs (52:13-53:12), the role of the servant becomes even more complex, going beyond the binary of "light" and "covenant," and becoming increasingly linked to other core concepts like having mission or mandate, being a witness, which of course becomes a major Christian theme, and playing a role in subsequent exoduses and through the suffering caused by those exoduses, the Servant is integral to Jewish identity as well as Christian in 49:1-7 and 50:4-9.
Increasingly, the spiritual importance of suffering becomes critical. Brueggeman & Linafelt (2012) also point out that the servant takes on an increasingly messianic role because of…
