Isaiah 42:1-7

The LORD says to his servant: "I have called you in righteousness. I will take you by the hand and shape you. I will make you a light to the nations."

Jews have understood Israel to be the servant, who will be a light to the nations. The prophecy of Isaiah was read as part of the promise of God to restore Israel from captivity in Babylon in order to create a new world order with Israel as an example for all the other nations. This is an audacious claim, of course, but God seems to discover in love for Israel not only the capacity to forgive this special people for their transgressions, but also a concern for all the other peoples of the world.

The church understood this passage as a prediction of the coming of Jesus. In the gospel of Luke the aged Simeon, who sees Joseph and Mary with their baby Jesus in the temple, proclaims that scripture is being fulfilled in his sight. (Lk. 2:32) This shows how Christians have interpreted Jewish scripture as allegory.  The church did not understand this passage from Isaiah in terms of its literal or most obvious meaning, but discerned a hidden meaning or, we might say, a future meaning that was not yet understood. This way of reading the Jewish scriptures in the Old Testament is evident in both the writings of Paul and the gospels of the New Testament.

Grace and peace...Bob