Grace and Peace to you from God our Father and from our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. Amen.

The text for today’s meditation is Isaiah 50: 1-10

The Lord GOD has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. ⁵ The Lord GOD has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. ⁶ I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. ⁷ But the Lord GOD helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. ⁸ He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. ⁹ Behold, the Lord GOD helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up. ¹⁰ Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. (Isa 50:4 ESV)

What does Jesus really look like? Thousands of portraits have been attempted from the early Byzantine mosaics to the abstractions of modern art and finally to the modern comical. (show pictures of Jesus) If we could look at His face, what would we see?

What a joy it will be to look upon Jesus’ face. What does Jesus see when he looks upon the face of all humanity? He sees a people that are trying to "save face" or "look good." He would see a people that go to great lengths to avoid painful disgrace.

This view of humanity isn’t something that is specific to us here in the 21^st century. Let’s take a look at what YAHWEH saw when He looked at his chosen people at the time of Isaiah. In the beginning of this chapter YAHWEH finds a doubting people. He finds a people that turned to idols instead of facing what they see as the disgrace of repentance before YAHWEH. He sees a people that turned their back on Him; a people that heard His commands but did not listen. Yahweh sent the People of Israel prophets bearing shame and yet they would not listen. They avoided shame by not listening to Isaiah. YAHWEH sees a people that no longer believe in His power to deliver them. He sees a people trying to create their own source of security instead of relying on Yahweh. He sees a people that are trying desperately to "save face" and "look good" in the sight of idols. Does God’s view of us in the 21^st Century look any different?

We may have different ways of trying to "save face" and "look good" but we are very similar to Israel. We have turned to a different set of idols to make us look good. We look to our idols when we don’t want to face our shame in this world as well. Rather than face the shame and humble ourselves in repentance we try to create our own security just as the Israelites did through Idols. Our idols are house, car, big screen TV, clothes, job, important position, and money, just to name a few. If you have the right one of each of these and so many more you surely can look good and "save face" in front of friends and neighbors and that is security. As Americans, we have so much and our standard of living is so high we forget that everything we have belongs to God and He has gifted it to us to use it to serve him and our neighbor not so we can look good or be secure. We get caught up thinking we actually earned those things ourselves. We can be so foolish at times. Our life is full of idols and we surely have traded God’s power to deliver us for an attitude that we can do it ourselves. God’s view of us sure looks a lot like the view of Israel to me; same story different time.

Let’s take this one step further. Do you look to save face or look good by shrinking from proclaiming the Gospel? Are you ashamed of the Gospel?

When friends and neighbors turn the discussion to bible bashing or other things that we know to be contrary to God’s will, do we stand firm on the Gospel or do we wither and crumble just to save face and avoid disgrace. I understand the attacks are becoming very personal where the opposition doesn’t discuss the issue but instead throws negative labels and hate. We must find a way to stand firm on the Gospel in love.

Our text describes the "saving face" of Yahweh’s servant. This is Isaiah’s prophesy of God’s servant. Through Isaiah’s prophesy, God is showing the people of Israel that He does indeed have the power, the will, and the desire to deliver them. Yahweh’s word is sufficient, they don’t need the idols. They don’t need to try to "save face" and avoid painful disgrace. Yahweh will indeed deliver them, through His servant.

Yahweh uses Isaiah, the prophet, to do exactly what the prophecy is saying. By delivering this prophecy, Isaiah is sustaining the weary with a word. He is vindicating the humble by showing them that the servant will deliver them.

The servant Isaiah describes is a servant that suffers. He is a servant that endures more than any man can endure. He describes a servant that can accomplish far for than any man. He describes a servant that is a saving face. Isaiah describes the saving face of Jesus Christ, the suffering servant. He describes His tongue and His ear as those of the perfect prophet of God. They are instructed and wakened to sustain you and me, the weary. Isaiah describes this servant’s cheeks and face as being given to shameful suffering and mockery. To pull a man’s beard out is an act of disgrace and humiliation. But in the midst of this pain, disgrace, and humiliation, His face, His face was set like flint. His resolve was hardened against shame because of His confidence in God who helps and vindicates. He was resolute even though He knew what God’s plan was Matthew 16:21 tells us; From that time Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and on the third day be raised. He was so intent to carry out God’s plan even though the sheer weight of what He was to do caused blood to pour from His pores down His face in the garden of Gethsemane. It was through His confidence in God that He was able to stand face-to-face against any accuser. When facing the mob in the garden, Jesus said, (Matthew 26:55-56) "Have you come out as against a robber, with swords and clubs to capture me? Day after day I sat in the temple teaching, and you did not seize me. ⁵⁶ But all this has taken place that the Scriptures of the prophets might be fulfilled." Through His confidence in God He faced the crowd and willingly placed Himself in the hands of the mob. This is the portrait of the ministry, passion, cross, and resurrection of Jesus, the perfect prophet and suffering servant of God. This is the portrait of the saving face of Jesus Christ.

So, what are we to do? Verse 10 is God’s appeal to you and me. Who among you fears the LORD and obeys the voice of his servant? Let him who walks in darkness and has no light trust in the name of the LORD and rely on his God. In the midst of and even in spite of the shame that may accompany trusting in God, He wants us to grasp hold of the word of this "saving face" and vindicating God. God does vindicate His servant. He also vindicates those who listen to the words of the "saving face," His servant and trust in Him. God has removed the need for us to "save face" by revealing to us the saving face of His servant. Whoever trusts in Him, even though darkness, shame, and weariness come, they will never be put to shame. There may be many pictures of what Jesus might look like. The portrait painted by the six year old might be what Jesus looks like. But we now have an accurate portrait of the "saving face" of Jesus Christ.

Amen.