10 Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer, and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin, he will see his offspring and prolong his days, and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand. 11 After he has suffered, he will see the light of life and be satisfied; by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many, and he will bear their iniquities.
This Sunday’s first reading is an extract from the last of the songs of the Suffering Servant, whom Christians see as a prophecy of Jesus. Earlier verses of this poem told the life story of the Servant, leading up to his tragic death. The Servant was oppressed, completely rejected and entirely innocent of all charges. Throughout it all he, the blameless one, remains silent, accepting all humiliation and suffering, in order to give his life for others. In verse nine we see the sad end of his innocent life.
The reading for the 29th Sunday picks up after what seems to be the end of the story. The dominate idea here is God’s will. Everything has happened as he planned it: indeed, the New American Bible translation even states that God was “pleased to crush him in infirmity.” But the author is clear – God is no sadist. He willed his Servant to suffer in order to bring forth great good. In reality, God never abandoned the Servant who voluntarily went to suffering and death in order to do God’s will. The author tells us that the Servant’s offspring will profit from his actions. Paul tells us that we are made children of God through Christ and so we become God’s offspring.
The entire fourth song of the Suffering Servant is summed up in the second half of verse eleven: the Servant atones for the sins of others and makes them righteous. He gives himself in service – even to the point of a horrible death – entirely to save the unworthy. In other words, all of this happened for us. In some mysterious way, Jesus, through his suffering and death, atoned for our sins and made us children of God.
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