A representative function of the servant is in view here, with a chosen individual standing in for Israel, who had failed in living out its calling to glorify God.171 The ongoing reality of Israel’s failure to heed God’s message provoked the servant to discouragement, as reflected in verse 4. The language of the LXX here (κενῶς ἐκοπίασα) is most probably echoed in a number of Paul’s letters.172 The contrast between a glorious calling and lack of visible success prompted the servant to renew his trust in God and his obedience to God’s calling (“my reward is with my God”).
Verse 5 reiterates the servant’s prior calling from verse 1 (“the Lord, who formed me from the womb to be his servant”) and also expands on it. In this verse the new identity of the servant as an individual rather than corporate Israel emerges most clearly. The servant’s prophetic ministry is to be directed to Israel, with the goal of bringing back and gathering Israel to Yahweh. At the end of the verse, the servant responds in gratitude and wonder about the nature of his calling. The significance of the servant is found in his role as God’s chosen instrument.
The servant’s calling is not limited to Israel but is expanded to encompass the nations in verse 6. The term “salvation,” so common in Isa 40–66, is now extended to both Israel and the nations. Yahweh is entrusting the servant with a ministry of salvation that will stretch to the ends of the earth. The precise relationship of the servant to God’s salvation is rendered differently in various translations.173 The resulting meaning includes possibilities spanning from the servant carrying the message of salvation to the servant embodying salvation in his person. An interpretation on the latter end of the spectrum draws support from the servant’s role as more than a messenger, as displayed in 42:1–7, and from the brief reference in 49:7 to the servant being the focal point of a watching world in the midst of his humiliation and exaltation.174 This theme receives more extended treatment in Isa 52:13–53:12.175 On the other hand, there is enough ambiguity with the clause to allow for a more general understanding of the servant as the bearer of God’s saving work and message.176
Paul’s call to ministry in Galatians 1 parallels the experience of the servant of Isa 49:1–6 in many ways. As was seen previously, Gal 1:11–16 Paul contends for the divine source of Paul’s calling by incorporating wording similar to what is repeated in Isa 49:1, 5. Beyond the similarities in wording are conceptual affinities. Paul’s calling entails a ministry of proclamation of the gospel (Gal 1:6–9, 11), resembling the “sharp sword” of the mouth that characterizes the servant’s appointment (Isa 49:2). Paul recognizes that his sole concern is to please God with his ministry (Gal 1:10), just like the servant looks to God for his reward (49:4). Paul’s ministry does not exclude the Jews but reaches beyond them to the Gentiles (Gal 1:16; 2:2, 8–9), in keeping with the expanded scope of the servant’s ministry (Isa 49:6).177 Paul still recognized Christ’s work as the centerpiece of God’s saving action for humanity (as indicated in Gal 1:4) and understood Christ’s person and work as the content of his message (Gal 1:7, 16). But Paul so closely identified himself with Christ (see Gal 2:20) that he appears to have adopted the servant mission of Isa 49:1–6, though this calling is mediated through Christ’s own unique sacrifice.
As seen from the preceding discussion, the prophetic call of the OT as represented particularly in the commission of the servant of Isa 49:1–6 shaped Paul’s expectation of what his ministry encompassed. Paul draws from Isaiah 49 once again in 2 Corinthians 6:2. The analysis of Isa 49:1–6 already provided applies to 2 Corinthians 6 as well. The additional relevance of Isaiah 49 is explored beginning in Isa 49:7.
Isaiah 49:7 raises the prospect of suffering as an essential aspect of the servant’s ministry, in addition to a calling already including proclamation (seen especially from 49:2).178 The servant’s humiliation, which is not developed extensively in this passage, is shown in a reversal of fortunes to result in glory, since surrounding rulers will ultimately pay homage to God’s servant.179 The conclusion of the verse with a reminder that God has chosen the servant demonstrates that the servant’s certain future of exaltation is based on his certain calling. Until that day of honor, the conjunction of Isa 49:2 and 49:7 foreshadows the fact that suffering and proclamation are harmonious elements of the servant’s ministry.
The next verses (8–13) are grouped with the preceding ones (1–7) through the connecting formula “Thus says the LORD.”180 At the hinge point of verse 8, Yahweh announces his intention to strengthen his servant for the purpose of bestowing salvation, with the effects of the salvation transforming both Israel and the nations of the world (v.6–7, 12–13). In 49:8a, Goldingay observes that the “religious freight” of the phrases “favorable time” and “day of salvation” is represented in the terms “favorable” and “salvation,” rather than on the time markers.181 The verbs exist in the perfect tense in the Hebrew, and may be characterized as “prophetic perfects”182 or “perfects of certainty,”183 indicating the promised realization of actions that are yet to unfold. Following verse 8a, the message proclaimed through the servant is couched in vivid language that may be grouped with the new exodus imagery found throughout Isa 40–66.184 In view is God’s glorious intervention in the land and in the lives of the people. The section ends in a universal call to praise with a mention of comfort that ties the passage to the greater themes of Isa 40–66, which began with a call of comfort from God.
Paul’s use of Isa 49:8 in 2 Cor 6:2 fulfills two aims. First, 2 Cor 6:2 reflects that through Christ’s death and resurrection, the day of salvation promised by God in Isaiah 40–66 has arrived, demanding full reception.185 In the events of the death and resurrection of Christ, Paul sees the fulfillment of God’s plans to redeem Israel and reconcile the world to himself.186 This is supported earlier in the discourse, when Paul uses the time markers μηκέτι (v.15), άπὸ τοῦ νῦν and οὐκέτι (v.16), the pair of clauses τὰ ἀρχαῖα παρῆλθεν, ἰδοὺ γέγονεν καινά and the announcement of καινὴ κτίσις (v.17) to signal the abrupt change taking place in history as a result of Christ’s death and resurrection.187
Second, 2 Cor 6:2 confirms that Paul understands his ministry through the lens of Isaiah 49. The broader context supports this as well. Paul’s calling conforms to the servant’s calling, since he serves God (5:11–13) and is motivated by Christ’s love (5:14). His message of salvation aligns with the servant’s message to Israel and the nations, since he proclaims that God is bringing about a new creation by reconciling the world (Jews and Gentiles) to himself through the forgiveness of sins (5:17–21). His discouragement over laboring in vain (6:1) corresponds to the servant’s.188 Finally, Paul’s experience of God’s support in the midst of suffering and dishonor follows the servant’s pattern (6:8–10).
Though Paul is related typologically to the servant it is only through the transforming presence and pattern of Christ.189 Christ is the genuine fulfillment of the servant of Isaiah, especially in reference to the saving effects of his suffering for the sins of the people in Isa 52:13–52:12. Paul identifies himself with the servant of Isaiah, but even more he identifies himself with Christ–with his death, and with his resurrection.190 This is clear from the immediate context in 2 Cor 5:14–17, as well as from other passages in 2 Corinthians such as 1:5 and 4:7–11. Paul’s identification with the servant of Isaiah is filtered through the person and work of Christ.191
In Rom 15:21, the distinction between Paul as the messenger and Christ as the sacrificial servant is clearer. Paul quotes Isa 52:15 to support his aspiration to reach Gentiles with the gospel of Christ. The verse is situated in the larger context of Isa 52:13–53:12, where the subject is the suffering and vindication of God’s servant. Oswalt identifies the two main themes of the passage as being “the contrast between the servant’s exaltation and his humiliation and suffering, and the contrast between what people thought about the Servant and what was really the case.”192 In Isa 52:13–15 in particular, the prophet describes the reaction of nations and kings to the surprising status of God’s servant.193 They will be “startled” and will close their mouths in astonishment.194 The comparative construction in the
