Dock
Resource Kit
Sunday sermon, 22 March 2026
Summary
In this sermon, Michael looks at Isaiah 49:1–7, the second of Isaiah’s Servant Songs, which reveals a five-part portrait of Jesus: hidden, faithful, far-reaching, yet rejected, and ultimately vindicated. Beginning with an invitation to reflect on the meaning of names, he grounds the sermon in the truth that Jesus was called and named before birth, not accidentally, but eternally. He traces these five qualities through the passage which gives us a pattern we can recognise in our own lives and a basis for immeasurable encouragement. In Jesus we have not only the supreme example of how to face all things, but also the one who has won the victory over sin and death.
Key Points & Takeways
Hidden - Jesus spent thirty years in obscurity in Nazareth before his public ministry. Hiddenness was not absence, it was preparation. God conceals what he is readying to reveal. The seasons that feel most invisible may be the seasons of greatest preparation.
Faithful - Faithfulness does not always feel fruitful. Jesus walked to the cross without visible vindication. Faithfulness means trusting that God holds the outcome even when we cannot see it and the work feels fruitless.
Far-Reaching - Restoring Israel alone is not enough. The scope of the servant’s mission is universal; every nation, every people, to the ends of the earth. The purposes of God are always larger than we imagine.
Rejected - Jesus was rejected by his own, handed over to rulers, crucified. Rejection is written into the pattern. Rejection does not mean failure. It precedes the vindication; kings standing, princes bowing.
This Is Not Just the Servant’s Story - This is the story of Jesus. It becomes a pattern we recognise in our own lives: hiddenness, faithfulness under pressure, far-reaching calling, rejection. That is the ground for immeasurable encouragement.
Dock Discussion Questions
Michael reflected on what his name means, and invited the congregation to do the same. What does your name mean — and does it feel significant to you?
The sermon began with hiddenness — God concealing the servant before revealing him. Where in your life right now might God be doing something hidden that you can’t yet see?
The servant says “I have laboured in vain” — and yet trusts that his reward is with God. Have you ever felt that your faithfulness wasn’t producing anything? What helped you keep going?
Rejection is part of the pattern, even for Jesus. How do you hold that truth when you experience rejection in your own life or faith?
Michael closed by saying that because this is Jesus’s story, it becomes a pattern we recognise in our own lives. Which of the five — hidden, faithful, far-reaching, rejected, vindicated — do you most need to sit with right now?
Long-form, edited transcript
Servant Songs:
Jesus Speaks
Isaiah 49:1-7
We are continuing our series on the servant songs found in Isaiah, four prophetic pieces of lyrical prophecy talking about who Jesus is and what he came to achieve. Isaiah is a book of two halves. The first 39 chapters cover the history of the southern kingdom of Judah; — themes of judgment and destruction, prophesy of exile to Babylon. Then chapter 40 begins the switch around to prophesy about comfort and restoration for the people of Israel and the world; a prophecy of salvation, a prophecy of restoration.
Within that second half of the book, there are four iconic ‘servant songs’ talking about who Jesus is. We talked last week about the fact that these songs are about Jesus, so we’re not going to go into that again today, but I will be referring to ‘Jesus’ and ‘the servant’ interchangeably. If you’re curious, you can always see me after, or go online for the dock resources.
Last week, we looked at the first servant song, a prophesy of a servant that will bring justice. Not just our small understanding of justice, but a big, expanded understanding: a reconciling, restoring justice, and a servant who is quiet, gentle, and persevering in bringing that justice.
The two middle servant songs are written autobiographically. The first and the fourth have God talking about who Jesus is. In this one, and the one for next week, Jesus talks about who he is. So, we’re going to be thinking today, as we look at Isaiah 49:1–7, about a servant who reveals himself to us.
There are going to be five things we look at.
A servant who is known.
A hidden servant.
A faithful servant.
A far-reaching servant.
And a rejected servant.
Known, hidden, faithful, far-reaching, and rejected.
Isaiah 49:1–7
49 Listen to me, you islands;
hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born the Lord called me;
from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
2 He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
and concealed me in his quiver.
3 He said to me, “You are my servant,
Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”
4 But I said, “I have labored in vain;
I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,
and my reward is with my God.”5 And now the Lord says—
he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
and gather Israel to himself,
for I am[a] honored in the eyes of the Lord
and my God has been my strength—
6 he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
to restore the tribes of Jacob
and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”7 This is what the Lord says—
the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
to the servant of rulers:
“Kings will see you and stand up,
princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
A Known Servant
Jesus is a known servant. Verse one says:
“Before I was born, the Lord called me. From my mother’s womb, he has spoken my name.”
This first aspect of the identity of Jesus revealed in this servant song might not actually be particularly surprising — it might not even feel necessarily noteworthy. We believe that Jesus is the Son of God, one of the three persons of the Trinity. The very beginning of John’s gospel calls Jesus the Word. It says:
In the beginning was the Word, the Word was with God, and the Word was God. He was with God in the beginning.
Not necessarily surprising then that he was known before he was born, before he was incarnate on earth. But these things which seem self-evident bear just taking a brief moment to pause and examine. What is it that is known here in the scripture? It says: before I was born, the Lord called me. From my mother’s womb, he has spoken my name. The known is the calling and the name. Obviously, Jesus was fully known, he is God. But there is importance in these areas specifically.
Before Jesus was incarnate on earth, before he came to dwell amongst us, fully God, fully man, the call, the purpose that he came for; the restoration of all people, was decided, was predestined, was called. His saving work was known.
So was his name. I want you to take a moment and speak to the person next to you or someone behind you, if you’re comfortable, tell them what your name means. If you don’t know what your name means, get your phone out and give it a quick Google. A couple of minutes to discuss what your name means, or find out.
My name is Michael, and Michael means ‘who is like God?’ Not because people called Michael are like God, The archangel Michael. His name is a battlecry. It’s like saying: who is like God? Nobody is like God. That’s what the name Michael means.
I was called Michael because my parents liked the name. That’s the depth of it. But there are many cultures represented in this room, and also true of the ancient Near East at the time of Jesus, and many centuries before, where names were far more significant than mere identifying labels. I know many of you are from cultures where naming is creative. It was an authoritative act. Often it revealed someone’s character, or something about their culture or religion. It established relationships of kinship and servitude within family lines.
Naming was important. I know that there are cultures represented here in which even the parents don’t necessarily traditionally get to choose the name, it is the patriarchal or matriarchal elders within the family who have input.
There is important symbolism in Jesus’s name, which was known before he was incarnate. Many of you will know that Jesus is the English translation of the Latin translation of the Hebrew Yahoshua, which is also translated in many places in the Bible as Joshua.
It’s not wrong to translate Jesus as Joshua. And that name means ‘God saves’ or more literally, “Yahweh, saviour.” Think of two other important Joshuas in the Bible. Joshua son of Nun; second in command to Moses. Moses dies, and it is Joshua who leads the people of Israel into the promised land. That moment of coming into their covenant promise, typified and exemplified by the name Joshua: Yahweh saves. God saves.
There is also a high priest called Joshua in Zechariah. Listen to this passage from Zechariah 3:8:
“Listen, high priest Joshua, you and your associates seated before you, who are men symbolic of things to come. I am going to bring my servant, the branch.”
This priest, who is symbolic of the future, is called Joshua, ”Yahweh saves.” And in the same prophecy, God says: my servant is coming.
There is power and significance in these names. Joshua in the Bible is used as an indicator, a reminder that God saves. But Jesus is the one who saves. He is the only Joshua who is the true representation, the exemplification, the fulfilment of the name.
A known servant. A servant given by God from before time, called before creation, identified as the saviour in the very heart of being. A known servant Jesus’s true identity as saviour, but also the one in whom we find our true identity.
The Bible says in Ephesians 3:
“For this reason I kneel before the Father, from whom every family in heaven and earth derives its name.”
God is the one from whom we derive our name, our true identity. We’re not defined by what we do. We are defined by what God has spoken over us. God’s purposes for you are not an afterthought. They’re a beforethought. You too, just like Jesus, are known. Your purpose and your calling and your name are known from before you were born. And that is something remarkable.
A Hidden Servant
Verse two:
“He made my mouth like a sharpened sword. In the shadow of his hand, he hid me. He made me into a polished arrow and concealed me in his quiver.”
Jesus is hidden, awaiting God’s perfect timing. As we read already in John 1, Jesus was with God from the beginning of time, from before the beginning of time, eternal. Everything that was created was created in, and through, and for him. And yet creation waited. All of creation cried out in anticipation of the incarnation of God on earth. And God comes to earth in the shape and form of a baby, a helpless child, a lowly family. Then again, they waited for thirty years before Jesus’ ministry starts. Hidden and waiting in God.
This is a short point. The hiding and the waiting, what happens here? Jesus, the servant, is like a sharpened sword, a polished arrow. This is not hiding and waiting as passivity. This is preparation and timing. Jesus is a hidden servant. The seasons of obscurity are not an absence of purpose.
Seasons of obscurity and hiddenness are not an indicator that you don’t have purpose. Before I was back full-time with the church, I was a professional circus acrobat. I did a degree as a professional circus acrobat and trained for about nine hours a day for three years. During my time performing.
You learn your skills, you work on your strength, your flexibility, your artistic ability. You do all those things for maybe six minutes on stage. Months and months of creating and strengthening and thinking and asking people for input — all for six minutes.
However, all of that work is not wasted, is it? It’s preparation. It’s sharpening. It’s honing. Maybe you’re in a season this morning of sharpening and honing. God just wants to remind you it’s not wasted. Seasons of obscurity are not an absence of purpose. God prepares us before he reveals. You might feel unseen at times, but you are not unused by God. Just as Jesus was the hidden servant.
A Faithful Servant
Point three: Jesus is a faithful servant. Verse four says:
“But I said, I have laboured in vain. I have spent my strength for nothing at all. Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.”
Isaiah here prophesies that Jesus is going to experience deep discouragement. Sometimes when I read this, I think it’s quite surprising to hear these words in Jesus’ mouth. But then I think about Jesus’ life, and I think: ‘of course.’
Think of all the disciples who turned away from Jesus. In John chapter 6, when Jesus teaches that he is the bread of life, verse 66 says: “From this time many of his disciples turned back and no longer followed him.” Real and deep discouragement. Think of Judas betraying him. Think of the disciples disowning him after the arrest. Yet in the face of all of this discouragement, and infinitely more, Jesus stayed faithful, trusting in God for the reward.
Going back to verse four:
“Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God.” This is something we don’t really talk about very often.
If there’s only one thing you take away, it would be this. Jesus’s reward is with God. But what is Jesus’s reward? Hebrews 12:2 says:
“For the joy set before him, he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.”
What was the joy set before him? What was the reward of Jesus? Why did he do it?
We talked at the start about the shape of Isaiah that chapter 40 is the turning point from
prophecy of destruction to prophecy of salvation. Isaiah 40:10–11:
See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power, and he rules with a mighty arm. See, his reward is with him, and his recompense accompanies him. He tends his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart. He gently leads those who have young.
Jesus’s reward is you. Jesus’s reward is me. Jesus’s reward, most importantly, is his flock; his church. It’s what we’re doing right now. Can we just take a moment? Let that sink in. We are Jesus’s reward. He tends his flock like a shepherd. He gathers the lambs in his arms and carries them close to his heart.
When was the last time you stopped to listen to the heartbeat of God? He carries us close to his heart. What would my life look like if I lived believing I’m Jesus’s reward? Galatians 5:1 says:
“It is for freedom that Christ has set you free. Stand firm, therefore, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.”
What would it look like to stand firm in that truth, in that promise? I’m sure it would look somewhat different. Jesus is a faithful servant — a servant who experiences real discouragement but practises real faithfulness, declaring the promises of God. As we experience discouragement today, this week, let us declare: what is due to me is in the Lord’s hand, and my reward is with my God. You and I, as the church of God, are the reward of Jesus.
A Far-Reaching Servant
Verses five and six:
“And now the Lord says — he who formed me in the womb to be a servant to bring Jacob back to him and gather Israel to himself. For I am honoured in the eyes of the Lord and my God has been my strength. He says: it is too small a thing for you to be my servant to restore the tribes of Jacob and bring back those of Israel I have kept. I will also make you a light for the Gentiles, that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”
This amazing section picks up again on the worldwide mission of Jesus; the fact that Jesus came for his reward, for his church, made up of the peoples of all the earth who are called to be in Christ Jesus.
Think back to the symbolism of the weapons described in verse two, the sword and the arrow. The sharp sword and the polished arrow. What do you use a sword for? That’s close quarter fighting. And the arrow, that’s the distant stuff. Jesus, in his word and in his action, is an effective servant both to those who are close to him and to those who are far away.
Yes, that means to the people of Israel, those chosen by God, those close to God by birthright and to the Gentiles, those far away, not of God’s chosen people. Jesus is an effective weapon for a far-reaching mission; a far-reaching salvation that brings all people to him. But it also means he is effective when we feel close and when we feel far away.
I have a neurodivergent trait which is uncommon. I apologise in advance if talking about it reveals it to you and you didn’t know you had it. I have aphantasia and anendophasia. I can’t see anything in my mind’s eye, I don’t have a mind’s eye. If I close my eyes and someone says ‘picture a ball’, I cannot. I see nothing but darkness. And when I think, I don’t think my thoughts out loud. I don’t have a voice in my head. I don’t dream pictures. I don’t imagine pictures. I’m a bit different and maybe you are too.
For the longest time, I thought it was just metaphorical language. When people said ‘imagine this’, I thought they meant ‘remember that that exists, right?’ I didn’t actually know that people could picture things in their minds. It blew my mind when I realised. My parents found out they’re in their 70s that they also have aphantasia, I called them a few years ago and said, ‘Can you do this?’ They were like, ‘People can do that?’
I’ve felt like an impostor in churches for many years. So much of our experience of who God is comes to us in pictures, images, interior life. God reveals himself very powerfully to people, he gives them pictures, he says words, he gives them dreams. I know God is able to do that. I know he’s bigger. Even though I don’t have that part of my brain that you have, I know God could. I have had two dreams in my life with pictures, and the benefit of not being able to do that normally is that I knew those were from God, because I can’t do it otherwise.
It’s led to me often feeling far from God, because everyone I speak to experiences God in a different way to me. People sometimes say to me, ‘I wish I knew as much of the Bible as you do.’ Trust me, I don’t know it that well, I’ve got a lifetime of joyful studying ahead of me.
But, I memorise the Bible and read it so much because it’s the only way for me to give God the tools to speak to me. I don’t have an imagination or a picture or a voice or any of that stuff. I want to hear from God. He says: remember that verse? Remember that story? In many ways that’s a blessing. But in many ways it’s made me feel far from God. And it’s only in continuing and persevering and being faithful that God has redeemed that in me and comforted me.
Why am I telling you all this? Jesus didn’t come to earth, the incarnate Son of God, fully man, fully God, to face pain, trial, rejection, death, and resurrection so that I can feel close to him. He didn’t come for my comfort, although he does comfort. He didn’t come for my financial stability, although he does provide. He didn’t come for my professional success, although he does give me favour at times. He didn’t come for my romantic life, although he does demonstrate covenant love, He didn’t come for any of the other things in which I mistakenly place my hope.
He came to conquer sin and death so that I might know that my future is secure in Christ Jesus. Not feel, know. I was dead in sin and now I am alive in Christ and seated at the right hand of the Father. Jesus is a far-reaching, effective servant, a honed, sharpened sword, a polished arrow, that has accomplished that positional change, that saving act, so that I might know who I am in Christ Jesus.
A Rejected Servant
Last point and this isn’t a long one, because Abby next week, and Phil the week after, will be unpacking this much more as they look at the third and fourth servant songs. Jesus is a rejected servant.
Verse seven:
“This is what the Lord says, the Redeemer, the Holy One of Israel — to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation, to the servant of rulers: kings will see you and stand up; princes will see you and bow down, because of the Lord who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”
Let’s just look at the pattern. Two takeaways: from rejection to reversal and honour. From ‘despised and abhorred by the nation’ to ‘the servant of rulers,’ kings will see you and stand up, princes will bow down. From servant to the one who is glorified and honoured. God has the final word. He will be honoured.
And this is a pattern in our own lives. We experience difficulty and trial. We praise and thank God that we are free to worship in the ways that we do and we know that is not true everyone in this world.
Jesus said in John 16:33:
“I have told you these things so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble, but take heart, I have overcome the world.”
From rejection to reversal and honour. That is the trajectory of Jesus. But we need to be sober-minded. At Jesus’s time, people still rejected him during his life. And even after his resurrection, people today still reject the teaching of Jesus. We will face trouble. But take heart, because Jesus has overcome the world.
Jesus is a servant who is known, who is hidden, who is faithful, whose work is far-reaching. He was rejected. But that’s not the end of the story. As we enter Passiontide, we think about the rejection and the suffering that Jesus experienced. We don’t want to gloss over that because that denies the true cost for Jesus, and it also denies the validity of our own lives when things are difficult.
But we keep in our minds that Jesus was a servant who came to suffer and who is also glorified and in whom we have the victory and we share in that victory. Being overlooked or rejected is not the end. Just like for Jesus, God’s vindication may not be immediate, but it is certain.
So let us take comfort in knowing this servant, and in endeavouring, in his strength, to mirror something of who he is — knowing that we are called to share in his life and death and resurrection by his Holy Spirit.
Closing Prayer
Father,
We thank you that we are known, that we are hidden and prepared.
Thank you, Lord, that we are your reward. And that can inspire us to be faithful.
Thank you, Lord, that the work of Jesus was far-reaching and that it includes us.
Even when we don’t feel close to you, Lord, we can know that Jesus came to live and die for our sin, that we might know you and share in your victory.
Praise you, Father, in Jesus’ name.
Amen.