Journal: Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society
Volume: JETS 65:3 (Sep 2022)
Article: Sharing The Servant’s Mission: Isaiah 49:6 In Luke-Acts
Author: Brian J. Tabb

JETS 65:3 (September 2022) p. 509

Sharing The Servant’s Mission: Isaiah 49:6 In Luke-Acts

Brian J. Tabb*

^* Brian J. Tabb is Academic Dean and Professor of Biblical Studies at Bethlehem College and Seminary, 720 13th Ave. S., Minneapolis, MN 55415. He may be contacted at [email protected].

Abstract: Luke’s Gospel and Acts progressively apply the servant prophecy in Isaiah 49:6 to Jesus (Luke 2:32), then to the apostles (Acts 1:8), and finally to Paul and Barnabas (Acts 13:47). While Jewish opposition prompts the missionaries’ “turning to the Gentiles” (Acts 13:46), their citation of Isaiah 49:6 provides the underlying biblical-theological warrant for this outreach through the principle of corporate solidarity, which is evident already in the book of Isaiah. The risen Lord himself is “a light for the Gentiles,” and he continues to shine through his servants who share in and extend the servant’s global mission by proclaiming salvation in his name.

Key words: Isaiah—theology; Luke-Acts—theology; missions—biblical teaching; Apostle Paul; Servant of the Lord; use of the OT in the NT.

In Acts 13:46–47, Paul and Barnabas cite the Lord’s command in Isaiah 49:6 as support for their decision to turn to the Gentiles in their missionary outreach.1 This development recalls Paul’s calling to bear Christ’s name “before the Gentiles” (Acts 9:15)2 as well as the Lord’s programmatic promise that the disciples will be his witnesses “to the end of the earth” (1:8). But this quotation of Scripture in Acts 13 also raises several exegetical and biblical-theological questions.3 First, in what sense were the missionaries “commanded” to turn to the Gentiles? Second, how exactly does Isaiah’s servant prophecy apply to the missionaries in Acts 13:47?

Interpreters deal with these questions in very different ways. For example, Carl Holladay reasons that Paul and Barnabas replace “‘Israel, the servant of the Lord,’ who ... would serve as the ‘light to the gentiles.’”