The Servant of the Lord and His Servant People: Tracing a Biblical Theme Through the Canon

The Servant of the Lord and His Servant People: Tracing a Biblical Theme Through the CanonIt is often recognized that the title servant is applied to key figures throughout the Bible, culminating in Jesus Christ. Matthew Harmon carefully traces this theme from Genesis to Revelation, examining how earlier servants point forwards to the ultimate Servant. While this theme is significant in its own right throughout redemptive history, it also plays a supporting role, enhancing and enriching other themes, such as son, prophet and king. Harmon

It is often recognized that the title ‘servant’ is applied to key figures throughout the Bible, culminating in Jesus Christ. Matthew Harmon carefully traces this theme from Genesis to Revelation, examining how earlier ‘servants’ point forwards to the ultimate Servant. While this theme is significant in its own right throughout redemptive history, it also plays a supporting role, enhancing and enriching other themes, such as son, prophet and king. Harmon shows how the title ‘servant’ not only gives us a clearer understanding of Jesus Christ but also has profound implications for our lives as Christians. When we grasp what it means to be servants of Christ, our love for him and our obedience to him deepen. Understanding that the ultimate Servant, Jesus Christ, indwells his people, to empower them to serve others in love, has the potential to transform how we interact with fellow believers and the world around us.

Publisher: IVP
Type: Paperback
ISBN: 9781789742107

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Matthew is Professor of New Testament Studies at Grace College and Theological Seminary, Winona Lake, Indiana, USA. Author of Asking the Right Questions (Crossway), She Must and Shall Go Free: Paul's Isaianic Gospel in Galatians (De Gruyter), Rebels and Exiles (IVP Academic) and Philippians (Mentor Commentary); contributor to the Baker Illustrated Bible Dictionary and the ESV Expository Commentary; co-author of Making All Things New (Baker Academic).

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When most Christians hear the expression 'the servant of the Lord', they think of the portrait of the suffering servant painted in Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12. This is not so much wrong as reductionistic. Displaying a variety of dominating characteristics, other servants of the Lord (whether that terminology is used or not) repeatedly surface in Scripture, including Adam, Moses, Joshua, David, the apostles. Jesus appears as the servant par excellence, the One who fulfils the patterns they establish. After Jesus, it soon transpires that his apostles are also servants, and collectively his redeemed followers are to be a servant people. In this distinctive volume of biblical theology, Dr Harmon connects the dots that some of us have overlooked, and enriches not only our understanding but also our discipleship. D. A. Carson, Research Professor of New Testament, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, USA