WARRIOR KING VERSUS SUFFERING SERVANT

WARRIOR KING:

The Jews were expecting the Messiah to be a “conquering, warrior King,” someone who would deliver Israel from foreign oppression, restore the kingdom, and rule with power and justice.

  Here are some of the scriptures that made them expect a warrior King:

1. Psalm 2:6–9 ESV  ⁶ “As for me, I have set my King on Zion, my holy hill.⁷ I will tell of the decree: The Lord said to me, “You are my Son; today I have begotten you. ⁸Ask of me, and I will make the nations your heritage, and the ends of the earth your possession. ⁹ You shall break them with a rod of iron and dash them in pieces like a potter’s vessel.”

• Key idea: God installs His King on Zion, who will rule the nations with a rod of iron and crush opposition.

• Messianic theme: Royal power, divine authority, and conquest.

• 2 Samuel 7:12–16 ESV 12 When your days are fulfilled and you lie down with your fathers, I will raise up your offspring after you, who shall come from your body, and I will establish his kingdom. 13 He shall build a house for my name, and I will establish the throne of his kingdom forever. 14 I will be to him a father, and he shall be to me a son. When he commits iniquity, I will discipline him with the rod of men, with the stripes of the sons of men, 15 but my steadfast love will not depart from him, as I took it from Saul, whom I put away from before you. 16 And your house and your kingdom shall be made sure forever before me. Your throne shall be established forever.’ ”

• Key idea: God promises David that his offspring will establish an eternal kingdom.

• Messianic theme: A future Davidic king, ruling forever.

• Isaiah 9:6–7 ESV ⁶  For to us a child is born, to us a son is given; and the government shall be upon his shoulder, and his name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. ⁷ Of the increase of his government and of peace there will be no end, on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and with righteousness from this time forth and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will do this.

• Key idea: A child is born who will reign on David’s throne with justice and righteousness forever.

• Messianic theme: A divine, righteous ruler, ushering in peace through strength.

• Isaiah 11:1–10 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. ² And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord. ³ And his delight shall be in the fear of the Lord. He shall not judge by what his eyes see, or decide disputes by what his ears hear, ⁴ but with righteousness he shall judge the poor, and decide with equity for the meek of the earth; and he shall strike the earth with the rod of his mouth, and with the breath of his lips he shall kill the wicked. ⁵ Righteousness shall be the belt of his waist, and faithfulness the belt of his loins. ⁶  The wolf shall dwell with the lamb, and the leopard shall lie down with the young goat, and the calf and the lion and the fattened calf together; and a little child shall lead them. ⁷ The cow and the bear shall graze; their young shall lie down together; and the lion shall eat straw like the ox. ⁸ The nursing child shall play over the hole of the cobra, and the weaned child shall put his hand on the adder’s den. ⁹ They shall not hurt or destroy in all my holy mountain; for the earth shall be full of the knowledge of the Lord as the waters cover the sea. ¹⁰ In that day the root of Jesse, who shall stand as a signal for the peoples—of him shall the nations inquire, and his resting place shall be glorious.

• Key idea: A shoot from Jesse (David’s father) will judge the earth, strike the wicked, and bring peace.

• Messianic theme: A righteous warrior-king filled with the Spirit, destroying the wicked and restoring justice.

• Jeremiah 23:5–6 ESV 5 “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will raise up for David a righteous Branch, and he shall reign as king and deal wisely, and shall execute justice and righteousness in the land. 6 In his days Judah will be saved, and Israel will dwell securely. And this is the name by which he will be called: ‘The Lord is our righteousness.’

• Key idea: A “righteous Branch” from David’s line will reign as king and save Judah.

• Messianic theme: Royal leadership, justice, and deliverance from enemies.

• Daniel 7:13–14 ¹³ “I saw in the night visions, and behold, with the clouds of heaven there came one like a son of man, and he came to the Ancient of Days and was presented before him. ¹⁴ And to him was given dominion and glory and a kingdom, that all peoples, nations, and languages should serve him; his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom one that shall not be destroyed.

• Key idea: “One like a Son of Man” comes with the clouds and is given dominion, glory, and a kingdom.

• Messianic theme: A cosmic ruler with eternal power over all nations.

• Micah 5:2–4 ²            But you, O Bethlehem Ephrathah, who are too little to be among the clans of Judah, from you shall come forth for me one who is to be ruler in Israel, whose coming forth is from of old, from ancient days. 3 Therefore he shall give them up until the time when she who is in labor has given birth; then the rest of his brothers shall return to the people of Israel. 4 And he shall stand and shepherd his flock in the strength of the Lord, in the majesty of the name of the Lord his God. And they shall dwell secure, for now he shall be great to the ends of the earth.

• Key idea: A ruler will come from Bethlehem to shepherd and rule Israel, bringing security and peace.

• Messianic theme: A strong shepherd-king with divine origins.

• Zechariah 9:9–10 ⁹ Rejoice greatly, O daughter of Zion! Shout aloud, O daughter of Jerusalem! Behold, your king is coming to you; righteous and having salvation is he, humble and mounted on a donkey, on a colt, the foal of a donkey. ¹⁰ I will cut off the chariot from Ephraim and the war horse from Jerusalem; and the battle bow shall be cut off, and he shall speak peace to the nations; his rule shall be from sea to sea, and from the River to the ends of the earth.

• Key idea: The king comes humbly, riding a donkey—but he will speak peace to the nations and rule to the ends of the earth.

• Messianic theme: A peaceful conqueror who nonetheless establishes dominion over the whole world.

• Zechariah 12:8–10  ⁸ On that day the Lord will protect the inhabitants of Jerusalem, so that the feeblest among them on that day shall be like David, and the house of David shall be like God, like the angel of the Lord, going before them. ⁹ And on that day I will seek to destroy all the nations that come against Jerusalem. ¹⁰ “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.
• Zechariah 14:3–9 ³ Then the Lord will go out and fight against those nations as when he fights on a day of battle. ⁴ On that day his feet shall stand on the Mount of Olives that lies before Jerusalem on the east, and the Mount of Olives shall be split in two from east to west by a very wide valley, so that one half of the Mount shall move northward, and the other half southward. ⁵ And you shall flee to the valley of my mountains, for the valley of the mountains shall reach to Azal. And you shall flee as you fled from the earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah. Then the Lord my God will come, and all the holy ones with him. ⁶ On that day there shall be no light, cold, or frost. ⁷ And there shall be a unique day, which is known to the Lord, neither day nor night, but at evening time there shall be light. ⁸ On that day living waters shall flow out from Jerusalem, half of them to the eastern sea and half of them to the western sea. It shall continue in summer as in winter. ⁹ And the Lord will be king over all the earth. On that day the Lord will be one and his name one.

• Key idea: God will defend Jerusalem, destroy her enemies, and the Lord will be king over all the earth.

• Messianic theme: Apocalyptic imagery of God (and by extension, His Messiah) fighting Israel’s enemies.

Summary of Themes of WARRIOR KING:

• Line of David – a future king in David’s royal line

• Divine power and justice – Messiah executes justice, defeats enemies, rules over nations

• National deliverance – restoring Israel’s security and glory (Mic 5, Zech 9, 14)

• Global rule – not just a local king, but a universal ruler (Dan 7, Isa 11, Ps 2)

These passages built a very clear picture in many Jewish minds: the Messiah would be a powerful political and military leader, sent by God to overthrow oppressors (like the Romans) and restore Israel’s kingdom and independence.

SUFFERING SERVANT

Suffering Servant passages are important, though they were often overlooked or misunderstood by many in Jesus’ time because they didn’t fit the mold of a conquering king. Yet, Jesus and the early Church drew heavily on them to explain His mission, especially His suffering, death, and resurrection.

Here’s a list of the major Old Testament scriptures that describe the suffering, rejection, and ultimate vindication of God’s servant:

1. Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12 ¹³ Behold, my servant shall act wisely; he shall be high and lifted up, and shall be exalted. ¹⁴ As many were astonished at you— his appearance was so marred, beyond human semblance, and his form beyond that of the children of mankind— ¹⁵ so shall he sprinkle many nations. Kings shall shut their mouths because of him, for that which has not been told them they see, and that which they have not heard they understand. 53 Who has believed what he has heard from us? And to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed? ² For he grew up before him like a young plant, and like a root out of dry ground; he had no form or majesty that we should look at him, and no beauty that we should desire him. ³ He was despised and rejected by men, a man of sorrows and acquainted with grief; and as one from whom men hide their faces he was despised, and we esteemed him not. ⁴ Surely he has borne our griefs and carried our sorrows; yet we esteemed him stricken, smitten by God, and afflicted. ⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed. ⁶ All we like sheep have gone astray; we have turned—every one—to his own way; and the Lord has laid on him the iniquity of us all. ⁷ He was oppressed, and he was afflicted, yet he opened not his mouth; like a lamb that is led to the slaughter, and like a sheep that before its shearers is silent, so he opened not his mouth. ⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away; and as for his generation, who considered that he was cut off out of the land of the living, stricken for the transgression of my people? ⁹ And they made his grave with the wicked and with a rich man in his death, although he had done no violence, and there was no deceit in his mouth. ¹⁰ Yet it was the will of the Lord to crush him; he has put him to grief; when his soul makes an offering for guilt, he shall see his offspring; he shall prolong his days; the will of the Lord shall prosper in his hand. ¹¹ Out of the anguish of his soul he shall see and be satisfied; by his knowledge shall the righteous one, my servant, make many to be accounted righteous, and he shall bear their iniquities. ¹² Therefore I will divide him a portion with the many, and he shall divide the spoil with the strong, because he poured out his soul to death and was numbered with the transgressors; yet he bore the sin of many, and makes intercession for the transgressors

Key ideas:

• The servant is despised and rejected, a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.

• He bears our griefs and sins, is pierced for our transgressions.

• He suffers silently and willingly, like a lamb led to slaughter.

• He dies, is buried, but ultimately is vindicated and exalted.

• Fulfillment in Jesus: This is the clearest and most detailed prophetic picture of the suffering Messiah. The New Testament quotes or alludes to this passage more than any other when referring to Jesus’ death.

2. Psalm 22

22 To the choirmaster: according to The Doe of the Dawn. A Psalm of David.

¹ My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, from the words of my groaning? ² O my God, I cry by day, but you do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest. ³ Yet you are holy, enthroned on the praises of Israel. ⁴ In you our fathers trusted; they trusted, and you delivered them. ⁵ To you they cried and were rescued; in you they trusted and were not put to shame. ⁶ But I am a worm and not a man, scorned by mankind and despised by the people. ⁷ All who see me mock me; they make mouths at me; they wag their heads; ⁸ “He trusts in the Lord; let him deliver him; let him rescue him, for he delights in him!” ⁹ Yet you are he who took me from the womb; you made me trust you at my mother’s breasts. ¹⁰ On you was I cast from my birth, and from my mother’s womb you have been my God. ¹¹ Be not far from me, for trouble is near, and there is none to help. ¹² Many bulls encompass me; strong bulls of Bashan surround me; ¹³ they open wide their mouths at me, like a ravening and roaring lion. ¹⁴ I am poured out like water, and all my bones are out of joint; my heart is like wax; it is melted within my breast; ¹⁵ my strength is dried up like a potsherd, and my tongue sticks to my jaws; you lay me in the dust of death. ¹⁶ For dogs encompass me; a company of evildoers encircles me; they have pierced my hands and feet— ¹⁷ I can count all my bones— they stare and gloat over me; ¹⁸ they divide my garments among them, and for my clothing they cast lots. ¹⁹ But you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! ²⁰ Deliver my soul from the sword, my precious life from the power of the dog! ²¹ Save me from the mouth of the lion! You have rescued me from the horns of the wild oxen! ²² I will tell of your name to my brothers; in the midst of the congregation I will praise you: ²³ You who fear the Lord, praise him! All you offspring of Jacob, glorify him, and stand in awe of him, all you offspring of Israel! ²⁴ For he has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden his face from him, but has heard, when he cried to him. ²⁵ From you comes my praise in the great congregation; my vows I will perform before those who fear him. ²⁶ The afflicted shall eat and be satisfied; those who seek him shall praise the Lord! May your hearts live forever! ²⁷ All the ends of the earth shall remember and turn to the Lord, and all the families of the nations shall worship before you. ²⁸ For kingship belongs to the Lord, and he rules over the nations. ²⁹ All the prosperous of the earth eat and worship; before him shall bow all who go down to the dust, even the one who could not keep himself alive. ³⁰ Posterity shall serve him; it shall be told of the Lord to the coming generation; ³¹ they shall come and proclaim his righteousness to a people yet unborn, that he has done it.

• Key ideas:

• Begins: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”

• Describes mocking, piercing of hands and feet, casting lots for clothing.

• Ends with a note of deliverance and future praise.

• Fulfillment in Jesus: Jesus quotes this from the cross (Matthew 27:46), and the details align remarkably with crucifixion—a method of execution unknown in David’s time.

3. Isaiah 49:1–7  49 Listen to me, O coastlands, and give attention, you peoples from afar. The Lord called me from the womb, from the body of my mother he named my name. ² He made my mouth like a sharp sword; in the shadow of his hand he hid me; he made me a polished arrow; in his quiver he hid me away. ³ And he said to me, “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will be glorified.” ⁴ But I said, “I have labored in vain; I have spent my strength for nothing and vanity; yet surely my right is with the Lord, and my recompense with my God.” ⁵ And now the Lord says, he who formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob back to him; and that Israel might be gathered to him— for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord, and my God has become my strength— ⁶ he says: “It is too light a thing that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to bring back the preserved of Israel; I will make you as a light for the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” ⁷ Thus says the Lord, the Redeemer of Israel and his Holy One, to one deeply despised, abhorred by the nation, the servant of rulers: “Kings shall see and arise; princes, and they shall prostrate themselves; because of the Lord, who is faithful, the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

• Key ideas:

• The servant is called from the womb to be a light to the nations.

• He feels like his work is in vain, yet God honors him.

• He is despised by the nation but ultimately exalted.

• Fulfillment in Jesus: A blend of discouragement and divine assurance, this passage reflects Jesus’ rejection and ultimate mission to all nations.

4. Isaiah 50:4–9  ⁴  The Lord God has given me the tongue of those who are taught, that I may know how to sustain with a word him who is weary. Morning by morning he awakens; he awakens my ear to hear as those who are taught. ⁵ The Lord God has opened my ear, and I was not rebellious; I turned not backward. ⁶ I gave my back to those who strike, and my cheeks to those who pull out the beard; I hid not my face from disgrace and spitting. ⁷ But the Lord God helps me; therefore I have not been disgraced; therefore I have set my face like a flint, and I know that I shall not be put to shame. ⁸ He who vindicates me is near. Who will contend with me? Let us stand up together. Who is my adversary? Let him come near to me. ⁹ Behold, the Lord God helps me; who will declare me guilty? Behold, all of them will wear out like a garment; the moth will eat them up.

• Key ideas:

• The servant suffers beatings, insults, and spit, but remains faithful.

• He sets his face “like flint” and trusts in God’s vindication.

• Fulfillment in Jesus: This parallels Jesus’ resolve to go to the cross, despite knowing the suffering it would bring.

5. Zechariah 12:10 ¹⁰ “And I will pour out on the house of David and the inhabitants of Jerusalem a spirit of grace and pleas for mercy, so that, when they look on me, on him whom they have pierced, they shall mourn for him, as one mourns for an only child, and weep bitterly over him, as one weeps over a firstborn.

• Key idea:

• “They will look on me, the one they have pierced, and they shall mourn for him…”

• Fulfillment in Jesus: Quoted in John 19:37 at the crucifixion. This verse links piercing, mourning, and eventual recognition.

6. Daniel 9:26 ²⁶ And after the sixty-two weeks, an anointed one shall be cut off and shall have nothing. And the people of the prince who is to come shall destroy the city and the sanctuary. Its end shall come with a flood, and to the end there shall be war. Desolations are decreed.

• Key idea:

• The “Anointed One” will be cut off and will have nothing.

• Fulfillment in Jesus: Seen as a reference to the Messiah being killed, unexpectedly, rather than reigning immediately.

Summary of Themes:

• Rejection and mockery

• Suffering in innocence

• Bearing the sins of others

• Piercing, wounding, death

• Ultimate vindication and exaltation

• Mission to the nations

Why These Were Overlooked:

Many Jews in the Second Temple period focused on the victorious, kingly Messiah (like from Psalm 2 or Isaiah 11) and didn’t expect the Messiah to suffer and die. The two pictures seemed contradictory—how could the conqueror also be the victim?

Jesus and His followers showed that both sets of prophecies had to be fulfilled—first the suffering, then the glory (Luke 24:26).