What is the meaning of Isaiah 50:5? The Lord GOD has opened My ears • The Servant begins by crediting the initiative to God: “The Lord GOD has opened My ears” (Isaiah 50:5). Like Samuel’s “Speak, for Your servant is listening” (1 Samuel 3:10), the phrase pictures a willing learner whose ears have been unstopped so he can receive every word. • Psalm 40:6 echoes the same posture: “Sacrifice and offering You did not desire, but my ears You have opened.” True worship starts with attentive hearing before any action is taken. • This listening heart perfectly characterizes Christ. He said, “I do nothing on My own, but speak exactly what the Father has taught Me” (John 8:28). His constant communion with the Father (Mark 1:35) models the listening life believers are called to imitate (James 1:19, Romans 10:17). I have not been rebellious • Having heard, the Servant obeys without hesitation: “I have not been rebellious.” Israel had repeatedly resisted God (Isaiah 1:2), but the true Servant stands in stark contrast. • Jesus fulfills this line completely. “I always do what pleases Him” (John 8:29). Hebrews 4:15 declares Him “without sin,” and Philippians 2:8 points to His obedience “to death—even death on a cross.” • For those united to Him, obedience is the expected outflow of genuine hearing (John 14:23, James 1:22). His spotless record empowers believers to pursue the same single-hearted loyalty. Nor have I turned back • Obedience endures: “nor have I turned back.” The Servant refuses to retreat even when His path leads through suffering. Isaiah immediately adds, “I offered My back to those who struck Me” (50:6). • Jesus “set His face like flint” (Isaiah 50:7) and “resolutely set out for Jerusalem” (Luke 9:51), refusing the easier road. In Gethsemane He affirmed, “Shall I not drink the cup the Father has given Me?” (John 18:11). • Hebrews 12:2-3 calls believers to the same perseverance, fixing our eyes on the One who “endured the cross” and “did not grow weary or lose heart.” summary Isaiah 50:5 portrays the ideal Servant—ultimately Jesus—whose ears are opened by the Father, whose will is entirely free of rebellion, and whose course never reverses. He listens, obeys, and perseveres to the end, securing redemption and providing the pattern for every disciple who would follow in His steps. |
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