Three Views of Understanding the Relation between the Fourth Servant Song and the New Testament

Isaiah 52:13-53:12, being called the fourth Servant Song (FSS), is very important in Christian tradition and the relation between the Old Testament and the New is worth reviewing. There have been many studies on the FSS and its relation with the NT, but three basic approaches are categorized based on the recent studies. They are strictly historical (SHI), historical-theological (HTI), and canonical-theological (CTI) interpretations. This article studies and compares how these three approaches understand the relation between the Servant of the FSS and Christ of the NT and the relation between the FSS and the NT. SHI excessively focuses on history and thus understands the FSS in the historical background it assumes. HTI still focuses on history but tends to incorporate theology—The FSS still has a mooring in real history. CTI focuses on the canonical coherence even to the NT. SHI may reject a direct link between the FSS and the NT, and thus the Servant of the FSS and Christ of the NT have no relation with each other and this relation may be understood as proof-text and sensus plenior. HTI tries to link between the Servant and Jesus, but discontinuity between them is emphasized because of the tendency of historical interpretation. This approach may be considered as typological fulfillment which has “single meaning, two different contexts and referents”. In the CTI, on the contrary, the Servant is identified with, and fulfilled in, Christ, as many keywords and concepts show theological links and continuity and because Jesus understands his suffering and death based on the FSS. In this approach, the relation between the FSS and the NT is understood as prophecy-fulfillment, having “single meaning, unified referent”. Historical interpretations (both SHI and HTI) tend to distort the plain sense of the substitutionarily vicarious suffering in the text of the FSS, because of the presumption of historical background the approaches assume. But CTI does respect to the textual evidence and the canonical coherence with the NT and is thus reliable. Thus, the FSS is to be understood as a pure prophecy awaiting its complete fulfillment through Christ in the NT.