The Scripture behind the Scripture
A Light to the Gentiles
Isaiah 49:6 says God's servant will be a light to the Gentiles and bring salvation to the ends of the earth. Paul applies it to his mission in Acts 13:47, and Simeon echoes it over the infant Jesus in Luke 2:32.
“And he said, It is a light thing that thou shouldest be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob, and to restore the preserved of Israel: I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth.”Isaiah 49:6
“For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth.”Acts 13:47
“A light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel.”Luke 2:32
In its own place
In its own place. This verse belongs to the second of Isaiah's servant songs, in which the Lord's servant speaks of his calling. The servant is first named as Israel, in whom God will be glorified, yet the servant also has a mission to Israel, to restore the preserved of Jacob and bring the nation back to God. Then God declares it too small a thing for the servant merely to restore Israel, so, I will also give thee for a light to the Gentiles, that thou mayest be my salvation unto the end of the earth. In its original setting this reveals the breadth of the servant's mission, reaching beyond Israel to the nations. The servant is both identified with Israel and given a task toward Israel, a tension that runs through the servant songs. God's purpose is not confined to one people but extends to all the earth, so that his salvation would reach the Gentiles through the servant. This reflects Isaiah's larger vision that God is the God of all nations and that his light and salvation are meant for the whole world. The servant's suffering and faithfulness would open the way for the peoples in darkness to see a great light and for God's saving purpose to touch the ends of the earth.
Where the New Testament takes it up
This is a direct quotation, and it appears in two significant settings. When Paul and Barnabas face rejection from some in the synagogue at Antioch in Pisidia, Paul turns to the Gentiles and justifies this in Acts 13:47 by quoting Isaiah 49:6, For so hath the Lord commanded us, saying, I have set thee to be a light of the Gentiles, that thou shouldest be for salvation unto the ends of the earth. Strikingly, Paul applies the servant's commission to himself and his mission, understanding that the servant's calling to be a light to the nations is now carried forward through the apostles who proclaim Christ. Earlier, in Luke 2:32, the aged Simeon, holding the infant Jesus in the temple, blesses God and echoes this same servant language, calling the child a light to lighten the Gentiles, and the glory of thy people Israel. Both follow the Greek text. The New Testament thus reads Isaiah's servant as fulfilled first and foremost in Jesus, the true servant who is the light of the nations, and then also in the church's mission, which extends his light to the Gentiles. Paul sees the apostolic mission as the outworking of the servant's task, carrying the salvation accomplished in Christ to the ends of the earth exactly as Isaiah foretold.
How it points to Christ
How it points to Christ. Jesus is the servant who is a light to the Gentiles, bringing God's salvation to the ends of the earth. Simeon recognized this even in his infancy, praising God that his eyes had seen the salvation prepared before all peoples, a light for revelation to the Gentiles and the glory of Israel. The servant songs' vision of a mission reaching all nations is realized in Christ, whose gospel breaks out beyond Israel to the whole world. And because Jesus is the light, those who follow him and proclaim him become bearers of that light, so Paul can apply the servant's commission to his own mission to the Gentiles. The salvation Isaiah foresaw touching the ends of the earth advances through the church precisely because it flows from Christ. In him the too small a thing of restoring Israel is enlarged to the salvation of the nations.
Questions people ask
Does the servant refer to Israel or the Messiah?
The servant songs hold both together. The servant is named as Israel yet also has a mission to Israel, a tension the New Testament resolves by seeing Jesus as the true servant who embodies Israel's calling and fulfills it, becoming the light to the nations.
Why does Paul apply the verse to his own mission?
Because the light of the nations is Christ, and the church carries that light to the Gentiles. Paul sees the apostolic mission as the outworking of the servant's commission, so quoting Isaiah 49:6 justifies turning to the Gentiles with the gospel.