In Isaiah, chapter forty-nine, verses five through six, “And now, saith the LORD that formed me from the womb to be his servant, to bring Jacob again to him, Though Israel be not gathered, yet shall I be glorious in the eyes of the LORD, and my God shall be my strength. 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.”
This prophecy describes two important aspects of Jesus’ mission: To bring Israel back to God. This includes the Jewish converts of the New Testament church and of the present age, as well as the remnant of Israel to be restored in the final age, and to bring God’s light and message of salvation to all the nations. The Messiah’s mission is that all nations hear the gospel and have an opportunity to receive God’s salvation.
Indeed, God the Father has given God the Son the nations as an inheritance resulting from the cross, as in Psalms two, verses seven to eight. This verse in Isaiah is sometimes called the “Great Commission of the Old Testament.” This commission will not be fulfilled until the gospel is adequately preached throughout the whole world. When this occurs, “then the end shall come,” as in Matthew twenty-four, verse fourteen. The task of New Testament believers is to “Go ye therefore, and teach all nations” in the authority of Jesus Christ and in the power of the Holy Spirit until Christ returns, as in Matthew twenty-eight, verses eighteen through twenty, and Acts one, verse eight. The theme is under The Servant’s Call.