The Suffering Servant

This Easter I want to look at the last face of Jesus in this series from the Song of Songs: the Suffering Servant.

Song of Songs 4:16 - 5:5 (selected)
Bride: Awake, O north wind; And come, thou south; Blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, And eat his precious fruits.

Groom: I am come into my garden, my sister, my bride: I have gathered my myrrh with my spice; I have eaten my honeycomb with my honey; I have drunk my wine with my milk. Eat, O friends; Drink, yea, drink abundantly, O beloved.

Open to me, my sister, For my head is filled with dew, My locks with the drops of the night.

Bride: I rose up to open to my beloved; And my hands droppeth with myrrh, And my fingers with liquid myrrh, Upon the handles of the bolt. I opened to my beloved; But my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone.

I see in this passage quite a few parallels with the last day of Jesus.

In the first part, the bride makes a declaration of commitment. The north wind brings cold, storms and winter hardships. The south wind brings warmth and the growing seasons of spring and summer. Here she's making a statement of dedication that come what may, in the good times and bad, she wants to be pleasing to her beloved. This reminds me of Peter when he says what's on all the disciples’ hearts: 'Even if I must die with you, I will not deny you.'^[1] There's a desire to be wholehearted in the commitment. It may not be something which can be fulfilled, but there is a desire to be unwavering.

Next, the groom says that he's come to his garden and tasted what it has. The sweet. The spicy. He encourages his friends and bride to partake with him. In the same way Jesus came and dwelt among us, enjoying his creation and enduring temptation. On that final night with them, it's not a stretch for me to see Jesus handing out the bread and wine and having this passage in mind when he said 'This is my body, broken for you. This is my blood poured out for you.'^[2] 'Eat O friends. Drink abundantly, O beloved.'

Following this, the groom says, 'open for me because I'm wet with dew and the drops of the night.' I see here the invitation of Jesus to his disciples, and particularly Peter, James and John, to pray with him in the garden. In the night season, when his head was wet with sweat and blood, in a time of anguish, he wanted those he loved near him to encourage his heart.

Finally though, Jesus had to walk the last road alone. Like the groom in the song, he had to withdraw his presence. The sheep had to be scattered. He had to go to a place where they could not follow and accomplish a task they couldn't do. He had to allow his body to be broken and his blood spilled so that we may eat and drink.

1. Matthew 26:35, Mark 14:31

2. 1^st Corinthians 11:23-25

The Consuming Fire

The passage of interest in this article can be viewed from multiple angles. Some interpret it to be the bride speaking, some the bridegroom. Being poetry, I think it's equally valid to see it from either perspective as they both provide useful insights. The line leading up to this passage says 'Who is this coming up from the wilderness, leaning on her beloved?' The bride and bridegroom are so close that it’s hard to distinguish between them. This may be why this passage is so hard to assign a speaker to. It's like a duet, where they're both singing the same words to express their heart. For the purposes of this essay I'm going to approach it as if the bride is speaking to her groom.

Song of Solomon 8:6-7
Set me like a seal on your heart,
like a seal on your arm;
for love is as strong as death,
its jealousy unyielding as the grave.
It burns like blazing fire,
like a mighty flame.
No amount of water can quench love;
torrents cannot drown it!
If one were to give all the wealth of his house for love,
it would be utterly scorned.

Herein we see the love of God expressed as a consuming fire. The Shulamite is saying 'Sear my countenance into your heart. Engrave my name on your arm stretched out for me. Your love is a violent flame that cannot be quenched and I want to know its power in my heart.' Rivers of water cannot quench this fire. I think of an underwater crack in the earth's crust where liquid rock flows out from the center of the planet. All the water of the ocean cannot cool the fire deep within.

Just like the Shulamite, it's our heart's cry to love and be loved fervently. But in order to give our hearts over to this, we need to know that the one we're giving ourselves to is worthy of our trust. That person is Jesus.

One day two men were walking down the road. Their hopes and dreams had been crucified with Jesus a few days prior. They were confused, lost and wondering what to do next, like me at times. They had heard rumors of the resurrection, but they didn't know what to make of them. Their world was turned upside down as they traveled.

To this place of despair, in the loving kindness of God, the Lord himself shows up. He patiently takes them through the Old Testament and unfolds to them His identity. He shows them the loving God reaching out to humanity throughout history all the way to the cross. He gives them seeing eyes, hearing ears and understanding hearts. In the same way he does for me and so with them I can say with my first century brothers 'Did not my heart burn within me when He opened the scriptures to me?'^[a]

Jesus comes to us just as he did them. Like Thomas, He shows us the wounds He received on the cross that pierced His side and arms. Out of love, we've been set as a seal upon His body. Within His heart burns a raging, violent fire of love, stronger than death, more unyielding than the grave. Our heart's cry is best met when we're touched by His holy flame and allow ourselves to be kindled by it. It's in this place that Jesus' prayer^[b] that the same love the Father has for Jesus might also be in us is fulfilled. It's from this place that, like Thomas, we can fall at His feet, giving ourselves to Him in adoration and worship.

1. See Luke 24:13-33 for the complete story.
2. Part of Jesus' High Priestly Prayer in John 18:21.