Anders Max - Isaiah

T o
Roanna Brynn Butler the
granddaughter who brings new
joy each day and lets me see
pure love and joy of living.

John R. Sampey, Old Testament scholar and former president of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary, called a portion of Isaiah the heart of the Old Testament. Students who studied under Sampey said that he could not teach Isaiah 52:13-53:12 without weeping. Here in these verses is revealed in vivid detail the Suffering Servant.

We come to know this Suffering Servant through Scripture and those who have been our teachers. My life has been touched and shaped by many suffering servants. I would like to acknowledge and thank a few of them. Martin Luther saved the church from itself and willingly gave his life to reform the church. Martin Luther King marched through America preaching that we will overcome, unknowingly making an indelible impression on a young Texas preacher-boy named Trent Butler. In the civil rights movement, I learned what it meant to give oneself totally and sacrificially for Jesus Christ and the good of his people.

LeRay Fowler and George R. Wilson pastored my home church in days when our church seemed more willing to sacrifice the pastor for human desires rather than to sacrifice themselves as cross-carrying suffering servants. In the midst of church struggle and chaos, two pastors taught me the meaning of loving Jesus and led me to salvation and to dedication to the Christian ministry.

Ben Brock was as handsome a person as I ever met and probably the most talented and dedicated high school journalism teacher in the land. But he spent much of his time teaching youngsters at church the love of Christ and setting a model for his journalism students of what it meant to be a self-giving Christian striving for perfection in a most imperfect world.

Paul Redditt, a seminary roommate from Arkansas, restored self-respect and self-esteem to a discouraged Texas preacher-boy and has remained a confidante, friend, colleague, fellow scholar, and pilgrim on the way through all sorts of trials and tribulations of life.

Lee Keck gave an Old Testament graduate student a dose of excitement in studying the New Testament and then led me to the realization that I had the ability to interpret the text for myself.

Penrose St. Amant and his beloved Jesse took a young professor onto a prestigious European faculty and opened doors of opportunity for me to develop the teaching, writing, and research skills that God had given me. With sufficient material resources to retire and enjoy life, Penrose and Jesse moved to Europe to labor tirelessly for an institution in whose mission they believed. They showed the spirit of the Suffering Servant and encouraged each of us on the faculty to do the same for our students.

Sibley Burnett accepted me as his son-in-law with the reminder that parenthood is permanent. Then he continued his Suffering Servant ministry, traveling the United States at great personal sacrifice to teach people how to conduct Vacation Bible Schools in a way that God could use to lead children to know Jesus as Savior. Then he and his beloved Anita retired to serve as missionary pastor and wife among young military people in Germany.

Finally, dare I include the most current example of the Suffering Servant in my life? Some would say this inclusion is self-serving on my part, but I would be totally remiss not to recognize the meaning Dr. James Draper has given to my life. He has shown time after time a servant's heart in ministering to people far removed from his current responsibilities and seen by many an outsider as far removed from his theological home base. I will never forget standing in the church doorway before the funeral of my beloved wife Mary and seeing Dr. Draper with his dear Carol Ann come in, give me a strong hug and word of encouragement, and then sit quietly in the pew for the hour-long service. That typifies so many ways in which Jimmy Draper has been a friend, encourager, and Suffering Servant model for my family.

I regret having to leave so many people off this list, but hopefully you see the direction this heads. Each of us stands where we do in Christian commitment because special people put aside the world's call to fame to assume the Master's call to the cross and to the role of Suffering Servant for him. We take time to thank these people who have molded our lives and to commit ourselves anew to follow the paths they showed us. Then we can join the crowd that testifies to the greatness of God's unique Suffering Servant and walk the servant's path ourselves.

Today's church hungers for Bible teaching, and Bible teachers hunger for resources to guide them in teaching God's Word. The Holman Old Testament Commentary provides the church with the food to feed the spiritually hungry in an easily digestible format. The result: new spiritual vitality that the church can readily use.

Bible teaching should result in new interest in the Scriptures, expanded Bible knowledge, discovery of specific scriptural principles, relevant applications, and exciting living. The unique format of the Holman Old Testament Commentary includes sections to achieve these results for every Old Testament book.

Opening quotations stimulate thinking and lead to an introductory illustration and discussion that draw individuals and study groups into the Word of God. In a Nutshell summarizes the content and teaching of the chapter. Verse-by-verse commentary answers the church's questions rather than raising issues scholars usually admit they cannot adequately solve. Bible principles and specific contemporary applications encourage students to move from Bible to contemporary times. A specific modern illustration then ties application vividly to present life. A brief prayer aids the student to commit his or her daily life to the principles and applications found in the Bible chapter being studied. For those still hungry for more, Deeper Discoveries takes the student into a more personal, deeper study of the words, phrases, and themes of God's Word. Finally, a teaching outline provides transitional statements and conclusions along with an outline to assist the teacher in group Bible studies.

It is the editors' prayer that this new resource for local church Bible teaching will enrich the ministry of group, as well as individual, Bible study, and that it will lead God's people truly to be people of the Book, living out what God calls us to be.