Matthew 12:15-21 Behold, My Servant
“But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
“Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,
My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.
He will not quarrel nor cry out,
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench,
Till He sends forth justice to victory;
And in His name Gentiles will trust.”
This is a direct quote from Isaiah 42:1-4, except that the last verses say” He will bring forth justice for truth. He will not fail nor be discouraged, Till He has established justice in the earth; And the coastlands shall wait for His law.”
What does Jesus know that causes him to go somewhere else? Matthew 12:14 explains what happens after Jesus heals the man with the withered hand in the synagogue where everybody can witness the Pharisees’ loss of face. “Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.” Jesus knows that eventually he is to die for the sins of the world; however, he also knows that his time has not yet come.
An old hymn starts out “Gentle Jesus, meek and mild…” Unfortunately, that might lead us to think that Jesus is a wimp, and nothing can be more wrong. Only truly powerful people can choose to be gentle; Jesus is choosing to be gentle so that he can minister to as many people as possible without frightening them away. Jesus warns the multitudes not to speak about him because he is interested in ministry, not publicity. Jesus is working under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, and the Holy Spirit works quietly much of the time.
In Isaiah 42, God describes the Messiah: “Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,
My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.” Jesus is ministering, knowing that his Heavenly Father is pleased with him. Even so, Jesus frequently resorts to long sessions of prayer to ensure that he is continuing to do the will of his Heavenly Father.
“He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench…” Throughout Jesus’ ministry, he avoids intimidating anyone who comes to him, even the Pharisees. The Pharisees are more than willing to attempt to intimidate; after all, they have been the religious experts for generations. The Pharisees flaunt their learning, their dedication to observing minute religious rules, their superior social status, and sometimes their wealth. Some of the Pharisees have such a narrow view of things that as someone has once said, “Their view is so narrow that they can look through a keyhole with both eyes.”
How weak is a bruised reed? Reeds are supple and can bend readily as long as they have not been injured, but once a reed has been bruised, it can easily break completely. The slightest rough handling can easily break a bruised reed. In Jesus’ day, wicks for oil lamps are sometimes made of flax. Flax that is smoldering is about to go out completely, unless someone fans it back into flame. Here God is telling us that the Messiah will be so gentle that he will restore those who are bruised and those whose spirits are so damaged that they are ready to give up on everything.
While Jesus might be gentle, what about those of us who claim to be his followers? Several years ago, we were in a church with a man who claimed to be an apologist and a defender of the faith. We rapidly realized that his idea of defending the faith was to seek out arguments with anybody who did not happen to share his peculiar beliefs and then to verbally assault them with scriptures to validate those beliefs and win the arguments. By the time we encountered this man, he had already attended several churches and had always left when he found their doctrines did not agree with his prejudices. When this man wanted to engage us in theological discussions, we begged off and avoided prolonged contact with him in the future. When we met this man, we had already served two terms on difficult mission fields and were somewhat thick-skinned emotionally. But what if we had been unbelievers seeking to know more about Jesus?
Now there are times when a harsh approach yields results. Part of my husband Bob’s testimony concerns the pushy Christian in a factory where he was working who kept telling him, “Bob, either you get the Lord in your life, or you’re going to hell!” One morning, my husband found himself turning around and asking this man, “How can I get the Lord in my life?” That was the day my husband accepted Jesus as his Savior. My husband was a no-nonsense US Navy veteran for whom a soft approach would not have worked. But the next Sunday Bob attended a church where they welcomed him by saying, “Oh, you’re Tink’s brother! We’ve been praying for you!” and began showing him the love of Christ. The people in that church knew how to nurture bruised reeds and how to fan smoking flax into flame. While the harsh approach got Bob’s attention, it was gentleness that developed his faith.
During part of my surgical training, I was going through a very difficult time. Every Sunday, one lady at church would hug me and ask how I was doing. There were times when hugging me must have felt like hugging a wooden fence post, but this lady persisted. Eventually, I began healing enough to hug her back. The memory of this lady’s encouragement has remained with me for more than 40 years.
If we claim to be disciples, are we willing to copy Jesus, or do we have some personal agenda? Do we minister in gentleness as Jesus did, or do we behave like the Pharisees? Do we pray with people to help them, or are we hoping for some juicy tidbit about which we can gossip? Are we allowing the Holy Spirit to work through us or is some other spirit controlling us? WARNING: If any other spirit is working in us apart from the Holy Spirit, it is from Satan!
PRAYER: Father God, thank You for loving us and for caring for us. Lord, help us to follow you all the days of our lives and to minister under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, lifting up those who are bruised and broken and encouraging those who are losing hope. In the mighty and precious Name of King Jesus. Amen.
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