Bruised Reeds and Smoldering Wicks

Introduction

We cannot come to God with sincerity if we don’t come to him with a recognition of our own weakness. Our limitations are great, our strength is small, our power is nonexistent, and our life is but a vapour and a shadow. We are powerless in the weakness of our body and powerless in the weakness of our sin. When we want to make an impression before others, we want to show off our strengths and abilities and minimize our weaknesses. However, when we come to God, we come without any pretense of strength. God knows you through and through. He knows your weaknesses better than you do. He sees you naked and alone, without your displays of ability and shows of power. You cannot show God your best side when he knows your worst intimately.

When we come to God as lowly and broken, we can have assurance that Christ comes to us with gentleness and compassion. The Servant spoken of by the Prophet Isaiah and reiterated by the Apostle Matthew is Jesus Christ and he stands there receiving us at our worst, not to break us and finish us off, but through our humble coming in faith to be transformed by his work as he mercifully deals with the bruised and smoldering.

Who are the Reeds and Wicks?

We have already seen how Jesus came, not for those who were spiritually healthy, but for those who were sick and sinful and knew it. He did not come for the wise in this world, but for children. He came to call the burdened and heavy laden, and to give a true Sabbath rest to his people.

Now let us take some time to zoom into this most famous and comforting saying of Jesus. In this section of the text we have seen two themes running side by side. First, that Jesus came not as a judge in his incarnation, but as a Saviour. A conqueror, not of the strength of men, but of the hearts of the lowly. Second, that Jesus’ ministry is contradicted by those who claim to serve God. A hostility grows to the point where they are planning to kill Jesus. As we saw last week, Jesus responds to this threat by secluding himself and allowing himself to simply be followed by those who had faith enough to do so. These he healed, showing us that we must come out of the unbelieving world to come into a saving knowledge of Christ.

Hebrews 13:13–14 ESV

Therefore let us go to him outside the camp and bear the reproach he endured. For here we have no lasting city, but we seek the city that is to come.

Instead of violently and vengefully facing his enemies, the Christ takes his ministry into a quiet place for those to come who believe. Now, I want to focus on how he treats those who come to him. Is he like an impatient doctor who just can’t wait to get you out of his office so he can go home? Or he is gentle, patient, and loving in his approach? Indeed, he is a gentle Saviour, and that is what this metaphor tells us.

Two metaphors are mentioned when it comes to explaining how the servant of the Lord will deal with those he came to save. The first is that he will not break a bruised reed, and the second is that he will not quench a smoldering wick.

A reed is not a strong thing to begin with. It is hardly stronger than grass and is easily broken. A bruised reed is damaged. It’s cracked and its head droops because it does not have the stability to stand upright. Only a few fibers hold the top from tragically falling off. Our attention is brought to how the servant will not so much as break this thing. Two observations may be taken out of this.

First, the reed is weak and near to destruction. It can barely hold its own weight. The picture is not one of the servant helping someone who is just a little short on their abilities, they are absolutely powerless to help themselves. They are on the edge, at the end of themselves, and the smallest force will destroy it.

Second, the servant is extremely gentle with it. One may easily break a bruised reed if they are not careful, but Christ is careful with those who are bruised and near to being broken, and he will not be the one to push that weak one over the edge. In applying this to Christ, again we see emphasized the gentle attitude that Jesus has towards the weak. He is so gentle he will not even break a weak piece of grass. Is this how you view Christ? As gentle, as one who is careful with that which is fragile? Do you see him as one who is careful not to break you but rather to shape you and mold you into his image? Jesus is not rough with you, he is not hard with you, he doesn’t push you around carelessly. Jesus handles you, if you are lowly in heart, with the gentle care of the most fragile china. If you are repentant, Christ picks you up with delicate care. And to what end? What does he plan to do with a broken reed? Surely to mend it, to make it so it is not bruised anymore. In fact, he means not only to heal the bruising, but to make that reed into a strong tree that can withstand the storm in his strength. This metaphor means nothing if it doesn’t mean that Jesus is Gentle to those who are weak and near to breaking.

The next metaphor speaks of a wick, or literally flax which was used in oil lamps as a wick in the ancient world. The image here is of a wick that is burning out, about to give off a last wisp of smoke and is certainly beyond giving any real source of light.

The negative action here is that the Servant will not quench the smoldering wick. This metaphor reinforces the gentleness that was introduced with the bruised reed, but goes even further by showing the care of the Messiah.

A smoldering wick is that little remnant of fire after the flame has been blown out. When you blow out a candle, the wick smolders for a few seconds, lettings a stream of smoke into the air, before it is finally extinguished. It is this, not even a flame but the last breaths of a dead flame, that Christ will not quench or smother.

Although not quite dead and cold, the smoldering wick is someone whose flame, strength, vigor, confidence, and ability are at a dying end. The wick of an oil lamp would only smolder if there was no oil left in the lamp, and so it is with these. They are acutely aware of their need for rejuvenation, for righteousness, for a heart that pleases God, but and they painfully aware that they are empty of all that makes these things a reality. They hunger and thirst for righteousness because they know that if they are not filled with the righteousness of another, they will so die out because there is no oil of godliness in themselves to keep the flame burning. If simply left alone, the ember will quickly die by itself. It needs no one to quench it.

So what is this saying about the Servant? Is he simply being idle while the smolder is slowly put out by the simple lack of flame? No. To say he will not quench the smoldering wick is as much as to say he will not let such a wick be quenched and that he will do what is in his power to keep the smolder hot, and to awaken in it a flame once again.

Once again, we see the care of the Servant for these wick and easily destroyed things. Our strength in ourselves is viewed as weakness, as easy to break in the grand scheme of things as a spiders web, a dry leaf, or a bubble. Such things pass without the slightest thought or even effort, in fact it takes effort to keep these things from their inevitable demise. This the servant does and in this the Christ shows his greatest strength, not through great feats of might, but through his exercise of the power to preserve that which is weak and dying.

The Servant’s Victory

Consider carefully the attitude towards weak and lowly sinners that Christ has. He aims to help especially those who are bruised and about to break, smoldering and about to be extinguished. His power is manifested in a gentle blowing on the dying wick and a filling up of the oil until it is fanned into flame, and a delicate binding of the reed until it is as strong as a redwood. Indeed, the power and glory of God is most known when that which would naturally perish is preserved while that which boasts of great strength is cut down. It pleases our God to show his strength in Christ, not by outperforming the strong in this world, but by raising up the weak to a place of divine strength.

In this way, victory is achieved in the most unlikely way, and this brings God the most glory. We read “until he brings justice to victory.” This is something of a paraphrase to the original, which says, “he will faithfully bring forth justice.” It emphasizes that Jesus has come to be the ultimate force of justice in the world and to bring about the victory of justice. He does this through the gentleness with which he comes. Again, we would expect one who comes to bring justice to victory to be a little more forceful, to carry a great sword with which to punish evil and destroy the wicked. He will indeed do this, but his first step towards the victory of justice is not a great sweep with his sword, but rather with a gentle touch to the lowly.

So we see that true, godly justice first concerns itself with mercy before wrath. Both are a necessary part of justice, but mercy comes first. Otherwise, we should all be swept away in the wrath of God’s justice. But justice comes first with mercy, and mercy for the lowly, those who humbly bring themselves before God with hearts full of repentance and faith in the work of Christ. On the Cross, the Servant would bring justice to victory by taking on the wrath of God himself, taking the sins of his people on his own shoulders and being the substitution for their sins. Justice comes with mercy. Mercy does not overcome justice and win over it, but rather works with it to display both love and justice in the saving of the broken and heavy-hearted in this world. The bruised reed, bruised by its own guilt and shame, is bound up with the very flesh of Christ, and the dying lamp is filled with the oil of his own precious blood so that it will never die out. Jesus is a God who can crush the most powerful oppressor and destroy the proudest heart with sovereign power and righteous anger, and yet he is so gentle as to keep the bruised and broken from falling to their inevitable doom. Such is the love and power of God as revealed in his servant Jesus Christ.

Conclusion: Our Attitude Towards Christ and Being Like Him

So, what should we say of these things? How does this gentle-handed nature of Christ affect us? In many great ways.

First, it makes the Gospel a message that resonates with those who are weak and at the end of themselves. To those who are beyond their own ability, who are convicted of their sin and depravity and put no trust in their own goodness. Again we are reminded that it is the poor in spirit, the mourning, and the hungry and thirsty for righteousness that are filled and receive the Kingdom of God. The Gospel will always be the best news in the world to those who are broken hearted, and irrelevant to those who see themselves as doing just fine. You must break before you are mended, and Christ will often crush a proud heart in order to make a pure heart from the broken pieces. Do not be discouraged in your discouragement, do not think you have gone too far for God’s grace, do not be discouraged that your sins are too great for mercy to be shown. If you are broken in heart, Christ will do no more to break you, but is there to heal you.

Perhaps you are discouraged because you are not broken enough. In such cases, often our discouragement at not being low enough is a lowliness in itself. Our lack of tears can bring us to tears, and our hardness of heart can be the thing that breaks our heart. In any case, do not be afraid to mourn and weep in such a state, for when your laughter is turned to mourning, your mourning will be turned to joy.

James 4:8–10 ESV

Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.

Second, though we are discouraged when we come to Christ, let us not let that discouragement fester into hopelessness and despair.

202   If Christ be so merciful as not to break me, I will not break myself by despair, nor yield myself over to the roaring lion, Satan, to break me in pieces.

Richard Sibbes

Do not settle yourself in the swamp of guilt, or give up in the bog of shame. Your God does not condemn you if you have come to Christ in faith, so do not let your heart condemn you either. While it is good to be lowly in heart and come to Christ with a broken spirit, we must remember that his work is to bind up the broken and heal the bruised. It is to fill the empty and wipe the tears of those in mourning. So while I encourage you to lower your hearts before the Lord so that you may receive the grace of Christ, I do not want you to stay broken and dejected, but rather to come with your broken heart to one who will heal it and give you confidence and help to lift you up. Let the peace and love of Christ lift you up and exalt you in the midst of your weakness.

Third, let us remember to have this same attitude towards one another that Christ has towards the weak. See in what way Christ gently lifts the bruised and the burnt out. Now see the way he has called you to walk as he walked. If Christ is to be so gentle a Saviour, it surely means that we are all to be of the same gentle disposition towards one another.

Galatians 6:1 ESV

Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted.

We are never to leave sin unchecked in the church, but we are called to deal with it in a spirit of gentleness, because this is how Christ deals with sin in us. He does not condemn or chide, but he also does not let the sin go on unrepented of. Instead, he gently yet faithfully works in us the will and the means to leave that sin behind and pursue righteousness in his name. Let this be our rule, as Christ has treated me, so I will treat my fellow sinner saved by grace. As he has forgiven me, I will forgive. As he has loved me, I will love. As he has confronted me about my sin, so I will confront my brothers and sisters. As he did it with gentleness and kindness, so I will be gentle and kind in my dealings with my fellow Christians. This is how we embody Christ to one another.

Finally, let us also approach the lost world we live in with the heart of Christ, the Servant of the Lord. Just as Christ came into the world to save the low and keep the smoldering wick from burning out, let us go into the world with the hope of the Gospel for the lost. The proud will not receive it, the self-righteous will not hear it, but when we come across the low, the meek, the poor in heart, the mourning, and shameful, the guilty, and convicted, the sinner who knows they are a sinner and doesn’t see a way out, then we have found just the kind of people that God raises up to be his.