Yahweh’s Chosen Servant

Adoration

Confession

Thanksgiving

Message

Matthew 12:15–21 ESV

15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all 16 and ordered them not to make him known. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: 18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; 20 a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; 21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

In order to understand the significance of what Matthew tells us in Matthew 12:15-21, we must not miss what took place in Matthew 12:1-14.

Matthew 12:2 ESV

2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, “Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.”

The Pharisee’s concern with what Jesus and His disciples were doing revolved around the lawfulness of work.

The problem is that they had so exalted their own traditions that they no longer understood what God actually demanded from them.

Matthew 12:3–5 ESV

3 He said to them, “Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him: 4 how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the Presence, which it was not lawful for him to eat nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? 5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless?

Jesus picks up on two situations of people “doing what is not lawful” (Matt 12:2).

The first situation is from 1 Samuel 21:1-6 when David was on the run from Saul and was fed and sustained by the temple.

The second is of the priest’s eating the showbread on the Sabbath (Num. 28:9, 10).

Jesus’ Authority over the Sabbath because He is the New David

David was Israel’s Anointed king over them.

Yet even when he was in need, Ahimelech fed him from the bread of the presence.

If it was good enough for David, who was Yahweh’s Anointed.

How much more for the Greater Anointed One who has come?

Matthew 12:5–6 ESV

5 Or have you not read in the Law how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless? 6 I tell you, something greater than the temple is here.

Jesus’ Authority over the Sabbath because He is the New Temple

Jesus is saying that just like David and the priests were not guilty for eating from the temple on the Sabbath, He argues that His desire for “mercy, not sacrifice” (Matt 12:7) is greater than temple.

The priests are commanded every week to work and labor on the Sabbath, yet they are guiltless.

The NIV Grace and Truth Study Bible Chapter 12

Also, since the law required the priests in their duties to God to work on the Sabbath, God made allowances within the law.

The law was meant to serve the people of God.

But the Pharisee’s were coming to the law to bring them life.

The Son of Man is Lord even over the Sabbath.

Matthew 12:7–8 ESV

7 And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the guiltless. 8 For the Son of Man is lord of the Sabbath.”

Jesus’ Authority over the Sabbath because He is the Lord of the Sabbath

Jesus just declared to them that He is greater than David (a beloved Patriarch), the temple (the center of their worship), and was the Lord who presided over the Sabbath (the One who determines what’s appropriate on the Sabbath).

One time, while I was growing up still at home.

My brother’s car was broken.

I was tasked with picking up a part he needed.

I didn’t get home till after 2 am and I knew my brother needed the car in the morning.

Now, if you’ve ever worked on a car you know that sometimes things don’t go as well as you’d hope.

In true fashion, I ended up breaking my brother’s car worse than it was broken before.

So there I was 2 o’clock in the morning sitting on the shop floor of my parent’s garage.

Hopeless.

Expectations are a powerful thing.

My brother expected me to come home and bring him the part on time, only to be woken by his car, broken worse than he expected.

I expected to be able to go and fix the car and see my brother glad with the repair.

And sometimes when we have great expectation the despair and disappointment can drive a person to being filled with hopelessness.

The hopelessness that only comes with the sinking pit in the bottom of your gut that is more felt than explained.

You know people can find their selves in that position.

Even Christians, who know the Lord, and have walked with him for many years can find themselves hopeless.

How does a Christian get out of a position of hopelessness?

I would argue the most sure fired way of getting yourself out of a position of hopelessness is to know the character of Christ.

That you would know the character of Christ.

So deeply.

So truly.

That your hope is fully set upon Him.

Matthew 12:15–16 ESV

15 Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all 16 and ordered them not to make him known.

Matthew tells us that Jesus was aware of the hostility they had toward Him.

Matthew 12:14 ESV

14 But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.

Which makes sense because of the claims that He just made.

He withdrew from the religious leaders, but many of the crowds continued to come after Him.

They would even continue to speak of Him amongst themselves but He commanded that they not speak of Him.

Jesus “sternly warned” the crowds to not speak of all that He was doing.

Why would Jesus command they be silent about Him? Shouldn’t He want the world to know about Himself?

We have said before in Matthew that Jesus commanded the crowds to be silent about Him because it would have created a mob around Him.

He was healing every person who touched Him.

He was casting out demons.

He was demonstrating that the Kingdom of God had come near.

Matthew 12:17 ESV

17 This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:

Jesus as Yahweh’s Chosen Servant.

Matthew tells us that Jesus “healed them all” and commanded silence to fulfill what the prophet Isaiah had written.

We have seen this over and again throughout Matthew’s gospel that his desire as one of the evangelist’s is to show the fulfillment of Jesus from the Old Testament.

If we do not understand the OT, then it will be difficult or almost impossible to understand who Jesus is in the NT.

Matthew 12:18 ESV

18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen…

Jesus as the Father’s Chosen Servant

Matthew gives the largest OT quotation we find in Scripture in Isaiah 42:1-9.

The concept of a “servant of Yahweh” is loaded in the OT.

Moses is referred to as a servant of Yahweh.

David was a servant of Yahweh.

Many other figures after them.

Throughout the book of Isaiah though, Yahweh says that Israel is His servant.

Isaiah 41:8–9 ESV

8 But you, Israel, my servant, Jacob, whom I have chosen, the offspring of Abraham, my friend; 9 you whom I took from the ends of the earth, and called from its farthest corners, saying to you, “You are my servant, I have chosen you and not cast you off”

Israel is a servant of Yahweh.

Isaiah predicted that a future king would establish justice in the earth (Isaiah 9:6-7) and here we see this Kingly figure spoken of again.

The servant’s ministry will bring forth “justice to the nations” which Israel was called and failed in.

Israel was called to bring justice to the nations.

Israel was called to reflect Yahweh’s character and glory to the nations.

But they failed.

Isaiah 44:9 ESV

9 All who fashion idols are nothing, and the things they delight in do not profit. Their witnesses neither see nor know, that they may be put to shame.

Isaiah 44:21 ESV

21 Remember these things, O Jacob, and Israel, for you are my servant; I formed you; you are my servant; O Israel, you will not be forgotten by me.

Yahweh charges Israel to remember who made her.

She is not her own, but she has been formed from Him.

Idolatry says,

“I can form my own god in my image.”

But Yahweh says,

“I have formed you in My Image!”

Although Israel is referred to as Yahweh’s servant.

Here the servant language seems to be applied to a particular Israelite.

Commentary on the New Testament Use of the Old Testament Matthew 12:18–21

“God’s servant Israel failed in its mission (42:18–19), so God chose one person within Israel to restore the rest of his people (49:5–7); this one would bear the punishment (cf. 40:2) rightly due his people (52:13–53:12).”

Jesus is this servant of Yahweh that has come to usher in His kingdom in all the earth (Matthew 12:15-21).

Matthew 12:18 ESV

18 “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.

Jesus as the Father’s Beloved Servant

Matthew already told us earlier in Matthew 4:17…

Matthew 3:17 ESV

“This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”

The Father has already said this of the Son.

But now we’re seeing the fulfillment of this beloved status taking full bloom.

The delight of the Father has already rested in the person of the Son.

There is a remarkable uniqueness in the Son of God because He has always been embraced in the love of the Father.

Hopelessness in Facing Rejection

For many, there is great despair when a person senses rejection from someone they love.

Someone they expected to care for them.

Someone they expected to be there for them.

What that person needs in their greatest moment of despair and hopelessness is to remember a text like this.

Since Jesus is the father’s beloved, all those who trust in him share that beloved status.

Psalm 27:10 ESV

10 For my father and my mother have forsaken me, but the Lord will take me in.

Romans 8:35 ESV

35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword?

Romans 8:37–39 ESV

37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

Think about what this does for you, there is no amount of rejection this world could bring you that could break that.

Matthew 12:18 ESV

I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.

Jesus as the Spirit-empowered Servant

Servants, prophets, and kings all were given a small measure of the Spirit throughout the OT.

They were empowered for a time to fulfill their office.

But the promise of the Father through the prophet Isaiah and picked up here by Matthew is that One would come who as John says…

John 3:34 ESV

34 For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure.

Jesus was the One who possessed the Spirit of God without measure.

Isaiah 11:1–2 ESV

1 There shall come forth a shoot from the stump of Jesse, and a branch from his roots shall bear fruit. 2 And the Spirit of the Lord shall rest upon him, the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and might, the Spirit of knowledge and the fear of the Lord.

For a Jew to read of Isaiah’s prophecy, they would have in their mind a political ruler that would execute justice by destroying his enemies and establishing righteousness through purity and all the rest.

With the great example of this in a story that took place during the second temple period.

If any of you are familiar with the festival of Hanukkah..

The Greeks were reigning over the people of Israel when a man named Judas Maccabeus stood up and began to demand purity.

He went all through the land of Judea and circumcised, every uncircumcised Jew.

He also fought and liberated the temple from the Greeks.

This would’ve been the kind of political leader.

The Jews would’ve been expecting.

And it is utterly shocking the kind of justice that Jesus brought.

He’s the Gentle Servant.

Matthew 12:19–21 ESV

19 He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; 20 a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench…

But Matthew tells us the kind of savior that Jesus is one who is quiet.

He has not come to be lifted up as a king in the way that they expected it.

He has come as the gentle and lowly Savior.

How is Jesus the gentle servant of Yahweh?

This text describes Jesus’s gentleness first by not breaking a bruised reed and second by not quenching a smoking flax.

What is a bruised reed?

A reed is something that is found in marshy areas.

Something like that of a cattail.

If you’ve ever played with a cattail around a pond, you’d know the type of feel a reed has.

They’re hollow and easily damaged.

If a Reed is damaged, it will bend over and they’re unable to stand.

Jesus is so gentle that even reeds that have been bruised.

He will not break.

What is a smoking flax?

Think of a smoldering wick on a candle.

There is still some semblance of fire but more smoke than fire.

What does all of this have to do for us?

God does not use hardened oak trees, rather he uses broken reeds.

He delights to use broken reeds because it makes His power look great.

If He only used hardened oak trees, than people may begin to think that there is some strength in us.

But He delights to bear with the broken reeds.

The weak, the lowly, and those who are insufficient in themselves.

A smoking wick is really in a terrifying position.

If the fire represents faith, the smoke shows that the fire is going out.

Worse yet, the fear of that it may be darkened forever.

Christians can find themselves in these types of positions.

Wounded emotionally, spiritually, and even physically.

Weak and weary Christian, our Lord will not quench a smoking wick.

Our Lord will not quench those whom he has loved from before the foundations of the world.

He will not quench and snuff out his children.

Like Jesus spoke to the invalid at Bethesda in John 5:6

John 5:6 ESV

6 When Jesus saw him lying there and knew that he had already been there a long time, he said to him…

Nobody was around him.

Everyone had forsaken him.

Jesus came near to him.

John 5:6 ESV

“Do you want to be healed?”

John 5:8 ESV

8 Jesus said to him, “Get up, take up your bed, and walk.”

I wanna say something too to you stronger Christians.

You Christians who may be aren’t as sensitive and conscience.

You Christians who firmly trust Christ and are assured of your walk with him.

I want to remind you that we have an obligation to bear with those who are weaker.

Romans 15:1–3 ESV

1 We who are strong have an obligation to bear with the failings of the weak, and not to please ourselves. 2 Let each of us please his neighbor for his good, to build him up. 3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

The command is for those who are strong to bear with the failings of the weak.

Those who are weak in faith need to be cared for by the strong.

This is because Christ not pleasing Himself but seeking our benefit.

Romans 15:3 ESV

3 For Christ did not please himself, but as it is written, “The reproaches of those who reproached you fell on me.”

“When God was merciful to us, we learned to be merciful with one another. When we received forgiveness instead of judgment, we too were made ready to forgive each other. What God did to us, we then owed to others.

The more we received, the more we were able to give; and the more meager our love for one another, the less we were living by God’s mercy and love. Thus God taught us to encounter one another as God has encountered us in Christ.” —Life Together

Even to the point of saying that everything written in former days was written for our instruction.

This does not mean just pandering after every sensitivity they may have.

But truly bearing with their sufferings.

We bear with the smoking wicks because our Lord has bore with us.

He has been gentle among us.

And if he won’t quench the smoking wick, how dare us think that we should?

He’s the Justice Bearing Servant.

Matthew 12:19–21 ESV

20 a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory…

Jesus is the justice bearing servant.

The concept of “justice” or “judgment” means giving to others what they deserve.

The World as a Bruised Reed

See every individual is like that bruised reed.

Everybody is fragile and we are bruised.

We live in a broken world.

If I went out on the street and started preaching about the brokenness of our world, people would shout, “Amen!”

But just because there is brokenness, doesn’t mean that it all goes in the same direction.

Unbelievers and believers are broken in similar ways.

But often when an unbeliever is broken in this world they will say,

“When is God going to bring justice?!”

With a heart that truly just wants vindictive judgment.

“When is God going to come and judge all this wickedness?!”

Now on the surface those questions are well and good for a Christian to wrestle with.

But the heart may be bent toward vindictiveness.

Now we need to be very careful here because Christians should never want unmediated justice.

This is because if we were given on mediated justice, that would mean you and I would get what we deserve.

And the bad news of the gospel is that we deserve death.

We deserve Hell.

We deserve separation with God.

But the beautiful thing about the justice that Jesus has come to bring, is that the penalty that was laid upon the son of God was the punishment deserved for you and I.

And for the Christian justice has been done once and we wait for our vindication of this judgement.

As the Father’s chosen, beloved, Spirit-empowered servant, Jesus brings justice to bear as the gentle servant of Yahweh to you.

Matthew 12:20–21 ESV

20 a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; 21 and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

Benediction

Romans 15:5–7 ESV

5 May the God of endurance and encouragement grant you to live in such harmony with one another, in accord with Christ Jesus, 6 that together you may with one voice glorify the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ. 7 Therefore welcome one another as Christ has welcomed you, for the glory of God.