A Gentle Savior

Good morning church family

It is good to be back with all of you after a few weeks off

I am in the process of finishing up my PhD dissertation which is shaping up to be about 350 pages in length

And so I am doing quite a bit of writing and weeks where I am out of the pulpit are weeks in which I can focus on writing

and so I am grateful for Brian Arnold a few weeks ago and for Pastor Ron last week filling in so that I could step away and get some writing done

But I love this church and I love the ministry of God’s word

And so I am very glad to be back with all of you this morning

And one other thing before we get started…

[Easter service childcare]

If you are a guest, my name is Stefan Wilson and I am the pastor of preaching here at Harvest

And we are in our series in the Gospel of Matthew

And this section of Matthew, in chapters 11-13, we are calling “Kingdoms Collide” because in these chapters Matthew is showing us that the coming of the Kingdom of God through Jesus Christ will collide with the kingdom of man

The Kingdom of God is the will of God and the work of God in the people of God for the glory of God

And it will collide with the kingdom of man that is always focused on self - My will, my work, my way, my glory

And in these chapters the truth of the kingdom of God is going to collide with those things in our lives that seek to compete with God’s will and God’s glory

And the demand that these chapters will make on us is that we must repent of our ways and embrace God’s way for our lives as his people

[Hook] Now, before we get to the text I think it is worth pausing for a moment and considering what we so often give most of our attention to when it comes to Jesus

I think that as Christians we do a good job of talking about what Jesus has done

He lived a sinless life that we cannot live

He died on the cross in our place, to pay the price for sin that we owed

He rose from the grave, conquering sin and death

And he offers to us eternal life by faith in him

But I think we often struggle to think well about… and believe… what Scripture says Jesus feels toward us

I think that if many of us were honest, we would say that Jesus thinks about us much the same way that we think about ourselves

Disappointed

And we are grateful for the forgiveness of our sin that he offers, but we tend to think that he offers it reluctantly… obligated to forgive, though he would just rather not have to deal with us.

This is why for so many of us, when we fall into hardship or we fall into sin… We hide from him

Because we are disappointed and so we think he is disappointed too.

When we do this, we are projecting onto Jesus ideas and thoughts that Matthew is going to show us are the furthest thing from Jesus.

Because in Matt. 12:15-21, Matthew is going to give us a very clear picture of Jesus as “A Gentle Savior”

So would you turn in your Bibles to Matt. 12 so that we can all see it together.

And this morning, we would do well to remember what Jesus said in chapter 11 v. 29 that he is “gentle and lowly of heart”

And we are going to be given a picture of what that looks like in our passage this morning

And it is should be an encouragement to our hearts

So let’s give these words our full attention.

Matthew 12:15–21 “Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: ‘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. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; and in his name the Gentiles will hope.’”

These are God’s words for us as his people - May we have ears to hear them and hearts to obey them.

Big Idea: The gentleness of Christ restores the weak [8:00]

The context of this passage is immediately following the comment of v. 14

Matthew 12:14 “But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him.”

The kingdom of God has collided so hard with the kingdom of men that now the religious elite are done listening… their hearts are hardened toward Christ… and they want to destroy him.

And the response of Christ in our passage this morning reveals the gentleness of his heart that restores the weak.

[Bridge Question] What does Jesus do that shows his gentleness?

And we are going to see two truths that Jesus reveals about himself in these verses

And so if you are taking notes, we will say “The Gentle Savior reveals…” and then we will see these two truths that Jesus reveals about his gentleness that restores the weak…

So first…

The Gentle Savior Reveals:

His Humility (15-16) [9:00]

The pharisees are planning to destroy Jesus

That is a word that can mean “ruin”, or “to keep from obtaining something”

They want to stop him from doing what he is doing any more

And what we will see later in the Gospel is that they will stop at nothing to destroy him.

Now, I want you to think for a moment of how our current culture would encourage you to respond if you found out that someone was planning harm against you

They are smearing your reputation

They are spreading rumors

They are intentionally undermining you or plotting against you

And the encouragement that we often here is…

Fight back

Assert your dominance

Defend yourself

Strike first… or strike back.

That is the response of the person who is living for self - I need to protect my image or my status or my position and so I will stop at nothing to prevent you from taking that away from me.

But that is not how Jesus responds

He withdraws… He shows restraint… He sets his focus elsewhere

Not because he is afraid, but because he is not going to get tied up in something that is going to take him off the mission.

His mission was to bring the kingdom of God to earth through his life, death, and resurrection

And getting tied up in other people’s thoughts about him will only get in the way

He doesn’t spend his time being a comment section warrior, arguing with everyone

So he doesn’t go there - He goes elsewhere - And where he goes advances the mission of the kingdom

Matthew 12:15 “And many followed him, and he healed them all.”

Notice, Jesus doesn’t get tied up in conflict - And many are healed

And this should confront us as a church - How often we defend ourselves and seek out conflict to preserve our reputation or to prove ourselves right

And in doing so we neglect the very mission of God in front of us.

I used to teach apologetics (DEFINE)

And what I found so often was that my students wanted to know the reasons why Christianity is true so they could win arguments

And I would tell them: The goal is not to win the argument - It is to win the person

If you are more concerned with being right, you will neglect that person’s need for Christ

Church family: Your mission in this world is not to be right…

Your mission in this world is to be faithful

And the humility of a gentle savior shows us what faithfulness looks like

Not being afraid of conflict - But prioritizing the advancement of the kingdom of God

And it is worth noting v. 16

Matthew 12:16 “and [he] ordered them not to make him known.”

At face value this seems strange

But it makes sense when we understand the misconception that the people had about who Jesus was

The people in Israel were waiting for a coming king who would set them free as was promised in the Old Testament

But the form that they thought it would take would be a political king who would kick the Romans out of Israel

And John tells us that Jesus knows what is in the hearts of people

And his ordering them to not make him known is Jesus saying that he cares nothing about an earthly throne

Again, the humility of the gentle savior is on display

He does not need fan-fair and pomp and circumstance and a parade to welcome him

The kingdom he brings is not one of popularity

He brings a kingdom that is not of this world - It collides with this world

Which means it will be embraced differently than kingdoms of this world as well.

So it is worth pausing and asking: How have you and I allowed pride and self-promotion to get in the way of the kingdom of God in our lives?

In a world of social media and platforms and self-promotion, we are ignorant to think we are unaffected

And if we are not careful, we will think that the kingdom of God will advance by building a platform and by seeking out fights with people

But the humility of Jesus as a gentle savior shows us another way - Stay faithful to the mission of God, rather than getting tied up in unnecessary affairs.

Now, Matthew does something in v. 17 that we need to recognize. He sets a scene in v. 15-16 and then he quotes a passage from Isaiah 42 to explain the scene.

So v. 15-16 tell us what happened, but the quotation of Isaiah 42 in v. 17-21 tell us why it happened

Which leads us to our second point…

The Gentle Savior reveals…

His Heart (17-21) [18:00]

You see in v. 17, Matthew tells us:

Matthew 12:17 “This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:”

Then he quotes Is. 42:1-4 of what the coming savior was going to be like and what he would do.

So this quotation of Isaiah essentially serves as a commentary on v. 15-16

And it reveals is the heart of Jesus behind his actions

And the fact that his heart is toward people

Jesus is not disconnected from his people

His heart is for us

He deals gently with us (Heb. 5:2)

He sympathizes with us (Heb. 4:15)

With joy he endured the cross for us (Heb. 12:2)

He advocates for us (1 Jn. 2:1)

He calls himself our friend (John 15:13-15)

He says that he came that we might have life abundantly in him (John 10:10)

The heart of the gentle savior is for us

And Jesus’ fulfillment of Is. 42 tells us three ways that his heart is for us

Three ways that his heart works itself out toward us for our benefit…

First… his heart is for…

Our restoration (18-19) [20:00]

Look at v. 18

Matthew 12:18 “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.”

In the Old Testament, when someone was set apart for a particular role, they would be anointed upon the head with oil

The oil would flow from their head and cover their body and this designated this person as being set apart for God’s purposes

And Isaiah is using this anointing language, but it will not be with oil that the coming savior will be anointed, but with the spirit of God

He will be set apart for the purposes of God by the very Spirit of God

And what is that purpose?

To proclaim justice to the nations

That word “gentile” is the Greek word for nations - A gentile is anyone who is not Jewish, which would include the entire world

And God is saying through the prophet Isaiah, “The purpose for which Jesus is set apart is for the proclamation of justice to the whole world.”

Now, given the past decade in our country and discussion of “justice”… we hear “justice” and we might think of it in the social sense - Equality, equity, inclusion… all of those terms get wrapped up by our current society into that term “justice”

But this word in Greek here in Matthew and its counterpart in the Hebrew of Is. 42 is the word for legal judgment, justice in a court setting.

Here is the reality that all of the world lives in:

Because of our sin, and our rebellion against God’s way and our pursuit of our own way, we stand guilty before God and rightly deserving of condemnation

And because of our sin, we are cut off from God and are unable to enjoy the life that God intends for us - Living in his presence according to his way and thriving as a result

Instead the world is the very opposite of thriving precisely because we are cut off from a right relationship with God

This is the true message of reality:

There is a God

The world is broken because it has rejected him

We will only be made right with God when we embrace the savior of the world

And because Jesus’ heart is for our restoration, he gently calls us to himself

Look at v. 19

Matthew 12:19 “He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;”

The way of Jesus is not to pick fights and be obnoxious…

He is not interested in fighting with those who don’t want him

Instead, his heart is to call to those who are broken and to show how they can receive the justice of God now

At the cross of Christ, he took on himself the sin that we were guilty of

He paid the penalty for our sin

And any who come to him by faith receive true justice - The forgiveness of their sins

Jesus does not declare judgment and justice so that we might be destroyed - He declares it that we might be restored to God

Perhaps you are here today and you have been living your own way

Jesus calls to you from his word to turn to him that you might be restore to God

And live how you were made to live - God’s way

Perhaps you are here today and you have turned to Jesus, but the world tempts you and you are prone to run to it

Jesus calls to you from his word to come back and be restored anew to the God who delivered you from sin

Regardless of who you are, Jesus heart is for you to be restored - Set free from your sin and set free to live for the kingdom of God.

Second… his heart is for…

Our Healing (20) [27:00]

Look with me at v. 20

Matthew 12:20 “a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench…”

If you go out to a field, or maybe the shore of a lake… You know, if you happened to find yourself in a state that actually has water…

You see long blades of grass that sway in the wind…

And when one is bruised… when it has been damaged… that slightest breeze will break it.

The image is of something that has been damaged and is on the brink of being completely broken.

And there are two things that will bruise us in this life

Our circumstances

Our sin

There are things in life that weighs so heavily upon us that we do not know how we will make it another day

There are people in this room who are facing circumstances that they would never have chosen… Yet here you are.

And those circumstances have damaged you beyond what you thought possible

There are others in this room who have pursued sin and the consequences and the guilt of that sin are now weighing on you in such a way that your very life is being drained from you

And our sin and our circumstances reveal the fact that we are weak

We are tossed to and fro, blown so easily by every wind, deceived easily

We think, “I shouldn’t be struggling like this”

But we do, because the truth is that you and I were made to depend on God

And when we live like we don’t need him, our weakness exposes itself.

And life beats us up and bruises us

Let me just stop and ask: Is that you today?

Are you beat up by life?

Are you beat down by your sin?

Are you feeling the crushing affects of the brokenness of our world and the brokenness of your life?

If that is you, listen to me: Jesus will not be the one to break you.

He won’t crush you further

He won’t land the knockout blow.

The truth is that you and I are not strong enough to overcome this world

But there is one who has overcome the world and his power is made perfect in our weakness

And when we are confronted with our weakness and brokenness

And when we feel crushed by the weights of life and our sin

And we respond by running to Jesus

He will bring healing to our weary hearts

This is why 300 years ago, Richard Sibbs wrote, “There is more mercy in Christ than sin in us…”

Church family: His mercy won’t run out… so run to him in your weakness and find the healing that he provides.

v. 20 also gives us the image of a smoldering wick

When you light a candle, it burned bright, but if you let it burn long enough… it will go out

But the wick still smokes for a bit

Though there is not flame, there is still heat

The image is meant to communicate the idea of someone whose faith once burned bright, but at present there is hardly anything there.

Your doubts have crept in

Your life has caused you to question God’s goodness

Your flirtation with sin has caused your heart grow cold.

And if that is you, it is easy to think that Jesus is going to give up on you

You remember being on fire for Christ, but now you can barely even feel the heat of your smoldering faith…

If that is you… listen to me: The heart of Jesus is not to snuff you out

His heart is to nurse your faith to burn bright again

To bring new life to your dimly lit soul

To breath on the wick of your heart that it might burn bright again.

In both images - The bruised reed and the smoldering wick, the heart of Jesus is to bring healing

Are you beaten down? Run to Jesus for healing

Is your faith struggling? Run to Jesus for healing

He won’t be the one to crush you, but to nurse you to renewed strength in him

Because he is a gentle savior… and his heart for our healing.

Third… his heart is for…

Our Hope (20-21) [34:00]

There is an end goal for our restoration and our healing…

The victory that Christ will bring

Look again at v. 20

Matthew 12:20 “until he brings justice to victory;”

That justice from v. 18, being made right with God, will be brought to completion

It will have victory in our lives as God’s people

The hope that you and I have in this life is not that we are going to overcome our circumstances or that we are never going to struggle with sin ever again in this life

Our hope is that in the midst of our circumstances and in the midst of our fight against sin, Jesus will continue to provide the grace and the care that we need for each day

Until that day when we see him face-to-face in eternity

The justice that Jesus brings in making us right with God is not only a reality for yesterday and today, but will preserve us every day until the last day

There will never be a day when the circumstances of life will win

There will never be a day when the sin that you fight against will overcome you

Instead, the hope that we have is that “he who begin a good work in you is faithful to complete it” until the day that he returns

Because Jesus is a gentle savior, his heart is for our hope and our hope is that he will finish the work that he began in us.

And this is not just true for a room full of people in Phoenix, AZ in 2026

This hope is available to the whole world

Look at v. 21

Matthew 12:21 “and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

Remember: Gentiles refers to the nations, to the rest of the world.

The apostles said in Acts 4:12 “And there is salvation in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given among men by which we must be saved.”

The name of Jesus Christ is the only name in which we have hope

And it the only name in which our neighbors and the nations will have hope

We have to be actively aware of those who don’t know Jesus and we have to see our place in their lives as the ones to bring that hope

I just talked about being a bruised reed…

And listen… So is your neighbor {EXPAND]

As a church that is faithful to God’s mission and as we talk about “Mission: Go” as a church…

It has to start with us recognizing that Gospel people go to people with the Gospel

And it very simple how you can be a voice of hope for them

Pray - Care - Share

Pray that God would show you who in your life is without hope and in desperate need of Jesus

Then go to that person and care for them

Then look for an opportunity to share the hope that can only be found in Jesus

They are beat down by their own sin and circumstances… and you can go to them and say, “I walked through something similar… Let me tell you how the mercy of Jesus changed everything.”

When you and I have encountered the heart of Jesus, it should compel us to share the truth of his heart with the bruised reeds and smoldering wicks that God has placed around us.

Because he is a gentle savior and his heart is for our hope and for the hope of the whole world.

Conclusion [38:00]

I hope that in these few verses we have seen very clearly the gentleness of Christ.

He is not harsh toward us, but gentle.

He has shown us his humility to remain focused on the mission, rather than being distracted by those who oppose him.

He has shown us his heart, that he desires our restoration, our healing, and our hope

And if you feel weak today… take heart in the fact that the gentleness of Christ restores the weak.

And in him we will find rest for our weary souls.

Amen.

Communion

It is good for us to now remember why it is that we can be confident that he will deal gently with us, as we remember his broken body and shed blood for our sake by partaking in the bread and the cup.

As we talked about a while back, the bread and the cup is more than just a symbol… it is the means by which we are assured of our union with Christ

This is ordinary bread and ordinary juice

Nothing special happens to these elements

It is the Holy Spirit’s presence in us and in our midst that makes this an extraordinary means of grace for us

Don’t mock the cross

Ongoing sin

Ongoing conflict

Directions in the room

Gluten Free Option

EXTENDED TIME OF REFLECTION ON HOW JESUS GENTLENESS MEETS US IN OUR BROKENNESS