Matthew 12:15-21

Introduction

English Standard Version Chapter 12

God’s Chosen Servant

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.”

Up to this point in chapters 11 and 12 we’ve seen a varied set of responses to Jesus’ ministry. At first it was the inquiry of John the Baptist and his disciples, then it was Jesus’ indictment against the people of Chorazin, Bethsaida, and Capernaum for their lack of repentance, and then it was the Pharisees who’s growing hatred toward Jesus has recently resulted in their conspiring against him, in order to destroy him.

But this week Matthew reminds us of God’s approval toward Jesus and his ministry despite Israel’s growing rejection of him. While so many have rejected him, remained indifferent, refused to repent, or simply remained unconvinced of Jesus’ identity Matthew drops verses 15-21 here for us. He gives us God’s assessment of Jesus and his ministry, and he does so by quoting from the prophet Isaiah.

What does God think about Jesus?

This is the heart of this passage, what does God think about Jesus? And how does it compare to the people’s response, and how does it compare to your response. Will you be counted among those who reject him? Or will you be like those who remain indifferent toward him? Will your life remain unchanged by him? Or will you submit yourself to him, embracing him in faith? These are the kind questions I want us to keep in mind as we move through this text.

Hired Hitmen

Let’s read again, this time starting in verse 14,

These are the kind questions I want us to keep in mind as we move through this text.

English Standard Version Chapter 12

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

God’s Chosen Servant

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.

So Jesus has just had an explosive encounter with the Pharisees, to such a degree that they’ve decided to figure out how to destroy him. They’ve gone way beyond indifference, beyond rejection, and run headlong into seeking out Jesus’ destruction.

Hired Hitmen

I’ll never forget growing up watching a certain major news story break all over the major news networks, lasting weeks and even months. A professional figure skater had been attacked while at the skating rink, and her right leg was injured. And come to find out the attacker had been hired by a man who was connected to a fellow competitor. Apparently, the woman who had been attacked was seen as a threat by someone, even to to the extent that they were willing to hire a hitman to carry out an attack against her.

This is, in essence, what the Pharisees would seek to do to Jesus. They saw him as a threat and they intended to eliminate him. And they were seeking to do more than just disable him, they intended to have him killed. In fact, at this point in the story, Mark records in his Gospel that,

English Standard Version Chapter 3

6 The Pharisees went out and immediately held counsel with the Herodians against him, how to destroy him.

Now, the Herodians were natural enemies of the Pharisees and of the Jewish religious leaders. They were avid followers and supporters of Herod Antipas, who would be responsible for the death of John the Baptist and eventually even be complicit in the crucifixion of Jesus himself. But in this moment the Pharisees realized that in order to destroy Jesus they would need the help of the Herodians to do it. They would need their help to have him delivered over to Herod, to ultimately be subjected to capital punishment. So Matthew tells us that Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there.

Not to Make Him Known

So Matthew tells us that Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. but that many still continued to follow him, and Jesus continued healing them all, ordering them also not to make him known. So on one hand we can see clearly one of the significant reasons Jesus frequently ordered the people to keep silent about him. Jesus’ presence was enough to mobilize his enemies

But despite Jesus’ efforts to avoid further controversy many still continued to follow him, and Jesus continued healing all of them, ordering them also not to make him known. So on one hand we can see clearly that one of the primary reasons Jesus ordered the people to keep silent about him was to delay his enemies’ attempts to destroy him. On one had Jesus had a ministry and a mission to carry out, but on the other hand Jesus was careful to carry out his mission by the timetable God had established. This is why he would often say things like, “My hour has not yet come.”

But as we’ll see this isn’t the only reason we’re told that Jesus ordered the people not to make him known. In fact, I think there are at least two other reasons found here in the passage that Matthew quotes from the prophet Isaiah. Matthew says there in verse 17 that,

But as we’ll see this isn’t the only reason we’re told that Jesus often ordered the people not to make him known.

I think there are at least two other reasons found here in the passage that Matthew quotes from the prophet Isaiah. In fact, Matthew says there in verse 17 that,

English Standard Version Chapter 12

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

So many followed him, many are healed, and they’re ordered not to make him known, so that what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah would be fulfilled. So Matthew sees something in Isaiah’s words reflected in the life and ministry of Jesus. Starting there in verse 18, we read,

English Standard Version Chapter 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.

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.”

Jesus the Servant

In that first verse line we read, “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen.” Now, we don’t use the word ‘behold’ much in common conversation but God is saying, “Wow, look at this! Behold! my servant whom I have chosen.” Now, Jesus isn’t surprised by who Jesus is, but rather God wants the reader, he wants us, to fix our eyes on this person, to fix our eyes on his Messiah, and Matthew is telling us that Jesus is that Messiah.

And that Messiah is God’s servant. In other words, Jesus came to serve his Father in heaven. He’s on mission, and he’s not seeking his own glory. He’s seeking the glory of his Father in heaven. His ministry is not an opportunity for him to be popular. Popularity was not Jesus’ purpose, he was not seeking the praise of men, but rather was seeking to please his Father. It isn’t Jesus’ intention merely to be made known.

In Mark chapter 10, verse 45 Jesus tells his disciples that “even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve.” Jesus is a servant, not seeking his own glory. In John chapter 12, verses 27-28, Jesus says, “But for this purpose I have come to this hour. Father, glorify your name.”So when we read that Jesus told the people not to make him known we should remember that Jesus came to serve, that he did not come to win a popularity contest.

The Danger of Popularity

So when we read that Jesus told the people not to make him known we should remember that Jesus came to serve, that he did not come to win a popularity contest.

And what a lesson for us, how many of us would take the opportunity to be popular if we just had the ability to be so. How intoxicating is the praise of men, yet Jesus did not seek it, in fact, he avoided it despite his ability to be more popular than all. Jesus was not a celebrity, and nor did he pursue it.

Jesus is Not a Rabblerouser

The other reason I think Jesus ordered the people not to make him known was because of what the prophet says there in verse 19,

English Standard Version Chapter 12

19  He will not quarrel or cry aloud,

nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;

Matthew is connecting Jesus’ orders to not make him known to Isaiah’s prophecy that the Messiah has not come to seek out controversy or to make a lot of noise. He’s not a rabblerouser. Now, He never shied away from a confrontation with the Pharisees but he never actively sought them out either. His mission was not to pick a fight or to make noise, rather he was to be like a sheep who is led to the slaughter and like a lamb before its shearer is silent, one who opens not his mouth ().

God’s Description and Affirmation of Jesus

This text out of Isaiah is both a description of Jesus and an affirmation of God’s highest approval and delight in Jesus. The Greek word used for servant here literally refers to a son servant, so we see here, even by implication, that Jesus is not just any servant but the servant, both God’s servant and God’s Son. Or as we know more clearly from other texts, Jesus is God’s only begotten Son. He is very God of very God, begotten, but not made, being of one substance with the Father.

And “though he was in the form of God, did not count equality with God a thing to be held onto, but emptied himself, by taking the form a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross.” ()

We see not only God’s affirmation of his servant as the one he has chosen, but we see that he calls him beloved and the one with whom his soul delights. And this stands in stark contrast to the rejection and animosity of the Pharisees toward Jesus. God sends his servant, his beloved Son in whom he delights only to be hated and rejected by the leaders of Israel. Imagine seeing someone in great need and responding to meet their need only to encounter a snotty self-righteous rejection of your work.

Jesus will later point out this sad irony in when he says to them,

English Standard Version Chapter 23

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets.

English Standard Version Chapter 23

29 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you build the tombs of the prophets and decorate the monuments of the righteous, 30 saying, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have taken part with them in shedding the blood of the prophets.’ 31 Thus you witness against yourselves that you are sons of those who murdered the prophets. 32 Fill up, then, the measure of your fathers. 33 You serpents, you brood of vipers, how are you to escape being sentenced to hell?

They claim that they would never have taken part in the murder of God’s prophets, yet here they are seeking to destroy the very one in whom God has sent to save them, the very one God has chosen. The one in whom God delights they despise.

They claim that they would never have taken part in the murder of God’s prophets, yet here they are seeking to destroy the very one in whom God is pleased, the very one God has chosen.

Affirmation

We also saw this same affirmation (as we see here in v. 18), this same language, used by God the Father back in chapter 3 when Jesus comes up out of the waters of baptism and the heavens are opened to him and a voice from heaven says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” Matthew is echoing here what was already made know on the outset of Jesus’ ministry. And we’ll see it again near the end of Jesus’ ministry during his transfiguration when “a bright cloud [overshadows the disciples], and a voice from the cloud says, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.” ()

We also saw back in when the heavens were opened that the Spirit of God descended like a dove, coming to rest on him. This was his commissioning and Matthew is reminding us again of what God has already publicly affirmed.

Bruised Reed

And Matthew continues there in verse 20 with Isaiah’s description of the Messiah and says,

English Standard Version Chapter 12

20  a bruised reed he will not break,

and a smoldering wick he will not quench,

If you’re not familiar with what a reed is, its a common name for certain plants that are grass-like, like bamboo. Reeds were used for measuring and providing support for structures. Many of you may be familiar with a thatched roof or wall which require reeds to be built. Therefore, if a reed were to be broken it was essentially useless. Similarly, a strip of linen cloth used as a lamp wick become useless when it smolders, rather than providing light it produces only smoke and is at risk of burning out completely.

So what Matthew is saying is that if you’re like bruised reed or a smoldering wick that he did not come to break or quench you, instead God is promising that he will dwell “with him who is of a contrite and lowly spirit,” that he will “revive the spirit of the lowly,” and “revive the heart of the contrite.” Jesus will not forsake those who are grieved by their sin, he will not leave them in their sin. In fact, it is because of our brokenness that Jesus came.

The Great Physician

You might remember back in chapter 9 when the Pharisees criticized Jesus for eating with tax collectors and sinners, but when Jesus heard it, he said,

English Standard Version Chapter 9

“Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. 13 Go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, and not sacrifice.’ For I came not to call the righteous, but sinners.”

It isn't’ that some of us are righteousness and some of us are not, and that only some of us need saving. No, we’re all sinners, no one does good, not even one, and if the Lord should mark iniquities who could stand? None of us could. We’re all in need of salvation, salvation from our sin which is precisely why Jesus came. And ultimately not only for the Jews but for all nations. Israel was to be a nation from which the Messiah would come, a city on a hill, a light to the nations. This is why the Bible is filled with indications that the same hope given to the Jews would go also to the Gentiles. This is why Matthew says there in verse 21,

English Standard Version Chapter 12

21  and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

The Gentiles Will Hope

So what will we do with Jesus? Where do we put our hope? In ourselves? In our own good deeds? Do we put our fingers in our ears? Are we indifferent to God’s Son? Do we hate him? Have we rejected him? Or do we love him? Is he the one in whom our soul delights? Is it in his name that we have hope for salvation from our sin? If we call him our Lord, do we seek to obey his commandments?

Prayer