The Gentle Jesus

In 1868 Fanny Crosby wrote the words to one of the great hymns of our faith. “Pass me not O Gentle Savior” was inspired by her time serving in prison ministry. Fanny had spoken to the prisoners that day and some of her hymns had been sung. Afterwards she heard one of the prisoners cry out “Good Lord, do not pass me by”. That inmate’s prayer was the inspiration to the song “Pass Me Not O Gentle Savior”.

If Christ were not gentle, He would pass us all by. Because He is gentle, He hears the cries of the guilty and condemned. This text proves that. We will see four things that point to the gentleness of Jesus:

1. He heals completely (14-16).

2. He serves obediently (17-18).

3. He preaches with humility (19).

4. He saves mercifully (20-21).

1. He heals completely (14-16).

A. The contrast between the religious leaders and Jesus.

In verse 14 the Pharisees are conspiring to kill Jesus. In verse 15 Jesus is healing people. There’s no greater contrast than that. It’s life and death.

They didn’t care that the disciples were hungry in verse 1.

They didn’t care that the man had a withered hand in verse 10.

They didn’t care that the people were scattered like sheep in 9:36.

They didn’t care that the people were weary and heavy burdened in 11:28.

Jesus had just told them they cared more about rituals and animals than they cared about mercy and people.

Multitudes were following Jesus. They were losing their power. When Jesus said “Come unto Me…” understand He was calling people away from the dead religion of the Pharisees and to Himself. People were leaving the religious elite and following this carpenter from Galilee.

Jesus had just contradicted their teachings. The rules they had added to the Sabbath were not binding. Jesus broke their rules and claimed He was Lord of the Sabbath. They had no right to tell Him what He could and couldn’t do on the Sabbath.

In the Sermon on the Mount, He told everyone the religious leaders:

Prayed in the wrong way

Gave in the wrong way

Fasted in the wrong way

Those were the basic spiritual disciplines that any Jewish person should know how to do.

The religious leaders have had enough. They begin conspiring to have Jesus killed.

Jesus withdraws.

He doesn’t withdraw because He’s a coward. He withdraws because He’s committed to the plan of the Father. He’s on His way to the cross.

He could have removed every King from his throne. He could have sat in Herod’s palace if He wanted to. But Jesus plan was not to establish an earthly kingdom at this time. He came to pay the sin debt humanity owed.

If Jesus continued to but heads with the religious leaders that might hasten His execution. That couldn’t happen because Jesus had to fulfill everything the prophets said about Him. Much of that would be done in the final three years of His life. There is not a single prophecy Jesus will not fulfill.

That’s good news because it proves He is indeed the Savior and the Bible is true. It is virtually a mathematical impossibility that one man could fulfill every prophecy given concerning the Messiah. The fact that Jesus fulfilled them all is proof that the Bible is True and Jesus is the Savior.

If the Pharisees had the power Jesus had they would not withdraw. They would want everyone to know how powerful they were. They wouldn’t be telling people to be quiet like Jesus does in verse 16. They would be shouting it from the rooftops.

They wanted everyone to know when they prayed.

They wanted everyone to know when they gave.

They wanted everyone to know when they fasted.

If they could work miracles, they certainly would want everyone to know that as well. But this shows the contrast between Jesus and the religious leaders.

B. The compassion of Jesus.

The text says great multitudes followed Jesus and He healed them all. Don’t miss the sacrificial love of Jesus in this text. His life is in danger. People are conspiring to kill Him. He is healing people. He doesn’t stop healing them because it may make things more dangerous for Himself.

I love the phrase “He healed them all”.

He didn’t do it with a wave of His hand directed toward the crowd. He didn’t do it with a single generic prayer,” O Father, heal them all.” The text implies this was difficult. It implies this was time consuming.

He healed them one by one. Each healing was personal. Every sick person encountered Jesus face to face. He healed them all.

I’ve said this before. Please understand this healing points toward the ultimate spiritual and physical healing Christ will grant to all of His people. Every Christian has already been spiritually healed. But every Christian will be physically healed as well. When it comes to His people, Christ will heal them all.

Pastor what about:

My baby that was born premature, never developed fully and die? He healed them all!

My mother who didn’t even know who I was the last few years of her life? He healed them all!

My father who couldn’t dress himself, feed himself or bathe himself? He healed them all!

My friend who died of cancer? He healed them all!

My brother who lost his battle with covid? He healed them all!

The Christian ought to read verse 15 with an eye toward heaven! Like the poor wayfaring stranger said:

I'm just a poor wayfaring stranger

Traveling through this world below

And there's no sickness, no toil, no danger

In that fair land to which I go

Why are there no sick people in heaven? Because Jesus healed them all. The gentle Jesus who heals completely heals all who belong to him.

2. He serves obediently (17-18).

A. He is the elect servant.

Verses 17-21 are a paraphrase of Isaiah 42:1-3. Isaiah is describing the coming Savior and Matthew wants us to know that Jesus is the coming Savior Isaiah spoke of. Jesus is described as the chosen servant. What is He chosen for? He is chosen to be the sin bearer. He is chosen to be the One who will die for the sins of the world.

If I were to tell you there was only One being in the universe who could save us from our sin you might ask me two questions.

1) Where is He? He is in heaven. That might make you wonder if He’d be willing to leave heaven. Would you leave heaven? If you made it safely to heaven’s shore would you leave it to come here again? I wouldn’t. If I’m in heaven I’m staying! Nothing could convince me to leave!

2) Will He willingly suffer hell for humanity? Christ doesn’t have to die for us. He willingly takes the cup of God’s wrath.

If there were thousands or even hundreds of beings who could pay the price for our sin we might have some hope. But the truth is there is only One who can do it. The surprising thing is the One who is able is also willing to leave the comforts of heaven and suffer the pains of hell for our salvation.

Christ is the elect servant. He has been elected from eternity past to be our Savior. He was willing to be obedient even unto death on the cross. There is a gentleness to His taking the cup of wrath.

Normally when we think of being elected to something it’s a positive thing.

We’re elected to salvation. That’s a wonderful thing.

We’re elected to an office. That comes with great benefits.

But Christ’s election to this position means suffering, not ease. He’s elected as a sacrifice.

He could have fought against it.

He could have pushed it away.

He could have refused it.

But instead, He willingly and obediently submits to it.

B. He is the Beloved Son.

The words in verse 18 are probably familiar to you. Three times in Jesus life the Father spoke audibly from heaven concerning Him.

At His baptism (3:17).

At His transfiguration (17:5).

When Jesus prayed (John 12:28).

Two of those times the Father said the same thing. He said what is said in verse 18, “This is my beloved Son in Whom I am well pleased”.

The love that exists between the Father and the Son is greater than any other love. This is what makes grace so amazing. The only way you and I could be saved is if the Father gave what He loved most. The giving of His only begotten Son is the greatest example of love there.

Listen to me. God’s love for the world is not greater than His love for His Son. If His love for the world was greater then it wouldn’t be amazing that He gave His only son for the world. Afterall, if He loved the world more He would obviously give His Son for it.

Jesus is the Only one that the Father is well pleased with. He is the only one who has been perfectly obedient. He is only well pleased with us because we are in the Son.

We are washed in the blood of the Son.

We are clothed in the righteousness of the Son.

C. He is the Gentiles Hope.

The word judgment in verse 18 speaks of justice. Context shows that what is meant is salvation for the Gentiles.

This room is filled with Gentiles. Unless you are a Hebrew you are a Gentile. Abraham was the first Hebrew. His descendants are the Jewish people. Early in the book of Genesis we see the nations divided. They began to build their own gods. God chose a man named Abram to build a holy nation. God would reveal Himself to this nation and it was their responsibility to tell the rest of the world about the One True God. They failed.

If it were up to the Jewish people, the Gentiles would die in their sins. Christ came not only as the Savior of the Jews. He also came as hope for the Gentiles. Do you remember what the Father said to the Son in Psalm 2? He said “ask of Me and I shall give Thee the heathen for Thy inheritance”.

We often think about our ancestors as being godly people. They probably were for a few generations back. But most of us are Europeans. That means if you trace our history back far enough you will see that our people were polytheists. Our ancestors worshipped many gods. They worshipped Jupiter and Zeus. They were superstitious. They were engaged in witchcraft and divination.

Christ has come to the Gentiles. Look at verse 21. “In His name shall the Gentiles trust!” They have trusted! More Gentiles follow Christ than Hebrews.

We’ve turned from:

Zeus and Aphrodite

Hades and Poseidon

Apollo and Athena

We’ve turned from mythology to truth! Christ, the gentle servant did not wait for us to come to Him. He has asked for us. He has come to us.

3. He preaches with humility (19).

Verse 19 gives us an idea of how Jesus preached. He was not brash. He was not irrational. He didn’t scream and yell. Jesus wasn’t an arrogant preacher.

He spoke with authority in love.

He spoke clearly.

He spoke simply.

This doesn’t mean Jesus didn’t preach with passion. It doesn’t mean he didn’t preach harshly at times. It’s clear He did. It means that Jesus was clear and to the point.. The preaching of Christ had substance. It wasn’t merely emotional. Some people think you are not preaching unless you are shouting. But the truth is that some shout because they have very little to say. Maybe they think if they say it loud enough it will mean more. But it never does.

I think our culture could learn a lot from this. We can hardly speak to those we disagree with anymore without losing our temper. Look at the gentleness of 11:28, “Come unto me”. The words of Jesus were inviting.

We will disagree with a lost world. But let’s be gentle in our disagreement. Let’s speak to people logically and clearly.

Spurgeon said of the great reformer, but somewhat moody, Martin Luther:

Luther was a conqueror-peace to his ashes, and honor to his name!-still, we who look upon him at a distance, think that if he had sometimes mixed a little mildness with it…. and spoken somewhat more gently, he might have done even more good than he did.

We need to remember that Luther is not our example. Spurgeon is not our example. Christ is our example in preaching and sharing the truth.

4. He saves mercifully (20).

A. The bruised reed.

Reeds were plentiful in that region. They were limber plants, tall and skinny and hollow on the inside. They were often used to make flutes. Shepherds would make flutes out of them and pass the time watching their flocks. Once a reed was bruised, bent, or cracked it was normally tossed away. They were cheap, inexpensive and plenteous in that region.

B. The smoking flax.

This was a wick used to light a lamp. When the wick was almost completely burned up it would smoke and have little to no light. At that point the wick was put out, tossed away and replaced.

C. A wonderful illustration.

Matthew says the Savior will not toss aside the bruised reed nor will He put out the smoldering wick.

The reed and the wick represent weak people.

They represent those with little or no influence.

They represent people that are normally overlooked or cast aside.

What is Christ doing? As He marches to victory, He is gathering all the bruised reeds and all the smoldering wicks. He is going to play glorious music through those bruised reeds. He’s going to light this world up with those smoldering wicks.

As the prophet asked in Zechariah 4:10 “Who has despised the day of small things?”

God uses the small. He uses the insignificant. I can’t help but to think of my dear sweet mother. I buried her yesterday. She was a bruised reed. She was a smoldering wick. She lived a hard life. She went the way of the world.

She lived as a bartender.

She had many different husbands.

She didn’t raise her children for the glory of God.

The Lord should have cast her aside, but He did not. He saw her. He took her up in His arms and brought that lost sheep home. He saved her, transforming her by the power of the Holy Spirit. I saw it with my own eyes. She was no longer the woman who raised me.

Jesus played sweet music through her life for twenty-four years.

Jesus set her ablaze with His gospel for twenty-four years.

I would doubt my own salvation before I doubted hers.

With tears in my eyes, I say thank God for the gentle Jesus. Thank God He gathers up the bruised reeds and the smoldering wicks.

The old preacher Richard Sibbes said, “There is more mercy in Him than sin in you.”

I’ll never forget my mother telling me “I’m reaping better than I’ve sown.”

Who do I have to thank for snatching my mother from the bars?

Who do I have to thank for snatching her from immorality?

I only have Christ to thank. I only have the gentle Jesus to thank. The Lord looked down at a pile of reeds.

Some were straight and narrow.

Some were strong.

Some were polished and tuned.

But

There’s one that is bruised.

There’s one that is bent.

There’s one that appears to be useless.

Christ took it. He took that bruised reed. He didn’t break it. He didn’t toss it aside. He took it for Himself. That bruised reed was my mother and I thank Him for it.

Are you a bruised reed? Do you feel inadequate? Do you feel useless? I have good news for you. The gentle Jesus will gather you to Himself with the rest of the bruised reeds. Won’t you come to Him?