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But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
"Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen,
My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!
I will put My Spirit upon Him,
And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.
He will not quarrel nor cry out,
Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
A bruised reed He will not break,
And smoking flax He will not quench,
Till He sends forth justice to victory;
And in His name Gentiles will trust."
- Matthew 12:15-21
Yesterday, we read that Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. And His disciples were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, "Look, Your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath!" But He said to them, "Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him: how he entered the house of God and ate the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath, and are blameless? Yet I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the temple. But if you had known what this means, 'I desire mercy and not sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath." Now when He had departed from there, He went into the synagogue. And behold, there was a man who had a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, "Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?" that they might accuse Him. Then He said to them, "What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not lay hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value then is a man than a sheep? Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath." Then He said to the man, "Stretch out your hand." And he stretched it out, and it was restored as whole as the other. Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.
But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. Yet He warned them not to make Him known, that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying: "Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him, and He will declare justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. A bruised reed He will not break, and smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory; And in His name Gentiles will trust." Jesus is the fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah. His ministry and kingdom are one of peace. He is the Servant who heals and preaches the good news, the One who calls Himself "gentle and lowly of heart," whose "yoke is easy" and "burden is light." As the Jewish religious authorities take the road of hostility to Him and His message, even as John the Baptist is imprisoned and will be beheaded, the text recalls Isaiah's prophecy that He will declare justice to the Gentiles, and in His name the Gentiles will trust. As the prophecy (Isaiah 42:1-4) declares "He will not quarrel nor cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets," so Jesus does not make His identity as Messiah fully known. Nor does He establish a reign by coercion or force, or even stupendous signs. My study bible says that the reasons for secrecy include: (1) the growing hostility of the Jewish leadership; (2) the people's misunderstanding of the Messiah as an earthly, political leaders; and (3) our Lord's desire to evoke genuine faith not based solely on marvelous signs. As Christ is the primary Servant, so by extension are all who follow Him. In the final sentence quoted here from Isaiah (42:4), the mission to the Gentiles after Pentecost is foreseen by the prophet.
Jesus' mission doesn't go the way anyone would predict, from a "worldly" point of view. Throughout the Old Testament, we read of the people of Israel demanding a king, and the failure of king after king to adhere to the covenant with God. Jesus comes into the world as the fulfillment of prophecy, of the long-awaited King, the Messiah. But He's nothing like a political messiah. And He's nothing like a worldly king. His kingdom doesn't work the way a worldly kingdom works. It doesn't come with observation. It doesn't come with force and coercion, but rather its King is "gentle and lowly of heart." He doesn't impose the yokes and burdens of kings and other kinds of monarchs or rulers, doesn't impose tribute and taxes. His "yoke is easy and His burden is light." But most of all, this is a kingdom of love, and love is a voluntary gift. It can't be coerced. Love is rooted in freedom. The faith He calls us to is a voluntary contract, a communion, a covenant of loyalty, of hearts. And so, the mission must speak for itself and provide its own call to those who would be subjects of this kingdom. He will lay down His life for His friends -- and this will be the ultimate invitation to communion. So He's our Servant, in the form the Kingdom must take because it's nothing like the "ruler of this world" would produce, and the ruler of this world "has nothing" in Him. The justice and victory of this Kingdom is about the hearts and minds of its subjects, a communion of saints, a covenant of love in the commands of Christ. Ultimately, the mission unfolds in a way that teaches us best about love, sets us the highest example, and teaches us the most about God. The Suffering Servant stands injustice on its head, because true justice transcends a simplistic notion of retribution. His love brings ultimate justice in His own act of sacrifice that opens the door to reconciliation and healing for all the rest of us. And that is the great victory in which we can all trust.
