Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased!

 

 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 at that time 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 their 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 our?  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.  Jesus is responding to the threat from the Pharisees, that they have begun to plot against Him, how they might destroy Him (see yesterday's reading, above).  It is not yet time for His Passion, so He withdrew from there.

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."  My study Bible comments that our Lord's refusal to fully disclose His identity as Messiah is foreseen by Isaiah (Matthew quotes from Isaiah 42:1-4).  The reasons for secrecy include, as we have noted above, the growing hostility of the Jewish leaders, for one thing.  In addition, the people expect and misunderstand that the Messiah must be an earthly, political leader, but Jesus' ministry is the gospel of the Kingdom.  Furthermore, Christ's desire is to evoke genuine faith which is not based solely on the marvelous signs He does, but rather that the signs point to the deeper reality of the Kingdom.  The Servant (in "My Servant whom I have chosen . . .") refers first to Christ, my study Bible says, and by extension to all who follow Him.  

It's intriguing that my study Bible says that the Servant of Isaiah refers first to Christ, and then by extension, to all who follow Him.  We can read the prophesy of Isaiah quoted in today's reading, and clearly see the resemblance to Jesus in the prophesy.  We understand in His own words His character and demeanor, as in Tuesday's reading, when He said, "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.  Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.  For My yoke is easy and My burden is light."  Looking more closely at the character of the Servant in Isaiah's prophesy, we observe Jesus.  Now that He understands the Pharisees begin to plot to destroy Him, He chooses to withdraw.  He will go to preach elsewhere.  His ministry is part of a mission, and this is also part of the understanding of what it is to be a Servant.  His mission is to preach the gospel of the Kingdom.  This gospel message will eventually declare justice to the Gentiles.  His ministry is essentially one which comes in peace:  "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."   His victory will come at His hour on the Cross, and remains with us through this time until His Second Coming, His name has come to the Gentiles as one in which to trust.  But we observe His life and His behavior; for now in His ministry He has withdrawn from direct conflict with the religious leaders.  His ministry is not one of physical conquest nor military victories, but a battle for true faith, for the hearts, minds, and souls of those who will follow and can accept that the mighty works He does are but signs of the presence and working of the Kingdom which He preaches.  It is faith that He seeks, and those who will trust in His name.  If we are also to be servants by extension, by seeking to follow Him and bear His name into the world, are we also as deft as Christ?  Can we know when to withdraw, clearly understand the peaceful quality of our mission, and bear the truth into the world to continue expanding the trust in His name that He seeks and preaches?  This is a great mission, for which He has sent out His apostles on their first mission, and which by definition we who follow continue to bear into the world.  But it is Christ from whom we need to learn how to live this life, whose mission we undertake to join and to follow, to take on the easy yoke and light burden He continues to offer.  To continue this ongoing mission of the Servant we enter into, we need to know who He is and what manner of spirit we are of.   Let us watch and learn to be like Him:  to discern the times when we need to withdraw, the times we need to speak, and how to follow in humble imitation of our Lord, the Servant.