God’s Chosen Servant
15 Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Many followed him, and he healed all their sick, 16 warning them not to tell who he was. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:
18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he leads justice to victory.
21 In his name the nations will put their hope.”
the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
19 He will not quarrel or cry out;
no one will hear his voice in the streets.
20 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he leads justice to victory.
21 In his name the nations will put their hope.”
Jesus continually ministered to the people in the same cycle - He would preach, teach and heal, there would be a response, there would be opposition and then He would withdraw to begin the cycle in another place. He was sensitive to God's timing. It wasn't time yet for His crucifixion and so He would move on and being the cycle of ministry again. He did not act in His own defense, He simply moved on, totally committed to the Father's will.
Note again that v15 tells us that Jesus healed all their sick. Isn't that incredible? I can't even imagine what it must've been like then. Back then people died from all sorts of illnesses that we can easily cure today, or that don't even exist today because we've managed to get rid of them through scientific and medical advancement. But regardless - Jesus healed them all - what an incredible statement!
But then it's coupled with admonition by Jesus to keep quiet about it. Why? John MacArthur gives several reasons, many of which I've heard before, but take note of the fifth reason especially.....
First of all, I believe that our Lord knew the problem of secondhand stories and how they get twisted, perverted, and denied. I believe that Jesus wanted to deal with men on a firsthand basis; He wanted them to be confronted with the evidence themselves, in their own presence, before they started making up verdicts about Him....
There is a second reason why I think He wanted them not to spread this about, and that is the fact that He didn't want to become known strictly as a miracle-worker. He didn't want to distort the purpose for which He came. That would be so easily the dominate feature, because people so deeply long for deliverance from physical problems. His person was the issue, not His miracles, and some might be attractive for the wrong causes and wrong reasons.
Thirdly, He knew too well that a demonstration of that kind of power could easily fan the flame of enthusiasm about Him as a potential political deliverer from Rome...He didn't want to be known as a miracle worker, because all that tended to do was fan the flames of enthusiasm that pushed Him toward a political kind of revolution.
Fourthly, I think He didn't want everyone to know about this because all it did was heighten the rage of the scribes and Pharisees. He was trying to keep that at a somewhat mitigated level because He didn't want everything to explode before God's perfect timing. He was on schedule.
Fifthly, and I don't know if you've ever thought about this, but I think there is no greater reason than this: Jesus didn't want people to tell because this was not the time of His exaltation, it was the time of His humiliation. Exaltation would come later; He didn't seek this kind of fame. In wonderful submission, He conformed to God's plan.
Isn't that beautiful?
Jesus healed all their sick out of compassion and love for everyone, because that is the heart of God - no one is to be left out. The offer of healing is made to everyone, just like the offer of spiritual healing is made to everyone.
Jesus was commended by God and Matthew announces that with no ambiguity in v18 when he refers to Jesus as the One whom God had chosen - the Chosen One was a Messianic term and here Matthew proclaims Jesus the Messiah, chosen by God, beloved of God and commissioned by the Spirit (another biblical example of the trinity). He was anointed by the Spirit to empower His humanness and at His baptism for His royal service.
Jesus came to proclaim the truth (v18), He was committed to meekness (v19) and He came specifically to redeem the weak, powerless and helpless (v20), to give life. And ultimately (v20-21), despite all the rejection, persecution and difficulty, in the end, Christ will triumph in victory over sin, death and evil. Complete and utter victory will be His!
And if Jesus was this way, then we, as His followers, should be too.
I ought to be known by my enemies to stand so strong for the truth that I am attacked as He was. I, too, should be concerned to conform my life to God's will and be totally and utterly submissive to that. I, too, should be concerned with hurting people; they should be the concern of my heart, as I am answerable to God for them. I, too, should be commended by the Father, and so live and minister that the Father can say of me, "My soul with him is well pleased." I, too, should be commissioned by the Spirit. Oh God, help me from functioning in the flesh. I, too, should be communicating the right message, committed to meekness, and a gentle, humble, quiet spirit. I, too, should be comforting the weak, having a heart to lift up the fallen and bind the bruised and broken, and seek the poor and outcast. I, too, should consummate the victory in His power, seeing His Kingdom advance.
Tomorrow's scripture focus: Matthew 12:22-37
1 comment:
I like the part that lists the reasons why Jesus told people to keep quiet about their healing. A couple of them I've read before, but had forgotten.
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