Anchor My Faith

My Chosen Servant

Scripture: Matthew 12:17-21

After healing many sick people and delivering people with unclean spirits, Jesus gets into a boat to distance himself from the growing crowd and teaches them. In this lesson we will learn that it was told by the prophet Isaiah that a chosen servant would come and do what Jesus is doing as ^{“Mt 12:17} This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah:”

What Matthew is about to write is from Isaiah 42:1 – 4. Matthew writes: ^{“Mt 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.”

The servant, spoken of here, who was chosen was Jesus. He is a servant because of his humble birth in a manger and from his obeying and serving God (Philippians 2:7; Hebrews 19:9). God is well pleased with how his Son is obeying and serving; a declaration also given at his baptism and transfiguration. At his baptism “a voice from heaven said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased.”’ (Matthew 3:17 ESV). At his transfiguration “a bright cloud overshadowed them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is my beloved Son, with whom I am well pleased; listen to him.”’ (Matthew 17:5 ESV).

The Spirit came upon Jesus at his baptism. In Matthew 3:16 (ESV) we read: “And when Jesus was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and coming to rest on him.” The Old Testament speaks of the Spirit being on a person, but with John the Baptist and his mother Elizabeth, we learn of the Spirit dwelling within or filling one. The Spirit was visualized as the dove coming upon Jesus, but in Luke 4:1, Jesus is described as being full of the Spirit. This transition of the Spirit being upon a person in the Old testament to dwelling within a person in the New Testament is made complete at the time of Pentecost.

Determining what is meant by the statement “he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles” is not easily determined from commentaries because of lack of clarity. As I ponder over this I notice three things that will help us gain some understanding. First is the character of the one proclaiming, what justice represents, and why specifically to the Gentiles. We will begin the next lesson by considering these three things.

Prayer

Father, when our narrative reaches back into the Old Testament it sometimes adds some complexity of understanding. The end of this lesson points this out. I pray that the Holy Spirit will give us understanding as we look at this difficulty in the next lesson.