Matthew the apostle wrote after Jesus healed the man with the “withered hand”, “the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from there: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; And charged them that they should not 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 shall shew judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets”, and in chapter twelve and verse twenty of his book, Matthew shared how Isaiah continued his prophesy about, “a bruised reed … and smoking flax” where we read:
A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench,
till he send forth judgment unto victory.
The verse reads, “A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, ...” Matthew began with the words, “a bruised reed” which means “a broken, trampled and crushed staff, rod or pen” “shall he” or “will the Messiah” “not break” which means “no and in no way rend in pieces or crack apart”, “and smoking flax” or “a linen cloth that has smoke without fire” “shall he not quench” which means “will the Messiah not extinguish, put out, suppress or stifle”. Matthew continued Isaiah's words about the Messiah as He declared that He would not “crack apart” a “rod” that was “broken or crushed” nor would He “snuff out” a “linen cloth that is smoking but not on fire”.
The verse continues, “... till he send forth judgment unto victory.” Matthew continued with the words, “till he send forth” which means “until the Messiah drives out, sends and casts out with a notion of violence” “judgment” or “separating, sundering, trial and contest” “unto victory” which means “towards utter vanquish and conquest”. Matthew continued to share Isaiah's words as he told how the Messiah would also “bring about a sundering and trial” that would end in “utter vanquish” and “conquering”.
When we consider Matthew's words in this verse, we see how the Messiah was to be One who cared for people regardless of their “brokenness” or “burnt out” life. If there is the slightest chance that a person might be restored, Jesus the Messiah is able to attend to them because God loves people. There are many people who have experienced difficult circumstances and situations in their lives which have caused them to feel useless, crushed, burnt out and without hope, and they are the people Jesus came to “save”. May all who read these words come to Jesus who will not turn the least of the hurting ones away.
Next time Matthew shares how Jesus refers to, “in his name shall the Gentile trust”, so read ahead, and we shall join together then.
Until
tomorrow…there is more…
Look for the daily devotional book
“Equipped for Battle – From Generation to Generation”, the
marriage book “So, You Want to Be Married”, “One Year in the
Sermon on the Mount” and the new poetry book "Random Mushrooms
Volumes I and II" and the new novel "Elizabeth County"
in all major bookstore sites, http://www.amazon.com
; http://www.barnesandnobles.com
; download to e-books, and find it locally at
www.mrzlc.com/bookstore.
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