The Depraved And The Excellent

A servant song for the weak and dim

Follow along!

“Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known.                

This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “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. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory;   and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

Matthew 12:15-21

The lessons found in this text are ones that reveal and ones that heal. Tension has been rising and question after question and accusation after accusation is on its way. But Christ will stand above it all.

Now, there is a contrast laid out here that I’d like to bring to our attention. There are two. The first is with man and the second is with Christ.

We will start with man:

The Depravity Of The Human Heart

In the last verse before this, we see the religious leaders leaving to think of a way that they can destroy him. Jesus had answered all their questions so far. He’s made it obvious that he is who he says he is. He has done nothing to them that has been sinful. He’s perfect. He’s only been doing good to the people around him. And yet, the thing they want to do is to get rid of him!

But here we have a clear picture of the heart of man. We hear that we are “basically good.” This text shows, though, that we can see a perfect life and see love expressed in a perfect way, and go away grinding our teeth in hatred. The unconverted man, hates God. He will find every reason to destroy the thought of God in his heart and if given the opportunity, would kill God, himself.

This is why we see men persecuted for righteousness. This is why men have killed prophets, apostles, and missionaries. It’s not because they speak evil or have the worst life and deserve to die. No, it’s because they were godly, and men hate the light. They hate God.

It shouldn’t take us off guard if men despise us for doing good. The truth is clear, that even if we are the best of men, we will not be loved by all. The world doesn’t hate true Christian’s for what they do wrong. I know you hear that excuse, but they hate them for their goodness. Men are naturally at war with God. This is the condition of every man apart from Christ. This is man and he, being depraved at heart will always in the end, go away and craft a plan to destroy Christian’s and God.

The Excellence Of Christ

“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. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory;   and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”

Matthew goes on to quote Isaiah 42:1-4. This is from “The Servant Songs.” This passage is pointing to Christ. Christ is that servant to come and Matthew wants us to see it. He wants us to see Christ.

As we read this quote we can see, not a Christ who would seem to be the target for murder, but a Christ of excellence and beauty. A Christ who pleases the Father. A gentle Christ who is filled with compassion and truth. A Christ who comes to the weak or the “bruised reeds.” A Christ who didn’t come to despise the down trodden. An excellent Christ. A Christ set apart from any depravity. A completely opposite Christ. He is holy and perfect. We are depraved and sinful.

Men and woman in our churches are constantly despairing because “They can’t get it right, they can’t change..” They have fears and doubts. They are constantly falling short and never adding up. They by themselves are hopeless. They need the Christ found in Isaiah 42. They need the servant that Matthew is pointing them too in this passage.

They need to see the hope found in this passage. Christ came to men with weak faith. We have a Christ who is here to bring justice and victory. A Christ who is “a servant” and yet has unseen power. He’s plainly seen here. He’s here for the “bruised reeds” and the “smoldering wicks.” The weak and the ones with barely enough faith to move a leaf.

J.C. Ryle said, “A spark is better than utter darkness, and little faith better than no faith at all.” Christ came to be considered dead, in order to serve and save the weak. The despairing. The ones whose faith is only a flicker. Who doesn’t have it all together.

Do we see this? Let us never see this with contempt. Cling to Christ. He is all you need.