Bible Study on Matthew 12, verses 14 to 21, And in his name shall the Gentiles trust

 

Matthew 12:14 ¶  Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him. 15  But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew himself from thence: and great multitudes followed him, and he healed them all; 16  And charged them that they should not make him known: 17  That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying, 18  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. 19  He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. 20  A bruised reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory. 21  And in his name shall the Gentiles trust.

 

As the Pharisees take council among themselves as to how to kill Christ without a riot or a revolution against them taking place Jesus heals a multitude of people. He tells them to keep silent about what He is doing. The Holy Spirit here alludes to some Old Testament verses. For verse 18;

 

Isaiah 42:1 ¶  Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles. 2  He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. 3  A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth. 4  He shall not fail nor be discouraged, till he have set judgment in the earth: and the isles shall wait for his law.

 

Notice how the Holy Spirit provides us with the meaning of the Old Testament verses with slight word changes for definition purposes. Victory and truth become synonyms as do the idea of waiting for God’s law and the Gentiles’ trust. In this way, this passage in Isaiah is clearly a prophecy of Christ and the Holy Spirit is letting us know in a way the Old Testament Jews would not have understood.

 

The Isles in Isaiah 42:4 is a reference to the Gentiles. Think of Greece, Italy, and the islands of the Mediterranean or even of Britain, which is an island.

 

Genesis 10:5  By these were the isles of the Gentiles divided in their lands; every one after his tongue, after their families, in their nations.

 

Jesus is not being confrontational in the way of a regular revolutionary. He is simply going about His business. There are two ways, at least, to do God’s work. One is an in-your-face way of confrontation and defiance of the authorities and one is simply obeying God, doing what He has called you to do and not worrying about the consequences but not carrying placards and screaming in someone’s face. I think of the woman recently who was arrested for silently praying in front of an abortion clinic in England. She was not confrontational but her silent prayer inspired the anger of the authorities anyway. Eventually they had to drop the charges and let her go.

 

But how do you keep great multitudes from talking about amazing things?