14Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him. 15But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there. And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all. 16Yet He warned them not to make Him known, 17that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah 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 will declare justice to the Gentiles. 19He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. 20A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench, Till He sends forth justice to victory; 21And in His name Gentiles will trust.”
Now we come to Jesus’ reaction to the Jewish plot to kill Him over His healing of the man with the paralyzed hand.
12:14
Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against Him, how they might destroy Him.
Jesus had healed the man with the paralyzed hand (12:13) in the previous verse, and now the Pharisees plotted how to kill Him.
12:15
But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew from there.
When Jesus found that His enemies plotted to kill Him, He left the place because of their negative volition.
And great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all.
Jesus healed everyone who came for healing, not just some.
12:16
Yet He warned them not to make Him known,
To announce His miracles would only invite more opposition, so Jesus told people whom He healed not to make it known. Jesus never confused recklessness with courage.
12:17
that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet, saying:
In verses 18 to 20, Jesus quoted Isaiah 42:1-4 to prove He was the Messiah, and that the nation Israel would reject Him as Messiah. This is the longest of many quotations in Matthew. The near fulfillment of the following prophecy was Cyrus but the far fulfillment was Christ Himself. This Scripture vindicates Jesus’ ministry.
12:18
“Behold! My Servant whom I have chosen, My Beloved in whom My soul is well pleased! I will put My Spirit upon Him,
Jesus withdrew from Jews to present the gospel to the Gentiles.
The Father loves Jesus and gave Him ministry to resolve the sin issue.
And He will declare justice to the Gentiles.
Sin demands justice. Justice and judgment occurred at the cross. Jesus took all judgment for our sins.
12:19
He will not quarrel nor cry out, Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets.
The Messiah would not come to be a public political agitator nor engage in protracted conflict.
12:20
A bruised reed He will not break, And smoking flax He will not quench,
In His compassion, Jesus would not break a battered reed or put out a smoldering wick; He would not stomp on the underprivileged to attain His goals.
Till He sends forth justice to victory;
The Messiah would bring justice to the point of victory in the world.
12:21
And in His name Gentiles will trust.”
Gentiles would embrace the Messiah as their Savior.
PRINCIPLE:
Although conflict is unavoidable at times, wrangling for the sake of wrangling is unproductive.
APPLICATION:
Quarreling for quarreling’s sake is unproductive. There are times when it is unavoidable, as it was with Jesus.
