The Messianic Servant of the Kingdom

There once was a King who’s son was about to be married. And this wasn’t just any old king, but a magnificient king who was rich, powerful, and extremely generous towards his citizens. In fact, while most kings in that day mistreated and abused their people, this king was step above the rest, who genuinely loved and cared for his people. And so hoping to invite many of his citizens to come and join him in this wonderful day of celebration, he sent out invitations inviting them to the great feast.

And so finally the day arrived: And so the king sent His servants out to call the guests who had been invited to the wedding feast, to come and join is the marvelous celebration. However, even though they had checked “YES” on the invitation card, signed up for the meal of their choice: being chicken or beef (How is that even an option… who seriously chooses the chicken… ), AND made personal plans to come when the day of the wedding arrived, they decided to not go.

Now, culturally, this was beyond rude - this was beyond disrespectful! And while many kings might have responded in anger to this blatant disrespect, this compassionate king was different. And so what did the King do? He sent his servants again to those invited, and said: “The dinner is prepared, the oxen and the fatted calves have been slaughtered! Everything is ready! COME TO THE WEDDING FEAST” And yet, they still paid no attention to the servants and went off on their way, ignoring the invitation.

They paid no attention to these servants of the king as one went back to his farm, Another to work on his business, And… as if that wasn’t bad enough, some of them grabbed the servants, mistreated them shamefully, and killed them. Their answer was clear - they would not, under any circumstances accept the generous king’s invite to the wedding feast. And so when the king found out he was beyond angry, and so He sent out His troops and destroyed those evil people who had murdered His servants and burned their cities to the ground.

And so with justice and victory accomplished, He then turned to his servants once again and said: “The wedding feast is ready, but those who were invited refused to come and are not worthy of it.” “Therefore, go the main roads and invite to the wedding feast as many as you can find.” And so the servants went out and did just that. They went out into the roads and gathered anyone and everyone! It didn’t matter what country they were from, if they were rich or poor, or even if they were bad or good, so long as they wore proper wedding garments to the feast, they would be welcomed in and accepted. And even though the original guests who had been invited refused to come, this did not prevent the King’s wedding feast for His Son from happening with many guests who accepted the invite and came.

Now, I realize that we are still in Matthew chapter 12, not Matthew chapter 22. It’s going to be a few weeks before we get there… (more like years…) But, I’m bringing this up because it relates directly to chapter 12 and what is happening in Jesus’s life and ministry. And what is happening is that the original guests are rejecting the invite to the feast!

What am I talking about? If you were here last week, then you remember how it ended right? The religious leaders went out and began plotting to KILL Jesus. And remember, this is pretty early on in Jesus’s ministry. This isn’t right before the cross.

And why did they want to kill Jesus? Because they didn’t want to go to His wedding feast. Nope. They wanted nothing to do with it. Sure they had gotten the invite, but when the day came they didn’t like that it was interfering with their lives!

Now, if you read Matthew 22, you see that the wedding feast is a metaphor for what? It’s for the Kingdom. And so the religious leaders didn’t want any part of Jesus’s kingdom because it wasn’t the kind of Kingdom they were hoping for. And last week the issue of the Sabbath made that LOUD AND CLEAR! Jesus wasn’t following their stupid man-made sabbath rules, and they weren’t happy about it. in fact, they were so unhappy that they were murderously unhappy about it, because Jesus was threatening everything they stood for. And so He had to go.

And yet, as our passage this morning shows us, just as the original wedding guests rejection of their invitation led to the invitation and acceptance by so many more, so too does Israel’s rejection of their Messiah lead to our invitation and acceptance to the Kingdom. Which was a part of the plan in the Messiah’s mission from the very beginning.

This morning we are going to see 4 things about that mission, and here they are:

The Messiah’s mission was:

1. Calculated
2. Calm
3. Compassionate
4. Conquering

Let’s look at the first one. The Messiah’s mission was:

OK first off, what’s happening here is that Jesus sees the response of the pharisees, and He realizes that things are heating up, and so He backs off. He “withdraws” as verse 15 says. And then He heals a bunch of a people, Tells them to be quiet about it, And all of this was to fulfill Isaiah chapter 42, verses 1-5, which is what Matthew is quoting here. And so these verses tell us A LOT about the Messiah, and what He would do and what He would be like. And so look at verse 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.

Matthew 12:18 ESV

By now in Jesus’s life and ministry, it’s abundantly clear that He is the Messianic Son of David. He’s healed the sick, He’s raised the dead, He’s casted out demons AND, He continually fulfilled prophecy after prophecy AFTER prophecy from the Old Testament. And so, thinking back to John’s doubts in chapter 11, what’s the deal then? Why is everything falling apart? Why is the Messianic KING being rejected by the people?

Well, the answer is because it’s all apart of the plan - it’s a calculated plan, not a chaotic one. And who calculated it? God the Father. “Behold my servant WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN”

The Father chose this, and told all about through the Holy Spirit through prophets hundreds and thousands of years before His beloved servant was even born into this world. And let me ask you, does the Father’s plans every go haywire? Does He ever have to call an audible? “No” says the church. For even the enemies’ advances are nothing but strategic planning on the Father’s behalf.

If you’ve ever played chess before, you know that good chess players use “apparent mistakes” as a part of their plan. They make it look like you’ve got the upper hand, and then BAM - checkmate from the pawn you weren’t even paying attention to. Church, so too is it with God. Even the apparent victories of the enemy are all apart of the Father’s perfect winning plan.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.

Romans 8:28 NASB95

If you’re a child of God, everything, even your baddest day is a part of God’s glorious plan and purposes FOR YOUR GOOD! Do you believe that? You should.

If you look at Christ’s life, things seemed bad from the very start - didn’t they? King Herod tries to kill him as a baby, He has to flee as a refugee to another land, And when He returns and eventually begins His public ministry - He’s hated and despised by the religious leaders who were the very ones who were ultimately responsible for identifying the Messiah. And yet, in the face of this “apparent failure” what does the Father say about Christ? “My beloved with Whom My soul is well pleased.”

And that’s something that we heard back in Matthew 3 with Jesus’s baptism and is something we’ll hear again in Matthew 17 on the mount of transfiguration. The relationship betwen the Christ and the Father is one of deep intimacy and closeness. It’s unlike anything we can imagine! This is a relationship, keep in mind, that has been ongoing for all of eternity! The Father delighting in the Son and the Son delighting in the Father And this is the mystery of the TRIUNE GOD God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy the Spirit. Not 3 Gods Not 1 God with 3 different hats that He wears One God made up in 3 persons. And it’s a relationship of love, intimacy, and joy!

Christ was forever beloved by the Father, and the Father found perfect delight in the Son as the Son found perfect delight in the Father. And yet what did the Father choose to do? Send the Son, His beloved, into the world as a suffering servant to be rejected and despised, abused, and ultimately crucified on a cross. And why? To bring hope the nations as verse 21 mentions! As the song we often sing says: “how deep the Father’s love for us” “How vast beyond all measure” “That He who gave His only Son” “To make a wretch His treasure!”

Church, never forget that it was God’s PLAN from before the foundation of the earth to send his beloved - the One with Whom His Soul found pleasure, as a lamb to die as the sacrifice for your and my sins. And His rejection and suffering are what made it possible! Which means, at least, a couple of things

God’s in control

Even when things in your life look dark Even when the pain seems unbearable Even when you feel like God’s love for you had nearly vanished REMEMBER that He is in full control.

Remember that the darkness doesn’t mean God loves you any less.

As Paul points out in Romans 8, “what could ever separate us from the love of God?” “Could famine? Tribulation? Sickness? Danger, or Sword?” “No!” “For in all these things we are MORE THAN CONQUERS BECAUSE OF HIM WHO LOVED US!” And how much DID HE LOVE US? Enough to send ‘His beloved one with Whom His Soul is well pleased” into the world to die for you.

And if He loves us enough to give us that - do you really think a bad day is gonna take His love away for you? A bad week? Or a bad month? Absolutely not! For God sent His beloved Son into the world to make wretches like us His pleasure! To bring justice and hope to the nations - which includes us! And because He planned for it, we see His calm demeanor in the face of contentiousness, which leads us to our second point.

The Messiah’s mission was:

Calm, not contentious

Matthew 12:18-19 (ESV) 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;

Now, we’ve already talked about the reason for why Christ was rejected, and it was because He didn’t meet their messianic expectations. And what were those expectations? They expected a conquering King, not a suffering servant. They expected someone who would use brute force to their off their Roman oppressors and restore the dignity of the Davidic kingdom to Israel. They wanted someone who was strong, loud, and bold - one who would conquer and destroy the Gentile nations, not save them! And yet what did they get? A Messiah who would not quarrels, or cry aloud One who would not pronounce Himself triumphantly in the streets. They got a humble and meek Messiah They got a patient and kind suffering Savior And they wanted nothing of it.

But what they failed to realize was that the same meekness that would bring justice and hope to the Gentile nations, was necessary for bringing it to them as well! For the sins of man - both Jewish man and Gentile man - needed atoning for by the only one who could atone for it! And so Jesus came not conquering and reigning, but suffering and serving.

Do you see how completely radical this is? Jesus wasn’t just a carpenters son from Galilee, No, as we just talked about Jesus was the 2nd member of the trinity! The all-poweful, all-knowing, all-present eternal God who spoke into existence the blazing of a million suns! The God who upholds the universe by the POWER OF HIS MIGHT! And He comes in calm tranquility, not contentious violence towards His oppressors.

With the disciples, who often seem as dimwitted as they come, He was patient and kind.

With the crowds, He loved them and cared for them healing their sick and preaching them the Kingdom message.

With the religious leaders, He didn’t shout them down in the streets and chase after conflict, He withdraws time and time again seeking to not stir the pot. Which is a remarkable act of grace not just towards them, but for us! Because one of the major reasons Christ did this was because He was making sure He would get to the cross on time! Not too soon and not too early!

At His completely unjust trial, He practiced what He preached by turning the other cheek in silence as they blinded Him and slapped Him demanding that He prophecy who hit him.

Do you get how radical this is? God Himself, subjugating Himself to dying a horrifying death upon the cross. One He could have stopped and even prevented entirely if He had wanted to. And on the cross, they mocked Him and ridiculed Him, demanding He come down off the cross and prove that He was truly the Son of God! And yet, in the most remarkable example of love Christ did the meek and completely unexpected thing. He stayed! For you and for me. And why? Because He was compassionate, not callous. Which leads us to our next point.

The Messiah’s mission was:

Compassionate, not callous

a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory;

Matthew 12:20 ESV

Alright, what does this talking about here? “A bruised reed he will not break” “A smoldering wick he will not quench.”

Here is what this is talking about. Back then, reeds were used for a lot of different things: as a flute, a measuring rod, a pen, and a whole bunch of other things. And, reeds were cheap. They grew by the millions in every marsh and riverside, And so if one was bruised, it wasn’t gonna stand straight, or hold up like you’d want, and because they were so cheap you’d just throw it out and get a new one. The point is, the reed is cheap, fragile, and weak.

Now before we get to the significance of that, let’s unpack the metaphor of the smoldering wick. For a wick, you would usually take a strip of linen cloth or something, and put it in oil in a lamp which gave you light when the electricity went out. And back then, the electricity wasn’t like it is today - they had power outages all the time… And if you don’t understand why that’s true, then we need to have a serious conversation about the kind of schooling you went to as a kid.

So, what’s a “SMOLDERING WICK?” A smoldering wick is a smoking wick, which not only has diminished the light it kicks out, but kicks out smoke which isn’t fun to breath or smell. It makes your clothes smell all smokey. And so when you had a smoldering wick, you just replaced it as it was cheap and not worth messing around it.

Alright, so those are the two illustrations - so what do they mean? The point is, the servant, who is Jesus the Messiah, will not break off (or throw out) a bruised reed He will not quench, or put out and discard a flickering, or smoldering, smoking wick. And the smoldering wick and the bruised reed are metaphors for those the helpess and oppressed. The bruised reed are those who have been abused The smoldering wick are those who are weary and tired, who’s flame is about to go out. And here Matthew, by quoting Isaiah, shows how the Messiah is the servant of God who comes not with callous indifference towards the poor, the sick, the needy, and the helpless He comes compassionately, For He is that Friend of Sinners! He is the merciful one who cares for the hurting! Which is why He is the great healer who HEALS THEM ALL as verse 15 mentions! And it is why Matthew mentioned back in chapter 9

When he saw the crowds, he had compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Matthew 9:36 ESV

Do you see the gentle and compassionate character of God’s servant? He doesn’t come to condemn and destroy, but to HEAL and to save! Which is why He says in Matthew 11, “COME TO ME ALL WHO ARE WEARY AND HEAVY LADEN AND I WILL GIVE YOU REST!” Do you see now why the Lord was so tender and compassionate to John the Baptist when he was doubting back in chapter 11?

The Lord is near to the brokenhearted and saves the crushed in spirit.

Psalm 34:18 ESV

Jesus the Messiah - God’s beloved compassionate and gentle servant is not quick to condemn and discard, but will persevere in His divinely orchestrated mission to BRING JUSTICE AND PEACE TO THE NATIONS! To all those who are poor in spirit, Those who mourn, Those who are meek Those who hunger and thirst for a righteousness not of their own For in Christ, the outcasts, the needy, and the downtrodden find mercy and healing!

However, for those who do not seek mercy and refuge under His wings, they will find a conquering, not collapsing Savior, which leads us to our final point.

The Messiah’s mission was:

Conquering, not collapsing

In his name the nations will put their hope.”

Matthew 12:21 NIV

The plan of God is truly remarkable isn’t it? While God originally choose the Israelites as His special people to be a light unto the nations, they completely failed in that mission. And not only did they fail, but at this time they had extreme prejudice and hatred towards other nations, thinking that they were superior to them all. After all, they were God’s special chosen people! They weren’t like those sinful gentile dogs, were they? And yet, with kind of thinking they were actually further from the heart of God than they could ever had imagined!

Do you understand the mission of the God’s servant? It wasn’t to make good people better It wasn’t to clean us up! NO! It was to bring the DEAD to LIFE!

And so if you are here this morning with an attitude like that of the Jewish nation, realize what you're doing! Realize that you are outright REJECTING the invitation to the wedding feast of the Kingdom! Which means YOU ARE OUT!

And if that’s you, realize that someday very soon, the messianic servant that Isaiah spoke of is coming back again to fulfill the other messianic prophecies that are yet to be fulfilled, where He comes as conquering KING to rule and reign over all the nations of the world! And when He comes, He will break the stubborn reeds who refused His tender care He will put out the smoking wicks who have foolishly rejected Him! For HE WILL BRING JUSTICE TO VICTORY as verse 20 says

For those who have placed their hope and joy in His name, He will bring justice to victory in their great salvation But for those who have rejected His name, like the nation of Israel did, He will bring about their great eternal destruction. And so our response to all of this depends on which one we are. If you have rejected His name - then see the destruction that lies before you and place your hope in Him. And if you do, tell someone here you did today so we can rejoice with you and help encourage you in your new Christian life!

For those here who have placed your hope in His name, does that hope override your difficult circumstances? Yes, they will still be hard, but they won’t diminish your hope, they’ll increase it all the more!

Are you being calm, and not contentious with others as Christ was with you? Or are you going around trying to break all the bruised reeds you see? Are you rough and calloused with people, or compassionate and caring?

Are you being a light to the nations as you are called to be? And if the answer is no, then are you truly seeing the supreme worth of Christ, God’s beloved one with Whom His soul is well pleased? And if the Father’s soul is pleased in Christ, shouldn’t your soul be too?

Hope has come the all the nations of the world in Christ Jesus. Is He your hope?

This is the manuscript the sermon was preached from, so the recording may differ in places.