Transcript

Touched By Tenderness

Matthew 12:15-21
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Pastor Randy Smith

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If God, as the Bible teaches, dwells within each of His children, I would assume that we should see evidence of His presence within all Christians. As we observe other believers, we should be able to observe the One in whom they believe. We should be able to read about the fruits of the Spirit and look up from the pages of Scripture and witness the tender fruits of gentleness and patience and goodness and self-control and love in the followers of Christ.

And when I think of godly followers of Christ, the apostle Paul comes to mind. This week as I meditated on 1 Corinthians 1:4, I was given a window into Paul's heart, which was a window into the heart of God.

We all know the notorious reputation of the Corinthian church - immorality, divisiveness, greed, improper use of the gifts, poor theology and desecrating the Lord's Table. First Corinthians is a corrective letter, exposing one blunder after another. But to my surprise stands the fourth verse of the very first chapter. Paul says, "I thank my God always concerning you for the grace of God which was given you in Christ Jesus." Thankful for them? Evidence of grace in their lives? How could Paul begin his letter this way?

The answer is because this was Jesus Christ's assessment of the church and Paul saw this church through the eyes of Jesus Christ. Despite their deficiencies, grace was operative in their lives. The Corinthians only saw Christ's work in the spectacular. Paul saw Christ's work in routine. The Corinthians were self-appointed and self-righteous critics of Paul (1 Cor. 4:3, 8-21). Our Lord was patient with this church so Paul was as well. Our Lord loved this church so did Paul as well. Our Lord was transforming this church and Paul rejoiced.

Paul's tenderness for these people was evidence that He viewed this church as Christ viewed this church because the heart of Christ is one of tenderness. As we learned two weeks ago from Matthew 11:29, Jesus said, "For I am gentle and humble in heart." And as we see in this week's passage from Matthew 12:15, "Many followed Him, and He healed them all." What compassion! What tenderness!

Who is Jesus? Even Christians are sadly confused about the heart of their Savior. I repeatedly hear the questions: Can I lose His affection? Do I have to earn His love? Will He leave me? Is He concerned for even my smallest burdens? Is He mad at me? Is He more eager to reward or punish? Does He feel my pain? Does He only see my weaknesses? Will He give me a second chance, third chance…?

Studying mature believers like Paul gives us an indirect window into Christ's heart. Studying today's passage will directly expose the heart of our Savior.

People are confused today. Let's also remember the confusion that abounded in the day as to who the Messiah would be. Let's remember that many rejected Jesus and eventually nailed Him to a cross because He did not fit the public's expectations. So who was Jesus? How was the Messiah supposed to act?

In our passage today Matthew takes us back to the Word of God. He quotes a large passage from the Old Testament book of Isaiah (Isa. 42:1-4). This passage is prophetic; it was written before Christ arrived in Bethlehem. This passage is a biblical description of the Messiah. This passage reveals that Jesus is the Messiah and the gentle heart He possesses.

1. HE'S A SERVANT

I have six components of Jesus Christ that I'd like to present to you this morning. And for the first component I want you to see that Jesus is a servant. Look with me at verse 18. This is God the Father speaking to God the Son: "BEHOLD, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN."

The Jews were expecting a bloodthirsty zealot that would squash the Roman occupation. Jesus came as a servant. For the only blood He was prepared to shed would be His own at Calvary. Our Lord had a higher mission that the people overlooked. Greater than deliverance from the Romans would be delivering people from their sin.

The Bible teaches that all humans have sinned (Rom. 3:23). And our sin has created an eternal separation from a holy God. Being sinners we are unable to make atonement for ourselves. But God in His love and mercy sent His Son to die as our substitute on the cross. As our verse from Isaiah says, being unable to choose any of us because of our sin to be that substitutionary sacrifice, He chose His very own who was the sinless one. And His very own willingly accepted the role as a suffering servant on our behalf. Mark 10:45, "For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give His life a ransom for many."

The Father calls Jesus His chosen servant. We have mocked the role of a servant in our culture. "Look out for number one." "Walk over others to get what you need." "Love yourself first." This is not what I observed the past two weeks at the Grace Tabernacle. I was so encouraged how this church served so faithfully during VBS and the Soccer Clinic. Servanthood is the heart of Jesus and it should be our heart as well. As Jesus said, "The greatest among you shall be your servant" (Mt. 23:11). When the disciples argued, Jesus washed feet. When the disciples ran in fear, Jesus marched to His crucifixion.

In serving the Father, Jesus served us in purchasing our forgiveness in the past. But His service for us didn't end at the cross. As He said in the Great Commission, "I am with you always, even to the end of the age" (Mt. 28:20). He is presently our Advocate (1 Jn. 2:1) and our Mediator (1 Tim. 2:5). He is our Intercessor (Heb. 7:25) and High Priest (Heb. 2:17). He stands forever unashamed to be our friend (Jn. 15:15) and elder brother (Heb. 2:11).

2. HE'S LOVED BY THE FATHER

Second, according to the prophecy, Jesus would also be loved by and the delight of the Father. Verse 18, "MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED."

Think about it parents. What pleases you more than anything from your children? Is it their presents? Is it their athletic or academic achievements? Absolutely not! It is their obedience. Proverbs 23:24, "The father of the righteous will greatly rejoice."

What pleases the heavenly Father more than anything? Once again, obedience! So why was the Father so pleased with the Son? Because the Son lived out what He said in John 8:29: "For I always do the things that are pleasing to Him." Above all things the Son made it His ambition to obey the Father. And because the Son was so faithful to always desire the Father's will, the Father was always well-pleased with the Son (1 Pet. 2:5).

This is what makes the cross so remarkable. Perfect fellowship within the Trinity. Perfect harmony between the Father and the Son, that is until Jesus accepted our sins upon Himself. It was at that time that the Father, for the first time in eternity, turned His back on the Son. And as the Son cried out, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?" (Mk. 15:34), He knew His rejection by the Father was to prevent the rejection by the Father of all those who would believe in Him. For a moment in time, Jesus was willing to set aside His relationship with the Father so that we could enjoy an eternal relationship with the Father that would never be broken. And now after being clothed in Christ's righteousness we are found in position well-pleasing in His sight too.

3. HE'S SPIRIT FILLED

Third, another unique description of the Messiah was that He would be Spirit-filled. As the text says, "I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM."

We learned from chapter 3 in Matthew that immediately after His baptism the Spirit came upon Jesus. The Holy Spirit came upon Jesus in a unique way to empower Him for ministry (Mt. 3:16; cf. Ac. 10:38). That activity was the direct fulfillment of this prophecy from Isaiah. That activity showed that Jesus was the true Messiah.

The proximity of this point and our previous point is remarkable. From verse 18, "MY BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED." Do you remember the words that thundered down from heaven when the Spirit came upon Jesus? "This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well-pleased" (Mt. 3:17; cf. 17:5). And again, why was the Father well-pleased with the Son? Because the Son always did what was pleasing to the Father.

What a confirmation this is to us who are united with Jesus. Because we stand on His merit, the Father sees us as He sees the Son. We are "beloved." We are "well-pleasing in His sight." And we are empowered by the Spirit to serve Him with joy and faithfulness. Union with Christ - everything the Father sees in the Son, the Father now sees in us!

4. HE'S REVEALING

Fourth, Jesus the Messiah is also revealing. The end of verse 18 declares, "AND HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE GENTILES."

Once again the Jews of that day had an incorrect perception of the Messiah. They viewed the Messiah as "their" Messiah. They didn't care too much for the Gentiles and strongly believed the Messiah wouldn't as well. But when Jesus came, He made it clear that He was not biased to one people group. The Bible declares that heaven will be populated with folks "from every tribe and tongue and people and nation" (Rev. 5:9). Jesus came to redeem all these people.

How can we forget that encounter with the Gentile Samaritan woman at the well? In John 4:25 "the woman said to Him, 'I know that Messiah is coming (He who is called Christ); when that One comes, He will declare all things to us.'" And Jesus replied, "I who speak to you am He" (Jn. 4:26). His first and clearest revelation of His messiahship was to a Gentile! Jesus came to save individuals from all people groups, a point He obviously made clear with those Samaritans. "And they were saying to the woman, 'It is no longer because of what you said that we believe, for we have heard for ourselves and know that this One is indeed the Savior of the world'" (Jn. 4:42).

The prophet Jonah was told to proclaim God's Word to the people in Nineveh (Jon. 1:2). But because of his distaste for the Gentiles the brother ran as far as he could in the opposite direction to Tarshish (Jon. 1:3). Yet God's greatest prophet in the Messiah would love all people and seek to "proclaim justice to the Gentiles." He would have a direct ministry to the Gentiles and then commission all of His people to follow in His footsteps and "make disciples of all the nations" (Mt. 28:19).

Listen my friends, regardless of your skin color or ethnic background you can be accepted by Christ. He loves all the same and so do we here at the Grace Tabernacle. I can even go further. Regardless of your moral background, Jesus Christ forgives and accepts all who come to Him in faith. I don't know where you have been or what you have done, but if Jesus is willing to forgive those who blaspheme Him (Mt. 12:31-32), as we will learn in our next lesson, I have no doubt that He is willing to forgive your sins as well.

5. HE'S MEEK

Number 5. Just because He is revealing doesn't mean that He is arrogant. Verse 19 describes the Messiah as one of meekness: "HE WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS."

Based on the prophetic word from Isaiah, it was never the intention of the Messiah to bring a revolution. Jesus never stirred up a riot nor did He organize a mob nor did He run toward the spotlight. We don't see Him picking unnecessary fights, demanding His rights or throwing a temper-tantrum for Himself. He was quiet. He was self-controlled. He was temperate. He was gentle. He was meek. Peter tells us, "While being reviled, He did not revile in return; while suffering, He uttered no threats, but kept entrusting Himself to Him who judges righteously" (1 Pet. 2:23).

When He was arrested in the Garden, He could have called down twelve legions of angels, but rather surrendered Himself to the hands of His opposition (Mt. 26:53). When standing before Pilate, He could have outwitted the human leader, "[But] as a lamb before its shearer is silent, so He [did] not open His mouth" (Ac. 8:32). When hanging on the cross, He could have wiped out those mocking Him, but He prayed, "Father, forgive them; for they do not know what they are doing" (Lk. 23:34).

6. HE'S PATIENT

He's a servant, He's loved by the Father, He's Spirit-filling, He's revealing and He's meek. Sixth, we see that He is patient. Verse 20, "A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY."

Reeds were common and cheap in Israel. They served to make flutes and straws, but once they were broken it was much easier to find another one.

We can feel like reeds. Who am I when I consider the billions of people in the world? Who am I that Jesus Christ would find a purpose for me? And even if He gave me a chance when I do break or show cracks around the edges what prevents Him from starting over with a clean vessel?

When you make a mistake writing on a piece of paper, what do you do? Often we crumble it up, throw it in the garbage and start with a fresh sheet. Fortunately Christ does not treat us the same way. He is patient with us. "A battered reed He will not break off."

A second illustration: "A smoldering wick He will not put out."

For illumination the Israelites used oil lamps. A wick was placed inside and then lit with a flame. An imperfectly functioning wick was a nuisance - it produced little light and a whole lot of smoke. In such a situation, since the wicks were inexpensive, they would throw away the smoldering wick in favor of a new one.

Once again Christ will be patient with His people. When our reed is damaged, He mends the weak and again uses us to play sweet music for Him. And when our flame is dying, He kindles the fire and again uses us to burn brightly for Him. He does not toss us out like yesterday's garbage. He will not permit us to be trampled over until, as the verse says, "He leads justice to victory." The Messiah will triumph and we will triumph with Him!

I began this sermon speaking about the apostle Paul. He knew Jesus Christ. He walked faithfully with His Savior. He was transformed by the relationship in such a way that He became like the Messiah. He became a man of tenderness and patience and meekness and love. Grace was operative in his life and there was evidence to prove it.

The same will be true for us. God's greatest goal for you is that He sees in you the reflection of His Son. As Jesus is a servant, we should be a servant. As Jesus is well-pleasing to the Father, we should be a well-pleasing to the Father. As Jesus gives evidence of the Spirit within Him, we should give evidence of the Spirit within us. As Jesus proclaims the gospel to all, we should proclaim the gospel to all. As Jesus is meek, we should be meek. As Jesus is patient, we should be patient.

Beloved, when we understand who Jesus is and what He has done do we dare believe He is He asking too much? Is He placing upon us a burden too difficult to bear?

On April 9, 1945, Dietrich Bonhoeffer lost his life in the Flossenburg concentration camp just days before it was liberated by the Allies. The Christian pastor died because he rightly resisted the evil treatment the Nazi regime imposed upon the Jews.

Referring to a passage we studied two weeks ago Bonhoeffer said, "Only the man who follows the command of Jesus single-mindedly, and unresistingly lets His yoke rest upon him, finds His burden easy, and under its gentle pressure receives the power to persevere in the right way. The command of Jesus is hard, unutterably hard, for those who try to resist it. But for those who willingly submit, the yoke is easy and the burden is light" (Cost of Discipleship, p. 40).

What an incredible Savior we serve. Praise God for our relationship with Him. For as verse 21 declares, "In His name the Gentiles will hope."