Matthew 12:17-21 - In His name the nations will put their hope

12:17,18

Matthew again points back to the Old Testament, this time to the first servant song in Isaiah 42:1-4. Jesus is the servant whom God has chosen. It does not matter that the religious leaders did not regard Him as God’s servant, but as a threat. It does not matter that the “elite” of the world do not consider Him to be God’s chosen One. God has chosen Him, that is all that matters. God loves the Son and delights in Him. The Servant would be filled with the Spirit, which is why it is significant that the Spirit descended on Him like a dove at His baptism. He would proclaim justice to the nations. Justice involves God’s ways being enacted in a society, all of God’s ways. We have a habit of focusing on just one aspect and ignoring or even positively rejecting others. So some will focus on matters of sexual morality but ignore justice for the poor and oppressed. Others will focus on helping the poor and helpless, but even positively reject God’s ways with regard to sexual morality.

12:19-21

This justice would go out to all nations, but despite having this big mission, the servant would not be loud. He would not quarrel or cry out, “no one will hear his voice in the street”. This last bit seems a little odd, as we are told not to keep quiet, and Jesus did speak openly. However, given v20, the point seems to be that He will not be aggressive. He will treat the struggling with gentleness. There are times when we seem to be a smouldering wick, just about alive to God, but not exactly on fire. Jesus will not snuff us out, but will revive us. Jesus will lead justice to victory, and all nations will put their hope in Him. This is the destination of history.