Let's turn to Matthew chapter
12, where we're going to be looking today. Matthew chapter 12. I
actually want to read from verse 25 of chapter 11, and we'll read
all this together, beginning at Matthew chapter 11, verse
25, so that you get the whole context here. Because as I've
been studying these chapters, these two chapters in particular,
And when I start studying for one sermon, I kind of forget
the details of the last one. And a couple of sermons later,
I've really forgotten a lot of the details. But you see the
flow, and I really appreciate seeing the context out of which
these things come. You see John in prison and Christ
comforting him and instructing us in chapter 11. And how the
Lord preserves him and tells us it's blessed, those are blessed
who are not offended, who do not apostatize from Christ. chapter
11. But then towards the end, in
this chapter 11, you saw both those who were coming into the
kingdom of God, pressing into it, and those who were rejecting
it to their own destruction and opposing their own salvation.
And then at the end we have these blessed words beginning at verse
25. At that time Jesus answered,
and in light of the fact that there were so many who were opposing
their own salvation, rejecting Christ, and it seemed as if all
of the reason for the Lord Jesus coming into the world, they didn't
care anything for it. In fact, they only wanted to
kill him. And the fact that there were many who did press into
the kingdom of God by God's mercy. Then Jesus utters this prayer.
He says, at that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father,
Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from
the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes." Now
that verse teaches us two things primarily. First of all, that
salvation is God's prerogative. He is pleased not to reveal Christ
to those who in their own eyes are wise and prudent. And how
that ought to humble us in the dust. And then He's also pleased
to reveal the Lord Jesus Christ and His salvation to those who
in themselves are nothing, babes, who have no spiritual maturity,
no value in themselves. This is the constant theme throughout
Scripture. And so Jesus goes on in his prayer,
he says, "'Even so, Father, for so it seemed good in thy sight.'"
That's the reason for everything. It seemed good to God. Why are
things the way they are? It seems good to God to make
it that way. Remember Eli, when the news came
back that his two sons, Hophni and Phinehas, were killed in
the battle, and the ark of God was taken. Eli says, let the
Lord do what seemeth good to him. In fact Samuel told him
that. The little boy Samuel told him this was coming. He said,
let the Lord do what seems good to him. Because if God does what
seems good to him, and He always does, then whatever He does is
good. Because God is good. He cannot
not do good. So the Lord thanks Jesus thanks
His Father for that. And then verse 27, All things
are delivered unto me and my Father, and no man knoweth the
Son, but the Father knoweth any man the Father save the Son,
and to whomsoever the Son will reveal Him. That verse is teaching
us a number of things. First of all, the Lord Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. Secondly, He's the only mediator
between God and men. You cannot know God without knowing
Him. You can't see God without seeing Him. If you know Him and
see God, if you come to God, if you call upon Him, if you
believe in God, you believe and come and call and see and hear
the Lord Jesus Christ. That's the only way we can know
God. He has to bring us. And so this verse is teaching
that. And all things in heaven and earth are delivered to the
Son. He's the Son of God. He has all power, all authority. And He dispenses God's will at
His pleasure and gives salvation to whom He will. Reveals His
Father to whom He will. And He announces this. He's the
Son of God and He's the one Mediator. So keep that in your mind. Because
as Mediator, He's both God and man. Men can't come to God. They're sinners. Throughout the
Old Testament you see this. Men can't just come to God. God
doesn't have anything to do with sinners. But they can come to
the Lord Jesus Christ, because in Christ He takes away the sins
of His people. That's the truth of Scripture. That's the mediator. In Psalm
1 He says, "...the ungodly shall not stand in the judgment, and
sinners shall not stand in the congregation of the righteous."
They can't, because they're sinners. And we're all sinners. All have
sinned. There's none righteous. No, not one. So there's no hope.
And thus, the Lord Jesus Christ is our mediator. And that's what
verse 27 is trying to bring home. The Lord Jesus Christ is the
Son of God and the mediator between God and men. And so He says in
verse 28, "...as our mediator." Now, God would say, go, flee,
depart. and He would send us away because
of our sin. God's wrath is against us by
nature, but in verse 28 He says, In light of the fact that many
are departing, many are apostatizing, many are rejecting Christ. In
light of the fact that they hate Him and want to kill Him. Even
in the context of that hatred of Christ, Jesus says this, "...Come
unto Me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest." Take my yoke upon you, learn of me. For I am meek
and lowly in heart, and you shall find rest to your souls. For
my yoke is easy, and my burden is light." What is the yoke of
Christ? How heavy is it? It's light. How light? It's weightless. Why? Because it's a yoke of grace. What does it say in Romans 6.14?
Sin shall not have dominion over you. Why? Because you are not
under the law. That's a heavy yoke, which neither
we nor our fathers could bear. But you're under grace. And God's
grace is such that God does everything for sinners. And that grace is
a yoke which, through faith, we lay hold on Christ. So we're
coupled to Him by faith on our part, by His love and eternal
purpose, and His redemptive work and His Spirit on His part. And
so that's the yoke. It's a light yoke. It's an easy
yoke. It's a yoke that sinners embrace. A yoke of grace by faith
in Christ. And that's wonderful. And so
then in verse 12, he goes on. Remember, the Son of God, our
Mediator, and so the context here is the Lord of the Sabbath.
And we read this last time. Let's read through this, verse
1 of chapter 12. At that time, Jesus went on the Sabbath day
through the corn, and His disciples weren't hungry, and they began
to pluck the ears of corn and to eat. And when the Pharisees
saw it, they said to him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is
not lawful to do upon the Sabbath day. But he said to them, Have
you not read what David did when he was hungry? And they that
were with him, how he entered into the house of God and did
eat the showbread which was not lawful for him to eat, neither
for them that were with him, but only for the priests." So,
the Pharisees objected to the disciples eating corn. Rubbing
it in their hands and eating it. Because they claim that they're
rubbing that corn... was threshing, and picking it
was reaping. Contrary to the law, it was allowed.
And yet they said, no, that's work on the Sabbath. You can't
do it. Jesus is the Lord of the Sabbath. And He gives three things
here that are reasons why they could do this. First, David had
a need with his men. He had a need. And with his need,
the ceremonial law which said the priest only could eat the
bread was laid aside and he and his men both partook of that
in picture of our Lord Jesus Christ taking hold of the will
of God, doing the will of God in his people, thereby having
eternal life and eating of him. And then he says here, In verse
5 of chapter 12, he gives a second reason. Here, the worship and
service to God is allowed, even though it requires work on the
Sabbath day. The Sabbath is not broken. The Lord of the Sabbath
is explaining what it means to keep the Sabbath. And he says,
first of all, if there's a need, the Sabbath does not supersede
that need. Secondly, if there's worship
and service of God, it doesn't supersede that. And thirdly,
he says in verse 6, "...but I say unto you that in this place is
one greater than the temple. If you had known what this means,
I will have mercy and not sacrifice. You would not have condemned
the guiltless." And this is the third thing, and the most important,
is that the Sabbath was never intended for men not to show
mercy. But in fact, the Sabbath is teaching
us the glory of God in His salvation of sinners. And therefore, it's
teaching us the mercy of God. Because in the Sabbath, and I'm
reviewing now, in the Sabbath we see the finished work of God
in our redemption. In creation, God rested when
He completed all the work of creation. Looking forward to
the time that though men would go into the fall, there would
be a time when He would give eternal rest to His people through
His work as God. And that work as God was performed
in our Mediator, who as our Redeemer, redeemed us from sin and under
the law as God delivered Israel from Egypt, out from under the
law. And therefore He commanded them to keep the Sabbath, to
remember their redemption from Egypt, and remember God's creation,
rest. Now, He's the Lord of the Sabbath
because, first of all, He instituted the Sabbath. It was the Lord
Jesus Christ who is the law giver. He gave those words. There's
no one who can see God, and yet Moses saw the face of God, or
the backside. He saw His glory. But in seeing
Him, he had to look on the Lord Jesus Christ. Not on God the
Father, not on God the Spirit. And so the Lord Jesus Christ
is the one who gave this institution of the Sabbath day, but in giving
it, He's the Lord of the Sabbath because as the Creator, He's
the one who did the work of creation and finished it. And as the one
who promised the children of Israel they would come into the
land of rest, He fulfilled that rest in Himself. When by His
conquest over our enemies, He gave us rest. All the blessings
of God, the land of plenty, and rest in Himself. That's what
the Sabbath was teaching us in type and in figure. But the Lord
Jesus Christ emphasizes here, the primary point is mercy to
sinners. The Sabbath never precludes doing
mercy on that day. The ceremonial law, all the laws
of God, they didn't put aside God's mercy. It says in the Proverbs
that God's throne is not only established on judgment and justice,
but on mercy. on mercy. And so now we pick
it up here in verse 8. What did I say? What does it
say 1127, that Christ is the Son of God. He's the mediator
between God and men. And here we see now in verse
8, as the Lord, He's the Son and the Son of Man, He is Lord
even of the Sabbath day. So God has not only given Him
all things, but He has made Him Lord of the laws. He's going to institute them,
explain them, and eventually fulfill them. That's what He's
about to do. And so He says He's the Lord. And He not only is
the Lord in those ways, but He's the Lord of the Sabbath because
He gives us rest in Himself. And now I want to pick this up
in verse 9 and focus our attention on these verses that follow through
verse 21 today. And when he was departed thence,
he went into their synagogue, and behold, there was a man which
had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is
it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days, that they might accuse
him? The Pharisees looked at this man. They knew he was there.
His hand was withered. I don't know which hand it was.
Let's say it's his right hand. It was withered. He couldn't
stretch it out. It was all shriveled up. And
I don't know what kind of a disease that caused that, but maybe it
doesn't matter. The point is, he couldn't stretch
his hand out. And it was a Sabbath day. Now
they anticipated that Jesus would heal him. That's what he did.
He was full of compassion towards sinners and he healed people
of their diseases. And so, on the Sabbath day, they
asked him in advance. It says, they asked him, is it
lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? They're already putting
him on the examination stand. To put him to trial. But they
didn't do this because they were doing it honestly. They did it
with an evil intent that they might accuse him. But the Lord
Jesus Christ is omniscient. He knows everything. How dare
a sinner approach Him and try to outwit Him? He's going to
be made a fool of! And that's exactly what the Pharisees
do. They expose their own wickedness and their own ignorance. And
they also, in the process, magnify the Lord Jesus Christ for His
wisdom and mercy towards sinners. Look what He says in verse 11.
And He said to them, What man shall there be among you that
shall have one sheep, and if it fall into the pit on the sabbath
day will he not lay hold on it and lift it out? He asked the question and no
one answered. They knew they were in trouble.
Oh man, this was always a bad idea asking him a question in
public. Maybe that's why Nicodemus came
to him at night. Verse 12. How much then is a man better
than a sheep? How often do you see today the
idiocy of people who try to promote animal rights... Or taking care
of animals as some kind of a comparison to people. They'll get out there
and they'll donate money and send out mailers and all this
stuff about animals. And they care nothing for little
babies who are murdered in the womb. Or they care nothing for
men's souls. It's hypocrisy. How much then
the Lord Jesus Christ, the Lord, the creator of men's souls says,
is a man better than a sheep? Now that's just the stupidity
of our day. It shows the wickedness of men's
hearts on the name of being kind. It shows hypocrisy. I'm not saying
that we should be cruel to animals. But when we put animals on the
level with people, it's the whole evolution thing. That men somehow
evolve from some kind of a bacteria or Big Bang or some other kind
of form. It's asinine is what it is. should anger us because it's
so foolish. But nevertheless, the Lord Jesus
Christ silences the Pharisees with this. He says, how much
more? You know that a man is better than a sheep, and yet
you'll retrieve your sheep out of a pit. Here's a man whose
hand is withered. And you're asking me, is it lawful
to do well on the Sabbath day to heal this man? You know the
answer. Of course it is. Hypocrites. And so he said to the man, the
Lord of the Sabbath, The Lord of Creation, the Son of God,
the Mediator. He isn't concerned about what
these carping hypocrites say against Him. In the face of their opposition
and their hatred. He continues to pursue the will
of God and to do it in mercy towards sinners. He has mercy
on the helpless in the context, in the presence of those who
would kill him. And he cared nothing for these
men. And so he says to this man whose
hand was withered, he says, stretch out your hand. And guess what? He couldn't stretch it out, but
he stretched it out. And he stretched it forth and
it was restored. This one hand was restored just
like the other. How did he do that? How did that
man muster up the strength to stick his hand out and make it
all? He didn't have anything to do with it. With the command. The Lord Jesus Christ, showing
mercy on this man with His command, came the grace to obey it. That
is such a comfort to me. How many times have you read
something in Scripture that you cannot do? You've tried and you've
failed, or if you've done it, it seems that it's so weak, it's
insignificant. And it only lasted for a moment.
Like a little puff. of faith, or a puff of repentance,
or some kind of a... I thought I was happy once, that
I was saved, but I've lost sight of it all, and it just seems
like there's no comfort and rejoicing in my heart. And yet, with the
command comes the grace. And we're going to see how that
works here. And he said to the man, Stretch forth your hand,
and he stretched it forth, and it was restored whole as the
other. And the Pharisees went out, and they held a council
against him, how they might destroy him." Why did they hate him so
much? because He only did good. He only did good. They couldn't
find any fault with Him, but they could find plenty of fault
with themselves, and it was publicly discovered and exposed. Their evil appeared greater in
light of His goodness. He was meek and lowly of heart. He wasn't out here to make a
name for himself. He was simply having mercy towards
this man, giving him rest from his withered hand on the Sabbath
day, giving him that true rest, showing him true mercy, and magnifying
God's mercy toward this man. In the light of this, the Pharisees
hate him. And in Mark chapter 3, if you
read there, it says there that they actually go out to the Herodians,
those who were Herod's people. And they consulted with the Herodians,
the enemies of God. and their own enemies, how they
might destroy Jesus. They hated him so much they were
ready to make a league with their own enemies in order to destroy
Jesus. The one who had done nothing
but good, and mercy, and kindness. All these years, think about
this, for over three, maybe three and a half years, the Lord Jesus
Christ walked around Jerusalem, and Judea, and the land of Galilee
where the Gentiles were, and through Samaria. I would be amazed
if anyone hadn't heard, or seen, or heard directly, hadn't heard
of Jesus, or heard directly, or seen Him themselves, what
Jesus was. In three and a half years, He
covered all that area, walking around and talking in their synagogues,
out on the hillside. In the marketplace, wherever
He was, people touching Him. Him touching people. Him speaking
to them. And they receiving complete healing. Raising from the dead. Opening
eyes of blind. All these things. Casting out
devils. Everyone would have heard about
Him. There was nothing they could find wrong with Him. Everything
He said was God's truth. And He promised eternal life. How could anyone find fault with
Him? And here these Pharisees are, because He shows them to
be evil. He shows their good works, what
they thought was good, to be the very core of their problem. They're evil. They would not
submit to the righteousness of God who was standing before them
and in their midst. They would not bow to the Lord
of the Sabbath. They would not bow to the one
mediator between God and man, the Son of God, in whose hands
God put all things. They would not bow to him, instead
they sought to destroy him. Willfully, with full knowledge
of who he was, they went about to destroy him. That's called
apostasy. That is called being offended
in him. It says in Acts 4.11, it says,
"...the stone which the builders rejected..." These were the builders,
these Pharisees. It's like a mason. He's out there
picking up a rock, chiseling the corners off, trying to make
it fit, making that part of the temple. And the Pharisees, and
the scribes, and the rulers, those who are supposed to be
the builders of God's temple, they look at the Lord Jesus Christ.
A perfect stone, the cornerstone. And they rejected the cornerstone.
And Peter says in Acts 4.12, he says, "...neither is there
salvation in any other, for there is no other name under heaven
given among men whereby we must be saved." They rejected their
only salvation. And so they were in apostasy.
And we see that a little later in this chapter. It speaks about
that sin which is unforgivable. These men knew who Christ was.
They saw His miracles. They heard His words. They knew
He was the Lord of the Sabbath. Because He obviously couldn't
do this miracle unless God was with Him. And He did it on the
Sabbath day. And yet they held a council to
destroy Him. Full knowledge. Full guilt. And Jesus later says that the
guilt of all... of those that have been murdered
from Abel to Zacharias is going to come on this generation. And
then it says here in verse 15, Now, throughout the Gospels,
you see these things happening. You see that the Lord shows us
about our Lord Jesus Christ, sometimes almost casually. It
says, when Jesus knew it, He withdrew Himself from thence.
They went out to the Herodians to seek a counsel to destroy
Jesus. Jesus knew it. He knew what they were thinking.
He's God. He's the Lord. But now look. It says, He went out, multitudes
followed Him, and what did He do? He healed them all. All those
who had need of healing, He healed. All those who followed Jesus,
who had need of healing, He healed. What does that say? That means
that you and I, mostly me, I can be healed by the Lord Jesus Christ. He heals those who have need
of healing. And what is that healing that
He does? Well here, it was obviously a physical healing. But throughout
the New Testament He also healed spiritually. And it all points
to the fact that our souls are sick. It's by His stripes we
were healed. What kind of healing were we
healed with by His stripes? The healing of our sin sick souls.
Our sin had to be taken away. He came to save sinners. not
to call sinners, not the righteous to repentance. And he said that
in Matthew 9, 13, right on the heels of saying, I didn't come
to, because the physician doesn't need to come to those who are
healthy, but to the sick. I didn't come to call righteous,
but the sinners to repentance. So our healing has to be a spiritual
healing. And the Lord Jesus Christ is
doing that here. He's healing all those. And this
is the greatest hope. He's the mediator. Come to the
Lord Jesus Christ. He's meek and lowly of heart.
There's nothing about the Lord Jesus Christ that should keep
us from Him, except our own unbelief Our own lack of recognition that
we are sinners and we need a Savior. That's why He came. He came to
save His people from their sins. And so He says here in verse...
when He healed them all, it says, "...and He charged them that
they should not make Him known." He wasn't out to make a name
for Himself. The Pharisees were for themselves, but not He, not
Him for Himself. He was there to do what? To do
His Father's will. And it would be His Father who
would magnify His Son. Because it says in 1 Peter 5,
around verse 5, it says, "...humble yourselves unto the mighty hand
of God, and what will He do? He will exalt you in due time."
If the Lord wants to exalt you, He'll exalt you. But in the meantime,
humble yourself. And so the Lord Jesus Christ
is here humbling Himself. He's meek and lowly of heart.
And then it says why He did this. Why did the Lord Jesus Christ
go out to these multitudes? Why did they follow Him? Why
did He heal them? Why did He do all these things?
That it might be fulfilled, verse 17, that it might be fulfilled
which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet. Now listen to these
words. Behold my servant. That's the
title of today's message. 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 show judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive nor cry,
neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. A bruised
reed shall he not break, and smoking flax shall he not quench,
till he send forth judgment unto victory, and in his name shall
the Gentiles trust." Now, I have been giving you an exposition
of the verses up to this point. And I want to put it in the context. Remember verse 27, the Lord Jesus
Christ is the Son of God. Remember, He's the mediator.
Remember, He's the Lord of the Sabbath. The Son of God, the
One Mediator between God and men, the Lord of the Sabbath.
And here you see Him. What is He called here? Behold,
My Servant. The One who is the Mediator,
who is the Son of God, and the Lord of the Sabbath, who obviously
is God Himself, is My Servant. The Lord says, He's My Servant.
He's meek and lowly in heart. Now, the first thing I want to
point out about this. This is a prophecy from Isaiah.
He says it here. It was spoken by Isaiah the prophet.
It's almost word for word. In fact, let's go back and read
this in Isaiah 42. In verse 1 of Isaiah 42 it says,
"...behold my servant," same words, "...whom I uphold." Mine
elect. That's what chosen means. Mine
elect. Who's speaking here? It's the
Lord. It's God the Father. By the Spirit
of God is speaking through Isaiah. And the Lord, God the Father,
is speaking to us and he's saying, "...behold my servant, whom I
uphold, mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth, I have put my
Spirit upon him." Don't you see that that's God the Father? Who
but God the Father could put His Spirit upon His Son? "...he
shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles, he shall not cry,
nor lift up Nor cause his voice to be heard in the streets. In
other words, he doesn't promote himself. He's not trying to make
a name for himself. He's on the Lord's mission. A
bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flack shall he
not quench. He shall bring forth judgment
unto truth. That's the one difference. He
shall not fail, nor be discouraged. till he have set judgment in
the earth, and the isles shall wait for his law." That is the
same translated here. The Gentiles would trust in him.
They'd wait for his law. What is his law? It's the gospel.
So we want to look at these words here. Notice first of all, and
this is something I don't want you to miss. Who is telling us
to behold? And who is he telling us to behold? Who is saying to us, behold!
It's God the Father. Who does He tell us to behold?
My servant. Behold my servant. Who is this? The Lord Jesus Christ. The one
mediator between God and men. The one who is meek and lowly
of heart. God the Father tells sinners,
look Look upon my son, and look at him as my servant. What he's
doing is my will, and he's doing it as a servant. Doesn't that
endear him to you? What makes Christ precious? Isn't it the fact that He came
and served and laid down His life for us, the sheep, the sinners,
those who are unable to stretch forth their hands? He brings
His salvation with Him. He commands it. And He gives
it to us. He calls to us with wooing, persuading
tones to sinners. Come unto me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, I will give you rest. And God the Father
says, behold my son, behold my servant. God the Father says,
He's my chosen. I delight in Him. I'm well pleased
with Him. And He is not only am I well
pleased with Him, but He's my beloved. I love Him. God the
Father looks on His Son and He says, I love my Son. I've chosen my Son to be my servant. And I've put my spirit on Him.
And He will do my will. I'm well pleased with Him. Don't
miss this. Don't miss the importance of
this. God, the Lord of heaven and earth,
tells sinners by His Spirit, both in the prophecy and in these
words about our Lord Jesus Christ, written by Matthew by the Spirit
of God here again, fulfilled in our Lord Jesus Christ, Behold
My Servant. What does this mean? It means
that Christ is precious to God. Christ is loved by His Father.
He's chosen by His Father. God sees in Him nothing but that
with which He's pleased. And why is that? Because He serves
His Father. And He points sinners to Him.
Look, I've chosen Him. I love Him. I'm pleased with
what He's doing. You need to think about what
makes God pleased. What pleases God? It pleases
God to reveal these things to babes. And it pleases God to
set forth Christ as His servant to save His people. Think about
this. How do you know what is good
and right? Remember in creation, God says,
when God had finished creating everything, He says, it's very
good. That's the only way we know.
God created the world, then God looked at what He had done, and
God pronounced, it's very good. God determined To save a people. He chose his son. He sent him
into the world. And while he's going about his
work, he says, it's very good. He loves his son. He's pleasing
to his father. And he tells sinners, look at
him. Look at him. How many times in scripture are
we told to look at the Lord Jesus Christ? Just look at him. Just look at him. Isaiah 45,
22. Look unto me, and be ye saved.
All the ends of the earth look upon him. Numbers 21.8 Moses
raises up the serpent in the wilderness. He says, the Lord
tells him, he says, whosoever has been bitten and looks shall
live. And Jesus tells Nicodemus the
same things. Whoever believes on the Son of
God has eternal life. Look at him. In what posture,
what character, what role, what work in his work of redeeming
his people. Look at Him and see how He describes
it here. God the Father tells His people, look at Him. Look
at Him. Behold Him. He's the one with
whom I'm well pleased. He's my beloved, my chosen. I
put Him to this task and He's serving me. When we see Him,
what do we see? We see a servant. We see one
meek and lowly of heart. Look at Exodus 21. I love this
judgment, as it's called. Exodus chapter 21, God gives
us this beautiful picture of the love of our Lord Jesus Christ.
He says in Exodus 21 verse 1, Now these are the judgments which
thou shalt set before them. If thou buy a Hebrew servant,
six years he shall serve, and in the seventh he shall go out
free for nothing. God is giving in the law provision
for the fact that men could hold another Hebrew as a slave, but
only for six years. He has to go out in the seventh
year. He says if he came in by himself, he should go out by
himself. If he were married, then his wife shall go out with
him. When he came in, if he was married and he was a servant,
then he gets to take his wife with him. But if his master have
given him a wife while he was a slave, and she have borne him
sons or daughters, well, the wife and her children shall be
her masters. The wife of the slave and her
children will be her masters, because they belong to him now.
And he shall go out by himself. So this was a judgment. Did it
ever happen? Perhaps. But it wasn't really
talking about a man doing this, because look in the next verse.
And if the servant shall plainly say at the end of the six years,
on the seventh year, I love my master, My wife, my children,
I will not go out free. I'd rather serve my master than
leave my wife and leave my children. I love my land. I love my master.
I love my wife. I love my children. I love them."
And so his master then was told to bring him to the judges. and bring him to the door, and
put his ear right there against the door, and his master would
bore his ear through with an awl, a pokey tool, a sharp tool,
and he shall serve him forever." Now this is what is meant here
in Matthew 12. Behold my servant. The Lord Jesus
Christ wanted to serve his father. He didn't do it unwillingly.
He loved his father. He loved his wife. He loved his
children. They were given to him of his
father after he had committed himself to serve his father for
them. They were given to him. Yes, I'll serve you forever. And he wanted it. He wears that
piercing in his hands and in his feet. as a glory, even after
he was raised from the dead. Remember, he showed his hands
and his feet to his disciples. In his glorified, resurrected
body in heaven, he's going to have these marks in his hands,
in his feet, in his side. Why? Because it's the mark of
his love for his father, his love for his wife, his love for
his children as the servant. Behold my servant. My beloved,
my chosen, in whom my soul, God's soul is well pleased with him.
And he put his spirit upon him. And then look at verse 19 of
Matthew 12. He shall not strive nor cry,
neither shall any man hear his voice in the streets. He doesn't
go around beating his own drum to raise himself up, to exalt
himself. He is lowly, meek and lowly of
heart, the Lord of glory, the Son of God, the one in whose
hands all things have been put. He's meek and lowly. He goes
about serving. He said, I didn't come to be
ministered to, but to minister and to give my life a ransom
for many. to serve. Can you see him in
that upper room where the disciples are all there? And he takes off
his robe and he girds himself as a servant would. And he takes
a towel and a basin of water and he goes to each disciple
and he looks upon them and he says, you call me master and
lord and you say well, for so I am. And then he stoops down
and he washes their feet and he dries them with a towel as
a servant would. He's a servant, meek and lowly. How could you be put off by him?
He only does good. Why don't we come? Why don't
we pour out our souls to him and look to him? Well, by God's
grace, that's exactly what we're to do. We are to look to Him,
behold my servant, look to Christ, looking unto Jesus, the author
and finisher of our faith. Verse 20, a bruised reed shall
he not break. A smoking flack shall he not
quench, till he send forth judgment unto victory." What is a bruised
reed? What's a reed? Well, you've been
out, we have these things out where I live, where the water
sits for a while and these things grow up. They're tall, or weeds,
and they're soft because they're in the water. And you can bend
them pretty easily. And Jesus said about John the
Baptist, what did you go out into the wilderness to see? A
reed shaken by the wind? No. He was a strong prophet of
God. But here, the Lord says, a bruised
reed shall he not break. A reed is weak already. But here
we see a bruised reed. It's ready to be broken. And
you've seen, when I was, we were kids, we'd take these things
and we'd break them off and we'd hit each other with them or sword
fight with them. They'd just break and bend. They
had no strength. And as soon as they bend, you
just throw it away and get another one. But the Lord says that when
Jesus comes and He finds a bruised reed, He's not going to discard
it. It's weak, yes. It's as if it has no strength
because it's a reed, but even that is even weaker than that.
It's been bruised. What good a reed is, this reed
is not even that good. And smoking flax, what's that?
It's a flax that doesn't have any flame in it. Just smoke.
You can't use it to light anything with it. It's just smoking. So
the Lord is, I think, describing here the weakness of His people
in themselves. in all spiritual graces. They're
very weak already. But here, He comes and says,
a bruised reed and a smoking flax, He's not going to break
that bruised reed or quench that smoking flax. Because when the
Lord gives grace to us, sometimes we look at that and we think,
it's as if I want to find the things described about a believer
in my life. But when I look for them, I find
so little of them, that it's like I haven't got them at all.
It's like a bruise read would have little repentance, little
faith, little love. little grace, little understanding
of the gospel. And yet, the Lord Jesus Christ
isn't going to break that. Bruce, read. Now, here's a man.
Remember what Jesus told those men in John 9 who said, and when
he said, for judgment I'm coming to this world, that they which
see might be made blind. They said, are we blind also?
He said, well, if you were blind, you would have no sin. But because
you say, we see, therefore your sin remains. A bruise read is
a read that says, I have no power, no strength. In fact, I'm ready
to be broken. A smoking flax, I can't shed
any light. I'm just smoking. It's like I
have no, no, there's no goodness in me for God to use. And yet
He comes in His mercy and His meekness and His lowliness and
He says, I'm not going to break that bruised reed. I'm not going
to quench that smoking flax until He sent forth judgment to victory. Judgment. Now when you hear about
judgment in scripture, what do you first think of? You think
of judgment. You think of God judging sinners
for their sin, and you know the result of that. If thou, Lord,
shouldst mark iniquities, O Lord, who shall stand? Who shall stand
in the judgment? Not the ungodly. Not the unrighteous.
Well then, what is this judgment? How could this be of any comfort
to a bruised reed and a smoking flax sinner? Well, because the judgment spoken
of here is the judgment of God for His people. Remember throughout
time how the Lord has done this? Remember when Balaam wanted to
curse Israel? Well, Balak wanted Balaam to
curse Israel. What did he say? He says, I have
not beheld iniquity in Jacob. I have not seen perverseness
in Israel. Remember that? Numbers 23-21? And this is God judging on behalf
of His people. Like the courtroom is set. The
setting is set in the courtroom. And the Lord, the Judge, rises
up to judge His people. And what does He say? He defends
them. He advocates for them. He stands
up for them. Our Lord Jesus Christ, as our
surety, stood up. He answered God with Himself
for us. And He judges. And that's what
it means. Remember the children of Israel
and Egypt? What was brought on Egypt? Judgments. What were those judgments? The
plagues. And what was the result of those judgments? The redemption
of God's people. God judged the Egyptians in order
to save His people. So the judgments are throughout.
Remember when the Assyrians or the Babylonians or the Persians
took over the people of Israel. God judged their enemies for
bringing their cruelty upon them, even though it was God's will.
Because they did it with cruelty and evil intent in their heart,
God judged their enemies. And in judging them, He freed
His people as captives. So this judgment always results
in the justification of His people. And you know this is true. Look
at 1 John chapter 12. I rejoice in this verse. I refer
to it often and frequently. I'll put it in parentheses in the articles
that we write, but I'll read this to you now. Look at John
chapter 12 and verse 23. And Jesus answered them, saying,
The hour has come that the Son of Man should be glorified. Verily, verily, I say unto you,
except a corn of wheat fall into the ground and die, it abideth
alone. But if it die, it bringeth forth
much fruit." He's laying his life down as a seed goes into
the ground, and he will rise again. And as that seed brings
forth much fruit, he's going to bring many people to the Lord
through his death and resurrection. Verse 25, "...he that loveth
his life shall lose it, and he that hates his life in this world
shall keep it unto life eternal." First and foremost, this is speaking
about our Lord Jesus Christ. He did not love his life, he
could not save himself, he saved his people. And he kept his life
and he kept the lives of those for whom he died unto life eternal
in laying his life down. In verse 26, if any man serve
me, let him follow me, and where I am, there shall also my servant
be. If any man serve me, him will my father honor. Now is
my soul troubled. And what? Shall I say, Father,
save me from this hour? But for this cause came I unto
this hour. Father, glorify thy name." Then
came there a voice from heaven saying, I have both glorified
it and will glorify it again. How did he glorify it? Because
he always brought attention to Christ. And here he's going to
bring attention to Christ again in his death and his resurrection
and saving his people. The people, therefore, that stood
by heard it, said, it thundered. Others said an angel spake to
him. Jesus answered and said, this voice came not because of
me. In other words, it wasn't spoken so I could hear it. But
for your sakes, Now is the judgment of this world. Now shall the
prince of this world be cast out. In what way? How would the
judgment of this world and the prince of this world occur? In
the death of the Lord Jesus. And I, if I be lifted up from
the earth, will draw all unto me. All his people would be gathered
because he would be lifted up and from his throne of grace
he would send forth his spirit. And His Spirit would preach the
gospel through His ministers and men would hear it and they
would have life in their souls given to them. Verse 33, this
is what He said signifying by what death He would die. Now
look at Romans 8. Judgment unto victory. The Lord's
death was the judgment on our enemies. In Romans 8, it's for
His people that He judges. He says, In verse 28, and we
know that all things work together for good to them that love God.
God is ordering, through the Lord Jesus, is ordering all of
time, all people, angels, and events, and even space itself
is put there for the salvation of his people. This world was
not created for nothing. It was created to bring a people,
many people, the adopted sons of God to glory. That's why it's
there. That's why things happen in this
world. To gather out and bring to God
His sons. All things work together for
good to them that love God, to them who are the called according
to His purpose, for whom He did foreknow. He also did predestinate. When did He predestinate? Before
the foundation of the world. How then did He foreknow them?
He knew them before the foundation of the world. Jesus said at the
judgment to those who came claiming to be His servants, He said,
I never knew you. But He knows His people. The
foundation of the Lord standeth sure the Lord knoweth them that
are His." Here He says He knows them and He predestinated them
to be conformed to the image of His Son. What was the reason?
What was the destination for which He predestined them? To
be conformed to the image of His Son in glory that He might
be the firstborn among many brethren. Moreover, whom He did predestinate
them He also called. And whom He called Them he also
justified. That's judgment. And whom he
justified, them he also glorified. What shall we then say to these
things? If God be for us, who can be against us? There's judgment. God is judging for his people.
He stood up when Balaam tried to curse them. He stood up for
them. He stood up and judged them. as his own. I don't see iniquity in them.
I see no perversity in Israel. I see my son. Verse 32. He that
spared not his own son, but delivered him up for us all before the
foundation of the world. God did this and then he did
it in time. If he has done this for us, how
shall he not with him also freely give us all things? God gave
up his son for none. but those for whom He would give
all things." In other words, if God predestined, if He foreknew,
if He predestined you, if He did all these things and Christ
died for you, there can be no doubt that you will be in glory
with His Son. Who shall lay anything to the
charge of God's elect? That's the judgment. Come on! Bring forth your charges! These
are God's elect! It is God that justifieth. Who
is He that condemneth? It is Christ that died. He rather
that is risen again. That's the reason God justifies
them, because He had already preordained His Son to die for
them. to live and die for them. Who
is he that condemneth? It is Christ that died. Those
words should resonate in our ears. We should pull them close
and cuddle them to our heart and say, this is all my hope
for eternity. It's Christ that died. Yea, rather,
not only died, But Rose again, who is even at the right hand
of God, who also makes intercession for us, who shall separate us
from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress,
or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?
As it is written, for thy sake we are killed all the day long.
This is all according to God's will. And He uses all these things
for our good and our glory. We are accounted as sheep for
the slaughter. Nay, in all things we are more
than conquerors. That's victory. More than conquerors
through him that loved us. For I am persuaded that neither
death, nor life, nor angels, nor principalities, nor powers,
nor things present, nor things to come, nor height, nor depth,
nor any other creature shall be able to separate us from the
love of God which is in Christ Jesus our Lord. To who? To those
God has predestined to eternal life in the Lord Jesus Christ.
The bruised reed, the smoking flax. He shall not quench that
smoking flax, or bruise that reed, or break that bruised reed,
until he send forth judgment of victory. Until God says, these
are mine. I've chosen them in Christ. I've
redeemed them by His blood. And I've sent my Spirit. They
believe Him. by my grace, and I will bring
them to glory. Everything in time is working
for their good. I preserve them. They shall not fall. He shall
not fail." It says in Isaiah 42. And it says in verse 21 of
Matthew 12, "...and in His name shall the Gentiles trust." What
is faith? It's trusting in the Lord Jesus
Christ. Don't you love that? "...in His
name shall the Gentiles trust." throughout history, throughout
history. It was not revealed that God
would save the Gentiles until the Lord Jesus Christ came. It
was prophesied in Isaiah 42 verses 3 and 4, but here it's plainly
revealed. And it's revealed later in Romans
15 and Ephesians chapter 3, the great mystery that God would
save the Gentiles, that He would call His people, His elect, not
from the Jews only, but from among the Gentiles. And not all
the Jews, but those chosen in Israel, and those chosen among
the Gentiles. This is the great mystery, and
this is the stumbling block today. Men ignore and deny election,
and then when they deny that, they think the whole nation of
Israel somehow is going to be saved at the end of the world.
It's not! The elect out of that nation will be saved, and the
elect out of the Gentiles will be saved, and that elect people
will be called the Israel of God. And God is going to send
His victory, His judgment unto victory, when the Lord Jesus
Christ hung on the cross and cried, it is finished. God says,
the victory has been won. The land of Canaan has been conquered.
Give rest to my people. The plenty of heaven is theirs. The rest in our Lord Jesus Christ
is ours. See how meek and lowly He is. Behold my servant. The servant
of the Lord must not strive, but be patient with all, apt
to teach, in meekness, instructing those that oppose themselves,
if God peradventure would give them repentance unto the acknowledging
of the truth. And our Lord Jesus Christ is
the preeminent servant of the Lord, spoken of in 2 Timothy
2, 24-26. And here, here especially, every
servant of God is to learn from Him. He's meek and lowly. We
come to Him, it endears Him to us. He laid His life down for
the sheep. He laid His life down for His
people. He still now even intercedes in heaven for us. And He shows
His wounds and He spreads His hands and His presence there
is our intercession before God. We come to God by Him. We, by
the Spirit, look upon Him and we find in Him our all just as
God looks on Him and finds our all in Him. As mediator, He's
all God is to us. And as mediator, all God requires,
He finds it in Him. This is our Lord Jesus Christ.
The Lord of the Sabbath is the servant of the Lord. Let's pray. Father, thank You for Your mercy.
Forgive us for our many sins. We find no righteousness in ourselves. And it's a shameful thing, and
yet it's the truth. Our weakness cannot be measured. We cannot stand up. We're like
the woman bowed together, a bruised reed ready to fall, a flax that
bears no light, but just this smoke in our weakness. Lord,
how we desire to be strong, how we desire to overcome sin and
do your will, and yet we find ourselves so impotent. And then
we find this wonderful promise that your strength is made perfect
in weakness. And we go forward and we say,
Lord, on the basis of your word, trusting in your grace and in
your mercy, I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth
me. And we say, Lord, give me this grace to believe. You said
behold your servant. Lord, give us grace to behold
him. Make our hearts hungry. Let us see the witheredness of
our hands and our feet and our blindness of our eyes and the
deadness of our souls and cause us to call upon the Lord Jesus
Christ. and come to Him unhesitatingly, without fetters, bringing this
dung of our own righteousness, but come in the sinfulness that
we are, looking to Him only to cleanse us from our sin, not
just once, but daily. and to present us before his
glory with succeeding joy faultless. Thank you for the Lord Jesus
Christ, your servant, our savior, our mediator, your son, the Lord
of all things. In Jesus' name we pray, amen.