Turn to Matthew chapter 12 for our reading. We're gonna look at verses nine to 32, and the preaching text will focus on verses 15 to 22. Matthew chapter 12 beginning in verse 9. Hear the word of our Lord. He went from there and entered their synagogue, and a man was there with a withered hand, and they asked him, is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath so that they might accuse him? He said to them, which one of you has a sheep, if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will not take hold of it and lift it out? Of how much more value is a man than a sheep? So it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Then he said to the man, stretch out your hand. And the man stretched it out, and it was restored healthy like the other. But the Pharisees went out and conspired against him, how to destroy him. Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah. 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. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break. and a smoldering wick he will not quench until he brings justice to victory. And in his name the Gentiles will hope." This is the word of the Lord. Leading up to this event in the ministry of Jesus, he has been engaged in a tense dialogue with the Pharisees. That started in chapter one of, or in verse one of chapter 12. The Pharisees were religious leaders, well respected in the Jewish community. They were spiritual elitists. They would consider themselves as protectors of the faith. They were isolated, really resisted the Greek culture and any of the Jews that might have embraced aspects of Hellenistic culture. They were harsh at times, and that's most clearly seen in the fact that they take it upon themselves to judge the giver of the law, Jesus himself, in terms of his practice of obeying the fourth commandment. absurd and it shows us the height of arrogance that dwells up within the human heart, especially when we become spiritually proud. They were spiritually competitive. They were very unlike the character of Jesus that's described in the text here. We're looking, the title of the sermon is Gentle Jesus. And I want you to see, first of all, the unwanted savior, and then second, a well-pleased father. The Jews were awaiting the Messiah. And their view of the Messiah, their expectations of the Messiah, much of this based on Old Testament scripture, they were looking for a savior king. who would restore the kingdom of God to the Israelites, to usher in a new world order. No longer was Israel going to just be a small nation in a limited geographical area, but it would take over the entire world. This Messiah was going to be a devout follower of the Mosaic law. He was to lead a theonomic kingdom. He was to be holy. And you can see the tension starting to build. Jesus claims that he's the one sent by the Father. He doesn't even understand the Sabbath. He's a Sabbath breaker. Surely he can't be the one sent. We've got to protect the nation, shield the nation from this imposter. They expected a political revolutionary, one who would rise up with great power and pomp and overthrow the Roman rule. That was one of the most mighty and powerful nations in the world at that time. He was to be kind of like David. We read these stories of David in the Old Testament of how he would defeat the large armies of Philistines single-handedly. He was almost like a superhuman, superhero type of a person. Now, initially Jesus gave some indication that maybe he was this guy. He's performing these powerful miracles. He's preaching these strong, authoritative sermons. But then things don't line up with Jewish expectation. Why is he fleeing the Pharisees? What a wimpy thing for him to do. Why isn't he engaging in battle? taking things head on, that's what the Messiah is supposed to do. Jesus, aware of the Pharisees in verse 15, withdraws. I mean, this guy, who can heal whoever he wants, who can walk on water, calm the storm, why doesn't he just flatten them, just eliminate them? And then he tells everyone to hush hush about the miracles that he's performing. Shouldn't this be public? Think of presidential debates and presidential election campaigns. Do you see any presidents kinda keeping their good deeds and their great policies real hush-hush, tight-knit, don't share this with anyone? No. I mean, they're proclaiming things, they're outspoken, they're trying to garner as much support as they possibly can. Jesus doesn't seem to do this, at least not yet in his ministry. I want you to think about the development and the mind of one of his close followers, one of his close disciples, that's Peter. Turn to Matthew chapter 16. Jesus begins to share with his disciples his ministry and what he's about to do, that he's going to die on a cross, that he is going to epitomize the curse of God and humility, humility. He tells them about this in chapter 16, verse 21. From that time, Jesus began to show his disciples that he must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things. That's not what they wanted. Not a sufferer. He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things from the elders and the chief priests, especially from these guys. They're gonna be the ones inflicting suffering. He's gonna die? You can see their hopes crashing all around them. On the third day, he's gonna be raised. Peter took him aside. The Pharisees, they chastise him for his lack of holiness. Now Peter takes him aside and begins to rebuke him, saying, far be it from you, Lord, this shall never happen. And Peter holds on to this dream of a political revolutionary until Christ is hung on that cross. Remember what happens to Peter in the garden? What does he do when the Roman guards come up? Pulls that sword out, and he's ready for Jesus. to pull his sword out too and engage in a fierce and a powerful and an overwhelming battle with this Roman, this group of Roman soldiers. Does it happen? No. Peter's dejected. That's why he denies Christ three times. It's not who he thought he would be. Gentle Jesus is rejected by the Jews. And I think there's a powerful lesson for us as we think about this. How does Jesus fail to meet your expectations? And I'm guessing he does in various ways. Maybe it's his demand for absolute obedience in your life. And you wouldn't dare to share this with anyone in the church, but really, deep inside, you've got issues with Jesus. Yeah, you love the fact that he is gracious. You love the fact and very comfortable with the idea that when you sin, he is there to take God's anger away from you. But when it comes to the labor of discipleship, when it comes to the grind of pursuing holiness, killing the old man, living to the new man, if you're honest, you could care less about it. You're gonna hang your head on his grace all the way to the grave. You didn't bargain for a Jesus who was going to hold kingship and authority over your life. Some of us are bent in that direction. That's not the Jesus that we really want to come. Maybe for others of us, it's the promise of needed forgiveness and his provision of righteousness that we struggle with. And you may think, well, wait a second. What is he talking about here? That's not me. We were well instructed in the gospel. But how often do you lack assurance? Do you grieve over your sinfulness to a degree that you resist to embrace your identity in Christ. I feel that weight in my own soul. Man, you're such a bonehead. Why did you do what you did? Why did you commit the sin that you committed? And it begins to creep into my thought pattern and it starts to shape how I think God views me. How can you dare to pray to God? You see, I want Jesus to shape me in holiness, but I don't want him to clothe me purely in his righteous garment. I've gotta add something to it. I wouldn't dare to say it that way, but in practice, that's what I'm doing. Maybe it's how we look at the church. Church isn't going the way we want it to go. The world isn't going the way we want it to go. We begin to challenge Jesus like the Pharisees did and like Peter did about his sovereign rule over his church and his world. You see, there are ways in which Jesus is created in our own idolatrous image. and we feel the weight of it when we start to grumble and complain about how he's ruling in our lives. Is Jesus an unwanted savior? Or are you willing to take him as he describes himself in his word? Second thing I wanted to point out here in this text is that he is well-pleasing to his father. Verse 15, Jesus pulls away from the Pharisees, and we're told by Matthew that he did this to fulfill a prophecy. And we pick up with this prophecy in verse 17. Let me read it to you. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah, who is the Savior. Isaiah tells us, 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. Now listen to the character of Jesus. He will not quarrel or cry aloud. nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break and a smoldering wick he will not quench until he brings justice to victory and in his name the Gentiles will hope. Matthew informs us with the use of this prophecy that Jesus' actions are in conformity or according to the eternal divine plan of God. The humiliation of Christ, his humbleness, his suffering, ultimately symbolized in the cross, that was the biggest stumbling block for the Jews. Who is this guy? He's not what we had hoped for. However, according to Isaiah, he is doing exactly what his heavenly father wants him to do. to do. I want you to think for a minute of the security of a prophecy like this. Many people among the Jews are wondering who he is. Is he the one to come or should we wait for someone else? That's the words of John the Baptist. He's not meeting popular expectations. And they know that many false prophets had come into the world before Jesus and many would come after him. How do we know that he is the one? Isaiah records this prophecy many years in advance to give us security of who Jesus is. Now think about human planning. Anybody planning for something a year from now? I got a phone call from someone recently who wants to use the church building about a year from now, in June of 2018. Now we can plan for a year in advance, right? People get engaged a year in advance and they set a date for it. So that's reasonable. Have you ever planned something 10 years in advance? Maybe a big anniversary trip that you're starting to think about and plan. Maybe retirement. Well, think about how difficult it gets just changing our plans from a day or two days a year to 10 years. Think about all of the things that, all the variables that we can't account for. What if you were planning your big retirement in 2013 and you had all your money in the stock market? What happened between 2007 and 2013 that might make you want to change your plans? Right? Big 50th anniversary trip that you're planning. Who's to say you're even alive when you hit that point? So many things are unpredictable. Isaiah makes this prophecy not 10 years in advance, not 100 years in advance, 700 years in advance. That's humanly impossible. The only one who can do that and give us assurance that it will come to pass is one who has total sovereign control over everything. Everything has to work out just the right way for Joseph and Mary to be at the point in time that they're at and to have the child that they have. Everything works according to God's eternal plan and purpose. That's security. And when we look at the Old Testament promises or prophecies about Christ, they should cause our soul to rest. If this is the God of my salvation, surely I can trust him. Now, Jesus comes as an appointed king of the line of David. That's a scary thing for the Jews to think about. You know much about the history of their kings? They quickly get to the golden stage of their history in the lives of David and Solomon. And even David and Solomon, they have some pretty serious failures of their own. But do you know what happens after that? All of these kings coming, we see some hold out among Judah, they have some good kings for a slight period of time, but Israel is just a mess from the beginning. And these stories are recorded in the book of 1 and 2 Kings and 1 and 2 Chronicles. We come across a phrase repeatedly in the Old Testament about these kings, and it goes something like this. To describe the work of these kings, we're told that he did evil in the sight of the Lord. He did evil in the sight of the Lord, and it culminates in the breaking of covenant between Israel and their God, a complete failure of the nation of Israel. Look at the comfort you get from this text about Christ and his ability to fulfill his mission as the king of his people. Behold, my servant. God is saying, look at this one. Behold him, focus your eyes on him. My servant whom I have chosen, chosen by his father. My beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my spirit upon him and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. Jesus is endowed with a special gifting of the spirit poured out without measure upon him. And I want you to think about this very carefully. Jesus comes as the son of God in the flesh. but he cannot fulfill his work on his own. You ever thought about what that says to us? He cannot do it on his own. He's sent by his father, it's his father's plan. His father drives everything about what he's doing, but it's the spirit who empowers him and enables him all the way through. Now we need to hear that as Americans. We are entrenched in our rugged individualism. Who needs the church, right? We can find a lot better preaching on some sermon audio site than what we get, right? Who needs the church? People in the church make me mad sometimes. Who needs the tension of the dynamics of relationships in the church? Well, what if I were to tell you that this is exactly where the triune God supports his people? And apart from it, he doesn't promise that support. If Jesus depends upon the Father and the Son for his work, and he is perfect, he's divine, how much more do you? And in addition to that, he gives us each other. We are the body of Christ. How much do we need the church? Jesus doesn't go at his work alone. He has the backing of the triune God to win our salvation. That is amazing and comforting and powerful and glorious. He ascends on high and what does he do for the church? He pours that same spirit out on us. What does he promise to do for elders and deacons? To pour that spirit out on them. But I wanna close with the character of Jesus. In verse 19, and I don't know what you're carrying with you when you come to church today. I don't know what life is like for you right now. I don't know the stresses that you're undergoing, the frustrations, the disappointments. I don't know how spiritually distant you feel from Christ this morning. Maybe some of you, at times in your walk with Christ, you've been very engaged, very devoted, but the last year or two or whatever, it's all just kinda gone off to the wayside. You're struggling just to pray, and you really aren't doing it very often. Think about the context in which the Jews were living in. What if you went to a group of Pharisees and unfolded the weakness of your faith and the lackadaisical attitude of your spiritual disciplines? What do you think that the Pharisees would do? They'd probably berate you, wouldn't they? You remember the Pharisee. We've talked about this a number of times in this sermon series. The Pharisee goes into the temple and he says, thank God I'm not like the tax collector over there. What does the tax collector have to give to the Lord? He's not gonna be able to talk about his great performances in fasting, his, maybe in our circles, his wealth of knowledge of Reformed theology. And I memorize the shorter catechism. and we get puffed up sometimes in these things. Tax collector has nothing, but the Pharisees had created such an intimidating environment. You ever felt intimidated in a church environment? It's not about whether God is pleased with you or not, but you feel rejected by the people around you, because you're just not spiritual enough as them. That's how it was for many people in the context of Jewish religious practices. And we read this about Jesus. He will not quarrel or cry aloud. He's not pushing to establish his kingdom like a worldly politician might do. nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets. But listen to verse 20. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench until he brings justice to victory. There's a lot of comfort in that verse 20. And especially for those of you who feel and experience the weight of your sinfulness and your inability to do, to be as holy as you would like to be. Jesus is presented here as one who will receive you with mercy and compassion and humility. He's the holy one, the pure one. And he will bring you in, as you come to him, you must come to him, okay? With your sin, with your doubts, with your spiritual laziness, with your failure, some of you, you've parented children and they're adults now and maybe they've drifted from the faith and you feel like a complete failure. Come to Him. You're bruised. You're like a smoldering wick. This term, this concept of a smoldering wick really hit me over this past week. You know that my family and I were on a vacation at Lake Martin, and we would sit out on this screened-in porch in the evenings with the whole family, and there was a candle. that we had on a table. And we would try to light the candle, and it would get lit, but there were two ceiling fans in the screened-in porch, and it had such a small little wick on it that it would just get blown out five seconds after it was lit. And at first I thought somebody was playing jokes on me, and like, wait, I just lit this thing, why is it out again? But it was just that the flame, the wick, was so small and feeble that it couldn't take any resistance. And I think Jesus is talking to us and he's telling us, you need to understand your own spiritual condition. You are so weak and feeble that if I allowed a little more demonic wind to blow across you, you would blow up. But I don't. Do you understand how weak and how vulnerable you are? Like that wick, it needed perfect conditions for it to thrive. And God knows us. He cares for us, especially when we come to Him in that weak and vulnerable condition. We're gonna take part in the Lord's Supper next Sunday evening. And that supper is a reminder to us of how malnourished and weak we are in and of ourselves, and how much we need to feast upon Christ on a regular basis, to receive the spiritual strength that we need to persevere until he ultimately brings about victory and justice for his people and for the Gentiles. Let us pray. Our Father and our God, we come to you and we're comforted and I pray especially for those in our midst who feel the weakness and the vulnerability of their spiritual state, who doubt their salvation at times. I pray, Lord, that this would draw them nearer to Christ, as they know that He is a gentle Savior. He's unlike the Pharisees who would criticize and judge, but He brings them in knowing that this is why He came. He came because we are diseased, because we are dead in our sins and trespasses, because we are weak and vulnerable spiritually. He came to transform us and to revive us into His own image. And we pray, Lord, that we would know more of Christ in our lives. Amen.