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Commentary Index | Return to PrayerRequest.com | DownloadPaul Kretzmann Commentary - Matthew 12:15 - 12:21
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Jesus retires:
v. 15. But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew Himself from thence; and great multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all,
v. 16. and charged them that they should not make Him known,
v. 17. that it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,
v. 18. 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.
v. 19. He shall not strive nor cry, neither shall any man hear His voice in the streets.
v. 20. A bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall He not quench, till He send forth judgment unto victory.
v. 21. And in His name shall the Gentiles trust.
The hour of Jesus had not yet come in which He would be delivered into the hands of His enemies, so He left the city in which He had had the encounter with the Pharisees. The spell of His personality and of His words was still upon the people, who followed Him in crowds. And His Savior sympathy went out to them in the same miraculous manifestations, in works of healing. But more than ever He disliked and discouraged publicity, since it was bound to do harm to His work at this stage. He therefore begged them with an almost threatening attitude not to reveal Him. He wanted to perform His ministry, for the present, almost in concealment. And herein was the prophecy Isa_42:1-4 fulfilled. The servant of Jehovah is the Messiah, Jesus Christ, who, according to His human nature, had received the Spirit of God at His baptism, who, at the same time, had been acknowledged as the Son of God, whose Gospel-message was to be the light of the Gentiles till the ends of the earth. His spirit would be neither that of contention nor of blatant self-advertising after the manner of preachers that bring their names to the front, but forget the Gospel they were sent to preach. So gentle, sympathetic, and kind would His spiritual ministry be that those that are weak, whose faith was at the point of extinction, could depend upon His help. The bruised reed is carefully bound up until the contusion is healed; the weak Christian receives strength from above. The lamp of faith which is at the point of expiring will receive fresh oil from the Gospel. By this manner of working in and through the Gospel the Messiah will lead His Gospel to victory over all the forces of Satan and man's pride, and the Gentiles themselves, at present still far from the testimonies of promise, will learn to trust in His name. A short, but comprehensive statement concerning the Messianic work of Christ, the miracles of His prophetic office.