J ESUS COMES OUT OF THE BAPTISMAL WATERS, the heavens open, the Spirit descends like a dove and the voice of God proclaims, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.”
The descending dove and the heavenly pronouncement remind me of Isaiah. Isaiah writes something similar. In Isaiah 42: “Here is my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen one in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him.”
I’m not the first to make this connection. The earliest Christians made a connection between Isaiah’s prophetic words and Jesus. Matthew actually quotes these verses in Chapter 12 in reference to Jesus. And again in Chapter 17 as part of the Transfiguration of Jesus. What can we learn from this? What does Matthew want us to take away from this comparison of the servant in Isaiah and Jesus?
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LISTEN TO THE PROPHECY from Isaiah:
Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
and he will bring justice to the nations.
2 He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
3 A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
4 he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
In his teaching the islands will put their hope.
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THE VOICE FROM HEAVEN is an affirmation that Jesus is the fulfillment of Isaiah.
Jesus’ baptism is the beginning of his ministry. A ministry of justice. We think of justice within the court system. Guilt or innocence. Crime and punishment. Rules and laws based on a society’s sense of right and wrong. And they differ from place to place. Getting what you deserve. However, biblical justice focuses on wholeness. God’s justice involves making us — all creation — individuals, communities and the cosmos — complete.
God’s justice through Jesus is compassionate. “He will not break a bruised reed. He will not snuff out a smoldering wick.” That verse really got to me this week. Two different symbols of the same thing.
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HOW DO REEDS BECOME CRUSHED or oppressed? By the forces of nature and of people. Reeds bend because of storms or diseases, or because of people stomping over them. The image is of a reed that has broken so that the top is dangling down. That thing just shouldn’t sit there dangling! It’s not right. There is an almost irresistible urge to snap it off. It actually feels good to snap it off, right? Snap.
A reed is a striking symbol of weakness. Christians are not compared to an oak that spreads its roots deep in the soil, and tosses its sturdy arms abroad into the sky. An oak that withstands a thousand storms, and lives for centuries. No. We’re compared to a reed. A symbol of a weak or oppressed people. A “bruised reed,” a poor child of God, ready to give up all hope, expecting that the next blow will break it off the stem.
Isaiah is saying this: “Even though it seems the world is a harsh place that would be better off without you, there is a servant of God coming who believes you are valuable. The world needs you. And the servant is going to put you and your world right. Whatever your hurt, don’t despair, because hope is coming.” Jesus is that hope.
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WE PASS THROUGH TROUBLE in mind, family, body or circumstances — we are bruised. Life beats us on the head — we are bruised. These things break our strength of mind our body. The spring in our step is gone. The cheerful countenance fades. Though it does not break us, or crush us, it bruises us. We are weak, oppressed and wondering if we have any worth.
● You parents of preschoolers (or teenagers!), there is a good chance you often feel like a “bruised reed.”
● You pour yourself into your job week after week there’s a good chance you feel like a bruised reed.
● Perhaps you deal with continued illness. One thing after another. No relief. Your faith weakens, you are bent and bruised.
● Relationships are strained. Between you and your children or you and your spouse. You are bruised and fragile. Afraid with the winds of one more storm you will break.
● Spiritually things aren’t going well. You’re not reading your Bible. Prayer eludes you. You’re bruised. What to do?
● Maybe you have a friend who is feeling weary, discouraged or bruised.
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THE TRUTH IS WE ARE ALL REEDS and we all have our bruises. We are all broken, we are all oppressed, because we live in a world alienated from its Creator. Yet hope has come in Jesus, God’s beloved Son, so take heart. And a voice from heaven said, “This is my Son, the Beloved, with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17). And he works for justice, for wholeness in your life and in our world.
— Keith Cardwell
