Withdrawal from Hostility, 12:15-21
15 Aware of this [= that his critics were now planning to kill him], Jesus withdrew from that place. Many followed him, and he healed all their sick, 16 warning them not to tell who he was. 17 This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: 18 “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight; I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. 19 He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. 20 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he leads justice to victory. 21 In his name the nations will put their (Matthew 12:15-22 NIV)
Because Jesus' answers and his action of healing the man with the withered hand embarrassed—perhaps even humiliated—these critics, they began to plan how they might do away with him! As long as he lived, taught, and healed, he would be a perpetual "thorn in their sides," a constant hindrance to the prevailing of their laws among the common people.
In verses 15-16 Matthew tells us that, when Jesus became aware of their intentions, he gave them a wide berth. Jesus knew already that eventually he must be put to death in Jerusalem, but a premature death at the hands of these vicious critics would not fulfill God's redemptive plan.
He was undeterred from continuing to heal and teach the crowds that followed him, but he ordered them not to make a big to-do about him and claim that he was the messiah, for the appointed time for that announcement was still ahead (26:45; cf. John 7:8). In verses 18-21 Matthew quotes Isaiah 42:1-4, as being fulfilled by Jesus' behavior: not aggressively promoting himself as the messiah, nor taking retaliatory action against those who intended him harm. For he was more than the royal messiah, son of David; he was also the "servant of Yahweh" described in Isaiah, and that role required meekness, suffering and death for the sins of his people. By quoting this passage from Isaiah 42, Matthew hopes not only to show that Jesus fulfilled the servant's role in non-retaliation, but also in bringing God's salvation to the Gentiles as well.
Check back tomorrow (Wednesday) for the next segment of Matthew 12.
Check back tomorrow (Wednesday) for the next segment of Matthew 12.
