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THE MESSIAH IS MEEK IN HIS MANNER AND MINDFUL OF HIS MISSION.
In the name + of Jesus.
When you read about Jesus’ life, perhaps
you are disappointed at how little is recorded about Jesus’ first thirty
years. We hear some about his infancy. We get a glimpse of him at age twelve when he
attended the Passover and remained in the temple. But we have almost nothing about his life
until he was thirty years old. St. Luke
summed up the first thirty years of Jesus’ life this way: “Jesus increased in wisdom and in stature and
in favor with God and man” (Luke 2:52).
The reason the Bible does not cover the first
thirty years of Jesus’ life is because he did not begin his public work until
he was baptized by John the Baptist in the Jordan. On that day, Jesus was anointed with the Holy
Spirit and shown to be the Lord’s Anointed.
Only then did Jesus begin his work of preaching, teaching, healing, and
performing other miraculous signs. Already
at twelve years old Jesus knew he was the Christ, but he did not presume to claim
or act in this office until he was anointed by the Holy Spirit.
Isaiah foretold the anointing of Jesus in our lesson. He wrote, “Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in
whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him” (Isaiah 42:1). These words were paraphrased
by the heavenly Father at Jesus’ baptism.
St. Matthew records it: “When Jesus
was baptized, immediately he went up from the water, and behold, the
heavens were opened to him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a
dove and coming to rest on him; and behold, a voice from heaven said, ‘This
is my beloved Son—not merely “my
Servant,” but “my Son”—with whom I am well pleased’” (Matthew
3:16-17). Those who were the Bible
scholars may have remembered the rest of Isaiah’s words which tell us what the
Christ would be like. The Messiah is
meek in his manner and mindful of his mission.
The mission of the Christ, as Isaiah
records it, is this: “He will bring forth justice to the
nations” (Isaiah 42:1). We might expect the Christ would crush people
with an iron fist or breathe out threats to scare people straight. John the Baptist seems to have expected that. But Isaiah goes on: “He will not cry aloud
or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street” (Isaiah 42:2). Jesus did not engage in shouting matches with
his enemies. He is neither an antagonist
nor a rebel. John the Baptist was a
voice crying in the wilderness, but Jesus was a meek-mannered voice in the synagogues
and homes of the people. The Messiah is
meek in his manner and mindful of his mission.
Isaiah wrote: “A
bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not
quench” (Isaiah 42:2). Many of the
people Jesus encountered were bruised reeds and smoldering wicks. Jesus interacted with prostitutes, tax
collectors, people of low morals, and others who were haunted by their sins. It would have been easy to condemn them according
to God’s Law; and he would not have been wrong.
It would have been easy to rub their faces in their sins. The Pharisees did that. But Jesus treated all people as worthy of his
time and attention. They were not
smoldering wicks to be snuffed out.
Rather, they were people to whom Jesus showed mercy. He sought to fan into flame a faith that
clings to divine promises of forgiveness.
Even though they were bruised reeds—broken and crushed by guilt and
shame—Jesus sought to bind up what was broken and to bring healing to those who
were hurting.
Jesus still does
this. We all have sins that haunt
us. If you have a checkered past or if
you are struggling to overcome your sins right now, you will find your Messiah
to be meek in manner. He longs to cover your
shame and to change your guilt into innocence.
The reason he is meek in his manner is so that we would not hide from
him in fear, but rather flee to him in hope.
Jesus could get better behavior out of people with threats of hellfire
and damnation. Society would probably be
safer, and people would probably be more polite. But there would be no joy in life. We would live in constant fear, trying to do
what God desires. If we celebrated the
happy occasions of life, we would be afraid that we may have done something to
make God angry. Our obedience would be
given grudgingly, and we would not love God at all—which would only incur more
wrath.
The Messiah does
not come to snuff out those who struggle or to snap off those who are broken. He is meek in his manner. He is merciful to those who fear. He “(brings) out the prisoners from the
dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness” (Isaiah 42:7). Those who are released from the captivity they
have deserved may cower with fear, supposing it is not real. They are waiting for their captors to change
their mind and make their suffering worse.
What a joy to have a God who is meek and merciful! He sets us free from darkness, despair, and damnation. And he longs to keep us free, so he speaks tenderly
to us because he knows that we still struggle and are fearful. He inspires loving obedience to him—not by issuing
threats but by his redeeming love. He has
set us free from the curse of sin, and in the end he will set us free from the
consequences of sin—from everything that is broken, deceptive, or cruel.
He remains meek
in his manner, but do not confuse meekness with being weak-willed. The Messiah is mindful of his mission. He is committed to upholding and fulfilling the
word of God. Isaiah had said, “He
will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the
earth” (Isaiah 42:4). He remained
committed to your salvation. He did not shrink
from those who opposed him. He did not
back away from the word of God when it offended people. The failure of his friends, the slander of
his enemies, the unjust sentencing of both church and state, and the bitter sufferings
and death did not discourage him from going to the cross. He was mindful of his mission and fulfilled
it.
Through the
prophet Isaiah, the Lord foretold what the mission of the Messiah would
be. “I will give you as a
covenant for the people” (Isaiah 42:6).
Notice that it is not that the Messiah would make a covenant; he would BE
the covenant.
In the Old Testament,
kings would make covenants with one another.
The covenant was always a two-sided agreement. “I will do this for you, and you will do that
for me.” The Hebrew expression is literally
“to cut” a covenant. That’s because the
kings would take a bull or some other animal and cut it in half. Then, to ratify their covenant, the two kings
would walk through the blood trail of the severed animal, as if to say, “May I
be slaughtered like this animal if I fail to live up to my end of the covenant.”
The Old Testament
covenant between God and Israel was basically this: If you, Israel, will follow
my commands, then I will be your God and bless you richly. But Israel was not faithful to the word of
God. We would not fare any better,
either. The Bible reminds us of this
terrible truth: “All have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23). We
continue to fall short of the glory of God because we continue to sin. Even as God’s people, we fail to live up to God’s
word. Trying to do what is right to earn
God’s favor sounds noble, but it is impossible. No one who is a sinner has ever stopped being
a sinner. You may curb your behavior,
but you cannot change your fallen nature.
That is God’s work alone.
The Messiah is
the covenant. Thus, Jesus was baptized to fulfill all
righteousness. Through his incarnation
Jesus united himself to humanity, but at his baptism he united himself to
sinners. He absorbed all the guilt and shame
of every sinner. He has become the
guilty one for you. Jesus was slain as
one who violated the covenant. He went
to the cross to suffer the punishment that sinners deserve. The righteous one died for the unrighteous to
bring you to God. That was the mission.
The Messiah is mindful of his mission, and he
has completed it. Jesus has done all the
work to secure your salvation and your forgiveness. He fulfilled all righteousness by his obedient
life. He diverted God’s wrath from you
by his sacrificial death. He destroyed
the power of death by his resurrection. He
opens heaven to you. He is your comfort
in life, your hope in the face of death, and your advocate at the final
judgment.
The Messiah is meek
in his manner and mindful of his mission.
That mission includes this: “I will give you as a … light for the nations” (Isaiah
42:6).
Jesus enlightens all people to know that you have a merciful God. It is not that God eliminates any part of his
commandments so that we can dabble in our sins.
Nor is it the case that God’s threats are empty so that we can ignore
both his commands and his judgment.
While Jesus spoke freely with the prostitutes, he called them to cease
their immorality. While Jesus feasted
with tax collectors, he expected them to do their job without stealing. When the Pharisees held others in contempt because
of their sins, Jesus urged them to see their own sins rather than observe the sins
of others. All people were called to
repent and to flee to Jesus for healing and hope.
The Messiah is
meek in his manner, but he remains firm in God’s word. The Messiah is mindful of his mission, and he
always remembers that his mission is to save sinners from death and
disgrace. So, God the Father sent Jesus
to be a light for the nations. Jesus
enlightens you to see that he is the only hope for sinners, and the hope he
gives is sure. This is what he promises:
“Whoever believes and is baptized will be saved” (Mark 16:16).
Just as Jesus
united himself to you in his baptism, so he unites you to himself through your
baptism. He has taken away your sin, and
he in turn has given you his righteousness and innocence. This is your confidence because the Messiah
is your covenant. You are not saved by
your sincerity, your purity, or your tenacity.
You are saved by Jesus. The Messiah
has done everything to secure your place in God’s kingdom. Through holy baptism, he presents you as holy
and blameless to his Father. And if that
were not enough, here is the new covenant in his blood by which he forgives
your sins and gives eternal life.
“Behold my servant, …in whom my soul delights” (Isaiah 42:1), says the Lord. Behold! “This is my beloved Son with whom I am well pleased” (Matthew 3:17), says the Lord. The Messiah is meek in his manner and mindful of his mission. You are the mission. So, thanks to Jesus, the Father is well pleased with you, too.
In the name of the Father and of the Son + and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.
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