The Hero of Our Story: Jesus the Servant
December 13, 2016
I saw the best video the other day on Facebook. In it a man wakes up in bed and finds himself wrapped as a Christmas Present. After removing the wrapping from his face, he looks to his left and sees that his wife is wrapped the same way. As he goes about his morning he then encounters one great gift after another. First, there’s a bow on the bathroom faucet, then one on the shower. Next he sits down at the breakfast table and there’s another box. In it is a yummy breakfast. Next his son hands him another gift. It’s a brief case, reminding him that his job is a gift. He goes outside and there’s a gift-wrapped car. As the ad comes to a close you begin to see through his eyes and realize that everyone and everything in life is a gift. After seeing that I began to think about how much we take for granted on a daily basis. God has given us so many gifts for life. But this morning I want to talk about one of the greatest gifts God gives us: HOPE. We all need hope: When life is hard, hope sustains us.
- When we are discouraged, hope lifts us up.
- When we are tempted to quit, hope keeps us going.
- When we struggle with disease or illness, hope helps us persevere through the pain.
- When we fear the future, hope reminds us that God is in control.
- When we are forced to wait, hope gives us the patience to trust.
- When we feel bruised and broken, hope brings us healing and gives us the energy to begin again. When life hurts and dreams fade, nothing helps us like hope. We all need hope – not a temporary or fickle hope, but a real hope – the kind of hope that we can count on. Where can we find this kind of hope? I think you already know the answer: Hope is found in Jesus, the Hero of our Story.
This morning we are going to look at why Jesus is the hope of the nations, and why He is our Hope. In fact Matthew reveals at least four reasons why you can count on Jesus to always be there for you. These reasons are revealed to us in a unique encounter with the Pharisees in Matthew 12:9-21, our passage this morning. So, if you would turn to Matthew 12, we pick up the story of Jesus in verse 9, where Jesus arrives at a local synagogue and once again finds himself in the middle of another power struggle with the religious leaders. It is in the midst of this power struggle we learn the first reason why Jesus is our hope. Let’s read the text: Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?” Matthew 12:9-10
Now, Jesus’ reputation for healing had preceded him… but would he dare heal on the Sabbath with the Pharisees watching? Jesus knew God’s law prohibited work on the Sabbath. But he also knew that the religious leaders allowed no healing on the Sabbath unless a person’s life was in danger. Healing, they argued, was practicing medicine, so they had a law that prohibited practicing medicine on the Sabbath. So now, in this instance, it’s pretty clear that the Pharisees didn’t care about the man with the shriveled hand. They just used him to set a trap for Jesus.
Here’s the trap: For Jesus to not heal this man, meant he would be submitting to the Pharisee’s authority, showing that THEIR rules were equal to God’s law. But if he went ahead and healed the man on the Sabbath, they could claim that because Jesus broke their rules, his power was not from God. But Jesus would not fall for their trap. Instead he turns the tables on them. He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. Matthew 12:11-12
And to prove his point, Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus. Matthew 12:13-14
Here’s the first reason why Jesus is the hope of the nations, and why He is our hope: Jesus always put people ahead of rules. Jesus always put people ahead of religion. Jesus always served the needs of people. The Pharisees on the other hand venerated rules over people. They valued morality over humanity. But what they forgot was that God gave His rules to people so we would know how to treat one another in a loving way. But the Pharisees lost all sight of this. They cared more about the letter of the law then they did for people. It was all about correct behavior to them. If you failed to measure up to their rules, they condemned you or rejected you. They demanded perfection. So they made law upon law upon law and kept piling on the laws that people hardly breath without fear of messing up.
But when Jesus came, he came to set things right, and that began by putting people first. So when Jesus openly defied their rules and restored this man’s hand, they saw Jesus’ loving deed as an act of evil. And this enraged them. For in Jesus’ defiance of their rules, they only saw defiance of God. They saw a dangerous rebel who most be dealt with and quickly. They despised Jesus so much that they immediately called a meeting to begin planning how to murder him.
But then we read: Aware of this (aware that he has ticked off these religious leaders by defying their authority) Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. He warned them not to tell others about him. So Matthew adds: This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: “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. He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, till he has brought justice through to victory. In his name the nations will put their hope.”
As Jesus left the area, a large crowd followed him, and Matthew tells us that Jesus healed all who were ill. Now that’s an amazing miracle in its own right. But then Jesus does something very curious: He warned them not to tell others about him. And now Matthew helps us to understand why Jesus would do such a thing: Jesus was the Servant God had chosen to set the world right. Jesus was the promised Servant of Isaiah 42. And if you know anything about servants, they don’t just put the needs of others ahead of their own – they do nothing to draw attention to themselves. In fact, most servants do their work in obscurity, not wanting any credit for their work – for they are simply obeying the commands of their master. This was and is how Jesus lived among us – As God’s Chosen Servant. Jesus even said as much in Mark 10:45, “The Son of Man did not come to be served but to serve, and give His life as a ransom for many.” And we know from Paul’s writings, that this was Jesus very nature as a man – the nature a servant. In speaking of Jesus, he wrote these words: Who, being in very nature God, did not consider equality with God something to be used to his own advantage; rather, he made himself nothing by taking the very nature of a servant, being made in human likeness. Philippians 2:6-7
And so Jesus lived among us as a servant. This is why Jesus is so great. This is why you can count on Him to always be there for you. Because as a servant, God’s chosen servant, Jesus always served out of a loving relationship with the Father Listen to His prophecy of Jesus, “Here is my servant whom I have chosen, the one I love, in whom I delight” Jesus came to serve among us as one who was deeply loved by the Father. Before Jesus did a single miracle or healed anyone, he existed in a loving relationship with the Father… And that should teach us something about serving. For Jesus, serving was never a duty that He had to do. He never served to receive the applause of men. He only served because He was so deeply and thoroughly loved by the Father. This is why he warned the people he healed not to say anything. He wasn’t looking for their approval, he already had the approval of His Father.
And isn’t that how it should be with us when it comes to serving? Would it be that every person who comes to faith in Jesus Christ first comes to grips with the reality that you are now loved by the Father, just as Jesus is loved by the Father. For when we are loved like that, we no longer need to prove ourselves, because God is already over the moon about us. He is crazy about us. He delight in us. He sings over us in love.
Do you ever wonder why Mother Teresa served tirelessly in the slums of Calcutta? You ever wonder why some of God’s people joyfully and tirelessly serve in jobs where the never get recognition, rarely receive thanks? It’s because they know they are loved, and that makes all the difference. That’s why Jesus is our Hope. Jesus will never stop loving you, because the Father never stops loving Him.
Another reason Jesus is our hope is that Jesus always served out of the power of the Spirit God goes on to say this about Jesus: I will put my Spirit on him, and he will proclaim justice to the nations. Everything Jesus did was done in the power of the Spirit. At His baptism the Spirit came down on Jesus and anointed Him for ministry. Prior to that moment, Jesus had lived in total obscurity. After that moment, Jesus began his ministry as God’s chosen servant, by quoting this prophecy: “The Spirit of the Lord is on me, because he has anointed me to proclaim good news to the poor. He has sent me to proclaim freedom for the prisoners and recovery of sight for the blind, to set the oppressed free, to proclaim the year of the Lord’s favor.” Luke 4:18-19
The Bible tells us that Jesus did nothing in his own strength. Every truth he taught, every person he healed, every miracle he preformed was done in the power of the Spirit. Over and over again, men and women put their faith in Jesus because he served them in the power of the Spirit. When he healed the lame, it was God’s power that flowed through him. When he cast out demons, he did so by the power of the Spirit. When He proclaimed the good news of the kingdom people believed because His words were filled with power. And it was by the power of the Spirit that God raised Jesus from the dead, and now today, Jesus gives this same resurrection power to anyone who believes.
Do you see why Jesus is the hope of the nations? Jesus’ power over sin and death means He can give life to anyone who believes in Him. But there’s more.
Next we see that Jesus never served with worldly power He will not quarrel or cry out; no one will hear his voice in the streets. Jesus never needed to advertise. Jesus never needed to quarrel. He never attempted to dominate a conversation, shout someone down, or use worldly methods to get his point across. He spoke with dignity and control. His was the way of gentleness, meekness and lowliness. Although He was the Son of God, and the rightful King of kings, Jesus never tried to secure a hearing, much less a following, by political power, physical force or emotional agitation.
This is another reason why Jesus tells those he heals not to tell others about him. And what this tells me is that Jesus heals simply because he loves and wants to restore people and make them whole again. He doesn’t heal to draw attention to himself. He doesn’t toot his own horn. Jesus simply loves us too much to leave us the way we are. And that’s why Jesus is such a great hope. His love for you means that he wants to heal you. He wants to help you. He wants to restore you. And that leads us to the final reason God reveals as to why Jesus is the hope of the nations, and our hope:
And that reason is this: Jesus always serves with gentleness and care A bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out, Jesus is always gracious and gentle to the hurting and helpless among us. A bruised reed he does not break, nor does he quench a candle flame that is already flickering. This is the best hope of all. What this means is that when you’ve been hurt, Jesus will always be gentle with you – He will never step on you, crush you or discard you. In the time of Jesus, if a reed was bruised or bent, it was simply thrown away. What I love about Jesus the servant, is that He never throws anyone away. If you think you’re to damaged to be loved by Jesus, you’d be wrong. You are precisely the kind of person Jesus wants to love and to mend.
And the second image – that of the smoldering wick, well that’s about as clear a picture of someone at the end of her rope, with nothing left to give. Its being at a place where you have no energy to go on, no resources left to burn. You’re spent. You’re light is almost completely gone out. But Jesus will not let you go; he will never snuff you out.
And what both images together mean for us today is this: No one is too damaged or too far-gone for Jesus. And that makes Jesus our greatest hope: He will never give up on you. He will never throw you away. He will never let you go. This is our Jesus, the Hero of our story. He is always for us, never against us. This is why Jesus the hope of the nations, and is why the Hope we have in Jesus is our greatest gift!
There is no question that life can be hard for us. It can take its toll on us. Sometimes it’s a broken relationship; sometimes it’s discouragement; sometimes its death; and sometimes its uncertainty or fear… but whatever it is that you may face now or in the future, take heart… for God has given us hope and His name is Jesus.
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