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Bible Questions Answered:
“Several
of us here at the Christian Bible church study, would like your
definition of Matthew 12:20. Thank you.”
Arnold/
London, England United Kingdom
Bible Answer:
Bible Texts:
Matthew 12:14-21 KJV
14
Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against Him, how they
might destroy Him.
15
But when Jesus knew it, He withdrew Himself from thence: and great
multitudes followed Him, and He healed them all;
16
And charged them that they should not make Him known:
17
That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Isaiah the prophet,
saying,
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 shew
judgment to the Gentiles.
19
He shall not strive, nor cry; neither shall any man hear His voice in
the streets.
20 A
bruised reed shall He not break, and smoking flax shall
He not quench, till He send forth judgment (truth)
unto victory.
21
And in His name shall the Gentiles trust.
The Pharisees, cared less about the man with the withered hand
(Matthew 12:9-13), all they wanted was to find fault with The
Lord Jesus, but Jesus cared for all.
Verse 20 states “A bruised reed shall He not
break,”
Known as the Arundo donax, in the marshes, reeds grow both in Egypt
and Palestine. These reeds can grow to a height of some 12', its
stalk looks like bamboo, because of its many joints. At it's top a
blossom. A wind may blow the stalk down, but it resumes it position
again.
The bruised Reed spiritually speaks of those who are weak in the way
of The Lord. Those who are under the crushing weight of sin, or
sorrow.
“A bruised reed shall He not break,” Our Lord, is one of
great love, gentleness and care. He holds, and strengthens the weak.
Psalm
18:35 NKJV
You
have also given me the shield of Your salvation;
Your
right hand has held me up,
Your
gentleness has made me great.
1
“Look at My Servant, whom I strengthen. He is My Chosen One, who
pleases Me.
I
have put My Spirit upon Him. He will bring justice to the nations.
2 He
will not shout or raise His voice in public.
3 He
will not crush the weakest reed or put out a flickering candle.
He
will bring justice to all who have been wronged.
4 He
will not falter or lose heart until justice prevails throughout the
earth.
Even distant lands beyond the sea will wait for His
instruction.
Verse
20 “... and smoking flax shall He not quench”
Flax:
Flax plants grow to 1.2 m (3 ft 11 in) tall, with slender stems. The
leaves are glaucous green, slender lanceolate, 20–40 mm long, and 3
mm broad.
The flowers are pure pale blue, 15–25 mm in diameter, with five
petals. The fruit is a round, dry capsule 5–9 mm in diameter,
containing several glossy brown seeds shaped like an apple pip, 4–7
mm long.
Flax fibers are taken from the stem of the plant, and are two
to three times as strong as those of cotton. The best grades are used
for linen fabrics such as damasks, lace, and sheeting. Coarser grades
are used for the manufacturing of twine and rope, and historically,
for canvas and webbing equipment. Flax fiber is a raw material used
in the high-quality paper industry for the use of printed banknotes,
rolling paper and tea bags.
(Wikipedia)
A stem of the flax plant is used as wick in a lamp, because of its
fibrous material.
Verse
20 “... and smoking flax shall He not quench”
When a lamp has run out of oil, the wick may be yet smoldering away,
it's flame with it's light, out .
The lamp owner usually would throw away the old smoldering wick, and
put in a new one and refill the lamp with oil.
But our gentle and loving Savior, who cares for all, a
“smoking flax shall He not quench” He pours
oil into the vessel (A type of The Holy Spirit), and blows on the
wick (The breath of Life), till the smoldering wick comes a burst with flame, once
again!
Isaiah
61:1-3 KJV (Ministry of The
Lord Jesus)
1
The Spirit Of The Lord God is upon Me; because The Lord hath anointed
Me to preach good tidings unto the meek; He hath sent Me to bind up
the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives, and the
opening of the prison to them that are bound;
2 To
proclaim the acceptable year of The Lord, and the day of vengeance of
our God; to comfort all that mourn;
3 To
appoint unto them that mourn in Zion, to give unto them beauty for
ashes, the oil of joy for mourning, the garment of praise for the
spirit of heaviness; that they might be called trees of
righteousness, the planting of The Lord, that He might be glorified.
Our gentle, loving Savior, is in the rescue business.
Luke 15:1-5 NLT (Parable of the Lost Sheep)
15
Tax collectors and other notorious sinners often came to listen to
Jesus teach.
2
This made the Pharisees and teachers of religious law complain that
He was associating with such sinful people—even eating with them!
3 So
Jesus told them this story:
4
“If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them gets lost, what will
he do? Won’t he leave the ninety-nine others in the wilderness and
go to search for the one that is lost until he finds it?
5
And when he has found it, he will joyfully carry it home on his
shoulders.
6
When he arrives, he will call together his friends and neighbors,
saying, ‘Rejoice with me because I have found my lost sheep.’
7 In
the same way, there is more joy in heaven over one lost sinner who
repents and returns to God than over ninety-nine others who are
righteous and haven’t strayed away!
John 10:7-16 KJV (Jesus The Good Shepherd)
7
Then Jesus said to them again, “Most assuredly, I say to you, I am
the door of the sheep.
8
All who ever came before Me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep
did not hear them.
9 I
am the door. If anyone enters by Me, he will be saved, and will go in
and out and find pasture.
10
The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy.
I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more
abundantly.
11
“I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd gives His life for the
sheep. 12 But a hireling, he who is not the shepherd, one who does
not own the sheep, sees the wolf coming and leaves the sheep and
flees; and the wolf catches the sheep and scatters them.
13
The hireling flees because he is a hireling and does not care about
the sheep.
14 I
am the good shepherd; and I know My sheep, and am known by My own.
15
As the Father knows Me, even so I know the Father; and I lay down My
life for the sheep.
16
And other sheep I have which are not of this fold; them also I must
bring, and they will hear My voice; and there will be one flock and
one shepherd.
Psalm
51:12 KJV
Restore
unto me the joy of thy salvation; and uphold me with thy free Spirit.
Isaiah
40:11 KJV
He
shall feed His flock like A Shepherd: He shall gather the lambs with
His arm, and carry them in His bosom, and shall gently lead those
that are with young.
Jeremiah
3:22 NLT
“My
wayward children,” says The Lord, “come back to Me, and I will
heal your wayward hearts.”“Yes, we’re coming,” the people
reply, “for you are The Lord our God.
Hosea
14:4 NLT
The
Lord says,“Then I will heal you of your faithlessness; My love will
know no bounds, for My anger will be gone forever.
Micah
7:19 KJV
He
will turn again, He will have compassion upon us; He will subdue our
iniquities; and thou wilt cast all their sins into the depths of the
sea.
I
Must Tell Jesus
I must tell Jesus all of my trials;
I cannot bear these burdens alone;
In my distress He kindly will help me;
He ever loves and cares for His own.
Chorus:
I must tell Jesus!
I must tell Jesus!
I cannot bear my burdens alone;
I must tell Jesus!
I must tell Jesus!
Jesus can help me, Jesus alone.
I must tell Jesus all of my troubles;
He is a kind, compassionate friend;
If I but ask Him, He will deliver,
Make of my troubles quickly an end.
Tempted and tried, I need a great Savior,
One who can help my burdens to bear;
I must tell Jesus, I must tell Jesus;
He all my cares and sorrows will share.
Author/Music: Elisha A. Hoffman 1839-1929
Hear the music, copy and paste this URL into a new web browser and
hit enter.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wYW0dlcSULY
Prayer:
Nehemiah 9:17 KJV
"...but thou art a God ready to
pardon, gracious and merciful, slow to anger, and of great
kindness..."
Psalm 86:5 KJV
For
thou, Lord, art good, and ready to forgive; and plenteous in mercy
unto all them that call upon thee.
Matthew 11:28-30
KJV
28 Come unto Me, all ye that labor
and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
29 Take My yoke upon you, and learn
of Me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto
your souls.
30 For My yoke is easy, and My
burden is light.
Acts
2:21 KJV
And
it shall come to pass, that whosoever shall call on the name of The
Lord shall be saved.
