Here, back to Isaiah 42 I come:
“Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
Isaiah 42:1-4
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.”
Behold. Pay attention. Notice. Notice the servant. Notice God’s chosen one. See that Yahweh upholds his servant. See that Yahweh delights in his servant. See too that before the servant does anything, Yahweh has chosen him, and delights in him. The servant’s mission comes because he is the one chosen by Yahweh, and it can be carried out because he is the one who Yahweh delights in. Identity comes before task.
I find it fascinating that Matthew, when he quotes this passage changes it slightly, and emphasises this reality even more strongly:
“Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
Matthew 12:18
the one I love, in whom I delight;
Here the order is swapped slightly, and instead of ‘uphold’, Matthew has love. No other version, as far as we know, does this – so perhaps Matthew is deliberately linking this servant song to Jesus’s baptism and reminding us that the servant is also the beloved Son.
Israel as a nation had been called Yahweh’s son (Exodus 4, and Hosea 11), and Matthew uses Hosea 11 to talk how about Jesus fulfills Israel’s role as Yahweh’s son. Here in Matthew 12 he inserts “the one I love” into the servant song of Isaiah 42 to make the point that Jesus is both Servant and Son. He fulfills both the roles Israel failed to live out, and he has the perfect relationship with the Father that belongs to his identity as Son.
Twice in Matthew’s gospel we hear the words “This is my Son, whom I love” – at Jesus’s baptism and at the transfiguration. At the start of Jesus’s ministry and at the start of Jesus’s road to the cross. Jesus’s mission flows from his identity. And so with those who in the Son are called children of God. When we trust in Jesus we become God’s children, and we share in the mission of God’s servant.
And so we too can hear these words of God addressed to us. We are God’s children, whom he loves. We need to hear those words – and we need to believe them – before we do anything for him.
I need to hear those words because it is far too easy for me to find significance and meaning in what others think of me. A few years ago we left our church, also our place of work, and moved away from the area. In the time immediately afterwards I had some counseling sessions which were extremely helpful for me in processing what had happened.
I remember listening to a sermon, where the preacher shared some of their struggles, and as I listened it clicked – I too wanted, even at times, craved, approval and respect from certain people. I don’t necessarily want to be liked by everyone – but I do want certain people to think well of me. To consider me wise. To ask my opinion. To seek out my knowledge.
At the same time I don’t want to be involved in conflict. I want peace. I don’t want to struggle, and I hate to get it wrong. I hate to impose on people, or do something which will mean they don’t know how to respond. I want to be the one who makes it straightforward for them. And it is easy to let those desires be the ones that move me to shape my identity by how others see me and how I want them to see me.
And yet, there is one who sees me totally. Who knows how much I get it wrong, and how confused and conflicted I can be. Yet in Jesus I am counted as one of his beloved children. As one he delights in. And when I see this I am freed to move towards others in love. Knowing that I am loved, and that I don’t need approval – because the one who sees all has already declared his verdict and assures me of his love for me.
Any ministry I might do needs to flow from this love. Because if any of us minister out of the desire for approval – whether that is to be liked or respected, or feared, or obeyed, or whatever the manifestations of that desire look like in our hearts we will eventually create havoc in the lives of those we are ministering to.
We need to come back and we need to listen to the Father speaking to the Son:
“You are my son, whom I love, with you I am well pleased”
And then we need to remember that the Father loves us with the same love he has for Jesus.
Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.
Jesus in John 17:23
And we need to take the time. To remember, as Roz reminded us in the post on Hagar, that God is the one who sees us. When he sees us he sees us as we really are. And he loves us just the same. Whatever we think ourselves we need to come and sit and listen to the one who calls us his beloved, and listen to his love.
And then, and only then, when we have listened to that love and let it seep into our lives can we show that love to others in a way that will actually reflect God’s love, and allow them to become the people that God would have them be.
Joshua's Tree Rooted 