We are in Matthew chapter 12. We're resuming
our study in Matthew this morning last week.
We took a little detour and went over to Hebrews
6, but we're back in our study going through
this precious gospel. Our text this morning will
be found in verses 14. Going through verse 21.
Then the Pharisees went out and plotted against
him, that is Jesus, how they might destroy him.
But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew from there
and great multitudes followed him and he healed
them all. Yet he warned them not to make him
known that it might be fulfilled which is spoken
by Isaiah the prophet saying, and here he quotes
Isaiah 42. Behold my servant whom I have chosen,
my beloved in whom my soul was well pleased.
I will put my spirit upon him, and he will declare
justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel,
nor cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in
the streets. A bruised reed he will not break,
and smoking flax he will not quench, until he
sends forth justice to victory. And in his name,
Gentiles will trust. Let's pray. Father, thank
you for your word. Lord, it is a rich food for
our hungry soul. Feed us with manna from heaven,
Lord. Show us Christ, we pray in his name. Amen.
When we think of people in power and authority,
most of us think of those men who are loud, brash.
Self -assertive. And we think that because that's
what we're used to seeing. It's the status quo.
We see this whether they're a titan of business
and industry or even our political leaders. Strong
men. Unflinching. And they seek to project strength
at all times. There's a false bravado. They want
to let you know they're in charge. So they pound
their chest. They flex muscles. They speak loudly,
seeking to drown out any other voices. They're
self -promoters, and they're rarely known for
their humility. But in our text this morning
in Matthew 12, we see an altogether different
picture of leadership. Here we see Jesus Christ.
He never raised his voice. He never showed any
violence. He did not come seeking to overthrow
Rome. And yet, even through all of his mild -manneredness,
he forever changed the world. Now what's ironic
is Jesus, who never did any of those things that
would cause a disturbance, was perceived as a
threat to the power brokers of his day. When
Jesus came on the scene, the status quo was upended,
especially for the religious leaders of that
day. Now we're in Matthew 12, and you have to
understand what had been taking place. Jesus
had healed a man on the Sabbath day. And the
Pharisees, because of that, they want him dead.
Now, it's not the healing that ultimately angered
them. Rather, they saw Jesus as a threat to their
influence. He was a threat to their power. We
might even say their brand was being threatened.
Pharisees were very jealous of him. Why? Because
people were abandoning the Pharisees and they
were flocking to Jesus. I mean, at this time,
Jesus is wildly popular. He's attracting massive
crowds. Thrones of people are following him in
Galilee wherever he went. The more popular Jesus
became, the more power the Pharisees lost. Now
Jesus, he knew what was going on. He knew the
Pharisees wanted him dead. So what did he do?
Now here's Jesus, the blessed son of God, having
all authority, all power in heaven and on earth.
What did he do? Did he respond in thunderous
judgment? Did he rain down sulfur and brimstone
on their heads of those hypocrites that day?
No. He simply left. He moved on. And Matthew
says, now this is what's interesting, Matthew
says Jesus not responding, but simply moving
on, is actually a fulfillment of an Isaiah prophecy
found in chapter 42. Now we can't just pick up
the context in verse 14. You have to go back
to verses 1 and 2 to understand what was really
happening. Why are the Pharisees so mad at Jesus
right now? Well, verses 1 and 2. At that time,
Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath.
It's an important point. And his disciples, they
were hungry, and they began to pluck some heads
of grain and eat it. Just pluck it off and eat
it right there. And the Pharisees saw that, and
they said to him, that is to Jesus, look, your
disciples are doing what is not lawful to do
on the Sabbath. Basically, they are saying, your
disciples are breaking the law of God. Well,
they were just hungry. They picked some grain,
they ate it, and it happened to be on Saturday,
the Sabbath. And the Pharisees did not like it,
and so they were trying to discredit Jesus, and
they're saying they're Sabbath breakers. Well,
Jesus, he takes them back to the Old Testament.
He took them back to the scriptures, and he showed
them a passage where David and his men had done
a similar thing. They ate some bread that was
only for the priest to eat, and yet God did not
hold them guilty. And Jesus is saying it's the
same principle here. Well, this created a tension.
You had tension between Jesus and the Pharisees.
Which one of these has the authority to properly
interpret the Torah? The law of God. See, up
until Jesus came, the Pharisees were always held
in high regard. It was just naturally assumed
they were the proper examples to follow. It was
assumed that the Pharisees correctly taught the
law of God. But Jesus, he arrived and he didn't
agree to the Pharisees' interpretation at all.
And he certainly didn't agree to any of their
added laws that they had made. And they were
outraged. Jesus is refusing to bow to their demands.
He refuses to comply with their man -made traditions.
And yet everyone had always looked at this holy
body, supposedly, the Pharisees, as examples
of true piety, true godliness. And by the way,
the Pharisees loved every minute of that. They
loved being seen as holy. They loved being seen
as righteous. But Jesus exposed them as hypocrites.
And they hated him for it. They're really rabidly
jealous of Jesus. And their jealousy is going
to lead them to plot murder. You see, later in
that same day, so they had just been picking
some grain. Later that same day, the Pharisees
followed Jesus into a synagogue. And there was
a man present in the assembly who had a withered
hand, a deformed hand. And Jesus healed that
man. Because the Pharisees were daring him to
do so, basically. And then we read in verse 13,
Jesus said to the man, shut out your hand. And
he stretched it out and it was restored. It was
made whole as the other. Now notice the next
phrase. They saw the miracle. They went out and
they plotted against him how they might destroy
him. They had just been publicly embarrassed.
Jesus showed them up, if you will. And so they're
like, he needs to go. After seeing this miracle,
here's the thing. These Pharisees, they should
have fallen on their knees before the Lord Jesus
Christ and begged for forgiveness. Rather, they
decided, no, he needs to die. Why die? He's a
threat. He's a threat to their power and influence.
And notice what it says there. They plotted against
him. If you have a King James, it will say they
held counsel against him. Friends, this is legal
language. This is not some temporary emotional
outburst. It's not like, oh, they wanted to kill
him, and then their emotions subsided. No, this
is a planned, deliberate action. They actually
went into session. They held counsel, and they
determined that Jesus must die. Now, this not
only is ironic, it's incredibly hypocritical.
These same people who were supposedly so concerned
with the law being broken are now breaking that
law by plotting murder against an innocent man.
But as the old adage goes, power tends to corrupt
and absolute power corrupts absolutely. See,
as power and influence rises, so also the temptation
to moral corruption. And you just see that across
the board. It's absolutely true. Those who hold
extremely high influential positions, they usually
do not hold those positions with great humility.
And when their brand or their influence or their
power is being threatened, they tend to power
grab. They hold on to it at all costs. And we
see that. But I would tell us we need to check
our own egos. We need to look for blind spots
in our own lives where that may be true. Now
there's one interesting detail that Mark puts
in his gospel that Matthew omits. Same situation.
It's the same scenario. And Mark adds this in
chapter 3. Then the Pharisees went out and immediately
plotted with the Herodians how they might destroy
him. Now Matthew doesn't say that, but Mark does.
So you're like, well, who were the Herodians?
You can see the word Herod there, right? This
is a political group. This is not a religious
group like scribes and Pharisees or Pharisees
and Sadducees. These are people, these are men
who are supporters of the Herodian dynasty currently
held by Herod Antipas who ruled in Galilee. So
their concern, now these are Jews, but their
concern is not for the law of Moses, certainly
less for theology. Their concern is all about
political power. Now normally, the Pharisees
and the Herodians hated each other. Natural enemies.
But in this case, they both wanted Jesus gone.
For different reasons. But they both wanted to
protect their own power base. See, the Herodians
didn't like Jesus because what were the people
saying about Jesus? He's king of Israel. Well,
if he's king of Israel, that's a threat to Herod.
Keep in mind that Herod is reigning in Galilee.
Where is Jesus doing most of his miracles? In
Galilee, right where Herod reigned. So if people
were saying that Jesus is the king of Israel
and this king's arrived in Galilee, well, the
Roman government might get word of it and remove
Herod from his position since he didn't do anything
about it. Because if it's a threat to the political
power, it's ultimately a threat to Rome. Well,
the Herodians weren't going to risk that because
they would lose everything. They had vested interest
in that as well, so they're conspiring with their
enemies, in this case the Pharisees. Again, we
think of the old adage, the enemy of my enemy
is my friend. And that's exactly what you see
here. Now you can start to see something. The
Lord is attracting very powerful enemies. It's
a foreshadowing that trouble is probably coming
his way and sooner rather than later. Now if
you look closely though, If we would look closely
at why the Pharisees hated Jesus so much, it's
ultimately because he was good and they were
not. Jesus held true authority from God and his
true authority showed up their counterfeit authority.
Jesus was so good at exposing their hypocrisy.
He disrupted all the good thing that they had
going on there. So they were starting to lose
esteem. They were starting to lose influence
among the people. And that's the one thing they
could not tolerate. Now what did Jesus do, knowing
both Pharisees and Herodians, they want him dead?
Verse 15. But when Jesus knew it, he withdrew
from there, and great multitudes followed him,
and he healed them all. He left. Now he didn't
leave out of fear. Jesus is not afraid to die.
In fact, he knew he was born to die. From the
beginning, the Lord knew he had come to give
his life as a ransom for his sinful people. There's
not fear here. He left because his time had not
yet come. Jesus is being wise. He's not going
to provoke a premature confrontation. When the
Father tells him that his hour has come, when
his time has come, we read in the Gospels that
Jesus set his face like a flint. to head to Jerusalem,
knowing full well that once he arrived in Jerusalem,
death awaited him. But he set his face like a
flint. He's not afraid. Now, how do we know he's
not afraid? It's evident even in this verse,
because what did he continue to do? He continues
to minister to the people. He does not go into
hiding. In fact, it says great multitudes. Great
is the word megas. Mega amounts of people are
following Jesus, and he heals them all. He's
simply doing what he's been doing all along.
He's not going to be distracted from his mission.
He continues to minister to the people. He's
not shrinking back from opposition at all. In
fact, he's defeating hell one healed person at
a time. You can threaten him, but you're not
going to force him to quit what he had been sent
to do. You have to understand something. Jesus
is healing. But by healing the masses, he was
proving to everyone that the kingdom of God had
come. Now in verse 16, after he healed them,
we read, he warned them not to make him known.
Seems a little out of place or obscure. Why did
Jesus command those who had been healed to stay
silent? I think there's three reasons. First,
he did not want people following him simply for
the sake of miracles. I mean, he's not trying,
see, Jesus is not trying to be wildly popular.
He's not courting public opinion or favor. His
miracles were not done so that he gets all these
people following him. Rather, his miracles were
signs. And they were signs demonstrating the
kingdom of God had come. But people often mistook
the signs. For example, in John chapter 6, we
know that Jesus fed the 5 ,000. Probably 15 ,000
to 20 ,000 women and children. He fed them with
what? Fish and bread. And it tells us in John
6 that many people sought him the next day. But
they sought him not because of the miracles or
not because of who he was, but because they ate
the food and they wanted more. They saw Jesus
as a great meal ticket. I mean, this guy can
keep us fed, and this is a time when there was
real food scarcity. It was not as readily available
as it is to us today. So in John 6, 26, we read
this. Jesus answered them and said, Most assuredly,
I say to you, you seek me. Yeah, you're coming
to me. But not because you saw the signs. But
because you ate of the loaves and you were filled.
You're coming to me because you got your bellies
full. And he did not want people following him
simply what they could get out of him. And by
the way, that's the way Jesus is promoted a lot
today. Particularly in a prosperity gospel. So
he didn't want them, yes, I can make your life
better. I can keep you full. I can keep you healthy.
I can always heal you. That's not why Jesus would
come. Secondly, he said, don't make him known.
to provoke a confrontation before his hour had
come. He knew the more miracles he did, the more
famous he became, or his word got out about his
ability to perform these mighty signs, people
are going to start being attracted to him more,
and they're going to want to make him king. They
didn't understand his mission. And we know that
because in John 6, that same chapter, when Jesus
perceived that they were about to come and take
him by force to do what? To make him king. He
departed again to the mountain by himself alone.
Jesus is on a timeline. But it's a timeline set
by his father, not by the people. But there's
a third reason, and we would not know this unless
Matthew had revealed it. Matthew gives it. Look
at verse 17. He said, Jesus, now notice the context.
He healed them and he said, be quiet. Don't make
me known. Why? That it might be fulfilled which
is spoken by Isaiah the prophet. Matthew is telling
us something here. And I want to be careful that
we don't miss it because this is the point of
this text. Jesus' humility, his desire not to
be made known, he said, is a fulfillment. From
a prophecy in Isaiah, specifically Isaiah 42.
Now there are four prophecies that come at the
latter part of the book of Isaiah that are known
as the Servant Songs. These Servant Songs describe
the humiliation, the suffering, and the exaltation
of God's chosen servant, the Messiah. And these
Servant Songs, they reveal the Messiah as a meek,
and gentle servant. The first one is our text
today. It's found in Isaiah 42. Let me give you
Isaiah 42, verses 1 through 4. God speaking about
his chosen servant. Behold my servant whom I
uphold, my elect one in whom my soul delights.
I have put my spirit upon him. He will bring
forth justice to the Gentiles. He won't cry out,
nor raise his voice, nor cause his voice to be
heard in the street. A bruised reed he will not
break, and smoking flax he will not quench. He
will bring forth justice for truth. He will not
fail nor be discouraged till he has established
justice in the earth, and the coastlands shall
wait for his law. So Matthew says this prophecy
right here is fulfilled in Jesus Christ right
here in Matthew 12. Now there's something very
significant going on. These four prophecies reveal
the work and person of the Messiah. They tell
us what the Messiah will be, which is actually
a contradiction of what the people expected he
would be. If they would have read these prophecies,
they should have known. See, the people at that
time had come to expect a strong military -like
figure who's going to deliver the nation from
Roman occupation, which is why so many of them
failed to understand who Jesus really was. They
didn't want meek and gentle. They wanted forceful.
Now, let's look at the text as Matthew quotes
it. Matthew 12, verse 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 will declare justice to the Gentiles.
I want to notice a phrase here, my beloved in
whom my soul is well pleased. There are two times
in the Gospels when you hear God the Father's
voice being heard, and what he says, speaking
from heaven, he says, this is my son in whom
I'm well pleased. The first time he says that
is at Jesus' baptism. And at Jesus' baptism,
do you remember, the heavens are opened up, and
the Spirit of God descends like a dove. But what
did Isaiah 42? It says, I will put my Spirit
upon him. Why do you see Jesus' baptism? God
putting his Spirit upon him. And we see this
in Matthew 3. When he had been baptized, Jesus
came up immediately from the water, and behold,
the heavens were opened to him, and he saw the
Spirit of God descending like a dove and alighting
upon him. And suddenly, a voice came from heaven
saying, this is my beloved son, and whom I'm
well pleased. It's Isaiah 42. And again, when
Jesus was transfigured on the mountain, remember
Peter wanted to build three tents? God said,
listen, leave Moses and Elijah alone. This is
my servant. It's Matthew 17, verse 5. While he
was still speaking, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed
them, and suddenly a voice came out of the cloud
saying, This one, Christ, Jesus, this is my beloved
Son, in whom I'm well pleased. Hear him or listen
to him. Now if we go to Matthew, put it together,
understand what he's doing here. He is showing
that Jesus is God's beloved Son, who is the chosen
servant. From Isaiah. And he will bring justice
to the world. But how does he do it? In the most
unlikely way. Verse 19. He will not quarrel or
cry out, nor will anyone hear his voice in the
streets. So here we see from the very beginning,
Jesus is not a revolutionary who is trying to
overthrow Rome and reestablish the Jewish state.
That's what they wanted, but that's not who he
was. Worldly kings, earthly kings I should say,
they rule by violence and force and threats.
But God's king is humble and meek. Now, I want
to park here for just a moment. Jesus was gentle.
Jesus was meek. Jesus was never weak. Never was
there weakness in Jesus. Now we look at anger,
but anger is often a sign of weakness. Which
is easier, to keep your cool or to blow up? It's
easy to blow up, but to show restraint, to show
self -control, that takes incredible strength
and fortitude. Look at our Lord. As Jesus was
being nailed to the cross, he could have called
legions of angels to help. and come to his defense,
come to his rescue. Instead, what do we find
Jesus doing? He's praying for the very men who
are crucifying him that the Father might forgive
them for they don't know what they're doing.
That's strength. That's a strength that you and
I know nothing of. Jesus was also not argumentative.
He was involved in lots of confrontations, but
he doesn't get heated. He always maintained a
calm composure. You're just like, well, what
about the time he cleared the temple and he knocked
over the tables of money? Yes, zeal for his father,
but not for his person. Even when Jesus was being
falsely accused before Pilate. I mean, he had
people coming and testifying before Pilate that
Jesus had said some things that he never said.
You never heard him yell. What's it say? As a
lamb headed to the slaughter, so he stayed silent.
Jesus doesn't yell. He doesn't raise his voice.
Like we are prone to do? My goodness, someone's
falsely accusing me. I'm going to be swinging.
Not Jesus. When do you ever see him get agitated?
You don't. Flustered? Never. I want you to contrast
his character with the Pharisees. They didn't
like what he did, so what are they going to do?
What are they going to do? Murder him. Over a
disagreement. Back in college, I read a book
by Stu Weber. It's called Tender Warrior. And
it really speaks of what a Christian man is supposed
to do and supposed to be. Tender Warrior, the
title says it all. So his premise is that the
Christian man is to be tough, physically and
emotionally. You need to be a warrior willing
to go to battle. But at the same time, the Christian
man is also called to be tender, not weak. Tender.
Tender with those who are weaker. Tender with
those who are under his care. A Christian man
is to use his strength to bless and never hurt.
Jesus is the ultimate tender warrior. He's a
warrior. He's not afraid to confront powerful
men and powerful systems over their sin and hypocrisy.
He calls them out like no one else. Yet you don't
ever find him being a coward. He's never cowering
in fear before anyone at any time. He is the
strongest man. But then as we look at him in
the Gospels, we see that he was tender, especially
with hurting people. Look at Jesus' interaction
with women or children. He picked them up in
his arms. He blessed them. Women and children
were often treated very poorly at this time.
Children were not treated well. They were the
lowest on the totem pole. Look at the compassion
he showed to the unclean, like lepers. No one
wanted to go near a leper. You would never do
that. You're going to be ostracized. Jesus didn't
speak those miracles. What did he do? He touched
them. Look at his heart for broken people in
their sin, like tax collectors and prostitutes,
the most despised people at that time. Jesus
made them part of his kingdom. So we find Jesus
protecting the weak, protecting the vulnerable,
never exploiting them. And then verse 20, we
read this. A bruised reed he will not break.
A smoking flax he will not quench until he sends
forth justice to victory. Isaiah uses two metaphors.
One of a bruised reed, the other smoking flax.
You have to understand something about the ancient
world here. Reeds, at that time, were used to
make many things, even instruments at times.
See, people would go out and they would gather
a bunch of reeds. They were very common. But
if a reed was damaged or bruised or slightly
wasn't perfect, they would just snap it in two
and throw it away. Why? Why waste your time?
I mean, they're so common. They're so cheap.
You're not going to waste your time trying to
mend a broken reed or a damaged reed. But this
was not the way of Jesus. He doesn't break bruised
reeds. He heals them. They're mended reeds. The
world's method was to discard the broken and
the damaged. Not Jesus. And these bruised reeds
were their metaphor for bruised and broken people.
He doesn't discard the broken one. He redeems
them. And he restores them. And he makes them
on his team, if you will. He brings them into
his kingdom. And this is what Isaiah was prophesying
of. That the Messiah, the chosen servant of God,
would be gentle. He's going to be compassionate.
He will not use his power, and he has all power,
to destroy or hurt, but rather to save and heal.
So if you look at how does the world see broken
people? They're expendable. Cast them out and
move on. Jesus, our Lord, sees broken people
as redeemable. Save them. Restore them. And we
are the bruised reeds. We're the damaged ones,
the broken ones. We are the ones that our Lord
restores. But there's another metaphor. It's
a smoking flax. In the ancient world, again,
flax was a fibrous plant, and they used it to
make a wick for lamps. Sometimes that flax would
be damaged or not be perfect, and so it really
wouldn't burn. They would light it, and it would
kind of just smolder. It would start to smoke,
and when it did, it put off this foul smell.
So they would go over and just pinch it. They
would extinguish it. Let's find another flax
to make a good wick. The smoking flax is the
person whose faith is shaky. It's faltering.
The fire's almost out, and it's just smoke. And
what Isaiah said, this is the Messiah, he will
not extinguish the struggling flame of those
who need him. Rather, he fans that flame until
it burns brightly once again. You know what this
means, church? You can bring your questions.
Young people, you have questions about the Bible,
about Christianity, about faith. He's not afraid
of your questions. You can bring them. Senior
saint, middle -aged saint. We can bring our doubts
to the Lord. We're hurt. We don't understand.
No, he's not going to snuff you out. He's not
going to extinguish you. The message of Matthew,
which is the message of Isaiah, which is the
message sent from God, is that Jesus Christ,
the Messiah, runs to hurting, broken, wounded,
sinful, and doubting people. One author said
this. A smoking, smoldering wick is in a precarious
position. It's weak. The embers are about to
lose whatever heat and light they had and be
darkened forever. He says there are many people
in a similar state. They've been wounded emotionally,
spiritually, or physically. They're weak and
they're about to lose all hope. But then God
steps in. Jesus doesn't quench the smoking flax.
I love this message. Because it means he's not
afraid of messy, broken, hurting people. They're
the ones he came for. Do you know that Jesus
does not come to the aid of those who have it
all together? But he runs with aid to those who
know they need him. Believer, your weakness is
not a problem for Jesus. But your strength is.
Consider the context. You have a withered man.
A man with a withered hand. And you had the Pharisees.
What happened? Jesus had compassion. He healed
the man with the withered hand. And he condemned
the self -righteous Pharisees. Why? This disabled
man, he knows he's weak. It's obvious to all.
He can't work. He's probably a social outcast.
No doubt he's poor. Probably had been reduced
to a life of begging. But then the Pharisees
over there, they're falsely assuming they are
strong and knowledgeable. Your perceived strength
will keep you from running to Jesus. You don't
have it all together and you're not sufficient
on your own. And Matthew, he's painting this
beautiful picture of the Messiah. He's come to
redeem, he's come to restore and heal that which
was broken. Ironically, it is the gentleness
of Jesus that is God's method of bringing justice
and establishing true righteousness on the earth.
Now we would think it's the force. Nope. Gentleness.
God's king is gentle. He's not forceful. Look
at verse 20. Until he sins for justice to victory.
So that means that the Lord right now, this saving
day of grace, the Lord is saving broken, hurting,
doubting, sinful people until the time of final
judgment comes. Until justice comes in victory.
And I love verse 21. And in his name. Gentiles
will trust. It's not just for Israel. God is
making a people for himself from every nation,
every ethnicity, every language group on planet
earth. That means God's kingdom. God's kingdom
is multinational. It is multicultural. It is
multiracial. It is multilinguistic. It's all
going to be represented there. Diversity is wonderful
in the kingdom of God. Revelation 5. For you
were slain. And you have redeemed us to God by
your blood. Amen. Out of every tribe and tongue
and people and nation. That's beautiful. Now
what? You're here on this 15th day of February.
Now what? I want you to see the contrast today.
You have the Pharisees. They wanted to protect
their power. You see Jesus. He wanted to protect
the weak. That's really good news. That is really
good news. Because that means if you are weak,
if you are wounded, maybe today you're barely
hanging on. May I say to you with all authority,
Jesus is the one you need. Your weakness will
never, ever, ever cause him to reject you. God
mends broken reeds. But what about the believers,
Christians? If you're a Christian, you're called
to follow. In the footsteps of this meek and
gentle Savior. That means brash, aggressive,
forceful behavior is not the way that the kingdom
of God will be advanced in this world. God's
kingdom is antithetical to man's kingdom, friends.
It's not the way you do it. An argumentative
spirit will not change the culture. So stop.
You must reject the need to shout, and argue
with those who oppose you. Instead, what's the
message? Let us, by the power of the Spirit,
be servants who bring justice through our compassion
and quiet faithfulness, just as Jesus did. May
God himself help us to walk in the footsteps
and the path of his blessed Son. All glory be
to Christ. Let's pray. Father, thank you, Lord,
for your word. Lord, I'm so very grateful for
the message that Jesus is gentle and meek. Lord,
we're not afraid because, Lord God, we see the
character of our Lord. Our weakness is not a
hindrance to his help, but our strength is. God,
help us to admit the truth that we are all weak
people. Lord, wherever we find ourselves, none
of us have our act all together. Lord, none of
us. Lord, we're all weak. We would even say pitiful.
Certainly sinful. Helpless, Lord, apart from
you. You are the one. Lord, our weakness highlights
your great strength. You are the one who has
it all together. You are perfect in all your
ways. Lord, there is no slight nor stain, no
blight in you at all, Lord. You are altogether
wondrously perfect. We are not. But Father, you
don't despise us. Lord, you don't cast away broken
reeds. Lord, we're thankful for grace this morning.
Lord, I pray that you continue, Lord, to fan
the smoldering flax into a bright flame that
will burn for your glory, Lord. I pray for those
who bring their doubts this morning or those
who are hurting, Lord, or those who are lost,
Lord. There may be some in this, even this particular
sanctuary right now today, Lord, who are away
from you, Lord. God, would you work in them,
open their eyes to behold the beauty and the
glory of your beloved Son. the one in whom you're
well pleased. May they see him as the Messiah,
confess their sin, repent over it, and come to
him in faith, bringing nothing. Lord, we trust
Jesus now. Lord, we come to the table of our
Lord, and we want to, Lord, fellowship and commune
with our risen, ascended, powerful, yet gentle
and meek Savior. For it's in his name we pray.
Amen.