Mat 12:19-21 ESV
(19) He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;
(20) a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory;
(21) and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”
This is one of my favorite prophecies about Jesus. The original prophecy is found in Isaiah 42:1-3, and Matthew quotes it here to as one of his proofs that Jesus really was the Messiah.
The reason that I like this passage so much is because of these words:
Mat 12:20 ESV
(20) a bruised reed he will not break…
I did a little research into this a few months ago, and I found out some interesting stuff.
The reed that Isaiah was talking about was a reed that is native to the Mediterranean area. It was used to make a lot of stuff (and it is still used today). Here’s a partial list:
Musical instruments like the oboe, clarinet, saxophone, flutes, pan pipes, and pipe organs; Utility devices like walking sticks, fishing poles, baskets, brooms, mats, screens, and walls of houses; Medicine.
An interesting fact about this reed is that it was almost indestructible. You could blow it down in a strong wind, but it would stand right back up. You could bend it, and it would straighten right back out. No matter what you did to it the thing it just kept popping right back up.
There was one thing that could make it useless, though, and that was for it to be bruised. The word bruised means that it got battered, cracked, or broken. When one of these reeds got bruised then it became weak. It was good for nothing. When people needed some material and they found a bruised reed, they would just destroy it and get it out of the way.
The reason that this is all so awesome is because Isaiah made it clear that Jesus wouldn’t break a bruised reed. Why would Isaiah say something like that? Bruised reeds are good for nothing! But Isaiah said that Jesus wouldn’t do it.
Of course, this is symbolic. What Isaiah wanted us to understand is that sometimes we are the bruised reeds. Sometimes we go through so many things in life, and we just keep popping back, but then something happens and we get bruised. The fight goes out of us. We just can’t take it anymore. We wonder why anyone would even bother with us.
But Isaiah promised that Jesus would take the time for us. You see, a bruised reed could be restored. It just took a little work. And Jesus was more than happy to do it.
He still is today.
I know that there have been times in my life where I’ve just wanted to give up. Times that I’ve just said enough is enough, and I’ve honestly prayed to die. But Jesus always took the time for this bruised reed, and I can promise you that He’ll do the same for you.
Isaiah ends the prophecy with these words: “In [Jesus'] Name the Gentiles will hope.”
What a beautiful way to end a prophecy.
We have hope of a better tomorrow because of Jesus. We may be down right now, but He will make sure that we get up again. Because “a bruised reed he will not break.”
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Category: Scriptural Musings |
Tags: inspirational, scriptural musings
Comments
This entry was posted on Friday, January 12th, 2007 at 9:12 pm and is filed under Scriptural Musings. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.
That’s pretty awesome, Josh. I’ve definitely felt like that bruised reed sometimes. It’s a good reminder that Jesus is still willing to restore me and take the time to do it, even when I’m too tired.