by Ptr. Art Calaguas<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shalom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
The Gospel of Matthew 12:15-21 contains the longest Old Testament (OT) quotation in this Gospel. This particular quotation, from the Prophet Isaiah is unique to Matthew\u2019s Gospel. Matthew 12:18-21 are the actual verses that quote from Isaiah. Before we look at these verses in the Gospel and in Isaiah, we take note of the immediate context.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Chapters 10-12 of the Gospel of Matthew are part of the 2nd<\/sup> of the 5 great discourses in the Gospel; i.e., the one that speaks of the Messiah who was to come. It starts with the Sending out of the Twelve to announce that the kingdom of heaven is near. The context includes our previous discussion about John the Baptist\u2019s questions about our Lord Jesus if he indeed was the One Coming, the Awaited\/Expected One, found in chapter 11. In chapter 12, the Lord continues to heal the sick, even on the Sabbath, which infuriates the Pharisees and drives them to plot his killing. In verses 15-17, Matthew makes the assertion that the Lord Jesus was doing all of these signs and yet not trumpeting them to all to fulfill what the prophet Isaiah spoke of. <\/p>\n\n\n\n Here are the verses of Matthew 12:18-21 (ESV translation):<\/p>\n\n\n\n 18<\/sup><\/strong><\/a>\u201cBehold, my servant whom I have chosen,<\/em> The subject here is the Spirit-filled chosen servant of the LORD God who would fulfill his mission in quietness and gentleness while bringing justice and hope to the Gentiles (or the nations). This is in keeping with Matthew\u2019s objective of presenting the Lord Jesus to his original Jewish audience as the fulfillment of OT prophecies about the Davidic King of the Jews, the Messiah, and Savior.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The verses of Matthew 12:18-21 come from Isaiah 42: 1-4. Here are these Isaiah verses (ESV translation from the Hebrew Masoretic Text (MT)):<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/sup><\/a>Behold my servant, whom I uphold,<\/em> Scholars recognize this as part of the first of Isaiah\u2019s 4 Servant Songs that point to the Messiah as the chosen servant of the LORD. The term \u201cservant\u201d here really means more like a \u201ctrusted envoy\u201d or \u201cconfidential representative\u201d doing the king\u2019s royal bidding in the Ancient Near East context (as per NIV Study Bible study notes). The LORD had referred to individuals he had worked with in the past like \u201cmy servant Moses\u201d (see Numbers 12:7); \u201cmy servant David\u201d (see 2Samuel 3:18); or many people like \u201cmy servants the prophets\u201d (see 2Kings 17:13). The Isaiah Servant songs, depending on the context, speaks of the \u201cservant\u201d as the entire nation of Israel; or a specific individual; the<\/em> Messiah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n In other Isaiah verses, the messiah (meaning \u201canointed one\u201d) is not the<\/em> Jewish Messiah himself but another, such as the Persian king, Cyrus the Great, who defeated the Babylonians in 539 BC and then allowed the Jewish exiles to return and rebuild Jerusalem\u2019s Temple (see Isaiah 41:2, 25; 44:28-45:5, 13; and 46:11).<\/p>\n\n\n\n If one studies the Isaiah Servant songs and other surrounding chapters and verses further, the Prophet contrasts and highlights the difference between 2 different designated or chosen servants of the LORD: unrighteous Israel vs. the righteous remnant of Israel; unrighteous Israel vs. the righteous messiah in the Persian king Cyrus (and perhaps, also Darius and Artaxerxes); or unrighteous Israel vs. the<\/em> Messiah himself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n But going back to Matthew 12:18-21 and Isaiah 42:1-4, one cannot help but notice some differences. For one, the Gospel does not seem to quote the Prophet exactly. I have checked out the various English translations of Matthew 12:18-21 and Isaiah 42:1-4 and the different Bible versions are essentially convergent, except for Matthew 12:21 vs. Isaiah 42:4. Upon checking with the Greek Septuagint (LXX) version, I found that Matthew 12:21 is closer to the LXX version of Isaiah 42:4. Here is the LXX translation of Isaiah 42:1-4 from (NETS) A New English Translation of the Septuagint<\/em> (Oxford University Press, 2009), including corrections and emendations made in June 2014 in the electronic edition (http:\/\/ccat.sas.upenn.edu\/nets\/edition\/<\/a>):<\/p>\n\n\n\n 1<\/sup><\/strong><\/a>Iakob is my servant; I will lay hold of him;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n Israel is my chosen; my soul has accepted him;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n I have put my spirit upon him;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n he will bring forth judgment to the nations.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 2<\/sup><\/strong><\/a>He will not cry out or send forth his voice, <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n nor will his voice be heard outside;<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n 3<\/sup><\/strong><\/a>a bruised reed he will not break,<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/em>my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased.<\/em>
<\/em>I will put my Spirit upon him,<\/em>
<\/em>and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles.<\/em>
<\/em>19<\/sup><\/strong><\/a>He will not quarrel or cry aloud,<\/em>
<\/em>nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets;<\/em>
<\/em>20<\/sup><\/strong><\/a>a bruised reed he will not break,<\/em>
<\/em>and a smoldering wick he will not quench,<\/em>
<\/em>until he brings justice to victory;<\/em>
<\/em>21<\/sup><\/strong><\/a>and in his name the Gentiles will hope.\u201d <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/em>my chosen, in whom my soul delights;<\/em>
<\/em>I have put my Spirit upon him;<\/em>
<\/em>he will bring forth justice to the nations.<\/em>
<\/em>2<\/sup><\/a>He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice,<\/em>
<\/em>or make it heard in the street;<\/em>
<\/em>3<\/sup><\/a>a bruised reed he will not break,<\/em>
<\/em>and a faintly burning wick he will not quench;<\/em>
<\/em>he will faithfully bring forth justice.<\/em>
<\/em>4<\/sup><\/a>He will not grow faint or be discouraged<\/em>
<\/em>till he has established justice in the earth;<\/em>
<\/em>and the coastlands wait for his law.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n