by Ptr. Art Calaguas<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Shalom. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
In the first part of our study, I mentioned that Matthew 12:18-21 and Isaiah 42:1-4 and the different English Bible versions are essentially conveying the same ideas even if the Isaiah text is not exactly quoted. We saw that for the most part, Matthew seemed to have used a source close to the Hebrew MT version for our passage except for Matthew 12:21 where it was closer to the Greek Septuagint (LXX) version of Isaiah 42:4. Let us now take up 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> Matthew 12:18 identifies a chosen servant of the LORD; meaning set apart for God\u2019s mission to proclaim justice to the Gentiles (or nations) and the Gentiles will put their hope in this servant (v.21). The phrase \u201cmy beloved with whom my soul is well pleased<\/em>\u201d conveys the same idea as the ones used at the baptism and the Transfiguration of our Lord Jesus (cf. Matthew 3:17; 17:5). But unlike in these baptism and Transfiguration verses, \u201cmy soul\u201d is used here as an anthropomorphic literary device. The meaning is the same; the LORD God delights in his chosen, beloved One.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The phrase \u201cI will put my Spirit upon him<\/em>\u201d resonates with us very much as Isaiah 11:2 and 61:1 convey the same idea. In Isaiah 42:1 (Matthew 12:18); Isaiah 11:2; and Isaiah 61:1, we can discern the Triune Godhead since the LORD God is the one who puts his (Holy) Spirit (\u05e8\u05d5\u05bc\u05d7\u05b7 \u201cruach\u201d) upon the Servant (Hebrew \u05e2\u05b6\u05d1\u05b6\u05d3 \u201cebed,\u201d\/Greek \u03c0\u03b1\u1fd6\u03c2 \u201cpais\u201d in Isaiah 42:1\/Matthew 12:18); the Branch (\u05e0\u05b5\u05e6\u05b6\u05e8 \u201cnetser,\u201d Isaiah 11:1-2); and the Messiah (the \u201canointed\u201d in Isaiah 61:1\/Luke 4:18). We identify the Servant, the Branch, and the Messiah (Hebrew \u05de\u05b8\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05d7\u05b7 \u201cmashiach,\u201d\/Greek \u03a7\u03c1\u03b9\u03c3\u03c4\u03cc\u03c2 \u201cChristos\u201d) as one and the same person: our Lord Jesus Christ.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Verses 18 and 21 state a promise for all Gentiles (non-Jews) that the Jewish Messiah is also our Messiah, Redeemer and Savior. The LORD God promised to Abram, way back in Genesis 12:3 that in him, all the families of the ground\/land\/soil will be blessed. This promise of blessing to all the nations through Abraham are reaffirmed in Genesis 18:18 and 22:18; then to Isaac in Genesis 26:4-5; and then to Jacob in Genesis 28:14. Now from them comes the Messiah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n He is the Christ whom the Apostle Paul wrote about in Ephesians 2:11-3:21 who will create a \u201cnew man\u201d from the Jews and Gentiles; who calls us a dwelling of God in the Spirit; and who reveals the mystery of God that the Gentiles are \u201cfellow heirs\u201d as the Jews, in Messiah Jesus as the Gospel proclaims. The Genesis passages and Isaiah 2:1-4; 49:6; 60:3 and 66:18, 23 foretold and Paul understood and expounds. By quoting Isaiah 42:1-4, the Gospel of Matthew, even while targeting a Jewish audience, likewise gives important recognition to these prophecies.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The gentle, quiet ministry of our Lord seems to be alluded to in Matthew 12:19-20 (Isaiah 42:2-3). The Lord said that he came not to judge but to save (John 3:17). Perhaps this is also in accord with the \u201cSuffering Servant\u201d motif scholars point to. The Dead Sea Scrolls (DSS) also speak of a \u201cMessiah, son of Joseph\u201d apart from a \u201cMessiah, son of David.\u201d This is perhaps to remind all that Joseph suffered a lot in the hands of his brother and yet was blessed to be a blessing to his family and the surrounding peoples while he helped govern Egypt (see the account of Joseph in Genesis 37:1-50:26).<\/p>\n\n\n\n If we explore further, Isaiah 42:5-9 (especially vv. 6-7) speak about the Servant who will be as a covenant to the people, a light to the nations; who will open blind eyes, bring prisoners out of the dungeons, and free from prison those who sit in darkness. These verses are echoed in Isaiah 61:1; 51:4; and also 49:6, 8-9.<\/p>\n\n\n\n As stated before, scholars recognize the underlying source of Matthew 12:18-21 (Isaiah 42:1-4) 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 is used more as an honorific title for a royal function. The following are the 4 Servant Songs identified by biblical scholars: <\/p>\n\n\n\n 1. Isaiah 42:1-9; <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Isaiah 49:1-7 (or 1-13); <\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Isaiah 50:4-9 (or 4-11); and <\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Isaiah 52:13-53:12.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Perhaps Isaiah 52:13-53:12 is the most familiar with Christians because it is the famous \u201cSuffering Servant\u201d prophecies about the Messiah who we identify as Jesus Christ. This is found in the New Testament (NT) in Acts 8:26-40; the story of the apostle Philip and the Ethiopian (actually Nubian) eunuch. Philip the Evangelist shared the gospel with the Ethiopian starting with Isaiah 53:7-8 which the Ethiopian was reading as mentioned in the account of Acts 8:32-33, and identified the Suffering Servant in Isaiah 52 and 53 as Jesus of Nazareth, the Messiah (Christ). But Isaiah 49:7 and 50:6-7 also tell of a servant who is despised and made to suffer verbal as well as physical indignities. We shall also see later that some DSS manuscripts also speak of a Suffering Messiah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n Aside from these 4 Servant Songs, Isaiah\u2019s prophetic writings are quite well-represented in the NT. In the Gospels, Matthew quotes Isaiah 9 times, Mark 7 times, Luke 5 times, and John 4 times. Mark even anchors his Gospel’s beginning on Isaiah. The Apostle Paul quotes Isaiah as well in his Epistles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We will continue next week.<\/p>\n\n\n\n God bless us all.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" by Ptr. Art Calaguas Shalom. In the first part of our study, I mentioned that Matthew 12:18-21 and Isaiah 42:1-4 and the different English Bible versions are essentially conveying the same ideas even if the Isaiah text is not exactly quoted. We saw that for the most part, Matthew seemed to have used a source…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[6,7,18,9,8,5],"class_list":["post-225","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-ptr-art-calaguas","tag-church-of-the-risen-lord","tag-crl","tag-jesus","tag-spiritual-refreshment-of-the-day","tag-upcemi","tag-upcrl"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=225"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":226,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/225\/revisions\/226"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=225"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=225"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/upcrl.org\/refreshment\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=225"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
<\/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