Isa 42:1-3
Behold my servant, whom I uphold,
my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him
and he will bring justice to the nations.
He will not shout or cry out,
or raise his voice in the streets.
A bruised reed he will not break,
and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.
Great leaders come with an announcement. There is much pomp and hype that surrounds their arrival. But Isaiah said of Jesus that his voice will not be heard in the streets. ‘He will not shout or cry out, or raise his voice in the streets.’ What Isaiah meant was that He did not come to shout about Himself. He came to call those who were hurting to God.
And so His coming was modest. It was mild. He came for the bruise reed and the smouldering wick. The people He came for were bruise reeds, not strong trees. They were smouldering wicks, not blazing fires. He came for the sheep amongst the beasts and the doves amongst the fowls and the vine amongst the plants.
The bruised reed is a man, the woman who is in misery. It might have been brought about by his own mistakes and failures and sins or it could be brought about by the doings of another person. But he is bruised and he is looking for some healing. He is looking for some place to end this pain in his soul.
Some bruise reeds look to Christ to end that pain. Yet looking to Christ is not without doubts and frustrations and fears. That makes him a smouldering wick. There is some faith and yet it looks like it is weak faith ready to be blown out by the strong winds of doubt. There seems to be some hope in Christ and yet that hope is so dependent on what is happening around him and in him that he feels like a smouldering wick.
So t both these together, a bruised reed and smoking wick, make up the state of a man in pain and misery. Jesus terms such a person `poor in spirit' (Matt. 5:3), who sees his needs, and also sees himself helpless to meet those needs. He has no means of supply from himself or from others, and so he mourns with inner pain and frustration.
But Isaiah tells us Christ came for the bruise reed and the smouldering wick. He came to make sure that hope is not extinguished and faith is not wiped out. A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.
So today, do what Isaiah says. Amidst that pain and that sense of helplessness, behold Him!
