God’s chosen Servant

well why don't we pray as we come to God's word

let's pray together

yeah Father on a day where

the world is

I just got a text message saying

a boxing day sale

come and fill your pockets

and fill your world with things

the peace of yesterday

is gone

we're back to the

scrambling over the resources

of the world to get our little

slice of heaven

on earth Lord I pray that you would

speak to us

this morning through your word

to give us

what will really enrich us

in our hearts and in our

relationships and

in our society at large

please speak to us Lord

yeah we need your help every time we open your word

we're not inclined

to want to hear

so we need your help to do that

and we need your help to understand

we need your help to

desire what we see

in your son

and we need your help to put our trust in him

and then to follow him

so we ask for all these things

in Jesus name

amen

well let's

let's tackle

an easy topic

today

given it's boxing day

and we're all a bit tired

what is the hope for the world

oh

I didn't

I didn't choose a passage

it's

I'm gonna

give credit to the Holy Spirit

that we're up to here

in

in Matthew's gospel

so what is the hope

for the world

so I admit that we're

we're probably not gonna be done by 1030

I'm sorry

but let's

let's listen in

because hope

we're coming into a new year

hope is a

timely topic

we've all got hopes and aspirations

I want to get into the topic

through

I suppose a social

angle

a social lens

I think it's been very popular

this past year

we can put society right

the hope for the world

is if everyone stays woke

have you heard that phrase this year

stay woke

it means cry out

when there's injustice

if you see injustice

cry out

defend the marginalized

the minority

the prejudice

censor

cancel

stuff

racist things

sexist things

cancel anything that

suggests that

and if you don't speak up

you're part of the problem

so if everyone stays woke

then socially

relationally

we'll get rid of injustice

if we stay woke

now exposing injustice

even publicly

is

Jesus did it

in the passage we looked at last week

in the paragraph before

the Pharisees were

treating a man without mercy

a man who was deformed

and he was cut off

from the temple of God

and they had no mercy for him

they had mercy for the animals

but not for him

and he exposes them

they're in the synagogue

he publicly speaks about that

he exposes them

so

I'm not saying that there's

anything wrong with

calling out injustice

using the means we have

but

speaking out

isn't enough

to put society right

now at this point

I'm a white

male

who's very privileged

in life

so what right

have I got to say

that staying woke

isn't the solution

let me share

what someone deeply

inside the woke movement

has said

so

I was listening to a podcast

Africa Brooke

is her name

she wrote an article

online

that just went viral

I'm not sure if you've heard of it

why I am leaving

the cult of wokeness

so in the podcast

she describes

what changed her mind

so there was this moment

where she got a private message

from a man

and she says

it wasn't unkind

it wasn't an unkind message at all

he was asking

if everything she was posting online

through Instagram and things

and all she was writing

and saying

is that the best approach

that was this guy's question

a private message

and she says

it didn't even cross my mind

to have a private conversation

my instant thought was

how dare you question

a black woman

in that way

so what

this is what she did

she screenshotted the message

and posted it

on her Instagram feed

and six or seven thousand people

within minutes

were on her side

saying that man was wrong

to do that

you don't need to educate him

on racism

that all took about 20 minutes

she said

and she felt

she said she felt validation

and affirmation

in that moment

just a rush of it

but then

she felt something else

immediately after that

she had just publicly

shamed this guy

and she

she suddenly felt sick

in her stomach

she said

I didn't have to deal with him

in that moment

I dehumanised him

I didn't have to process it

and search my own thinking

about his question

should I not have given him

the respect he gave me

in sending a private reply

that was the moment

she

enormous validation

and then suddenly feeling sick

for what she did

that was the moment

that changed

and led to her article

why

I am leaving

the cult of wokeness

let me read

just a paragraph

of her article

it's

she doesn't hold back

this is what she says

I can no longer be

an active participant

in any culture

or movement

that encourages

groupthink

outrage on demand

fear and violence

revamped

segregation

fabricating history

cancellations

masters accountability

self-centeredness

normalization

of racism

towards white people

the disempowerment

of black people

masked as social justice

the constant redefining

of existing language

ignoring self-responsibility

constant pathologizing

oppressed

versus oppressor mentality

and the pressure

to conform

and comply

it's exhausting

and honestly

I have better things

to do with my time

not to mention

it's killing us

so that's her opinion

do with that

what you want

we need more than woke

we need more than

crying out injustice

now remember

Jesus does cry out

injustice

at appropriate times

but we need more than that

to put our society

our relationships

right

and I think this passage

today gives us

what we need

the better way

so if not crying out

what is our hope

for society

to keep us together

relationally

God says

Jesus is the hope

of the world

he's the hope

of our world

and the experts

in the Bible

certainly don't agree

they don't think so

we know in verse 14

if you have your Bibles

open

Matthew 12

we know in verse 14

the Pharisees

have come to their conclusion

far from being

the hope of the world

Jesus has to go

their outside in way

of being good

and important

and at peace with God

has been exposed

by Jesus

and either their

framework of life

has to go

or Jesus

who's threatening

their framework

for life

has to go

and so

they're conspiring

how do we destroy him

I think Matthew

is begging the question

of us

at this point

what about you

what's your opinion

of Jesus so far

we've spent

if you've been with us

since the 18th of July

we've been going

through Matthew

looking at the person

of Jesus

and his mission

so half a year

and then two months

last year

looking at his birth

and all the fulfillment

of God's promises

I think Matthew

is asking us

to pause

and come to a conclusion

at this point

verse 14

the Pharisees

have come to a conclusion

and now

he gives this

summary

statement

this is the longest

quote in Matthew

of the Old Testament

Isaiah 42

about Isaiah's

suffering servant

he's asking us

to pause

and decide

who we think

Jesus is

what do we see

in him

by quoting

Isaiah 42

he's suggesting

if you can't see him

as God's chosen

servant

as Isaiah prophesied

you too

will decide

he's got to go

but if you do

see him

through this lens

he will be

the hope

of your world

if you see him

as the father

sees him

so verse 18

this is the father's

opinion of Jesus

it's the Lord

speaking in Isaiah

Isaiah 42

1-4

behold

my servant

whom I have

chosen

my beloved

with whom

my soul

is well

pleased

Pharisees

get out

of my life

the father

my soul

delights

in this

servant

look at this

individual

there's no one

like him

when I look

at him

I see my

beloved

so why

does the father

why does the father's soul

delight in him

why not just say the father delights in him

I don't think working out if God has a soul or not is the point of this

this is poetry

it's like saying God has an arm to save

that's obviously a human expression

it's a picture

so what does the picture tell us

there is a reality there

don't get me wrong

but it's a picture

what's the picture saying

of God's soul

delighting in Jesus

I like how John Piper puts it

I can't say it better

so I'm going to quote him

surely what God means

when he speaks of delighting in Jesus

with his soul

is that this joy

this pleasure

is part of his very nature

or to put it another way

God the father loves the son

with a spontaneous pleasure

when he beholds the son

he sees that which by nature

brings forth his most passionate

enjoyment

Piper goes on to say

which means that God the father

would be an idolater

unless what he saw in his son

was the image

of his own glory

Jesus is God's greatest delight

because Jesus is God

and the spring of Jesus' life

is that he is chosen

loved

and enjoyed

by God the father

from that relationship

flows everything

that he is and does

when God sees Jesus

spontaneous delight

because he sees his own character

in his son

so what is it about his son

that just brings forth delight

passionately

spontaneously

well

to work that out

we need to work out

what one word in here

is

connecting

so verse 17

this

was to fulfill

what was spoken

by the prophet Isaiah

the quote in Isaiah

is connected

to what Jesus

was doing

what is the this

Matthew wants us to see

that this

is why

God delights

in his son

what is it

two commentators

have two different ideas

one is in verse

where's my notes here

verse 15

so

many followed him

and he healed them all

so one option is

God delights in him

because he's healing

them all

like we saw

with the man

with the withered hand

he restored him

completely

he's healing them all

not just some

all

he's getting

the victory

the justice

we're going to look

at that word

in a bit more detail

soon

but he's achieving

that justice

for all

he's putting things

right

so that's one option

he healed them all

he's putting everything

right

he's achieving

what the servant

was set out to achieve

the second option

is in verse 16

and he ordered them

not to make him known

he's telling his followers

to be silent

think about

those with power

have just decided

we need to kill this guy

and Jesus

aware of this

withdrew

and tells his followers

don't talk about me

that is completely different

to the way this world works

he didn't try and gather an army

could you imagine the army

he could gather

these people owe him

their life

their child's life

he didn't try and get

the social power

and strip the power

from the Pharisees

he didn't

do that

he chose the path

of gentle

service

which he knew

would cause his own suffering

so

does

does this

does he fulfill

what God says

about the suffering servant

because he's achieving

he's putting everything right

he's achieving

that justice

or

because

he is gentle

and lowly

and humble

suffering

if like me

I don't see why

it can't be both

in fact

I would

go further

and say

it's got to be both

because both

are in this

quote

and both

are necessary

for Jesus

to achieve

that total healing

he needs

to suffer

so

let's take a closer

look at this

shall we

let's

let's go

into

what God

sees of Jesus

and let's see

if our souls

produce that

spontaneous

passionate

delight in him

that little bit more

so justice

I think when we hear

that word

we automatically

think

legal justice

social justice

but the word

justice

has a much

bigger meaning

in the Old Testament

and in Isaiah

in Isaiah

we find

three main meanings

so I've got this

from Barry Webb

who used to be

an Old Testament

lecturer

at Moore College

there's three

meanings of justice

so the first

meaning of justice

in the Old Testament

and in Isaiah

in particular

is that

justice is the

order

that God

gave to the universe

when he made everything

everything had its place

everything had its purpose

so justice

pictures that

everything was in order

until sin

stuffed up

that order

the second thing

that justice

pictures

is that

the lies

in this world

and the lies

particularly about God

are replaced by truth

a true understanding

of God

in particular

that the Lord

is the Lord

of history

not anything else

nothing else

is in control

not idols

no other false gods

justice means

no

the Lord

is Lord

of history

and people

acknowledging that

so God

created everything

he is the Lord

of history

the third

meaning of justice

is about putting

the relationship

right

between God's

people

and God

it's making peace

it's maintaining

that peace

between people

and God

that's a pretty

big mission

if you stop

and think about it

Barry Webb

describes

he summarises

it this way

the mission

of the servant

is a gigantic

one

it is nothing

less

than to put

God's plan

for his people

into full effect

and to make

the truth

about the Lord

Israel's God

known everywhere

especially the fact

that he alone

is the sovereign

creator

and Lord

of history

that's a big

mission

that's his goal

like I struggle

to put my garden

in order

weeds just keep

popping up

I tried to use

the weed mat

and a month

later

there's weeds

again

I can't even

get my garden

in order

God tells

the servant

go fix

everything

that's a huge

mission

go put the

whole world

right

to do that

the servant

must deal

with the

disfiguring

effects of sin

and the curse

and we get a glimpse

of that with the man

with the withered hand

every Jew

understood that sin

either directly

or indirectly

is the cause

of curse

he must deal

with the root problem

our lack of worship

of the one true

God

so have we

as we've gone

through Matthews

have we seen

the miracles

properly

like the paralyzed

man

his paralysis

could only be

healed

if the root

problem was

dealt with

the sin

that distorted

the total

restoration

the foretaste

of what we're

looking forward

to

everything

including our

bodies

being put

right

so is this

the picture

of hope

that we have

everything

being put

right

not just

social justice

but includes

that

but putting

our character

right

that we see

God as the

creator

and Lord

of our life

gladly

serving him

because of his

love for us

putting our

relationship back

and from there

putting our

relationship back

with one another

expressing

the love

and the

servant

heartedness

of the

son

is that

our hope

for the

world

or do we

have a

I don't

know

let me use

boxing day

do we have

a boxing

day idea

of hope

let's just

outside in

let's put

everything

on the

outside

back in

order

or do we

love

what we

see here

the second

reason why

God so

delights

in his

son is

because of

how he

will achieve

this

notice that

in verse

19 to

20

we're told

two things

that he

won't do

so we're

mainly told

what he

won't do

and then

we're also

told one

thing he

will do

he's not

going to

quarrel

or cry

aloud

nor will

anyone hear

his voice

in the

streets

and a

bruised

reed he

will not

break

a smouldering

wick he

will not

quench

so first

he's not

going to

cry

aloud

in the

streets

again

let me

just

remind us

that that

can't be

literal

he was

just in

the synagogue

saying

this is

wrong

what you're

doing

so it

can't be

literal

but he

knows

that those

with power

want to

destroy him

and he

doesn't

play their

game

he doesn't

try and

get the

social power

back

he doesn't

fight fire

with fire

he withdraws

he tells his

followers not

to fight for

him

he chooses

not to have

the power

that this

world

calls power

instead he

chooses

to be

destroyed

he chooses

the path

of suffering

he chooses

to quietly

get on

with helping

those

who want

help

he chooses

not to have

the power

just quiet

people want

help

if you want

help

I'll help

you

but he knows

that that's

going to be

a path

of suffering

what's even

more powerful

than merely

crying out

for injustice

I think more

powerful is

someone who

is so

secure

in themselves

because they

know the

father's love

for them

that they

choose a

painful path

of getting

on with

serving

quietly

rather than

trying to be

in control

and have the

power

knowing it's

going to hurt

there's only

one man who

ever did

this

fully

and God

delights

in him

just can we

pause and

go what

difference

would it

make to

your family

right now

what difference

would it

make to

our church

family

even your

own heart

what difference

would it make

to Newcastle

and the world

if people

acted like

this

not having

the control

not having

the power

but choosing

to love

knowing it's

going to

hurt

would that

make a

difference

I think

it would make

all the

difference in

the world

wouldn't it

second thing

he won't

snuff out

a smouldering

wick

some might

be here

very aware

of their

failings

some may

not have

felt emotionally

close to God

for weeks

months

years

I'm not

sure

in those

seasons of

life

if you're

like me

you convince

yourself that

God has

given up

on you

I would

give up

on me

this

world

rides

people off

it snuffs

people out

so quickly

doesn't it

you do

one thing

and someone

can cut

off relationship

one failing

one different

opinion

and maybe

again that

failure does

deserve

that person

to be

snuffed

out

maybe

it was

serious

we had

three candles

on our

dinner table

the other

night

trying to

be

Christmassy

and one

of the

candles

was just

struggling

the wax

was just

smothering it

and dinner

was there

it was getting

cold

I was getting

impatient

I knew I had

another candle

I just want to

swap it

let's get on

with eating

Jesus

won't treat

you like

that

he will

never

treat

you like

that

you're

struggling

oh well

I'll try

with someone

else

he will

never

do

that

that's

not

his

character

we think

it is

because we

think he's

like the rest

of the world

like us

but he's

not

and that's

why the

father

delights

in him

he will

never

treat

you

like

that

I tried

to picture

what type

of person

is the

bruised

reed

that's

just

ready

to

snap

or the

smouldering

wick

that

it's

barely

even

producing

smoke

let's

just

start

again

like who

is that

person

I think

it's all

of us

isn't

it

unless

you think

you're

the hope

of your

world

if you

think

you're

that

arrogant

that

you can

put

your

world

right

if

you're

not

thinking

that

way

then

isn't

it

all

of us

aren't

we

aware

of how

our

love

for

God

is

just

faltering

even

within

a day

you can

start

the

day

yes

I

want

to

live

for

God

by

the

end

of

the

day

you're

smouldering

that

fire

that

love

for

others

can

just

be

quenched

by

discouragement

or

fear

or

knowing

your

own

failure

I

think

we're

all

the

bruised

reed

and

the

smouldering

wick

and he

will

never

snuff

us

out

he

won't

do

that

he

is

gentle

he

invites

us

again

and

again

to

draw

near

to

him

he

is

like

oxygen

just

draw

near

to

him

he

will

reproduce

that

fire

for

God

that

fire

for

one

another

so

he

won't

cry

aloud

to

try

and

get

the

power

he

won't

snuff

out

but

he

will

proclaim

justice

verse

18

he

will

authoritatively

proclaim

what is

really

the

case

let me

draw on

what we've

heard in

Matthew

to try

and picture

what this

means

I

think

the

leper

heard

it

when

Jesus

said

I

am

willing

be

clean

and

he

touched

him

and

he

was

healed

he

heard

that

proclamation

of

justice

I

am

willing

to

have

mercy

be

clean

and

he

believed

it

the

paralyzed

man

heard

it

take

heart

my

son

your

sins

are

forgiven

however

guilty

you

feel

he

has

proclaimed

justice

over

us

your

sins

are

forgiven

the

tax

collectors

and

sinners

heard

it

I

came

not

to

call

the

righteous

but

sinners

and

they

ate

and

drank

with

him

but

so

many

in

those

cities

who

saw

the

miracles

didn't

hear

it

the

Pharisees

didn't

hear

it

and

Jesus

says

woe

to

you

his

resurrection

from

the

dead

his

suffering

in

our

place

proclaims

justice

to

all

who

will

listen

and

believe

him

all

your

sin

is

forgiven

you

do

have

peace

with

God

I

am

the

first

fruits

of

the

resurrection

you

will

rise

with

me

the

whole

world

will

be

resurrected

I'll

put

society

right

his

resurrection

proclaims

all of

that

it's

done

sin

is

dealt

with

but

he

achieved

it

by

not

crying

aloud

but

choosing

to

suffer

and

serve

if

you

put

your

hope

in

in

Jesus

this

one

that

the

father

delights

in

sin

I

believe

this

word

is

saying

to

us

that

God's

delight

can

be

ours

because

God

sees us

so

bound

up

with

his

son

if

we

put

our

hope

in

him

for

our

world

for

the

world

he

sees

us

so

bound

up

with

him

that

his

victory

becomes

our

victory

his

proclamation

of

truth

is

truth

sin

is

forgiven

and

God

can

say

over

my

life

over

your

life

my

beloved

with

whom

my

soul

is

well

pleased

not

because

of

what

you

have

done

but

because

of

his

victory

on

your

behalf

who

cares

about

six or

seven

thousand

people

tweeting

in

response

that

you're

right

saying

that

they

love

you

if

you've

got

the

father

of

all

saying

my

beloved

with

whom

my

soul

is

well

pleased

because

of

what

my

son

has

done

for

you

everything

is

right

between

us

you

will

rise

again

so

let me

just

finish

with a

few

questions

how

much

does

your

soul

delight

in

him

how

much

I

suppose

do

you

want

your

soul

to

delight

in

him

more

can

you

see

what

the

father

sees

in

him

is

the

vision

of

putting

the

whole

world

right

by

first

putting

your

heart

right

with

God

is

that

the

hope

that

you

have

that

you

want

or

do

you

want

just

all

the

external

stuff

does

the

way

he

achieves

it

delight

your

soul

does

it

impress

you

is

it

attractive

to

you

that

he

doesn't

cry

aloud

but

knowing

it's

going

to

hurt

he

chooses

to

serve

is

that

attractive

to

you

because

if

it

is

we'll

want

to

be

like

him

if

we're

not

like

him

as

much

as

we

say

it's

attractive

then

we're

not

fully

believing

it

yet

so

how

much

so

how

much

I'm

not

but

if

it

hasn't

yet

then

keep

looking

at

him

see

what

the

father

sees

but

those

who

do

delight

in

him

how

much

does

it

he

is

the

hope

of

the

world

he

is

the

hope

of

our

world

so

let's

let's

follow

him

let's

be like

him

more

and

more

will

you

pray

with me

let's

pray

father

I pray

for each

of us

that

you

would

draw

us

closer

and

closer

to

your

son

open

our

eyes