NOTES for Mat 12:15-21

In today's reading, the evangelist Matthew applies to Jesus of Nazareth one of the Old Testament's most remarkable prophecies about the Messiah: Deutero-Isaiah's words about the Servant of the Lord, who “shall not break a bruised reed.” This prophecy was spoken in the second half of the sixth century BC, when the first caravans of returnees were coming back from Babylon to Jerusalem to revive life among the ruins of the House of the Lord. The Lord reveals to the prophet that His Servant will bring people salvation without violence. Several years later, the Lord will say something very similar to the prophet Zechariah: salvation will come “not by might, nor by power, but by My Spirit.”

For the evangelist Matthew, who wrote his Gospel for Jews, it is important to let the reader see that Jesus of Nazareth is the One who is truly meek, and that this prophecy was fulfilled precisely in Him. It matters to the evangelist that Christ carries out His saving ministry by proclaiming the word of truth—“showing judgment to the nations,” as Deutero-Isaiah puts it. The evangelist applies the words about the Messiah's meekness directly to the moment when the Lord Jesus “charged them that they should not make Him known.” By quoting the prophecy in full, Matthew also applies it to the events he will relate next. In the logic of this passage, “till He send forth judgment unto victory” is a prophecy of the Cross, while the words “in His name shall the Gentiles trust” are fulfilled in the Church that embraces the whole world.

Crowds of people followed Jesus, and the evangelist notes that He healed them all. Notice that this passage does not speak of healing all the sick, but of healing all who followed Christ. It is hard to imagine that none of them had any complaints about their physical condition; after all, even those who wanted their earthly desires fulfilled could also have had other needs. But healing is not only deliverance from illness. First of all, it is the restoration of the wholeness of the human person. And Christ is able to give such healing to all of us, even to those who have not yet been freed from bodily ailments. Contrary to the pagan saying "a sound mind in a sound body," Christ makes it possible to be spiritually healthy even in an unhealthy body.

It is here that the evangelist cites Isaiah's prophecy and calls it fulfilled. The bond between the times does not break, and the Messiah, according to the fulfilled prophecy, comes without outward spectacle. His presence is unobtrusive; He constantly asks people not to advertise Him as a healer. But the expectations of those who imagined the Messiah's coming as a fearsome event, radically changing the course of history, cannot be called unfulfilled either. For although His impact on the world seemed minimal, and to this day remains unclear to many, it was He who brought the possibility of the radical healing of the distorted Creation.

We remember well the words: "Do not think that I came to bring peace on earth; I did not come to bring peace, but a sword" (Matt. 10:34). And at times it appears to us that they contradict what we read in today's Gospel reading: "He will not quarrel or cry out, nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets; a bruised reed He will not break, and a smoking flax He will not quench, till He sends forth justice to victory." But whenever we encounter an apparent contradiction in the Word of God, it is a sign that a deep meaning is hidden here, for if the meaning is deep, it cannot be expressed by a simple one-dimensional sentence. One can even say it is not just a sign, but a signal, a signal for us.

So we are seeking the meaning. What does a sword do? Why do we perceive it here precisely as an instrument of murder? In our heads the connection sword-violence is firmly fixed. With a sword one can cut something into two parts, and in such a way that it cannot be put back together again. This is exactly how the Lord came to separate good from evil. But how will He do this? In the way described in today's passage. In such a way that no one, not only against his own will but even simply by accident, can be forced into this victory. Even if we are not atheists, but people almost ready to accept faith, when it seems that one more moment and our inner resistance to God will break like a reed, even then we ourselves will come to faith, and Jesus will simply wait. For He is not a consuming fire, but a lamp that gives light.

On the holy day of the Sabbath, the law permits no work. This day belongs to God. On the Sabbath a devout Jew must attend the synagogue and listen there to the Torah, the Law, God's revelation given to Israel, or read it himself. The only ones who must practice their professional work on that day are the priests and Levites in the Temple, because they do not work for themselves but perform service to God: they circumcise and offer sacrifices. This is precisely the argument Christ gives the Pharisees in the Gospel of Matthew. For He is the One greater than the Temple. His whole life is continuous worship, the fulfillment of the Father's will. He does His will always, including on the Sabbath, just as the daily sacrifice in the Temple must not be interrupted for the Sabbath.

The same applies to us: through faith in Christ we become a "royal priesthood." Our whole life is transformed into service to God, carried out on Saturday and Sunday and at every moment of time. All our deeds must be dedicated to the Lord, and every thought or word of ours must be a pleasing sacrifice to God, one that does not cease for even an instant.

The scribes' accusations against Jesus are very serious: He is profaning the Sabbath, He is doing what must not be done, and "must not" in the highest, sacred sense - this is a violation of a divine commandment. Christ does not justify Himself; instead, He reminds them that King David once also did what was not permitted, and that even now the priests profane the Sabbath, and this profanation took place and still takes place in the Temple itself! Jesus deliberately uses such words, though He could have spoken more mildly. And if those violations seem forgivable to the scribes, what will they say if the One who is here is greater than David, greater than the priests, and greater than the Temple?

Christ shows them His divine-human freedom to do good on the Sabbath, the sacred day of God's perfection. The prohibition exists only so that human freedom will not be turned toward evil, toward destruction and death. This means that Jesus' actions announce that standing before them is the One who is incapable of evil: the Lord of the Sabbath.