Jesus is the servant of the Lord

Fr Paul says today’s Gospel from Matthew (12: 14-21) explains to us how Jesus is the servant of the Lord. We hear at the very beginning about the Pharisees plotting against Jesus and how he withdraws from the district, followed by large crowds.

In yesterday’s Gospel, Matthew was stressing the authority of Jesus and now he draws on the Old Testament, using a passage from Isaiah to further explain the person and the mission of Jesus. Through this quote he makes three points.

Firstly, Jesus the servant is especially close to God as his son and there are beautiful words at the beginning of the passage ‘Here is my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved, the favourite of my soul’.  Jesus is being recognised as being close to God, loved by God. The favourite of God.

Secondly, the passage explains the servant’s mission. The mission of Jesus is a gentle mission of healing.

Thirdly, the mission is to both the Jews and the Gentiles. In other words, this gentle, healing mission of Jesus is for everyone.

So with this in mind and, Fr Paul says, as we reflect on our lives… particularly given that Jesus is being presented as the servant of the Lord… we might just pray and ask ourselves… ‘How can I serve God today? How can I serve those around me today?