God's Chosen Servant

In preparation for Easter, we are going to step out of Genesis this Sunday and the next to look at Jesus, a chosen and unique servant who has come to deliver us from the curse we read about in Genesis 3. We are jumping into Matthew's Gospel in the 12th chapter. In the first 10 chapters Jesus is revealed as the Messiah, the Son of Abraham, and the son of David. In 11 and 12 Matthew records the responses of those who were following him. Some were confused, some apathetic, and some quite antagonistic. Surprisingly, the antagonism was not from the tax collectors or prostitutes but from the religious leaders. Matthew records that the opposition comes in response to the truth that Jesus has come meek and mild to lay his life down for sinners. This does not square with their prevailing ideas of the Messiah. Consider the portrait painted of Jesus as Matthew draws from Isaiah 42:1-3. His character, mission, and manner of salvation for sinners is worthy of all our worship.