Matthew 12:15-21 The Gentle Touch
Format for Your Devotions
Instructions: Do not read my example devotion until you have completed your own devotional time in the scriptures. Reading my thoughts first may limit your own understanding. Let the Holy Spirit speak to you alone before looking to see what anyone else has to say, whether it is me, a Bible commentary, or a friend. Let God speak to you before you let another person speak to you. I have provided a format, but modify it to fit your needs. For example, I usually combine my application and prayer together talking to God about the application to my own life. You can go through this devotion process mentally, speaking out loud, or in writing as you wish. Don’t worry if you are not following this process exactly. Sometimes, I add extra information and sometimes I emphasize one part more than others. However, you should always think about what you learn about God from this passage.
Step 1: Pray–Ask for the Holy Spirit’s guidance first of all and that God may reveal the lessons that He wants you to have that day. Request that God protect you from Satan’s distractions (and the devil will try to distract you whether it is pinching the baby or putting you to sleep). Ask to see God more clearly as you read and think about the passage.
Step 2: Read the passage–Read to get an overview of the information first. Then start looking at specific parts after the first reading. You may read a larger or smaller section than I have here because you do not have to follow my organization at all.
Step 3: Understand the passage–You can summarize, ask and answer your own questions about the passage, visualize the story, analyze the characters, and relate this passage to other scriptures and personal experiences.
Step 4: What does this reveal about God?–What do you learn about the Father, Son, and/or Holy Spirit from this passage?
Step 5: Apply this to your own life.
Step 6: Prayer
My Example Devotion: March 22, 2019, Matthew 12:15-21
Note: In the devotion examples, I leave my questions and thought processes in the text because I am trying to demonstrate that a devotional time is a dialogue with God about what you are reading from His word. As such, any questions or ideas that you have should be explored by talking it out with God. These example devotions are not my attempts to teach you what the meaning of a particular scripture is. They are an attempt to teach you the process of devotions, which is a combination of prayer and Bible study where you explore ideas with God as you read His word.
Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. And many followed him, and he healed them all and ordered them not to make him known. This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah: “Behold, my servant whom I have chosen, my beloved with whom my soul is well pleased. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. He will not quarrel or cry aloud, nor will anyone hear his voice in the streets; a bruised reed he will not break, and a smoldering wick he will not quench, until he brings justice to victory; and in his name the Gentiles will hope.”
(Revelation of God) It’s ironic that God gave the Sabbath to be a blessing to man, and man used it as an excuse to persecute Jesus. Jesus truly is the Lord of the Sabbath. He kept the Sabbath in the manner that it should be kept, yet the Pharisees turned against Jesus for keeping the Sabbath as it was originally intended to be kept.
Jesus knew that He had stirred up the anger of the Pharisees, so He left and went to another area. This was the way He worked until it was time for the ultimate confrontation.
Jesus calls us to be like Him. He avoided fights when possible. He answered His accusers in a way that was not mean, only honest. He never let avoidance of confrontation keep Him from doing good to others, so He only avoided it when the avoidance would not hurt anyone or go against the Father’s will. However, when possible, Jesus left the place where the confrontations were certain to distract from His message and went to other places where He could work freely with the people. Even when He finally headed directly into the confrontation, it was not so that He could fight in a traditional manner. He headed there to fight by letting the enemies do their worst to Him, proving that when they had been as ugly as they could be, He was still His loving, gentle self in all situations. We should look at His example and follow it trusting that He has the power to overcome when we cannot avoid confrontations and use them to His glory.
(Understanding the Text) Matthew has gone back to proof texting here. I guess the specific part of this verse that Matthew felt connected with this situation is the idea that the Messiah would not quarrel and shout or attack. When Jesus withdrew rather than fight, Matthew saw that it was a fulfillment of prophecy. I wonder if Matthew felt frustrated when Jesus withdrew rather than standing up to the religious leaders and then when he saw the verse in the Old Testament had an “aha!” moment.
(Revelation of God / Application / Prayer) I love how the Father calls the Son, “My beloved” This is a picture of Jesus’ personality. I pray that one day, I can call You my Beloved and mean it with every once of my being. I can’t love well, so I know that I can’t do that now, but I pray that I will some day be able to do this.