The Bruised Reed Isaiah 42:1-9

 1st Sunday after Epiphany. Isa 42:1-9 Ps 89:1-29 or 89:20-29 Acts 10:34-38 Luke 3:15-22  ; " Epiphany Living"

  The first thing I do in preparing the message for the Sunday is to look at the season, and the lessons.  The hymn we will sing at the end of the service is a seasonal hymn in that it talks about this in one of the stanzas left out in the hymnal. "Oh, lead me, Lord, that I may lead

The wand’ring and the wav’ring feet;

Oh, feed me, Lord, that I may feed

Thy hung’ring ones with manna sweet."   That is the point of Epiphany.  The Gospel is for all, not just for us here.

Another vs left out " Oh, give Thine own sweet rest to me,

That I may speak with soothing pow’r

A word in season, as from Thee,

To weary ones in needful hour."  Epiphany is manifesting and showing God's power and love to others , so that they too would be fed with God's manna. This is the example of the Wise men in Matthew 2 that we read last week..."there came wise men from the east to Jerusalem....

Saying, Where is he that is born King of the Jews? for we have seen his star in the east, and are come to worship him."

1.  Isaiah 42:3 "  A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth." (fulfilled in Christ ----see Matthew 12:18-20! the whole passage from Isaiah is in Mt 12:15-21 about Jesus being the Servant and the Pharisees critisize him...see the context....)

What does this verse mean ?  It is talking about our actions in treating others with gentleness.   Are we bruised in some way? " The Hebrew verb "ratsats" primarily conveys the action of crushing or breaking something into pieces. It can also imply oppression or the act of pressing down upon someone or something with force. This term is often used metaphorically to describe the oppression of people or the breaking of physical objects."  biblehub.com

Christ was bruised for our iniquities.  Isaiah 53:5

We are to be gentle in our attitudes and actions knowing that Jesus was as well.  He brought justice and love to all who trust in Him.

2.   It is talking about the Servant, our Lord Himself, bringing light to the Gentiles, all kinds of people everywhere. "Behold my servant, whom I uphold; mine elect, in whom my soul delighteth; I have put my spirit upon him: he shall bring forth judgment to the Gentiles."  42:1

Acts 10 reinforces the view that at the center is the Lord Jesus Christ who did all these things for us, that we could not do for ourselves. "34 Then Peter opened his mouth, and said, Of a truth I perceive that God is no respecter of persons:

35 But in every nation he that feareth him, and worketh righteousness, is accepted with him."  

In other words God has declared Jesus to be the one that anyone who believes in can live in everlasting life.  It does not matter where we are from, or who we know.  It matters who we put our love and trust in.

3.  At His baptism we read in Luke 3:22, " And the Holy Ghost descended in a bodily shape like a dove upon him, and a voice came from heaven, which said, Thou art my beloved Son; in thee I am well pleased"  In Epiphany He is shown to be our hope in this world and the next.

Some churches talk about baptism this Sunday ...."

Three pastors got together for coffee one morning. Much to their surprise they discovered that all their churches had problems with bats infesting their belfries. The bats were making a terrible mess. "I got so mad," said one pastor, "I took a shotgun and fired at them. It made holes in the ceiling, but did nothing to the bats."

"I tried trapping them alive," said the second. "Then I drove 50 miles before releasing them, but they beat me back to the church."

"I haven't had any more problems," said the third.

"What did you do?" asked the others, amazed.

"I simply baptized and confirmed them," he replied. "I haven't seen them since."

If that story doesn't make you laugh, it will make you cry. It is such a common occurrence. People come to the church desiring Christian baptism and church membership. We welcome them into our fellowship, and then for six weeks or so after we welcome them into our fellowship, we don't hear anything of them. What does it mean? Or parents stand at the altar to present a child to God. They make promises to bring up that child in the household of faith and then they disappear. We rarely see them again. What did those promises mean?

On this second Sunday of the New Year our lesson from the Gospels focuses our attention on the place of baptism in our lives.

Jesus came to be baptized by John. It was an interesting act of contrition. John the Baptist admitted that he wasn't worthy to lace up Jesus' sneakers, and yet Jesus joins the crowd that is being baptized by John. It was a dramatic moment for John and even for Jesus. For there came a voice from heaven, "Thou art my beloved Son; with thee I am well pleased."

Baptism has always been at the heart of the Christian faith. It is sign and symbol that a person belongs to Christ. It is a requirement for membership in the church. It is a sacrament ” a means of grace. Why, then, do so many Christians take baptism so lightly? Perhaps we need to consider what baptism says to us.

1. First of all, baptism says that it is God who saves us.

2. Second, it is God who calls us.

3. Finally, it is God who goes with us."  from sermons@sermons.com

As John the Baptist said we must decrease, and He must increase.  

Often in our conversations and actions we betray Him and the reed is bruised, and the smouldering wick is put out.  It needs oxygen, the oxygen of the Spirit and the love of God to survive as we do His will despite how others may treat us or act toward us.

"Oh, give Thine own sweet rest to me,

That I may speak with soothing pow’r

A word in season, as from Thee,

To weary ones in needful hour.

Oh, fill me with Thy fullness, Lord,

Until my very heart o’erflow

In kindling thought and glowing word,

Thy love to tell, Thy praise to show.

Oh, use me, Lord, use even me,

Just as Thou wilt, and when, and where,

Until Thy blessed face I see,

Thy rest, Thy joy, Thy glory share."  Frances Havergal in the hymn " Lord speak to me that I may speak"

Conclusion:  A quote from a comment on The Bruised Reed by Richard Sibbes in the 16th century--the book of these messages was published in 1630.  "God’s children are bruised reeds before their conversion and oftentimes after. The bruised reed is a man that for the most part is in some misery, as those were that came to Christ for help, and by misery he is brought to see sin as the cause of it…so that together these, a bruised reed and a smoking flax, make up together the state of a poor, distressed man"  https://bible.org/article/bruised-reed  by Ron Maness