Matthew 12:15-22 NASB [15] But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, [16] and warned them not to tell who He was. [17] This was to fulfill what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet: [18] “Behold, MY SERVANT WHOM I HAVE CHOSEN; My BELOVED IN WHOM MY SOUL is WELL-PLEASED; I WILL PUT MY SPIRIT UPON HIM, And HE SHALL PROCLAIM JUSTICE TO THE NATIONS. [19] “He WILL NOT QUARREL, NOR CRY OUT; NOR WILL ANYONE HEAR HIS VOICE IN THE STREETS. [20] “A BATTERED REED HE WILL NOT BREAK OFF, AND A SMOLDERING WICK HE WILL NOT PUT OUT, UNTIL HE LEADS JUSTICE TO VICTORY. [21] “And IN HIS NAME THE NATIONS WILL HOPE.” [22] Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed him, so that the mute man spoke and saw. …
Jesus is the hope of all nations. The word “nations” is literally the word that we get “ethnicities” from. In other words, “all people, from all backgrounds.” The Old Testament says that Jesus is the desire of the nations. 1 John 5:19 makes an astounding statement: “The whole world lies under the power of the evil one.” Think about that: everyone in the world who is not in the kingdom of God is suffering under the dominion and oppression of Satan. Jesus has come to bring justice to victory, setting people free from the dominion and oppression of the devil. He is the only hope that the people of all the nations have. There is another word that I want you to notice, and that is in verse 18, where it says that Jesus, under the anointing of the Holy Spirit, came to “proclaim” justice. That particular word has an amazing meaning. It is a Greek word that means to report a decision and judgment that has been made. When Jesus announced that the kingdom of heaven was here, he was reporting the judgment of heaven over Satan and enforcing that judgment of justice by bringing it to victory every time he manifested the love of God to someone by healing them or releasing them from demonic oppression. The battered reeds and smoldering wicks referred to in verse 20 are just speaking of the state of fallen and broken humanity. Jesus came in compassion, not to judge them, but to reveal his love to the weak ones by bringing justice over the enemy to victory. Justice believed in is not victory; only justice enforced is victory. We can believe that Jesus came to set people free from the destruction of the enemy but do no good for those who are oppressed. It is only when we proclaim and enforce justice that we actually bring justice to victory. Jesus didn’t tell his disciples to go pray for the sick or to pray that people would be set free from demonic oppression; instead, he told them to heal the sick and to cast out devils. That is bringing justice to victory, and it is our privilege, because Jesus said in John chapter 20 that he has sent us even as the Father sent him. The invasion is on, and we are part of the overwhelming army of heaven invading the dominion of darkness. We are called not to negotiate but to annihilate the works of the devil.