Charles Spurgeon Commentary Matthew 12:17-19

"that it might be fulfilled which was spoken through Isaiah the prophet, saying, 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 declare judgment to the Gentiles. He shall not strive, nor cry aloud; Neither shall any one hear his voice in the streets." — Matthew 12:17-19 (ASV)

It is in Isaiah 42:1-4 that we read words which are quoted in their full sense, if not literally, by the evangelist. The Servant of God, elect, beloved, and delightful to the Lord, clothed with the Spirit of God, would come forth and reveal the Lord’s mind to the nations, but it would not be with tumult and turmoil, noise and clamor.

To avoid contention and ostentation, our Lord quieted those whom He had healed, or at least charged them not to make Him known. Our Lord did not aim at raising Himself in the esteem of the multitude by successfully contending with the Pharisees, for His method was of another sort.

The names given to the Savior here are exceedingly precious and worthy of our careful meditation, and especially so in connection with the passage in Isaiah. Jesus is the chosen of Jehovah, ordained to be His Servant, beloved in that capacity, and well pleasing to His Father.

The power of this beloved Servant of God would lie in the divine Spirit, in the doctrine which He would teach, and in the law which He would proclaim. His whole life being a judging and condemnation of sin before the eyes of all men. Not by might, nor by power, but by the Spirit of the Lord and the force of truth would He prevail.

The wrath of man in hot controversy, the frenzy of wild rhetoric, the torrent of popular declamation—all these He left to mere pretenders. He disdained such weapons in establishing His Kingdom. Certain of His followers have taken an opposite course and are much enamored of clamorous and blatant methods. In this they will eventually find that they are not well-pleasing to the Lord.