Floyd Rogers – Texas Gospel Volunteer, Christian writer

Mathew 12:15 But Jesus, aware of this, withdrew from there. Many followed Him, and He healed them all, and warned them not to tell who He was.  This happened so that what was spoken through Isaiah the prophet would be fulfilled: 18 “Behold, My Servant whom I have chosen; My Beloved in whom My soul delights; I will put My Spirit upon Him, And He will proclaim justice to the Gentiles. 19 He will not quarrel, nor cry out; Nor will anyone hear His voice in the streets. 20 A bent reed He will not break off, And a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish, Until He leads justice to victory. 21 And in His name the Gentiles will hope.”

The book Matthew is the result of a Jewish tax collector writing to Jewish people to convince them that the king of the Jews has come. Some of the things Matthew records may seem repetitive, but not when one considers the context of why he was writing in the first place. Let’s use Matthew 12:15-21 as an example.

The Pharisees had just tried unsuccessfully to trap Jesus through their self-serving interpretation of the law concerning work on the Sabbath.  They claimed Jesus violated this law by healing people on the Sabbath. They interpreted the law this way only because they wanted to trap Jesus. To be clear: They abused the law for malicious motives and interpreted it accordingly. Now we see Jesus continuing to heal.  But Matthew told us earlier how Jesus healed. So why is he going on with more accounts of the same thing? Well, he’s not.

Matthew stipulated in these verses that Jesus told the people he healed to keep quiet about his identity. Matthew is now telling us that Jesus’ actions here fulfill the prophecy of Isaiah 42:1–4. Isaiah speaks of a servant of God who will eventually bring justice and righteousness to the world without seeking to call attention to Himself. 

When you read Bible passages that seem to repeat with no reason to do so (the genealogies come to mind) consider that the reason they may seem this way is you are missing their point. There’s nothing wrong with searching the internet for writings on the matter; or better yet, asking your pastor what the significance of a verse is.  You may find that passages like this, or those long genealogies recorded in the Gospel, are there for a reason.

What are your thoughts?