A Bruised Reed
From Isaiah 42 – 53 we have some of the greatest prophecies about the character and purpose of Jesus Christ that can be found in the Old Testament. We can then go to the New Testament to see those prophecies fulfilled (Matthew 12:17-21). Isaiah 42:3 says of Him, “A bruised reed He will not break and a dimly burning wick He will not extinguish.” A bruised reed represents an individual who has been damaged and a burning or smoking wick represents those people whose spiritual lives are about to be extinguished. Both of these descriptions speak of people who have been damaged and are about to die spiritually. This foretold that Jesus would have the ability to deal with hurting people and be able to restore their spiritual lives. People in those conditions are so near spiritual death that it would be easy to damage them, and they die spiritually, and their spiritual flame go out. It takes great wisdom to know how to help those kinds of people.
Think about the way Jesus dealt with the woman caught in the act of adultery whom the scribes and Pharisees brought before Jesus to ask Him what should be done with her. They were not interested helping the woman; they were just using her as a means to test Jesus and catch Him so as to destroy His influence (John 8:6). Jesus did not fall into that trap. He was not going to let that woman be used as a piece of property or as an object to be damaged further. He did not condone her sin (John 8:11) but was not going to allow her to be damaged further. She was already a “bruised reed” who needed compassion and understanding, not public humiliation.
Think about the way Jesus dealt with the Samaritan woman at the well. She was an outcast in society since the Jews would have nothing to do with the Samaritans. It seems that she was even an outcast among the Samaritans as she did not come to get water at the time other women would be getting water but came when she could be alone. She was an immoral woman because she had had five husbands and the man with whom she was not living was not her husband. Jesus dealt with her in such a way that she became a believer and a soul-winner (John 4:27-30). Study John 4:1-42 to see how Jesus dealt with that “bruised reed.”
Probably, the greatest example to see how Jesus (God in the flesh) dealt with bruised reeds without damaging them and not extinguishing their spiritual flame is to look at the Father in the parable of the prodigal son (Luke 15:11-32). His son had become a bruised reed, but the Father welcomed him home. He did not damage him with rebuke or rejection, but with loving arms, a kiss of kinship, and a place in the family.
Application
The world around us is filled with “bruised reeds” and those whose excitement for God is only a flickering flame. Since Jesus is our example (Galatians 2:20; I Corinthians 11:1) may we strive to know Jesus to the point that we can treat people the way He treated people so that they can become a flame of fire, burning with passion for God. We need to be healers, not damagers!