MATTHEW 12:17 — KING JAMES VERSION 0
“That it might be fulfilled which was spoken by Esaias the prophet, saying,”
This was to fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah. The fulfillment citation from Isaiah 42:1–4 is the longest Old Testament quotation in Matthew's Gospel, identifying Jesus as the Servant of the Lord. The withdrawal and the command to secrecy are not signs of weakness but the fulfillment of the Servant's profile: he does not quarrel or cry aloud, will not break a bruised reed, will not quench a smoldering wick — the powerful Son of God advances through gentle, patient ministry rather than public confrontation.
Church Fathers on Matthew 12:17
The Pharisees are moved with jealousy at what had been done; because beholding the outward body of a man, they did not recognize the God in His works; 'The Pharisees sent out and sought counsel against him, how they ought destroy him.'
He says, 'went out' because their mind was alien from the Lord. They took counsel how they might destroy life, not how themselves might find life.
Knowing, that is, their designs against Him withdrew Himself, that He might remove from the Pharisees all opportunity of sin.
Read all 32 entries in the readerCatena Aurea · St. Thomas Aquinas, tr. J. H. Newman · public domain
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