Bruised Reeds and the Gentleness of Jesus
Growing up, my brothers and I were typical boys. Armed with sticks, we explored the forest behind our house, taking aim at any plants we could find. Of course, this was the responsibility of 8- and 10-year-olds, right?
Thankfully, Jesus isn’t like my 10-year-old self. Even more importantly, He isn’t like many in today’s churches. “If you would just…” “If you would just stop…” “Do, do, do more, more, more.” Statements like these from people and pulpits, while well-intentioned, bruise reeds and quench wicks in the process of trying to smoke out the nominal. But is this the right approach?
Jesus provides us with a parable about wheat and tares (weeds) to shed light on this issue (Matt. 13:24-30). In this parable, eager servants discover that the enemy has sown tares, or weeds, among the wheat. Ready to pull up these weeds, they rush to the master. However, the master gives them a command that may seem strange: leave the weeds be, let them grow together, so as not to damage the wheat.
Context matters here. In the preceding chapter, Jesus had healed many people, yet He consistently told them not to make a big fuss about it (Matt. 12:15-16). This seemingly odd command was actually a fulfillment of a prophecy from Isaiah:
“He shall not cry, nor lift up, nor cause his voice to be heard in the street. A bruised reed shall he not break, and the smoking flax shall he not quench: he shall bring forth judgment unto truth.” (Isaiah 42:2-3)
Reeds were common in Israel and held no value. A bruised reed was even more worthless. So why does it matter that He had not come to break the bruised reed?
It matters because we are bruised reeds.
As Richard Sibbes states, Jesus compares us to weak things. Among the birds, we are doves; among the beasts, we are sheep, and among plants, we are reeds. Peter Kral describes bruised reeds as people who are broken, needy, worn out, and exhausted by life’s circumstances. They are often neglected by the world but accepted by Jesus. Our Savior was never harsh or unkind to wounded souls. And today, we find ourselves in the same category: wounded and hurting.
We need to break away from the mindset and need to root out the weakness in ourselves or others, because we’re all equally bruised and broken. But no matter the extent of our brokenness, our Savior is unmatched in His compassion and faithfulness to us.