Why doesn’t Jesus solve my problems? Why doesn’t He put everything right? I mean, in verse 7, Isaiah predicted that Jesus would be able to open the eyes of the blind, and He did just that. We know Jesus was the Servant of God, the promised Messiah Isaiah was talking about.

But there were a lot of other things listed in this passage which Jesus didn’t do. For example, when Herod put John the Baptist in prison, John naturally assumed that Jesus would do what verse 7 also says, and release him. But Jesus didn’t do that. And Herod eventually murdered John. So, how could verse 4 be true of Jesus, if He allowed Herod to continue to rule in wickedness, and if the pagan Romans continued to hold sway over God’s people? How can we believe that Jesus is our Savior if He doesn’t save us from all the wickedness and injustice in our world today?

If that’s what you’re thinking, take another look at verses 2 and 3. Here, Isaiah clearly says that the Messiah would not make a big splash, and that he would not push people around. No, He would even use the force necessary to break a blade of grass that has already been bent over, or to snuff out a candle’s wick that is only barely smouldering. Somehow the Messiah would bring perfect justice to the earth in a gentle way, not by coming in with guns blazing

And of course we know how Jesus did all this. For on Christmas night, He left all the armies of God up in Heaven, shouting His praise, but not accompanying Him to earth. And just as He was born in poverty and obscurity, He died a criminal’s death on a cross. But it was through His humble sacrifice that He accomplished His mission. For He would bring light to all the nations of the world, as verse 6 predicted, by dying in our place and by filling all who trust in Him with His Own Spirit (v. 5). He would transform the world, not by coercing people’s outward behavior, but by changing them from the inside out, by remaking people in His Own image.

So, instead of asking, “Why doesn’t Jesus change the circumstances of my life?” perhaps we should ask instead, “How is Jesus trying to use the circumstances of my life to change me?” And knowing how Jesus gently changed sinners like us, let us be just as gentle and patient with others, even those who may be causing our biggest problems. Let’s pray that He would open all of our eyes to see Him more clearly, and that He would release all of us from whatever sin is holding us back. For it is only when the all the wicked have come to Jesus that there won’t be any more wickedness in the world.

Isaiah 42:1-9 (ESV)

Behold my servant, whom I uphold, my chosen, in whom my soul delights; I have put my Spirit upon him; he will bring forth justice to the nations.
2 He will not cry aloud or lift up his voice, or make it heard in the street;
3 a bruised reed he will not break, and a faintly burning wick he will not quench; he will faithfully bring forth justice.
4 He will not grow faint or be discouraged till he has established justice in the earth; and the coastlands wait for his law.
5 Thus says God, the LORD, who created the heavens and stretched them out, who spread out the earth and what comes from it, who gives breath to the people on it and spirit to those who walk in it:
6 “I am the LORD; I have called you in righteousness; I will take you by the hand and keep you; I will give you as a covenant for the people, a light for the nations,
7 to open the eyes that are blind, to bring out the prisoners from the dungeon, from the prison those who sit in darkness.
8 I am the LORD; that is my name; my glory I give to no other, nor my praise to carved idols.
9 Behold, the former things have come to pass, and new things I now declare; before they spring forth I tell you of them.”