Bible Strands
Matthew 12:18
“Here is My Servant, whom I have chosen, My beloved, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will proclaim justice to the nations.
Berean Standard Bible
Follow its threads on the canvas →
Study note
Setting — Matthew introduces the verse as a fulfillment of Isaiah, applying the Servant oracle to Jesus. It sits between the fulfillment formula (Matt 12:17) and a description of the Servant's quiet manner (Matt 12:19).
The words — παῖς (pais), "servant," is the identification term; it is the same word Isaiah uses in 42:1 and the title Matthew assigns to Jesus here.
The thread — The verse is a direct quotation of Isaiah 42:1; the Spirit-on-Him motif recurs in Luke 4:18 and John 3:34.
Why it lands — It places Jesus under the Servant title and claims for Him the mission of proclaiming justice to the nations. The reader is asked to recognize this identification as a claim about who Jesus is, not merely a prediction about Him.
Drafted by a language model from the text, its original words and its cross-references, then checked against them. It can still be wrong: open the verse in the app to report it.
The Greek words
King James Version
Behold my servant, whom I have chosen; my beloved, in whom my soul is well pleased: I will put my spirit upon him, and he shall shew judgment to the Gentiles.
Cross-references
- Isaiah 42:1 “Here is My Servant, whom I uphold, My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights. I will put My Spirit on Him, and He will bring justice to the nations.
- Luke 4:18 “The Spirit of the Lord is on Me, because He has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to proclaim liberty to the captives and recovery of sight to the blind, to release the oppressed,
- John 3:34 For the One whom God has sent speaks the words of God, for God gives the Spirit without limit.
- Acts 10:38 how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and with power, and how Jesus went around doing good and healing all who were oppressed by the devil, because God was with Him.
- Isaiah 61:1 The Spirit of the Lord GOD is on Me, because the LORD has anointed Me to preach good news to the poor. He has sent Me to bind up the brokenhearted, to proclaim liberty to the captives and freedom to the prisoners,
- Isaiah 11:2 The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him—the Spirit of wisdom and understanding, the Spirit of counsel and strength, the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
- Isaiah 32:15 until the Spirit is poured out upon us from on high. Then the desert will be an orchard, and the orchard will seem like a forest.
- Isaiah 49:5 And now says the LORD, who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant, to bring Jacob back to Him, that Israel might be gathered to Him—for I am honored in the sight of the LORD, and My God is My strength—
- Isaiah 52:13 Behold, My Servant will prosper; He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
- Matthew 3:16 As soon as Jesus was baptized, He went up out of the water. Suddenly the heavens were opened, and He saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove and resting on Him.