When I lived in Bradford, Vt, we had a garage that was not attached to the house. My step-father had a mirror in the end of the garage so he would know how close he was to the wall so he could bring the car completely in the garage. One day I was there and I threw a stone at the mirror. Nothing happened. So I decided to practice my pitching. After getting two batters out, the mirror broke. It shattered into little pieces.
For the rest of the afternoon I dreaded the arrival of my father. I had no idea what kind of reception I would get. The fear must have been greater than the outcome, because I do not remember what happened, but I do remember the time of panic.

I find many people who have the same feelings towards God. If my life is a mess, if I know I don’t measure up, if I am falling short, if I am depressed, if I lack faith, if I struggle and am tired of the struggle, if I have blown it, how will God look at me?

There are many who perceive the church as judgmental. One reason is because we are. We often do a good job of speaking the truth, but speaking the truth with a wrong attitude. We have convinced ourselves that people need to hear the truth. They need to like it or lump it. They need to understand how sinful they are and we are there to give them that information. We often make statements of truth and judgment without considering the effect on those to whom we are speaking. We just blurt it out.

This is a sin for us to do so. “29 Do not let any unwholesome talk come out of your mouths, but only what is helpful for building others up according to their needs, that it may benefit those who listen.” Ephesians 4:29, NIV. Before we speak we need to ask four questions. First, is what we say true? Second, are we speaking in a wholesome way? Third, does it build? Fourth, does it benefit.

This brings us to what makes Jesus so attractive. God calls him his servant, the one he chose, the one he delights in, the one on whom his spirit rests. We ask, “Why does God delight in Jesus?”

Two answers are given in this passage. They both begin with the “j” sound. Jesus is gentle and He is just.

How gentle is Jesus?
3 A bruised reed he will not break, and a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.
The bruised reed is one that is bent over. It has cracks in it. It is bent at a 90 degree angle, but it is still hanging on. It wouldn’t take much to break it off. It has lost its strength and is flapping in the wind.

What will God’s servant do? He will not break the reed. He is ever so gentle with the most fragile grass.

There are people who are near the breaking point. You may be one of them. You have had it. If one more thing happens, if one more disaster falls, if one more word is said, you have had enough.

I invite you to come to Jesus. Jesus is God’s servant to you. He wants to help you. If you come bent over, near the breaking point, Jesus will be gentle to you. He said, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laded and I will give you rest.”
There is no one that is more interested in your wellbeing than Jesus. He loves you.
Chris Tomlin has a verse in his song that says, “Weak and weary sinner, lost and left to die. Lift your head for love is passing by. Come to Jesus. Come to Jesus. Come to Jesus and live.”

John 3:16 starts with a strong statement: “For God so loved the world that he gave his only begotten Son…”
In that light, look at the second illustration. “…a smouldering wick he will not snuff out.”
People like to do this with candles. If you have birthday candles and you blow them out, you can see the embers still glowing. Some people enjoy wetting their fingers and pinching the wick to put the fire completely out.

The old lanterns could take wicks. You turn the wick down and the flame decreases. Then you can use a metal cup to snuff out the flame all together. The poor wick! It wants to burn, but all the fire is gone out of it. It is just smoke.

Jesus will not put out your fire. If there is a flicker of flame, if there is a thread of smoke, Jesus will work on restoring your flame, restoring your walk with God. Jesus did not come to condemn but to save.

I have met people whose fire is almost out. Many of them got rough treatment at the hands of Christians. Some were fighting against God and lost. But inside is this flicker: the Bible is right. Following God is right. Jesus will not try to put that smoke out, he will try to reignite the flame.

The one disclaimer that is put out in the text is that Jesus is not only gentle, but just.
If you think for a moment that the gentle Jesus is going to tell you that it is ok to do wrong, you are mistaken. He will be gentle, but gentle in leading you into doing what is right. If you think that Jesus is going to let you get away with your sin, you have him wrong. He is going to make sure that things are right for God, for you, and for those you may have harmed.

The first thing that you need to understand is that things are already set up to take care of the issue between you and God.
“26 he did it to demonstrate his justice at the present time, so as to be just and the one who justifies those who have faith in Jesus.” Romans 3:26, NIV.

Notice that Jesus is not only just, but he justifies.
Let’s be clear on this. We attempt to be just, but we fail. We try to use justice in the raising of our children, but all of us as parents, if we took a close look at our lives, didn’t always treat our children with justice. Because of our impatience, we may have lashed out inappropriately or in our frustration, given up for a period of time.

We are not consistent. Many of us have heard others say to us, “That’s not fair.” To which we would have to say in our hearts, “They were right.”

I don’t say this to beat us down, but to say to all of us who are here, we are not as good as we think we are and we certainly are not as good as others think we are.
That is why we need a justifier. We all deserve whatever God dishes out because all our sin ultimately is sin against God. God did not create us to treat one another the way we do. He did not create us to abuse our bodies. He did not create us to think many of the thoughts we think or do some of the things we do.

Because God is just, our sin has a penalty attached. The Bible says, “The wages of sin is death…” That is why Jesus is the justifier. He died for our sin. His death took the place of our death.

There is one qualifier in verse 26. We must have faith in Jesus. Without faith, we pay our own wage. With faith in Jesus, we believe he paid it all for us. His death satisfies God’s justice. That is why Jesus is both just and the justifier of those who have faith in Jesus.

In gentleness, Jesus will lead you to confront yourself. We often learn about ourselves from books, from friends’ opinions, from reflection. But if you want the final word on who we are and what we are like, you will find that word in the Bible. Step by step, block by block, Jesus will help you rebuild yourself into the image of Jesus Christ

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Did you know this about Jesus, that he is both gentle and just? We hear things, but have you personally felt his gentleness and responded to his justice? God has to do things right. But he also is highly interested in seeing each one of us come back to him.

This is why God delights in Jesus. He saw how Jesus treated the woman who was caught in adultery. He never said her adultery was right. But the motives of the people who brought her were unjust. Read the story and you see a real gentleness of Jesus with this woman. But what were his last words to her? “Neither do I condemn you. Go and sin no more.” God in heaven said, “this is my beloved son in whom I am well pleased. Hear ye him!”

Do you remember the story of the rich man who came to Jesus? He wanted to know the steps to eternal life. Jesus went through the Ten Commandments with him. The man said, “I have kept them all.” Then Jesus said, “Go and sell all you have and give it to the poor.” The man went away sorrowful because he had many possessions.
Jesus was gentle with this man, but very specific. Why? He wanted the man to see what was wrong in his life. His possessions were more important than spiritual things. When faced with a choice between joy in heaven or joy on earth, he chose the earth. Jesus in a gentle way gave him a straight answer.

What have you done in your life that makes you feel that God is against you? What have you done or are you doing that you know displeases God? Jesus comes to you today and says, “Come unto me all ye that labor and are heavy laden and I will give you rest.” Why do you hesitate?

One reason may be that you fear change. Some people would rather live with the trouble they know than face the uncertainty of change. We are like the person who says, “If I go to the doctor, I will get cancer.” This person lives in denial to the fact that doctors do not cause cancer, they are there to help people eradicate cancer if they have it.

God is not against you. Jesus did not come to condemn, but to save. Jesus comes and he will not break the reed or snuff out the smoldering wick. But he will do what he needs to help save you from your sin.

I challenge you to trust in Him today. Come to him as he invites you. Receive his forgiveness. Throw yourself in his arms. He is able to save to the uttermost all who come to him.