The Meaning of Matthew 12:18 Explained

Matthew 12:18

KJV: 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.

YLT: 'Lo, My servant, whom I did choose, My beloved, in whom My soul did delight, I will put My Spirit upon him, and judgment to the nations he shall declare,

Darby: Behold my servant, whom I have chosen, my beloved, in whom my soul has found its delight. I will put my Spirit upon him, and he shall shew forth judgment to the nations.

ASV: 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 declare judgment to the Gentiles.

KJV Reverse Interlinear

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. 

What does Matthew 12:18 Mean?

Study Notes

Gentiles
This too is most significant. The rejected King of Israel will turn to the Gentiles (cf.) Matthew 10:5 ; Matthew 10:6 . In fulfilment this awaited the official rejection, crucifixion, and resurrection of Christ, and the final rejection of the risen Christ.; Luke 24:46 ; Luke 24:47 ; Acts 9:15 ; Acts 13:46 ; Acts 28:25-28 ; Romans 11:11 .

Context Summary

Matthew 12:15-23 - The Testimony Of Deeds Of Mercy
A reed is not of much account. You may see hundreds of them encircling a stagnant pond and bending before the breeze. A bruised reed is still more worthless to the eye of the world. Yet the Master does not despise a bruised or broken reed. No, He bends over it and tries to restore its shape. He makes out of it a reed-organ for music, or the paper manufacturers weave it into paper on which are printed His messages.
Flax does not burn readily. It only smolders. The spark runs feebly up the fibers; and anything like a flame is impossible. Such is our poor love. It sometimes seems but a spark. Yet Jesus does not despise it. So far from quenching it, He breathes on it, places it in the oxygen of His love, and screens it from the wind that would extinguish it.
How gentle, quiet and unobtrusive is our Master's behavior! He is so frugal of His resources, so careful that nothing be wasted, so eager to make the most of us. And it is out of such materials that He makes His ever-victorious army. [source]

Chapter Summary: Matthew 12

1  Jesus reproves the blindness of the Pharisees concerning the Sabbath,
3  by scripture,
9  by reason,
13  and by a miracle
22  He heals a man possessed that was blind and mute;
24  and confronting the absurd charge of casting out demons by Beelzebub,
32  he shows that blasphemy against the Holy Spirit shall never be forgiven
36  Account shall be made of idle words
38  He rebukes the unfaithful, who seek after a sign,
46  and shows who is his brother, sister, and mother

Greek Commentary for Matthew 12:18

My beloved [ο αγαπητος μου]
This phrase reminds one of Matthew 3:17 (the Father‘s words at Christ‘s baptism). [source]

Reverse Greek Commentary Search for Matthew 12:18

Mark 12:30 Soul [ψυχῆς]
The word is often used in the New Testament in its original meaning of life. See Matthew 2:20; Matthew 20:28; Acts 20:10; Romans 11:3; John 10:11. Hence, as an emphatic designation of the man himself. See Matthew 12:18; Hebrews 10:38; Luke 21:19. So that the word denotes “life in the distinctness of individual existence” (Cremer). See further on ψυχικός , spiritual, 1 Corinthians 15:44. [source]
Luke 2:32 Gentiles [ἐθνῶν]
Assigned to the same root as ἔθω , to be accustomed, and hence of a people bound together by like habits or customs. According to biblical usage the term is understood of people who are not of Israel, and who therefore occupy a different position with reference to the plan of salvation. Hence the extension of the gospel salvation to them is treated as a remarkable fact. See Matthew 12:18, Matthew 12:21; Matthew 24:14; Matthew 28:19; Acts 10:45; Acts 11:18; Acts 18:6. Paul is called distinctively an apostle and teacher of the Gentiles, and a chosen vessel to bear Christ's name among them. In Acts 15:9; Ephesians 2:11, Ephesians 2:18; Ephesians 3:6, we see this difference annihilated, and the expression at last is merely historical designation of the non-Israelitish nations which, as such, were formerly without God and salvation. See Acts 15:23; Romans 16:4; Ephesians 3:1. Sometimes the word is used in a purely moral sense, to denote the heathen in opposition to Christians. See 1 Corinthians 5:1; 1 Corinthians 10:20; 1 Peter 2:12. Light is promised here to the Gentiles and glory to Israel. The Gentiles are regarded as in darkness and ignorance. Some render the words εἰς ἀποκάλυψιν , above, for the unveiling of the Gentiles, instead of for revelation. Compare Isaiah 25:7. Israel, however, has already received light by the revelation of God through the law and the prophets, and that light will expand into glory through Christ. Through the Messiah, Israel will attain its true and highest glory. [source]
Acts 3:13 His son [παῖδα]
Rightly, servant, as Rev. See on Luke 1:54. The A. V. renders, in Matthew 12:18, servant, quoting from Isaiah 42:1; but elsewhere, where applied to Jesus, son or child, which Rev. in every case has changed to servant. The word is continually used, like the Latin puer, in the sense of servant, and in the Septuagint as the servant of God. See 2 Samuel 7:5, 2 Samuel 7:8, 2 Samuel 7:19, 2 Samuel 7:20, 2 Samuel 7:21, 2 Samuel 7:25, 2 Samuel 7:26. Compare Luke 1:69. The term servant of Jehovah, or servant of the Lord, is applied in the Old Testament (1) to a worshipper of God, Nehemiah 1:10; Daniel 6:21; so to Abraham, Psalm 105:6, Psalm 105:42; to Joshua, Joshua 24:29; to Job, Job 1:8. (2) To a minister or ambassador of God called to any service, Isaiah 49:6; of Nebuchadnezzar, Jeremiah 27:6; of the prophets, Amos 3:7; of Moses, Deuteronomy 34:5. (3) Peculiarly of the Messiah, Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 52:13; as God's chosen servant for accomplishing the work of redemption. “Unless we render servant in the passages where the phrase παῖς Θεοῦ occurs in the New Testament, there will be no allusion throughout it all to that group of prophecies which designate the Messiah as the servant of Jehovah, who learned obedience by the things which he suffered” (Trench, “On the Authorized Version of the New Testament”). [source]

What do the individual words in Matthew 12:18 mean?

Behold the servant of Me whom I have chosen beloved in has found delight the soul I will put the Spirit upon Him and justice to the Gentiles He will proclaim
Ἰδοὺ παῖς μου ὃν ᾑρέτισα ἀγαπητός ‹εἰς› εὐδόκησεν ψυχή θήσω τὸ Πνεῦμά ἐπ’ αὐτόν καὶ κρίσιν τοῖς ἔθνεσιν ἀπαγγελεῖ

Ἰδοὺ  Behold 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Imperative Active, 2nd Person Singular
Root: ἰδού  
Sense: behold, see, lo.
παῖς  servant 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: παῖς  
Sense: a child, boy or girl.
μου  of  Me 
Parse: Personal / Possessive Pronoun, Genitive 1st Person Singular
Root: ἐγώ  
Sense: I, me, my.
ὃν  whom 
Parse: Personal / Relative Pronoun, Accusative Masculine Singular
Root: ὅς 
Sense: who, which, what, that.
ᾑρέτισα  I  have  chosen 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: αἱρετίζω  
Sense: to choose.
ἀγαπητός  beloved 
Parse: Adjective, Nominative Masculine Singular
Root: ἀγαπητός  
Sense: beloved, esteemed, dear, favourite, worthy of love.
εὐδόκησεν  has  found  delight 
Parse: Verb, Aorist Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: εὐδοκέω  
Sense: it seems good to one, is one’s good pleasure.
ψυχή  soul 
Parse: Noun, Nominative Feminine Singular
Root: ψυχή  
Sense: breath.
θήσω  I  will  put 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 1st Person Singular
Root: τίθημι  
Sense: to set, put, place.
Πνεῦμά  Spirit 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Neuter Singular
Root: πνεῦμα  
Sense: a movement of air (a gentle blast.
ἐπ’  upon 
Parse: Preposition
Root: ἐπί  
Sense: upon, on, at, by, before.
κρίσιν  justice 
Parse: Noun, Accusative Feminine Singular
Root: κρίσις  
Sense: a separating, sundering, separation.
τοῖς  to  the 
Parse: Article, Dative Neuter Plural
Root:  
Sense: this, that, these, etc.
ἔθνεσιν  Gentiles 
Parse: Noun, Dative Neuter Plural
Root: ἔθνος  
Sense: a multitude (whether of men or of beasts) associated or living together.
ἀπαγγελεῖ  He  will  proclaim 
Parse: Verb, Future Indicative Active, 3rd Person Singular
Root: ἀγγέλλω 
Sense: to bring tidings (from a person or a thing), bring word, report.