March 24, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Following the Truth

Following the Truth

Isaiah 53:7-12 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.
⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

 

When did the Servant “not open his mouth” (verse 7)? (two answers)

Why was He punished (verse 8)?

What had He not done (verse 9)?

Where was there no deceit (verse 9)?

What was it “the Lord’s will” to do (verse 10)?

Where will “the will of the Lord” prosper (verse 10)?

What will “my righteous servant” bear (verse 11)?

Who did He make intercession for (verse 12)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what truth does this passage teach us about Jesus?

John 18:28-40 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁸ Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. ²⁹ So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

³⁰ “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”

³¹ Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. ³² This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.

³³ Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

³⁴ “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

³⁵ “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

³⁶ Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

³⁷ “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

³⁸ “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. ³⁹ But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

⁴⁰ They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.

Why did the Jewish leaders not enter the palace (verse 28)?

Who ask “what charges are you bringing against this man” (verse 29)?

What charges did the Jewish leaders list (verse 30)?

Why did the Jewish leaders not want to judge Jesus by their law (verse 31)?

What did Pilate ask Jesus (verse 33)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask Pilate “is that your own idea” (verse 34)?

In your opinion, why does Pilate ask Jesus “what is it you have done” (verse 35)?

Why did Jesus’s servants not fight to prevent Jesus’s arrest (verse 36)?

Who listens to Jesus (verse 37)?

What “basis for a charge” did Pilate find against Jesus (verse 38)?

What custom did the Jews have (verse 39)?

Which prisoner did the Jews want to be released (verse 40)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what truth does this passage teach us about Jesus?

In your opinion, how is the accuracy of Isaiah 53:7-12’s statement that “he had done no violence” validated by the Jewish leaders in John 18:28-40?

Hebrews 7:23-28 – New International Version (NIV)

²² Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.

²³ Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; ²⁴ but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. ²⁵ Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

²⁶ Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

What has Jesus become (verse 22)?

Why have there “been many of those priests” (verse 23)?

Why does Jesus have a “permanent priesthood” (verse 24)?

Who is Jesus “able to save completely” (verse 25)?

What kind of high priest “truly meets our need” (verse 26)?

How is Jesus different from “other high priests” (verse 27)?

How many times did Jesus sacrifice for “their sins” (verse 28)?

Who does the law appoint as high priests (verse 29)?

Who “has been made perfect forever” (verse 29)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what truth does this passage teach us about Jesus?

In your opinion, what does Hebrews 7:23-28 help us understand about what the innocent servant who “is led like a lamb to the slaughter” according to Isaiah 53:7-12 is able to accomplish?

In your opinion, why is the title of High Priest given to Jesus in Hebrews 7:23-28 more appropriate than the title of king that Pilate tried to give Him during the trial in John 18:28-40?

1 Peter 2:21-25 – New International Version (NIV)

²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²² “He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴ “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” ²⁵ For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Who did Christ suffer for (verse 21)?

Why did Christ leave “an example” (verse 21)?

What did Jesus not commit (verse 22)?

When did Jesus “not retaliate” (verse 23)?

Who did Jesus entrust Himself to (verse 23)?

Why did Jesus bear “our sins” in his body on the cross” (verse 24)?

How have we “been healed” (verse 24)?

Who have we “returned to” (verse 25)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what truth does this passage teach us about Jesus?

In your opinion, how does 1 Peter 2:21-25 show that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of Isaiah 53:7-12?

In your opinion, how does Pilate saying he “finds no basis for a charge” but then attempting to release Jesus through a custom of the Jews instead of just releasing Him in John 18:28-40 reinforce why we should trust “him who judges justly” as Jesus did in 1 Peter 2:21-25?

In your opinion, how does Hebrews 7:23-28 reveal what Jesus had to do so that “we might die to sins and live for righteousness” as proclaimed in 1 Peter 2:21-25? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, John, Hebrews and 1 Peter teach us about what we should not “fight” for today?

In your opinion, how can we follow in the steps of the High Priest who is also the Lamb today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 17, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Silence Speaks

Silence Speaks

Isaiah 53:4-8 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.

Who did we consider the servant punished by (verse 4)?

What brought us peace (verse 5)?

Where have “we all” gone (verse 6)?

What did He “not open” (verse 7)?

How was He led (verse 7)?

What happened “by oppression and judgment” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about knowing when to respond with silence or with words?

Mark 14:53-65 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵³ They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. ⁵⁴ Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.

⁵⁵ The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. ⁵⁶ Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.

⁵⁷ Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: ⁵⁸ “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” ⁵⁹ Yet even then their testimony did not agree.

⁶⁰ Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” ⁶¹ But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.

Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

⁶² “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶³ The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. ⁶⁴ “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”

They all condemned him as worthy of death. ⁶⁵ Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.

Who “came together” (verse 53)?

How did Peter follow (verse 54)?

What were the “chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin” looking for (verse 55)?

Whose statements “did not agree” (verse 56)?

Who ask Jesus “are you not going to answer” (verse 60)?

How did Jesus respond to the question (verse 61)?

Who ask Jesus “are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One” (verse 61)?

How did Jesus answer this question (verse 62)?

What did the high priest do (verse 63)?

What did they view Jesus “as worthy of” (verse 64)?

What did they begin to do to Jesus (verse 65)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about knowing when to respond with silence or with words?

In your opinion, when He was being questioned, how is Jesus’s silence in Mark 14:53-65 a fulfillment of the prophecy that He would be silent “as a sheep before its shearers” in Isaiah 53:4-8? 

In your opinion, why was Jesus silent before the high priest’s first question, but then answered the second?

Acts 8:30-39 – New International Version (NIV)

³⁰ Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

³¹ “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

³² This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
    and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
³³ In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
    Who can speak of his descendants?
    For his life was taken from the earth.”

³⁴ The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

³⁶ As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”  ³⁸ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.

Who ask the man in the chariot “Do you understand what you are reading” (verse 30)?

What did the man say he needed in order to understand (verse 31)?

What did He “not open” (verse 32)?

What was “taken from the earth” (verse 33)?

What question did the eunuch ask (verse 34)?

How did Philip respond to the question (verse 35)?

When did the eunuch ask “what can stand in the way of my being baptized” (verse 36)?

What did the eunuch order (verse 37)?

How did the eunuch go “on his way” (verse 38)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about knowing when to respond with silence or with words?

In your opinion, what would need to happen for you to move from being like the eunuch in Acts 8:30-39 and need to have someone explain the Isaiah 53:4-8 passage to being like Philip who is willing to link the passage to Jesus for someone who is struggling?

In your opinion, how would the testimony of Jesus in Mark 14:53-65 that He is the “the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One” be a part of Philip’s testimony about the “good news about Jesus”? 

1 Peter 1:13-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

¹⁷ Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. ¹⁸ For you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors, ¹⁹ but with the precious blood of Christ, a lamb without blemish or defect. ²⁰ He was chosen before the creation of the world, but was revealed in these last times for your sake. ²¹ Through him you believe in God, who raised him from the dead and glorified him, and so your faith and hope are in God.

What are minds that “set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming” supposed to be like (verse 13)?

How should we not respond to “the evil desires” (verse 14)?

What should we be in all we do (verse 15)?

What is written (verse 16)?

How should we “live out” our time (verse 17)?

What were we redeemed from (verse 18)?

What redeemed us (verse 19)?

When was He revealed (verse 20)?

Where is our “faith and hope” (verse 21)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about knowing when to respond with silence or with words?

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 1:13-21 reveal about why Isaiah 53:4-8 indicated that Jesus would be “led like a lamb to slaughter”?

In your opinion, how is Jesus in Mark 14:53-65 an example to us of how to “live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear” as instructed in 1 Peter 1:13-21?

In your opinion, how is Philip in Acts 8:30-39 an example of how be holy, as instructed by 1 Peter 1:13-21, as we learn how to share the “good news about Jesus” even though we are foreigners? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Mark, Acts and 1 Peter teach us about the silence of the Messiah transformed our lives?

In your opinion, how can alert minds help us be holy when being silent or when speaking the good news today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 10, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – The Wounded Model

The Wounded Model

Isaiah 53:2-5 - New International Version (NIV)

² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.

What did He have in His appearance “to attract us to him” (verse 2)?

How did “mankind” treat Him (verse 3)?

What did He “bear” (verse 4)?

Why was He “crushed” (verse 5)?

Where was the punishment “that brought us peace” (verse 5)?

How are we “healed” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage show Jesus doing that is important for us to see?

Luke 23:44-49 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁴ It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁵ for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

⁴⁷ The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” ⁴⁸ When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. ⁴⁹ But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

What time was it (verse 44)?

How long was darkness “over the whole land” (verse 44)?

What “stopped shining” (verse 45)?

Where was the curtain that “was torn in two” (verse 45)?

Into whose hands did Jesus “commit” his spirit (verse 46)?

Who “praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man”” (verse 47)?

What did the “people who had gathered to witness this sight” do (verse 48)?

Where were “all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee” (verse 49)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage show Jesus doing that is important for us to see?

In your opinion, how could the servant “be despised and rejected” in Isaiah 53:2-5 but in Luke 23:44-49 the centurion could say about Him, “surely this was a righteous man”?

Romans 6:1-8 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

How does Paul answer the question “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase” (verse 1)?

What were “all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus” baptized into (verses 2 and 3)?

Why were we “buried with him into death” (verse 4)?

What will we be united with Him in if “we have been united with him in a death like his” (verse 5)?

Why was “our old self” crucified with Him (verse 6)?

What has happened to “anyone who has died” (verse 7)?

What do we believe we will do “if we died with Christ” (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage show Jesus doing that is important for us to see?

In your opinion, how does Romans 6:1-8 help us understand how Jesus fulfills the prophecy that says “by his wounds we are healed” in Isaiah 53:2-5?

In your opinion, how are the last words of Jesus in Luke 23:44-49 a model for all who Romans 6:1-8 says are “buried with him through baptism into death”?

1 Peter 2:21-25 – New International Version (NIV)

 ²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²² “He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴ “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” ²⁵ For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Who did Christ suffer for (verse 21)?

How should we respond to His suffering (verse 21)?

What did Jesus not commit (verse 22)?

How did Jesus respond to insults (verse 23)?

Who did Jesus entrust Himself to when He suffered (verse 23)?

Why did Jesus bear our sins “in his body on the cross” (verse 24)?

How have we been healed (verse 24)?

What were we like (verse 25)?

Who have we returned to (verse 25)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage show Jesus doing that is important for us to see?

In your opinion, how does 1 Peter 2:21-25 make it clear that Jesus is the one who Isaiah 53:2-5 said would suffer so that “by his wounds” we would be healed?

In your opinion, how does Luke 23:44-49 affirm that the one who 1 Peter 2:21-24 says healed us “by his wounds”, entrusted “himself to him who judges justly”?

In your opinion, what do Romans 6:1-8 and 1 Peter 2:21-25 teach us about following “in the steps” of Jesus? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Luke, Romans and 1 Peter teach us about why Jesus, the righteous man, was punished and wounded?

In your opinion, in what ways should we model Jesus for the world to see?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 3, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Becoming the People of God

Becoming the People of God

Isaiah 53:4-6 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

 

Whose “pain” did He take up (verse 4)?

Who did we consider “him” punished by (verse 4)?

Why was He “pierced” (verse 5)?

What did the “punishment” that was on Him bring us (verse 5)?

How are we healed (verse 5)?

What have “we all” done (verse 6)?

Who laid our iniquity on Him (verse 6)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how we move from being separated from God to being people of God?

Matthew 8:5-17 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵ When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came to him, asking for help. ⁶ “Lord,” he said, “my servant lies at home paralyzed, suffering terribly.”

⁷ Jesus said to him, “Shall I come and heal him?”

⁸ The centurion replied, “Lord, I do not deserve to have you come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed. ⁹ For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell this one, ‘Go,’ and he goes; and that one, ‘Come,’ and he comes. I say to my servant, ‘Do this,’ and he does it.”

¹⁰ When Jesus heard this, he was amazed and said to those following him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith. ¹¹ I say to you that many will come from the east and the west, and will take their places at the feast with Abraham, Isaac and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven. ¹² But the subjects of the kingdom will be thrown outside, into the darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

¹³ Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! Let it be done just as you believed it would.” And his servant was healed at that moment.

¹⁴ When Jesus came into Peter’s house, he saw Peter’s mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever. ¹⁵ He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.

¹⁶ When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“He took up our infirmities
    and bore our diseases.”

Where was Jesus when the centurion came “asking for help” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what is surprising about his request (verse 6)?

What did the centurion “not deserve” (verse 8)?

How did the centurion think Jesus could heal the servant (verse 8)?

How did the centurion describe authority (verse 9)?

What did Jesus tell “those following him” about the centurion (verse 10)?

Where will many “from the east and the west” take their places (verse 11)?

Who will be “thrown outside, into the darkness” (verse 12)?

When was the centurion’s servant healed (verse 13)?

Who was “lying in bed with a fever” (verse 14)?

What happened when Jesus “touched her hand” (verse 15)?

How many of the sick did Jesus heal (verse 16)?

What did this fulfill (verse 17)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how we move from being separated from God to being people of God?In your opinion, in what way does Matthew 8:5-17 reveal how Jesus was able to fulfill the prophecy from Isaiah 53:4-6 that the Savior would take “up our pain”?

Hebrews 9:22-28 – New International Version (NIV)

²² In fact, the law requires that nearly everything be cleansed with blood, and without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness.

²³ It was necessary, then, for the copies of the heavenly things to be purified with these sacrifices, but the heavenly things themselves with better sacrifices than these. ²⁴ For Christ did not enter a sanctuary made with human hands that was only a copy of the true one; he entered heaven itself, now to appear for us in God’s presence. ²⁵ Nor did he enter heaven to offer himself again and again, the way the high priest enters the Most Holy Place every year with blood that is not his own. ²⁶ Otherwise Christ would have had to suffer many times since the creation of the world. But he has appeared once for all at the culmination of the ages to do away with sin by the sacrifice of himself. ²⁷ Just as people are destined to die once, and after that to face judgment, ²⁸ so Christ was sacrificed once to take away the sins of many; and he will appear a second time, not to bear sin, but to bring salvation to those who are waiting for him.

What does the law require to “be cleansed with blood” (verse 22)?

What cannot happen “without the shedding of blood” (verse 22)?

What was “purified with these sacrifices” (verse 23)?

What needed “better sacrifices than these” (verse 23)?

Why did Christ enter “heaven itself” (verse 24)?

What did Christ not do “again and again” (verse 25)?

Why did Christ appear “once for all at the culmination of the ages” (verse 26)?

What are people destined to do once (verse 27)?

Why was Christ “sacrificed once” (verse 28)?

Why will Christ “appear a second time” (verse 28)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how we move from being separated from God to being people of God?

In your opinion, how does the shedding of the blood of Jesus as revealed in Hebrews 9:22-28 a fulfillment that allows Jesus to bear “our suffering” as prophesied by Isaiah 53:4-6?

In your opinion, how does Jesus’s ability to cast out demons and heal the sick in Matthew 8:5-17 foreshadow the purifying cleansing from the shedding of His blood as reported in Hebrews 9:22-28?

1 Peter 2:4-10 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ As you come to him, the living Stone—rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him— ⁵ you also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. ⁶ For in Scripture it says:

“See, I lay a stone in Zion,
    a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
    will never be put to shame.”

⁷ Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

“The stone the builders rejected
    has become the cornerstone,”

⁸ and,

“A stone that causes people to stumble
    and a rock that makes them fall.”

They stumble because they disobey the message—which is also what they were destined for.

⁹ But you are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession, that you may declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light. ¹⁰ Once you were not a people, but now you are the people of God; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.

Who is “rejected by humans but chosen by God and precious to him” (verse 4)?

What are the “living stones” being built into (verse 5)?

Who “will never be put to shame” (verse 6)?

How do those who believe perceive the stone (verse 7)?

What is the stone to those “who do not believe” (verse 7)?

Why do “they” stumble (verse 8)?

What are Christians “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” to declare (verse 9)?

What have “the people of God” received (verse 10)?

In your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about how we move from being separated from God to being people of God?

In your opinion, what does Isaiah 53:4-6 help us understand about what Jesus had to bear for the lost sheep to become the “chosen people” of 1 Peter 2:4-10?

In your opinion, how does having the faith of the centurion in Matthew 8:5-17 help the “people of God” who “have received mercy” in 1 Peter 2:4-10 to “declare the praises of him who called you out of darkness into his wonderful light”?

In your opinion, why is it important that those that 1 Peter 2:4-10 identifies as “a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, God’s special possession” never forget that it is Jesus taking away our sins, as Hebrews 9:22-28 explains, that makes it possible? 

In your opinion, how do these passages from Isaiah, Matthew, Hebrews and 1 Peter help us understand why Jesus was afflicted with pain?

In your opinion, how does faith in God enable God to transform us to the people of God?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)