Witnessing in a World of Callous Hearts
Isaiah 6:5-13 - New International
Version (NIV)
5 “Woe to me!” I cried. “I am ruined! For I am a man of
unclean lips, and I live among a people of unclean lips, and my eyes
have seen the King, the Lord Almighty.”
6 Then one of the seraphim flew to me with a live coal in his
hand, which he had taken with tongs from the altar. 7 With
it he touched my mouth and said, “See, this has touched your lips; your
guilt is taken away and your sin atoned for.”
8 Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I
send? And who will go for us?”
And I said, “Here am
I. Send me!”
9 He said, “Go and tell this people:
“‘Be ever hearing, but never understanding;
be ever seeing, but never perceiving.’
10 Make the heart of this people calloused;
make their ears dull
and close their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts,
and turn and be healed.”
11 Then I said, “For how long, Lord?”
And he answered:
“Until the cities lie ruined
and without inhabitant,
until the houses are left deserted
and the fields ruined and ravaged,
12 until the Lord has
sent everyone far away
and the land is utterly forsaken.
13 And though a tenth remains in the land,
it will again be laid waste.
But as the terebinth and oak
leave stumps when they are cut down,
so the holy seed will be
the stump in the land.”
Why did Isaiah think he was ruined (verse
5)?
What did the seraphim do (verses 6 and 7)?
How was Isaiah changed by the live coal (verse 7)?
How did Isaiah respond when the Lord ask “who
will go for us” (verse 8)?
In your opinion, what does it mean to “be
ever seeing but never perceiving” (verse 9)?
How was Isaiah to change “the heart of this
people” (verse 10)?
When would people be able to perceive again (verse
11)?
Who would “send everyone far away”
(verse 12)?
What will the “holy seed” be (verse 13)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
Matthew
13:10-16 - New
International Version (NIV)
10 The disciples came to him and asked, “Why do you speak to the
people in parables?”
11 He replied, “Because the knowledge of
the secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but
not to them. 12 Whoever has will be given more, and they
will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what they have will be
taken from them. 13 This is why I speak to them in
parables:
“Though seeing, they do not see;
though hearing, they do not hear or understand.
14 In them is fulfilled the prophecy of Isaiah:
“‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.
15 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’
16 But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because
they hear.
What did the disciples ask Jesus (verse 10)?
Who had “the knowledge of the secrets of the
kingdom of heaven” been given to (verse 11)?
Who will “have an abundance” (verse 12)?
In your opinion, why would Jesus speak to them in
parables because “though seeing they do not see: though hearing, they do not
hear or understand” (verse 13)?
What is fulfilled in them (verse 14)?
What have the people done that keeps them from seeing
(verse 15)?
What would Jesus do if they saw, heard and understood
(verse 15)?
Why are the disciples blessed (verse 16)?
In your opinion, what is the basic message of this
passage?
In your opinion, what
does this passage reveal to us about how the rejection of many does not prevent
individual salvation?
In
your opinion, how does Jesus explaining the reason “the knowledge of the
secrets of the kingdom of heaven has been given to” the disciples but not to
the others who were listening in Matthew 13:10-16 help us understand Isaiah
6:5-13’s statement that “the holy seed will be the stump in the land”?
Acts 28:23-31 – New International Version (NIV)
23 They arranged to meet Paul on a certain day, and came in even
larger numbers to the place where he was staying. He witnessed to them from morning
till evening, explaining about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of
Moses and from the Prophets he tried to persuade them about Jesus. 24 Some
were convinced by what he said, but others would not believe. 25 They
disagreed among themselves and began to leave after Paul had made this final
statement: “The Holy Spirit spoke the truth to your ancestors when he
said through Isaiah the prophet:
26 “‘Go to this people and
say,
“You will be ever hearing but never understanding;
you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.”
27 For this people’s heart has become calloused;
they hardly hear with their ears,
and they have closed their eyes.
Otherwise they might see with their eyes,
hear with their ears,
understand with their hearts
and turn, and I would heal them.’
28 “Therefore I want you to know that God’s salvation has been
sent to the Gentiles, and they will listen!”
30 For two whole years Paul stayed there in his own rented house and
welcomed all who came to see him. 31 He proclaimed the
kingdom of God and taught about the Lord Jesus Christ—with all
boldness and without hindrance!
Who
did the local Jewish leaders in Rome arrange to meet (verse 23)?
How
long did Paul witness to them “about the kingdom of God, and from the Law of
Moses and from the Prophets” (verse 23)?
How
did the local Jewish leaders react to Paul’s witness (verse 24)?
Who
did Paul say “spoke the truth to your ancestors” (verse 25)?
In your opinion, what is the difference between
hearing and understanding (verse 26)?
What has happened to the people’s hearts (verse 27)?
How would God respond
if they saw, heard, and understood (verse 27)?
Who has “God’s
salvation” been sent to (verse 28)?
How long did Paul stay
and welcome all who came to see him (verse 30)?
How did Paul proclaim
the kingdom of God and teach about Jesus Christ (verse 31)?
In your opinion, what
is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, how is
the fact that some listened and believed while others did not in Acts 28:23-31 help
us understand the way that Isaiah was to “make the
heart of this people calloused” in Isaiah 6:5-13?
In
your opinion, how does the fact that the disciples in Matthew 13:10-16 had been
given “the knowledge of the secrets of the kingdom of heaven” and “some” of the people listening
to Paul were convinced in Acts 28:23-31 help us understand who determines
whether people believe or have their hearts hardened?
John 12:37-46 – New International
Version (NIV)
37 Even after Jesus had performed so many signs in their
presence, they still would not believe in him. 38 This was
to fulfill the word of Isaiah the prophet:
“Lord, who has believed our message
and to whom has the arm of the Lord been revealed?”
39 For this reason they could not believe, because, as Isaiah says
elsewhere:
40 “He has blinded their
eyes
and hardened their hearts,
so they can neither see with their eyes,
nor understand with their hearts,
nor turn—and I would heal them.”
41 Isaiah said this because he saw Jesus’ glory and spoke about
him.
42 Yet at the same time many even among the leaders believed in
him. But because of the Pharisees they would not openly acknowledge
their faith for fear they would be put out of the synagogue; 43 for
they loved human praise more than praise from God.
44 Then Jesus cried out, “Whoever believes in me does not
believe in me only, but in the one who sent me. 45 The one
who looks at me is seeing the one who sent me. 46 I have
come into the world as a light, so that no one who believes in me should stay
in darkness.
What was fulfilled by the fact “they” did not
believe in Jesus in spite of the many signs He performed (verses 37 and 38)?
Why
had their eyes been blinded and the hearts hardened (verse 40)?
Why
did Isaiah say this (verse 41)?
Who
did believe in Jesus (verse 42)?
In
your opinion, why do some believe while others have their eyes blinded and
their hearts hardened (verses 40 through 42)?
Who
does the person who believes in Jesus also believe in (verse 44)?
Who
does the one who looks at Jesus also see (verse 45)?
Why
has Jesus “come into the world as a light” (verse 46)?
In
your opinion, what is the basic message of this passage?
In your opinion, what does this passage
reveal to us about how the rejection of many does not prevent individual salvation?
In your opinion, how
could Isaiah willingly be sent by God in Isaiah 6:5-13 but many of the leaders
who believed in John 12:37-46 were afraid to openly acknowledge Jesus?
In your opinion, why would Jesus speak
in parables in Matthew 13:10-16, but in John 12:37-46 He was performing signs?
In your opinion, what can we learn from
the fact that Paul witnessed, explained and persuaded in Acts 28:23-31 and
Jesus performed signs in John 12:37-46 but both of them were rejected by many
of those present?
In
your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Matthew, Acts and John help
us understand about how witnessing to others may be received today?
In your
opinion, how do we find hope for a world full of calloused hearts in these
passages?
(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)
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