January 14, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Preparing Straight Ways

Preparing Straight Ways

Isaiah 40:1-5 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Comfort, comfort my people,
    says your God.
² Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,
    and proclaim to her
that her hard service has been completed,
    that her sin has been paid for,
that she has received from the Lord’s hand
    double for all her sins.

³ A voice of one calling:
“In the wilderness prepare
    the way for the Lord;
make straight in the desert
    a highway for our God.
⁴ Every valley shall be raised up,
    every mountain and hill made low;
the rough ground shall become level,
    the rugged places a plain.
⁵ And the glory of the Lord will be revealed,
    and all people will see it together.
For the mouth of the Lord has spoken.”

Who says “comfort, comfort my people” (verse 1)?

What has happened to Jerusalem’s sin (verse 2)?

Where is the way for the Lord to be prepared (verse 3)?

How is the “highway for our God” to be made (verse 3)?

What will happen to valleys (verse 4)?

What will become level (verse 4)?

Whose will see “the glory of the Lord” (verse 5)?

What has spoken (verse 5)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about preparing “the way for the Lord”?

Matthew 3:1-12 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea ² and saying, “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near.” ³ This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah:

“A voice of one calling in the wilderness,
‘Prepare the way for the Lord,
    make straight paths for him.’”

⁴ John’s clothes were made of camel’s hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey. ⁵ People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan. ⁶ Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.

⁷ But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: “You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath? ⁸ Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. ⁹ And do not think you can say to yourselves, ‘We have Abraham as our father.’ I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham. ¹⁰ The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.

¹¹ “I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me comes one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not worthy to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and fire. ¹² His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire.”

Where was John the Baptist preaching (verse 1)?

What did he say “has come near” (verse 2)?

In your opinion, why is it significant that Matthew claimed the Isaiah “voice of one calling in the wilderness” for John the Baptist (verse 3)?

Who was a way to be prepared for (verse 3)?

How was John the Baptist described (verse 4)?

Where did people come from to see John the Baptist (verse 5)?

What did the people do before they were baptized (verse 6)?

Who did John the Baptist call a “brood of vipers” (verse 7)?

What kind of fruit were they to produce (verse 8)?

In your opinion, why did John the Baptist tell them that “God can raise up children for Abraham” from the stones (verse 9)?

What will be cut down and thrown into the fire (verse 10)?

How will the One who comes after John the Baptist baptize (verse 11)?

Where will the One gather His wheat (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about preparing “the way for the Lord”?

In your opinion, why does Matthew quote the Isaiah passage that came after Isaiah was told to “comfort my people” in Isaiah 40:1-5 right before he quotes John the Baptist calling the Pharisees and Sadducees “vipers” in Matthew 3:1-12?

Acts 19:4-10 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ Paul said, “John’s baptism was a baptism of repentance. He told the people to believe in the one coming after him, that is, in Jesus.” ⁵ On hearing this, they were baptized in the name of the Lord Jesus. ⁶ When Paul placed his hands on them, the Holy Spirit came on them, and they spoke in tongues and prophesied. ⁷ There were about twelve men in all.

⁸ Paul entered the synagogue and spoke boldly there for three months, arguing persuasively about the kingdom of God. ⁹ But some of them became obstinate; they refused to believe and publicly maligned the Way. So Paul left them. He took the disciples with him and had discussions daily in the lecture hall of Tyrannus. ¹⁰ This went on for two years, so that all the Jews and Greeks who lived in the province of Asia heard the word of the Lord.

What did Paul say about “John’s baptism” (verse 4)?

Who did John the Baptist tell people to “believe in” (verse 4)?

How were they baptized (verse 5)?

Who came on them “when Paul placed his hands on them” (verse 6)?

How many were there (verse 7)?

Where did Paul speak “boldly for three months” (verse 8)?

What did the people who became “obstinate” do (verse 9)?

How did Paul respond (verse 9)?

Who “heard the word of the Lord” (verse 10)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about preparing “the way for the Lord”?

In your opinion, can the statement of Isaiah 40:1-5 about “a voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord”” in Isaiah 40:1-5 also apply to Paul in Acts 19:4-10?

In your opinion, how is the repentance preached by John the Baptist in Matthew 3:1-23 explained and completed by Paul in Acts 19:4-10?

Philippians 1:3-11 – New International Version (NIV)

³ I thank my God every time I remember you. ⁴ In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy ⁵ because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now, ⁶ being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.

⁷ It is right for me to feel this way about all of you, since I have you in my heart and, whether I am in chains or defending and confirming the gospel, all of you share in God’s grace with me. ⁸ God can testify how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus.

⁹ And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, ¹⁰ so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, ¹¹ filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ—to the glory and praise of God.

What does Paul do every time he remembers the Philippians (verse 3)?

How does Paul pray about the Philippians (verse 4)?

What was Paul’s relationship with the Philippians (verse 5)?

What is Paul confident of (verse 6)?

Why is it right for Paul to feel this way (verse 7)?

What does Paul share with the Philippians (verse 7)?

Who can testify “how I long for all of you with the affection of Christ Jesus” (verse 8)?

How does Paul pray for their love to abound (verse 9)?

Why does Paul want them to “discern what is best” (verse 10)?

What does Paul what them to be filled with (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about preparing “the way for the Lord”?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s prayer for the Philippian Christians to be “pure and blameless for the day of Christ” in Philippians 1:3-11 add depth to Isaiah 40:1-5’s statement about “A voice of one calling: “In the wilderness prepare the way for the Lord””?

In your opinion, how is the baptism of repentance in Matthew 3:1-12 a beginning to the process of “abounding more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” that Paul prays the Philippians will have to help prepare for “the day of Christ” in Philippians 1:3-11?

In your opinion, how may dealing with people who were obstinate, like some of those who resisted Paul and the Christians in Ephesus in Acts 19:4-10 be a part of “abounding more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” that Paul prays for the Philippians to have in Philippians 1:3-11? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Matthew, Acts, and Philippians teach us about the importance to “prepare the way for the Lord” today?

In your opinion, how does abounding “more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” help to “make straight paths” for the Lord now?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

December 24, 2023 – Isaiah in the New Testament – A Son is Given

A Son is Given

Isaiah 9:2-7 - New International Version (NIV)

² The people walking in darkness
    have seen a great light;
on those living in the land of deep darkness
    a light has dawned.
³ You have enlarged the nation
    and increased their joy;
they rejoice before you
    as people rejoice at the harvest,
as warriors rejoice
    when dividing the plunder.
⁴ For as in the day of Midian’s defeat,
    you have shattered
the yoke that burdens them,
    the bar across their shoulders,
    the rod of their oppressor.
⁵ Every warrior’s boot used in battle
    and every garment rolled in blood
will be destined for burning,
    will be fuel for the fire.
⁶ For to us a child is born,
    to us a son is given,
    and the government will be on his shoulders.
And he will be called
    Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God,
    Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.
⁷ Of the greatness of his government and peace
    there will be no end.
He will reign on David’s throne
    and over his kingdom,
establishing and upholding it
    with justice and righteousness
    from that time on and forever.
The zeal of the Lord Almighty
    will accomplish this.

 

Who has “seen a great light” (verse 2)?

What has God increased (verse 3)?

What has God shattered (verse 4)?

What is the destiny of “every warrior’s boot used in battle and every garment rolled in blood” (verse 5)?

Who is a child born for (verse 6)?

What will be on the Son’s shoulders (verse 6)?

What will the Son be called (verse 6)?

When will “the greatness of his government and peace” end (verse 7)?

What will accomplish this (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the transformation caused by the birth of the Son?

Matthew 1:18-23 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

Whose birth are we reading about (verse 18)?

When was Mary “found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit” (verse 18)?

What kind of man was Joseph (verse 19)?

How did Joseph respond to Mary’s pregnancy (verse 19)?

How did the angel identify Joseph (verse 20)?

What was Joseph not to be afraid to do (verse 20)?

Who will Mary’s son save “from their sins” (verse 21)?

Who would “give birth to a son” (verse 23)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the transformation caused by the birth of the Son?

In your opinion, how does the prophecy from Isaiah 9:2-7 add context to the birth that is recorded in Matthew 1:18-23?

Romans 1:1-7 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God— ² the gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures ³ regarding his Son, who as to his earthly life was a descendant of David, ⁴ and who through the Spirit of holiness was appointed the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord. ⁵ Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake. ⁶ And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ.

⁷ To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people:

Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ.

How does Paul describe himself (verse 1)?

How was the gospel promised (verse 2)?

Who was “his Son” in His earthly life (verse 3)?

How was He appointed “Jesus Christ our Lord” (verse 4)?

What did Paul receive that enabled him to “call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name’s sake” (verse 5)?

Who are the Gentiles Paul is writing to called to belong to (verse 6)?

Where does Paul pray for the blessings of grace and peace to come from (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the transformation caused by the birth of the Son?

In your opinion, how are the titles given to the “Son” in Isaiah 9:2-7 affirmed by the accomplishment that Paul claims for Him in Romans 1:1-7?

In your opinion, how do Matthew 1:18-23 and Romans 1:1-7 reveal Jesus as “God with us”?

Revelation 12:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ A great sign appeared in heaven: a woman clothed with the sun, with the moon under her feet and a crown of twelve stars on her head. ² She was pregnant and cried out in pain as she was about to give birth. ³ Then another sign appeared in heaven: an enormous red dragon with seven heads and ten horns and seven crowns on its heads. ⁴ Its tail swept a third of the stars out of the sky and flung them to the earth. The dragon stood in front of the woman who was about to give birth, so that it might devour her child the moment he was born. ⁵ She gave birth to a son, a male child, who “will rule all the nations with an iron scepter.” And her child was snatched up to God and to his throne. ⁶ The woman fled into the wilderness to a place prepared for her by God, where she might be taken care of for 1,260 days.

⁷ Then war broke out in heaven. Michael and his angels fought against the dragon, and the dragon and his angels fought back. ⁸ But he was not strong enough, and they lost their place in heaven. ⁹ The great dragon was hurled down—that ancient serpent called the devil, or Satan, who leads the whole world astray. He was hurled to the earth, and his angels with him.

¹⁰ Then I heard a loud voice in heaven say:

“Now have come the salvation and the power
    and the kingdom of our God,
    and the authority of his Messiah.
For the accuser of our brothers and sisters,
    who accuses them before our God day and night,
    has been hurled down.
¹¹ They triumphed over him
    by the blood of the Lamb
    and by the word of their testimony;
they did not love their lives so much
    as to shrink from death.

What was the great sign that “appeared in heaven” (verse 1)?

Why did the woman cry “out in pain” (verse 2)?

What other sign “appeared in heaven” (verse 3)?

Why did the dragon stand in front of the woman (verse 4)?

Who did the woman give birth to (verse 5)?

What happened in heaven (verse 7)?

Who was “hurled to the earth” (verse 9)?

What does the “loud voice in heaven” say has come (verse 10)?

Who does “the loud voice in heaven” say has been hurled down (verse 10)?

How did “our brothers and sisters” triumph (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about the transformation caused by the birth of the Son?

In your opinion, what does Revelation 12:1-11 reveal about the “great light” that people walking in darkness were promised in Isaiah 9:2-7?

In your opinion, how does the miraculous birth recorded in Matthew 1:18-23 take on timeless importance when you consider what is revealed by Revelation 12:1-11?

In your opinion, how does Revelation 12:1-11 help us understand why Paul can say “Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ” in Romans 1:1-7? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Matthew, Romans, and Revelation reveal about the Son of David who is also the Son of God?

In your opinion, how do we live triumphantly in the Son today?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

December 17, 2023 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Our Need of a Baby’s Intervention

Our Need of a Baby’s Intervention

2 Kings 16:1-13 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ In the seventeenth year of Pekah son of Remaliah, Ahaz son of Jotham king of Judah began to reign. ² Ahaz was twenty years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem sixteen years. Unlike David his father, he did not do what was right in the eyes of the Lord his God. ³ He followed the ways of the kings of Israel and even sacrificed his son in the fire, engaging in the detestable practices of the nations the Lord had driven out before the Israelites. ⁴ He offered sacrifices and burned incense at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree.

⁵ Then Rezin king of Aram and Pekah son of Remaliah king of Israel marched up to fight against Jerusalem and besieged Ahaz, but they could not overpower him. ⁶ At that time, Rezin king of Aram recovered Elath for Aram by driving out the people of Judah. Edomites then moved into Elath and have lived there to this day.

⁷ Ahaz sent messengers to say to Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria, “I am your servant and vassal. Come up and save me out of the hand of the king of Aram and of the king of Israel, who are attacking me.” ⁸ And Ahaz took the silver and gold found in the temple of the Lord and in the treasuries of the royal palace and sent it as a gift to the king of Assyria. ⁹ The king of Assyria complied by attacking Damascus and capturing it. He deported its inhabitants to Kir and put Rezin to death.

¹⁰ Then King Ahaz went to Damascus to meet Tiglath-Pileser king of Assyria. He saw an altar in Damascus and sent to Uriah the priest a sketch of the altar, with detailed plans for its construction. ¹¹ So Uriah the priest built an altar in accordance with all the plans that King Ahaz had sent from Damascus and finished it before King Ahaz returned. ¹² When the king came back from Damascus and saw the altar, he approached it and presented offerings on it. ¹³ He offered up his burnt offering and grain offering, poured out his drink offering, and splashed the blood of his fellowship offerings against the altar. 

What did Ahaz do when he was twenty years old (verses 1 and 2)?

How was Ahaz “unlike David his father” (verse 2)?

Whose ways did Ahaz follow (verse 3)?

What did Ahaz do “at the high places, on the hilltops and under every spreading tree” (verse 4)?

Who teamed up to besiege Ahaz, but “could not overpower him” (verse 5)?

Who did Ahaz have messengers say “I am your servant and vassal” to (verse 7)?

What did Ahaz send as a gift (verse 8)?

What did Ahaz do after seeing an altar in Damascus (verse 10)?

Who “built an altar in accordance with all the plans” (verse 11)?

What did Ahaz do when he saw the altar (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage demonstrate the world’s need for God’s intervention?

Isaiah 7:10-17 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ Again the Lord spoke to Ahaz, ¹¹ “Ask the Lord your God for a sign, whether in the deepest depths or in the highest heights.”

¹² But Ahaz said, “I will not ask; I will not put the Lord to the test.”

¹³ Then Isaiah said, “Hear now, you house of David! Is it not enough to try the patience of humans? Will you try the patience of my God also? ¹⁴ Therefore the Lord himself will give you a sign: The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and will call him Immanuel. ¹⁵ He will be eating curds and honey when he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, ¹⁶ for before the boy knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right, the land of the two kings you dread will be laid waste. ¹⁷ The Lord will bring on you and on your people and on the house of your father a time unlike any since Ephraim broke away from Judah—he will bring the king of Assyria.”

Who spoke to Ahaz (verse 10)?

What was Ahaz to do (verse 11)?

In your opinion, why would Ahaz “not put the Lord to the test” (verse 12)?

Who did Isaiah say was to “hear now” (verse 13)?

Who was going to give Ahaz a sign (verse 14)?

What was that sign going to be (verse 14)?

What will he be doing when “he knows enough to reject the wrong and choose the right” (verse 15)?

How will the world have changed by that time (verse 16)?

Who will the Lord bring on Ahaz and his people (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage demonstrate the world’s need for God’s intervention?

In your opinion, what does the offer of a sign to Ahaz, who worshiped an idol in the temple of God in 2 Kings 16:1-13 and refused to test God in Isaiah 7:10-17, show us about God?

Matthew 1:18-24 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁸ This is how the birth of Jesus the Messiah came about: His mother Mary was pledged to be married to Joseph, but before they came together, she was found to be pregnant through the Holy Spirit. ¹⁹ Because Joseph her husband was faithful to the law, and yet did not want to expose her to public disgrace, he had in mind to divorce her quietly.

²⁰ But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream and said, “Joseph son of David, do not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit. ²¹ She will give birth to a son, and you are to give him the name Jesus, because he will save his people from their sins.”

²² All this took place to fulfill what the Lord had said through the prophet: ²³ “The virgin will conceive and give birth to a son, and they will call him Immanuel” (which means “God with us”).

²⁴ When Joseph woke up, he did what the angel of the Lord had commanded him and took Mary home as his wife.

Whose birth is Matthew writing about (verse 18)?

Who was Mary pledged to (verse 18)?

What was found out about Mary (verse 18)?

Why was Joseph going to “divorce her quietly” (verse 19)?

Who told Joseph to “not be afraid to take Mary home as your wife, because what is conceived in her is from the Holy Spirit” (verse 20)?

Why is the son to be named “Jesus” (verse 21)?

Why did all take place (verse 22)?

Who will conceive (verse 23)?

What does “Immanuel” mean (verse 23)?

What did Joseph do when he “woke up” (verse 24)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage demonstrate the world’s need for God’s intervention?

In your opinion, what does a comparison of Ahaz in 2 Kings 16:1-13 with Joseph in Matthew 1:18-25, both descendants of King David, reveal about the differences in their relationships with God?

In your opinion, how does the contrast of Ahaz, who refused to “put the Lord to the test” even when invited to in Isaiah 7:10-17, and Joseph, a husband who was “faithful to the law” in Matthew 1:18-24, help us understand the different ways people will react to Immanuel today?

John 17:20-26 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ “My prayer is not for them alone. I pray also for those who will believe in me through their message, ²¹ that all of them may be one, Father, just as you are in me and I am in you. May they also be in us so that the world may believe that you have sent me. ²² I have given them the glory that you gave me, that they may be one as we are one— ²³ I in them and you in me—so that they may be brought to complete unity. Then the world will know that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me.

²⁴ “Father, I want those you have given me to be with me where I am, and to see my glory, the glory you have given me because you loved me before the creation of the world.

²⁵ “Righteous Father, though the world does not know you, I know you, and they know that you have sent me. ²⁶ I have made you known to them, and will continue to make you known in order that the love you have for me may be in them and that I myself may be in them.”

Who is Jesus praying for (verse 20)?

Who does Jesus want those He is praying for to be like (verse 21)?

Why does He want those He is praying for to “also be in us” (verse 21)?

What has Jesus given those He is praying for (verse 22)?

When will the world know “that you sent me and have loved them even as you have loved me” (verse 23)?

Where does Jesus want those given to Him to be (verse 24)?

When did the Father give Jesus glory (verse 24)?

Who knows the “Righteous Father” (verse 25)?

Why will Jesus make the “Righteous Father” known to the ones given to Him (verse 26)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage demonstrate the world’s need for God’s intervention?

In your opinion, what is the difference between what Ahaz does in 2 Kings 16:1-13 that could be seen as an attempt to have a god be with him and the way Jesus prays to be with those who believe in Him in John 17:20-26?

In your opinion, what does it mean to you that the Father who, in the moment of decisive rejection by Ahaz in Isaiah 7:10-17, makes the promise to send Immanuel (God with us); who then prays in John 17:20-26 to be one with those who believe in Him?

In your opinion, how does Joseph accepting that Jesus is from the Holy Spirit and is the one who will “save his people from their sins” in Matthew 1:18-24 an example of how each of us should react to the message that the Father, who sent Jesus, loves us even as He loves Jesus in John 17:20-26? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from 2 Kings, Isaiah, Matthew, and John teach us about how the “house of David” and all the rest of us who try the patience of God can still have hope that God will be with us?

In your opinion, how can we, in response to the world changing gift of the virgin’s Son, glorify God?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)