February 4, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Boasting in the Unexpected

Boasting in the Unexpected

Isaiah 42:1-4 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Here is my servant, whom I uphold,
    my chosen one in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
    and he will bring justice to the nations.
² He will not shout or cry out,
    or raise his voice in the streets.
³ A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out.
In faithfulness he will bring forth justice;
⁴     he will not falter or be discouraged
till he establishes justice on earth.
    In his teaching the islands will put their hope.”

In whom does God delight (verse 1)?

What will God put on His Servant (verse 1)?

In your opinion, what can we learn about the way God’s Servant will bring justice when we find out that “He will not shout or cry out” (verse 2)?

What will God’s Servant not break (verse 3)?

How will He bring forth justice (verse 3)?

What will He complete without faltering or being discouraged (verse 4)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage reveal an unexpected Savior and/or the unexpected saved?

Matthew 12:9-21 – New International Version (NIV)

⁹ Going on from that place, he went into their synagogue, ¹⁰ and a man with a shriveled hand was there. Looking for a reason to bring charges against Jesus, they asked him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

¹¹ He said to them, “If any of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will you not take hold of it and lift it out? ¹² How much more valuable is a person than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

¹³ Then he said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out and it was completely restored, just as sound as the other. ¹⁴ But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

¹⁵ Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. A large crowd followed him, and he healed all who were ill. ¹⁶ He warned them not to tell others about him. ¹⁷ This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

¹⁸ “Here is my servant whom I have chosen,
    the one I love, in whom I delight;
I will put my Spirit on him,
    and he will proclaim justice to the nations.
¹⁹ He will not quarrel or cry out;
    no one will hear his voice in the streets.
²⁰ A bruised reed he will not break,
    and a smoldering wick he will not snuff out,
till he has brought justice through to victory.
²¹     In his name the nations will put their hope.”

Where did Jesus go (verse 9)?

Who was there (verse 10)?

Why did they ask “is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath” (verse 10)?

How did Jesus answer (verses 11 and 12)?

What happened when the man stretched out his hand like Jesus ask him to (verse 13)?

How did the Pharisees react (verse 14)?

What happened to all those who followed Jesus who were ill (verse 15)?

In your opinion, how does this situation fulfill what was spoken by the prophet Isaiah (verse 17)?

What will God’s Servant not do (verse 19)?

What will God’s Servant not “snuff out” (verse 20)?

Where will the nations “put their hope” (verse 21)?

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

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

In your opinion, how does this passage reveal an unexpected Savior and/or the unexpected saved?

In your opinion, how does Matthew 12:9-21 placing the prophecy from Isaiah 42:1-4 right after Jesus’s confrontation with the Pharisees about the healing of the man with the withered hand on the Sabbath help us have a more complete understanding of the prophecy?

1 Corinthians 1:26-31 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁶ Brothers and sisters, think of what you were when you were called. Not many of you were wise by human standards; not many were influential; not many were of noble birth. ²⁷ But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. ²⁸ God chose the lowly things of this world and the despised things—and the things that are not—to nullify the things that are, ²⁹ so that no one may boast before him. ³⁰ It is because of him that you are in Christ Jesus, who has become for us wisdom from God—that is, our righteousness, holiness and redemption. ³¹ Therefore, as it is written: “Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.”

Who does Paul want to “think of what you were when you were called” (verse 26)?

What did they (mostly) have in common (verse 26)?

Why did God choose “the foolish things of the world” (verse 27)?

Why did God choose “the weak things of the world” (verse 27)?

Why did God choose the lowly, the despised and the “things that are not” (verse 28)?

Who may boast (verse 29)?

How are we “in Christ Jesus” (verse 30)?

How should we boast (verse 31)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage reveal an unexpected Savior and/or the unexpected saved?

In your opinion, how is the upside-down picture of the Servant of God as portrayed in Isaiah 42:1-4 continued by the people who are called in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31?

In your opinion, how does the man with the withered hand in Matthew 12:9-21 fit into the people that Paul lists in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31?

2 Peter 1:16-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹⁶ For we did not follow cleverly devised stories when we told you about the coming of our Lord Jesus Christ in power, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty. ¹⁷ He received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, “This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased.” ¹⁸ We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

¹⁹ We also have the prophetic message as something completely reliable, and you will do well to pay attention to it, as to a light shining in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star rises in your hearts. ²⁰ Above all, you must understand that no prophecy of Scripture came about by the prophet’s own interpretation of things. ²¹ For prophecy never had its origin in the human will, but prophets, though human, spoke from God as they were carried along by the Holy Spirit.

Why did Peter not need to follow “cleverly devised stories” when he told about the coming of Jesus Christ (verse 16)?

Who did Jesus receive “honor and glory” from (verse 17)?

What did the voice “from the Majestic Glory” tell Jesus (verse 17)?

Where was Peter when he heard that voice (verse 18)?

What does Peter have that “you will do well to pay attention to” (verse 19)?

Where does “no prophecy of Scripture” come about by (verse 20)?

How do prophets speak (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage reveal an unexpected Savior and/or the unexpected saved?

In your opinion, what does 2 Peter 1:16-21 reveal about the “chosen one” prophesied by Isaiah 42:1-4?

In your opinion, how does the combination of prophecy, mentioned by 2 Peter 1:16-21 and quoted in Matthew 12:9-21, and the eyewitness testimony of both Matthew and Peter, give us something that we “will do well to pay attention to”?

In your opinion, how does being “carried along by the Holy Spirit” as described in 2 Peter 1:16-21 transform and enable us to “boast in the Lord” as Paul instructs in 1 Corinthians 1:26-31? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Matthew, 1 Corinthians, and 2 Peter help us understand God’s Chosen One, ourselves, and the relationship between ourselves and the Chosen One?

In your opinion, how can we, who are chosen, boast today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 28, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – The Mind of Christ

The Mind of Christ

Isaiah 40:12-17 - New International Version (NIV)

¹² Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,
    or with the breadth of his hand marked off the heavens?
Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,
    or weighed the mountains on the scales
    and the hills in a balance?
¹³ Who can fathom the Spirit of the Lord,
    or instruct the Lord as his counselor?
¹⁴ Whom did the Lord consult to enlighten him,
    and who taught him the right way?
Who was it that taught him knowledge,
    or showed him the path of understanding?

¹⁵ Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;
    they are regarded as dust on the scales;
    he weighs the islands as though they were fine dust.
¹⁶ Lebanon is not sufficient for altar fires,
    nor its animals enough for burnt offerings.
¹⁷ Before him all the nations are as nothing;
    they are regarded by him as worthless
    and less than nothing.

In your opinion, who “with the breadth of his hand marked of the heavens” (verse 12)?

In your opinion, who might “instruct the Lord as his counselor” (verse 13)?

What are the nations like (verse 15)?

What are Lebanon’s animals “not enough for” (verse 16)?

Who is “as nothing” before Him (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage help us understand the mind of Christ?

Luke 24:44-49 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁴ He said to them, “This is what I told you while I was still with you: Everything must be fulfilled that is written about me in the Law of Moses, the Prophets and the Psalms.”

⁴⁵ Then he opened their minds so they could understand the Scriptures. ⁴⁶ He told them, “This is what is written: The Messiah will suffer and rise from the dead on the third day, ⁴⁷ and repentance for the forgiveness of sins will be preached in his name to all nations, beginning at Jerusalem. ⁴⁸ You are witnesses of these things. ⁴⁹ I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.”

What had Jesus told them “must be fulfilled” (verse 44)?

How did Jesus change them (verse 45)?

Why did Jesus change them (verse 45)?

What is written that the Messiah will do (verse 46)?

Where will “repentance for the forgiveness of sins” be preached (verse 47)?

What were the disciples (verse 48)?

How long are the disciples to “stay in the city” (verse 48)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage help us understand the mind of Christ?

In your opinion, how does the One that Isaiah 40:12-17 says cannot be fathomed begin the transformation of the disciples in Luke 24:44-49?

Romans 11:33-12:2 - New International Version (NIV)

³³ Oh, the depth of the riches of the wisdom and knowledge of God!
    How unsearchable his judgments,
    and his paths beyond tracing out!
³⁴ “Who has known the mind of the Lord?
    Or who has been his counselor?”
³⁵ “Who has ever given to God,
    that God should repay them?”
³⁶ For from him and through him and for him are all things.
    To him be the glory forever! Amen.

12 ¹Therefore, I urge you, brothers and sisters, in view of God’s mercy, to offer your bodies as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God—this is your true and proper worship. ² Do not conform to the pattern of this world, but be transformed by the renewing of your mind. Then you will be able to test and approve what God’s will is—his good, pleasing and perfect will.

What does Paul say has depth (verse 33)?

In your opinion, “who has known the mind of the Lord” (verse 34)?

What is from and through God (verse 36)?

What does Paul urge be offered “as a living sacrifice, holy and pleasing to God” (verse 1)?

What is “your true and proper worship” (verse 1)?

How should Christians be transformed (verse 2)?

What will Christians be able to do after being transformed (verse 2)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage help us understand the mind of Christ?

In your opinion, how does Romans 11:33-12:2 help us understand how to respond to the One that Isaiah 40:12-17 says that we cannot fathom?

In your opinion, how does the transformation that Jesus began by opening the minds of the disciples in Luke 24:44-49 continued by Paul’s instructions to Christians in Romans 11:33-12:1?

1 Corinthians 2:11-16 – New International Version (NIV)

¹¹ For who knows a person’s thoughts except their own spirit within them? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² What we have received is not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, so that we may understand what God has freely given us. ¹³ This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, explaining spiritual realities with Spirit-taught words. ¹⁴ The person without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God but considers them foolishness, and cannot understand them because they are discerned only through the Spirit. ¹⁵ The person with the Spirit makes judgments about all things, but such a person is not subject to merely human judgments, ¹⁶ for,

“Who has known the mind of the Lord
    so as to instruct him?”

But we have the mind of Christ.

Who knows a person’s thoughts (verse 11)?

Who knows God’s thoughts (verse 11)?

What have Christians received “so that we may understand what God has freely given us” (verse 12)?

Where does what Paul speaks come from (verse 13)?

Who thinks that “the things that come from the Spirit of God” are foolishness (verse 14)?

How are “things that come from the Spirit of God” discerned (verse 14)?

What does the “person with the Spirit” make judgments about (verse 15)?

What do Christians have (verse 16)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage help us understand the mind of Christ?

In your opinion, how is the chasm between people and God that Isaiah 40:12-17 indicates is caused at least in part by the vast difference in knowledge and understanding closed by God in 1 Corinthians 2:11-16?  Does that mean that the chasm has been eliminated for everybody?

In your opinion, what does 1 Corinthians 2:11-16 help us understand about being clothed “with power from on high” that Jesus instructed the disciples to for in Luke 24:44-49?

In your opinion, how is Paul’s instruction in Romans 11:33-12:2 to be “transformed by the renewing of your mind” given more importance by his words in 1 Corinthians 2:11-16? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Luke, Romans, and 1 Corinthians help us understand about the greatness of God?

In your opinion, how are Christians transformed by God’s “good, pleasing and perfect will”?

 

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

January 21, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Enduring Word

Enduring Word

Isaiah 40:6-11 - New International Version (NIV)

⁶ A voice says, “Cry out.”
    And I said, “What shall I cry?”

“All people are like grass,
    and all their faithfulness is like the flowers of the field.
⁷ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
    because the breath of the Lord blows on them.
    Surely the people are grass.
⁸ The grass withers and the flowers fall,
    but the word of our God endures forever.”

⁹ You who bring good news to Zion,
    go up on a high mountain.
You who bring good news to Jerusalem,
    lift up your voice with a shout,
lift it up, do not be afraid;
    say to the towns of Judah,
    “Here is your God!”
¹⁰ See, the Sovereign Lord comes with power,
    and he rules with a mighty arm.
See, his reward is with him,
    and his recompense accompanies him.
¹¹ He tends his flock like a shepherd:
    He gathers the lambs in his arms
and carries them close to his heart;
    he gently leads those that have young.

What did Isaiah ask (verse 6)?

Who is “like grass” (verse 6)?

What does “the breath of the Lordl” do (verse 7)?

What “endures forever” (verse 8)?

What is the one who brings “good news to Jerusalem” to say (verse 9)?

How does “the Sovereign Lord” come (verse 10)?

How does “the Sovereign Lord” carry the lambs (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what will last?

John 10:7-18 – New International Version (NIV)

⁷ Therefore Jesus said again, “Very truly I tell you, I am the gate for the sheep. ⁸ All who have come before me are thieves and robbers, but the sheep have not listened to them. ⁹ I am the gate; whoever enters through me will be saved. They will come in and go out, and find pasture. ¹⁰ The thief comes only to steal and kill and destroy; I have come that they may have life, and have it to the full.

¹¹ “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep. ¹² The hired hand is not the shepherd and does not own the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it. ¹³ The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

¹⁴ “I am the good shepherd; I know my sheep and my sheep know me— ¹⁵ just as the Father knows me and I know the Father—and I lay down my life for the sheep. ¹⁶ I have other sheep that are not of this sheep pen. I must bring them also. They too will listen to my voice, and there shall be one flock and one shepherd. ¹⁷ The reason my Father loves me is that I lay down my life—only to take it up again. ¹⁸ No one takes it from me, but I lay it down of my own accord. I have authority to lay it down and authority to take it up again. This command I received from my Father.”

How did Jesus describe Himself (verse 7)?

Who has come before Him (verse 8)?

What will happen to the one who “enters through” Jesus (verse 9)?

Why did Jesus come (verse 10)?

What does the “good shepherd” do (verse 11)?

Why does the “hired hand” abandon the sheep when he sees the wolf (verses 12 and 13)?

Who do the sheep know (verse 14)?

What does Jesus do (verse 15)?

What will the sheep “that are not of this sheep pen” do (verse 16)?

Why does the “Father” love Jesus (verse 17)?

What does no one take from Jesus (verse 18)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what will last?

In your opinion, how is the hopelessness of “all people are like grass” in Isaiah 40:6-11 transformed by the Good Shepherd in John 10:7-18?

James 1:2-16 - New International Version (NIV)

² Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, ³ because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. ⁴ Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything. ⁵ If any of you lacks wisdom, you should ask God, who gives generously to all without finding fault, and it will be given to you. ⁶ But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. ⁷ That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. ⁸ Such a person is double-minded and unstable in all they do.

⁹ Believers in humble circumstances ought to take pride in their high position. ¹⁰ But the rich should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower. ¹¹ For the sun rises with scorching heat and withers the plant; its blossom falls and its beauty is destroyed. In the same way, the rich will fade away even while they go about their business.

¹² Blessed is the one who perseveres under trial because, having stood the test, that person will receive the crown of life that the Lord has promised to those who love him.

¹³ When tempted, no one should say, “God is tempting me.” For God cannot be tempted by evil, nor does he tempt anyone; ¹⁴ but each person is tempted when they are dragged away by their own evil desire and enticed. ¹⁵ Then, after desire has conceived, it gives birth to sin; and sin, when it is full-grown, gives birth to death.

¹⁶ Don’t be deceived, my dear brothers and sisters. ¹⁷ Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows. ¹⁸ He chose to give us birth through the word of truth, that we might be a kind of firstfruits of all he created.

What should we consider “pure joy” (verse 2)?

Where does perseverance come from (verse 3)?

How do we become “mature and complete, not lacking anything” (verse 4)?

Who gives wisdom “generously to all without finding fault” (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what does it mean to doubt (verse 6)?

Who is “double-minded and unstable in all they do” (verses 6 through 8)?

Who should “take pride in their high position” (verse 9)?

Who should “take pride in their humiliation” (verse 10)?

When will the rich “fade away” (verse 11)?

What will the one who “perseveres under trial” receive (verse 12)?

Who does not tempt anyone (verse 13)?

How is each person tempted (verse 14)?

What does sin give birth to (verse 15)?

Where does “every good and perfect gift” come from (verse 17)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what will last?

In your opinion, how does the withering of grass in Isaiah 40:6-11 help us understand how difficult it is to persevere and how impossible it is to find joy in trials, as James 1:2-16 says we should, without God’s generosity?

In your opinion, how does James 1:2-16 help us understand what Jesus means when He says in John 10:7-18 that He came that “they may have life, and have it to the full”?

1 Peter 1:18-25 – New International Version (NIV)

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.

²² Now that you have purified yourselves by obeying the truth so that you have sincere love for each other, love one another deeply, from the heart. ²³ For you have been born again, not of perishable seed, but of imperishable, through the living and enduring word of God. ²⁴ For,

“All people are like grass,
    and all their glory is like the flowers of the field;
the grass withers and the flowers fall,
²⁵     but the word of the Lord endures forever.”

And this is the word that was preached to you.

What was not used to redeem Christians “from the empty way of life” (verse 18)?

What redeems Christians (verse 19)?

When was Christ chosen (verse 20)?

How do Christians believe in God (verse 21)?

How do Christians purify themselves (verse 22)?

How should Christians love each other (verse 22)?

What has happened “through the living and enduring word of God” (verse 23)?

Who is like grass (verse 24)?

What “endures forever” (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about what will last?

In your opinion, how is the God who rules in Isaiah 40:6-11 revealed to be so much more in 1 Peter 1:18-25?

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 1:18-25 clarify about the purpose of the “good shepherd” of John 10:7-18 laying “down his life for the sheep”?

In your opinion, how does the discussion of perishable things, like silver and gold, in 1 Peter 1:18-25 help us understand why the rich in James 1:2-16 “should take pride in their humiliation—since they will pass away like a wild flower”? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, John, James, and 1 Peter teach us about the contrast of what the world believes will endure and what truly endures?

In your opinion, what does “the word of the Lord endures forever” mean?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)