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)