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)