April 14, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Life Saving Light

Life Saving Light

Isaiah 49:1-7 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ Listen to me, you islands;
    hear this, you distant nations:
Before I was born the Lord called me;
    from my mother’s womb he has spoken my name.
² He made my mouth like a sharpened sword,
    in the shadow of his hand he hid me;
he made me into a polished arrow
    and concealed me in his quiver.
³ He said to me, “You are my servant,
    Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.”
⁴ But I said, “I have labored in vain;
    I have spent my strength for nothing at all.
Yet what is due me is in the Lord’s hand,
    and my reward is with my God.”

⁵ And now the Lord says—
    he who formed me in the womb to be his servant
to bring Jacob back to him
    and gather Israel to himself,
for I am honored in the eyes of the Lord
    and my God has been my strength—
⁶ he says:
“It is too small a thing for you to be my servant
    to restore the tribes of Jacob
    and bring back those of Israel I have kept.
I will also make you a light for the Gentiles,
    that my salvation may reach to the ends of the earth.”

⁷ This is what the Lord says—
    the Redeemer and Holy One of Israel—
to him who was despised and abhorred by the nation,
    to the servant of rulers:
“Kings will see you and stand up,
    princes will see and bow down,
because of the Lord, who is faithful,
    the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen you.”

When did the Lord call the servant (verse 1)?

What did the Lord make the servant’s mouth like (verse 2)?

Who is the servant (verse 3)?

Where is the servant’s reward (verse 4)?

What did the Lord form the servant to do for Jacob and Israel (verse 5)?

Why is the servant being made “a light for the Gentiles” (verse 6)?

Who will “kings see you and stand up, princes will see and bow down” for (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about God’s light and salvation?

Luke 2:25-36 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁵ Now there was a man in Jerusalem called Simeon, who was righteous and devout. He was waiting for the consolation of Israel, and the Holy Spirit was on him. ²⁶ It had been revealed to him by the Holy Spirit that he would not die before he had seen the Lord’s Messiah. ²⁷ Moved by the Spirit, he went into the temple courts. When the parents brought in the child Jesus to do for him what the custom of the Law required, ²⁸ Simeon took him in his arms and praised God, saying:

²⁹ “Sovereign Lord, as you have promised,
    you may now dismiss your servant in peace.
³⁰ For my eyes have seen your salvation,
³¹     which you have prepared in the sight of all nations:
³² a light for revelation to the Gentiles,
    and the glory of your people Israel.”

³³ The child’s father and mother marveled at what was said about him. ³⁴ Then Simeon blessed them and said to Mary, his mother: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel, and to be a sign that will be spoken against, ³⁵ so that the thoughts of many hearts will be revealed. And a sword will pierce your own soul too.”

How was Simeon described (verse 25)?

Who was on Simeon (verse 25)?

What had been revealed to Simeon (verse 26)?

Why did Simeon go “into the temple courts” (verse 27)?

Who did Simeon take “into his arms” (verse 28)?

How did Simeon say that God could “dismiss your servant” (verse 29)?

What had Simeon seen (verse 30)?

Who is the “light for revelation” to (verse 32)?

How did Mary and Joseph react (verse 33)?

Who did Simeon tell “this child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in Israel” (verse 34)?

What will the sword do to Mary (verse 35)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about God’s light and salvation?

In your opinion, how does Simeon transform the prophecy about the light that was given in Isaiah 49:1-7 as he holds Jesus in Luke 2:25-36?

Acts 13:42-52 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴² As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath. ⁴³ When the congregation was dismissed, many of the Jews and devout converts to Judaism followed Paul and Barnabas, who talked with them and urged them to continue in the grace of God.

⁴⁴ On the next Sabbath almost the whole city gathered to hear the word of the Lord. ⁴⁵ When the Jews saw the crowds, they were filled with jealousy. They began to contradict what Paul was saying and heaped abuse on him.

⁴⁶ Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: “We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. ⁴⁷ For this is what the Lord has commanded us:

“‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles,
    that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”

⁴⁸ When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed.

⁴⁹ The word of the Lord spread through the whole region. ⁵⁰ But the Jewish leaders incited the God-fearing women of high standing and the leading men of the city. They stirred up persecution against Paul and Barnabas, and expelled them from their region. ⁵¹ So they shook the dust off their feet as a warning to them and went to Iconium. ⁵² And the disciples were filled with joy and with the Holy Spirit.

Where were Paul and Barnabas leaving when “the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath” (verse 42)?

What did Paul and Barnabas urge the Jews and devout converts to Judaism to continue in (verse 43)?

Who gathered “on the next Sabbath” (verse 44)?

How did the Jews react when they “saw the crowds” (verse 45)?

Why did Paul and Barnabas “now turn to the Gentiles” (verse 46)?

Who did Paul and Barnabas say that the Lord commanded them to be (verse 47)?

What did “all who were appointed for eternal life” do (verse 48)?

Where did the “word of the Lord” spread to (verse 49)?

Who did the Jewish leaders incite (verse 50)?

Why did they shake “the dust off their feet” (verse 51)?

Who filled the disciples (verse 52)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about God’s light and salvation?

In your opinion, what happened in Acts 13:42-52 that cause Paul and Barnabas to move from what Isaiah 49:1-7 said was “too small a thing” to bringing the message of salvation to the Gentiles? 

In your opinion, how does Simeon’s praise to God in Luke 2:25-36 become a reality in Acts 13:42-52?

1 John 1:5-2:2 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵ This is the message we have heard from him and declare to you: God is light; in him there is no darkness at all. ⁶ If we claim to have fellowship with him and yet walk in the darkness, we lie and do not live out the truth. ⁷ But if we walk in the light, as he is in the light, we have fellowship with one another, and the blood of Jesus, his Son, purifies us from all sin.

⁸ If we claim to be without sin, we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. ⁹ If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. ¹⁰ If we claim we have not sinned, we make him out to be a liar and his word is not in us.

2 ¹My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have an advocate with the Father—Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. ² He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

What message does John declare (verse 5)?

When do “we lie and do not live out the truth” (verse 6)?

What does “the blood of Jesus” do for those “walk in the light, as he is in the light” (verse 7)?

When is “the truth” not in us (verse 8)?

What happens when “we confess our sins” (verse 9)?

What happens “if we claim we have not sinned” (verse 10)?

Who is our “advocate with the Father” (verse 1)?

Who is “the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world” (verse 2)”

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

In your opinion, what does this passage reveal about God’s light and salvation?

In your opinion, how does 1 John 1:5-2:2 show the personal aspect of the “salvation” that Isaiah 49:1-7 says may “reach to the ends of the earth”?

In your opinion, what does 1 John 1:5-2:2 reveal about how the salvation that Simeon said that he had seen in Luke 2:25-36 is accomplished?

In your opinion, what does 1 John 1:5-2:2 help us understand about the Jews who opposed Paul and Barnabas in Acts 13:42-52? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Luke, Acts, and 1 John help us understand about how God’s light spread?

In your opinion, how does God’s light lead to individual salvation?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

April 7, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Bowing Today and Tomorrow

Bowing Today and Tomorrow

Isaiah 45:20-25 - New International Version (NIV)

²⁰ “Gather together and come;
    assemble, you fugitives from the nations.
Ignorant are those who carry about idols of wood,
    who pray to gods that cannot save.
²¹ Declare what is to be, present it—
    let them take counsel together.
Who foretold this long ago,
    who declared it from the distant past?
Was it not I, the Lord?
    And there is no God apart from me,
a righteous God and a Savior;
    there is none but me.

²² “Turn to me and be saved,
    all you ends of the earth;
    for I am God, and there is no other.
²³ By myself I have sworn,
    my mouth has uttered in all integrity
    a word that will not be revoked:
Before me every knee will bow;
    by me every tongue will swear.
²⁴ They will say of me, ‘In the Lord alone
    are deliverance and strength.’”
All who have raged against him
    will come to him and be put to shame.
²⁵ But all the descendants of Israel
    will find deliverance in the Lord
    and will make their boast in him.

 

Who does the Lord call to “gather together and come” (verse 20)?

Who “foretold this long ago” (verse 21)?

What does God command us to do in order to “be saved” (verse 22)?

What will not happen to the word that God “uttered in all integrity” (verse 23)?

Where will “every knee” bow (verse 23)?

What will they say is “in the Lord alone” (verse 24)?

Who will “find deliverance in the Lord and will make their boast in the Lord” (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage reveal what changes for us today if we trust in the One that everyone will bow to in the future?

John 5:24-30 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁴ “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life. ²⁵ Very truly I tell you, a time is coming and has now come when the dead will hear the voice of the Son of God and those who hear will live. ²⁶ For as the Father has life in himself, so he has granted the Son also to have life in himself. ²⁷ And he has given him authority to judge because he is the Son of Man.

²⁸ “Do not be amazed at this, for a time is coming when all who are in their graves will hear his voice ²⁹ and come out—those who have done what is good will rise to live, and those who have done what is evil will rise to be condemned. ³⁰ By myself I can do nothing; I judge only as I hear, and my judgment is just, for I seek not to please myself but him who sent me.

Who “has eternal life” (verse 24)?

What will not happen to the one who “has eternal life” (verse 24)?

What has the one who “has eternal life” done (verse 24)?

What time “has now come” (verse 25)?

Who has “life in himself” (two answers) (verse 26)?

Why has the Father given the Son “authority to judge” (verses 26 and 27)?

What “time is coming” (verse 28)?

Who will “rise to live” (verse 29)?

Who will “rise to be condemned” (verse 29)?

What can Jesus do by Himself (verse 30)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage reveal what changes for us today if we trust in the One that everyone will bow to in the future?

In your opinion, how does John 5:24-30 help us understand that the deliverance that Isaiah 45:20-25 says is “in the Lord alone”?

Romans 14:5-13 - New International Version (NIV)

⁵ One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. ⁶ Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. ⁷ For none of us lives for ourselves alone, and none of us dies for ourselves alone. ⁸ If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord. ⁹ For this very reason, Christ died and returned to life so that he might be the Lord of both the dead and the living.

¹⁰ You, then, why do you judge your brother or sister? Or why do you treat them with contempt? For we will all stand before God’s judgment seat. ¹¹ It is written:

“‘As surely as I live,’ says the Lord,
‘every knee will bow before me;
    every tongue will acknowledge God.’”

¹² So then, each of us will give an account of ourselves to God.

¹³ Therefore let us stop passing judgment on one another. Instead, make up your mind not to put any stumbling block or obstacle in the way of a brother or sister. 

What should both the person who “considers one day more sacred than another” and the person who “considers every day alike” each be (verse 5)?

Who “does so to the Lord” (three answers) (verse 6)?

How many of us live “for ourselves alone” (verse 7)?

Who do we live for “if we live” (verse 8)?

Who do we die for “if we die” (verse 8)?

Why did Christ die and return to life (verse 9)?

Where will all stand (verse 10)?

What will every tongue do (verse 11)?

Who will each of us “give an account of ourselves” to (verse 12)?

Who should we “stop passing judgment” on (verse 13)?

What should we “make up our mind” not to do (verse 13)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage reveal what changes for us today if we trust in the One that everyone will bow to in the future?

In your opinion, how does the focus of calling people to turn from the world to God in the statement “Before me every knee will bow; by me every tongue will swear” of Isaiah 45:20-25 change to “stop passing judgment on one another” as the focus in the same statement of Romans 14:5-13?

In your opinion, how can Romans 14:5-13 say that we will all “stand before God’s judgment seat” after Jesus promised in John 5:24-30 that “whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life”?

1 Peter 4:1-6 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ Therefore, since Christ suffered in his body, arm yourselves also with the same attitude, because whoever suffers in the body is done with sin. ² As a result, they do not live the rest of their earthly lives for evil human desires, but rather for the will of God. ³ For you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do—living in debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry. ⁴ They are surprised that you do not join them in their reckless, wild living, and they heap abuse on you. ⁵ But they will have to give account to him who is ready to judge the living and the dead. ⁶ For this is the reason the gospel was preached even to those who are now dead, so that they might be judged according to human standards in regard to the body, but live according to God in regard to the spirit.

How should we respond to Christ suffering “in his body” (verse 1)?

Who is “done with sin” (verse 1)?

What do those who are “done with sin” live for (verses 1 and 2)?

Who lives in “debauchery, lust, drunkenness, orgies, carousing and detestable idolatry” (verse 3)?

What happens when people are “surprised that you do not join them in the reckless, wild living” (verse 4)?

Who will they “have to give account” to (verse 5)?

Why was the gospel “preached even to those who are now dead” (verse 6)?

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

In your opinion, how does this passage reveal what changes for us today if we trust in the One that everyone will bow to in the future?

In your opinion, how is the invitation and the result of ignoring the invitation the same for those who Isaiah 45:20-25 says “pray to gods who cannot save” and those that 1 Peter 4:1-6 calls “pagans”?

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 4:1-6 reveal about the life that John 4:24-30 says we will receive when we hear the Word of Jesus, and believe Him who sent Jesus, and cross “over from death to life”?

In your opinion, how does knowing that the “pagans” of 1 Peter 4:1-6 will heap abuse on Christians help us understand why Romans 14:5-13 instructs us to “stop passing judgment on one another”? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, John, Romans, and 1 Peter help us understand about the things that God has already done and the things He is going to do?

In your opinion, how can we “live according to God” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 31, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Words and Wondering

Words and Wondering

Isaiah 55:1-11 - New International Version (NIV)

¹ “Come, all you who are thirsty,
    come to the waters;
and you who have no money,
    come, buy and eat!
Come, buy wine and milk
    without money and without cost.
² Why spend money on what is not bread,
    and your labor on what does not satisfy?
Listen, listen to me, and eat what is good,
    and you will delight in the richest of fare.
³ Give ear and come to me;
    listen, that you may live.
I will make an everlasting covenant with you,
    my faithful love promised to David.
⁴ See, I have made him a witness to the peoples,
    a ruler and commander of the peoples.
⁵ Surely you will summon nations you know not,
    and nations you do not know will come running to you,
because of the Lord your God,
    the Holy One of Israel,
    for he has endowed you with splendor.”

⁶ Seek the Lord while he may be found;
    call on him while he is near.
⁷ Let the wicked forsake their ways
    and the unrighteous their thoughts.
Let them turn to the Lord, and he will have mercy on them,
    and to our God, for he will freely pardon.

⁸ “For my thoughts are not your thoughts,
    neither are your ways my ways,”
declares the Lord.
⁹ “As the heavens are higher than the earth,
    so are my ways higher than your ways
    and my thoughts than your thoughts.
¹⁰ As the rain and the snow
    come down from heaven,
and do not return to it
    without watering the earth
and making it bud and flourish,
    so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for the eater,
¹¹ so is my word that goes out from my mouth:
    It will not return to me empty,
but will accomplish what I desire
    and achieve the purpose for which I sent it.

 

Who are to “come to the waters” (verse 1)?

What was “promised to David” (verse 3)?

Who is He made “a witness to” (verse 4)?

Who will “come running to you” (verse 5)?

When should we “seek the Lord” (verse 6)?

What will happen to the wicked and the unrighteous if they “turn to the Lord” (verse 7)?

What are not our thoughts or our ways (verse 8)?

How different are the Lord’s ways than our ways (verse 9)?

What do the rain and snow do before returning to heaven (verse 10)?

What will the “word that goes out” from God’s mouth accomplish (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, which words of this passage are important to remember in the times we wonder what is happening?

Luke 24:1-12 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. ² They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, ³ but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. ⁴ While they were wondering about this, suddenly two men in clothes that gleamed like lightning stood beside them. ⁵ In their fright the women bowed down with their faces to the ground, but the men said to them, “Why do you look for the living among the dead? ⁶ He is not here; he has risen! Remember how he told you, while he was still with you in Galilee: ⁷ ‘The Son of Man must be delivered over to the hands of sinners, be crucified and on the third day be raised again.’ ” ⁸ Then they remembered his words.

⁹ When they came back from the tomb, they told all these things to the Eleven and to all the others. ¹⁰ It was Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary the mother of James, and the others with them who told this to the apostles. ¹¹ But they did not believe the women, because their words seemed to them like nonsense. ¹² Peter, however, got up and ran to the tomb. Bending over, he saw the strips of linen lying by themselves, and he went away, wondering to himself what had happened.

When did the women take “the spices they had prepared” to the tomb (verse 1)?

What did they find (verse 2)?

What did they not find (verse 3)?

Who appeared “while they were wondering about this” (verse 4)?

How did the women react (verse 5)?

Why was Jesus not in the tomb (verse 6)?

What had Jesus told them while they were in Galilee (verse 7)?

Who did they tell “all these things” to (verse 9)?

Who were the women (verse 10)?

Why did the Eleven not believe the women (verse 11)?

What was Peter doing when he left the tomb, after seeing “the strips of linen lying by themselves” (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, which words of this passage are important to remember in the times we wonder what is happening?

In your opinion, how is the truth that the women told on Easter morning that seemed to the Eleven to be nonsense in Luke 24:1-12 the fulfillment of the “faithful love promised to David” in Isaiah 55:1-11?

Acts 13:32-41 – New International Version (NIV)

³² “We tell you the good news: What God promised our ancestors ³³ he has fulfilled for us, their children, by raising up Jesus. As it is written in the second Psalm:

“‘You are my son;
    today I have become your father.’

³⁴ God raised him from the dead so that he will never be subject to decay. As God has said,

“‘I will give you the holy and sure blessings promised to David.’

³⁵ So it is also stated elsewhere:

“‘You will not let your holy one see decay.’

³⁶ “Now when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation, he fell asleep; he was buried with his ancestors and his body decayed. ³⁷ But the one whom God raised from the dead did not see decay.

³⁸ “Therefore, my friends, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you. ³⁹ Through him everyone who believes is set free from every sin, a justification you were not able to obtain under the law of Moses. ⁴⁰ Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you:

⁴¹ “‘Look, you scoffers,
    wonder and perish,
for I am going to do something in your days
    that you would never believe,
    even if someone told you.’”

What is Paul telling (verse 32)?

How has God fulfilled what was “promised to our ancestors” (verses 32 and 33)?

Why will He “never be subject to decay” (verse 34)?

Who did God promise the “holy and sure blessings” to (verse 34)?

What will the “holy one” not see (verse 35)?

What happened “when David had served God’s purpose in his own generation” (verse 36)?

Who “did not see decay” (verse 37)?

What is proclaimed “through Jesus” (verse 38)?

Who “is set free from every sin” (verse 39)?

Who will “wonder and perish” because they will never believe (verse 41)?

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

In your opinion, which words of this passage are important to remember in the times we wonder what is happening?

 

In your opinion, how does Acts 13:32-41 prove the truth of Isaiah 55:1-11 that God’s word does “accomplish what” He desires, achieves “the purpose for which” He sent it, and fulfills the “faithful love promised to David”?

In your opinion, how does Paul in Acts 13:32-41 help us in our wondering as Peter did in Luke 24:1-12 about “what had happened” that the strips of linen were lying by themselves in an empty tomb?

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.

Who does Paul serve (verse 1)?

What is Paul “set apart for” (verse 1)?

How was the gospel “promised beforehand” (verse 2)?

Who is God’s Son “as to his earthly life” (verse 3)?

Who was Jesus appointed as “in power by his resurrection from the dead” (verse 4)?

Why did Paul receive “grace and apostleship” (verse 5)?

Who are the people Paul is writing to (verse 6)?

What blessing does Paul give to those he is writing to who have been “called to be his holy people” (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, which words of this passage are important to remember in the times we wonder what is happening?

In your opinion, how does God through Isaiah in Isaiah 55:1-11 lay the groundwork for Paul to claim in Romans 1:1-7 that the “descendent of David” has been appointed “the Son of God in power by his resurrection from the dead” who calls Gentiles to obedience?

In your opinion, how does Paul in Romans 1:1-7 use the empty tomb of Luke 24:1-12 to define who Jesus is appointed to be?

In your opinion, how is the resurrection at the heart of the good news of Acts 13:32-41 and the gospel of Romans 1:1-7? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Luke, Acts and Romans teach us about the high thoughts and transforming love of God as displayed by the empty tomb?

In your opinion, how does remembering God’s words, like the women at the tomb help us when we wonder about things today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)