May 5, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Clean Feet and Pure Heart

Clean Feet and Pure Heart

Isaiah 52:10-15 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁰ The Lord will lay bare his holy arm
    in the sight of all the nations,
and all the ends of the earth will see
    the salvation of our God.

¹¹ Depart, depart, go out from there!
    Touch no unclean thing!
Come out from it and be pure,
    you who carry the articles of the Lord’s house.
¹² But you will not leave in haste
    or go in flight;
for the Lord will go before you,
    the God of Israel will be your rear guard.

¹³ See, my servant will act wisely;
    he will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.
¹⁴ Just as there were many who were appalled at him—
    his appearance was so disfigured beyond that of any human being
    and his form marred beyond human likeness—
¹⁵ so he will sprinkle many nations,
    and kings will shut their mouths because of him.
For what they were not told, they will see,
    and what they have not heard, they will understand.

 

What will “all the ends of the earth” see (verse 10)?

What are people not to do when they “depart, depart, go out from there” (verse 11)?

Who will go before the people (verse 12)?

Who will be “your rear guard” (verse 12)?

What will happen to God’s servant (verse 13)?

Why were many “appalled at him” (verse 14)?

Who will “shut their mouths because of him” (verse 15)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about being clean and pure?

John 13:1-11 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ It was just before the Passover Festival. Jesus knew that the hour had come for him to leave this world and go to the Father. Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end.

² The evening meal was in progress, and the devil had already prompted Judas, the son of Simon Iscariot, to betray Jesus. ³ Jesus knew that the Father had put all things under his power, and that he had come from God and was returning to God; ⁴ so he got up from the meal, took off his outer clothing, and wrapped a towel around his waist. ⁵ After that, he poured water into a basin and began to wash his disciples’ feet, drying them with the towel that was wrapped around him.

⁶ He came to Simon Peter, who said to him, “Lord, are you going to wash my feet?”

⁷ Jesus replied, “You do not realize now what I am doing, but later you will understand.”

⁸ “No,” said Peter, “you shall never wash my feet.”

Jesus answered, “Unless I wash you, you have no part with me.”

⁹ “Then, Lord,” Simon Peter replied, “not just my feet but my hands and my head as well!”

¹⁰ Jesus answered, “Those who have had a bath need only to wash their feet; their whole body is clean. And you are clean, though not every one of you.” ¹¹ For he knew who was going to betray him, and that was why he said not every one was clean.

What did Jesus know (verse 1)?

Who did Jesus love to the end (verse 1)?

What had the devil already done (verse 2)?

What did Jesus know (verse 3)?

Where had Jesus come from, and where was He going (verse 3)?

What did Jesus begin to do (verse 5)?

Who ask “Lord, are you going to wash my feet” (verse 6)?

How did Jesus answer (verse 7)?

What had to happen for Peter to “have a part of” Jesus (verse 8)?

What did Peter ask for (verse 9)?

In your opinion, what can we learn from Jesus statement “and you are clean, though not every one of you” (verse 10)?

What did Jesus know (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about being clean and pure?

In your opinion, how is the purity that Isaiah 52:10-15 commands different from the cleanliness that Jesus gives in John 13:1-11?

2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 - New International Version (NIV)

¹⁴ Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? ¹⁵ What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? Or what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? ¹⁶ What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For we are the temple of the living God. As God has said:

“I will live with them
    and walk among them,
and I will be their God,
    and they will be my people.”

¹⁷ Therefore,

“Come out from them
    and be separate,
says the Lord.
Touch no unclean thing,
    and I will receive you.”

¹⁸ And,

“I will be a Father to you,
    and you will be my sons and daughters,
says the Lord Almighty.”

¹ Therefore, since we have these promises, dear friends, let us purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God.

Who are Christians not to be yoked with (verse 14)?

In your opinion, “what does a believer have in common with an unbeliever” (verse 15)?

Where does God walk (verse 16)?

In your opinion, who is to “come out from them and be separate” (verse 17)?

Who will Christians be (verse 18)?

How should Christians respond to “these promises” (verse 1)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about being clean and pure?

In your opinion, how does Isaiah 52:10-15’s call for the Jewish people to “go out from there” help us understand 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1’s call for Christians to “come out from them and be separate”?

In your opinion, how does John 13:1-11 help us understand how we “purify ourselves” as instructed by 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1? 

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 each time he remembers the Philippian Christians (verse 3)?

Why does Paul pray for them “with joy” (verses 4 and 5)?

What is Paul confident of (verse 6)?

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

What do the Philippian Christians share with Paul (verse 7)?

How does Paul “long for” them (verse 8)?

What is Paul’s prayer for them (verse 9)?

What does Paul want them to “be able to discern” (verse 10)?

What fruit does Paul want 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 being clean and pure?

In your opinion, how does the fulfillment of Isaiah 52:10-15’s promise that God would “go before” and also be the “rearguard” for the returning Jews help us today have confidence in Philippians 1:3-11’s promise that “he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus”?

In your opinion, how does John 13:1-11 help us “discern what is best” as discussed in Philippians 1:3-11?

In your opinion, how does Philippians 1:3-11 help us understand how we can follow the instruction of 2 Corinthians 6:14-7:1 to “purify ourselves from everything that contaminates body and spirit, perfecting holiness out of reverence for God”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, John, 2 Corinthians, and Philippians teach us about being separate from the world today?

In your opinion, how do our lives show we are filled with “the fruit of righteousness” today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

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)

August 19, 2018 – Wisdom from Ecclesiastes and the Sermon on the Mount – Meaningless Toil or Abounding Love

Meaningless Toil or Abounding Love

Ecclesiastes 2:17-26 - New International Version (NIV)      

¹⁷ So I hated life, because the work that is done under the sun was grievous to me. All of it is meaningless, a chasing after the wind. ¹⁸ I hated all the things I had toiled for under the sun, because I must leave them to the one who comes after me. ¹⁹ And who knows whether that person will be wise or foolish? Yet they will have control over all the fruit of my toil into which I have poured my effort and skill under the sun. This too is meaningless. ²⁰ So my heart began to despair over all my toilsome labor under the sun. ²¹ For a person may labor with wisdom, knowledge and skill, and then they must leave all they own to another who has not toiled for it. This too is meaningless and a great misfortune. ²² What do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor under the sun? ²³ All their days their work is grief and pain; even at night their minds do not rest. This too is meaningless.

²⁴ A person can do nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil. This too, I see, is from the hand of God, ²⁵ for without him, who can eat or find enjoyment? ²⁶ To the person who pleases him, God gives wisdom, knowledge and happiness, but to the sinner he gives the task of gathering and storing up wealth to hand it over to the one who pleases God. This too is meaningless, a chasing after the wind.

Why did the Teacher hate life (verse 17)?

How did the Teacher feel about the things he “had toiled for under the sun” (verse 18)?

What was going to happen to the things the Teacher toiled for (verse 18)?

In your opinion, why does it matter to the Teacher if the person he leaves his things to is “wise or foolish” (verse 19)?

What did the Teacher’s heart begin to despair over (verse 20)?

Who must the person who labors “with wisdom, knowledge and skill” leave all they own to (verse 21)?

In your opinion, “whot do people get for all the toil and anxious striving with which they labor  under the sun” (verse 22)?

What does not rest at night (verse 23)?

What is from “the hand of God” (verse 24)?

In your opinion, without God “who can eat or find enjoyment” (verse 25)?

Who does God give “wisdom, knowledge and happiness” to (verse 26}?

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

Matthew 7:7-12 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. ⁸ For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

⁹ “Which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone? ¹⁰ Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake? ¹¹ If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him! ¹² So in everything, do to others what you would have them do to you, for this sums up the Law and the Prophets.

What will happen if you ask for something (verse 7)?

What will happen if you seek something (verse 7)?

What will happen if you knock (verse 7)?

Who receives (verse 8)?

Who finds (verse 8)?

For whom is the door opened (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what does Jesus mean when He asks “which of you, if your son asks for bread, will give him a stone” and “if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake” (verses 9 and 10)?

In your opinion, what point is Jesus making when He says “if you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him” (verse 11)?

What sums up “the Law and the Prophets” (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the Teacher’s view in Ecclesiastes 2:17-26 about who God will give “wisdom, knowledge and happiness” to and Jesus’s statement in Matthew 7:7-12 about who “your Father in heaven” will give good gifts to?

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.

When does Paul thank God for the Philippian Christians (verse 3)?

How does Paul pray when he prays for the Philippian Christians (verse 4)?

How have the Philippin Christians been partners with Paul (verse 5)?

What is Paul confident of (verse 6)?

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

What can God testify to (verse 8)?

In your opinion, what does Paul mean when he prays “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” (verse 9)?

What will the Philippian Christians be able to discern if their love abounds “more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” (verse 10)?

Where does the “fruit of righteousness” come from (verse 11)?

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

In your opinion, how is the Teacher’s statement that a person can do “nothing better than to eat and drink and find satisfaction in their own toil” in Ecclesiastes 2:17-26 different from Paul’s prayer “that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” in Philippians 1:3-11?

In your opinion, how does Paul’s prayer that “your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ” in Philippians 1:3-11 begin to help us understand Jesus statement in Matthew 7:7-12 that “how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who ask him”?

Philemon 1:4-7 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴ I always thank my God as I remember you in my prayers, ⁵ because I hear about your love for all his holy people and your faith in the Lord Jesus. ⁶ I pray that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ. ⁷ Your love has given me great joy and encouragement, because you, brother, have refreshed the hearts of the Lord’s people.

What does Paul always do when he remembers Philemon in his prayers (verse 4)?

What does Paul hear about Philemon (verse 5)?

In your opinion, what is Paul asking for when he prays that Philemon will be deepened in “understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ” (verse 6)?

What has given Paul “great joy and encouragement” (verse 7)?

What has Philemon done (verse 7)?

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

In your opinion, what is the difference between the view of the Teacher who “hated all the things I had toiled for” and found toil to be meaningless in Ecclesiastes 2:17-26 and Philemon’s giving “great joy and encouragement” to Paul and refreshing “the hearts of the Lord’s people” in Philemon 1:4-7?

In your opinion, how might Philemon giving “great joy and encouragement” to Paul in Philemon 1:4-7 help us to understand more about the gifts that Jesus says the Father will give to “to those who ask him” in Matthew 7:7-12?

In your opinion, what can we learn from the similarity of Paul’s prayer in Philippians 1:3-11 that “your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight” and his prayer in Philemon 1:4-7 “that your partnership with us in the faith may be effective in deepening your understanding of every good thing we share for the sake of Christ”?

In your opinion, what do these passages from Ecclesiastes, Matthew, Philippians and Philemon teach us about how to discern what is a “stone” or a “snake” that we might ask God for and what is a good gift like “bread” or “fish” God would give us instead?

In your opinion, how can we move from a focus of toiling meaninglessly for ourselves to abounding in “love for all his holy people” and “faith in the Lord Jesus”?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)