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)

March 24, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Following the Truth

Following the Truth

Isaiah 53:7-12 - New International Version (NIV)

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.
⁹ He was assigned a grave with the wicked,
    and with the rich in his death,
though he had done no violence,
    nor was any deceit in his mouth.

¹⁰ Yet it was the Lord’s will to crush him and cause him to suffer,
    and though the Lord makes his life an offering for sin,
he will see his offspring and prolong his days,
    and the will of the Lord will prosper in his hand.
¹¹ After he has suffered,
    he will see the light of life and be satisfied;
by his knowledge my righteous servant will justify many,
    and he will bear their iniquities.
¹² Therefore I will give him a portion among the great,
    and he will divide the spoils with the strong,
because he poured out his life unto death,
    and was numbered with the transgressors.
For he bore the sin of many,
    and made intercession for the transgressors.

 

When did the Servant “not open his mouth” (verse 7)? (two answers)

Why was He punished (verse 8)?

What had He not done (verse 9)?

Where was there no deceit (verse 9)?

What was it “the Lord’s will” to do (verse 10)?

Where will “the will of the Lord” prosper (verse 10)?

What will “my righteous servant” bear (verse 11)?

Who did He make intercession for (verse 12)?

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

In your opinion, what truth does this passage teach us about Jesus?

John 18:28-40 – New International Version (NIV)

²⁸ Then the Jewish leaders took Jesus from Caiaphas to the palace of the Roman governor. By now it was early morning, and to avoid ceremonial uncleanness they did not enter the palace, because they wanted to be able to eat the Passover. ²⁹ So Pilate came out to them and asked, “What charges are you bringing against this man?”

³⁰ “If he were not a criminal,” they replied, “we would not have handed him over to you.”

³¹ Pilate said, “Take him yourselves and judge him by your own law.”

“But we have no right to execute anyone,” they objected. ³² This took place to fulfill what Jesus had said about the kind of death he was going to die.

³³ Pilate then went back inside the palace, summoned Jesus and asked him, “Are you the king of the Jews?”

³⁴ “Is that your own idea,” Jesus asked, “or did others talk to you about me?”

³⁵ “Am I a Jew?” Pilate replied. “Your own people and chief priests handed you over to me. What is it you have done?”

³⁶ Jesus said, “My kingdom is not of this world. If it were, my servants would fight to prevent my arrest by the Jewish leaders. But now my kingdom is from another place.”

³⁷ “You are a king, then!” said Pilate.

Jesus answered, “You say that I am a king. In fact, the reason I was born and came into the world is to testify to the truth. Everyone on the side of truth listens to me.”

³⁸ “What is truth?” retorted Pilate. With this he went out again to the Jews gathered there and said, “I find no basis for a charge against him. ³⁹ But it is your custom for me to release to you one prisoner at the time of the Passover. Do you want me to release ‘the king of the Jews’?”

⁴⁰ They shouted back, “No, not him! Give us Barabbas!” Now Barabbas had taken part in an uprising.

Why did the Jewish leaders not enter the palace (verse 28)?

Who ask “what charges are you bringing against this man” (verse 29)?

What charges did the Jewish leaders list (verse 30)?

Why did the Jewish leaders not want to judge Jesus by their law (verse 31)?

What did Pilate ask Jesus (verse 33)?

In your opinion, why did Jesus ask Pilate “is that your own idea” (verse 34)?

In your opinion, why does Pilate ask Jesus “what is it you have done” (verse 35)?

Why did Jesus’s servants not fight to prevent Jesus’s arrest (verse 36)?

Who listens to Jesus (verse 37)?

What “basis for a charge” did Pilate find against Jesus (verse 38)?

What custom did the Jews have (verse 39)?

Which prisoner did the Jews want to be released (verse 40)?

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

In your opinion, what truth does this passage teach us about Jesus?

In your opinion, how is the accuracy of Isaiah 53:7-12’s statement that “he had done no violence” validated by the Jewish leaders in John 18:28-40?

Hebrews 7:23-28 – New International Version (NIV)

²² Because of this oath, Jesus has become the guarantor of a better covenant.

²³ Now there have been many of those priests, since death prevented them from continuing in office; ²⁴ but because Jesus lives forever, he has a permanent priesthood. ²⁵ Therefore he is able to save completely those who come to God through him, because he always lives to intercede for them.

²⁶ Such a high priest truly meets our need—one who is holy, blameless, pure, set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. ²⁷ Unlike the other high priests, he does not need to offer sacrifices day after day, first for his own sins, and then for the sins of the people. He sacrificed for their sins once for all when he offered himself. ²⁸ For the law appoints as high priests men in all their weakness; but the oath, which came after the law, appointed the Son, who has been made perfect forever.

What has Jesus become (verse 22)?

Why have there “been many of those priests” (verse 23)?

Why does Jesus have a “permanent priesthood” (verse 24)?

Who is Jesus “able to save completely” (verse 25)?

What kind of high priest “truly meets our need” (verse 26)?

How is Jesus different from “other high priests” (verse 27)?

How many times did Jesus sacrifice for “their sins” (verse 28)?

Who does the law appoint as high priests (verse 29)?

Who “has been made perfect forever” (verse 29)?

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

In your opinion, what truth does this passage teach us about Jesus?

In your opinion, what does Hebrews 7:23-28 help us understand about what the innocent servant who “is led like a lamb to the slaughter” according to Isaiah 53:7-12 is able to accomplish?

In your opinion, why is the title of High Priest given to Jesus in Hebrews 7:23-28 more appropriate than the title of king that Pilate tried to give Him during the trial in John 18:28-40?

1 Peter 2:21-25 – New International Version (NIV)

²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²² “He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴ “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” ²⁵ For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Who did Christ suffer for (verse 21)?

Why did Christ leave “an example” (verse 21)?

What did Jesus not commit (verse 22)?

When did Jesus “not retaliate” (verse 23)?

Who did Jesus entrust Himself to (verse 23)?

Why did Jesus bear “our sins” in his body on the cross” (verse 24)?

How have we “been healed” (verse 24)?

Who have we “returned to” (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, what truth does this passage teach us about Jesus?

In your opinion, how does 1 Peter 2:21-25 show that Jesus fulfilled the prophecies of Isaiah 53:7-12?

In your opinion, how does Pilate saying he “finds no basis for a charge” but then attempting to release Jesus through a custom of the Jews instead of just releasing Him in John 18:28-40 reinforce why we should trust “him who judges justly” as Jesus did in 1 Peter 2:21-25?

In your opinion, how does Hebrews 7:23-28 reveal what Jesus had to do so that “we might die to sins and live for righteousness” as proclaimed in 1 Peter 2:21-25? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, John, Hebrews and 1 Peter teach us about what we should not “fight” for today?

In your opinion, how can we follow in the steps of the High Priest who is also the Lamb today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 17, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – Silence Speaks

Silence Speaks

Isaiah 53:4-8 - New International Version (NIV)

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.
⁶ We all, like sheep, have gone astray,
    each of us has turned to our own way;
and the Lord has laid on him
    the iniquity of us all.

⁷ He was oppressed and afflicted,
    yet he did not open his mouth;
he was led like a lamb to the slaughter,
    and as a sheep before its shearers is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
⁸ By oppression and judgment he was taken away.
    Yet who of his generation protested?
For he was cut off from the land of the living;
    for the transgression of my people he was punished.

Who did we consider the servant punished by (verse 4)?

What brought us peace (verse 5)?

Where have “we all” gone (verse 6)?

What did He “not open” (verse 7)?

How was He led (verse 7)?

What happened “by oppression and judgment” (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about knowing when to respond with silence or with words?

Mark 14:53-65 – New International Version (NIV)

⁵³ They took Jesus to the high priest, and all the chief priests, the elders and the teachers of the law came together. ⁵⁴ Peter followed him at a distance, right into the courtyard of the high priest. There he sat with the guards and warmed himself at the fire.

⁵⁵ The chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin were looking for evidence against Jesus so that they could put him to death, but they did not find any. ⁵⁶ Many testified falsely against him, but their statements did not agree.

⁵⁷ Then some stood up and gave this false testimony against him: ⁵⁸ “We heard him say, ‘I will destroy this temple made with human hands and in three days will build another, not made with hands.’” ⁵⁹ Yet even then their testimony did not agree.

⁶⁰ Then the high priest stood up before them and asked Jesus, “Are you not going to answer? What is this testimony that these men are bringing against you?” ⁶¹ But Jesus remained silent and gave no answer.

Again the high priest asked him, “Are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One?”

⁶² “I am,” said Jesus. “And you will see the Son of Man sitting at the right hand of the Mighty One and coming on the clouds of heaven.”

⁶³ The high priest tore his clothes. “Why do we need any more witnesses?” he asked. ⁶⁴ “You have heard the blasphemy. What do you think?”

They all condemned him as worthy of death. ⁶⁵ Then some began to spit at him; they blindfolded him, struck him with their fists, and said, “Prophesy!” And the guards took him and beat him.

Who “came together” (verse 53)?

How did Peter follow (verse 54)?

What were the “chief priests and the whole Sanhedrin” looking for (verse 55)?

Whose statements “did not agree” (verse 56)?

Who ask Jesus “are you not going to answer” (verse 60)?

How did Jesus respond to the question (verse 61)?

Who ask Jesus “are you the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One” (verse 61)?

How did Jesus answer this question (verse 62)?

What did the high priest do (verse 63)?

What did they view Jesus “as worthy of” (verse 64)?

What did they begin to do to Jesus (verse 65)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about knowing when to respond with silence or with words?

In your opinion, when He was being questioned, how is Jesus’s silence in Mark 14:53-65 a fulfillment of the prophecy that He would be silent “as a sheep before its shearers” in Isaiah 53:4-8? 

In your opinion, why was Jesus silent before the high priest’s first question, but then answered the second?

Acts 8:30-39 – New International Version (NIV)

³⁰ Then Philip ran up to the chariot and heard the man reading Isaiah the prophet. “Do you understand what you are reading?” Philip asked.

³¹ “How can I,” he said, “unless someone explains it to me?” So he invited Philip to come up and sit with him.

³² This is the passage of Scripture the eunuch was reading:

“He was led like a sheep to the slaughter,
    and as a lamb before its shearer is silent,
    so he did not open his mouth.
³³ In his humiliation he was deprived of justice.
    Who can speak of his descendants?
    For his life was taken from the earth.”

³⁴ The eunuch asked Philip, “Tell me, please, who is the prophet talking about, himself or someone else?” ³⁵ Then Philip began with that very passage of Scripture and told him the good news about Jesus.

³⁶ As they traveled along the road, they came to some water and the eunuch said, “Look, here is water. What can stand in the way of my being baptized?”  ³⁸ And he gave orders to stop the chariot. Then both Philip and the eunuch went down into the water and Philip baptized him. ³⁹ When they came up out of the water, the Spirit of the Lord suddenly took Philip away, and the eunuch did not see him again, but went on his way rejoicing.

Who ask the man in the chariot “Do you understand what you are reading” (verse 30)?

What did the man say he needed in order to understand (verse 31)?

What did He “not open” (verse 32)?

What was “taken from the earth” (verse 33)?

What question did the eunuch ask (verse 34)?

How did Philip respond to the question (verse 35)?

When did the eunuch ask “what can stand in the way of my being baptized” (verse 36)?

What did the eunuch order (verse 37)?

How did the eunuch go “on his way” (verse 38)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about knowing when to respond with silence or with words?

In your opinion, what would need to happen for you to move from being like the eunuch in Acts 8:30-39 and need to have someone explain the Isaiah 53:4-8 passage to being like Philip who is willing to link the passage to Jesus for someone who is struggling?

In your opinion, how would the testimony of Jesus in Mark 14:53-65 that He is the “the Messiah, the Son of the Blessed One” be a part of Philip’s testimony about the “good news about Jesus”? 

1 Peter 1:13-21 – New International Version (NIV)

¹³ Therefore, with minds that are alert and fully sober, set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming. ¹⁴ As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance. ¹⁵ But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do; ¹⁶ for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

¹⁷ Since you call on a Father who judges each person’s work impartially, live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear. 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.

What are minds that “set your hope on the grace to be brought to you when Jesus Christ is revealed at his coming” supposed to be like (verse 13)?

How should we not respond to “the evil desires” (verse 14)?

What should we be in all we do (verse 15)?

What is written (verse 16)?

How should we “live out” our time (verse 17)?

What were we redeemed from (verse 18)?

What redeemed us (verse 19)?

When was He revealed (verse 20)?

Where is our “faith and hope” (verse 21)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage teach us about knowing when to respond with silence or with words?

In your opinion, what does 1 Peter 1:13-21 reveal about why Isaiah 53:4-8 indicated that Jesus would be “led like a lamb to slaughter”?

In your opinion, how is Jesus in Mark 14:53-65 an example to us of how to “live out your time as foreigners here in reverent fear” as instructed in 1 Peter 1:13-21?

In your opinion, how is Philip in Acts 8:30-39 an example of how be holy, as instructed by 1 Peter 1:13-21, as we learn how to share the “good news about Jesus” even though we are foreigners? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Mark, Acts and 1 Peter teach us about the silence of the Messiah transformed our lives?

In your opinion, how can alert minds help us be holy when being silent or when speaking the good news today?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)

March 10, 2024 – Isaiah in the New Testament – The Wounded Model

The Wounded Model

Isaiah 53:2-5 - New International Version (NIV)

² He grew up before him like a tender shoot,
    and like a root out of dry ground.
He had no beauty or majesty to attract us to him,
    nothing in his appearance that we should desire him.
³ He was despised and rejected by mankind,
    a man of suffering, and familiar with pain.
Like one from whom people hide their faces
    he was despised, and we held him in low esteem.

⁴ Surely he took up our pain
    and bore our suffering,
yet we considered him punished by God,
    stricken by him, and afflicted.
⁵ But he was pierced for our transgressions,
    he was crushed for our iniquities;
the punishment that brought us peace was on him,
    and by his wounds we are healed.

What did He have in His appearance “to attract us to him” (verse 2)?

How did “mankind” treat Him (verse 3)?

What did He “bear” (verse 4)?

Why was He “crushed” (verse 5)?

Where was the punishment “that brought us peace” (verse 5)?

How are we “healed” (verse 5)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show Jesus doing that is important for us to see?

Luke 23:44-49 – New International Version (NIV)

⁴⁴ It was now about noon, and darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon, ⁴⁵ for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two. ⁴⁶ Jesus called out with a loud voice, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit.” When he had said this, he breathed his last.

⁴⁷ The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man.” ⁴⁸ When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. ⁴⁹ But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things.

What time was it (verse 44)?

How long was darkness “over the whole land” (verse 44)?

What “stopped shining” (verse 45)?

Where was the curtain that “was torn in two” (verse 45)?

Into whose hands did Jesus “commit” his spirit (verse 46)?

Who “praised God and said, “Surely this was a righteous man”” (verse 47)?

What did the “people who had gathered to witness this sight” do (verse 48)?

Where were “all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee” (verse 49)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show Jesus doing that is important for us to see?

In your opinion, how could the servant “be despised and rejected” in Isaiah 53:2-5 but in Luke 23:44-49 the centurion could say about Him, “surely this was a righteous man”?

Romans 6:1-8 – New International Version (NIV)

¹ What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase? ² By no means! We are those who have died to sin; how can we live in it any longer? ³ Or don’t you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? ⁴ We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life.

⁵ For if we have been united with him in a death like his, we will certainly also be united with him in a resurrection like his. ⁶ For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body ruled by sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin— ⁷ because anyone who has died has been set free from sin.

⁸ Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him.

How does Paul answer the question “Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase” (verse 1)?

What were “all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus” baptized into (verses 2 and 3)?

Why were we “buried with him into death” (verse 4)?

What will we be united with Him in if “we have been united with him in a death like his” (verse 5)?

Why was “our old self” crucified with Him (verse 6)?

What has happened to “anyone who has died” (verse 7)?

What do we believe we will do “if we died with Christ” (verse 8)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show Jesus doing that is important for us to see?

In your opinion, how does Romans 6:1-8 help us understand how Jesus fulfills the prophecy that says “by his wounds we are healed” in Isaiah 53:2-5?

In your opinion, how are the last words of Jesus in Luke 23:44-49 a model for all who Romans 6:1-8 says are “buried with him through baptism into death”?

1 Peter 2:21-25 – New International Version (NIV)

 ²¹ To this you were called, because Christ suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps.

²² “He committed no sin,
    and no deceit was found in his mouth.”

²³ When they hurled their insults at him, he did not retaliate; when he suffered, he made no threats. Instead, he entrusted himself to him who judges justly. ²⁴ “He himself bore our sins” in his body on the cross, so that we might die to sins and live for righteousness; “by his wounds you have been healed.” ²⁵ For “you were like sheep going astray,” but now you have returned to the Shepherd and Overseer of your souls.

Who did Christ suffer for (verse 21)?

How should we respond to His suffering (verse 21)?

What did Jesus not commit (verse 22)?

How did Jesus respond to insults (verse 23)?

Who did Jesus entrust Himself to when He suffered (verse 23)?

Why did Jesus bear our sins “in his body on the cross” (verse 24)?

How have we been healed (verse 24)?

What were we like (verse 25)?

Who have we returned to (verse 25)?

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

In your opinion, what does this passage show Jesus doing that is important for us to see?

In your opinion, how does 1 Peter 2:21-25 make it clear that Jesus is the one who Isaiah 53:2-5 said would suffer so that “by his wounds” we would be healed?

In your opinion, how does Luke 23:44-49 affirm that the one who 1 Peter 2:21-24 says healed us “by his wounds”, entrusted “himself to him who judges justly”?

In your opinion, what do Romans 6:1-8 and 1 Peter 2:21-25 teach us about following “in the steps” of Jesus? 

In your opinion, what do these passages from Isaiah, Luke, Romans and 1 Peter teach us about why Jesus, the righteous man, was punished and wounded?

In your opinion, in what ways should we model Jesus for the world to see?

(sprucewhispers.blogspot.com)