Nowata Methodists Podcast

I worship with a crew of Christian brothers and sisters four mornings every week. Lately, they have been helping me to see just how aligned against our culture the scriptures are. From a young age, most of us in the post-Christian West are raised with the presupposition that we are basically in alignment with the Christian faith, even if we haven’t read a lot of scripture.

In a way, this presupposition is true. A recent interview with Tom Holland gave him the opportunity to succinctly make the case that modern leftism is undergirded by a distinctly and uniquely Christian ethos. I have a hard time disagreeing, though I would volunteer very readily that leftism bastardizes this ethos. Even so, there are many things, even among western atheists, that would not be seen if they weren’t undergirded by a distinctly Christian ethos.

That acknowledged, the scriptures hit our culture at a lot of soft spots. Our culture is NOT generally in alignment with what we find in God’s Word. Rather, we find vast portions of it stand in correction, if not condemnation, of us. We would be wise to receive the chastisement now, turning from our ways, right that persisting in our willful wickedness. Repent, for the Kingdom is at hand!

Isaiah 56

This is what the LORD says:

“Maintain justice and do what is right,

for My salvation is coming soon,

and My righteousness will be revealed.

Blessed is the man who does this,

and the son of man who holds it fast,

who keeps the Sabbath without profaning it

and keeps his hand from doing any evil.”

Let no foreigner who has joined himself to the LORD say,

“The LORD will utterly exclude me from His people.”

And let the eunuch not say,

“I am but a dry tree.”

For this is what the LORD says:

“To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths,

who choose what pleases Me

and hold fast to My covenant—

I will give them, in My house and within My walls,

a memorial and a name

better than that of sons and daughters.

I will give them an everlasting name

that will not be cut off.

And the foreigners who join themselves to the LORD

to minister to Him,

to love the name of the LORD,

and to be His servants—

all who keep the Sabbath without profaning it

and who hold fast to My covenant—

I will bring them to My holy mountain

and make them joyful in My house of prayer.

Their burnt offerings and sacrifices

will be accepted on My altar,

for My house will be called a house of prayer

for all the nations.”

Thus declares the Lord GOD,

who gathers the dispersed of Israel:

“I will gather to them still others

besides those already gathered.”

Come, all you beasts of the field;

eat greedily, all you beasts of the forest.

Israel’s watchmen are blind,

they are all oblivious;

they are all mute dogs,

they cannot bark;

they are dreamers lying around,

loving to slumber.

Like ravenous dogs,

they are never satisfied.

They are shepherds with no discernment;

they all turn to their own way,

each one seeking his own gain:

“Come, let me get the wine,

let us imbibe the strong drink,

and tomorrow will be like today,

only far better!”

Isaiah 57

The righteous perish,

and no one takes it to heart;

devout men are swept away,

while no one considers

that the righteous are guided

from the presence of evil.

Those who walk uprightly enter into peace;

they find rest, lying down in death.

“But come here, you sons of a sorceress,

you offspring of adulterers and prostitutes!

Whom are you mocking?

At whom do you snarl and stick out your tongue?

Are you not children of transgression,

offspring of deceit,

who burn with lust among the oaks,

under every luxuriant tree,

who slaughter your children in the valleys,

under the clefts of the rocks?

Your portion is among the smooth stones of the valley;

indeed, they are your lot.

Even to them you have poured out a drink offering

and offered a grain offering.

Should I relent because of these?

On a high and lofty hill you have made your bed,

and there you went up to offer sacrifices.

Behind the door and doorpost

you have set up your memorial.

Forsaking Me, you uncovered your bed;

you climbed up and opened it wide.

And you have made a pact with those whose bed you have loved;

you have gazed upon their nakedness.

You went to Molech with oil

and multiplied your perfumes.

You have sent your envoys a great distance;

you have descended even to Sheol itself.

You are wearied by your many journeys,

but you did not say, “There is no hope!”

You found renewal of your strength;

therefore you did not grow weak.

Whom have you dreaded and feared,

so that you lied and failed

to remember Me or take this to heart?

Is it not because I have long been silent

that you do not fear Me?

I will expose your righteousness and your works,

and they will not profit you.

When you cry out,

let your companies of idols deliver you!

Yet the wind will carry off all of them,

a breath will take them away.

But he who seeks refuge in Me will inherit the land

and possess My holy mountain.”

And it will be said,

“Build it up, build it up, prepare the way,

take every obstacle out of the way of My people.”

For thus says the One who is high and lifted up,

who inhabits eternity, whose name is Holy:

“I dwell in a high and holy place,

and with the oppressed and humble in spirit,

to restore the spirit of the lowly

and revive the heart of the contrite.

For I will not accuse you forever,

nor will I always be angry;

for then the spirit of man would grow weak before Me,

with the breath of those I have made.

I was enraged by his sinful greed,

so I struck him and hid My face in anger;

yet he kept turning back

to the desires of his heart.

I have seen his ways,

but I will heal him;

I will guide him and restore comfort

to him and his mourners,

bringing praise to their lips.

Peace, peace to those far and near,” says the LORD,

“and I will heal them.”

But the wicked are like the storm-tossed sea,

for it cannot be still,

and its waves churn up mire and muck.

“There is no peace,” says my God,

“for the wicked.”

Isaiah 58

“Cry aloud, do not hold back!

Raise your voice like a ram’s horn.

Declare to My people their transgression

and to the house of Jacob their sins.

For day after day they seek Me

and delight to know My ways,

like a nation that does what is right

and does not forsake the justice of their God.

They ask Me for righteous judgments;

they delight in the nearness of God.”

“Why have we fasted,

and You have not seen?

Why have we humbled ourselves,

and You have not noticed?”

“Behold, on the day of your fast, you do as you please,

and you oppress all your workers.

You fast with contention and strife

to strike viciously with your fist.

You cannot fast as you do today

and have your voice be heard on high.

Is this the fast I have chosen:

a day for a man to deny himself,

to bow his head like a reed,

and to spread out sackcloth and ashes?

Will you call this a fast

and a day acceptable to the LORD?

Isn’t this the fast that I have chosen:

to break the chains of wickedness,

to untie the cords of the yoke,

to set the oppressed free

and tear off every yoke?

Isn’t it to share your bread with the hungry,

to bring the poor and homeless into your home,

to clothe the naked when you see him,

and not to turn away

from your own flesh and blood?

Then your light will break forth like the dawn,

and your healing will come quickly.

Your righteousness will go before you,

and the glory of the LORD will be your rear guard.

Then you will call, and the LORD will answer;

you will cry out, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’

If you remove the yoke from your midst,

the pointing of the finger and malicious talk,

and if you give yourself to the hungry

and satisfy the afflicted soul,

then your light will go forth in the darkness,

and your night will be like noonday.

The LORD will always guide you;

He will satisfy you in a sun-scorched land

and strengthen your frame.

You will be like a well-watered garden,

like a spring whose waters never fail.

Your people will rebuild the ancient ruins;

you will restore the age-old foundations;

you will be called Repairer of the Breach,

Restorer of the Streets of Dwelling.

If you turn your foot from breaking the Sabbath,

from doing as you please on My holy day,

if you call the Sabbath a delight,

and the LORD’s holy day honorable,

if you honor it by not going your own way

or seeking your own pleasure or speaking idle words,

then you will delight yourself in the LORD,

and I will make you ride on the heights of the land

and feed you with the heritage of your father Jacob.”

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.

Matthew 17

After six days Jesus took with Him Peter, James, and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves.

There He was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and His clothes became as white as the light.

Suddenly Moses and Elijah appeared before them, talking with Jesus.

Peter said to Jesus, “Lord, it is good for us to be here. If You wish, I will put up three shelters —one for You, one for Moses, and one for Elijah.”

While Peter was still speaking, a bright cloud enveloped them, and a voice from the cloud said, “This is My beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased. Listen to Him!”

When the disciples heard this, they fell facedown in terror.

Then Jesus came over and touched them. “Get up,” He said. “Do not be afraid.” And when they looked up, they saw no one except Jesus.

As they were coming down the mountain, Jesus commanded them, “Do not tell anyone about this vision until the Son of Man has been raised from the dead.”

The disciples asked Him, “Why then do the scribes say that Elijah must come first?”

Jesus replied, “Elijah does indeed come, and he will restore all things.

But I tell you that Elijah has already come, and they did not recognize him, but have done to him whatever they wished. In the same way, the Son of Man will suffer at their hands.”

Then the disciples understood that He was speaking to them about John the Baptist.

When they came to the crowd, a man came up to Jesus and knelt before Him.

“Lord, have mercy on my son,” he said. “He has seizures and is suffering terribly. He often falls into the fire or into the water.

I brought him to Your disciples, but they could not heal him.”

“O unbelieving and perverse generation!” Jesus replied. “How long must I remain with you? How long must I put up with you? Bring the boy here to Me.”

Then Jesus rebuked the demon, and it came out of the boy, and he was healed from that moment.

Afterward the disciples came to Jesus privately and asked, “Why couldn’t we drive it out?”

“Because you have so little faith,” He answered. “For truly I tell you, if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘Move from here to there,’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.”

When they gathered together in Galilee, Jesus told them, “The Son of Man is about to be delivered into the hands of men.

They will kill Him, and on the third day He will be raised to life.” And the disciples were deeply grieved.

After they had arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma tax came to Peter and asked, “Does your Teacher pay the two drachmas?”

“Yes,” he answered.

When Peter entered the house, Jesus preempted him. “What do you think, Simon?” He asked. “From whom do the kings of the earth collect customs and taxes: from their own sons, or from others?”

“From others,” Peter answered.

“Then the sons are exempt,” Jesus declared.

“But so that we may not offend them, go to the sea, cast a hook, and take the first fish you catch. When you open its mouth, you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for My tax and yours.”

Matthew 18

At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Who then is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?”

Jesus invited a little child to stand among them. “Truly I tell you,” He said, “unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this little child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven. And whoever welcomes a little child like this in My name welcomes Me.

But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in Me to stumble, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea.

Woe to the world for the causes of sin. These stumbling blocks must come, but woe to the man through whom they come!

If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life crippled or lame than to have two hands and two feet and be thrown into the eternal fire.

And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.

See that you do not look down on any of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of My Father in heaven.

What do you think? If a man has a hundred sheep and one of them goes astray, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go out to search for the one that is lost?

And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he rejoices more over that one sheep than over the ninety-nine that did not go astray.

In the same way, your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.

If your brother sins against you, go and confront him privately. If he listens to you, you have won your brother over.

But if he will not listen, take one or two others along, so that ‘every matter may be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.’

If he refuses to listen to them, tell it to the church. And if he refuses to listen even to the church, regard him as you would a pagan or a tax collector.

Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.

Again, I tell you truly that if two of you on the earth agree about anything you ask for, it will be done for you by My Father in heaven.

For where two or three gather together in My name, there am I with them.”

Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, “Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother who sins against me? Up to seven times?”

Jesus answered, “I tell you, not just seven times, but seventy-seven times!

Because of this, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.

As he began the settlements, a debtor was brought to him owing ten thousand talents.

Since the man was unable to pay, the master ordered that he be sold to pay his debt, along with his wife and children and everything he owned.

Then the servant fell on his knees before him. ‘Have patience with me,’ he begged, ‘and I will pay back everything.’

His master had compassion on him, forgave his debt, and released him.

But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred denarii. He grabbed him and began to choke him, saying, ‘Pay back what you owe me!’

So his fellow servant fell down and begged him, ‘Have patience with me, and I will pay you back.’

But he refused. Instead, he went and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay his debt.

When his fellow servants saw what had happened, they were greatly distressed, and they went and recounted all of this to their master.

Then the master summoned him and declared, ‘You wicked servant! I forgave all your debt because you begged me.

Shouldn’t you have had mercy on your fellow servant, just as I had on you?’ In anger his master turned him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should repay all that he owed.

That is how My heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother from your heart.”

Matthew 19

When Jesus had finished saying these things, He left Galilee and went into the region of Judea beyond the Jordan. Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them there.

Then some Pharisees came and tested Him by asking, “Is it lawful for a man to divorce his wife for any reason?”

Jesus answered, “Have you not read that from the beginning the Creator ‘made them male and female,’

and said, ‘For this reason a man will leave his father and mother and be united to his wife, and the two will become one flesh’?

So they are no longer two, but one flesh. Therefore what God has joined together, let man not separate.”

“Why then,” they asked, “did Moses order a man to give his wife a certificate of divorce and send her away?”

Jesus replied, “Moses permitted you to divorce your wives because of your hardness of heart; but it was not this way from the beginning.

Now I tell you that whoever divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, and marries another woman, commits adultery.”

His disciples said to Him, “If this is the case between a man and his wife, it is better not to marry.”

“Not everyone can accept this word,” He replied, “but only those to whom it has been given.

For there are eunuchs who were born that way; others were made that way by men; and still others live like eunuchs for the sake of the kingdom of heaven. The one who can accept this should accept it.”

Then the little children were brought to Jesus for Him to place His hands on them and pray for them. And the disciples rebuked those who brought them.

But Jesus said, “Let the little children come to Me, and do not hinder them! For the kingdom of heaven belongs to such as these.”

And after He had placed His hands on them, He went on from there.

Just then a man came up to Jesus and inquired, “Teacher, what good thing must I do to obtain eternal life?”

“Why do you ask Me about what is good?” Jesus replied. “There is only One who is good. If you want to enter life, keep the commandments.”

“Which ones?” the man asked.

Jesus answered, “ ‘Do not murder, do not commit adultery, do not steal, do not bear false witness,

honor your father and mother, and love your neighbor as yourself.’”

“All these I have kept,” said the young man. “What do I still lack?”

Jesus told him, “If you want to be perfect, go, sell your possessions and give to the poor, and you will have treasure in heaven. Then come, follow Me.”

When the young man heard this, he went away in sorrow, because he had great wealth.

Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Truly I tell you, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to pass through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.”

When the disciples heard this, they were greatly astonished and asked, “Who then can be saved?”

Jesus looked at them and said, “With man this is impossible, but with God all things are possible.”

“Look,” Peter replied, “we have left everything to follow You. What then will there be for us?”

Jesus said to them, “Truly I tell you, in the renewal of all things, when the Son of Man sits on His glorious throne, you who have followed Me will also sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes of Israel.

And everyone who has left houses or brothers or sisters or father or mother or wife or children or fields for the sake of My name will receive a hundredfold and will inherit eternal life.

But many who are first will be last, and the last will be first.

Isaiah the prophet spends a few chapters describing the man who would turn out to be Jesus. He is actually speaking on a couple different levels at the same time: Israel, God’s chosen people, had been defaced and deformed by that Babylonian captivity. Also, Jesus was eventually our atoning sacrifice.

I am always surprised when I learn that there are Christians who do not think that Jesus’ sacrifice on the cross atones for our sin. When it says, “Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him and to cause Him to suffer,” I don’t see how folks who follow Jesus avoid the explicit implications of God’s wrath, and the direct connection between Jesus’ suffering and our own salvation. It is indeed pretty uncomfortable, but that doesn’t mean we can look away.

Jesus’ death wasn’t the only thing about him that made folks uncomfortable. In today’s gospel reading, he warns against the teachings of the leaders in his society, and he chastens his own followers for being dense. In almost the same breath he blesses Peter for recognizing him as the Christ, and then he curses him, calling him Satan, for failing to understand the necessity of the crucifixion. He was a hard man to love and follow.

But where else can we go? To whom else can we turn? There is nobody else. It is Christ alone who has the words of life. We cling to him though he burn us alive. This is what abundant life looks like, it turns out: holiness.

Isaiah 52

Awake, awake,

clothe yourself with strength, O Zion!

Put on your garments of splendor,

O Jerusalem, holy city!

For the uncircumcised and unclean

will no longer enter you.

Shake off your dust!

Rise up and sit on your throne, O Jerusalem.

Remove the chains from your neck,

O captive Daughter of Zion.

For this is what the LORD says:

“You were sold for nothing,

and without money you will be redeemed.”

For this is what the Lord GOD says:

“At first My people went down to Egypt to live,

then Assyria oppressed them without cause.

And now what have I here?

declares the LORD.

For My people have been taken without cause;

those who rule them taunt,

declares the LORD,

and My name is blasphemed continually

all day long.

Therefore My people will know My name;

therefore they will know on that day

that I am He who speaks.

Here I am!”

How beautiful on the mountains

are the feet of those who bring good news,

who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings,

who proclaim salvation,

who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”

Listen! Your watchmen lift up their voices,

together they shout for joy.

For every eye will see

when the LORD returns to Zion.

Break forth in joy, sing together,

O ruins of Jerusalem,

for the LORD has comforted His people;

He has redeemed Jerusalem.

The LORD has bared His holy arm

in the sight of all the nations;

all the ends of the earth will see

the salvation of our God.

Depart, depart, go out from there!

Touch no unclean thing;

come out from it, purify yourselves,

you who carry the vessels of the LORD.

For you will not leave in a hurry

nor flee in haste,

for the LORD goes before you,

and the God of Israel is your rear guard.

Behold, My Servant will prosper;

He will be raised and lifted up and highly exalted.

Just as many were appalled at Him —

His appearance was disfigured beyond that of any man,

and His form was marred beyond human likeness—

so He will sprinkle many nations.

Kings will shut their mouths because of Him.

For they will see what they have not been told,

and they will understand what they have not heard.

Isaiah 53

Who has believed our message?

And to whom has the arm of the LORD been revealed?

He grew up before Him like a tender shoot,

and like a root out of dry ground.

He had no stately form or majesty to attract us,

no beauty that we should desire Him.

He was despised and rejected by men,

a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.

Like one from whom men hide their faces,

He was despised, and we esteemed Him not.

Surely He took on our infirmities

and carried our sorrows;

yet we considered Him stricken by God,

struck down and afflicted.

But He was pierced for our transgressions,

He was crushed for our iniquities;

the punishment that brought us peace was upon Him,

and by His stripes we are healed.

We all like sheep have gone astray,

each one has turned to his own way;

and the LORD has laid upon Him

the iniquity of us all.

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 her shearers is silent,

so He did not open His mouth.

By oppression and judgment He was taken away,

and who can recount His descendants?

For He was cut off from the land of the living;

He was stricken for the transgression of My people.

He was assigned a grave with the wicked,

and with a rich man in His death,

although He had done no violence,

nor was any deceit in His mouth.

Yet it was the LORD’s will to crush Him

and to cause Him to suffer;

and when His soul is made a guilt offering,

He will see His offspring, He will prolong His days,

and the good pleasure of the LORD will prosper in His hand.

After the anguish of His soul,

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.

Therefore I will allot Him a portion with the great,

and He will divide the spoils with the strong,

because He has poured out His life unto death,

and He was numbered with the transgressors.

Yet He bore the sin of many

and made intercession for the transgressors.

Isaiah 54

“Shout for joy, O barren woman,

who bears no children;

break forth in song and cry aloud,

you who have never travailed;

because more are the children of the desolate woman

than of her who has a husband,”

says the LORD.

“Enlarge the site of your tent,

stretch out the curtains of your dwellings,

do not hold back.

Lengthen your ropes

and drive your stakes in deep.

For you will spread out to the right and left;

your descendants will dispossess the nations

and inhabit the desolate cities.

Do not be afraid, for you will not be put to shame;

do not be intimidated, for you will not be humiliated.

For you will forget the shame of your youth

and will remember no more the reproach of your widowhood.

For your husband is your Maker—

the LORD of Hosts is His name—

the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer;

He is called the God of all the earth.

For the LORD has called you back,

like a wife deserted and wounded in spirit,

like the rejected wife of one’s youth,”

says your God.

“For a brief moment I forsook you,

but with great compassion I will bring you back.

In a surge of anger

I hid My face from you for a moment,

but with everlasting kindness I will have compassion on you,”

says the LORD your Redeemer.

“For to Me this is like the days of Noah,

when I swore that the waters of Noah

would never again cover the earth.

So I have sworn that I will not be angry with you

or rebuke you.

Though the mountains may be removed

and the hills may be shaken,

My loving devotion will not depart from you,

and My covenant of peace will not be broken,”

says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

“O afflicted city, lashed by storms,

without solace,

surely I will set your stones in antimony

and lay your foundations with sapphires.

I will make your pinnacles of rubies,

your gates of sparkling jewels,

and all your walls of precious stones.

Then all your sons will be taught by the LORD,

and great will be their prosperity.

In righteousness you will be established,

far from oppression,

for you will have no fear.

Terror will be far removed,

for it will not come near you.

If anyone attacks you, it is not from Me;

whoever assails you will fall before you.

Behold, I have created the craftsman

who fans the coals into flame

and forges a weapon fit for its task;

and I have created the destroyer

to wreak havoc.

No weapon formed against you shall prosper,

and you will refute every tongue that accuses you.

This is the heritage of the servants of the LORD,

and their vindication is from Me,”

declares the LORD.

Isaiah 55

“Come, all you who are thirsty,

come to the waters;

and you without money,

come, buy, and eat!

Come, buy wine and milk

without money and without cost!

Why spend money on that which is not bread,

and your labor on that which does not satisfy?

Listen carefully to Me, and eat what is good,

and your soul will delight in the richest of foods.

Incline your ear and come to Me;

listen, so that your soul may live.

I will make with you an everlasting covenant—

My loving devotion promised to David.

Behold, I have made him a witness to the nations,

a leader and commander of the peoples.

Surely you will summon a nation you do not know,

and nations who do not know you will run to you.

For the LORD your God, the Holy One of Israel,

has bestowed glory on you.”

Seek the LORD while He may be found;

call on Him while He is near.

Let the wicked man forsake his own way

and the unrighteous man his own thoughts;

let him return to the LORD,

that He may have compassion,

and to our God,

for He will freely pardon.

“For My thoughts are not your thoughts,

neither are your ways My ways,”

declares the LORD.

“For as the heavens are higher than the earth,

so My ways are higher than your ways

and My thoughts than your thoughts.

For just as rain and snow fall from heaven

and do not return without watering the earth,

making it bud and sprout,

and providing seed to sow and food to eat,

so My word that proceeds from My mouth

will not return to Me empty,

but it will accomplish what I please,

and it will prosper where I send it.

You will indeed go out with joy

and be led forth in peace;

the mountains and hills will burst into song before you,

and all the trees of the field will clap their hands.

Instead of the thornbush, a cypress will grow,

and instead of the brier, a myrtle will spring up;

they will make a name for the LORD,

an everlasting sign, never to be destroyed.”

Matthew 16

Then the Pharisees and Sadducees came and tested Jesus by asking Him to show them a sign from heaven.

But He replied, “When evening comes, you say, ‘The weather will be fair, for the sky is red,’

and in the morning, ‘Today it will be stormy, for the sky is red and overcast.’ You know how to interpret the appearance of the sky, but not the signs of the times.

A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah.” Then He left them and went away.

When they crossed to the other side, the disciples forgot to take bread. “Watch out!” Jesus told them. “Beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

They discussed this among themselves and concluded, “It is because we did not bring any bread.”

Aware of their conversation, Jesus said, “You of little faith, why are you debating among yourselves about having no bread?

Do you still not understand? Do you not remember the five loaves for the five thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?

Or the seven loaves for the four thousand, and how many basketfuls you gathered?

How do you not understand that I was not telling you about bread? But beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and Sadducees.”

Then they understood that He was not telling them to beware of the leaven used in bread, but of the teaching of the Pharisees and Sadducees.

When Jesus came to the region of Caesarea Philippi, He questioned His disciples: “Who do people say the Son of Man is?”

They replied, “Some say John the Baptist; others say Elijah; and still others, Jeremiah or one of the prophets.”

“But what about you?” Jesus asked. “Who do you say I am?”

Simon Peter answered, “You are the Christ, the Son of the living God.”

Jesus replied, “Blessed are you, Simon son of Jonah! For this was not revealed to you by flesh and blood, but by My Father in heaven.

And I tell you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church, and the gates of Hades will not prevail against it.

I will give you the keys of the kingdom of heaven. Whatever you bind on earth will be bound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.”

Then He admonished the disciples not to tell anyone that He was the Christ.

From that time on Jesus began to show His disciples that He must go to Jerusalem and suffer many things at the hands of the elders, chief priests, and scribes, and that He must be killed and on the third day be raised to life.

Peter took Him aside and began to rebuke Him. “Far be it from You, Lord!” he said. “This shall never happen to You!”

But Jesus turned and said to Peter, “Get behind Me, Satan! You are a stumbling block to Me. For you do not have in mind the things of God, but the things of men.”

Then Jesus told His disciples, “If anyone wants to come after Me, he must deny himself and take up his cross and follow Me.

For whoever wants to save his life will lose it, but whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

What will it profit a man if he gains the whole world, yet forfeits his soul? Or what can a man give in exchange for his soul?

For the Son of Man will come in His Father’s glory with His angels, and then He will repay each one according to what he has done.

Truly I tell you, some who are standing here will not taste death before they see the Son of Man coming in His kingdom.”

“If anyone causes one of these little ones—those who believe in me—to stumble, it would be better for them to have a large millstone hung around their neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to stumble! Such things must come, but woe to the person through whom they come!" - Matthew 18:6-7

Happy New Year Everyone! This week we finished chapter 18 of the Gospel of Matthew. In this chapter we find the disciples asking Jesus who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven, the parable of the wandering sheep, sin in the church, & the parable of the unmerciful servant.

Happy New Years Eve everyone. Pastor Jeffrey sat down to give a short report on the state of the church over this last year. The Lord has blessed us and we are looking forward to big things happening in 2025!

To find our social media you can do so through our website and sign up for our newsletters and substack accounts:

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It is such a strange thing to meditate upon Isaiah’s words and realize that God 1) remembers and loves beyond human capacity, but he also 2) punishes beyond our comprehension those who disobey him. In a world of mediocrity and milquetoast quality, we encounter a God of such intensity, such purity, at whose mercy we are. There is no middle road to take; no grey disposition to adopt. There is no way to sit on the fence. One is either right with God, or his wrath is turned upon him.

What is to be done in face of such absolute power, married to threats and promises? There is only one course charted: submit, repent, obey. Trust. As we read these words, the desired response, the only response, is trust. My hope is that, as you continue to meditate upon God’s words day and night, that all your trust is placed on him. He is faithful. He alone saves.

Isaiah 48

“Listen to this, O house of Jacob,

you who are called by the name of Israel,

who have descended from the line of Judah,

who swear by the name of the LORD,

who invoke the God of Israel—

but not in truth or righteousness—

who indeed call yourselves after the holy city

and lean on the God of Israel;

the LORD of Hosts is His name.

I foretold the former things long ago;

they came out of My mouth and I proclaimed them.

Suddenly I acted, and they came to pass.

For I knew that you are stubborn;

your neck is iron and your forehead is bronze.

Therefore I declared it to you long ago;

I announced it before it came to pass,

so that you could not claim, ‘My idol has done this;

my carved image and molten god has ordained it.’

You have heard these things; look at them all.

Will you not acknowledge them?

From now on I will tell you of new things,

hidden things unknown to you.

They are created now, and not long ago;

you have not heard of them before today.

So you cannot claim,

‘I already knew them!’

You have never heard; you have never understood;

for a long time your ears have not been open.

For I knew how deceitful you are;

you have been called a rebel from birth.

For the sake of My name I will delay My wrath;

for the sake of My praise I will restrain it,

so that you will not be cut off.

See, I have refined you, but not as silver;

I have tested you in the furnace of affliction.

For My own sake, My very own sake, I will act;

for how can I let Myself be defamed?

I will not yield My glory to another.

Listen to Me, O Jacob,

and Israel, whom I have called:

I am He; I am the first,

and I am the last.

Surely My own hand founded the earth,

and My right hand spread out the heavens;

when I summon them,

they stand up together.

Come together, all of you, and listen:

Which of the idols has foretold these things?

The LORD’s chosen ally will carry out His desire against Babylon,

and His arm will be against the Chaldeans.

I, even I, have spoken;

yes, I have called him.

I have brought him,

and he will succeed in his mission.

Come near to Me and listen to this:

From the beginning I have not spoken in secret;

from the time it happened, I was there.”

And now the Lord GOD has sent me,

accompanied by His Spirit.

Thus says the LORD your Redeemer,

the Holy One of Israel:

“I am the LORD your God,

who teaches you for your benefit,

who directs you in the way you should go.

If only you had paid attention to My commandments,

your peace would have been like a river,

and your righteousness like waves of the sea.

Your descendants would have been as countless as the sand,

and your offspring as numerous as its grains;

their name would never be cut off

or eliminated from My presence.”

Leave Babylon!

Flee from the Chaldeans!

Declare it with a shout of joy,

proclaim it,

let it go out to the ends of the earth, saying,

“The LORD has redeemed His servant Jacob!”

They did not thirst when He led them through the deserts;

He made water flow for them from the rock;

He split the rock, and water gushed out.

“There is no peace,” says the LORD,

“for the wicked.”

Isaiah 49

Listen to Me, O islands;

pay attention, O distant peoples:

The LORD called Me from the womb;

from the body of My mother He named Me.

He made My mouth like a sharp sword;

He hid Me in the shadow of His hand.

He made Me like a polished arrow;

He hid Me in His quiver.

He said to Me, “You are My Servant, Israel,

in whom I will display My glory.”

But I said, “I have labored in vain,

I have spent My strength in futility and vanity;

yet My vindication is with the LORD,

and My reward is with My God.”

And now says the LORD,

who formed Me from the womb to be His Servant,

to bring Jacob back to Him,

that Israel might be gathered to Him—

for I am honored in the sight of the LORD,

and My God is My strength—

He says: “It is not enough for You to be My Servant,

to raise up the tribes of Jacob,

and to restore the protected ones of Israel.

I will also make You a light for the nations,

to bring My salvation to the ends of the earth.”

Thus says the LORD,

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 rise,

and princes will bow down,

because of the LORD, who is faithful,

the Holy One of Israel, who has chosen You.”

This is what the LORD says:

“In the time of favor I will answer You,

and in the day of salvation I will help You;

I will keep You and appoint You

to be a covenant for the people,

to restore the land,

to apportion its desolate inheritances,

to say to the prisoners, ‘Come out,’

and to those in darkness, ‘Show yourselves.’

They will feed along the pathways,

and find pasture on every barren hill.

They will not hunger or thirst,

nor will scorching heat or sun beat down on them.

For He who has compassion on them will guide them

and lead them beside springs of water.

I will turn all My mountains into roads,

and My highways will be raised up.

Behold, they will come from far away,

from the north and from the west,

and from the land of Aswan.”

Shout for joy, O heavens; rejoice, O earth;

break forth in song, O mountains!

For the LORD has comforted His people,

and He will have compassion on His afflicted ones.

But Zion said, “The LORD has forsaken me;

the Lord has forgotten me!”

“Can a woman forget her nursing child,

or lack compassion for the son of her womb?

Even if she could forget,

I will not forget you!

Behold, I have inscribed you on the palms of My hands;

your walls are ever before Me.

Your builders hasten back;

your destroyers and wreckers depart from you.

Lift up your eyes and look around.

They all gather together; they come to you.

As surely as I live,” declares the LORD,

“you will wear them all as jewelry

and put them on like a bride.

For your ruined and desolate places

and your ravaged land

will now indeed be too small for your people,

and those who devoured you will be far away.

Yet the children of your bereavement

will say in your hearing,

‘This place is too small for us;

make room for us to live here.’

Then you will say in your heart,

‘Who has begotten these for me?

I was bereaved and barren;

I was exiled and rejected.

So who has reared them?

Look, I was left all alone,

so where did they come from?’ ”

This is what the Lord GOD says:

“Behold, I will lift up My hand to the nations,

and raise My banner to the peoples.

They will bring your sons in their arms

and carry your daughters on their shoulders.

Kings will be your foster fathers,

and their queens your nursing mothers.

They will bow to you facedown

and lick the dust at your feet.

Then you will know that I am the LORD;

those who hope in Me will never be put to shame.”

Can the plunder be snatched from the mighty,

or the captives of a tyrant be delivered?

Indeed, this is what the LORD says:

“Even the captives of the mighty will be taken away,

and the plunder of the tyrant will be retrieved;

I will contend with those who contend with you,

and I will save your children.

I will make your oppressors eat their own flesh;

they will be drunk on their own blood, as with wine.

Then all mankind will know that I, the LORD,

am your Savior and your Redeemer,

the Mighty One of Jacob.”

Isaiah 50

This is what the LORD says:

“Where is your mother’s certificate of divorce

with which I sent her away?

Or to which of My creditors

did I sell you?

Look, you were sold for your iniquities,

and for your transgressions your mother was sent away.

Why was no one there when I arrived?

Why did no one answer when I called?

Is My hand too short to redeem you?

Or do I lack the strength to deliver you?

Behold, My rebuke dries up the sea;

I turn the rivers into a desert;

the fish rot for lack of water

and die of thirst.

I clothe the heavens in black

and make sackcloth their covering.”

The Lord GOD has given Me

the tongue of discipleship,

to sustain the weary with a word.

He awakens Me morning by morning;

He awakens My ear to listen as a disciple.

The Lord GOD has opened My ears,

and I have not been rebellious,

nor have I turned back.

I offered My back to those who struck Me,

and My cheeks to those who tore out My beard.

I did not hide My face from scorn and spittle.

Because the Lord GOD helps Me,

I have not been disgraced;

therefore I have set My face like flint,

and I know that I will not be put to shame.

The One who vindicates Me is near.

Who will dare to contend with Me?

Let us confront each other!

Who has a case against Me?

Let him approach Me!

Surely the Lord GOD helps Me.

Who is there to condemn Me?

See, they will all wear out like a garment;

the moths will devour them.

Who among you fears the LORD

and obeys the voice of His Servant?

Who among you walks in darkness

and has no light?

Let him trust in the name of the LORD;

let him lean on his God.

Behold, all you who kindle a fire,

who array yourselves with firebrands,

walk in the light of your fire

and of the firebrands you have lit!

This is what you will receive from My hand:

You will lie down in a place of torment.

Isaiah 51

“Listen to Me, you who pursue righteousness,

you who seek the LORD:

Look to the rock from which you were cut,

and to the quarry from which you were hewn.

Look to Abraham your father,

and to Sarah who gave you birth.

When I called him, he was but one;

then I blessed him and multiplied him.

For the LORD will comfort Zion

and will look with compassion on all her ruins;

He will make her wilderness like Eden

and her desert like the garden of the LORD.

Joy and gladness will be found in her,

thanksgiving and melodious song.

Pay attention to Me, My people,

and listen to Me, My nation;

for a law will go out from Me,

and My justice will become a light to the nations;

I will bring it about quickly.

My righteousness draws near,

My salvation is on the way,

and My arms will bring justice to the nations.

The islands will look for Me

and wait in hope for My arm.

Lift up your eyes to the heavens,

and look at the earth below;

for the heavens will vanish like smoke,

the earth will wear out like a garment,

and its people will die like gnats.

But My salvation will last forever,

and My righteousness will never fail.

Listen to Me, you who know what is right,

you people with My law in your hearts:

Do not fear the scorn of men;

do not be broken by their insults.

For the moth will devour them like a garment,

and the worm will eat them like wool.

But My righteousness will last forever,

My salvation through all generations.”

Awake, awake,

put on strength, O arm of the LORD.

Wake up as in days past,

as in generations of old.

Was it not You who cut Rahab to pieces,

who pierced through the dragon?

Was it not You who dried up the sea,

the waters of the great deep,

who made a road in the depths of the sea

for the redeemed to cross over?

So the redeemed of the LORD will return

and enter Zion with singing,

crowned with everlasting joy.

Gladness and joy will overtake them,

and sorrow and sighing will flee.

“I, even I, am He who comforts you.

Why should you be afraid of mortal man,

of a son of man who withers like grass?

But you have forgotten the LORD, your Maker,

who stretched out the heavens

and laid the foundations of the earth.

You live in terror all day long

because of the fury of the oppressor

who is bent on destruction.

But where is the fury of the oppressor?

The captive will soon be freed;

he will not die in the dungeon,

and his bread will not be lacking.

For I am the LORD your God

who stirs up the sea so that its waves roar—

the LORD of Hosts is His name.

I have put My words in your mouth,

and covered you with the shadow of My hand,

to establish the heavens, to found the earth,

and to say to Zion, ‘You are My people.’ ”

Awake, awake!

Rise up, O Jerusalem,

you who have drunk from the hand of the LORD

the cup of His fury;

you who have drained the goblet to the dregs—

the cup that makes men stagger.

Among all the sons she bore,

there is no one to guide her;

among all the sons she brought up,

there is no one to take her hand.

These pairs have befallen you:

devastation and destruction,

famine and sword.

Who will grieve for you?

Who can comfort you?

Your sons have fainted;

they lie at the head of every street,

like an antelope in a net.

They are full of the wrath of the LORD,

the rebuke of your God.

Therefore now hear this, you afflicted one,

drunken, but not with wine.

Thus says your Lord, the LORD,

even your God, who defends His people:

“See, I have removed from your hand

the cup of staggering.

From that goblet, the cup of My fury,

you will never drink again.

I will place it in the hands of your tormentors,

who told you: ‘Lie down, so we can walk over you,’

so that you made your back like the ground,

like a street to be traversed.”

Matthew 14

At that time Herod the tetrarch heard the reports about Jesus and said to his servants, “This is John the Baptist; he has risen from the dead! That is why miraculous powers are at work in him.”

Now Herod had arrested John and bound him and put him in prison on account of Herodias, his brother Philip’s wife,

because John had been telling him, “It is not lawful for you to have her.” Although Herod wanted to kill John, he was afraid of the people, because they regarded John as a prophet.

On Herod’s birthday, however, the daughter of Herodias danced before them and pleased Herod so much that he promised with an oath to give to her whatever she asked.

Prompted by her mother, she said, “Give me here on a platter the head of John the Baptist.”

The king was grieved, but because of his oaths and his guests, he ordered that her wish be granted and sent to have John beheaded in the prison.

John’s head was brought in on a platter and presented to the girl, who carried it to her mother.

Then John’s disciples came and took his body and buried it. And they went and informed Jesus.

When Jesus heard about John, He withdrew by boat privately to a solitary place. But the crowds found out about it and followed Him on foot from the towns.

When He stepped ashore and saw a large crowd, He had compassion on them and healed their sick.

When evening came, the disciples came to Him and said, “This is a desolate place, and the hour is already late. Dismiss the crowds so they can go to the villages and buy themselves some food.”

“They do not need to go away,” Jesus replied. “You give them something to eat.”

“We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish,” they answered.

“Bring them here to Me,” Jesus said.

And He directed the crowds to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, He spoke a blessing. Then He broke the loaves and gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. About five thousand men were fed, in addition to women and children.

Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of Him to the other side, while He dismissed the crowds.

After He had sent them away, He went up on the mountain by Himself to pray. When evening came, He was there alone,

but the boat was already far from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

During the fourth watch of the night, Jesus went out to them, walking on the sea.

When the disciples saw Him walking on the sea, they were terrified. “It’s a ghost!” they said, and cried out in fear.

But Jesus spoke up at once: “Take courage! It is I. Do not be afraid.”

“Lord, if it is You,” Peter replied, “command me to come to You on the water.”

“Come,” said Jesus.

Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water, and came toward Jesus.

But when he saw the strength of the wind, he was afraid, and beginning to sink, cried out, “Lord, save me!”

Immediately Jesus reached out His hand and took hold of Peter. “You of little faith,” He said, “why did you doubt?”

And when they had climbed back into the boat, the wind died down. Then those who were in the boat worshiped Him, saying, “Truly You are the Son of God!”

When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret.

And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding region. People brought all the sick to Him

and begged Him just to let them touch the fringe of His cloak. And all who touched Him were healed.

Matthew 15

Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, “Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They do not wash their hands before they eat.”

Jesus replied, “And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition?

For God said, ‘Honor your father and mother’ and ‘Anyone who curses his father or mother must be put to death.’

But you say that if anyone says to his father or mother, ‘Whatever you would have received from me is a gift devoted to God,’

he need not honor his father or mother with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah prophesied correctly about you:

‘These people honor Me with their lips,

but their hearts are far from Me.

They worship Me in vain;

they teach as doctrine the precepts of men.’”

Jesus called the crowd to Him and said, “Listen and understand. A man is not defiled by what enters his mouth, but by what comes out of it.”

Then the disciples came to Him and said, “Are You aware that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?”

But Jesus replied, “Every plant that My heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by its roots.

Disregard them! They are blind guides. If a blind man leads a blind man, both will fall into a pit.”

Peter said to Him, “Explain this parable to us.”

“Do you still not understand?” Jesus asked. “Do you not yet realize that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then is eliminated?

But the things that come out of the mouth come from the heart, and these things defile a man.

For out of the heart come evil thoughts, murder, adultery, sexual immorality, theft, false testimony, and slander.

These are what defile a man, but eating with unwashed hands does not defile him.”

Leaving that place, Jesus withdrew to the district of Tyre and Sidon.

And a Canaanite woman from that region came to Him, crying out, “Lord, Son of David, have mercy on me! My daughter is miserably possessed by a demon.”

But Jesus did not answer a word. So His disciples came and urged Him, “Send her away, for she keeps crying out after us.”

He answered, “I was sent only to the lost sheep of the house of Israel.”

The woman came and knelt before Him. “Lord, help me!” she said.

But Jesus replied, “It is not right to take the children’s bread and toss it to the dogs.”

“Yes, Lord,” she said, “even the dogs eat the crumbs that fall from their master’s table.”

“O woman,” Jesus answered, “your faith is great! Let it be done for you as you desire.” And her daughter was healed from that very hour.

Moving on from there, Jesus went along the Sea of Galilee. Then He went up on a mountain and sat down.

Large crowds came to Him, bringing the lame, the blind, the crippled, the mute, and many others, and laid them at His feet, and He healed them.

The crowd was amazed when they saw the mute speaking, the crippled restored, the lame walking, and the blind seeing. And they glorified the God of Israel.

Then Jesus called His disciples to Him and said, “I have compassion for this crowd, because they have already been with Me three days and have nothing to eat. I do not want to send them away hungry, or they may faint along the way.”

The disciples replied, “Where in this desolate place could we find enough bread to feed such a large crowd?”

“How many loaves do you have?” Jesus asked.

“Seven,” they replied, “and a few small fish.”

And He instructed the crowd to sit down on the ground.

Taking the seven loaves and the fish, He gave thanks and broke them. Then He gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people.

They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up seven basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. A total of four thousand men were fed, in addition to women and children.

After Jesus had dismissed the crowds, He got into the boat and went to the region of Magadan.

“I am the LORD and there is no other besides me” is a refrain we hear time and again in Isaiah. In today’s segment, we hear him twice mock those who make idols: once for those who fashion out of wood; another for those who fashion out of metal. Some are not aware that Isaiah is not being entirely accurate in how he depicts the worship of people around Israel. They did not actually believe that the wooden or metal figure was a god. Rather, they believed the spirit of their god inhabited the figure, and it was the meaning of such idols they found worthy of worship. Israel’s God was unique in that he refused to let his people depict him in any form. Jesus’ words today strike me in their confidence: “I am the Lord of the sabbath…one greater than Jonah is here…one greater than Solomon is here…” Of course, these things are true. In an era of false humility and humblebragging, a man who says plainly who he is strikes against our culture. He struck against his own, as well, which is why he ended up on a cross.

Both books from which we read today equip us for countercultural ministry. We see the pious practices of the culture around us as every bit as silly as ancient Near Eastern idolatry. We continue to lift up Christ as the only-begotten Son of the Living God. The world continues to take offense. Christ will come again in glory someday. In the meantime, we have work to do:

Isaiah 44

But now listen, O Jacob My servant,

Israel, whom I have chosen.

This is the word of the LORD, your Maker,

who formed you from the womb and who will help you:

“Do not be afraid, O Jacob My servant,

Jeshurun, whom I have chosen.

For I will pour water on the thirsty land,

and currents on the dry ground.

I will pour out My Spirit on your descendants,

and My blessing on your offspring.

They will sprout among the grass

like willows by flowing streams.

One will say, ‘I belong to the LORD,’

another will call himself by the name of Jacob,

and still another will write on his hand, ‘The LORD’s,’

and will take the name of Israel.”

Thus says the LORD,

the King and Redeemer of Israel, the LORD of Hosts:

“I am the first and I am the last,

and there is no God but Me.

Who then is like Me?

Let him say so!

Let him declare his case before Me,

since I established an ancient people.

Let him foretell the things to come,

and what is to take place.

Do not tremble or fear.

Have I not told you and declared it long ago?

You are My witnesses!

Is there any God but Me?

There is no other Rock;

I know not one.”

All makers of idols are nothing,

and the things they treasure are worthless.

Their witnesses fail to see or comprehend,

so they are put to shame.

Who fashions a god or casts an idol

which profits him nothing?

Behold, all his companions will be put to shame,

for the craftsmen themselves are only human.

Let them all assemble and take their stand;

they will all be brought to terror and shame.

The blacksmith takes a tool

and labors over the coals;

he fashions an idol with hammers

and forges it with his strong arms.

Yet he grows hungry and loses his strength;

he fails to drink water and grows faint.

The woodworker extends a measuring line;

he marks it out with a stylus;

he shapes it with chisels

and outlines it with a compass.

He fashions it in the likeness of man,

like man in all his glory,

that it may dwell in a shrine.

He cuts down cedars

or retrieves a cypress or oak.

He lets it grow strong among the trees of the forest.

He plants a laurel, and the rain makes it grow.

It serves as fuel for man.

He takes some of it to warm himself,

and he kindles a fire

and bakes his bread;

he even fashions it into a god and worships it;

he makes an idol and bows down to it.

He burns half of it in the fire,

and he roasts meat on that half.

He eats the roast and is satisfied.

Indeed, he warms himself and says,

“Ah! I am warm; I see the fire.”

From the rest he makes a god, his graven image.

He bows down to it and worships;

he prays to it and says,

“Save me, for you are my god.”

They do not comprehend or discern,

for He has shut their eyes so they cannot see

and closed their minds so they cannot understand.

And no one considers in his heart,

no one has the knowledge or insight to say,

“I burned half of it in the fire,

and I baked bread on its coals;

I roasted meat and I ate.

Shall I make something detestable with the rest of it?

Shall I bow down to a block of wood?”

He feeds on ashes.

His deluded heart has led him astray,

and he cannot deliver himself or say,

“Is not this thing in my right hand a lie?”

Remember these things, O Jacob,

for you are My servant, O Israel.

I have made you, and you are My servant;

O Israel, I will never forget you.

I have blotted out your transgressions like a cloud,

and your sins like a mist.

Return to Me, for I have redeemed you.

Sing for joy, O heavens, for the LORD has done this;

shout aloud, O depths of the earth.

Break forth in song, O mountains,

you forests and all your trees.

For the LORD has redeemed Jacob,

and revealed His glory in Israel.

Thus says the LORD,

your Redeemer who formed you from the womb:

“I am the LORD,

who has made all things,

who alone stretched out the heavens,

who by Myself spread out the earth,

who foils the signs of false prophets

and makes fools of diviners,

who confounds the wise

and turns their knowledge into nonsense,

who confirms the message of His servant

and fulfills the counsel of His messengers,

who says of Jerusalem,

‘She will be inhabited,’

and of the cities of Judah,

‘They will be rebuilt, and I will restore their ruins,’

who says to the depths of the sea,

‘Be dry, and I will dry up your currents,’

who says of Cyrus,

‘My shepherd will fulfill all that I desire,’

who says of Jerusalem,

‘She will be rebuilt,’

and of the temple,

‘Let its foundation be laid.’ ”

Isaiah 45

This is what the LORD says to Cyrus His anointed,

whose right hand I have grasped

to subdue nations before him,

to disarm kings,

to open the doors before him,

so that the gates will not be shut:

“I will go before you

and level the mountains;

I will break down the gates of bronze

and cut through the bars of iron.

I will give you the treasures of darkness

and the riches hidden in secret places,

so that you may know that I am the LORD,

the God of Israel, who calls you by name.

For the sake of Jacob My servant

and Israel My chosen one,

I call you by name;

I have given you a title of honor,

though you have not known Me.

I am the LORD, and there is no other;

there is no God but Me.

I will equip you for battle,

though you have not known Me,

so that all may know,

from where the sun rises to where it sets,

that there is none but Me;

I am the LORD, and there is no other.

I form the light and create the darkness;

I bring prosperity and create calamity.

I, the LORD, do all these things.

Drip down, O heavens, from above,

and let the skies pour down righteousness.

Let the earth open up that salvation may sprout

and righteousness spring up with it;

I, the LORD, have created it.

Woe to him who quarrels with his Maker—

one clay pot among many.

Does the clay ask the potter,

‘What are you making?’

Does your work say,

‘He has no hands’?

Woe to him who says to his father,

‘What have you begotten?’

or to his mother,

‘What have you brought forth?’ ”

Thus says the LORD,

the Holy One of Israel, and its Maker:

“How dare you question Me about My sons,

or instruct Me in the work of My hands?

It is I who made the earth

and created man upon it.

It was My hands that stretched out the heavens,

and I ordained all their host.

I will raise up Cyrus in righteousness,

and I will make all his ways straight.

He will rebuild My city

and set My exiles free,

but not for payment or reward,

says the LORD of Hosts.”

This is what the LORD says:

“The products of Egypt and the merchandise of Cush,

along with the Sabeans, men of stature,

will come over to you

and will be yours;

they will trudge behind you;

they will come over in chains and bow down to you.

They will confess to you:

‘God is indeed with you, and there is no other;

there is no other God.’ ”

Truly You are a God who hides Himself,

O God of Israel, the Savior.

They will all be put to shame and humiliated;

the makers of idols will depart together in disgrace.

But Israel will be saved by the LORD

with an everlasting salvation;

you will not be put to shame or humiliated,

to ages everlasting.

For thus says the LORD,

who created the heavens—He is God;

He formed the earth and fashioned it;

He established it;

He did not create it to be empty,

but formed it to be inhabited:

“I am the LORD,

and there is no other.

I have not spoken in secret,

from a place in a land of darkness.

I did not say to the descendants of Jacob,

‘Seek Me in a wasteland.’

I, the LORD, speak the truth;

I say what is right.

Come, gather together, and draw near,

you fugitives from the nations.

Ignorant are those who carry idols of wood

and pray to a god that cannot save.

Speak up and present your case—

yes, let them take counsel together.

Who foretold this long ago?

Who announced it from ancient times?

Was it not I, the LORD?

There is no other God but Me,

a righteous God and Savior;

there is none but Me.

Turn to Me and be saved,

all the ends of the earth;

for I am God,

and there is no other.

By Myself I have sworn;

truth has gone out from My mouth,

a word that will not be revoked:

Every knee will bow before Me,

every tongue will swear allegiance.

Surely they will say of Me,

‘In the LORD alone are righteousness and strength.’ ”

All who rage against Him

will come to Him and be put to shame.

In the LORD all descendants of Israel

will be justified and will exult.

Isaiah 46

Bel crouches; Nebo cowers.

Their idols weigh down beasts and cattle.

The images you carry are burdensome,

a load to the weary animal.

The gods cower; they crouch together,

unable to relieve the burden;

but they themselves go into captivity.

“Listen to Me, O house of Jacob,

all the remnant of the house of Israel,

who have been sustained from the womb,

carried along since birth.

Even to your old age, I will be the same,

and I will bear you up when you turn gray.

I have made you, and I will carry you;

I will sustain you and deliver you.

To whom will you liken Me or count Me equal?

To whom will you compare Me, that we should be alike?

They pour out their bags of gold

and weigh out silver on scales;

they hire a goldsmith to fashion it into a god,

so they can bow down and worship.

They lift it to their shoulder

and carry it along;

they set it in its place, and there it stands,

not budging from that spot.

They cry out to it, but it does not answer;

it saves no one from his troubles.

Remember this and be brave;

take it to heart, you transgressors!

Remember what happened long ago,

for I am God, and there is no other;

I am God, and there is none like Me.

I declare the end from the beginning,

and ancient times from what is still to come.

I say, ‘My purpose will stand,

and all My good pleasure I will accomplish.’

I summon a bird of prey from the east,

a man for My purpose from a far-off land.

Truly I have spoken,

and truly I will bring it to pass.

I have planned it,

and I will surely do it.

Listen to Me, you stubborn people,

far removed from righteousness:

I am bringing My righteousness near;

it is not far away, and My salvation will not be delayed.

I will grant salvation to Zion

and adorn Israel with My splendor.

Isaiah 47

“Go down and sit in the dust,

O Virgin Daughter of Babylon.

Sit on the ground without a throne,

O Daughter of Chaldea!

For you will no longer be called

tender or delicate.

Take millstones and grind flour;

remove your veil;

strip off your skirt, bare your thigh,

and wade through the streams.

Your nakedness will be uncovered

and your shame will be exposed.

I will take vengeance;

I will spare no one.”

Our Redeemer—the LORD of Hosts is His name—

is the Holy One of Israel.

“Sit in silence and go into darkness,

O Daughter of Chaldea.

For you will no longer be called

the queen of kingdoms.

I was angry with My people;

I profaned My heritage,

and I placed them under your control.

You showed them no mercy;

even on the elderly you laid a most heavy yoke.

You said, ‘I will be queen forever.’

You did not take these things to heart

or consider their outcome.

So now hear this,

O lover of luxury who sits securely,

who says to herself,

‘I am, and there is none besides me.

I will never be a widow

or know the loss of children.’

These two things will overtake you in a moment,

in a single day:

loss of children, and widowhood.

They will come upon you in full measure,

in spite of your many sorceries

and the potency of your spells.

You were secure in your wickedness;

you said, ‘No one sees me.’

Your wisdom and knowledge led you astray;

you told yourself, ‘I am, and there is none besides me.’

But disaster will come upon you;

you will not know how to charm it away.

A calamity will befall you

that you will be unable to ward off.

Devastation will happen to you

suddenly and unexpectedly.

So take your stand with your spells

and with your many sorceries,

with which you have wearied yourself

from your youth.

Perhaps you will succeed;

perhaps you will inspire terror!

You are wearied by your many counselors;

let them come forward now and save you—

your astrologers who observe the stars,

who monthly predict your fate.

Surely they are like stubble;

the fire will burn them up.

They cannot deliver themselves

from the power of the flame.

There will be no coals to warm them

or fire to sit beside.

This is what they are to you—

those with whom you have labored and traded from youth—

each one strays in his own direction;

not one of them can save you.

Matthew 12

At that time Jesus went through the grainfields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat them.

When the Pharisees saw this, they said to Him, “Look, Your disciples are doing what is unlawful on the Sabbath.”

Jesus replied, “Have you not read what David did when he and his companions were hungry?

He entered the house of God, and he and his companions ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for them to eat, but only for the priests.

Or haven’t you read in the Law that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath and yet are innocent?

But I tell you that something greater than the temple is here.

If only you had known the meaning of ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice,’ you would not have condemned the innocent. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Moving on from there, Jesus entered their synagogue, and a man with a withered hand was there. In order to accuse Jesus, they asked Him, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath?”

He replied, “If one of you has a sheep and it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, will he not take hold of it and lift it out?

How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.”

Then Jesus said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” So he stretched it out, and it was restored to full use, just like the other. But the Pharisees went out and plotted how they might kill Jesus.

Aware of this, Jesus withdrew from that place. Large crowds followed Him, and He healed them all, warning them not to make Him known.

This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“Here is My Servant,

whom I have chosen,

My beloved,

in whom My soul delights.

I will put My Spirit on Him,

and He will proclaim justice to the nations.

He will not quarrel or cry out;

no one will hear His voice in the streets.

A bruised reed He will not break,

and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish,

till He leads justice to victory.

In His name the nations will put their hope.”

Then a demon-possessed man who was blind and mute was brought to Jesus, and He healed the man so that he could speak and see.

The crowds were astounded and asked, “Could this be the Son of David?”

But when the Pharisees heard this, they said, “Only by Beelzebul, the prince of demons, does this man drive out demons.”

Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said to them, “Every kingdom divided against itself will be laid waste, and every city or household divided against itself will not stand.

If Satan drives out Satan, he is divided against himself. How then can his kingdom stand?

And if I drive out demons by Beelzebul, by whom do your sons drive them out? So then, they will be your judges.

But if I drive out demons by the Spirit of God, then the kingdom of God has come upon you.

Or again, how can anyone enter a strong man’s house and steal his possessions, unless he first ties up the strong man? Then he can plunder his house.

He who is not with Me is against Me, and he who does not gather with Me scatters.

Therefore I tell you, every sin and blasphemy will be forgiven men, but the blasphemy against the Spirit will not be forgiven.

Whoever speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but whoever speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the one to come.

Make a tree good and its fruit will be good, or make a tree bad and its fruit will be bad; for a tree is known by its fruit.

You brood of vipers, how can you who are evil say anything good? For out of the overflow of the heart, the mouth speaks.

The good man brings good things out of his good store of treasure, and the evil man brings evil things out of his evil store of treasure.

But I tell you that men will give an account on the day of judgment for every careless word they have spoken.

For by your words you will be acquitted, and by your words you will be condemned.”

Then some of the scribes and Pharisees said to Him, “Teacher, we want to see a sign from You.”

Jesus replied, “A wicked and adulterous generation demands a sign, but none will be given it except the sign of the prophet Jonah.

For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so the Son of Man will be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

The men of Nineveh will stand at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now One greater than Jonah is here.

The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for she came from the ends of the earth to hear the wisdom of Solomon, and now One greater than Solomon is here.

When an unclean spirit comes out of a man, it passes through arid places seeking rest and does not find it.

Then it says, ‘I will return to the house I left.’ On its return, it finds the house vacant, swept clean, and put in order.

Then it goes and brings with it seven other spirits more wicked than itself, and they go in and dwell there; and the final plight of that man is worse than the first. So will it be with this wicked generation.”

While Jesus was still speaking to the crowds, His mother and brothers stood outside, wanting to speak to Him.

Someone told Him, “Look, Your mother and brothers are standing outside, wanting to speak to You.”

But Jesus replied, “Who is My mother, and who are My brothers?” Pointing to His disciples, He said, “Here are My mother and My brothers.

For whoever does the will of My Father in heaven is My brother and sister and mother.”

Matthew 13

That same day Jesus went out of the house and sat by the sea. Such large crowds gathered around Him that He got into a boat and sat down, while all the people stood on the shore.

And He told them many things in parables, saying, “A farmer went out to sow his seed. And as he was sowing, some seed fell along the path, and the birds came and devoured it.

Some fell on rocky ground, where it did not have much soil. It sprang up quickly because the soil was shallow.

But when the sun rose, the seedlings were scorched, and they withered because they had no root.

Other seed fell among thorns, which grew up and choked the seedlings.

Still other seed fell on good soil and produced a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.

He who has ears, let him hear.”

Then the disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why do You speak to the people in parables?”

He replied, “The knowledge of the mysteries of the kingdom of heaven has been given to you, but not to them.

Whoever has will be given more, and he will have an abundance. Whoever does not have, even what he has will be taken away from him. This is why I speak to them in parables:

‘Though seeing, they do not see;

though hearing, they do not hear or understand.’

In them the prophecy of Isaiah is fulfilled:

‘You will be ever hearing but never understanding;

you will be ever seeing but never perceiving.

For this people’s heart has grown callous;

they hardly hear with their ears,

and they have closed their eyes.

Otherwise they might see with their eyes,

hear with their ears,

understand with their hearts,

and turn, and I would heal them.’

But blessed are your eyes because they see, and your ears because they hear.

For truly I tell you, many prophets and righteous men longed to see what you see but did not see it, and to hear what you hear but did not hear it.

Consider, then, the parable of the sower:

When anyone hears the message of the kingdom but does not understand it, the evil one comes and snatches away what was sown in his heart. This is the seed sown along the path.

The seed sown on rocky ground is the one who hears the word and at once receives it with joy.

But since he has no root, he remains for only a season. When trouble or persecution comes because of the word, he quickly falls away.

The seed sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful.

But the seed sown on good soil is the one who hears the word and understands it. He indeed bears fruit and produces a crop—a hundredfold, sixtyfold, or thirtyfold.”

Jesus put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a man who sowed good seed in his field.

But while everyone was asleep, his enemy came and sowed weeds among the wheat, and slipped away. When the wheat sprouted and bore grain, then the weeds also appeared.

The owner’s servants came to him and said, ‘Sir, didn’t you sow good seed in your field? Where then did the weeds come from?’

‘An enemy did this,’ he replied.

So the servants asked him, ‘Do you want us to go and pull them up?’

‘No,’ he said, ‘if you pull the weeds now, you might uproot the wheat with them.

Let both grow together until the harvest. At that time I will tell the harvesters: First collect the weeds and tie them in bundles to be burned; then gather the wheat into my barn.’ ”

He put before them another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like a mustard seed that a man planted in his field.

Although it is the smallest of all seeds, yet it grows into the largest of garden plants and becomes a tree, so that the birds of the air come and nest in its branches.”

He told them still another parable: “The kingdom of heaven is like leaven that a woman took and mixed into three measures of flour, until all of it was leavened.”

Jesus spoke all these things to the crowds in parables. He did not tell them anything without using a parable. So was fulfilled what was spoken through the prophet:

“I will open My mouth in parables;

I will utter things hidden since the foundation of the world.”

Then Jesus dismissed the crowds and went into the house. His disciples came to Him and said, “Explain to us the parable of the weeds in the field.”

He replied, “The One who sows the good seed is the Son of Man.

The field is the world, and the good seed represents the sons of the kingdom. The weeds are the sons of the evil one,

and the enemy who sows them is the devil. The harvest is the end of the age, and the harvesters are angels.

As the weeds are collected and burned in the fire, so will it be at the end of the age.

The Son of Man will send out His angels, and they will weed out of His kingdom every cause of sin and all who practice lawlessness.

And they will throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth. Then the righteous will shine like the sun in the kingdom of their Father.

He who has ears, let him hear.

The kingdom of heaven is like treasure hidden in a field. When a man found it, he hid it again, and in his joy he went and sold all he had and bought that field.

Again, the kingdom of heaven is like a merchant in search of fine pearls. When he found one very precious pearl, he went away and sold all he had and bought it.

Once again, the kingdom of heaven is like a net that was cast into the sea and caught all kinds of fish.

When it was full, the men pulled it ashore. Then they sat down and sorted the good fish into containers, but threw the bad away.

So will it be at the end of the age: The angels will come and separate the wicked from the righteous,

and throw them into the fiery furnace, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.

Have you understood all these things?”

“Yes,” they answered.

Then He told them, “For this reason, every scribe who has been discipled in the kingdom of heaven is like a homeowner who brings out of his storeroom new treasures as well as old.”

When Jesus had finished these parables, He withdrew from that place.

Coming to His hometown, He taught the people in their synagogue, and they were astonished. “Where did this man get such wisdom and miraculous powers?” they asked.

“Isn’t this the carpenter’s son? Isn’t His mother’s name Mary, and aren’t His brothers James, Joseph, Simon, and Judas?

Aren’t all His sisters with us as well? Where then did this man get all these things?” And they took offense at Him.

But Jesus said to them, “Only in his hometown and in his own household is a prophet without honor.” And He did not do many miracles there, because of their unbelief.

Fatherhood requires that one be in relationship with one’s children. The Father models this by bearing with us, his adopted children. At the time of filming this segment, my daughters were needy, and my wife was unable to shoulder them. My eldest needed to read for me, and my youngest needed to be held by me. For that reason, I wasn’t able to pay attention as well as I would hope.

Even so, the Isaiah scriptures were familiar. Lots about turning arid regions into lush, and vice versa. Blessings and curses, conditioned upon covenant obedience. Jesus is undergirding all of these things, unseen until he appeared, still not seen by those who haven’t been given eyes to see.

Jesus’ teachings are beyond critique. We are blessed to receive them in purity today.

Isaiah 40

“Comfort, comfort My people,”

says your God.

“Speak tenderly to Jerusalem,

and proclaim to her

that her forced labor has been completed;

her iniquity has been pardoned.

For she has received from the hand of the LORD

double for all her sins.”

A voice of one calling:

“Prepare the way for the LORD in the wilderness;

make a straight highway for our God in the desert.

Every valley shall be lifted up,

and every mountain and hill made low;

the uneven ground will become smooth,

and the rugged land a plain.

And the glory of the LORD will be revealed,

and all humanity together will see it.

For the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

A voice says, “Cry out!”

And I asked, “What should I cry out?”

“All flesh is like grass,

and all its glory like the flowers of the field.

The grass withers and the flowers fall

when the breath of the LORD blows on them;

indeed, the people are grass.

The grass withers and the flowers fall,

but the word of our God stands forever.”

Go up on a high mountain,

O Zion, herald of good news.

Raise your voice loudly,

O Jerusalem, herald of good news.

Lift it up,

do not be afraid!

Say to the cities of Judah,

“Here is your God!”

Behold, the Lord GOD comes with might,

and His arm establishes His rule.

His reward is with Him,

and His recompense accompanies Him.

He tends His flock like a shepherd;

He gathers the lambs in His arms

and carries them close to His heart.

He gently leads the nursing ewes.

Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand,

or marked off the heavens with the span of his hand?

Who has held the dust of the earth in a basket,

or weighed the mountains on a scale

and the hills with a balance?

Who has directed the Spirit of the LORD,

or informed Him as His counselor?

Whom did He consult to enlighten Him,

and who taught Him the paths of justice?

Who imparted knowledge to Him

and showed Him the way of understanding?

Surely the nations are like a drop in a bucket;

they are considered a speck of dust on the scales;

He lifts up the islands like fine dust.

Lebanon is not sufficient for fuel,

nor its animals enough for a burnt offering.

All the nations are as nothing before Him;

He regards them as nothingness and emptiness.

To whom will you liken God?

To what image will you compare Him?

To an idol that a craftsman casts

and a metalworker overlays with gold

and fits with silver chains?

To one bereft of an offering

who chooses wood that will not rot,

who seeks a skilled craftsman

to set up an idol that will not topple?

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

Has it not been declared to you from the beginning?

Have you not understood since the foundation of the earth?

He sits enthroned above the circle of the earth;

its dwellers are like grasshoppers.

He stretches out the heavens like a curtain,

and spreads them out like a tent to dwell in.

He brings the princes to nothing

and makes the rulers of the earth meaningless.

No sooner are they planted, no sooner are they sown,

no sooner have their stems taken root in the ground,

than He blows on them and they wither,

and a whirlwind sweeps them away like stubble.

“To whom will you liken Me,

or who is My equal?” asks the Holy One.

Lift up your eyes on high:

Who created all these?

He leads forth the starry host by number;

He calls each one by name.

Because of His great power and mighty strength,

not one of them is missing.

Why do you say, O Jacob,

and why do you assert, O Israel,

“My way is hidden from the LORD,

and my claim is ignored by my God”?

Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The LORD is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary;

His understanding is beyond searching out.

He gives power to the faint

and increases the strength of the weak.

Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall.

But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength;

they will mount up with wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not faint.

Isaiah 41

“Be silent before Me, O islands,

and let the peoples renew their strength.

Let them come forward and testify;

let us together draw near for judgment.

Who has aroused one from the east

and called him to his feet in righteousness ?

He hands nations over to him

and subdues kings before him.

He turns them to dust with his sword,

to windblown chaff with his bow.

He pursues them, going on safely,

hardly touching the path with his feet.

Who has performed this and carried it out,

calling forth the generations from the beginning?

I, the LORD—the first and the last—

I am He.”

The islands see and fear;

the ends of the earth tremble.

They approach and come forward.

Each one helps the other

and says to his brother, “Be strong!”

The craftsman encourages the goldsmith,

and he who wields the hammer

cheers him who strikes the anvil,

saying of the welding, “It is good.”

He nails it down so it will not be toppled.

“But you, O Israel, My servant,

Jacob, whom I have chosen,

descendant of Abraham My friend—

I brought you from the ends of the earth

and called you from its farthest corners.

I said, ‘You are My servant.’

I have chosen and not rejected you.

Do not fear, for I am with you;

do not be afraid, for I am your God.

I will strengthen you; I will surely help you;

I will uphold you with My right hand of righteousness.

Behold, all who rage against you

will be ashamed and disgraced;

those who contend with you

will be reduced to nothing and will perish.

You will seek them but will not find them.

Those who wage war against you will come to nothing.

For I am the LORD your God,

who takes hold of your right hand

and tells you: Do not fear,

I will help you.

Do not fear, O worm of Jacob,

O few men of Israel.

I will help you,” declares the LORD.

“Your Redeemer is the Holy One of Israel.

Behold, I will make you into a threshing sledge,

new and sharp, with many teeth.

You will thresh the mountains and crush them,

and reduce the hills to chaff.

You will winnow them, and a wind will carry them away;

a gale will scatter them.

But you will rejoice in the LORD;

you will glory in the Holy One of Israel.

The poor and needy seek water, but there is none;

their tongues are parched with thirst.

I, the LORD, will answer them;

I, the God of Israel, will not forsake them.

I will open rivers on the barren heights,

and fountains in the middle of the valleys.

I will turn the desert into a pool of water,

and the dry land into flowing springs.

I will plant cedars in the wilderness,

acacias, myrtles, and olive trees.

I will set cypresses in the desert,

elms and boxwood together,

so that all may see and know,

may consider and understand,

that the hand of the LORD has done this

and the Holy One of Israel has created it.”

“Present your case,” says the LORD.

“Submit your arguments,” says the King of Jacob.

“Let them come and tell us what will happen.

Tell the former things,

so that we may reflect on them and know the outcome.

Or announce to us what is coming.

Tell us the things that are to come,

so that we may know that you are gods.

Yes, do something good or evil,

that we may look on together in dismay.

Behold, you are nothing

and your work is of no value.

Anyone who chooses you is detestable.

I have raised up one from the north, and he has come—

one from the east who calls on My name.

He will march over rulers as if they were mortar,

like a potter who treads the clay.

Who has declared this from the beginning,

so that we may know,

and from times past,

so that we may say: ‘He was right’?

No one announced it, no one foretold it,

no one heard your words.

I was the first to tell Zion:

‘Look, here they are!’

And I gave to Jerusalem

a herald of good news.

When I look, there is no one;

there is no counselor among them;

when I ask them,

they have nothing to say.

See, they are all a delusion;

their works amount to nothing;

their images are as empty as the wind.

Isaiah 42

“Here is My Servant, whom I uphold,

My Chosen One, in whom My soul delights.

I will put My Spirit on Him,

and He will bring justice to the nations.

He will not cry out or raise His voice,

nor make His voice heard in the streets.

A bruised reed He will not break

and a smoldering wick He will not extinguish;

He will faithfully bring forth justice.

He will not grow weak or discouraged

before He has established justice on the earth.

In His law the islands will put their hope.”

This is what God the LORD says—

He who created the heavens

and stretched them out,

who spread out the earth and its offspring,

who gives breath to the people on it

and life to those who walk in it:

“I, the LORD, have called you

for a righteous purpose,

and I will take hold of your hand.

I will keep you and appoint you

to be a covenant for the people

and a light to the nations,

to open the eyes of the blind,

to bring prisoners out of the dungeon

and those sitting in darkness

out from the prison house.

I am the LORD;

that is My name!

I will not yield My glory to another

or My praise to idols.

Behold, the former things have happened,

and now I declare new things.

Before they spring forth

I proclaim them to you.”

Sing to the LORD a new song—

His praise from the ends of the earth—

you who go down to the sea, and all that is in it,

you islands, and all who dwell in them.

Let the desert and its cities raise their voices;

let the villages of Kedar cry aloud.

Let the people of Sela sing for joy;

let them cry out from the mountaintops.

Let them give glory to the LORD

and declare His praise in the islands.

The LORD goes forth like a mighty one;

He stirs up His zeal like a warrior.

He shouts; yes, He roars

in triumph over His enemies:

“I have kept silent from ages past;

I have remained quiet and restrained.

But now I will groan like a woman in labor;

I will at once gasp and pant.

I will lay waste the mountains and hills

and dry up all their vegetation.

I will turn the rivers into dry land

and drain the marshes.

I will lead the blind by a way they did not know;

I will guide them on unfamiliar paths.

I will turn darkness into light before them

and rough places into level ground.

These things I will do for them,

and I will not forsake them.

But those who trust in idols

and say to molten images, ‘You are our gods!’

will be turned back in utter shame.

Listen, you deaf ones;

look, you blind ones, that you may see!

Who is blind but My servant,

or deaf like the messenger I am sending?

Who is blind like My covenant partner,

or blind like the servant of the LORD?

Though seeing many things, you do not keep watch.

Though your ears are open, you do not hear.”

The LORD was pleased, for the sake of His righteousness,

to magnify His law and make it glorious.

But this is a people plundered and looted,

all trapped in caves or imprisoned in dungeons.

They have become plunder with no one to rescue them,

and loot with no one to say, “Send them back!”

Who among you will pay attention to this?

Who will listen and obey hereafter?

Who gave Jacob up for spoil,

and Israel to the plunderers?

Was it not the LORD,

against whom we have sinned?

They were unwilling to walk in His ways,

and they would not obey His law.

So He poured out on them His furious anger

and the fierceness of battle.

It enveloped them in flames,

but they did not understand;

it consumed them,

but they did not take it to heart.

Isaiah 43

Now this is what the LORD says—

He who created you, O Jacob,

and He who formed you, O Israel:

“Do not fear, for I have redeemed you;

I have called you by your name; you are Mine!

When you pass through the waters,

I will be with you;

and when you go through the rivers,

they will not overwhelm you.

When you walk through the fire,

you will not be scorched;

the flames will not set you ablaze.

For I am the LORD your God,

the Holy One of Israel, your Savior;

I give Egypt for your ransom,

Cush and Seba in your place.

Because you are precious and honored in My sight,

and because I love you,

I will give men in exchange for you

and nations in place of your life.

Do not be afraid, for I am with you;

I will bring your offspring from the east

and gather you from the west.

I will say to the north, ‘Give them up!’

and to the south, ‘Do not hold them back!’

Bring My sons from afar,

and My daughters from the ends of the earth—

everyone called by My name and created for My glory,

whom I have indeed formed and made.”

Bring out a people who have eyes but are blind,

and who have ears but are deaf.

All the nations gather together

and the peoples assemble.

Who among them can declare this,

and proclaim to us the former things?

Let them present their witnesses to vindicate them,

so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”

“You are My witnesses,” declares the LORD,

“and My servant whom I have chosen,

so that you may consider and believe Me

and understand that I am He.

Before Me no god was formed,

and after Me none will come.

I, yes I, am the LORD,

and there is no Savior but Me.

I alone decreed and saved and proclaimed—

I, and not some foreign god among you.

So you are My witnesses,” declares the LORD,

“that I am God.

Even from eternity I am He,

and none can deliver out of My hand.

When I act, who can reverse it?”

Thus says the LORD your Redeemer,

the Holy One of Israel:

“For your sake, I will send to Babylon

and bring them all as fugitives,

even the Chaldeans,

in the ships in which they rejoice.

I am the LORD, your Holy One,

the Creator of Israel, and your King.”

Thus says the LORD, who makes a way in the sea

and a path through the surging waters,

who brings out the chariots and horses,

the armies and warriors together,

to lie down, never to rise again;

to be extinguished, snuffed out like a wick:

“Do not call to mind the former things;

pay no attention to the things of old.

Behold, I am about to do something new;

even now it is coming. Do you not see it?

Indeed, I will make a way in the wilderness

and streams in the desert.

The beasts of the field will honor Me,

the jackals and the ostriches,

because I provide water in the wilderness

and rivers in the desert,

to give drink to My chosen people.

The people I formed for Myself

will declare My praise.

But you have not called on Me, O Jacob,

because you have grown weary of Me, O Israel.

You have not brought Me sheep for burnt offerings,

nor honored Me with your sacrifices.

I have not burdened you with offerings,

nor wearied you with frankincense.

You have not bought Me sweet cane with your silver,

nor satisfied Me with the fat of your sacrifices.

But you have burdened Me with your sins;

you have wearied Me with your iniquities.

I, yes I, am He

who blots out your transgressions for My own sake

and remembers your sins no more.

Remind Me, let us argue the matter together.

State your case, so that you may be vindicated.

Your first father sinned,

and your spokesmen rebelled against Me.

So I will disgrace the princes of your sanctuary,

and I will devote Jacob to destruction and Israel to reproach.”

Matthew 10

And calling His twelve disciples to Him, Jesus gave them authority over unclean spirits, so that they could drive them out and heal every disease and sickness.

These are the names of the twelve apostles: first Simon, called Peter, and his brother Andrew; James son of Zebedee, and his brother John;

Philip and Bartholomew; Thomas and Matthew the tax collector; James son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus; Simon the Zealot, and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Jesus.

These twelve Jesus sent out with the following instructions: “Do not go onto the road of the Gentiles or enter any town of the Samaritans. Go rather to the lost sheep of Israel.

As you go, preach this message: ‘The kingdom of heaven is near.’ Heal the sick, raise the dead, cleanse the lepers, drive out demons. Freely you have received; freely give.

Do not carry any gold or silver or copper in your belts. Take no bag for the road, or second tunic, or sandals, or staff; for the worker is worthy of his provisions.

Whatever town or village you enter, find out who is worthy there and stay at his house until you move on. As you enter the home, greet its occupants.

If the home is worthy, let your peace rest on it; but if it is not, let your peace return to you.

And if anyone will not welcome you or heed your words, shake the dust off your feet when you leave that home or town.

Truly I tell you, it will be more bearable for Sodom and Gomorrah on the day of judgment than for that town.

Behold, I am sending you out like sheep among wolves; therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.

But beware of men; for they will hand you over to their councils and flog you in their synagogues.

On My account, you will be brought before governors and kings as witnesses to them and to the Gentiles.

But when they hand you over, do not worry about how to respond or what to say. In that hour you will be given what to say.

For it will not be you speaking, but the Spirit of your Father speaking through you.

Brother will betray brother to death, and a father his child; children will rise against their parents and have them put to death.

You will be hated by everyone because of My name, but the one who perseveres to the end will be saved.

When they persecute you in one town, flee to the next. Truly I tell you, you will not reach all the towns of Israel before the Son of Man comes.

A disciple is not above his teacher, nor a servant above his master.

It is enough for a disciple to be like his teacher, and a servant like his master. If the head of the house has been called Beelzebul, how much more the members of his household!

So do not be afraid of them. For there is nothing concealed that will not be disclosed, and nothing hidden that will not be made known.

What I tell you in the dark, speak in the daylight; what is whispered in your ear, proclaim from the housetops.

Do not be afraid of those who kill the body but cannot kill the soul. Instead, fear the One who can destroy both soul and body in hell.

Are not two sparrows sold for a penny? Yet not one of them will fall to the ground apart from the will of your Father. And even the very hairs of your head are all numbered.

So do not be afraid; you are worth more than many sparrows.

Therefore everyone who confesses Me before men, I will also confess him before My Father in heaven.

But whoever denies Me before men, I will also deny him before My Father in heaven.

Do not assume that I have come to bring peace to the earth; I have not come to bring peace, but a sword. For I have come to turn

‘a man against his father,

a daughter against her mother,

a daughter-in-law against her mother-in-law.

A man’s enemies will be the members

of his own household.’

Anyone who loves his father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me; anyone who loves his son or daughter more than Me is not worthy of Me;

and anyone who does not take up his cross and follow Me is not worthy of Me. Whoever finds his life will lose it, and whoever loses his life for My sake will find it.

He who receives you receives Me, and he who receives Me receives the One who sent Me.

Whoever receives a prophet because he is a prophet will receive a prophet’s reward, and whoever receives a righteous man because he is a righteous man will receive a righteous man’s reward.

And if anyone gives even a cup of cold water to one of these little ones because he is My disciple, truly I tell you, he will never lose his reward.”

Matthew 11

After Jesus had finished instructing His twelve disciples, He went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

Meanwhile John heard in prison about the works of Christ, and he sent his disciples to ask Him, “Are You the One who was to come, or should we look for someone else?”

Jesus replied, “Go back and report to John what you hear and see:

The blind receive sight, the lame walk, the lepers are cleansed, the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is preached to the poor.

Blessed is the one who does not fall away on account of Me.”

As John’s disciples were leaving, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: “What did you go out into the wilderness to see? A reed swaying in the wind?

Otherwise, what did you go out to see? A man dressed in fine clothes? Look, those who wear fine clothing are found in kings’ palaces.

What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. This is the one about whom it is written:

‘Behold, I will send My messenger ahead of You,

who will prepare Your way before You.’

Truly I tell you, among those born of women there has risen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet even the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

From the days of John the Baptist until now, the kingdom of heaven has been subject to violence, and the violent lay claim to it.

For all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John. And if you are willing to accept it, he is the Elijah who was to come.

He who has ears, let him hear.

To what can I compare this generation? They are like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling out to others:

‘We played the flute for you,

and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge,

and you did not mourn.’

For John came neither eating nor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon!’

The Son of Man came eating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at this glutton and drunkard, a friend of tax collectors and sinners!’ But wisdom is vindicated by her actions.”

Then Jesus began to denounce the cities in which most of His miracles had been performed, because they did not repent.

“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.

But I tell you, it will be more bearable for Tyre and Sidon on the day of judgment than for you.

And you, Capernaum, will you be lifted up to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades! For if the miracles that were performed in you had been performed in Sodom, it would have remained to this day.

But I tell you that it will be more bearable for Sodom on the day of judgment than for you.”

At that time Jesus declared, “I praise You, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because You have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children.

Yes, Father, for this was well-pleasing in Your sight.

All things have been entrusted to Me by My Father. No one knows the Son except the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal Him.

Come to Me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.

Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me; for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.”

Isaiah continues to speak the truth in the context of the Israelite King Hezekiah slowly bringing about the doom of his nation. Of course, the doom is not final, and God eventually restores the fortunes of his people. But in today’s portion, Hezekiah welcomes Judah’s own destroyers into his own palace. There’s probably a lesson for us somewhere in here.

The time spent with Jesus in Matthew is well-spent. The man went about forgiving sins, healing sicknesses, casting out demons. His teachings were inscrutable. His conduct was powerful. His power was indubitable. Blessed be the name of the Lord!

Isaiah 36

In the fourteenth year of Hezekiah’s reign, Sennacherib king of Assyria attacked and captured all the fortified cities of Judah.

And the king of Assyria sent the Rabshakeh, with a great army, from Lachish to King Hezekiah at Jerusalem. And he stopped by the aqueduct of the upper pool, on the road to the Launderer’s Field.

Then Eliakim son of Hilkiah the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Joah son of Asaph the recorder, went out to him.

The Rabshakeh said to them, “Tell Hezekiah that this is what the great king, the king of Assyria, says: What is the basis of this confidence of yours?

You claim to have a strategy and strength for war, but these are empty words. In whom are you now trusting, that you have rebelled against me?

Look now, you are trusting in Egypt, that splintered reed of a staff that will pierce the hand of anyone who leans on it. Such is Pharaoh king of Egypt to all who trust in him.

But if you say to me, ‘We trust in the LORD our God,’ is He not the One whose high places and altars Hezekiah has removed, saying to Judah and Jerusalem, ‘You must worship before this altar’?

Now, therefore, make a bargain with my master, the king of Assyria. I will give you two thousand horses—if you can put riders on them!

For how can you repel a single officer among the least of my master’s servants when you depend on Egypt for chariots and horsemen?

So now, was it apart from the LORD that I have come up against this land to destroy it? The LORD Himself said to me, ‘Go up against this land and destroy it.’ ”

Then Eliakim, Shebna, and Joah said to the Rabshakeh, “Please speak to your servants in Aramaic, since we understand it. Do not speak to us in Hebrew in the hearing of the people on the wall.”

But the Rabshakeh replied, “Has my master sent me to speak these words only to you and your master, and not to the men sitting on the wall, who are destined with you to eat their own dung and drink their own urine?”

Then the Rabshakeh stood and called out loudly in Hebrew: “Hear the words of the great king, the king of Assyria!

This is what the king says: Do not let Hezekiah deceive you, for he cannot deliver you.

Do not let Hezekiah persuade you to trust in the LORD when he says, ‘The LORD will surely deliver us; this city will not be given into the hand of the king of Assyria.’

Do not listen to Hezekiah, for this is what the king of Assyria says: Make peace with me and come out to me. Then every one of you will eat from his own vine and his own fig tree, and drink water from his own cistern,

until I come and take you away to a land like your own—a land of grain and new wine, a land of bread and vineyards.

Do not let Hezekiah mislead you when he says, ‘The LORD will deliver us.’ Has the god of any nation ever delivered his land from the hand of the king of Assyria?

Where are the gods of Hamath and Arpad? Where are the gods of Sepharvaim? Have they delivered Samaria from my hand?

Who among all the gods of these lands has delivered his land from my hand? How then can the LORD deliver Jerusalem from my hand?”

But the people remained silent and did not answer a word, for Hezekiah had commanded, “Do not answer him.”

Then Hilkiah’s son Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and Asaph’s son Joah the recorder came to Hezekiah with their clothes torn, and they relayed to him the words of the Rabshakeh.

Isaiah 37

On hearing this report, King Hezekiah tore his clothes, put on sackcloth, and entered the house of the LORD.

And he sent Eliakim the palace administrator, Shebna the scribe, and the leading priests, all wearing sackcloth, to the prophet Isaiah son of Amoz

to tell him, “This is what Hezekiah says: Today is a day of distress, rebuke, and disgrace; for children have come to the point of birth, but there is no strength to deliver them.

Perhaps the LORD your God will hear the words of the Rabshakeh, whom his master the king of Assyria has sent to defy the living God, and He will rebuke him for the words that the LORD your God has heard. Therefore lift up a prayer for the remnant that still survives.”

So the servants of King Hezekiah went to Isaiah,

who replied, “Tell your master that this is what the LORD says: ‘Do not be afraid of the words you have heard, with which the servants of the king of Assyria have blasphemed Me.

Behold, I will put a spirit in him so that he will hear a rumor and return to his own land, where I will cause him to fall by the sword.’ ”

When the Rabshakeh heard that the king of Assyria had left Lachish, he withdrew and found the king fighting against Libnah.

Now Sennacherib had been warned about Tirhakah king of Cush: “He has set out to fight against you.”

On hearing this, Sennacherib sent messengers to Hezekiah, saying,

“Give this message to Hezekiah king of Judah:

‘Do not let your God, in whom you trust, deceive you by saying that Jerusalem will not be delivered into the hand of the king of Assyria.

Surely you have heard what the kings of Assyria have done to all the other countries, devoting them to destruction. Will you then be spared?

Did the gods of the nations destroyed by my fathers rescue those nations—the gods of Gozan, Haran, and Rezeph, and of the people of Eden in Telassar?

Where are the kings of Hamath, Arpad, Sepharvaim, Hena, and Ivvah?’ ”

So Hezekiah received the letter from the messengers, read it, and went up to the house of the LORD and spread it out before the LORD. And Hezekiah prayed to the LORD:

“O LORD of Hosts, God of Israel, enthroned above the cherubim, You alone are God over all the kingdoms of the earth. You made the heavens and the earth.

Incline Your ear, O LORD, and hear; open Your eyes, O LORD, and see. Listen to all the words that Sennacherib has sent to defy the living God.

Truly, O LORD, the kings of Assyria have laid waste all these countries and their lands.

They have cast their gods into the fire and destroyed them, for they were not gods, but only wood and stone—the work of human hands.

And now, O LORD our God, save us from his hand, so that all the kingdoms of the earth may know that You alone, O LORD, are God.”

Then Isaiah son of Amoz sent a message to Hezekiah: “This is what the LORD, the God of Israel, says: Because you have prayed to Me concerning Sennacherib king of Assyria,

this is the word that the LORD has spoken against him:

‘The Virgin Daughter of Zion

despises you and mocks you;

the Daughter of Jerusalem

shakes her head behind you.

Whom have you taunted and blasphemed?

Against whom have you raised your voice

and lifted your eyes in pride?

Against the Holy One of Israel!

Through your servants you have taunted the Lord,

and you have said:

“With my many chariots

I have ascended

to the heights of the mountains,

to the remote peaks of Lebanon.

I have cut down its tallest cedars,

the finest of its cypresses.

I have reached its farthest heights,

the densest of its forests.

I have dug wells

and drunk foreign waters.

With the soles of my feet

I have dried up all the streams of Egypt.”

Have you not heard?

Long ago I ordained it;

in days of old I planned it.

Now I have brought it to pass,

that you should crush fortified cities

into piles of rubble.

Therefore their inhabitants, devoid of power,

are dismayed and ashamed.

They are like plants in the field,

tender green shoots,

grass on the rooftops,

scorched before it is grown.

But I know your sitting down,

your going out and coming in,

and your raging against Me.

Because your rage and arrogance against Me

have reached My ears,

I will put My hook in your nose

and My bit in your mouth;

I will send you back

the way you came.’

And this will be a sign to you, O Hezekiah:

This year you will eat

what grows on its own,

and in the second year

what springs from the same.

But in the third year you will sow and reap;

you will plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

And the surviving remnant of the house of Judah

will again take root below

and bear fruit above.

For a remnant will go forth from Jerusalem,

and survivors from Mount Zion.

The zeal of the LORD of Hosts

will accomplish this.

So this is what the LORD says about the king of Assyria:

‘He will not enter this city

or shoot an arrow into it.

He will not come before it with a shield

or build up a siege ramp against it.

He will go back the way he came,

and he will not enter this city,’

declares the LORD.

‘I will defend this city

and save it

for My own sake

and for the sake of My servant David.’ ”

Then the angel of the LORD went out and struck down 185,000 men in the camp of the Assyrians. When the people got up the next morning, there were all the dead bodies!

So Sennacherib king of Assyria broke camp and withdrew. He returned to Nineveh and stayed there.

One day, while he was worshiping in the temple of his god Nisroch, his sons Adrammelech and Sharezer put him to the sword and escaped to the land of Ararat. And his son Esar-haddon reigned in his place.

Isaiah 38

In those days Hezekiah became mortally ill. The prophet Isaiah son of Amoz came to him and said, “This is what the LORD says: ‘Put your house in order, for you are about to die; you will not recover.’ ”

Then Hezekiah turned his face to the wall and prayed to the LORD,

saying, “Please, O LORD, remember how I have walked before You faithfully and with wholehearted devotion; I have done what was good in Your sight.” And Hezekiah wept bitterly.

And the word of the LORD came to Isaiah, saying,

“Go and tell Hezekiah that this is what the LORD, the God of your father David, says: ‘I have heard your prayer; I have seen your tears. Behold, I will add fifteen years to your life.

And I will deliver you and this city from the hand of the king of Assyria. I will defend this city. This will be a sign to you from the LORD that He will do what He has promised:

I will make the sun’s shadow that falls on the stairway of Ahaz go back ten steps.’ ”

So the sunlight went back the ten steps it had descended.

This is a writing by Hezekiah king of Judah after his illness and recovery:

I said, “In the prime of my life

I must go through the gates of Sheol

and be deprived of the remainder of my years.”

I said, “I will never again see the LORD,

even the LORD, in the land of the living;

I will no longer look on mankind

with those who dwell in this world.

My dwelling has been picked up and removed from me

like a shepherd’s tent.

I have rolled up my life like a weaver;

He cuts me off from the loom;

from day until night You make an end of me.

I composed myself until the morning.

Like a lion He breaks all my bones;

from day until night You make an end of me.

I chirp like a swallow or crane;

I moan like a dove.

My eyes grow weak as I look upward.

O Lord, I am oppressed; be my security.”

What can I say?

He has spoken to me, and He Himself has done this.

I will walk slowly all my years

because of the anguish of my soul.

O Lord, by such things men live,

and in all of them my spirit finds life.

You have restored me to health

and have let me live.

Surely for my own welfare

I had such great anguish;

but Your love has delivered me from the pit of oblivion,

for You have cast all my sins behind Your back.

For Sheol cannot thank You;

Death cannot praise You.

Those who descend to the Pit

cannot hope for Your faithfulness.

The living, only the living, can thank You,

as I do today;

fathers will tell their children

about Your faithfulness.

The LORD will save me;

we will play songs on stringed instruments

all the days of our lives

in the house of the LORD.

Now Isaiah had said, “Prepare a lump of pressed figs and apply it to the boil, and he will recover.”

And Hezekiah had asked, “What will be the sign that I will go up to the house of the LORD?”

Isaiah 39

At that time Merodach-baladan son of Baladan king of Babylon sent letters and a gift to Hezekiah, for he had heard about Hezekiah’s illness and recovery.

And Hezekiah welcomed the envoys gladly and showed them what was in his treasure house—the silver, the gold, the spices, and the precious oil, as well as his entire armory—all that was found in his storehouses. There was nothing in his palace or in all his dominion that Hezekiah did not show them.

Then the prophet Isaiah went to King Hezekiah and asked, “Where did those men come from, and what did they say to you?”

“They came to me from a distant land,” Hezekiah replied, “from Babylon.”

“What have they seen in your palace?” Isaiah asked.

“They have seen everything in my palace,” answered Hezekiah. “There is nothing among my treasures that I did not show them.”

Then Isaiah said to Hezekiah, “Hear the word of the LORD of Hosts:

The time will surely come when everything in your palace and all that your fathers have stored up until this day will be carried off to Babylon. Nothing will be left, says the LORD.

And some of your descendants, your own flesh and blood, will be taken away to be eunuchs in the palace of the king of Babylon.”

But Hezekiah said to Isaiah, “The word of the LORD that you have spoken is good.” For he thought, “At least there will be peace and security in my lifetime.”

Matthew 8

When Jesus came down from the mountain, large crowds followed Him. Suddenly a leper came and knelt before Him, saying, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.”

Jesus reached out His hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” He said. “Be clean!” And immediately his leprosy was cleansed.

Then Jesus instructed him, “See that you don’t tell anyone. But go, show yourself to the priest and offer the gift prescribed by Moses, as a testimony to them.”

When Jesus had entered Capernaum, a centurion came and pleaded with Him, “Lord, my servant lies at home, paralyzed and in terrible agony.”

“I will go and heal him,” Jesus replied.

The centurion answered, “Lord, I am not worthy to have You come under my roof. But just say the word, and my servant will be healed.

For I myself am a man under authority, with soldiers under me. I tell one to go, and he goes; and another to come, and he comes. I tell my servant to do something, and he does it.”

When Jesus heard this, He marveled and said to those following Him, “Truly I tell you, I have not found anyone in Israel with such great faith.

I say to you that many will come from the east and the west to share the banquet with Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob in the kingdom of heaven.

But the sons of the kingdom will be thrown into the outer darkness, where there will be weeping and gnashing of teeth.”

Then Jesus said to the centurion, “Go! As you have believed, so will it be done for you.” And his servant was healed at that very hour.

When Jesus arrived at Peter’s house, He saw Peter’s mother-in-law sick in bed with a fever. So He touched her hand, and the fever left her, and she got up and began to serve them.

When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to Jesus, and He drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.

This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah:

“He took on our infirmities

and carried our diseases.”

When Jesus saw a large crowd around Him, He gave orders to cross to the other side of the sea.

And one of the scribes came to Him and said, “Teacher, I will follow You wherever You go.”

Jesus replied, “Foxes have dens and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay His head.”

Another of His disciples requested, “Lord, first let me go and bury my father.”

But Jesus told him, “Follow Me, and let the dead bury their own dead.”

When He got into the boat, His disciples followed Him. Suddenly a violent storm came up on the sea, so that the boat was engulfed by the waves; but Jesus was sleeping.

The disciples went and woke Him, saying, “Lord, save us! We are perishing!”

“You of little faith,” Jesus replied, “why are you so afraid?” Then He got up and rebuked the winds and the sea, and it was perfectly calm.

The men were amazed and asked, “What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the sea obey Him!”

When Jesus arrived on the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, He was met by two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs. They were so violent that no one could pass that way.

“What do You want with us, Son of God?” they shouted. “Have You come here to torture us before the appointed time?”

In the distance a large herd of pigs was feeding. So the demons begged Jesus, “If You drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs.”

“Go!” He told them. So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the sea and died in the waters.

Those tending the pigs ran off into the town and reported all this, including the account of the demon-possessed men.

Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw Him, they begged Him to leave their region.

Matthew 9

Jesus got into a boat, crossed over, and came to His own town. Just then some men brought to Him a paralytic lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, He said to the paralytic, “Take courage, son; your sins are forgiven.”

On seeing this, some of the scribes said to themselves, “This man is blaspheming!”

But Jesus knew what they were thinking and said, “Why do you harbor evil in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, ‘Your sins are forgiven,’ or to say, ‘Get up and walk?’

But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins...” Then He said to the paralytic, “Get up, pick up your mat, and go home.”

And the man got up and went home.

When the crowds saw this, they were filled with awe and glorified God, who had given such authority to men.

As Jesus went on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax booth. “Follow Me,” He told him, and Matthew got up and followed Him.

Later, as Jesus was dining at Matthew’s house, many tax collectors and sinners came and ate with Him and His disciples.

When the Pharisees saw this, they asked His disciples, “Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?”

On hearing this, Jesus said, “It is not the healthy who need a doctor, but the sick.

But go and learn what this means: ‘I desire mercy, not sacrifice.’ For I have not come to call the righteous, but sinners.”

At that time John’s disciples came to Jesus and asked, “Why is it that we and the Pharisees fast so often, but Your disciples do not fast?”

Jesus replied, “How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while He is with them? But the time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.

No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment. For the patch will pull away from the garment, and a worse tear will result.

Neither do men pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst, the wine will spill, and the wineskins will be ruined. Instead, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved.”

While Jesus was saying these things, a synagogue leader came and knelt before Him. “My daughter has just died,” he said. “But come and place Your hand on her, and she will live.”

So Jesus got up and went with him, along with His disciples.

Suddenly a woman who had suffered from bleeding for twelve years came up behind Him and touched the fringe of His cloak.

She said to herself, “If only I touch His cloak, I will be healed.”

Jesus turned and saw her. “Take courage, daughter,” He said, “your faith has healed you.” And the woman was cured from that very hour.

When Jesus entered the house of the synagogue leader, He saw the flute players and the noisy crowd.

“Go away,” He told them. “The girl is not dead, but asleep.” And they laughed at Him.

After the crowd had been put outside, Jesus went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up. And the news about this spread throughout that region.

As Jesus went on from there, two blind men followed Him, crying out, “Have mercy on us, Son of David!”

After Jesus had entered the house, the blind men came to Him. “Do you believe that I am able to do this?” He asked.

“Yes, Lord,” they answered.

Then He touched their eyes and said, “According to your faith will it be done to you.” And their eyes were opened. Jesus warned them sternly, “See that no one finds out about this!”

But they went out and spread the news about Him throughout the land.

As they were leaving, a demon-possessed man who was mute was brought to Jesus.

And when the demon had been driven out, the man began to speak. The crowds were amazed and said, “Nothing like this has ever been seen in Israel!”

But the Pharisees said, “It is by the prince of demons that He drives out demons.”

Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the gospel of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness.

When He saw the crowds, He was moved with compassion for them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.

Then He said to His disciples, “The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into His harvest.”

"After six days Jesus took with him Peter, James and John the brother of James, and led them up a high mountain by themselves. There he was transfigured before them. His face shone like the sun, and his clothes became as white as the light. Just then there appeared before them Moses and Elijah, talking with Jesus." - Matthew 17:1-3

The Transfiguration, healing the demon possessed, & the temple tax. This week we finish chapter 17 in our ongoing series through the Gospel of Matthew.

“Strengthen the weak hands and make firm the feeble knees.Say to those who are of a fearful heart, “Be strong, do not fear!Here is your God. He will come with vengeance,with terrible recompense. He will come and save you.” - Isaiah 35:3-4

These words speak to us about resilience. In an age of great fragility and resentment, the biblical injunctions we regularly encounter call God’s covenant people to be anti-fragile and resilient. If we truly believe what we say we believe, then nobody and nothing can truly hurt us.

Jesus’ Sermon on the Mount, which we also cover today, talks about the same foundation upon which we build: the rock of Jesus the Christ. We mark our election by biblical obedience. These themes cohere. There are some things in scripture that are quite nuanced and complicated, but these things aren’t. May we share this clarity about how we are to live, what foundation we should share, and how obedience should mark our lives.

Isaiah 33

Woe to you, O destroyer never destroyed,

O traitor never betrayed!

When you have finished destroying,

you will be destroyed.

When you have finished betraying,

you will be betrayed.

O LORD, be gracious to us!

We wait for You.

Be our strength every morning

and our salvation in time of trouble.

The peoples flee the thunder of Your voice;

the nations scatter when You rise.

Your spoil, O nations, is gathered as by locusts;

like a swarm of locusts men sweep over it.

The LORD is exalted, for He dwells on high;

He has filled Zion with justice and righteousness.

He will be the sure foundation for your times,

a storehouse of salvation, wisdom, and knowledge.

The fear of the LORD is Zion’s treasure.

Behold, their valiant ones cry aloud in the streets;

the envoys of peace weep bitterly.

The highways are deserted;

travel has ceased.

The treaty has been broken,

the witnesses are despised,

and human life is disregarded.

The land mourns and languishes;

Lebanon is ashamed and decayed.

Sharon is like a desert;

Bashan and Carmel shake off their leaves.

“Now I will arise,” says the LORD.

“Now I will lift Myself up. Now I will be exalted.

You conceive chaff; you give birth to stubble.

Your breath is a fire that will consume you.

The peoples will be burned to ashes,

like thorns cut down and set ablaze.

You who are far off, hear what I have done;

you who are near, acknowledge My might.”

The sinners in Zion are afraid;

trembling grips the ungodly:

“Who of us can dwell with a consuming fire?

Who of us can dwell with everlasting flames?”

He who walks righteously

and speaks with sincerity,

who refuses gain from extortion,

whose hand never takes a bribe,

who stops his ears against murderous plots

and shuts his eyes tightly against evil—

he will dwell on the heights;

the mountain fortress will be his refuge;

his food will be provided

and his water assured.

Your eyes will see the King in His beauty

and behold a land that stretches afar.

Your mind will ponder the former terror:

“Where is he who tallies? Where is he who weighs?

Where is he who counts the towers?”

You will no longer see the insolent,

a people whose speech is unintelligible,

who stammer in a language you cannot understand.

Look upon Zion,

the city of our appointed feasts.

Your eyes will see Jerusalem,

a peaceful pasture, a tent that does not wander;

its tent pegs will not be pulled up,

nor will any of its cords be broken.

But there the Majestic One, our LORD,

will be for us a place of rivers and wide canals,

where no galley with oars will row,

and no majestic vessel will pass.

For the LORD is our Judge,

the LORD is our lawgiver,

the LORD is our King.

It is He who will save us.

Your ropes are slack;

they cannot secure the mast or spread the sail.

Then an abundance of spoils will be divided,

and even the lame will carry off plunder.

And no resident of Zion will say, “I am sick.”

The people who dwell there

will be forgiven of iniquity.

Isaiah 34

Come near, O nations, to listen;

pay attention, O peoples.

Let the earth hear, and all that fills it,

the world and all that springs from it.

The LORD is angry with all the nations

and furious with all their armies.

He will devote them to destruction;

He will give them over to slaughter.

Their slain will be left unburied,

and the stench of their corpses will rise;

the mountains will flow with their blood.

All the stars of heaven will be dissolved.

The skies will be rolled up like a scroll,

and all their stars will fall

like withered leaves from the vine,

like foliage from the fig tree.

When My sword has drunk its fill in the heavens,

then it will come down upon Edom,

upon the people I have devoted to destruction.

The sword of the LORD is bathed in blood.

It drips with fat—

with the blood of lambs and goats,

with the fat of the kidneys of rams.

For the LORD has a sacrifice in Bozrah,

a great slaughter in the land of Edom.

And the wild oxen will fall with them,

the young bulls with the strong ones.

Their land will be drenched with blood,

and their soil will be soaked with fat.

For the LORD has a day of vengeance,

a year of recompense for the cause of Zion.

Edom’s streams will be turned to tar,

and her soil to sulfur;

her land will become a blazing pitch.

It will not be quenched—day or night.

Its smoke will ascend forever.

From generation to generation it will lie desolate;

no one will ever again pass through it.

The desert owl and screech owl will possess it,

and the great owl and raven will dwell in it.

The LORD will stretch out over Edom

a measuring line of chaos

and a plumb line of destruction.

No nobles will be left to proclaim a king,

and all her princes will come to nothing.

Her towers will be overgrown with thorns,

her fortresses with thistles and briers.

She will become a haunt for jackals,

an abode for ostriches.

The desert creatures will meet with hyenas,

and one wild goat will call to another.

There the night creature will settle

and find her place of repose.

There the owl will make her nest;

she will lay and hatch her eggs

and gather her brood under her shadow.

Even there the birds of prey will gather,

each with its mate.

Search and read the scroll of the LORD:

Not one of these will go missing,

not one will lack her mate,

because He has ordered it by His mouth,

and He will gather them by His Spirit.

He has allotted their portion;

His hand has distributed it by measure.

They will possess it forever;

they will dwell in it from generation to generation.

Isaiah 35

The wilderness and the land will be glad;

the desert will rejoice and blossom like a rose.

It will bloom profusely

and rejoice with joy and singing.

The glory of Lebanon will be given to it,

the splendor of Carmel and Sharon.

They will see the glory of the LORD,

the splendor of our God.

Strengthen the limp hands

and steady the feeble knees!

Say to those with anxious hearts:

“Be strong, do not fear!

Behold, your God will come with vengeance.

With divine retribution He will come to save you.”

Then the eyes of the blind will be opened

and the ears of the deaf unstopped.

Then the lame will leap like a deer

and the mute tongue will shout for joy.

For waters will gush forth in the wilderness,

and streams in the desert.

The parched ground will become a pool,

the thirsty land springs of water.

In the haunt where jackals once lay,

there will be grass and reeds and papyrus.

And there will be a highway

called the Way of Holiness.

The unclean will not travel it—

only those who walk in the Way—

and fools will not stray onto it.

No lion will be there,

and no vicious beast will go up on it.

Such will not be found there,

but the redeemed will walk upon it.

So the redeemed of the LORD will return

and enter Zion with singing,

crowned with everlasting joy.

Gladness and joy will overtake them,

and sorrow and sighing will flee.

Matthew 5

When Jesus saw the crowds, He went up on the mountain and sat down. His disciples came to Him, and He began to teach them, saying:

“Blessed are the poor in spirit,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are those who mourn,

for they will be comforted.

Blessed are the meek,

for they will inherit the earth.

Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness,

for they will be filled.

Blessed are the merciful,

for they will be shown mercy.

Blessed are the pure in heart,

for they will see God.

Blessed are the peacemakers,

for they will be called sons of God.

Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness,

for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.

Blessed are you when people insult you, persecute you, and falsely say all kinds of evil against you because of Me.

Rejoice and be glad, because great is your reward in heaven; for in the same way they persecuted the prophets before you.

You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt loses its savor, how can it be made salty again? It is no longer good for anything, except to be thrown out and trampled by men.

You are the light of the world. A city on a hill cannot be hidden.

Neither do people light a lamp and put it under a basket. Instead, they set it on a stand, and it gives light to everyone in the house.

In the same way, let your light shine before men, that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven.

Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets. I have not come to abolish them, but to fulfill them.

For I tell you truly, until heaven and earth pass away, not a single jot, not a stroke of a pen, will disappear from the Law until everything is accomplished.

So then, whoever breaks one of the least of these commandments and teaches others to do likewise will be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever practices and teaches them will be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

For I tell you that unless your righteousness exceeds that of the scribes and Pharisees, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven.

You have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not murder’ and ‘Anyone who murders will be subject to judgment.’

But I tell you that anyone who is angry with his brother will be subject to judgment. Again, anyone who says to his brother, ‘Raca,’ will be subject to the Sanhedrin. But anyone who says, ‘You fool!’ will be subject to the fire of hell.

So if you are offering your gift at the altar and there remember that your brother has something against you,

leave your gift there before the altar. First go and be reconciled to your brother; then come and offer your gift.

Reconcile quickly with your adversary, while you are still on the way to court. Otherwise, he may hand you over to the judge, and the judge may hand you over to the officer, and you may be thrown into prison.

Truly I tell you, you will not get out until you have paid the last penny.

You have heard that it was said, ‘Do not commit adultery.’ But I tell you that anyone who looks at a woman to lust after her has already committed adultery with her in his heart.

If your right eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to be thrown into hell.

And if your right hand causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to lose one part of your body than for your whole body to depart into hell.

It has also been said, ‘Whoever divorces his wife must give her a certificate of divorce.’

But I tell you that anyone who divorces his wife, except for sexual immorality, brings adultery upon her. And he who marries a divorced woman commits adultery.

Again, you have heard that it was said to the ancients, ‘Do not break your oath, but fulfill your vows to the Lord.’ But I tell you not to swear at all: either by heaven, for it is God’s throne;

or by the earth, for it is His footstool; or by Jerusalem, for it is the city of the great King. Nor should you swear by your head, for you cannot make a single hair white or black.

Simply let your ‘Yes’ be ‘Yes,’ and your ‘No,’ ‘No.’ Anything more comes from the evil one.

You have heard that it was said, ‘Eye for eye and tooth for tooth.’ But I tell you not to resist an evil person. If someone slaps you on your right cheek, turn to him the other also;

if someone wants to sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well; and if someone forces you to go one mile, go with him two miles.

Give to the one who asks you, and do not turn away from the one who wants to borrow from you.

You have heard that it was said, ‘Love your neighbor’ and ‘Hate your enemy.’ But I tell you, love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you,

that you may be sons of your Father in heaven. He causes His sun to rise on the evil and the good, and sends rain on the righteous and the unrighteous.

If you love those who love you, what reward will you get? Do not even tax collectors do the same?

And if you greet only your brothers, what are you doing more than others? Do not even Gentiles do the same?

Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect.

Matthew 6

“Be careful not to perform your righteous acts before men to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven.

So when you give to the needy, do not sound a trumpet before you, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing,

so that your giving may be in secret. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

And when you pray, do not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the street corners to be seen by men. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

But when you pray, go into your inner room, shut your door, and pray to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

And when you pray, do not babble on like pagans, for they think that by their many words they will be heard. Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask Him.

So then, this is how you should pray:

‘Our Father in heaven,

hallowed be Your name.

Your kingdom come,

Your will be done,

on earth as it is in heaven.

Give us this day our daily bread.

And forgive us our debts,

as we also have forgiven our debtors.

And lead us not into temptation,

but deliver us from the evil one.’

For if you forgive men their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you. But if you do not forgive men their trespasses, neither will your Father forgive yours.

When you fast, do not be somber like the hypocrites, for they disfigure their faces to show men they are fasting. Truly I tell you, they already have their full reward.

But when you fast, anoint your head and wash your face,

so that your fasting will not be obvious to men, but only to your Father, who is unseen. And your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.

Do not store up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust destroy, and where thieves break in and steal.

But store up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where moth and rust do not destroy, and where thieves do not break in and steal.

For where your treasure is, there your heart will be also.

The eye is the lamp of the body. If your eyes are good, your whole body will be full of light.

But if your eyes are bad, your whole body will be full of darkness. If then the light within you is darkness, how great is that darkness!

No one can serve two masters: Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.

Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes?

Look at the birds of the air: They do not sow or reap or gather into barns—and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they?

Who of you by worrying can add a single hour to his life?

And why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the lilies of the field grow: They do not labor or spin.

Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his glory was adorned like one of these.

If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the furnace, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?

Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’

For the Gentiles strive after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them.

But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things will be added unto you.

Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Today has enough trouble of its own.

Matthew 7

“Do not judge, or you will be judged. For with the same judgment you pronounce, you will be judged; and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.

Why do you look at the speck in your brother’s eye, but fail to notice the beam in your own eye?

How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ while there is still a beam in your own eye?

You hypocrite! First take the beam out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.

Do not give dogs what is holy; do not throw your pearls before swine. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and then turn and tear you to pieces.

Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.

For everyone who asks receives; he who seeks finds; and to him who knocks, the door will be opened.

Which of you, if his son asks for bread, will give him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will give him a snake?

So if you who are evil know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good things to those who ask Him!

In everything, then, do to others as you would have them do to you. For this is the essence of the Law and the Prophets.

Enter through the narrow gate. For wide is the gate and broad is the way that leads to destruction, and many enter through it.

But small is the gate and narrow the way that leads to life, and only a few find it.

Beware of false prophets. They come to you in sheep’s clothing, but inwardly they are ravenous wolves.

By their fruit you will recognize them. Are grapes gathered from thornbushes, or figs from thistles? Likewise, every good tree bears good fruit, but a bad tree bears bad fruit.

A good tree cannot bear bad fruit, and a bad tree cannot bear good fruit. Every tree that does not bear good fruit is cut down and thrown into the fire.

So then, by their fruit you will recognize them.

Not everyone who says to Me, ‘Lord, Lord,’ will enter the kingdom of heaven, but only he who does the will of My Father in heaven.

Many will say to Me on that day, ‘Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in Your name, and in Your name drive out demons and perform many miracles?’

Then I will tell them plainly, ‘I never knew you; depart from Me, you workers of lawlessness!’

Therefore everyone who hears these words of Mine and acts on them is like a wise man who built his house on the rock.

The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house; yet it did not fall, because its foundation was on the rock.

But everyone who hears these words of Mine and does not act on them is like a foolish man who built his house on sand.

The rain fell, the torrents raged, and the winds blew and beat against that house, and it fell—and great was its collapse!”

When Jesus had finished saying these things, the crowds were astonished at His teaching, because He taught as one who had authority, and not as their scribes.