The readings for days 26 to 30, starting Monday 10th March, are:
Isaiah 7
Isaiah 9:1-7
Isaiah 42:1-9
Isaiah 52:13 – 53:12
Isaiah 61
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6 comments:
Isaiah 7 has troubled me and I don't feel the writer of EJ has helped much. I find the link between the son of the young woman in early copies of Isaiah and the messiah born of a virgin in Matt. weak. But it could be that Matt. had access to other information that we don't such as is hinted in in the the Dead Sea Scrolls. I suppose this is were faith comes into play.
I do see that that the destruction of the old kingdom being replaced by a new order later on in the chapter relevent to both the 1st century AD and today.
Government, government, government. It struck me today the difference a word can make. After yesterdays passage I was beginning to have great sympathy for the 1st Century Jews. Alot of the prophetic verses EJ had been giving us seemed to be a bit of a leap. I was wondering if I would have interpretted things in the same way as the Pharises if these had been the only basis for Jesus' authority. Then I read todays reading with all its references to the Messiah being in charge of Government and I began to feel the same. Jesus wasn't a political leader and government= politics to me. Its such a concrete word with specific associations.Was Isiah thinking about someone else?
Obviously no the title 'mighty God', 'everlasting father' not only clearly describe Jesus. they also clearly are not refering to some Political leader. I read EJ's commentary with its use of the word 'Kingdom' and found that if I substituted it for government the passage made more sense as I am more familiar associating the word Kingdom with God. One word has the potential therefore to cause concern or resolve issues. Context is also vital. If I had just read about the government being on his shoulders and not read the descriptions of the ruler then I would have dismissed this section.
Thank God that in the Bible we have a precise communication from God that gives us the context. Also thank God for a book that though 1,000's of years old can still challenge our, and in this case my, narrow interpration of words
What a thrill it must have been to Peter and the other followers of Jesus, to eventually realise that what had happened to Jesus was a fulfillment of Isaiah's prophecy!This would have given them a totally new understanding of his death and a reason to move on in their faith.
Maybe without these prophecies, they would never have had this understanding of who Jesus was and why he had come to die.
I love todays (Thursdays) readings. Its so graphic, so specific that even the hardest of cynics can't fail to see Jesus in it. Its also deeply moving as it describes Jesus' death and the reasons for it with such depth.Even the Gospels don't go into as much detail of the experience Jesus had. It also makes The passion of the Christ seem to have skimped on detail.Power stuff,Chalenging stuff.
Hindsight is great. I can see how the prophecies speak of the Christ I know, but would I in the political situation of the time of his ministry. After all force of arms had given Israel self rule for a while only 200 years before. Why couldn't the Romans be physically removed this time.
It makes me realise when I am trying to work out were God is leading us I must try not to be influenced by my own agenda.
Reading Isaiah 52-53 again, the suffering of this servant of God, it is breath-taking how much was put on this one individual, how much was expected of them, how much their obedience and suffering would achieve, and what awesome results would follow.
It is an impossible burden and expectation for anyone other than God, but to live and die for men and women - human beings - it would have to be a human being. .... hence God in human flesh.
It's no surprise that the early church believed that this Saviour in Isaiah was Jesus, the God-man, a long time before they worked out quite how we can understand this.
As Malcolm said too, it would be no surprise that most of Jesus' contemporaries wouldn't have recognised Isaiah's words as pointing to Jesus, without Jesus himself living it out and teaching so clearly. But some DID see that here was the One expected for so long, even if that was all they could say.
Many people now quickly grasp that Jesus is different, maybe that Jesus has something to offer, but how many would think he suffered for them?
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