Isaiah 26 is a beautiful song of praise to the LORD. Isaiah recounts many ways the LORD is good to those who trust him. He also tells us the wicked do not change when the LORD shows them good, so He will judge them. The tone is hopeful, and points toward the constant theme of every Israelite: the restoration of their nation.
Isaiah 27 continues the message of chapter 26. In it, Isaiah reminds the Israelites that while the LORD destroys other nations, Israel was banished for their wickedness, but in the end He would call them back from exile in Assyria and Egypt and they would be restored. While he calls his own people wicked and stupid, not unlike the peoples of the rest of the earth, the difference, was they were the LORD’s people. He would show them mercy and restore them to their previous glory one day.
Isaiah 28 is a warning for Samaria. Much of the first portion of the chapter is devoted to condemning the priests and leaders for their drunkenness. They consume alcohol until they are sick and cry out against the LORD for His over explanation of details, but the LORD’s judgment is coming upon them. In the remainder of the chapter, we are told of the future time when Jerusalem will be reestablished and when the LORD’s will is going to be done once again. We see this theme time and time again in Isaiah: cycles of judgment followed by restoration. Indeed, as we read the entire Old Testament we see this repeated: God’s calls His people together. They respond. Over time they reject God and turn away. He subjects them to slavery or oppression by foreign peoples. They cry out to the LORD and He restores them. The LORD’s mercy has the final word. We see that most clearly in Jesus, and as we return to the Gospel of Mark, we will see the ultimate sacrifice Jesus offered, and the mercy and grace poured out through it.
As we return to Mark 15, we read again of Jesus’ condemnation by Pilate, the beating He received at the Roman soldiers’ hands, the mocking that came to Him through Jews and Romans alike, His crucifixion, death, and burial. As we read the details once again, we are reminded of how passive Jesus was in it all. He had the power to call down angels to release Him, but He didn’t. He had the right to respond to Pilate’s questions, but He didn’t. He could have come down from the cross when the people mocked Him, but He stayed there. Why? Why the passivity? If real men reject passivity, then why in this most crucial moment was Jesus passive? Because God’s justice and love required it. If Jesus hadn’t died in our place, our sin would still be on us, we would still stand guilty before God. Jesus satisfied God’s justice and wrath as He died in our place. In addition, we know from John 3:16 that God loves the world so much that He gave His one and only Son that whoever believes in Him will not perish, but have eternal life. Love required Jesus to stay on the cross. He did what love required. Now, we who follow Jesus must ask ourselves, “What does Jesus’ love require of me?” What is it today that Jesus will ask me to do, to demonstrate His love to others? Will I be ready when He asks? We don’t know what He will ask us to do, but we can most definitely be ready. All that requires is that we abandon ourselves to Jesus’ lordship in our lives, and that we live in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit. It is so simple, not so easy, but so simple.