Isaiah 61 stands as the chapter Jesus quoted when He told the people in the synagogue in Nazareth His mission. He had read the first verses of Isaiah 61 which proclaim: 1The Spirit of the Sovereign LORD is upon me, for the LORD has anointed me to bring good news to the poor. He has sent me to comfort the brokenhearted and to proclaim that captives will be released and prisoners will be freed. 2He has sent me to tell those who mourn that the time of the LORD’s favor has come, and with it, the day of God’s anger against their enemies. Isaiah 61:1-2 (NLT2) The chapter continues with more good news for the LORD’s people as they are told the people of other nations will serve them, and they will know His peace and presence in their lives.
Isaiah 62 is Isaiah’s prayer for Jerusalem. Isaiah notes Jerusalem has been defeated in the past, and forsaken, but in the future the LORD will give her a new name, and she will never again be forsaken. She will be the LORD’s “bride,” which is a powerful image, that Jesus also used of His relationship with the Church. The Apostle Paul underlined that imagery when he wrote in Ephesians 5 that the relationship of a husband and a wife are an image of Christ’s relationship with His bride, the Church. We see time and again as we read through Isaiah that much of the imagery used here is picked up or lived out in Jesus’ life. Much of the prophecy of Israel’s ultimate victory and restoration was lived out at certain times in history, but some of it is reserved for its ultimate fulfillment in the time of Jesus’ return.
Isaiah 63 promises destruction on Israel’s enemies. In gruesome terms, the LORD tells us He Himself will trample them under His feet. As the chapter ends, though, the focus shifts to the people of Israel questioning the LORD for why He permitted them to turn astray. It’s as if it were the LORD’s fault for not forcing them to do His will. We must never play that card as we turn to the LORD with our sins and faults. He designed us for good, and we rebelled against Him. Now, we have the opportunity to return to Him and live in His grace, truth, and love through a relationship with Jesus, and the presence and power of the Holy Spirit in our lives.
As we return to John 13, we remember this is Jesus’ final time with the apostles before His arrest, condemnation, crucifixion, death, and resurrection. He prepares them for His death, but does so much more as we move through John 13-17. In chapter 13, Jesus demonstrated both His great love for the apostles and set an example for them to follow by washing their feet. This was the work of a servant, but no one had taken care of this cultural expectation. Thus, Jesus got up from the table and became their servant. After washing their feet, and explaining why He had done it, Jesus said, “If you know these things (my commandments), you will be blessed if you do them.” What a powerful truth: we aren’t blessed by knowing Jesus’ commands, but only through obedience to doing them.
After the foot washing, Jesus told the apostles one of them would betray Him. He eventually pointed out it would be Judas. Then Jesus gave the apostles a new commandment, one which would replace the 613 laws of the old covenant. The commandment is so simple, but revolutionary: love one another as I have first loved you.Jesus told them all people would know they were His disciples if they loved one another. What a powerful statement! Jesus didn’t say all people would know they were His disciples by the love they had for the people, but for one another. When people see Jesus’ followers loving each other, serving each other, caring for each other, the message is clear: this is God’s love and they have both received it and shared it with one another. Eventually, those on the outside want to come in and receive it, too.
The chapter closes with Jesus telling the apostles He is leaving them and they won’t be able to follow. Peter promises to go wherever Jesus goes. But Jesus tells Peter before the night is over, he will deny even knowing Jesus three times. As usual, Peter protests and tells Jesus it will never happen. But Jesus always knows us better than we know ourselves, and as we know from our previous readings, Peter did end up denying Jesus three times, but that was not the end of the story. Thank God for Peter, and for us–our denials are not permanent unless we want them to be, because Jesus is ready to forgive us and move us forward when we fail or fall.