Chris Marshall Resources

Isaiah 29 contains both judgment and promise for Jerusalem.  The judgment extends to the enemies of Jerusalem, for after a preliminary pronouncement of judgement against the city, Isaiah moves on to prophesy the destruction of any who come against “Mount Zion.”  As we read some of the words of judgment, we find words Jesus would later use to describe the Pharisees.  He tells us the people honor the LORD with their lips, but their hearts are far from Him.  How easy it is to honor the LORD with our lips, to praise Him in worship, to tell people how much we rely on Him, and then to live in the flesh, in the desires of our sinful nature.  I have often spoken of the “hypocrisy factor” in our lives, which is the distance between what we say and what we do.  If I say I love Jesus, but I dishonor my parents, for example, there’s a great hypocrisy factor, because my words and actions are opposite.  Jesus didn’t tolerate the hypocrisy of the Pharisees; Isaiah didn’t tolerate the hypocrisy of the people in his day, and we ought not to tolerate hypocrisy within our own lives.  How important it is for each of us to examine our hearts, to be sure we are living in the power of the Holy Spirit and our words and actions are coming closer and closer into alignment.  In that way, we bring glory to the LORD through our lives!

Isaiah 30 starts with a rebuke of God’s people for trusting Egypt to deliver them from their enemies instead of relying on him.  It moves next to calling out the people of Judah for their unfaithfulness.  But as with so many of the chapters we read, it ends with a promise for the LORD to be with His people, to deliver them, and to guide them back to Him so long as they return to Him.  In addition, the LORD promises to destroy their enemies.

As we return to the final chapter of Mark, Mark 16, we read of Jesus’ resurrection!  As we mentioned in our first reading of Mark, chapter 16 offers us two endings one that’s shorter and one that’s longer.  The longer ending wasn’t included in many of the earliest manuscripts of Mark, yet there is no reason to doubt its validity.  The message we find there is consistent with Jesus’ message to the apostles through the other gospels.  The key point of Mark 16 is Jesus is alive!  One of the details we find in Mark’s resurrection account is the angels tell the women to go tell the apostles and Peter that Jesus has risen.  Peter was an apostle, and yet the angels singled him out to be told Jesus was alive.  Why? We can’t say for sure, but it seems likely the message was intended to encourage Peter.  After all, the last thing he did “for” Jesus was deny three times he had ever met Him!  This pointed message from the angels might have been saying, “Look, Peter, you messed up big time, but Jesus is still for you.  You are still one of His apostles.” We know from John’s gospel, when Jesus met with the apostles on one occasion He took Peter aside and “reinstated” him as an apostle.  What we learn from this is Jesus doesn’t hold grudges.  He doesn’t abandon us, because we deny or abandon Him.  He gives us additional opportunities.  How many additional opportunities?  As many as it takes.  Jesus’ resurrection tells us He did, indeed, die in our place, to pay the penalty for our sin, and He does have the power to overcome any sin, any denial, anything we have done against Him in our lives.  That is good news, and it makes all the difference!

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 the 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, and 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 we abandon ourselves to Jesus’ lordship in our lives, and we live in the presence and power of the Holy Spirit.  It is so simple, not so easy, but so simple.

It doesn’t get any more dismal and gloomy than Isaiah 24! Isaiah tells us the whole earth will be destroyed.  He speaks of the earth bearing the consequences of human sin.  He speaks of the people being destroyed by fire.  He speaks of those who seek escape through alcohol having the alcohol turn bitter in their mouths.  The key question is: Is this a picture of what must happen or what might happen?  As with all prophesy in the Old Testament, the prophets were given messages from the LORD of what was going to happen if the people didn’t repent, and turn back to Him.  We don’t have any words of hope in Isaiah 24.  There is no, “But if you turn back…” It is simply doom and gloom.  We must always read every verse in light of its chapter, and every chapter in light of its book, and every book in light of the entire sixty-six books of the Bible, so there is always hope.  Yet, in isolation, Isaiah 24 offers a hopeless picture.

Isaiah 25 offers us a turnaround from the previous chapter as Isaiah offers praise to the LORD for His goodness and for His deliverance.  In this chapter, it seems Moab is the subject of the LORD’s wrath, and He is bound to protect the poor from any harm.  The poor would not be the poor of Moab, but the poor of Israel.  Once again, as always, the LORD is going to vindicate the downcast, and show Himself the protector of those who have no other to protect them.  We must remember the poor are not blessed by the LORD simply because they are poor.  These are poor and just.  They have followed the LORD’s ways, and nevertheless find themselves downtrodden and oppressed.  In this case, the LORD will redeem them.  In this message, we see the message of redemption coming from Jesus.  He came to set the captives free, and to preach the Good News to the poor.  Matthew would add poor in spirit, while Luke would leave it at poor.  In any case, our hope in any seemingly hopeless situation is the LORD!

As we return to Mark 14, we find this long chapter recounts everything from the “next to the last supper,” through Peter’s denial of Jesus.  As we read it, we find those closest to Jesus, His disciples, ended up betraying Him, denying Him, and deserting Him.  I have heard some say, “I would never do such a thing,” which is the very thing Peter said. Peter had been with Jesus for three years, and was bold enough to attempt to defend Jesus when He was arrested, but when the moment came and Peter had to choose self-preservation or remaining faithful to Jesus, he chose self-preservation.  The one thing Peter lacked that night was an indwelling power of the Holy Spirit.  Jesus had not yet died, risen from the dead, returned to heaven, and sent the Holy Spirit to empower believers to follow Him no matter what.  Peter would eventually die for his faith in Jesus, but not on the night of Jesus’ arrest.  That night Judas betrayed Jesus, Peter denied Him, and the rest ran away, as Jesus knew they would.  Despite that, Jesus loved them, and Jesus died for them, as Jesus loves us and died for us, regardless of how we have betrayed, denied, or ignored Him.  The amazing truth of Jesus’ salvation for us is it is totally unconditional.  We did nothing to gain it, and indeed, we could do nothing to gain it.  The goodness required to gain salvation isn’t in us by nature.  We receive it supernaturally as a gift from Jesus when we trust Him as Savior and Lord.  We can then demonstrate the kind of faithfulness Peter demonstrated after He had received the Holy Spirit.  The same kind of faith that will permit us to do whatever is necessary to remain faithful to Jesus at home, work, school, or wherever we are.  The key is to trust Jesus as Savior and Lord, and then the rest is up to His Holy Spirit’s power inside of us!

Isaiah 21 pronounces condemnation of Babylon, Edom, and Arabia.  While the LORD used Babylon to carry out His judgment against Israel, the time was coming for Babylon to be judged.  They were never righteous, and the time was coming for their destruction. They worshiped idols, and took the idols of the nations they conquered to Babylon, where they were added to the collection.  Yet, when the time came, all the idols would be broken, because the one, true God is not an idol.

Isaiah returns to Jerusalem as his focus in Isaiah 22.  He pronounces judgment against the city and its people, because instead of turning to the LORD for their deliverance and protection, they turned to their own means.  This is such a vital reminder to us: We are not to put our own wisdom and plans above the LORD’s.  We are most certainly called to do what we can do in life, and the LORD will do what we can’t, but before we do anything, we are to call on the LORD for His instruction.  Isaiah, also called out one individual, Shebna, the palace administrator, for special judgment.  While God judges His people as a group in this chapter, He also calls one who led the people astray to personal accountability.  Each of us is responsible to the LORD for our actions as well.

Isaiah 23 condemns Tyre and Sidon.  Both were economic centers known for their immorality.  The LORD tells them they will be destroyed, and then rebuilt and then destroyed again.  When any nation, community, or person determines to reject the LORD and His ways, the end is destruction.  We see this time and time again as we read through Isaiah.  The LORD is a just and holy God, who does not respond well to being ignored, mocked, or actively rebelled against.

As we return to Mark 13, let’s focus on one statement in it.  When Jesus and the disciples were leaving the Temple one of them said, “Look, Teacher!  What wonderful stones and what wonderful buildings!”  Jesus answer is powerful: “Do you see all these great buildings?  Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”  Jesus made that statement in about 30 AD.  Forty years later, exactly what Jesus predicted happened.  The Romans destroyed the Temple in Jerusalem, but they didn’t stop with destroying it. They took every stone of the Temple and threw it over the side of the Temple Mount.  I saw a portion of the pile of “stones” that was thrown over the side during my recent trip to Israel. They were huge cut stones, and they were nothing more than a pile of rubble.  Think of the significance of what Jesus did: Forty years before the event happened, He described in detail what was going to happen.  He was no less than a great prophet.  He foresaw the future exactly as it would be.  This adds so much credibility to our belief He is the Messiah, God’s anointed, and our Savior and Lord.  I can’t tell you the profound impact seeing that pile of stones had on me.  I have always believed Jesus is the Son of God, and the Savior of sinners like me.  But as I stood and looked at those stones, I realized the historicity of the man who is my Savior and yours–I pray.  As we read these accounts, we are reading reliable testimonies from those who were there, or those who interviewed those who were there.  While it will always take faith to believe Jesus is the Son of God, the evidence for His being who He said He was is significant!

In Isaiah 18, Isaiah continues with messages for other countries.  This chapter is devoted to Ethiopia.  The message is one of judgment, while the Ethiopians were known as great warriors, the message is they will bring gifts to Jerusalem.  In other words, they’re defeat is assured and Israel will be victorious.

Isaiah 19 pronounces an incredible future in which Egypt, Israel and Assyria are allies and all worship the LORD!  Before that, though, most of the chapter pronounces judgment, not only on the leaders and people of Egypt, but also on the land.  The Nile River will dry up so the land won’t produce crops, so there will be no fish to catch, and the whole region will be decimated.  While the people cry out to their idols, nothing will come from that.  Only when the people turn to the LORD, as Isaiah prophesies will happen, will there be a future and hope for Egypt.

Isaiah 20 moves in a different direction.  Here we are told the Philistines will be attacked by the Assyrians, and the Philistines’ allies the Egyptians and Ethiopians will be defeated and humiliated by the Assyrians.  Throughout Israel’s history, it has been the “middle ground,” of the Middle East.  The Assyrians or whoever was in charge in the north typically met Egypt or whoever was in charge from the south in battle in the land of Israel.  The Philistines were Israel’s enemy, but they shared the middle ground, because they lived in southwest Israel.  The battle predicted here would impact not only the Philistines, but all of Israel.

As we return to Mark 12, we find Jesus telling a parable about a vineyard owner and the servants of the vineyard.  The parable clearly portrayed the religious leaders as the servants, and Jesus as the vineyard owner’s son, who was killed by the servants.  This is a clear prediction of Jesus’ death, and it was not well received by the religious leaders. They wanted to arrest Him but were afraid, because of the crowds.  After this, various groups of religious leaders sought to trap Jesus with questions, but each time Jesus demonstrated not only His superior knowledge and understanding of both life and God’s word, but showed the religious leaders where they were wrong.  Once again, this added fuel to the growing fire of their desire to be rid of Jesus once and for all.  The chapter ends with Jesus affirming a widow for giving away her last penny as her offering.  Jesus affirmed her above the rich donors who gave much, but it was a pittance based on their wealth.  The widow’s gift represented a total sacrifice, and that is the kind of gift Jesus will always affirm.

In Isaiah 15 and 16 Isaiah offers an oracle against Moab.  The length of the oracle seems out of proportion to the size and importance of Moab, but Moab’s sin was not only in worshiping idols, but went all the way back to the time of Moses, when they would not let Israel pass through their land on the way to the Promised Land.  Moab had always been arrogant, and against Israel.  Their coming demise was going to be soon and it was going to be devastating.

Isaiah 17 offers an oracle against Damascus, but it also extends to Israel and Judah.  We must always remember, the LORD’s purpose in establishing Israel was to set Himself apart a holy nation.  They were so far from that through nearly all of their history.  The LORD’s judgment was promised on unfaithfulness, and His own people were always at the center of His fulfillment of that promise.

As we return to Mark 11, we read of Jesus’ Triumphal Entry into Jerusalem.  This was the one, brief moment when the people recognized Jesus as the King He was and is!  The next day, Jesus launched a frontal assault on the religious leaders, as he went to the Temple and overturned the money changers’ tables.  These were massive tables, but Jesus’ zeal for His Father’s house consumed Him.  The religious leaders were ready to arrest Jesus, but they were afraid because of the crowds.  We also have the account of Jesus cursing a fig tree in the morning, because it had no fruit.  Later, when they passed by it, the tree was withered from the root.  This amazed the disciples and they asked Jesus about it.  He told them if they had faith as a grain of mustard seed, they could cast a mountain in the sea.  Jesus continued speaking about prayer, and how central it is to our lives as His followers.  The chapter closes out with the religious leaders asking Jesus where He got His authority.  Again, Jesus answered a question with a question, “Where did John’s (the Baptist) authority come from –heaven or men?)  The question stumped the religious leaders.  If they said heaven, Jesus would ask why they didn’t follow him?  If they said men, the crowd would mob them.  They decided not to answer Jesus’ question.  He said, “Then I’m not going to answer your question either.”  The key for us here is to remember: You can’t get up earlier than Jesus.  He’s the Son of the Living God. He always knows what’s going on around Him.  You can’t trick Him or trip Him up.  As we go about our lives, how important it is to work to advance His Kingdom rather than questioning His authority, or anything else about His Lordship in our lives.

Isaiah 12 is a song of praise for the time when the LORD restores His people.  It reads as if it were a psalm of praise, and in reality that is what it is.

Isaiah 13 predicts the LORD’s destruction of Babylon.  As we read the chapter it seems as if the LORD Himself is going to destroy the people who carried His people off into exile.  But we know the LORD used Babylon to carry the people of Judah into exile, because they had turned from the LORD.  As we get to the end of Isaiah 13, we see it would not be the LORD who destroyed the Babylonians, but the Medes, which is precisely what happened in history.  The LORD often used history itself as His judgment.  When we read of how one nation slaughtered another, or displaced another, we can know in the old covenant times, the LORD’s hand was on the process, because He was still shaping the people of Israel.  They brought about their destruction and exile, and their numbers were radically reduced, but the LORD always retained a remnant through which the royal line of David would be retained, until Jesus was born.

Isaiah 14:1-22 tells us of the restoration of Judah, and how they would taunt Babylon for what she had done to Judah.  As we move to verses 12 and following we find a description that many biblical scholars believe is not merely a description of Babylon’s destruction, but a description of Satan’s destruction. In the remainder of the chapter, Isaiah will pronounce oracles against Assyria and the land of the Philistines.  As we will see tomorrow the oracles continue against other lands as well.  As we stated above, the LORD used history itself to judge the nations for their sins.  While we might have our sensibilities challenged through all this destruction, remember: Jesus came to bring peace on earth, and since His coming the LORD has not used nations to judge other nations in the same way as happened when He was forging and protecting the nation of Israel.  While Christians have developed just war theory, and there are times when wars have been fought to protect the weak and imperiled, we cannot justify the atrocities that have been carried out through Christian history on “pagans.”  When we mix old covenant thinking with the new covenant we can “justify” many things, but that does not make them just.  Only the LORD has the right to use nations against each other to carry out His will and purpose on the earth.

As we return to Mark 10, Jesus has a brief encounter with the Pharisees.  They come to ask Jesus whether it is lawful for a man to divorce his wife?  Jesus gave them an opportunity to answer what the Law of Moses said about it.  They responded, “Moses permitted it.”  Jesus said that was because of human hardness of heart, but it wasn’t that way from the beginning.  This is such a vital statement. Jesus wanted the Pharisees to go back before the Law of Moses to get their model for marriage.  Jesus went all the way back to the Garden of Eden, before sin entered the world, and reaffirmed God’s model of a man and woman coming together before Him, for life. Jesus made it clear marriage was to be between a man and a woman and was to be for life.  Jesus even added, “What God has joined let no one separate.”

The remainder of the chapter has Jesus blessing children, and offering a rich young man a place on His team, which the man rejected because of His wealth.  This was followed by Jesus telling the disciples it was hard for the wealthy to enter heaven.  This turned the old covenant thinking on its head.  The disciples would have found Jesus’ words ridiculous.  What did He mean it was hard for the rich to enter heaven?  Wealth was a sign of God’s favor.  Emphasis on the word “was.”  In the new covenant era, the sign of God’s favor was lots of brothers and sisters, and suffering.  Jesus offered another announcement of His impending crucifixion, death, and resurrection.  This time, James and John saw it as an opportunity to sit as His left and right (think Secretary of State, and Secretary of Defense!), when He came into His Kingdom.  This time Jesus had to remind the guys that the new covenant model has the greatest serving the most.  The chapter ends with Jesus healing a blind man named Bartimaeus. As always, Jesus follows up words with actions!

Isaiah 10 starts with the end of the message of Isaiah 9. (Remember, the chapter and verse notations in our English bibles weren’t there in the original manuscripts, but were added much later to make it easier for us to locate passages. Sometimes they make sense, but at other times as in several places in Isaiah, including here they don’t.)  As we move to Isaiah 10:5 and following, Isaiah pronounces judgment on Assyria for her arrogance.  He describes at length the punishment that is coming on Assyria, because they assume they are more powerful than Israel and Judah, because their gods are more powerful.  The LORD tells us they are simply an ax or saw in His hand, and they will be destroyed.  In the end a remnant of His people will return, but the Assyrians will be completely destroyed.  The LORD often used pagan nations to judge Israel and Judah, but in the end it was the LORD’s purpose to continue to uphold Judah until the “fullness of time,” as the Apostle Paul put it, when Jesus came to establish His new covenant not only with Judah, but with all nations.

Isaiah 11 offers us another image of the time of the coming of the Messiah.  Some believe it refers to the second coming of Jesus, because it portrays an idyllic picture of peace throughout the world, and a time when wild animals and cobras do not hurt children.  It is possible such a time is pictured. It is equally as possible Isaiah was painting the picture of Jesus’ coming.  While everything pictured has not yet come, with the coming of Jesus all that is portrayed has been set in motion.

As we return to Mark 9, we see a glimpse of who Jesus is in His fullness as He is transfigured with Moses and Elijah.  Only Peter, James, and John got to witness this amazing moment, but it impacted them incredibly as we would imagine.  After this literal “mountain top experience,” the four came down to the crowds and found a man had brought his demon-possessed son for the remaining nine disciples to cast out the demon, but they could not.  Jesus showed frustration, and then healed the boy.  Before the healing, Jesus asked the father how long the boy had been possessed, and at the conclusion of the father’s recounting of the life-long possession of his son, asked Jesus, “If you can do something…”  Jesus responded, “If? All things are possible for the one who believes.”  The man’s answer was powerful, “I believe. Help my unbelief.”  Haven’t we all been there?  We want to believe, but the pain of life is overwhelming, so our faith falters.  We need the LORD to help us believe.  He does, and He will.  Jesus healed the boy, and then He and the disciples moved on.

Jesus told the disciples again He was going to be crucified and rise on the third day, but again they didn’t get it.  They even got on a tangent, wondering which of them would be the greatest when Jesus returned.  Seeing a teachable moment, Jesus brought a child in front of them, and told them unless we turn and become as children we will never enter the Kingdom of God. The chapter closes out with Jesus talking about how important it is for us to put Him and His Kingdom first.

In Isaiah 7, Isaiah is sent to King Ahaz to tell him of a future time when the LORD would send Immanuel.  This is the first time we read a promise of the Messiah’s coming. Immanuel means “God with us,” so we can infer or say directly this is a promise of the Messiah.  Remember this is a prophet of the old covenant, but he is prophesying the coming of the one who would initiate the new covenant.  This was a desperate time for Israel, with more trouble on the horizon.  But the distant future would be a time of healing and blessing.

Isaiah 8 promises the Assyrians will come and destroy the northern kingdom of Israel, and will come against the southern kingdom.  He calls on the people to trust in the LORD, in Immanuel, and not in their own power or other alliances.

As we turn to Isaiah 9:1-7, we have a powerful and poetic description of the coming of the LORD’s anointed one, or Messiah.  His names are multiple and include Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, and Prince of Peace.  This future time would be not only for Israel, but for the Gentiles as well.  The remainder of the chapter returns to a condemnation of Israel and Jacob for rejecting the LORD in their times of trouble, and a prediction of their desolation comes again.

As we return to Mark 8, we come once again to the pivot point of this book.  We are midway through the book, by chapters, but we are also at the point where Jesus sets His face toward Jerusalem, and to His intended crucifixion and resurrection.  The chapter begins with Jesus feeding 4,000 men (along with women and children.)  After this the Pharisees demand a sign from Him.  That seems absurd, doesn’t it?  What is the ability to feed so many people with a small amount of food, if not a sign?  Jesus tells them He will give them only the sign of Jonah, which is a reference to His being in the tomb three days.  After this, as Jesus and the disciples travel by boat, He warns them to beware of the “leaven” of the Pharisees.  The disciples don’t get it (as was often the case), thinking Jesus was referring to their forgetting to bring bread.  Jesus reminded them of His ability to provide bread!  When they landed, Jesus healed a blind man.  What follows is the turning point of the book of Mark, and of Jesus’ ministry: He asked them who the crowds said He was?  He didn’t want to know the answer to that question, but it prepared the disciples for His real question: Who do you say I am?  (That is always the question.  What we do with Jesus determines everything in our lives.)  Peter responded with the correct answer: The Christ or Messiah, but then immediately showed he didn’t understand what it meant for Jesus to be the Messiah.  When Jesus told them it meant dying and rising again, Peter rebuked Jesus.  Peter’s version of the Messiah was a conquering King, not a suffering servant.  Jesus then rebuked Peter and let the whole crowd know following Him meant denying ourselves, taking up our crosses and following Him.  Jesus’ new movement that would usher in a new covenant and a new command–to love one another as Jesus first loved us, would transform the world.  But when Jesus first rolled it out to the disciples they had no clue what He was saying.  Even though we live on the resurrection side of Easter, we can also miss the reality Jesus did not come to make His followers the movers and shakers of the political and economic world, but rather to shake the world to its core by providing us salvation from sin and death, and empowering us to live transformed lives with Him at the center!

 

Isaiah 4 begins with the conclusion of chapter 3.  It offers a statement that seven women will ask one man to be their husband so their reproach will be taken away.  Then the remainder of this brief chapter turns to hopeful expectation of a time when the LORD will again lead the people.

Isaiah 5:1-7 offers an analogy of God’s people as a “vineyard.”  The problem is the vineyard produces “wild grapes.”  Why?  Because they have turned away from the LORD.  The result of that turning away was the LORD taking down the walls around the vineyard and letting it be destroyed.  As is always the case in the time of the old covenant, disobedience leads to judgment.  As the chapter continues the LORD continues to pronounce woes on those who do wicked.  While much of the book of Isaiah will offer this back and forth between the hope of a future time when the people are restored, and the judgment of the wicked, we will also see records of historical events as happens as we turn to chapter 6.

In Isaiah 6, we read of Isaiah’s call to serve as a prophet of the LORD.  Isaiah describes the vision he saw in the year King Uzziah died.  It was a vision of the LORD in His heavenly Temple.  Isaiah realized at once he was doomed, because of his sin.  But the LORD did not condemn him, He removed Isaiah’s sin, and called him to become His messenger.  Isaiah was now eager to be sent by the LORD, but the message he was given, was a message of destruction, exile and desolation.  While the chapter is brief, the outcome is clear: the nation will be destroyed for their lack of faithfulness to the LORD.

As we return to Mark 7, we find Jesus and the religious leaders once again embattled. This time the religious leaders ridiculed Jesus’ disciples because they ate with “unwashed” hands. The religious leaders had established elaborate hand washing ceremonies before meals and at other times.  Jesus made it clear this was one of many traditions that didn’t matter.  He condemned them for being more concerned with what went into a person than what came out of him. Jesus told the crowds that nothing a person eats (or we can infer, nothing in the state of cleanliness of one’s hands) matters. That’s because it’s what comes out of us that defiles us.  By what comes out of us, Jesus meant the sinful desires of our lives.  Jesus, thus, declared all foods clean.  Jesus also went on the offensive with the religious leaders telling them their laws of Corban caused them to give away money that would have been used to support their aging parents, because the Law “required it.”  After these encounters, Jesus had to explain to the disciples what He was saying.  Then they went away to Syrian Phonecia for a bit of “retreat,” but they couldn’t escape the needs of people.  A woman of that country asked for Jesus’ help, but at first, He ignored her, because she was a foreigner.  Eventually, He healed the woman’s daughter.  When the group returned, Jesus healed a man who was deaf and mute.  The crowd once again affirmed Jesus saying He did all things well.  The battle lines were being drawn between Jesus and the crowds on the one side, and the religious leaders on the other.  While the religious leaders would somehow convince the crowd to side with them, when it came time to condemn and crucify Jesus, Jesus’ new teachings’ and His amazing healing touch led the crowds to love Him, or at least to love what He could provide them.  We do well to remember Jesus came to save us from sin and death, and to create new hearts in us, so we can live more like Him, rather than to serve our every whim.  Jesus did come to serve rather than to be served, and to give His life as a ransom for many.  He gave His life not for our comfort, though, but for our transformation from self-centeredness, to lives of self-giving love for others that reflects His love for us.