The Study

Servant Songs

The book of Isaiah is one of the more difficult books of the Bible to read through (well, all of the books are difficult).  In the last few years, Isaiah has become one of my favorite books to study.  It creates a link between the Old Testament and the Gospels.  Isaiah gives Jesus a backdrop.

This week we talked about four passages in Isaiah that scholars labeled as, “The Servant Songs.”  The first song found in Isaiah 42 describes the servant as a king through the imagery of King David.  The song also places the king as someone who brings about justice, but differently than prior rules.  The servant will rule under a different set of guidelines and he will stretch out his influence beyond Israel, “to the coastlands.”  His work is made into a covenant…through his sacrifice.

 In Isaiah 49, the servant is described as a prophet.  He calls out to the nations.  In verse 1, he is commissioned through the giving of his name.  The next verse equips he servant with the word of God, and the following verses identify the mission of he servant – that he is to be what Israel could not be, he can restore all of creation to God and itself.  With the mission that he has, verse 4 shows that the servant will see his purpose as frustrating…there is suffering in it…it feels empty and meaningless.

The third description of the servant is one of a teacher.  Isaiah 50 shows that the disciple becomes the teacher.  Finally, the fourth description places the servant as the vicarious sufferer.  In Isaiah 53, we read that the servant will take on four types of suffering: physical, emotional, spiritual, and social.  He will be beaten, he will grieve, he will be tempted, and he will be rejected/marginalized.  He will experience the gamut of pain we experience today, because he is to be the light (Isaiah 53.5,6) and the covenant (Isaiah 42).  And even though he will experience all this…even though we experience all this, there will be comfort (Isaiah 53.13). 

Jesus knew of his fate.  He learned the words of Isaiah; the words that told him that he would experience the gamut of suffering this world had to offer.  He took on the words of Isaiah and became them.  Often times we infer that Jesus didn’t have a choice, but he wasn’t a robot with a program implanted in his head.  He was a human being who, when tempted, chose to turn away from the temptation.  He was a human being who, when given his fate in Isaiah 53, chose to accept it.

Martin Luther King Jr. was not a perfect man.  He struggled in his marriage, he was angry at times, and failed in relationships.  He was also jailed, beaten, rejected, and felt sadness.  Yet he did what he did, because he was to be the light…we are to be the light.  MLK Jr. also chose to accept his fate…everyday, he chose to lead the movement that changed history.  Everyday, Jesus chose to lead the movement that changed the world.  What do we chose everyday? Read Isaiah 53, will you chose to accept that fate?  Read Isaiah 42, 49, and 50…can you be that person?  With every part of your life, will you be a light to this world?

The Torn Curtain

In August 1961, East German leaders began building what we know today as The Berlin Wall. The wall was built just within the boundary lines of East Germany. The building of the wall kept East Germans from their jobs, family, and friends.  The wall took away access from East German citizens; it took away access to a fulfilling life.  November 9, 1989 the wall began to come down and East German citizens climbed over to join their West German friends.  The wall came down bit by bit and the people gained access.

At that moment the curtain of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth shook and the rocks split. (Matthew 27.51)

The Ancient Israelites understood that the presence of God existed behind the curtain in the holy of holies.  Only the high priest was allowed to enter into this place.  No one else had direct access.  This curtain kept the people of God from direct access to God.  Then Jesus came, lived his life, taught God's love, and died.  The moment of his death, the curtain was torn.  Access was granted to all.

If you've ever been to East Germany you may walk through places where it seems as if the wall was still intact.  The separation still exists for those people and places.  If you talk to some Christians, some people of God, it may seem as if the curtain was still intact.  There are some of us (including myself) who live as if there is still a separation between was is sacred (held behind the curtain) and secular (things untouched by God's presence).  We separate types of music and label some of it sacred (or Christian) and some of it secular; we separate parts of our lives as sacred (prayer and church) and parts of our lives as secular (education or occupation).  Yet, the curtain was torn and Jesus was resurrected.  The holy of holies flooded into the world...into all the world.

This week, for The Study, we visited South County Outreach.  South County Outreach is an organization that helps those in need.  They provide food, clothing, job training, and rental help to those who are unemployed or poor.  But the point of the visit was less about the organization.  We spent time with a woman named Megan who came to South County Outreach after working for a hospital in New York.  She is a social worker and for some reason has devoted the last six months of her life to helping those who can not make rent.  She listens to their needs and, at times, can help them, but some times, she can't.  She still does her job...because maybe for her the torn curtain means something. 

Think about how Jesus lived his life.  He cared for the sick during the Sabbath, he loved the outcast, and forgave those who wronged him.  Maybe for Jesus there was never any separation...there was simply, restoration...healing...reconciliation...resurrection.

This week, try this, look at your life.  What do you set aside as sacred?  What is secular for you?  How can you draw them together into one?  How can you see how Jesus saw?

After you think a bit, look up some passages: Isaiah 42.1-9; Isaiah 49.1-7; Isaiah 50.4-11; and Isaiah 52.13-53.12.  What are the characteristics of the servant described in these verses?

Briefing 08

Sign-ups for Briefing 08 will begin Tuesday, July 15th at The Study.  You have two weeks to sign-up under the $140 fee.

After July 22nd, the briefing fee will go up to $160 per person.  So, bring a check written to PCOM in the next few weeks.

Don't miss this weekend! Hear from Mark Foreman, pastor at North Coast Calvary in San Diego, CA; Mike Erre, teaching pastor at Rock Harbor Church in Costa Mesa, CA; Chuck Hunt; and Wendy Hihman. 

Unfailing Love

Last Sunday, Johnny played the song "Unfailing Love."  I've posted the lyrics down below.  As we sang on Sunday, I thought about the words...about what I was actually singing.  The song talks about how God is present in our lives, but not just the outside of our lives...He lives at the very depth of us and loves us.  It's a crazy idea...that He could see the very depth of who we are...our imperfections and brokenness, and love us. 

It's a crazy idea, because this isn't the kind of love that I can give so readily.  Don't get me wrong, I love people, but there are those times when people wrong me or let me down...it takes more to love someone in that.  It takes more to give the grace God gives.  What would happen if we could love with God's unfailing love?  What would our relationships look like?  How would this world be different?

In the next few weeks, we will take the idea of the resurrection...the love that comes from sacrifice, but also the love that comes from coming back...being present in this world. 

Read the lines of this song...let it sink in.

You have my heart
And I am yours forever
You are my strength
God of grace and power

And everything
You hold in Your hand
Still You make time for me
I can't understand

Praise You, God of earth and sky
How beautiful is Your unfailing love
Unfailing love
And You never change, God, You remain
The Holy One and my unfailing love
Unfailing love

You are my rock
The One I hold on to
You are my song
And I sing for You

And everything
You hold in Your hand
Still You make time for me
I can't understand

Praise You, God of earth and sky
How beautiful is Your unfailing love
Unfailing love
And You never change, God, You remain
The Holy One and my unfailing love
Unfailing love

And everything (everything)
You hold in Your hand
And still You make time for me
I can't understand (can't understand still)

Praise You, God of earth and sky
How beautiful is Your unfailing love
Unfailing love
And You never change, God, You remain
The Holy one and my unfailing love
Unfailing love
(I will praise You)

The Resurrection Continued

Two weeks ago I posted a discussion about the resurrection. Often times we don’t think about Jesus being resurrected.  We acknowledge that it happened, as crazy as it may be for someone to die, be buried, and then come back, but aside from this, we don’t often think about what that really means for this world today.

If you had the chance to read through the resurrection narratives you may have noticed a few things.  In the gospels, Jesus comes back in human form; he still has his scars, yet he can also appear in locked rooms without opening any doors.  His friends or others also not easily recognize him, but once you get close to him things change.  He is still in the flesh; Timothy touches the scars on his hands.  What does this mean for us?  What would it look like for us to be resurrected?

N.T. Wright wrote, “Precisely because the resurrection has happened as an event within our own world, its implications and effects are to be felt within our own world, here and now” (Surprised by Hope, 191).  Thousands of years ago, God sent Jesus and Jesus died, and then he came back.  So, what happened?  What are the implications and effects?

This week, find a copy of the movie, Amazing Grace.  Watch it.  As you do, ask yourself, what motivates William Wilberforce to work so hard to end the slave trade?  Why would he sacrifice his health, friends, and position in society to do what he did?  Finally, what could this man’s life have to do with the impact of the resurrection?