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We have this treasure in earthen vessels
2 Corinthians 4:7

New (Is 65-66)

4/19/2020

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Revised Teaching Outline
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  1. Isaiah: 65:17ff; 66:22ff; 1:2; 2:2ff; 11:6-10; 34-35; 55:12f
  2. Creation: Ge 1:28; 2:15 (Nu 3:7f); 9:8-17; Co 1:15ff
  3. Re-Creation: Ro 8:18-23; 2Pe 3:5-7, 10ff; Mk 9:42ff; Re 21:1-8
  4. You: 2Co 5:17; 1Jo 3:1-3

For more on Isaiah, check out our Introduction and the rest of the series.

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Crushed (Is 50:4-9; 52:13-53:12)

4/12/2020

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Revised Teaching Outline
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  1. A Lesson Within a Lesson: Acts 8:26ff (12+ citations, 37+ allusions)
  2. Satisfies: Is 50:4-8a, 10; 52:13-53:12
  3. Suffers: Mt 8:16-17; 26:27f; 27:26-31, 38, 46, 59-60
  4. Saves: He 5:7-9; 9:11-14, 18, 22; 10:19-22

For more on Isaiah, check out our Introduction and the rest of the series.

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Good News (Is 51:9-52:12)

4/5/2020

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Revised Teaching Outline
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  1. Introduction: 52:7
  2. Wake Up: 51:9, 17; 52:1-2 (Ep 5:14; 1Th 5:5ff)
  3. Break Forth: 52:8ff (44:23; 49:13; 55:12; 61:1ff; Lk 4:16ff)
  4. Go Out: 52:11-12, 1b (Ex 13:21f; 14:19f; 2Co 6:16ff)​

For more on Isaiah, check out our Introduction and the rest of the series.

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Called (Is 42:1-9; 49:1-12)

3/29/2020

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This lesson was covered by Brother Dave while we were out of town, so instead of our usual video check out Part 2 of The Bible Project's series on the book of Isaiah (see also my note below*).

Revised Teaching Outline
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  1. A Chosen Servant: 42:1a; 49:1-5 (41:8f; Mt 1:21; Ac 3:13; Php 2:5ff)
  2. A Spirit of Justice: 42:1b-4; 11:1-5 (1:16f; Mt 12:15f; 23:23f)
  3. A Covenant of Light: 42:6f; 49:6, 8-10 (Jn 8:12; Ac 13:46ff; 2Co 6:2)​

For more on Isaiah, check out our Introduction and the rest of the series.

[*One additional note on the video. The narrator mentions that there are two views on who wrote Isaiah 40-66: (A) Isaiah himself, before the exile or (B) his disciples after the exile. Although the video prefers Option B, I think the case is stronger for Option A. The strongest reason for this is also the simplest: when Jesus quotes both parts of Isaiah (53:1 then 6:1) in John 12:38-41, he attributes both passages to Isaiah himself. That’s pretty strong ground to stand on! For more on this question, check out The ESV Study Bible’s treatment in their “Introduction to Isaiah: Date” as well as their commentary on Isaiah 40:1-55:3.]​
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No Other (Is 44-46)

3/22/2020

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Revised Teaching Outline

Introduction: Ex 20:1-4; 8x

Three Truths
  1. No Other God: 42:8; 44:6 (Re 1:17), 24; 46:1-7
  2. No Other King: 41:2, 25; 44:26-45:7 (Da 2:20-21; 4:17; 150 yrs; Ezra 1:1-3). “Josephus (Jewish Antiquities 11.5–7) records a story in which Cyrus, reading Isaiah’s prophecy, was so impressed with the divine power to tell the future that he eagerly sought to fulfill what was written about him here” (The ESV Study Bible, Is 44:25-26).
  3. No Other Savior: 44:23; 45:8; 45:15-17, 20-21​

​Three Take-Aways
  1. Listen: 46:12-13 (Ro 10:17)
  2. Trust: 44:8 (11x); 45:9-10 (Ro 9:20-21; 8:29)
  3. Turn: 45:22-23 (Ro 14:10-12; Php 2:9-11)

​For more on Isaiah, check out our Introduction and the rest of the series.

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Comfort (Is 40)

3/15/2020

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The video for this lesson went AWOL, so instead, review the first half of the book with Part 1 of The Bible Project's series on the book of Isaiah, then dig into chapter 40 with the outline below.

Revised Teaching Outline
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  1. His Word: 40:1-11 (Ps 119:49-52; Is 35:2; Mt 3:1-6; Mk 1:4; Lk 3:3; Ac 19:4; 1Pe 1:22-25; Is 55:10-11)
  2. His Works: 40:12-26 (stars; Ps 147:4-5; Ro 11:33-36)​. “Astronomers now estimate … that there are more than 400 billion stars in the Milky Way galaxy, and that there are 125 billion galaxies in the universe. The total number of stars is estimated at 1x1022 or 10 billion trillions [100 sextillion]” (The ESV Study Bible, Is 40:25-26).
  3. His Worth: 40:27-31 (Ps 18:3; Ex 3:14f; 19:3-6; Ps 90:1-2; Ro 15:4-6)

For more on Isaiah, check out our Introduction and the rest of the series.
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Streams (Is 34-35)

3/8/2020

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This lesson was taught by Brother Eddie while we were out of town, then later on I completely reworked the final point. So in lieu of our class video, check out this one from The Bible Project, which discusses the image Isaiah draws on in this passage.

Revised Teaching Outline
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  1. Judgment as Un-Creation: 34:8-9, 1-4 (Mt 24:29-31; He 1:10-12); 34:10-13 (Ge 3:17-19; 19:23-28; Is 13:9-11, 19-22)
  2. Redemption as Re-Creation: 35:1-2, 5-7 (Ge 2:8-10; Is 48:21); 35:3-4, 8-10 (Mt 11:5-6; He 12:12-14)
  3. The Spirit & Re-Creation: 32:14ff; 44:3f; 55:1-3 (Jn 4:13ff; 7:37ff)​

For more on Isaiah, check out our Introduction and the rest of the series.
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Learning (Is 28-29)

3/1/2020

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Revised Teaching Outline
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  1. Introduction: 28:23, 26, 29
  2. Crowns: 28:1-13 (1Co 14:20-25)
  3. Cornerstone: 28:14-22 (1Pe 2:1-8)
  4. Commandments: 29:9-14 (Ro 11:1-8; Mk 7:1-13; 1Co 1:18-25)
  5. Clay: 29:15-19 (Ro 9:19-21; Lk 7:22-23; Mt 5:1-6)​

For more on Isaiah, check out our Introduction and the rest of the series.

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Peace (Is 25-27)

2/23/2020

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Revised Teaching Outline
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  1. Peace in God: 25:1, 9; 26:3-4 (12:2; 38:11); 26:8-9, 12-13, 16; 27:2 (Ex 14:13; 15:1-2; Php 2:12-13)
  2. Peace as his People: 24:10, 12, 23; 25:2-3, 11-12; 26:1-2, 5-6; 27:5, 10, 12-13 (He 12:22-24)
  3. Peace through Resurrection: 25:7-8; 26:14, 19 (Ge 3:19; Ecc 12:7; 1Co 15:51-55; Rev 21:1-5)

For more on Isaiah, check out our Introduction and the rest of the series.

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Children (Is 7:1-9:7)

2/16/2020

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Revised Teaching Outline

Three Children (8:18)
  1. Shear-Jashub: 7:1-5, 7, 9 (2Ki 15-17)
  2. Maher-shalal-hash-baz: 8:1-7a (Jn 9:7, 11)
  3. Immanuel: 7:14ff; 8:7bff; 9:6-7 (Mt 1:20ff; Lk 1:32f)

​Four Lessons
  1. Have Hope: 8:12-13 (1Pe 3:14-15)
  2. Keep Faith: 8:14-15 (1Pe 2:7-8)
  3. Find Family: 8:16-18 LXX (He 2:10-13)
  4. Look to the Light: 9:1-2 (Mt 4:12ff)

​For more on Isaiah, check out our Introduction and the rest of the series.

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Glory (Is 6:1-13; 11:1-10)

2/9/2020

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Revised Teaching Outline
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  1. Humbled by Glory: 6:1-4 (4:5; Ex 40:34f; 1Ki 8:10f); 6:5-7 (2Ch 26:16; Re 4:10f)
  2. Blinded by Glory: 6:9-10 (hear/listen/ear, 121x; Mt 13:11, 16-17; Jn 12:41-43; Ac 28:28)
  3. Ruled by Glory: 6:13, 6-7; 11:1, 10 (Mt 1:1; Ro 15:8-9); 11:3-5 (Re 19:15; Ep 6:14-17); 11:9 (Hab 2:14); 27:6

​For more on Isaiah, check out our Introduction and the rest of the series.
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Justice (Is 1:1-2:5)

2/2/2020

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​​Revised Teaching Outline
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  1. Panoramic: 1:1-2b; Assyria (chs. 7-38; 7:17), Babylon (39:1-44:23; 39:6-7), Persia (44:24ff; 13:17), and the King (52:7; 2Pe 1:20-21)
  2. Rebuked by Justice: 1:2c-4 (57:15); 1:8-9 (Ro 9:29ff; 11:23, 26-27)
  3. Rebuked for Injustice: 1:16f, 21-23 (Ho 6:6; Am 5:23f; Mi 6:6ff)
  4. Redeemed by Justice: 1:27; 2:2ff (mountain/Zion/Jerusalem, 113x). “The prophecies of Isaiah 2, Joel 2, and Daniel 2 all merge in the events of Acts 2” (Hugh Fulford, Spiritual Sword, Apr 2017, p. 6).​

For more on Isaiah, check out our Introduction and the rest of the series.
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Isaiah: Glimpses of the Gospel

1/26/2020

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"Galatians 6:14-15" by Christopher Powers. Find more Scripture art at fullofeyes.com.
Introduction

Isaiah was a prophet in ancient Judah, whose father is traditionally identified as the brother of King Amaziah, making him a grandson of King Joash (Is 1:1; 2Ki 14:1). Isaiah prophesied from about 740 to 681 B.C. during a period of steady decline—economic, political, and military—but Judah’s real distress was spiritual and moral.

Isaiah thus begins his book with a warning (chs. 1-6), showing the people that their sinful hubris violated the holiness of God himself, “the Holy One of Israel” (Is 1:4). Unfortunately, instead of responding with “a contrite and lowly” humility, Judah closed the eyes of their heart and rejected the healing of the Lord (57:15 ESV; 6:10). So Isaiah turns to the future, predicting God’s holy judgment and his merciful deliverance. Like a miniature Bible, Isaiah spends 39 chapters laying out the bad news, and then 27 chapters tracing out the good news, with a few detours along the way. Like many of the prophets, his visions are fulfilled in three ways: (1) initially in threats from Assyria (chs. 7-38; 7:17) and Babylon (39:1-44:23; 39:6-7), (2) eventually in the exiles’ return under the Persians (44:24-66:24; 13:17), and (3) ultimately in the reign of God himself (52:7).

It’s this coming of God’s kingdom that most fascinated the writers of the New Testament. When they read of this newborn king (Is 9:6-7) and suffering servant (52:13), they recognized him as the same bringer of good news they knew as the Lord Jesus (Acts 8:35). Isaiah’s own name says it all: Yahweh is Salvation. The prophet’s ultimate hope is therefore the same as ours today: one day our King will return to reign over an everlasting kingdom filled with joy, love, and light (Is 35:10; 54:8; 60:19-20).

​Why These Texts? And What’s With the Outlines?

Selecting texts for a 12-week survey can be difficult, but especially for a book as significant as Isaiah. These lessons focus on those passages most influential in the New Testament (NT). To identify them, I started with an outline of Isaiah from Outline of Bible Books by David Lang, Greg Ward, and Sean Nelson (Accordance, 2015), and then simply listed NT citations from Isaiah using the margins of my ESV and NKJV, plus a great table in The ESV Study Bible (C. John Collins, “Old Testament Passages Cited in the New Testament”). Next, I highlighted the passages of Isaiah that were cited most often (sometimes expanding or contracting sections in the outline to fit the context), and then rounded these selections out by adding an introduction (chs. 1-2) and conclusion (chs. 65-66).

When I teach, I prefer to use outlines just deep enough to remind me of the author’s thoughts, but not so in-depth that I get bogged down in my notes. I share these here in hopes they might be of help to others too. These were usually tweaked right after I taught the text, so they don’t always reflect exactly what was recorded. To focus our thoughts each week, I like to ask a few fundamental questions:

  • What did this passage mean to Isaiah and his first readers?
  • What did this passage mean to the New Testament writers?
  • How does this passage point us to Jesus?
  • How does this passage call us to live into the gospel of Christ?

For more information on Isaiah, check out the study helps listed below, or leave me a note at the Contact tab above.

God bless!

Study Helps:
  • The ESV Global Study Bible. Edited by J.I. Packer, Wayne Grudem & Ajith Fernando. Crossway, 2012. Free access as ESV.org, the ESV app, Apple Books & Kindle.
  • “Isaiah.” Creative Directors: Jon Collins & Tim Mackie. The Bible Project, 2019. Watch and read at thebibleproject.com/explore/isaiah/.​
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