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Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Isaiah 40:1–5
Program

Whether the new year is off to a great start or a rocky one, Isaiah 40 will direct your gaze to the one who can bring comfort and joy to all your days. Study along with Truth For Life as Alistair Begg begins a study titled Behold Your God!

From the Sermon

Tidings of Comfort and Joy

Isaiah 40:1–5 Sermon Includes Transcript 39:09 ID: 3471

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Turning the Other Cheek

You have heard that it was said, “An eye for an eye and a tooth for a tooth.” But I say to you, Do not resist the one who is evil. But if anyone slaps you on the right cheek, turn to him the other also. And if anyone would sue you and take your tunic, let him have your cloak as well.

These words of Jesus are familiar, but they are also very challenging, and we ought to be very careful not to strip them of their impact by immediately trying to qualify them in a thousand different ways. Yet we also need to be sure to understand what is not commanded here. These verses don’t advocate some kind of apathetic passivity, although they’re pressed in that way by some. So how should we interpret what Jesus said?

It’s always important to compare Scripture with Scripture. The instruction given here is for interpersonal relationships; it’s not given to determine the role of the state either in warfare or in the execution of justice (Romans 13:1-7). The key is to distinguish between the temptation we face to enact personal vengeance and the duty we’ve been given to uphold both God’s glory and the rule of law. Jesus doesn’t want us to be unconcerned about issues of truth, righteousness, or justice. But He also doesn’t want us to be driven by a desire to protect our own rights or to pursue personal revenge.

David understood this distinction when he called down curses on people in the imprecatory psalms (for example, Psalm 5:10). He was not seeking to execute personal vengeance. Rather, he was looking at God’s glory and majesty and at the wholesale rebellion of the culture and saying to God, Please, for the glory and honor of Your name, deal with these circumstances.

Similarly, although Paul wrote that we should never avenge ourselves (Romans 12:19), he, too, recognized the separation between retaliation and matters of civil justice. In Philippi, he and Silas were accused of unlawful actions and dragged away to jail. Acts 16 records how, when the magistrates tried to release them quietly, “Paul said to them, ‘They have beaten us publicly, uncondemned, men who are Roman citizens, and have thrown us into prison; and do they now throw us out secretly? No! Let them come themselves and take us out.’” Then “the police reported these words to the magistrates, and they were afraid when they heard that they were Roman citizens” (Acts 16:37-38). They were afraid because they knew what they had done was illegal. Yet there was no sense of personal vengeance in what Paul did. Rather, he was upholding the rule of law.

We will be helped as we keep in mind this distinction between personal retaliation and matters of civil justice. We need the humility to trust God for justice in our interpersonal relationships and the courage to promote righteousness and the glory of His name and the integrity of the rule of law. But the challenge still stands: without ignoring justice, we are to seek to bless those who have hurt us and to share with those who have taken from us. What might that look like for you?

Questions for Thought

How is God calling me to think differently?

How is God reordering my heart’s affections — what I love?

What is God calling me to do as I go about my day today?

Further Reading

13cContribute to the needs of the saints and dseek to show hospitality.

14eBless those who persecute you; bless and do not curse them. 15fRejoice with those who rejoice, weep with those who weep. 16gLive in harmony with one another. hDo not be haughty, but associate with the lowly.8 iNever be wise in your own sight. 17jRepay no one evil for evil, but kgive thought to do what is honorable in the sight of all. 18If possible, so far as it depends on you, llive peaceably with all. 19Beloved, mnever avenge yourselves, but leave it9 to the wrath of God, for it is written, n“Vengeance is mine, I will repay, says the Lord.” 20To the contrary, o“if your enemy is hungry, feed him; if he is thirsty, give him something to drink; for by so doing you will heap burning coals on his head.” 21Do not be overcome by evil, but overcome evil with good.

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Footnotes
8 12:16 Or give yourselves to humble tasks
9 12:19 Greek give place

Devotional material is taken from the Truth For Life daily devotionals by Alistair Begg, published by The Good Book Company, thegoodbook.com. Used by Truth For Life with permission. Copyright © 2021, 2022, The Good Book Company.

Soul Food

Soul Food

These have no root.

My soul, examine yourself this morning by the light of this text. You have received the Word with joy; your feelings have been stirred, and a lively impression has been made. But, remember, to receive the Word in the ear is one thing, and to receive Jesus into your very soul is quite another; superficial feeling is often joined to inward hardness of heart, and a lively impression of the Word is not always a lasting one.

In the parable, the seed in one case fell upon ground having a rocky bottom, covered over with a thin layer of earth; when the seed began to take root, its downward growth was hindered by the hard stone, and therefore it spent its strength in pushing its green shoot aloft as high as it could. But having no inward moisture derived from root nourishment, it withered away. Is this my case? Have I been making a fair show in the flesh without having a corresponding inner life? Good growth takes place upward and downward at the same time. Am I rooted in sincere fidelity and love to Jesus? If my heart remains unsoftened and unfertilized by grace, the good seed may germinate for a season, but it must ultimately wither, for it cannot flourish on a rocky, unbroken, unsanctified heart.

Let me dread a godliness as rapid in growth and as lacking in endurance as Jonah's vine; let me count the cost of being a follower of Jesus. Above all let me feel the energy of His Holy Spirit, and then I shall possess an abiding and enduring seed in my soul. If my mind remains as stubborn as it was by nature, the sun of trial will scorch, and my hard heart will help cast the heat the more terribly upon the ill-covered seed, and my religion will soon die, and my despair will be terrible.

Therefore, O heavenly Sower, plow me first, and then cast the truth into me, and let me yield a bounteous harvest.

Devotional material is taken from Morning and Evening, written by C. H. Spurgeon, revised and updated by Alistair Begg. Copyright © 2003, Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers, Wheaton, IL 60187, www.crossway.org. Used by Truth For Life with written permission.

Daily Bible Reading for January 11

Genesis 12, Matthew 11, Nehemiah 1, Acts 11

The Call of Abram

1Now mthe Lord said1 to Abram, “Go from your country2 and your kindred and your father's house to the land that I will show you. 2nAnd I will make of you a great nation, and I will bless you and make your name great, so that you will be a blessing. 3oI will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and pin you all the families of the earth shall be blessed.”3

4So Abram went, as the Lord had told him, and Lot went with him. Abram was seventy-five years old when he departed from qHaran. 5And Abram took Sarai his wife, and Lot his brother's son, and all their possessions that they had gathered, and the people that they had acquired in Haran, and they set out to go to the land of Canaan. When they came to the land of Canaan, 6Abram rpassed through the land to the place at Shechem, to sthe oak4 of tMoreh. At that time uthe Canaanites were in the land. 7Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, v“To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8From there he moved to the hill country on the east of wBethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord. 9And Abram journeyed on, still going toward the Negeb.

Abram and Sarai in Egypt

10Now xthere was a famine in the land. So Abram went down to Egypt to sojourn there, for the famine was severe in the land. 11When he was about to enter Egypt, he said to Sarai his wife, “I know that you are a woman beautiful in appearance, 12and when the Egyptians see you, they will say, ‘This is his wife.’ Then they ywill kill me, but they will let you live. 13Say you are my sister, that it may go well with me because of you, and that my life may be spared for your sake.” 14When Abram entered Egypt, the Egyptians saw that the woman was very beautiful. 15And when the princes of Pharaoh saw her, they praised her to Pharaoh. And the woman was taken into Pharaoh's house. 16And for her sake he dealt well with Abram; and he had sheep, oxen, male donkeys, male servants, female servants, female donkeys, and camels.

17But the Lord zafflicted Pharaoh and his house with great plagues because of Sarai, Abram's wife. 18So Pharaoh called Abram and said, “What is this you have done to me? Why did you not tell me that she was your wife? 19Why did you say, ‘She is my sister,’ so that I took her for my wife? Now then, here is your wife; take her, and go.” 20And Pharaoh gave men orders concerning him, and they sent him away with his wife and all that he had.

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Footnotes
1 12:1 Or had said
2 12:1 Or land
3 12:3 Or by you all the families of the earth shall bless themselves
4 12:6 Or terebinth

Messengers from John the Baptist

1When Jesus had finished instructing his twelve disciples, he went on from there to teach and preach in their cities.

2eNow when John heard fin prison about the deeds of gthe Christ, he sent word by hhis disciples 3and said to him, “Are you ithe one who is to come, or shall we jlook for another?” 4And Jesus answered them, “Go and tell John what you hear and see: 5kthe blind receive their sight and the lame walk, lepers1 are cleansed and the deaf hear, and the dead are raised up, and lthe poor have good news preached to them. 6And blessed is the one who mis not offended by me.”

7As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds concerning John: “What did you go out ninto the wilderness to see? oA reed shaken by the wind? 8What then did you go out to see? A man2 dressed in soft clothing? Behold, those who wear soft clothing are in kings' houses. 9What then did you go out to see? pA prophet?3 Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet. 10This is he of whom it is written,

q“‘Behold, I send my messenger before your face,

who will prepare your way before you.’

11Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has arisen no one greater than John the Baptist. Yet the one who is least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he. 12rFrom the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence,4 and the violent take it by force. 13rFor all the Prophets and the Law prophesied until John, 14and if you are willing to accept it, he is sElijah who is to come. 15tHe who has ears to hear,5 let him hear.

16“But to what shall I compare this generation? It is like children sitting in the marketplaces and calling to their playmates,

17“‘We played the flute for you, and you did not dance;

we sang a dirge, and you did not mourn.’

18For John came uneither eating vnor drinking, and they say, ‘He has a demon.’ 19The Son of Man came weating and drinking, and they say, ‘Look at him! A glutton and a drunkard, xa friend of ytax collectors and sinners!’ Yet wisdom is justified by her deeds.”6

Woe to Unrepentant Cities

20zThen he began to denounce the cities where most of his mighty works had been done, because they did not repent. 21a“Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the mighty works done in you had been done in bTyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes. 22cBut I tell you, it will be more bearable on dthe day of judgment for bTyre and Sidon than for you. 23And you, eCapernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? You will be brought down to fHades. For if the mighty works done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day. 24cBut I tell you that git will be more tolerable on dthe day of judgment for the land of Sodom than for you.”

Come to Me, and I Will Give You Rest

25hAt that time Jesus declared, “I thank you, Father, iLord of heaven and earth, that jyou have hidden these things from the wise and understanding and krevealed them to little children; 26yes, Father, for such was your lgracious will.7 27mAll things have been handed over to me by my Father, and no one knows the Son nexcept the Father, and no one knows the Father except the Son and anyone oto whom the Son chooses to reveal him. 28pCome to qme, all who labor and are rheavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29Take my yoke upon you, and slearn from me, for I am tgentle and lowly in heart, and uyou will find rest for your souls. 30For vmy yoke is easy, and my burden is light.”

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Footnotes
1 11:5 Leprosy was a term for several skin diseases; see Leviticus 13
2 11:8 Or Why then did you go out? To see a man…;
3 11:9 Some manuscripts Why then did you go out? To see a prophet?
4 11:12 Or has been coming violently
5 11:15 Some manuscripts omit to hear
6 11:19 Some manuscripts children (compare Luke 7:35)
7 11:26 Or for so it pleased you well

Report from Jerusalem

1The words of aNehemiah the son of Hacaliah.

Now it happened in the month of bChislev, cin the twentieth year, as I was in dSusa the citadel, 2that eHanani, one of my brothers, came with certain men from Judah. And I asked them concerning the Jews who escaped, who had survived the exile, and concerning Jerusalem. 3And they said to me, “The remnant there in the province who had survived the exile is in great trouble and fshame. gThe wall of Jerusalem is broken down, hand its gates are destroyed by fire.”

Nehemiah's Prayer

4As soon as I heard these words I isat down and wept and mourned for days, and I continued fasting and praying before the jGod of heaven. 5And I said, “O Lord God of heaven, kthe great and awesome God who keeps covenant and steadfast love with those who love him and keep his commandments, 6llet your ear be attentive and your eyes open, to hear the prayer of your servant that I now pray before you day and night for the people of Israel your servants, mconfessing the sins of the people of Israel, which we have sinned against you. Even nI and my father's house have sinned. 7oWe have acted very corruptly against you and have not kept the commandments, the statutes, and the rules pthat you commanded your servant Moses. 8Remember the word that you commanded your servant Moses, saying, ‘If you are unfaithful, qI will scatter you among the peoples, 9rbut if you return to me and keep my commandments and do them, sthough your outcasts are in the uttermost parts of heaven, from there I will gather them and bring them tto the place that I have chosen, to make my name dwell there.’ 10uThey are your servants and your people, whom you have redeemed by your great power and by your strong hand. 11O Lord, llet your ear be attentive to the prayer of your servant, and to the prayer of your servants who delight to fear your name, and give success to your servant today, and grant him mercy in the sight of this man.”

Now I was vcupbearer to the king.

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Peter Reports to the Church

1Now the apostles and rthe brothers1 who were throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God. 2So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, sthe circumcision party2 criticized him, saying, 3t“You went to uncircumcised men and uate with them.” 4But Peter began and explained it to them in order: 5v“I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision, something like a great sheet descending, being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to me. 6Looking at it closely, I observed animals and beasts of prey and reptiles and birds of the air. 7And I heard a voice saying to me, ‘Rise, Peter; kill and eat.’ 8But I said, ‘By no means, Lord; for nothing common or unclean has ever entered my mouth.’ 9But the voice answered a second time from heaven, ‘What God has made clean, do not call common.’ 10This happened three times, and all was drawn up again into heaven. 11And behold, at that very moment three men arrived at the house in which we were, sent to me from Caesarea. 12And the Spirit told me to go with them, wmaking no distinction. xThese six brothers also accompanied me, and we entered the man's house. 13And he told us how he had seen the angel stand in his house and say, ‘Send to Joppa and bring Simon who is called Peter; 14yhe will declare to you a message by which zyou will be saved, you and all your household.’ 15As I began to speak, athe Holy Spirit fell on them bjust as on us at the beginning. 16And I remembered the word of the Lord, how he said, c‘John baptized with water, but you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.’ 17If then dGod gave ethe same gift to them as he gave to us fwhen we believed in the Lord Jesus Christ, gwho was I hthat I could stand in God's way?” 18When they heard these things they fell silent. And they iglorified God, saying, j“Then to the Gentiles also God has kgranted lrepentance that leads to life.”

The Church in Antioch

19mNow those who were scattered because of the persecution that arose over Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia and Cyprus and Antioch, speaking the word to no one except Jews. 20But there were some of them, men of Cyprus and Cyrene, who on coming to Antioch spoke to the Hellenists3 also, npreaching the Lord Jesus. 21And othe hand of the Lord was with them, and a great number who believed pturned to the Lord. 22The report of this came to the ears of the church in Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch. 23When he came and saw qthe grace of God, he was glad, and he exhorted them all to remain faithful to the Lord rwith steadfast purpose, 24for he was a good man, sfull of the Holy Spirit and of faith. And a great many people twere added to the Lord. 25So Barnabas went to uTarsus to look for Saul, 26and when he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they met with the church and taught a great many people. And in Antioch the disciples were first called vChristians.

27Now in these days wprophets came down from Jerusalem to Antioch. 28And one of them named xAgabus stood up and foretold yby the Spirit that there would be a great zfamine over all the world (this took place in the days of aClaudius). 29So the disciples determined, every one according to his ability, bto send relief to cthe brothers4 living in Judea. 30dAnd they did so, sending it to ethe elders by the hand of Barnabas and Saul.

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Footnotes
1 11:1 Or brothers and sisters
2 11:2 Or Jerusalem, those of the circumcision
3 11:20 Or Greeks (that is, Greek-speaking non-Jews)
4 11:29 Or brothers and sisters
Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved. The ESV text may not be quoted in any publication made available to the public by a Creative Commons license. The ESV may not be translated in whole or in part into any other language.

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