Wednesday Morning Scripture – Isaiah 9:1-7

Birth and Reign of The Prince of Peace

1 But there will be no more gloom for her who was in anguish [for with judgment comes the promise of salvation]. In earlier times He treated the land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali with contempt, but later on He will make them honored [by the presence of the Messiah], by the way of the sea, on the other side of Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles.

2 The people who walk in [spiritual] darkness [1]will see a great Light; those who live in the dark land, The Light will shine on them.

3 You [O God] will increase the nation,You will multiply their joy; they will rejoice before You like the joy and jubilation of the harvest, as men rejoice when they divide the spoil [of victory].

4 For You will break the yoke of Israel’s burden and the staff (goad) on their shoulders, the rod of their oppressor, as at the [2]battle of Midian.

5 For every boot of the marching warrior in the battle tumult, and [every soldier’s] garment rolled in blood, will be used for burning, fuel for the fire.

6 For to us a Child shall be born, to us a Son shall be given; and the government shall be upon His shoulder, and His name shall be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace.

7 There shall be no end to the increase of His government and of peace, [He shall rule] on the throne of David and over his kingdom, to establish it and to uphold it with justice and righteousness from that time forward and forevermore. The zeal of the Lord of hosts will accomplish this.

Isaiah 9:1-7 (AMP)

Footnotes

[a] Isaiah 9:2 Or have seen, Hebrew perfect tense. The perfect tense is used frequently in this passage and should probably be interpreted as the prophetic future, that is, the use of the perfect (past) tense to describe a future event as a certainty

[b] .Isaiah 9:4 A reference to Gideon’s great victory over the Midianites (Judg 7:22-25).

Monday Morning Scripture (Wk51/2021) – John 1:13-18

The Word Made Flesh

14 And the Word (Christ) became flesh, and lived among us; and we [actually] saw His glory, glory as belongs to the [One and] only begotten Son of the Father, [the Son who is truly unique, the only One of His kind, who is] full of grace and truth (absolutely free of deception).

15 John testified [repeatedly] about Him and [1]has cried out [testifying officially for the record, with validity and relevance], “This was He of whom I said, ‘He who comes after me [2]has a higher rank than I and has priority over me, for He existed before me.’”

16 For out of His fullness [the superabundance of His grace and truth] we have all received grace upon grace [spiritual blessing upon spiritual blessing, favor upon favor, and gift heaped upon gift].

17 For the Law was given through Moses, but grace [the unearned, undeserved favor of God] and truth came through Jesus Christ.

18 No one has seen God [His essence, His divine nature] at any time; the [One and] only begotten God [that is, the unique Son] who is in the intimate presence of the Father, He has explained Him [and interpreted and revealed the awesome wonder of the Father].

John 1:13-18 (AMP)

Footnotes

  1. John 1:15 Here John the writer uses the Greek perfect tense (“has cried out”), emphasizing the truth and continuing importance of John the Baptist’s testimony.
  2. John 1:15 Lit has become before (in front of) me, because He was first of me. The Greek is difficult because John the Baptist was making a word-play on the adverbs/adjective “after” (or “behind”), “before,” and “first.” The playful wording assumes the form of a riddle which, like some of Jesus’ parables, conceals the speaker’s meaning from those who are hostile toward him and have neither the patience nor the spiritual inclination to learn from him.

Saturday Morning Scripture (Wk49/2021) – Matthew 1:18-25

Conception and Birth of Jesus

18 Now the birth of Jesus Christ was as follows: when His mother Mary had been [1]betrothed to Joseph, before they came together she was found to be with child by [the power of] the Holy Spirit.

19 And Joseph her [promised] husband, being a just and righteous man and not wanting to expose her publicly to shame, planned to send her away and divorce her quietly.

20 But after he had considered this, an angel of the Lord appeared to him in a dream, saying, “Joseph, descendant of David, do not be afraid to take Mary as your wife, for the Child who has been [2]conceived in her is of the Holy Spirit.

21 She will give birth to a Son, and you shall name Him Jesus (The Lord is salvation), for He will [3]save His people from their sins.”

22 All this happened in order to fulfill what the Lord had spoken through the [4]prophet [Isaiah]:

23 “Behold, the [5]virgin shall be with child and give birth to a Son, and they shall call His name Immanuel”—which, when translated, means, “God with us.”

24 Then Joseph awoke from his sleep and did as the angel of the Lord had commanded him, and he took Mary [to his home] as his wife,

25 but he kept her a virgin until she had given birth to a Son [her firstborn child]; and he named Him Jesus (The Lord is salvation).

Matthew 1:18-25 (AMP)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:18 The first stage of marriage (called shiddukin in Hebrew) in Jewish tradition and law, usually lasting for a year before the wedding night; unlike an engagement, it was legally binding and required a divorce to nullify it. The woman remained with her parents during the betrothal year and was referred to as a “wife” even though the marriage was not consummated during this period of time (cf Deut 22:23, 24).
  2. Matthew 1:20 Lit begotten.
  3. Matthew 1:21 Those who, by personal faith, accept Him as Savior are saved from the penalty of sin and reconciled with the Father.
  4. Matthew 1:22 The prophets in the Bible always have the ability to foretell the future as revealed to them by God. Scripture provides stringent criteria for testing a prophet’s ability to foretell future events (Deut 18:22).
  5. Matthew 1:23 “Virgin” (Gr parthenos) clearly confirms that Mary was a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus.

Saturday Morning Scripture (Wk48/2021) – John 1:1-13

The Deity of Jesus Christ

1 In the beginning [before all time] was the Word ([1]Christ), and the Word was with God, and [2]the Word was God Himself.

2 He was [continually existing] in the beginning [co-eternally] with God.

3 All things were made and came into existence through Him; and without Him not even one thing was made that has come into being.

4 In Him was life [and the power to bestow life], and the life was the Light of men.

5 The Light shines on in the [3]darkness, and the darkness did not understand it or overpower it or appropriate it or absorb it [and is unreceptive to it].

The Witness of John the Baptist

6 There came a man commissioned and sent from God, whose name was [4]John.

7 This man came as a witness, to testify about the Light, so that all might believe [in Christ, the Light] through him.

8 John was not the Light, but came to testify about the Light.

9 There it was—the true Light [the genuine, perfect, steadfast Light] which, coming into the world, enlightens everyone.

10 He (Christ) was in the world, and though the world was made through Him, the world did not recognize Him.

11 He came to that which was His own [that which belonged to Him—His world, His creation, His possession], and those who were His own [people—the Jewish nation] did not receive and welcome Him.

12 But to as many as did receive and welcome Him, He gave the right [the authority, the privilege] to become children of God, that is, to those who believe in (adhere to, trust in, and rely on) His name—

13 who were born, not of blood [natural conception], nor of the will of the flesh [physical impulse], nor of the will of man [that of a natural father], but of God [that is, a divine and supernatural birth—they are born of God—spiritually transformed, renewed, sanctified].

John 1:1-13 (AMP)

Footnotes

  1. John 1:1 In John the Apostle’s vision (Rev 19), he sees Christ returning as Warrior-Messiah-King, and “…His name is called The Word of God…and LORD OF LORDS.” (Rev 19:13, 16).
  2. John 1:1 In this phrase, “God” appears first in the Greek word order, emphasizing the fact that “the Word” (Christ) was God—so “God Himself.”
  3. John 1:5 I.e. the world immersed in sin: all that stands in opposition to God and biblical truth.
  4. John 1:6 The births of both John the Baptist and Jesus were foretold by the angel, Gabriel (Luke 1:5-80). This passage is about John the Baptist, the son of Zacharias the priest and his wife, Elizabeth. Elizabeth was related to Mary the mother of Jesus (Luke 1:36). John the Baptist is considered to be the last of the OT prophets, and is not to be confused with John the Apostle who wrote this Gospel, three brief letters (1 John, 2 John, 3 John) and Revelation.

Friday Morning Scripture (Wk48/2021) – Matthew 1:1-17

The Genealogy of Jesus The Messiah

1 The record of the genealogy of [1]Jesus the [2]Messiah, the son (descendant) of [3]David, the son (descendant) of Abraham:

2 Abraham [4]was the father of Isaac, Isaac the father of Jacob, and Jacob the father of [5]Judah and his brothers [who became the twelve tribes of Israel].

3 Judah was the father of Perez and Zerah by Tamar, Perez was the father of Hezron, and Hezron the father of Ram.

4 Ram was the father of Aminadab, Aminadab the father of Nahshon, and Nahshon the father of Salmon.

5 Salmon was the father of Boaz by [6]Rahab, Boaz was the father of Obed by Ruth, and Obed the father of Jesse.

6 Jesse was the father of [7]David the king. David was the father of Solomon by [8]Bathsheba who had been the wife of Uriah.

7 Solomon was the father of Rehoboam, Rehoboam the father of Abijah, and Abijah the father of Asa.

8 Asa was the father of Jehoshaphat, Jehoshaphat the father of Joram, and Joram the father of Uzziah.

9 Uzziah was the father of Jotham, Jotham the father of Ahaz, and Ahaz the father of Hezekiah.

10 Hezekiah was the father of Manasseh, Manasseh the father of Amon, and Amon the father of Josiah.

11 Josiah became the father of Jeconiah [also called Coniah and Jehoiachin] and his brothers, at the time of the deportation (exile) to Babylon.

12 After the deportation to Babylon: Jeconiah became the father of Shealtiel, and Shealtiel the father of Zerubbabel.

13 Zerubbabel was the father of Abihud, Abihud the father of Eliakim, and Eliakim the father of Azor.

14 Azor was the father of Zadok, Zadok the father of Achim, and Achim the father of Eliud.

15 Eliud was the father of Eleazar, Eleazar the father of Matthan, and Matthan the father of Jacob.

16 Jacob was the father of Joseph the husband of Mary, by [9]whom Jesus was born, who is called the Messiah (Christ).

17 So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen; from David to the Babylonian deportation (exile), fourteen generations; and from the Babylonian deportation to the Messiah, fourteen generations.

Matthew 1:1-17 (AMP)

Footnotes

  1. Matthew 1:1 Heb Yeshua (Joshua), meaning The Lord is salvation.
  2. Matthew 1:1 Gr Christos. Greek for Messiah, which means Anointed One. Throughout his gospel, which is directed primarily to Jewish believers, Matthew uses OT Scripture to emphasize the fact that Jesus is their promised Messiah.
  3. Matthew 1:1 The shepherd boy who killed the Philistine giant Goliath, and later became king of Israel.
  4. Matthew 1:2 Lit begot, fathered, from the Greek word gennao, meaning “to father a child” (early modern English beget) and so throughout the genealogy whenever father occurs.
  5. Matthew 1:2 Gr Judas; names of people in the OT are given in their OT form.
  6. Matthew 1:5 The woman who assisted the Hebrew spies before the conquest of Jericho (Josh 2:1-21).
  7. Matthew 1:6 David is the only one addressed as “the king.” The text places an emphasis on David, showing that Jesus is a descendant of David and an heir to the throne of David and the Davidic Covenant.
  8. Matthew 1:6 Lit her of Uriah.
  9. Matthew 1:16 The Greek singular feminine pronoun hes, translated “whom,” shows that Jesus was born of Mary alone, without Joseph’s participation; however, Jesus was considered Joseph’s legal son and heir. Accordingly, Matthew’s genealogy confirms Jesus as a legitimate descendant of David.