A Rebellious People

1“I permitted Myself to be sought by those who did not ask for Me;

I permitted Myself to be found by those who did not seek Me.

I said, ‘Here am I, here am I,’

To a nation which did not call on My name.

2I have spread out My hands all day long to a rebellious people,

Who walk in the way which is not good, following their own thoughts,

3A people who continually provoke Me to My face,

Offering sacrifices in gardens and burning incense on bricks;

4Who sit among graves and spend the night in secret places;

Who eat swine’s flesh,

And the broth of unclean meat is in their pots.

5Who say, ‘Keep to yourself, do not come near me,

For I am holier than you!’

These are smoke in My nostrils,

A fire that burns all the day.

6Behold, it is written before Me,

I will not keep silent, but I will repay;

I will even repay into their bosom,

7Both their own iniquities and the iniquities of their fathers together,” says the Lord.

“Because they have burned incense on the mountains

And scorned Me on the hills,

Therefore I will measure their former work into their bosom.”

8Thus says the Lord,

“As the new wine is found in the cluster,

And one says, ‘Do not destroy it, for there is benefit in it,’

So I will act on behalf of My servants

In order not to destroy all of them.

9I will bring forth offspring from Jacob,

And an heir of My mountains from Judah;

Even My chosen ones shall inherit it,

And My servants will dwell there.

10Sharon will be a pasture land for flocks,

And the valley of Achor a resting place for herds,

For My people who seek Me.

11But you who forsake the Lord,

Who forget My holy mountain,

Who set a table for Fortune,

And who fill cups with mixed wine for Destiny,

12I will destine you for the sword,

And all of you will bow down to the slaughter.

Because I called, but you did not answer;

I spoke, but you did not hear.

And you did evil in My sight

And chose that in which I did not delight.”

13Therefore, thus says the Lord God,

“Behold, My servants will eat, but you will be hungry.

Behold, My servants will drink, but you will be thirsty.

Behold, My servants will rejoice, but you will be put to shame.

14Behold, My servants will shout joyfully with a glad heart,

But you will cry out with a heavy heart,

And you will wail with a broken spirit.

15You will leave your name for a curse to My chosen ones,

And the Lord God will slay you.

But My servants will be called by another name.

16Because he who is blessed in the earth

Will be blessed by the God of truth;

And he who swears in the earth

Will swear by the God of truth;

Because the former troubles are forgotten,

And because they are hidden from My sight!

New Heavens and a New Earth

17“For behold, I create new heavens and a new earth;

And the former things will not be remembered or come to mind.

18But be glad and rejoice forever in what I create;

For behold, I create Jerusalem for rejoicing

And her people for gladness.

19I will also rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in My people;

And there will no longer be heard in her

The voice of weeping and the sound of crying.

20No longer will there be in it an infant who lives but a few days,

Or an old man who does not live out his days;

For the youth will die at the age of one hundred

And the one who does not reach the age of one hundred

Will be thought accursed.

21They will build houses and inhabit them;

They will also plant vineyards and eat their fruit.

22They will not build and another inhabit,

They will not plant and another eat;

For as the lifetime of a tree, so will be the days of My people,

And My chosen ones will wear out the work of their hands.

23They will not labor in vain,

Or bear children for calamity;

For they are the offspring of those blessed by the Lord,

And their descendants with them.

24It will also come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear. 25The wolf and the lamb will graze together, and the lion will eat straw like the ox; and dust will be the serpent’s food. They will do no evil or harm in all My holy mountain,” says the Lord.

9On the next day, as they were on their way and approaching the city, Peter went up on the housetop about the sixth hour to pray. 10But he became hungry and was desiring to eat; but while they were making preparations, he fell into a trance; 11and he *saw the sky opened up, and an object like a great sheet coming down, lowered by four corners to the ground, 12and there were in it all kinds of four-footed animals and crawling creatures of the earth and birds of the air. 13A voice came to him, “Get up, Peter, kill and eat!” 14But Peter said, “By no means, Lord, for I have never eaten anything unholy and unclean.” 15Again a voice came to him a second time, “What God has cleansed, no longer consider unholy.” 16This happened three times, and immediately the object was taken up into the sky.

1) How do dietary laws teach holiness of daily life?

2) What principle continues, though form may differ?

3) How does Peter’s vision clarify purity’s purpose?

Jesus Heals on the Sabbath

1He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there whose hand was withered. 2They were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, so that they might accuse Him. 3He *said to the man with the withered hand, “Get up and come forward!” 4And He *said to them, “Is it lawful to do good or to do harm on the Sabbath, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent. 5After looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He *said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored. 6The Pharisees went out and immediately began conspiring with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

7Jesus withdrew to the sea with His disciples; and a great multitude from Galilee followed; and also from Judea, 8and from Jerusalem, and from Idumea, and beyond the Jordan, and the vicinity of Tyre and Sidon, a great number of people heard of all that He was doing and came to Him. 9And He told His disciples that a boat should stand ready for Him because of the crowd, so that they would not crowd Him; 10for He had healed many, with the result that all those who had afflictions pressed around Him in order to touch Him. 11Whenever the unclean spirits saw Him, they would fall down before Him and shout, “You are the Son of God!” 12And He earnestly warned them not to tell who He was.

The Twelve Are Chosen

13And He *went up on the mountain and *summoned those whom He Himself wanted, and they came to Him. 14And He appointed twelve, so that they would be with Him and that He could send them out to preach, 15and to have authority to cast out the demons. 16And He appointed the twelve: Simon (to whom He gave the name Peter), 17and James, the son of Zebedee, and John the brother of James (to them He gave the name Boanerges, which means, “Sons of Thunder”); 18and Andrew, and Philip, and Bartholomew, and Matthew, and Thomas, and James the son of Alphaeus, and Thaddaeus, and Simon the Zealot; 19and Judas Iscariot, who betrayed Him.

20And He *came home, and the crowd *gathered again, to such an extent that they could not even eat a meal. 21When His own people heard of this, they went out to take custody of Him; for they were saying, “He has lost His senses.” 22The scribes who came down from Jerusalem were saying, “He is possessed by Beelzebul,” and “He casts out the demons by the ruler of the demons.” 23And He called them to Himself and began speaking to them in parables, “How can Satan cast out Satan? 24If a kingdom is divided against itself, that kingdom cannot stand. 25If a house is divided against itself, that house will not be able to stand. 26If Satan has risen up against himself and is divided, he cannot stand, but he is finished! 27But no one can enter the strong man’s house and plunder his property unless he first binds the strong man, and then he will plunder his house.

28“Truly I say to you, all sins shall be forgiven the sons of men, and whatever blasphemies they utter; 29but whoever blasphemes against the Holy Spirit never has forgiveness, but is guilty of an eternal sin”— 30because they were saying, “He has an unclean spirit.”

31Then His mother and His brothers *arrived, and standing outside they sent word to Him and called Him. 32A crowd was sitting around Him, and they *said to Him, “Behold, Your mother and Your brothers are outside looking for You.” 33Answering them, He *said, “Who are My mother and My brothers?” 34Looking about at those who were sitting around Him, He *said, “Behold My mother and My brothers! 35For whoever does the will of God, he is My brother and sister and mother.”

Peter’s Ministry

32Now as Peter was traveling through all those regions, he came down also to the saints who lived at Lydda. 33There he found a man named Aeneas, who had been bedridden eight years, for he was paralyzed. 34Peter said to him, “Aeneas, Jesus Christ heals you; get up and make your bed.” Immediately he got up. 35And all who lived at Lydda and Sharon saw him, and they turned to the Lord.

36Now in Joppa there was a disciple named Tabitha (which translated in Greek is called Dorcas); this woman was abounding with deeds of kindness and charity which she continually did. 37And it happened at that time that she fell sick and died; and when they had washed her body, they laid it in an upper room. 38Since Lydda was near Joppa, the disciples, having heard that Peter was there, sent two men to him, imploring him, “Do not delay in coming to us.” 39So Peter arose and went with them. When he arrived, they brought him into the upper room; and all the widows stood beside him, weeping and showing all the tunics and garments that Dorcas used to make while she was with them. 40But Peter sent them all out and knelt down and prayed, and turning to the body, he said, “Tabitha, arise.” And she opened her eyes, and when she saw Peter, she sat up. 41And he gave her his hand and raised her up; and calling the saints and widows, he presented her alive. 42It became known all over Joppa, and many believed in the Lord. 43And Peter stayed many days in Joppa with a tanner named Simon.