Study Questions – Advent 2024 #3

Kyle Bartholic   -   December 12, 2024

Peace for hectic lives.

Isaiah 53:1-12 & Col. 1:19-20 (CGS#3)

INTRODUCTION:  Isaiah 53:1-12 is typically a passage that we read and study during the Easter season and not at Advent. That is because Isaiah 53 talks about how the “man of sorrows” will be crushed for our sins and iniquities. It is understood to be a prophetic passage foretelling the crucifixion of Jesus, the Messiah. That is the primary significance of the passage. So, why are we studying it during Advent when we remember the birth of Jesus, not his crucifixion? Because of its promise of peace.

 

“But he was pierced for our transgressions; he was crushed for our iniquities; upon him was the chastisement that brought us peace, and with his wounds we are healed.” – Isa. 53:5

 

Peace is one of the five themes of the Advent season. Hope, joy, love, and adoration are the other four themes. And in our Advent series, we have already examined hope and joy. When we think of the idea or concept of peace, we typically think about an absence of conflict. That isn’t wrong. The Bible, however, offers us a deeper concept of peace. It teaches that peace is a restoration to wholeness and that restoration doesn’t come from our efforts; instead, it comes from God. One scholar explains this from the passage in Isaiah by writing, “Isaiah starts with an enigma: how can such an exaltation (13) arise out of such suffering (14); how can such suffering (14) lead to universal benefit and acknowledgment (15)? The Lord’s testimony to his Servant (13) blends into the statement of suffering and benefit (14–15). Balancing this opening, there is the concluding section (53:10–12) which solves the enigma: the Servant’s suffering was a bearing of sin. This time the explanation of his sufferings (10–11b) blends into the Lord’s testimony to his Servant (11c–12). The three intervening stanzas follow a theme of birth (53:2) to death (53:9): how he grew up to an adult life of rejection and sorrow (1–3), the hidden explanation of his sorrow and suffering (4–6), and how such suffering reached its outcome in death and burial (7–9).”[1]

 

The peace that we experience through Christ has come at a great cost to God. The wonder and beauty of Christmas is that God was willing to pay that price and give of himself for you and me. This is the very truth that Paul writes of in Col. 1:19-20, “For in him all the fullness of God was pleased to dwell,  and through him to reconcile to himself all things, whether on earth or in heaven, making peace by the blood of his cross.” Paul is talking about Jesus and is making it clear that the long-made promise in Isaiah 9 to send the “prince of peace” or, in Isaiah 53, to deliver the “suffering servant” was fulfilled. This is all wonderful news, but it keeps getting better. Not only has God granted us peace, but he has done so in a way that means we get to experience and live in that peace starting at the moment of salvation. Yes, we will experience the peace of God through Christ perfectly when we are with God in eternity, but that peace also permeates and changes us in the here and now. This means that as we follow Christ in the everyday things and we allow the Spirit of God to lead and refine us, we grow less and less burdened by the things of the world. It also means that we are no longer weighed down by the striving demands of the world. We are set free to live in the abundant life that Christ has offered and delivered by grace. In Advent, we remember that God gives peace that lasts.

 

 

GETTING STARTED – As a group, take time to answer this question. Has there been a time or experience in your life where things were calm, but you weren’t at peace? Or the opposite, you were at peace, but things were not calm? What was the difference in those situations?

IN THE WORD –   Let’s dig back into the passage(s). It is important to strengthen our muscles in reading God’s Word. On Sunday, we walked through the passage in the sermon. Hopefully, that helped you to see the landmarks of the passage with fresh eyes. Now, with your group, go back through it and see what God is saying to you specifically.

First, before you read the passage, take a moment to ask God’s Spirit to quiet your mind and heart and to illuminate the text to you. Second, read the passage aloud to the group. Then, follow the simple method below. (O.P.A)

Observe: Make 8-10 observations from the passage. Pay close attention to observe and note repeated words and phrases, names, places, and themes.

 

 

 

Principles: From your list of observations, what patterns or big ideas do you see emerging? Can you distill it down into 2-4 big idea truths?

 

 

 

Apply: Moving from your list of principles, it is time to apply God’s Word. Remember, we believe that God’s Word is living and active and that it can change the way we live Monday- Friday. What is one tangible way to apply a truth from your list above?

 

 

Note: Another way to approach your time together is to talk through the following questions.

  1. What did you hear God’s Spirit say to you through the passage this week? How does it encourage you? How does it sharpen you?
  2. What are the things of the world that offer peace (a state of wholeness)? How do they compare to the peace that Jesus offers?
  3. What are some good things that are worth striving for but don’t offer a truly abundant life? How does life in Christ temper our expectations of those things?
  4. Dallas Willard once said, “The kingdom is not opposed to effort. It is opposed to earning.” How does this quote help you to understand the reality of peace through Christ and our relationship with works?
  5. Is there anything in your life that you need to reorder so that you can experience the peace of Christ? Are there things that you need to remove? Or, are there things that you need to purposefully add to abide with Christ?

 

[1] J. Alec Motyer, Isaiah: An Introduction and Commentary, vol. 20, Tyndale Old Testament Commentaries (Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity Press, 1999), 374.