Seventeenth Sunday after Pentecost

 Sermon Text: Isaiah 50:4-10

 Other Readings: Mark 8:27-35 and 1 Peter 4:12-19


 

  1. Who is the one speaking in verses 4-9? Confer Mark 8:31.
     
  2. The name “Sovereign LORD” appears four times in these verses. What does this name tell us about God? Why do you think it is the specific name used here?
     
  3. Use verse 10 and 1 Peter 4:14-16 to explain why we can be confident that the Sovereign LORD will help us, just as he vindicated his Son Jesus.
     
  4. In the opposite way, those who reject Jesus and his Christians can expect what outcome (v. 9)?
     
  5. Jesus has a “well-instructed tongue to know the word that sustains the weary.” When you are feeling spiritually weary, what passage from the Gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke, John) encourages you?
     
  1. This is a prophecy in which Jesus, the Son of God, is speaking. Just as predicted here, so Jesus predicted in Mark chapter 8 the kind of suffering he would undergo for sin.
     
  2. It tells us that God is almighty and independent (“sovereign”). He alone is the true God. Therefore, we know that he hasn’t called just anyone but his special servant, and the mission he gave to him cannot fail.
     
  3. Through baptism, we have been connected to Jesus and everything he did for us. At baptism, the name of Christ was put onto our hearts and the Holy Spirit came to rest on us. The faith created at baptism now fears (respects, trusts in) God, and God promises to help those who rely on him.
     
  4. They will meet the end that they deserve, that is, condemnation. It may not happen right away (as our sinful nature may want), but God will punish them as they deserve. However, he still gives time for repentance, even to them.
     
  5. Answers will vary based on personal perspective.