Do Not Understand and Perceive the Truth (Isaiah 6:9-10)

"Yes, go, and say to this people, 'Listen carefully, but do not understand. Watch closely, but learn nothing.' ¹⁰ Harden the hearts of these people. Plug their ears and shut their eyes. That way, they will not see with their eyes, nor hear with their ears, nor understand with their heart and turn to me for healing" (Isa 6:9-10, NLT).

Tell people not to understand and to never be able to. Isaiah 6:9-10 is quoted in all four gospels and Acts (Mt 13:14-15; Mk 4:12; Lk 8:10; Jn 12:39-41; Ac 28:26-27). It is an odd commission because the plain meaning says to tell people not to understand (Isa 6:9) and then to make sure they will not (Isa 6:10). The communication is to be comprehensive. It specifies the "outer" (hearing, seeing) and the "inner" faculties (understanding, perceiving). Also, Isa 6:10 is arranged into a rounded structure (heart ... ears ... eyes ... eyes ... ears ... heart) thus emphasizing the people's total inability to comprehend.

Rather random rambling ruminating reflections from Isaiah 6 commentaries

The Call: Woe To Me (Isaiah 6a).

Holiness is the Lord's hidden glory; glory is the Lord's visible (omnipresent) holiness.

Glory is the shining out of who God is -- he is holiness. Holiness is part of the inner distinctiveness of God that is revealed in all his activity and his "glory" is the outward manifestation of the brightness of his majesty and holiness.

Holiness is the essence of God's nature. God himself is the supreme revelation of holiness (Isa 6:3). God's absolute holiness reveals how separate, different, or totally other he is in comparison to all other aspects of the created world. “Holy, holy, holy” is not just repetition; it is emphasis. It isn’t one + one + one; it’s perfection x perfection x perfection.

The Call (Isaiah 6): Woe to Me! Send Me!

Isaiah 6:1-13

"I saw the Lord, high and exalted, seated on a throne..." "Woe to me!" I cried. "I am ruined! For I am a man of unclean lips ... and my eyes have seen the King, the Lord Almighty." Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" (Isa 6:1, 5, 8, NIV).

Ponder and ask yourself:

• Have you heard "the call"?
• Have you "seen" God? Have you seen the Lord? Do you really want to see God?
• Have you felt woe? Doomed by your sins?
• Do you have a sense of what your specific calling is?

Outline:

1. Confronting a vision of God (1-4): Confronts a vision.
2. Conviction and confession (5): Confesses his sin.
3. Cleansing and consecration (6-7): Cleansed by grace.
4. Calling and commissioning (8-13): Called by God.

I Saw The Lord (Isaiah 6)

Isaiah 6:1-13; 8

Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, "Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?" And I said, "Here am I. Send me!" (Isa 6:8, NIV)

1. Despite Your Failures, Let's Meet and Talk (Isaiah 1).
2. The Ideal and The Reality (Isaiah 2-4).
3. A Worthless Vineyard (Isaiah 5).

Hearing the voice of God calling you. Isaiah 6 towers like a majestic peak over the surrounding terrain and is clearly of central importance for the message of Isaiah. The theme and the topic of Isaiah 6 is the call of Isaiah. It was his encounter with the Lord that Isaiah's understanding of both God and his own mission was crystallized. It is intimately related to what precedes and what follows.

The Call of God (Genesis 11:27-12:9)

Theme: The call of God makes all the difference in the world in any man's life. Have you heard the call of God?


What made Abraham great was the call of God. What makes one's life great is the call of God. What makes one a Christian is the call of God. The call of God is what truly shapes one's life.

We learn 3 things about the call of God:

1. How powerful it is (It is absolutely necessary, and absolutely gracious)
   
2. How radical it is (personally, volitionally, missiologically, culturally)
   
3. How you can receive it

2) The Gospel and The Call (Mark 1:14-20)

Chap 1: The Dance (Mark 1:9-11): Do you expect others to orbit around you?

Quotes: "The essence of other religions is advice; Christianity is essentially news." (15)

"The gospel is that God connects to you not on the basis of what you're done (or haven't done) but on the basis of what Jesus has done, in history, for you. And that makes it absolutely different from every other religion or philosophy." (16)

"The gospel isn't advice: It's good news that you don't need to earn your way to God; Jesus has already done it for you. And it's a gift that you receive by sheer grace--through God's thoroughly unmerited favor." (20)

"You can't have a relationship with Jesus unless he calls you." (18)

"If (Jesus) calls you to follow him, he must be your goal." (19)

The Gospel (Mark 1:14-15)

Gospel (Euangelion in Greek) means "news that brings joy." In Mark's day, it meant history-making, life-shaping news, as opposed to just daily news.

What's the difference between Christianity and all other religions, including no religion? Other religions say, "This is what you have to do; this is how you have to live to get to God." (This basically burdens and weighs you down: How much is enough? How good is good enough?) But the gospel says, "This is what has been done in history. This is how Jesus lived and died to earn the way to God for you." Christianity is completely different. It's joyful news.

The Call (Mark 1:16-20)

In Jewish tradition, pupils chose rabbis; rabbis did not choose pupils. But Mark shows that Jesus is different: he chooses and he calls (Mark 1:16-20).

What is Jesus' call? It is basically saying, "Knowing me, loving me, resembling me, serving me must become the supreme passion of your life. Everything else comes second."

People regard this as fanaticism. The very religious (sadly) have a reputation of being condemning, self-righteous, or even abusive. Most see religion as a spectrum of belief: those who say they believe but not live accordingly, to the fanatics, who over-believe and over-live their faith. People think that the solution to fanaticism is moderation in all things--not too zealous, and not too uncommitted, but being right in the middle.

Is moderation the way Christianity works? There's no moderation in Jesus' words (Luke 14:26). Why does Jesus use the word "hate" (Luke 14:26), when he says elsewhere that Christians should love even their enemies (Matt 5:44)? Jesus is not calling us to hate actively; he's calling us to hate comparatively. Otherwise, we'll only use Jesus to get what we want: love, happiness, stability, security. But Jesus will not be a means to an end; he will not be used.

Fanaticism is really not being too committed, but being not committed enough. Thus, they are not as humble and sensitive, or as understanding and generous as Jesus was. Why? They're still treating Christianity as advice instead of good news. Because of their effort to follow advice, they are condescending toward those they think are not trying hard enough. They are like nauseating older brothers (Luke 15:29,30), who drive seekers and others away from Christianity.

AUTHORITY (Mark 1:21-22; 29-31)

Authority means "out of the original stuff." It comes from the same root as the word author. Jesus taught about life with original rather than derived authority. Jesus wasn't simply clarifying or interpreting, but he taught as the author. Jesus' authority was not just over spiritual matters, but he was also king over the physical world, for he has real power over sickness, as when he healed Simon's mother-in-law (Mark 1:29-31).

How to follow Jesus: Follow the thread (forward, not backward, trusting God who is trustworthy and good) based on George MacDonald's children's book called The Princess and the Goblin. Jesus followed his thread to the cross so you can follow yours into his arms. (22-25)

Practical Questions: Do you primarily teach the Bible as good news, or as advice and instructions?

Do you invite people to Christ with your persuasion, wisdom, experience, and charisma, or do you impress upon them that only God can call them, not you?

Does your sense of your own authority rest on you and your credentials, or from the Source?

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