The Berean Pursuit
Then a shoot will spring up from the stump of Jesse,
and a Branch from his roots will bear fruit.
The Spirit of the LORD will rest on Him-
the Spirit of wisdom and understanding,
the Spirit of counsel and strength,
the Spirit of knowledge and fear of the LORD.
And He will delight in the fear of the LORD.
He will not judge by what His eyes see,
and He will not decide by what His ears hear,
but with righteousness He will judge the poor,
and with equity He will decide for the lowly of the earth.
He will strike the earth with the rod of His mouth
and slay the wicked with the breath of His lips.
Righteousness will be the belt around His hips,
and faithfulness the sash around His waist.
The wolf will live with the lamb,
and the leopard will lie down with the goat;
the calf and young lion and fatling will be together,
and a little child will lead them.
The cow will graze with the bear,
their young will lie down together,
and the lion will eat straw like the ox.
The infant will play by the cobra's den,
and the toddler will reach into the viper's nest.
They will neither harm nor destroy
on all My holy mountain,
for the earth will be full of the knowledge of the LORD
as the sea is full of water.
On that day the Root of Jesse will stand as a banner for the peoples. The nations will seek Him, and His place of rest will be glorious. On that day the Lord will extend His hand a second time to recover the remnant of His people from Assyria, from Egypt, from Pathros, from Cush, from Elam, from Shinar, from Hamath, and from the islands of the sea.
He will raise a banner for the nations
and gather the exiles of Israel;
He will collect the scattered of Judah
from the four corners of the earth.
Then the jealousy of Ephraim will depart,
and the adversaries of Judah will be cut off.
Ephraim will no longer envy Judah,
nor will Judah harass Ephraim.
They will swoop down on the slopes of the Philistines to the west;
together they will plunder the sons of the east.
They will lay their hands on Edom and Moab,
and the Ammonites will be subject to them.
The LORD will devote to destruction
the gulf of the Sea of Egypt;
with a scorching wind He will sweep His hand
over the Euphrates.
He will split it into seven streams
for men to cross with dry sandals.
There will be a highway for the remnant of His people
who remain from Assyria,
as there was for Israel
when they came up from the land of Egypt.
In that day you will say:
"O LORD, I will praise You.
Although You were angry with me,
Your anger has turned away,
and You have comforted me.
Surely God is my salvation;
I will trust and not be afraid.
For the LORD GOD is my strength and my song,
and He also has become my salvation."
With joy you will draw water from the springs of salvation, and on that day you will say:
"Give praise to the LORD;
proclaim His name!
Make His works known among the peoples;
declare that His name is exalted.
Sing to the LORD, for He has done glorious things.
Let this be known in all the earth.
Cry out and sing, O citizen of Zion,
for great among you is the Holy One of Israel."
This is the burden against Babylon that Isaiah son of Amoz received:
Raise a banner on a barren hilltop;
call aloud to them.
Wave your hand,
that they may enter the gates of the nobles.
I have commanded My sanctified ones;
I have even summoned My warriors
to execute My wrath
and exult in My triumph.
Listen, a tumult on the mountains,
like that of a great multitude!
Listen, an uproar among the kingdoms,
like nations gathered together!
The LORD of Hosts is mobilizing
an army for war.
They are coming from faraway lands,
from the ends of the heavens-
the LORD and the weapons of His wrath-
to destroy the whole country.
Wail, for the Day of the LORD is near;
it will come as destruction from the Almighty.
Therefore all hands will fall limp,
and every man's heart will melt.
Terror, pain, and anguish will seize them;
they will writhe like a woman in labor.
They will look at one another,
their faces flushed with fear.
Behold, the Day of the LORD is coming-
cruel, with fury and burning anger-
to make the earth a desolation
and to destroy the sinners within it.
For the stars of heaven and their constellations
will not give their light.
The rising sun will be darkened,
and the moon will not give its light.
I will punish the world for its evil
and the wicked for their iniquity.
I will end the haughtiness of the arrogant
and lay low the pride of the ruthless.
I will make man scarcer than pure gold,
and mankind rarer than the gold of Ophir.
Therefore I will make the heavens tremble,
and the earth will be shaken from its place
at the wrath of the LORD of Hosts
on the day of His burning anger.
Like a hunted gazelle,
like a sheep without a shepherd,
each will return to his own people,
each will flee to his native land.
Whoever is caught will be stabbed,
and whoever is captured will die by the sword.
Their infants will be dashed to pieces
before their eyes,
their houses will be looted,
and their wives will be ravished.
Behold, I will stir up against them the Medes,
who have no regard for silver
and no desire for gold.
Their bows will dash young men to pieces;
they will have no mercy on the fruit of the womb;
they will not look with pity on the children.
And Babylon, the jewel of the kingdoms,
the glory of the pride of the Chaldeans,
will be overthrown by God
like Sodom and Gomorrah.
She will never be inhabited
or settled from generation to generation;
no nomad will pitch his tent there,
no shepherd will rest his flock there.
But desert creatures will lie down there,
and howling creatures will fill her houses.
Ostriches will dwell there,
and wild goats will leap about.
Hyenas will howl in her fortresses
and jackals in her luxurious palaces.
Babylon's time is at hand,
and her days will not be prolonged.
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His loving devotion endures forever.
Let Israel say,
"His loving devotion endures forever."
Let the house of Aaron say,
"His loving devotion endures forever."
Let those who fear the LORD say,
"His loving devotion endures forever."
In my distress I called to the LORD,
and He answered and set me free.
The LORD is on my side; I will not be afraid.
What can man do to me?
The LORD is on my side; He is my helper.
Therefore I will look in triumph on those who hate me.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in man.
It is better to take refuge in the LORD
than to trust in princes.
All the nations surrounded me,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
They surrounded me on every side,
but in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
They swarmed around me like bees,
but they were extinguished like burning thorns;
in the name of the LORD I cut them off.
I was pushed so hard I was falling,
but the LORD helped me.
The LORD is my strength and my song,
and He has become my salvation.
Shouts of joy and salvation resound in the tents of the righteous:
"The right hand of the LORD performs with valor!
The right hand of the LORD is exalted!
The right hand of the LORD performs with valor!"
I will not die, but I will live
and proclaim what the LORD has done.
The LORD disciplined me severely,
but He has not given me over to death.
Open to me the gates of righteousness,
that I may enter and give thanks to the LORD.
This is the gate of the LORD;
the righteous shall enter through it.
I will give You thanks, for You have answered me,
and You have become my salvation.
The stone the builders rejected
has become the cornerstone.
This is from the LORD,
and it is marvelous in our eyes.
This is the day that the LORD has made;
we will rejoice and be glad in it.
O LORD, save us, we pray.
We beseech You, O LORD, cause us to prosper!
Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
From the house of the LORD we bless you.
The LORD is God;
He has made His light to shine upon us.
Bind the festal sacrifice with cords
to the horns of the altar.
You are my God, and I will give You thanks.
You are my God, and I will exalt You.
Give thanks to the LORD, for He is good;
His loving devotion endures forever.
When morning came, all the chief priests and elders of the people conspired against Jesus to put Him to death. They bound Him, led Him away, and handed Him over to Pilate the governor.
When Judas, who had betrayed Him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was filled with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and elders. "I have sinned by betraying innocent blood," he said.
"What is that to us?" they replied. "You bear the responsibility."
So Judas threw the silver into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.
The chief priests picked up the pieces of silver and said, "It is unlawful to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money." After conferring together, they used the money to buy the potter's field as a burial place for foreigners. That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. Then what was spoken through Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled:
"They took the thirty pieces of silver,
the price set on Him by the people of Israel,
and they gave them for the potter's field,
as the Lord had commanded me."
Meanwhile Jesus stood before the governor, who questioned Him: "Are You the King of the Jews?"
"You have said so," Jesus replied.
And when He was accused by the chief priests and elders, He gave no answer.
Then Pilate asked Him, "Do You not hear how many charges they are bringing against You?"
But Jesus gave no answer, not even to a single charge, much to the governor's amazement.
Now it was the governor's custom at the feast to release to the crowd a prisoner of their choosing. At that time they were holding a notorious prisoner named Barabbas. So when the crowd had assembled, Pilate asked them, "Which one do you want me to release to you: Barabbas, or Jesus who is called Christ?" For he knew it was out of envy that they had handed Jesus over to him.
While Pilate was sitting on the judgment seat, his wife sent him this message: "Have nothing to do with that innocent man, for I have suffered terribly in a dream today because of Him."
But the chief priests and elders persuaded the crowds to ask for Barabbas and to have Jesus put to death.
"Which of the two do you want me to release to you?" asked the governor.
"Barabbas," they replied.
"What then should I do with Jesus who is called Christ?" Pilate asked.
They all answered, "Crucify Him!"
"Why?" asked Pilate. "What evil has He done?"
But they shouted all the louder, "Crucify Him!"
When Pilate saw that he was accomplishing nothing, but that instead a riot was breaking out, he took water and washed his hands before the crowd. "I am innocent of this man's blood," he said. "You bear the responsibility."
All the people answered, "His blood be on us and on our children!"
So Pilate released Barabbas to them. But he had Jesus flogged, and handed Him over to be crucified.
Then the governor's soldiers took Jesus into the Praetorium and gathered the whole company around Him. They stripped Him and put a scarlet robe on Him. And they twisted together a crown of thorns and set it on His head. They put a staff in His right hand and knelt down before Him to mock Him, saying, "Hail, King of the Jews!" Then they spit on Him and took the staff and struck Him on the head repeatedly.
After they had mocked Him, they removed the robe and put His own clothes back on Him. Then they led Him away to crucify Him.
Along the way they found a man from Cyrene, named Simon, and they forced him to carry the cross of Jesus.
And when they came to a place called Golgotha, which means The Place of the Skull, they offered Him wine to drink, mixed with gall; but after tasting it, He refused to drink it.
When they had crucified Him, they divided up His garments by casting lots. And sitting down, they kept watch over Him there.
Above His head they posted the written charge against Him:
THIS IS JESUS,
THE KING OF THE JEWS.
Two robbers were crucified with Him, one on His right hand and the other on His left.
And those who passed by heaped abuse on Him, shaking their heads and saying, "You who are going to destroy the temple and rebuild it in three days, save Yourself! If You are the Son of God, come down from the cross!"
In the same way, the chief priests, scribes, and elders mocked Him, saying, "He saved others, but He cannot save Himself. He is the King of Israel! Let Him come down now from the cross, and we will believe in Him. He trusts in God. Let God deliver Him now if He wants Him. For He said, 'I am the Son of God.'"
In the same way, even the robbers who were crucified with Him berated Him.
From the sixth hour until the ninth hour darkness came over all the land. About the ninth hour Jesus cried out in a loud voice, "Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?" which means, "My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me?"
When some of those standing there heard this, they said, "He is calling Elijah." One of them quickly ran and brought a sponge. He filled it with sour wine, put it on a reed, and held it up for Jesus to drink.
But the others said, "Leave Him alone. Let us see if Elijah comes to save Him."
When Jesus had cried out again in a loud voice, He yielded up His spirit. At that moment the veil of the temple was torn in two from top to bottom. The earth quaked and the rocks were split. The tombs broke open, and the bodies of many saints who had fallen asleep were raised. After Jesus' resurrection, when they had come out of the tombs, they entered the holy city and appeared to many people.
When the centurion and those with him who were guarding Jesus saw the earthquake and all that had happened, they were terrified and said, "Truly this was the Son of God."
And many women were there, watching from a distance. They had followed Jesus from Galilee to minister to Him. Among them were Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James and Joseph, and the mother of Zebedee's sons.
When it was evening, there came a rich man from Arimathea named Joseph, who himself was a disciple of Jesus. He went to Pilate to ask for the body of Jesus, and Pilate ordered that it be given to him. So Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut into the rock. Then he rolled a great stone across the entrance to the tomb and went away. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there opposite the tomb.
The next day, the one after Preparation Day, the chief priests and Pharisees assembled before Pilate. "Sir," they said, "we remember that while He was alive that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise again.' So give the order that the tomb be secured until the third day. Otherwise, His disciples may come and steal Him away and tell the people He has risen from the dead. And this last deception would be worse than the first."
"You have a guard," Pilate said. "Go, make the tomb as secure as you know how." So they went and secured the tomb by sealing the stone and posting the guard.