David Maher

Hi, I'm David Maher. I live in Cookeville, TN. I attend The River Community Church where I am a bi-vocational (I am also a computer consultant) staff member, responsible for our leadership development ministry. This is a topic that I really look forward to studying. I think it is very important for us to understand what the vision is for the church. I look forward to learning from everyone in the forum as we go through the next several weeks together.

Which single New Testament passage best sums up for you the lessons of Isaiah 53? Why did you chose this passage? 2 Cor 5:20-21 21 God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. (from New International Version) This verse seems to sum up the lessons in Isaiah 53. Jesus came to bear our sins, so we could be in relationship with God. God is righteous and we cannot approach Him if we are not. It is because Jesus chose to take our sins upon Himself and give us His righteousness, that we can be in a relationship with God. Thank you Jesus!

The Servant also bears the punishment deserved by sinners. In what sense, if any, did Jesus bear the punishment due you when he died on the cross? This is a tough question. What is the punishment we deserve when we sin? It is to be seperated from God. There are also other consequences as well. Jesus suffered, he was rejected by man, punished for things He never did, He was crucified. I don't really know how to describe what I am thinking. Even though Jesus was God as man, I think he must have felt the seperation from God the Father at some point while he was on the cross, see Mark 15:34. In my opinion, this would be the Jesus bearing the ultimate punishment deserved by sinners. In His case, it would be even worse than we could possible imagine, since we are imperfect and do not have anywhere near the capacity for a relationship with God that Jesus has, how could we possibly imagine how He felt during that time? I don't think we can comprehend the how alone Jesus felt. Thank you Lord Jesus!

Isaiah 53 teaches what theologians call "the substitutionary atonement." In what sense does the Servant act as a substitute to bear our sins? Put it in your own words. Our sins seperate us from God. Before Jesus, when someone sinned, during the act of the sacrifice, they would transfer their sin to the lamb and the lamb's blood would cleanse them from the sin, restoring their relationship to God. In the same way now, Jesus, who was without sin, carried the sins of the world, our sins included, to the cross. His sacrifice cleanses us and restores our relationship with God.

Which New Testament parallels to Isaiah 53 convince you that Jesus himself saw his own mission and destiny spelled out in Isaiah 53? If you aren't convinced, what stands in your way? I have to admit, I have a problem reading this portion of scripture without seeing Jesus' life throughout it. It is such a clear picture of Jesus, how he lived his life, and his mission. If I would pick one verse in the New Testament that I see as Jesus' understanding that this was speaking of His mission, it would be Matthew 20:28: Matt 20:27-28 28 just as the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many." (from New International Version) I believe that this shows that Jesus saw his mission spelled out in Isaiah 53. I am convinced.

From how large a group of people does God remove sins in Isaiah 52:13 - 53:12? In what sense is this a universal sacrifice of salvation? In what sense is Jesus' sacrifice wasted on some people? I believe the group of people referred to here, is all of us; the scripture refers to, many nations, of us all, etc. I believe this was universal because it is available for all of us. It was wasted on some people because they refuse to accept it; we have to accept Jesus as Lord and Savior in order to receive the many of the blessings He has for us. Thank you Lord, Amen.

What do you think God intended animal sacrifice teach us about sin? About holiness? About God's nature? I believe that God intended for animal sacrifice to remind us that sin has consequences. God does not take sin lightly, it requires blood/life to atone for sin. Sin seperates us from God. God is holy, and we all fall short and cannot relate directly to Him. God is merciful. He allowed animal sacrifice as a way for His unholy people to reconcile with Him when they fell short. He provided Jesus as the perfect sacrifice for those of us who have accepted Him as our Lord and Savior. Thank you Lord. Amen.

Q5. In what sense is God's provision of animal sacrifice for forgiveness of sins an expression of his mercy? Were animal sacrifices actually adequate to atone for human sin? God shows his mercy by allowing animal sacrifice as atonement for sin. The animal sacrifice is much more merciful than death to the sinner. There is no way that animal sacrifice is actually adequate as atonement for human sin, or seperation from God.

What are the basic elements involved in a sacrifice for sin? Per the exposition: Which of these are still necessary for forgiveness of sins today? Confession of the sin. Which are no longer necessary? Why? All of the other steps. Jesus was the sacrifice that God provided to pay for my sins.

Why is animal sacrifice repulsive to modern people? I would suggest that sacrifice is repulsive to modern people because we are not normally exposed to death of animals in this manner. There are also the cries of animal rights groups who attempt to raise the rights of animals to those of humans. I think these groups have gone too far. I believe there is a difference in mass slaughtering animals to process for food and the individual, personal, sacrifice of an animal for one's sin. Trying to look at this from a faith perspective, has really made me think. The animal sacrifice was to be personal, the person who sinned was to lay his hand on the animals head and slaughter it. It was personal. The concept has become very real to me now; as I think of Jesus being sacrificed for my sins, to accept the part I played personally and the price He paid, makes me realize how precious the gift, and how wonderful the Lord is. How much of this has to do with a city vs. a farming way of life? I think that people who are around animals that are slaughtered may not be so repulsed by animal sacrifice. But I think the major issue is more related modern society not taking sin very seriously. I saw an article in the Wall Street Journal that had a tag line "The Upside of Living in Sin," which spoke of the positive financial side of same sex or heterosexual couples living together, without marriage. As I look at the world around me, there are so many sins that are now acceptable by society. I think there is a real difference in slaughtering animals for food and sacrificing animals; it's called sin!. An animal sacrifice is to offer attonement for a sin that was committed and confessed.

Why is anger an appropriate response to sin? What is the difference between capricious or uncontrolled anger and anger that brings about justice? As I was looking for an answer to the above question, I came accross the following information that I thought answered the question very well. It compares wrath (God's anger directed against sin) to anger.

Q1. How do you know that John the Baptist's statement about the Lamb of God refers to sacrifice? Ex 29:38-39 38 "This is what you are to offer on the altar regularly each day: two lambs a year old. 39 Offer one in the morning and the other at twilight. (from New International Version) Each day lambs were sacrificed for the sin of the people of Israel. The lamb was a common sacrifice for sin. Isa 53:7 7 He was oppressed and afflicted, yet he did not open his mouth; he was led like a lamb to the slaughter, and as a sheep before her shearers is silent, so he did not open his mouth. (from New International Version) In the verse above, the coming of the Messiah, who would be from God and be sacrificed was prophesied. How was the comprehensiveness of "sins of the world" so radical a concept? I those days, each person who sinned was to offer a sacrifice to be redeemed. Also, Israel was a chosen people and they did not think of their God as a God for all people of the world. For the Messiah to come and be the sacrifice for the world was a very radical concept.

Hi all: My name is David Maher. I live in Cookeville, TN. I am married to Gail and have three wonderful kids at home. I am a computer consultant by trade. I am currently very active at The River Community Church. I love the Lord and thank Him for the many blessings he has brought into my life. I look forward to this study. The Gideon study was awesome. I look forward to getting to know everybody as we work through the study.

How does Gideon influence Israel during his life? Judg 8:28 28 Thus Midian was subdued before the Israelites and did not raise its head again. During Gideon's lifetime, the land enjoyed peace forty years. (from New International Version) He led Israel away from Baal and back to the Lord, delivered them from the Midianites and they had peace for 40 years. What is the positive continuing effect of his leadership as judge? I have to think that it is a major blessing to us that Gideon was a judge of Israel and that this portion of his life is reecorded for us. He provided strong leadership that was initially very sensative to the Lord. We can follow that example. We can also learn from his mistakes. Things we can learn from Gideons mistakes that are mentioned in the exposition; not letting people give us the credit for spiritual blessings, do not let others put us in a place reserved for God, and we must live with integrity. We need to be careful while establishing traditions and practices for our families and churches because, whatever traditions and practices we implement carry with them our strengths and weaknesses. We do not want to pass along our weaknesses as Gideon did.

Why is spiritual unfaithfulness looked at as prostitution or adultery? Prostitutes draw their victims attention and then seduce them. Idolatry is very similar, the ephod was very ornamental and drew a lot of attention. People began to worship it which drew them away from God. Adultry is similar to prostitution in the way it happens, but more subtle, and relates to people who are married. These are very similar to what happens in the case of sprirtual unfaithfulness. Something attracts our attention and focus away from the Lord and seduces us to remain in the sin. What is the concept of God's relationship to his people which underlies this analogy? The Lord refers to His people as His bride, both in the old testament and the new. In the old testament, Israel was his bride, the church is his bride in the new testament. Isa 54:5 5 For your Maker is your husband-- the LORD Almighty is his name-- the Holy One of Israel is your Redeemer; he is called the God of all the earth. (from New International Version) What kinds of temptations to spiritual adultery do you face today? The temptations I fight most with today are my job, school, family, pride, approval from others, church, being busy all the time. All these temptations can take my focus off the Lord. My job, school, family activities, and other projects that keep me very busy make it difficult to be quiet and spend time with the Lord. These are not necessarily bad, just too much of any of them that they keep me from putting the Lord first which is a problem. Pride or selfishness is another area that I have to fight a lot. I have attended churches in the past that I believe were so focused on its congregation or church building that they totally were neglecting what God has called us to do.