Q6. The Impossible Mission

[Sank T Monius]

Isaiah 6:9-10
...
9 And he said, Go, and tell this people, Hear ye indeed, but understand not; and see ye indeed, but perceive not.
10 Make the heart of this people fat, and make their ears heavy, and shut their eyes; lest they see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and convert, and be healed."
...
Q). How do you make sense out of these verses?
A). Isaiah is to tell the people that they are "not listening" to the truth. And they will suffer because of their stubborness.
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Q). Is Isaiah called to an impossible mission?
A). In verse 10, Isaiah is commanded to carry out a hopeless task of preaching truth to a willfully stubborn people, who only become more hardened in the process.
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Q). Why will Isaiah's prophecy make the task worse?
A). Isaiah's prophecy will make the task worse because it is accusatory (critical) in it's substance.
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Q). In which parable did Jesus quote this passage (Matthew 13:1-23)?
A). The parable of the sower. "And in them is fulfilled the prophecy of Esaias, which saith, By hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and shall not perceive:" -Matthew 13:14
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Q). In Jesus' parable, is there any frustration in preaching the gospel?
A). In Jesus' parable there was frustration in preaching the gospel. He said: "For this people's heart is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes they have closed; lest at any time they should see with their eyes and hear with their ears, and should understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them." -Matthew 13:15
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Q). Is there any hope?
A). Some -- a remnant -- will hear and believe, but most, sadly, will become even more resistant.
 

[shelteredunderhiswings]

Q6. (Isaiah 6:9-10) How do you make sense out of these verses?  God is spirit and only the spirit of a man can worship God. Israel long ago failed to listen to God and more importantly to love him. A father knows his stubborn children and even their careless ways. In essence he is saying you chose this upon yourselves when you refused to be corrected.  I have loved you and warned you of your sins.

 

 Is Isaiah called to an impossible mission? No I do not believe it is impossible. In fact God uses most painful methods to win us back to him. Sometimes a heart will get so hard like stone that it needs to break. When it does break the poison leaks out and he can being the healing process.  Also pride tends to draw us away from God onto ourselves and our own merits. We also learn from other peoples mistakes.

 

Why will Isaiah's prophecy make the task worse?  The task of correcting the children of Abraham has been the most unfortunate and painful task for every prophet of God. They are not called a stiff necked people for nothing. Sometimes when we are so immersed in our lives or even in our sins we are blind, deaf and dumb to the truth.

 

 In which parable did Jesus quote this passage (Matthew 13:1-23)?  The parable of the sower is the one in which he chooses to place Isaiah prophecy on his generation.  He spoke to them in parables, they witnessed and even heard of many of his miracles. They even did not understand the signs that showed who Jesus was.

 

In Jesus' parable, is there any frustration in preaching the gospel?  Yes I believe there is frustration because we see people are like the seeds found in this parable. If you notice it does not end well for those seeds and it’s those seeds we try to help the most. It’s not our job to grow or even nourish the seeds but to sow.

 

Is there any hope? Can God take a plant out of stony ground and plant in good soil? Yes he can in fact I have moved plants from rough areas to more fertile ground. I have had to remove rocks out of a plant bed too. God is constantly removing rocks and weeds out of my life. As painful as it is I love him for it!

[antonate]

Isaiah 6:9-10 shows us that  the people of Israel are hard hearted and stubborn and not yeilding to the ways of Yahweh even though Isaiah is sent by God to make them known his ways. it looks like an impossible mission because people of Israel will not give an hear to Isaiah's preaching. yet the joy is he has obeyed the call of God to go and preach to the stubborn Israel of God's love for them and warnings if they fail to obey him.

 

Isaiah's prophesy will make the task worse because the message is full of correction which points the sin of the Israelites and a message which warns them of destruction of thier stubborness.

 

There a frustration in preaching the gospel because as we see in the parable iof the sower all seed did no fall on the fertlie ground and produce crop. it fell on the rocky and thorny places which never yielded crop to the sower. there is a sense of frustration when God's holy and life giving word is not accepted by people because of stubborness, self righteouness or human knowledge that does not bow down to the truth of the gospel and continues to remain is sin and rebellion.

[angelbaby]

Q6 a)    How do you make sense of these verses?

God is saying that there are many people that go on hearing the truth and by constantly rejecting it  their hearts become hardened with pride and rebellion. Therefore if by chance they do yield by hearing again, they believe  but do not produce the fruit  of the Holy Spirit in them  as their faith is very shallow and not reached a great depth in the soul to acknowledge the TRUTH without any reservation. Ref Deut 29;2-4 Here  the children of Israel did not have depth in their faith  and they did not have eyes to see,  ears to hear and minds to understand even after the LORD God did so many miracles and wonders in Egypt and in the wilderness.

  Is Isaiah called to an impossible mission?

No.  Even Jesus spoke to hard hearted rebellious people..

c)    Why will Isaiah’s prophecy make the task worse?

People will be more rebellious. They will see and not perceive. They will hear and forget. They will understand and not believe. So the gospel is only meant for receptive hearts.

d)   In which parable did Jesus quote this passage.?

Jesus quoted this passage in the parable of THE SOWER.

e)    In Jesus’ parable is there any frustration in preaching the gospel?

There is no frustration whatever because this is a known fact happening from time immemorial .Some hear but don’t bother, others get sidetracked by difficulties encountered in the faith and because their faith is  shallow without root they deflect,   while others get distracted by the lusts and pleasures of the world which choke the word of God from taking root . The harvest is plentiful we need workers to gather up the 30%, 60% and 100% fold which is coming from the seed thrown on good soil.

f)     Is there any hope?

Yes.....The blindness will continue till the land is destroyed., till everything is deserted and the people are taken away in exile but there will remain a few   and they will be the HOLY SEED which will again bring HOPE . This seems to refer to the Messiah who is from David’s seed..The promised seed of David will bring forth the Messianic King who will bring deliverance for all mankind no matter how rebellious they are ..cf a shoot shall come out of the stump of Jesse = David. God’s mercy Jesus Christ is  the hope of salvation...

[brucerobert]

Q6. (Isaiah 6:9-10) How do you make sense out of these verses? Is Isaiah called to an impossible mission? Why will Isaiah's prophecy make the task worse? In which parable did Jesus quote this passage (Matthew 13:1-23)? In Jesus' parable, is there any frustration in preaching the gospel? Is there any hope?

 

From our reading, Isaiah was supposed to declare God's word to the Israelites.  But they have hardened and blinded their hearts through the rejection of Lord's message to them.  They had so persistently perverted their ways that they had gone beyond conversion and healing.  Like when a man hardens his heart, and God can hold that against him during judgement day.  In the passage for Matthew 13:1-23, God shows us what Israel would be if they don't turn from their bad ways and accept Jesus Christ as God's true son and believe in the message that Jesus shared with them during their times.  And this also goes for us.  During Jesus time on earth, he uses parables so those who truly believe in Him would know exactly what He is reffering to.  But because of their harden hearts, some of them miss the points which Jesus expressed in his parables.

[WinstonY]

Question 6

This is a very difficult passage! How could a loving God condemn His people to unbelief? Isaiah himself complains-he asks “ How long?” and God answers that only the Holy sees is the stump! (Isaiah 6.13) It is this Holy Seed that gives us Hope. Hope for the oppressed, hope for the poor, hope for the blind, hope for the day of the Lord and hope for eternal life in holy relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This hope is what God continually calls for throughout the Bible and through history. When society does not respond than the wrath of God falls upon them. It is then that that the things of God are hidden from the worldly wise and understanding and the things of God are revealed to babes. (Matthew 11.25)

No, there is no frustration in the Jesus' voice in this. For he is the Lord and experienced all this turmoil with Isaiah. Jesus-God in both the Isaiah passage and the Matthew is expressing a fact, a reality-when people's activities get out of hand , that greed overpowers good sense, when justice is consistently blocked that people's spiritual sense is dulled and God is elbowed aside. This was the way in ancient Judah and still prevails today. Jesus tells the rich young man to sell everything he has, give it to the poor and to follow him. This is our challenge today just as it was the Challenger 2500 years ago.

[WinstonY]

Question 6

This is a very difficult passage! How could a loving God condemn His people to unbelief? Isaiah himself complains-he asks “ How long?” and God answers that only the Holy sees is the stump! (Isaiah 6.13) It is this Holy Seed that gives us Hope. Hope for the oppressed, hope for the poor, hope for the blind, hope for the day of the Lord and hope for eternal life in holy relationship with Father, Son and Holy Spirit. This hope is what God continually calls for throughout the Bible and through history. When society does not respond than the wrath of God falls upon them. It is then that that the things of God are hidden from the worldly wise and understanding and the things of God are revealed to babes. (Matthew 11.25)

No, there is no frustration in the Jesus' voice in this. For he is the Lord and experienced all this turmoil with Isaiah. Jesus-God in both the Isaiah passage and the Matthew is expressing a fact, a reality-when people's activities get out of hand , that greed overpowers good sense, when justice is consistently blocked that people's spiritual sense is dulled and God is elbowed aside. This was the way in ancient Judah and still prevails today. Jesus tells the rich young man to sell everything he has, give it to the poor and to follow him. This is our challenge today just as it was the Challenge 2500 years ago.

Yes, there is hope, a hope in the seed. It is in the seed that there is hope.

winstonY

[Old Jerry]

I think that Isaiah is called to the impossible mission of trying to teach the people what God is trying to teach him. But the people will not believe him and the more he tries to convince them, the more they will not believe the truth.

 

The parable that Jesus quoted this passage is the parable of the sower. In this parable there is plenty of frustration in preaching the gospel because it is going to fall on deaf ears and hardened hearts. But there is plenty of hope because those that receive the Word will spread it and be able to tell it to others.

 

 

[van]

The problem that Isaiah faces is people who resist the truth can only be brought to repentance by telling them the truth again. But if they reject the truth a second time, and a third, and a fourth, they become increasingly hardened in their resistance. Their pride and rebellion have reached such a stage that most likely they will misperceive the truth they do hear. If Isaiah were to sugar-coat the message some people might be "healed," but not deep in their souls where the work must be done. This creates those people who really believe that they are believers but don't possess none of the fruit of a believer. In Jesus preaching the gospel there no frustration, as a matter of fact there seem to be peace within Him. There is always hope, that is what we must hold on to.

[Jen]

Q6. (Isaiah 6:9-10) How do you make sense out of these verses? Is Isaiah called to an impossible mission? Why will Isaiah's prophecy make the task worse? In which parable did Jesus quote this passage (Matthew 13:1-23)? In Jesus' parable, is there any frustration in preaching the gospel? Is there any hope?

 

It was the truth.  

 

No with God all things are possible.

 

The parable of the sower of seeds.  Some feel on thorny shallow rocky ground and some on fertile ground.

 

Maybe but the gospel will be preached for our Lord

 

Yes.  Some will hear and receive.  Praise God!

 

God Bless!

Jen

Jude 21

[elizabeth kerr]

Since God does not want anyone to reject Him, to refuse to believe, to harden his heart, to be lost, to die unrepentant and unsaved, and to be condemned to hell forever (2 Peter 3:9), I think God was just telling it the way it was and is.  The Jews were not and are not any more stiff-necked and hard-hearted than the rest of us.

 

Isaiah's task was impossible if he expected everyone to repent of their sins and turn back to God when they heard the messages God gave him to deliver to them.  If he had observed how people had responded to other prophets (like Moses) in the past and had noticed that some repented and turned to God when they heard the message from God but many, even most, did not, he would not have expected different responses this time.  But he would have been frustrated and saddened  by the negative response because he loved his people and didn't want them to be condemned.

 

This prophecy probably made Isaiah's task worse, or rather more difficult, for him because he was reminded that many or most of the people he loved would reject God's message and therefore, be condemned.

 

Jesus quoted this prophecy of Isaiah's in Matthew 13:10-15 when His disciples asked him why He spoke to the people in parables.  He had just taught the parable of the sower (v 1-9) and after this comment, He explained it to His disciples (v18-21).

 

I am sure the farmer sowing the seed (Jesus/the preacher/the believer telling others about Jesus) will always experience some frustration, some tension, and some sadness.  This is because so many who hear the message will either not believe at all or will believe but not be fruitful, just like too many (in the farmer's opinion) of the seeds he sowed did not germinate and grow into healthy plants that produced more seeds, the fruit being just the packaging to protect the seeds until they are harvested.

 

Only God knows if a particular person will ever believe in Jesus, but we whom God uses to tell people here on earth about Jesus must persevere in hope because any of the people we tell about Jesus could be one of those who come to believe.

[servant for Christ]

I make sense of these verses because Isaiah's words brought out the heart response of his audience. No, he was not called to an impossible mission because the Lord was ready to heal those who truly repented, but not those who merely wanted to avoid judgment while holding onto their sinful ways. It will make it worse because the people were so sunk in sin that when they heard the truth it did not bring them closer to God, but actually drove them away. It was spoken in Matthew 13:14 and 15. Yes, there was frustration. Yes, there is always hope in the Lord Jesus. If we keep preaching and teaching God' truth, pray for the Holy Spirit to deal with their hearts, and let people know that their hope is Jesus Christ, I think hearts will be healed and delivered.

[Nick]

Isaiah's mission is to solidify the hardening of hearts in Judah. It is not a light hearted mission but still it is from the Lord and therefore not impossible. Nothing is impossible with God.   

 

Why will Isaiah's prophecy make the task worse?

I read this with two ideas in mind simply because "worse" could be interpreted two ways. Concerning the view of Isaiah, having this prophecy will make the task worse for him because he knows that even though he will be preaching the truth, people's hearts will only be more hardened and turn more rebellious. That would be hard to live with, and would certainly not not feel very hopeful. 

The other view of this question concerns the people of Judah. In short, Isaiah's prophecy is intentioned for the purpose of quickening and supporting the rebellion and in in Judah. Therefore, the situation for Judah will worsen, but this is a part of God's redemptive plan for Israel. 

 

The Parable of the Sower

 

Yes, I think Jesus is frustrated. He is frustrated by those who hear but do not hear, and those who see but do not see. It is not a angered frustration, but I think a more righteous frustration. At the same time, he knows that the prophecy in Isaiah must be fulfilled. 

 

Hope. Yes. There is always hope. Jesus shows that when he blesses his disciples for understanding and hearing. And that goes for all of us who hear and truly hear, and see and truly see. That is the hope.

[wifee]

6a)Verses are hard to comprehend.The people maybe misperceiving the truth they hear, through pride hardening their hearts.

b)Nothing is impossible with God.Isaiah is given mission to preach a message to stubborn people who though they hear him will not understand,

c)The hearts&mind of the people are increasingly hardened,the words are lost,trampled&snatched away.

d)The sower. e)frustration in the different levels/types of soil,but God asks us to sow the seeds,HS has task to draws& growing seed. There was always a remnant..f)with God,there is always hope,we should go&obey. God alone can soften hearts of the most resistant&bring understanding in his timing.He knows who accepts call of salvation.

[JoanG]

I believe that God wanted Isaiah to preach the truth to the people. However, God knew that the words were going to be lost to them at that time, but that in the future the words were going to point to Jesus. Jesus would fulfill the prophecies of this ancient time. The mission is not impossible. He is following God's plans and God knows the outcome. Because people do not want to believe the truth. Evil has set into their hearts and have become worldly. Materialistic in nature.

 

Matthew 13:1-23 is the parable of the man who sows seeds. Some fall on rocky soil, some fell on the path which is hard, some fell among the thorns, and finally some fell on good soil and produced much food for harvest. A person never knows what type of people they are talking to. They never know how much people will hear or understand or even follow. But there is always hope that the words will be told to good people that will take them to heart and actually live by them.

[Ray B]

Q6. (Isaiah 6:9-10) How do you make sense out of these verses? God is sovereign, man thinks he does not need God, that he is capable of running his life. But man is fickle and his heart is hardened, causing all manner of sins to be carried out. God knows man and commands the deafness on him, that his sin becomes his downfall and only then (in his demise) will man seek God earnestly and return to the Father.

Is Isaiah called to an impossible mission? From an earthly sense in some ways yes, but from a godly viewpoint no.

Why will Isaiah's prophecy make the task worse? For man in certainly will, but in the end God will prevail and man will be forgiven and restored to a rightful relationship through God the Father

In which parable did Jesus quote this passage (Matthew 13:1-23)? Matthew the Parable of the sower.

In Jesus' parable, is there any frustration in preaching the gospel? Jesus' frustration is people's unwillingness to accept God as their King and Lord, the unwillingness of the people to live by God's laws and decrees.

Is there any hope? Yes, the good soil will reap a harvest of thirty, sixty or a hundred fold. For those that hungry are the good soil.

[Ray B]

Q6. (Isaiah 6:9-10) How do you make sense out of these verses? God has hardened their hearts, they will hear the word but not receive it.

Is Isaiah called to an impossible mission? No, not all but what he is to witness will surely make him sad.

Why will Isaiah's prophecy make the task worse? Deep down Isaiah wish for the Israelites to turn from their wicked ways and now GOD is asking him to be further distanced them from the Lord, so the Israelites will fall into the hands of pagan nations.

In which parable did Jesus quote this passage (Matthew 13:1-23)? The sower.

In Jesus' parable, is there any frustration in preaching the gospel? Yes.

Is there any hope? Not for those with hard hearts, but those that are hungry, they will receive and enjoy the Kingdom of heaven.

[Cheri]

Q6. (Isaiah 6:9-10) How do you make sense out of these verses? Is Isaiah called to an impossible mission? Why will Isaiah’s prophecy make the task worse? In which parable did Jesus quote this passage (Matthew 13:1-23)? In Jesus’ parable, is there any frustration in preaching the gospel? Is there any hope?

 

It is not an impossible mission but a very difficult one, when speaking of things that people don't want to hear always causes friction and Isaiah had to deal with the one's who did not hear and continued to not hear.

The parable of the seed by Yeshua, he talks about what happens to men who hear, but do not listen (by the road), those tat hear but turn bsck (in the rocky place), and those that hear and live their lives by what they heard (much harvest).

[Dove81]

How do you make sense out of these verses?
These verses remind me of 2 Timothy 4:3 where it speaks of people not wanting to hear sound doctrine. But wanting to hear a word that lines up with their desires and good things. Which is a result of them having itching ears. They only hear what they want to hear and not the word of God.

 Is Isaiah called to an impossible mission? Why will Isaiah’s prophecy make the task worse?

No, Isaiah is doing Gods will, anything that God sends you out to do is never in vain. This holds these people responsible, for they can not say on the day of judgment that they didn’t know. Because the truth was preached to them they just chose to not turn back to God and repent.

In which parable did Jesus quote this passage (Matthew 13:1-23)?

This parable is about the farmer who scattered seed on different soil. The only seed that remained and produced 100 times more than was planted was the seed down on fertile soil. This is just like with us do you hear while your in church an after service walk out forgetting what your heard. Or do you hear the word spoken in church and then life challenges get in the way and you forget what you’ve learned. Or do you hear the word spoken in church, retain it study it and no matter what challenges come your way you stand firm in it. Never wavering form it, thats seed that’s been sown into fertile soil. Isaiah’s word fell on fertile soil it just wasn’t received. 
 

 In Jesus’ parable, is there any frustration in preaching the gospel?

Yes it has to be a sad day when Gods word goes forth only to fall on death ears. It’s Gods desire that all His people are saved and filled with the Holy Spirit. His desire is to tabernacle us. 

Is there any hope? In God there is always hope. Everyday that He blesses you with new mercy and grace is another day you have to turn back to Him. To repent of your sins and invite Him into your life. He longs to be apart of it, to lead and guide us. He is my everything and I don’t want to imagine a life without Him in it.

[Krissi]

Given my extremely secular background, these verses make perfect sense to me. This is exactly what I confront with my family and everyone else I encounter daily. They have hardened hearts. Some of them know the gospel, but have hardened themselves to it. I see the anger in their eyes, the visceral hatred of things Christian and of God.

It does feel like an impossible mission, at times! I have learned -- unlike Isaiah -- to keep quiet and simply pray. When I say anything about the Lord, even when they prompt me to do so, they become embittered and strike out. I don't want to make it "worse," as Pastor Ralph wrote. Since the Spirit beckons and softens, I pray for Him to do His work. Like a warrior, I'm waiting for the heavenly troops to clear the ground in front of me before I march through.

The Matthew passage is in a long list of "woes" pronounced by Jesus on the pharisees and the hypocrites in the temple. It's not really a parable -- more of a condemnation. He calls them snakes and broods of vipers and says they can't escape hell. 

Frustration? Yes, of course. Jesus is angry at the hypocrisy, religiosity and the way religious leaders deceive and take advantage of believers. He's extremely angry. 

I don't want to open up a can of worms, here, but the more I mature in Christ, the more I think that the Spirit has to call people to salvation, that it's not my words or the words of a pastor or evangelist that cajoles and attracts people to accepting Christ, but the Spirit Himself. He may use us as his mouthpieces ... or may not. It is His sovereign will, His choice and our mystery.

 

 

[crissy464]

Isaiah is to tell the people to hear but not to understand, to see but never recognize.  God wants people to speak the truth
His mission was to complete the hardening by speaking the truth.
The people will not listen and there hearts will hardened

[Anna Rogers]

 HowI do you make sense out of these verses? Is Isaiah called to an impossible mission?  God already know their hearts, though He would like them to repeat He knows they won't It is an impossible mission, but it is the same mission we are on. So many people that we share the gospel with just don't or can't understand. 

Why will Isaiah’s prophecy make the task worse? Unfortunately the more some people hear the truth the harder their hearts become. 

In which parable did Jesus quote this passage (Matthew 13:1-23)? The Parable of the Sower

In Jesus’ parable, is there any frustration in preaching the gospel? Of course it is frustrating when people don't understand the truth we are trying to share. Especially when ternary is at stake. 

Is there any hope?  "But others fell on good ground and yielded a crop..."  Some people hear and believe and are saved.

[Katy]

Q6. These verses tell us that God understands fully just how sinfulness and heedless many are. Despite hearing the gospel message they turn away and ignore it. The next time they hear the gospel, they react the same way and this goes on and on. Their heart’s become harder and harder. 
 

Isaiah is not given an impossible task. There are always some people who come to faith in God.  Also with God nothing is impossible!

Isaiah’s prophecy makes things worse because every time the people hear the gospel the harder and harder their hearts become against the gospel message.

Matthew 13v1 -23. Is the parable of the sower. In this parable the farmer goes out to sow his seed. The seed falls in different types off ground and many seeds die but some fall on fertile ground and it flourishes and produces a good crop. This is a parable about the gospel, which when heard by people can be ignored or worldly troubles come and people who started well fall away. Worries , persecution and deceitfulness of wealth choke the gospel and no fruit appears. But some seed falls on good soil, this is someone who hears the word and understands and accepts God.

There is frustration in preaching in this parable because most seeds die, and few come to fruitfulness. 
There is always hope because God’s word does not return void. There will always be people who accept Jesus as Saviour. Not as many people accept Jesus as we would like to see but there are always those who are seeking the truth. 

[Irmela]

Q6. (Isaiah 6:9-10)

How do you make sense out of these verses?

Is Isaiah called to an impossible mission?

Why will Isaiah's prophecy make the task worse?

In which parable did Jesus quote this passage (Matthew 13:1-23)?

In Jesus' parable, is there any frustration in preaching the gospel?

Is there any hope?

Yahweh is preparing Isaiah for the response of the many.  (It would not be as for Nineveh, when Jonah went and there was a radical response from the  citizens . . . they repented and turned away from their evil ways.)  The message from the Lord would bring the hardness of their hearts to the surface, and God's light would reveal the blindness of the people.  Ultimately there would be a few who would respond positively, but this would not be seen/noticed immediately.  Rejection is what Isaiah could expect.  

The mission is not impossible, because with God all things are possible and in time the remnant would stand out.  

When the truth is not wanted to be acknowledged and accepted and you are shown it again and again, you become hardened to the truth.  The task will be made worse because the people don't want to see their wrong-doing or hear about their evil works.  Isaiah will prophecy but without positive response.  

The parable of the Sower and the Seed, with the seed falling on different places.  

Nothing that the preacher or teacher does, will change the response to the Gospel.  Frustration will not help one bit.  

Yes, while there is life there is hope.  God's word does not return void.  Somewhere, sometime there will be a positive response to the Gospel.  Somewhere there is soil prepared to accept the seed.