READING FOR JANUARY 8, 2026: ISAIAH 12, JOHN 5, PSALM 139:1-12                                     ISAIAH 12 If Isaiah 11 represents Jesus’s future triumph, Isaiah 12 describes the response of His people when this happens. It is cause for eternal thanksgiving, not just on the last Thursday in November. The text says God was angry with us but is no longer. God’s anger or wrath is mentioned throughout the Bible. It is part of His holiness or, as one pastor has put it, “His settled opposition to sin.” But when we receive Jesus as Lord and Savior, Jesus’s experience of that wrath on the cross diverts it from us: “Having now been justified by His blood, we shall be saved from the wrath of God through Him” (Rom. 5:9). Believers, though, still experience His discipline: “For whom the Lord loves He disciplines, and He punishes every son whom He accepts” (Heb. 12:6)         

The text says twice for emphasis that the Lord is our salvation. We cannot save ourselves no matter how good our actions are. We cannot be saved because of the good name of our family or the church we attend. We can only be saved through our faith in the finished work of Jesus on the cross. HAVE WE AND ALL OUR FAMILY EXERCISED THAT SAVING FAITH?  When we have, Jesus also becomes our strength and song. If Jesus is not the ultimate source of our strength and the primary reason for our singing, perhaps He is also not our Savior.      

Verse three foreshadows Jesus’s offer of living water to the Samaritan women: “Whoever drinks of the water that I will give him shall never be thirsty; but the water that I will give him will become in him a fountain of water springing up to eternal life”(John 4:14).   Verse four commands us to tell other people about the great things Jesus has done for us; sounds like witnessing and testifying.

Verses 5-6 tell us to sing and SHOUT for joy. It is true that most of us tend to be more private about our faith and quiet in our worship. Let’s pray for the boldness to express all that God has done with the appropriate enthusiasm. To keep silent or be muted is to totally misrepre- sent the greatness of who Jesus is and what He has done for us (Luke 19:37-40).

JOHN 5 Chapter 5 begins with the third of Jesus’s signs recorded by John. It’s interesting to note that of all the people there seeking a healing from the waters, Jesus singled out this one man and approached him for a divine encounter. Why only one? Why this one? We aren’t told, but we do hear from Jesus that he does the work and the will of his Father (4:34), so we trust in God’s purpose for this healing of this man on this day.

The pool had offered the hope of a miraculous healing, but it seemed sporadic and unpredictable and completely unattainable to this man – and most of those who waited. Then Jesus came along – the one John has been telling us is the true Son of the true God. With a question and a command, Jesus did what the pool had not been able to do. We don’t know anything about the man’s faith or of his previous knowledge or his opinion of Jesus, but when Jesus told him to “Get up!” he did, and he was healed. And what was the reaction of the Jewish leaders? Rather than rejoice in the man’s healing or respond with curiosity about the kingdom

READING FOR JANUARY 8, 2026 CONTINUED: JOHN 5, PSALM 139:1-12                                             of God coming to earth in a new way through this man Jesus, they immediately began to oppose and persecute him, the sharpest opposition so far. As the signs keep coming and Jesus’ following increases, we will see the opposition becoming fiercer and the cost of following Jesus growing. Through the rest of the chapter Jesus speaks of his identity, his authority, the testimony to his claims, and the hearts of the Jewish leaders.

• Identity: Jesus clearly understands his identity as the Son of God (Yahweh; Creator; God of Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob; God of Moses; God of Israel; etc.). And he has such confidence in God’s goodness and generosity and such love for him, that he refers to him as his Father. He speaks of watching and listening to his Father and joining him in all he does. He understands that over time he will share in his Father’s honor. All who love and honor the Father will come to love and honor him.
• Authority: Jesus declares that the Father has given him authority over things of heaven and earth. He has demonstrated authority over the elements in turning water into wine and over physical life in restoring health to the official’s son and the lame man. And he speaks in today’s reading of having authority over the life that comes after this life. The Father has given him authority over judgment and eternal life. Note that Jesus says he exercises this authority in obedience and honor to his Father from whom it comes.
• Testimony to His Claims: What evidence is there that his claims are true? They seem outlandish – and even blasphemous to faithful Jews. He reminds them that John the Baptist has testified to his identity and authority. He tells them to keep watching what he does, for his deeds will offer plenty of testimony that what he says is true. Finally, he says the Father himself has testified about him in the Scriptures. (Remember in Luke 24 the conversation on the road to Emmaus, after his resurrection, when “beginning with Moses and with all the prophets, He explained to them the things concerning Himself in all the Scriptures”.)
• Hearts of Jewish Leaders: Jesus demonstrated a deep understanding of human hearts, particularly here the hearts of the leaders. He could see that, though they claimed to believe Moses and love God, they really didn’t. In fact they did not really know God at all, for if they knew and loved God, they would have received Jesus and believed his word. He knew they were really more interested in seeking glory from one another.

Let’s close with these words of Jesus: “Very truly I tell you, whoever hears my word and believes him who sent me has eternal life and will not be judged but has crossed over from death to life.” (5:24)

PSALM 139:1-12 This writer recalls talking with a friend long ago in college who mocked the idea that a God could hear and respond to everyone who prayed to Him throughout the world. Now we are learning every day of heretofore unbelievable informational tasks performed by Artificial Intelligence. Such a multi-tasking God no longer seems as implausible. Yet, consider how amazing His omniscience is. He knows everyone’s visible behaviors, everyone’s thoughts, everyone’s life directions, and everyone’s personal tendencies. Not only does He know what we have said, but He knows what we will say in the future. Anything that can be known about us is known by Him, much more than we can know about ourselves. We will never be able to comprehend this fully until we see Him in heaven: “For now we see in a mirror dimly but then face to face; now I know in part, but then I will know fully, just as I also have been fully known” (1 Cor. 13:12). This is the God whose word some believe couldn’t possibly be applicable in today’s culture. Hmm.