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40 John

The Gospel of John takes slot 40 in the book order, the first book of the New Testament. John begins with the words "In the beginning" as an echo to Genesis, the first book of the Bible, so it makes sense for John to be the beginning of the New Testament. The matches between John and Isaiah 40 are numerous and span across the entire Gospel.

A Voice

The first match between Isaiah 40 and the Gospel of John is John the baptist quoting Isaiah 40 in reply to the good folks from Jerusalem who came out to the desert to ask who he was.

13 Isaiah 40:1-3
¹Comfort, comfort my people says your god.
²Speak comfortably to Jerusalem, and cry to her, for she was filled with violence and delighted in sin; and she has received from Yahvah's hand double punishment for all her sins.

³The voice of him who cries in the wilderness, Prepare the way of Yahvah, make straight in the desert a highway for our god.

40 John 1:19-23
¹⁹This is the testimony of John, when the Jews sent priests and Levites to him from Jerusalem to ask him, Who are you?
²⁰And he confessed and did not deny it; but he declared, I am not an anointed.
²¹Then they asked him again, What then? Are you Elijah? And he said, I am not. Are you a prophet? And he said, No.
²²Then they said to him, Who are you, that we may give an answer to those who sent us? What do you say concerning yourself?
²³He said, I am the voice of one crying in the wilderness, Straighten the highway of master, as the prophet Isaiah said.

There are two correlations in this match. First, Isaiah says to speak this to Jerusalem, and the Gospel of John explicitly says it was the religious leaders from Jerusalem that John spoke this to. Secondly the actual words John spoke are those in Isaiah 40:3, as the Gospel writer confirms.

The other Gospels also record John quoting these words, but they do not add the detail of it being a conversation with people from Jerusalem. On the strength of these two correlations in this match and the way the rest of John matches Isaiah 40 and the way the other Gospels match the following chapters of Isaiah it's easy to establish that John goes in slot 40 of the book order.

Glory Revealed

The next story in John is the story of Jesus turning water to wine at the wedding in Cana. Compare the quotes below.

13 Isaiah 40:4-5
⁴Every valley will be filled up, and every mountain and hill will be made low; and the steep place will be made straight, and the rough places smooth;
⁵and the glory of Yahvah will be revealed, and all flesh will see it together; for the mouth of Yahvah has spoken it.

40 John 2:11
¹¹This is the first miracle which Jesus performed in Cana of Galilee, and thus he showed his glory; and his disciples believed in him.

There are a couple steps to this match. First, Isaiah says when every valley is filled (with water I presume) then the glory of God will be revealed. It's not quoted to save space, but in the narrative in John Jesus tells the servants to fill the stone jars with water, which he then turns to wine, and as a result his glory is revealed. So both passages have a "filling" that "reveals his glory."

Breath of God

After the wedding Jesus has a conversation with Nicodemus. The famous "you must be born again" is something Jesus covers in the conversation, but the focus in this match with Isaiah is the way Jesus describes the Holy Spirit. He says it's like wind and so are people who are born again.

13 Isaiah 40:6-8
⁶The voice says, Cry. And he said, What will I cry? All flesh is grass, and all its beauty is like the flower of the field;
⁷the grass withers, the flower fades, because the breath of Yahvah blows on it; surely this people is like the grass.
⁸The grass withers, the flower fades; but the word of our god will stand forever.

40 John 3:5-8
⁵Jesus answered, saying to him, Truly, truly, I say to you, if a man is not born of water and the spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of god.
⁶What is born of flesh is flesh; and what is born of the spirit is spirit.
⁷Do not be surprised because I have told you that you all must be born again.
⁸The wind blows where it pleases, and you hear its sound; but you do not know where it comes from, nor where it goes; such is every man who is born of the spirit.

The word "breath" in the Isaiah account is the same identical word as the word "wind" and "Spirit" in the passage in John. The point is this wind/breath/Spirit is blowing on people/grass. Somehow these are the same.

Your God

The next match is the story of the triumphal entry of Jesus into Jerusalem. Compare the following quotes.

13 Isaiah 40:9-11
⁹Zion, that brings good news, get up on the high mountain; Jerusalem, that brings good news, lift up your voice with strength; lift it up, do not be afraid; say to the cities of Judah, Look your god.
¹⁰Look, Master Yahvah will come with might, and his arm with strength; look, his reward is with him, and his work before him.
¹¹He will feed his flock like a shepherd; he will gather the lambs with his arm and carry them in his embrace, and will feed again those who nurse.

40 John 12:12-15
¹²On the next day, a large crowd which had come to the feast, when they heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem,
¹³took branches of palm trees, and went out to greet him, and they cried out and said, Hosanna, Blessed is the king of Israel who comes in the name of master.
¹⁴And Jesus found a donkey and sat on it; as it is written,
¹⁵Do not fear, daughter of Zion; look, your king comes to you, riding on the colt of a donkey.

There are a couple pieces to this match. The first piece is recognizing the location where the story unfolds. In Isaiah it's Zion and in John it's the town of Jerusalem. The two are essentially synonyms, Zion being part of Jerusalem. The second piece is recognizing what happens there. In Isaiah's account Zion is to declare, "Look your God." In John the people proclaim that Jesus has come as King.

Hands

Jesus washes the disciples feet after the last supper. Isaiah picks up on this story in a powerful way.

13 Isaiah 40:12
¹²Who has measured the waters in the hollow of his hand and meted out the skies with a span and gathered the dust of the land in a measure and weighed the mountains in scales and the hills in a balance?

40 John 13:3-5
³But Jesus, because he knew that the father had given everything into his hands, and that he came from god and was going to god,
⁴rose from supper and laid aside his robe; and he took a cloth and tied it around his loins.
⁵Then he poured water into a basin, and began to wash the feet of his disciples and to wipe them with the cloth which was tied around his loins.

Who has everything in his hands? Jesus. He set the oceans in place and commanded the flood waters. He also knelt and used his hands to wash his disciples feet with water. Awesome.

Teacher

After washing the feet of his disciples Jesus turned the experience into a lesson. He said they should do to one another as he did for them. The question is, though he taught them to wash each other's feet, who taught him?

13 Isaiah 40:13-14
¹³Who has directed the spirit of Yahvah or who has been to him a counsellor?
¹⁴With whom did he take counsel, and who instructed him and made him understand the path of justice and taught him knowledge and showed him the way of understanding?

40 John 13:12-16
¹²When he had washed their feet, he put on his robes and sat down; and he said to them, Do you know what I have done to you?
¹³You call me teacher and master; and I am, what you say is correct.
¹⁴If I then, your master and teacher, have washed your feet, how much more should you wash one another's feet?
¹⁵For I have given you this as an example, so that just as I have done to you, you should do also.
¹⁶Truly, truly, I say to you, there is no servant who is greater than his master; and no apostle who is greater than he who sent him.

Isaiah suggests no one taught him. He knew this on his own.

Chosen

Isaiah now deals with the way the nations are nothing to God, they are like a drop in a bucket. Interesting that we're still in the feet washing passage in John. In this case I think John adds some commentary on Isaiah. Here's the quotes in question.

13 Isaiah 40:15-17
¹⁵Look, the nations are like a drop out of a bucket, and are counted as the dipping of the balance; look, the islands will be cast away like fine dust.
¹⁶And Lebanon is not sufficient for the fuel, nor its animals sufficient for a burnt offering.
¹⁷All nations before him are as nothing; and they are counted to him for destruction and the sword.

40 John 13:18
¹⁸I do not say this concerning all of you, for I know those whom I have chosen; but that the scripture might be fulfilled, He who eats bread with me has lifted up his heel against me.

Isaiah has this sense of every nation being unimportant to God. One can almost read it as if God is aloof and doesn't care despite plenty of evidence that he does care. John gives the balance by saying that he does not say this concerning everyone. He says this concerning the Judas nations, those that aren't going to have a future with Jesus. Not all nations are this way just as not all individuals are this way. Note the way those nations are reckoned for destruction. The same fate overtook Judas in the end.

Likened

Isaiah asks to whom God can be likened. If you answer an idol you are wrong. John provides the right answer.

13 Isaiah 40:18-20
¹⁸To whom then will you liken god? Or to what likeness will you compare him?
¹⁹Is he an image which the carpenter has made and the goldsmith has overlaid with gold and fastened with silver chains?
²⁰He selects wood that is not worm-eaten; then chooses a carpenter, who fashions it with his skill, to make an image that will not be moved.

40 John 13:31-32
³¹Then Jesus said, Now the son of man is glorified, and god is glorified by him.
³²If god is glorified by him, god will also glorify him by himself, and he will glorify him at once.

The son of man is likened to God in that God is glorified by him and he is glorified by God. The equation is that the two are one, they are the same. Jesus is God. He can be likened to God.

Tent

The next bit in Isaiah depicts God as spreading out the skies as a big tent. John's version of this story is Jesus explaining to his disciples part of the reason he must go away, he's going to prepare a place to live.

13 Isaiah 40:21-22
²¹Have you not heard? Have you not known? Has it not been told you from the beginning? Have you not understood from the foundations of the land?
²²It is he who sits on the circle of the land, and its inhabitants are like grasshoppers; who stretches out the skies as a curtain and spreads them as a tent to live in;

40 John 14:2-3
²In my father's house are many rooms; if it were not so, I would have told you. I go to prepare a place for you.
³And if I go and prepare a place for you, I will come again and take you to me, so that where I am, you may be also.

This match is like a pun. God stretches out the skies as a tent and Jesus is going into the skies to make a tent. The English is a bit odd, but these are the same.

Princes

Next Isaiah says God brings princes to nothing while John mentions the prince of this word as having nothing against Jesus.

13 Isaiah 40:23
²³who brings princes to nothing; and makes the judges of the land as if they were nothing.

40 John 14:30
³⁰Hereafter, I will not talk much with you; for the prince of this world comes; yet he has nothing against me.

In comparing these two passages we see that not only does the prince of this word not bother Jesus, but Jesus is the one who brings princes to nothing when he wants. I hope you're seeing the power Jesus has.

Wither

The next match is on the theme of withering crops and vines.

13 Isaiah 40:24
²⁴Yes, they will not be planted; yes, they will not be sown; yes, their stock will not take root in the land; and he will blow on them and they will wither, and the whirlwind will take them away as stubble.

40 John 15:6
⁶Unless a man remains with me, he will be cast outside like a branch which is withered, which they pick up and throw into the fire to be burned.

The two stories are the same. The issue is lack of fruit, regardless of whether the fruit is grain in the field or grapes on the vine. The end result when there's no fruit is branches burned on the ground and stubble blown away by the wind.

Compare

Earlier we saw that Jesus was likened to God. The same issue has come up again, but this time the answer builds on the previous one. Before Jesus was likened to God, but idols were given as an example of something that is not like God. Here the answer to the question is not Jesus. Read the quotes to see the answer.

13 Isaiah 40:25
²⁵To whom then will you liken me, or to whom will I be equal? Says the holy one.

40 John 15:20
²⁰Remember the word which I said to you, that no servant is greater than his master. If they have persecuted me, they will also persecute you; if they kept my word, they will also keep yours.

The answer this time is Jesus' disciple will be treated like Jesus. They will get the same kind of response from people as their Master. This is not to say mere men are God, they are not, but when the disciples are sent out by Jesus they will get the same treatment he himself would receive, whether good or bad. In this way the disciples are likened to Jesus. A comparison is made. Interesting.

Look Up

Isaiah turns his attention now to Jesus' prayer for the disciples. Isaiah speaks in terms of God's command over the stars, but we know from Scripture that stars are Abraham's descendents (Genesis 15), so there's no difference between Isaiah talking about stars and John about adopted or literal sons of Abraham.

13 Isaiah 40:26
²⁶Lift up your eyes on high, and look: who has created these things? Who brings out their host by number; he called them all by name, by the greatness of his glory and the strength of his power; not 1 is missing.

40 John 17:1-3
¹Jesus spoke these things, and then he lifted up his eyes to the skies and said, My father, the hour has come; glorify your son, so that your son may glorify you,
²since you have given him power over all flesh, so that to all whom you have given him, he may give life everlasting.
³And this is life everlasting, that they might know you, that you are the only true god, even the one who sent Jesus, an anointed.

40 John 17:12
¹²While I was with them in the world, I protected them in your name; those whom you gave me I protected, and not 1 of them is lost except the son of perdition, that the scripture might be fulfilled.

Note there are at least two elements in this match. The theme of looking up is the first and Jesus not losing even 1 of his stars/disciples is the second.

Hidden

Jesus was brought before Annas for questioning. They asked him what he had been teaching, thinking it subversive I guess, and Jesus' answer was so obvious, "Why don't you ask those who heard me, I always spoke in public." This hits the reference to "hidden" in the Isaiah quote.

13 Isaiah 40:27
²⁷Why do you say, Jacob, and say, Israel, My way is hidden from Yahvah and justice is not rendered by my god?

40 John 18:19-23
¹⁹The high priest then questioned Jesus concerning his disciples and concerning his teaching.
²⁰Jesus said to him, I have spoken openly to the people, and I have always taught in the synagogue and in the temple where all Jews assemble; and I have spoken nothing secretly.
²¹Why do you ask me? Ask those who heard what I have spoken to them; look, they know everything which I said.
²²And as he said these things, one of the guards who stood by struck Jesus on his cheek and said to him, Is this how you answer the high priest?
²³Jesus answered, saying to him, If I have spoken any evil, testify to the evil; but if it is good, why did you strike me?

The second match here is on the issue of justice. Jesus spoke the truth and he was struck. The issue of not thinking God is giving justice, or not giving justice to God (maybe those are the same) seems to be what's happening here.

Run

There are at least two correlations in this match. See if you can spot them.

13 Isaiah 40:28-41:0
²⁸Have you not known, have you not heard, that god is forever? Yahvah has created the ends of the land, he does not faint, nor does he weary, and there is no searching his understanding?
²⁹He gives power to the weary, and to those who are struck with disease he increases strength.
³⁰Even the youths will faint and be weary, and the young men will helplessly stumble;
³¹but they who wait for Yahvah will renew their strength; they will grow wings as a dove; they will run and not be weary; and they will walk and not faint.

40 John 20:1-9
¹On the 1st day of the week, early in the morning, while it was yet dark, Mary Magdalene came to the tomb; and she saw that the stone was removed from the tomb.
²Then she ran and came to Simon Peter and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and she said to them, They have taken master out of that tomb, and I do not know where they have laid him.
³So Simon and the other disciple went out and came to the tomb.
⁴And they were both running together; but that disciple outran Simon and came to the tomb first.
⁵And he looked in and saw the linen cloths lying; but he did not enter.
⁶Then Simon came after him and entered into the tomb; and he saw the linen cloths lying there,
⁷and the burial napkin which was bound around his head, was not with the linen cloths, but was wrapped up and put in a place by itself.
⁸Then the other disciple who had come to the tomb first, also entered in, and he saw and believed.
⁹For they still did not understand from the scripture that he had to rise from the dead.

The first correlation is that of youths running. Peter and Lazarus are not old men when they run to the tomb, but a good foot race will tire even youths. Secondly, God is said to be "forever" in Isaiah. This is evident when the disciples arrive at the tomb and find that Jesus is alive. It's interesting that Jesus often treats sleeping and death as the same. When Jesus was crucified and laid in the tomb (asleep) his disciples grew tired too. They tired of the journey, the race they began when they left everything to follow Jesus. But God is into resurrection, he's into renewing strength for those on the journey. Jesus is alive, be strengthened.

Judgment

The last match between this section of Isaiah and the book of John actually comes from Isaiah 41:1. The first verse of this chapter does not match Matthew, nor can it do so, but it does match the last major story in the Gospel of John, the story of Peter going fishing and then swimming to shore to be corrected by Jesus. Here's the verse in question from Isaiah and the core of the narrative from John.

13 Isaiah 41:1
¹Keep silent, islands; and let the people renew their strength; let them come near; then let them speak; let them come near together to judgment.

40 John 21:15-19
¹⁵When they had eaten, Jesus said to Simon Peter, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me more than these things? He said to him, Yes, my master, you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my lambs.
¹⁶He said to him the 2nd time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? He said to him, Yes, my master, you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my sheep.
¹⁷He said to him the 3rd time, Simon, son of Jonah, do you love me? It grieved Peter because he said to him, the 3rd time, Do you love me? So he said to him, My master, you understand everything well, you know that I love you. Jesus said to him, Feed my ewes.
¹⁸Truly, truly, I say to you, when you were young, you tied up your belt yourself, and walked wherever you pleased; but when you become old, you will stretch out your hands, and another will tie your belt up for you and take you where you do not want to go.
¹⁹He said this to show by what death he would glorify god. And when he had said these things, he said to him, Follow me.

The whole narrative in John is not quoted to save space, but the story is Peter had given up and went fishing. When they realized Jesus was calling from the shore they gathered on shore to meet with him, but he judged or at least corrected Peter when he called him the son of "Jonah." Realize Peter had gone to sea in a boat, dove into the water, then received a call to "feed my sheep" (go to Nineveh). Jesus was calling out Peter's tendancy to be like Jonah and go against the call. Peter was bothered that Jesus took three times to correct him, and probably for good reason, for it only took Jesus twice with Jonah.

By Ryan Eaton
Posted Wednesday, Gad 12, 13001