03/29/26 Weekly Bible Lesson: True Peace

Background of Text — Isaiah’s prophecy concerning the last days and what will transpire is not a picture of the end of time but the time between the coming of Christ, the ending of the Jewish dispensation, and the beginning of the kingdom, Christ’s church. Isaiah defines knowledge and peace that are fully realized in God, while Paul makes clear that God’s peaceable wisdom is made known to us through Jesus Christ. 

Isaiah 2:2 — When Jesus came, it was to establish a kingdom that would never cease. That kingdom, the church, was established on the day of Pentecost in Acts 2 when Peter stood up among those who nailed Jesus to the cross and preached the first gospel sermon. Thousands responded to Peter’s message and were baptized into Christ for the forgiveness of their sin and the gift of the Holy Spirit. 

Isaiah’s prophecy is that the mountain of “the Lord’s temple will be established as chief among the mountains.” People from every nation, every walk of life, diverse in background and culture, would come. All people. This relationship with God would no longer be exclusive to the Jews. All people would stream to this mountain, Mt. Zion. The church would bring people from all walks of life and every nation into a peaceful relationship because of Jesus. 

Isaiah 2:3 — Many people would come to be taught. The very purpose would be to understand the teachings of Christ. The law mentioned here is not the Law of Moses that the Jews taught, but it would be the “law that gives freedom” (James 2:12). The Law of Moses only brought bondage. It was impossible to keep. James wrote, “For whoever keeps the whole law and yet stumbles at just one point is guilty of breaking all of it” (James 2:10). They all stumbled. We all stumble. 

James also said in 1:25, “But whoever looks intently into the perfect law that gives freedom and continues in it—not forgetting what they have heard but doing it—they will be blessed in what they do.” The goal is to walk in the paths of God. That is why they would come to the mountain of the Lord. We also must receive instruction before we can walk in God’s ways. We cannot live right or worship right until we receive this instruction from God’s law that gives freedom. God’s word is our source of truth. We are to preach and teach the word. We must live out the Word of God in our lives. Ephesians 3:10 says, “God intended that now through the church, the manifold wisdom of God should be made known.” We cannot share God’s Word unless we know God’s Word. We should be running to this mountain to receive God’s Word as instruction for our lives. 

Isaiah 2:4 — When we come into the house of God and to a saving faith in Jesus Christ, we are brought into a peaceful relationship with God, our fellow man, and with ourselves. This does not mean that all wars will cease. Until all men come into the kingdom of God, there will always be wars and rumors of wars. However, if all men came to Christ, then wars would cease. Peace can only be accomplished when all men everywhere come to Christ. That’s the only way to have peace. 

Discussion Questions: What do we as the church need to do to help people come to the mountain of God, the church? Why do so many refuse to be at peace with others? 

Acts 17:26-28 – We are all descendants of Adam. That means we are all related and that we should all be united despite our diversity. God set the times and places for us to live. His goal has always been for man to seek Him. He wants every tongue, tribe, and nation to find Him. 

Paul was addressing the philosophers in the city of Athens, and the reference is to the altar to the “unknown god.” He knew it was important to meet people where they were when it came to sharing the gospel. He was in the great city surrounded by all kinds of temples, monuments, and altars. Idol worship abounded. They tried to cover every base when it came to their worship, so Paul began with this altar to the “unknown god.” What they worshipped as the unknown, Paul was going to reveal to them as the known. The known is Jesus. 

The reason God set the times and places for men to live is so man would seek Him and find Him while we still have an opportunity to do so. That has always been the purpose of the gospel. It is to point men to Jesus. “For in him we live and move and have our being.” God wants people to seek Him. God wants people to find Him. This happens when people come to Him through Jesus. When we understand that God has done all He could do to bring us to Him, it moves us to accept His offer of forgiveness, wherein we find peace. 

Discussion Questions: Why, if many people have a desire to worship a god, don’t they seek to worship the one true God? What can we as the church do to point them to Jesus?