Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me” – Matthew 11:29a
Sometimes the weight of this world threatens to crush us. Jesus calls to those bending and near breaking under such pressures. He says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light” (Matthew 11:28-30). These are fantastically comforting words for the soul wearied by the world’s problems. This article will provide some practical suggestions for those in need of rest for their weary soul.
Do I really have to catalogue the wearisome happenings of this fallen world? The globalist Great Reset, Wars and rumors of wars, invasions through immigration, natural disasters, violence, rioting, Obamagate corruption, politicians enriching themselves by abusing their positions to get insider trading benefits, deceptions, propaganda, treachery, broken people, starving people. And all this under an administration which is truly and historically working some good. But still, sometimes I think the demons of Revelation 9 have been let loose!
As Sisyphus was punished with a sentence of rolling a boulder up a hill, there is always more weight to pile on us in this world. That’s just the way this fallen world is. By nature this world wracked by sin has degenerated to a design to overburden, trip up, and chain us to its junk yard of troubles. Even in our churches, where we are supposed to find rest for our souls, there are burdens to bear. In those “holy” places we find more of the world’s unholiest of trends. Just think, if it weren’t for the Holy Spirit restraining the mystery of iniquity, IT WOULD BE EVEN WORSE! (2 Thessalonians 2:6-7).
To top it all off, sometimes, even when everything is going well on the surface, we can still get bogged down in heart. We become so used to the trouble and stress of this world that we forget how to tap into the heavenly resources provided to us by God. There is a solution provided by God.
A Spiritual Reset
There are times when we need a spiritual reset to offset the Great Reset. When sin enters in and threatens to swamp us, we need to enter into the presence of the LORD. How do we do that, how do we experience a spiritual reset? God has provided a practical spiritual reset practiced by saints of old. Even Jesus practiced such a Reset. Jesus told those bending and breaking under labors and worldly weights to “Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me.” How did Jesus deal with life? He is God in the flesh. But He is also “The Son of Man,” (Matthew 8:20; 9:6; 10:23; 11:19; John 3:14; 5:27; 6:27; 8:28; etc.) Jesus is “Immanuel,” God with us (Isaiah 9:6). What does this exemplary Man of God demonstrate for us to do?
A yoke is the collar two beasts of burden wear so that a younger beast can be trained by laboring beside an older beast who knows the Master’s commands. God’s plan is to be conformed to the image of Jesus (Romans 8:29). Jesus said, “learn from Me.” We learn from Jesus as we follow in His steps (1 Peter 2:21) and walk as he walked (1 John 2:6). What did Jesus practice in His life to deal with the weights of the world?
Press the pause button. When we look at the life of Jesus we see it says, “Now in the morning, having risen a long while before daylight, He went out and departed to a solitary place; and there He prayed” (Mark 1:35). Jesus frequently got alone and spent time with His Father. If He did that, we should too. The first step in resetting and catching our breath spiritually is to press the pause button, find a quiet place, and pray.
Jesus fasted. Directly after Jesus was baptized with the Holy Spirit being empowered for ministry, it says the next thing that happened was that “Jesus was led up by the Spirit into the wilderness,” a quiet secluded, barren place. Luke states, “Then Jesus, being filled with the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit into the wilderness” (Luke 4:1). This was a place of testing. But it was also a place of isolation; a place to deal with things. He was led by the Spirit to a place of solitude. Then it states, “to be tempted by the devil.” Testing tempers us like a newly forged sword must be tempered in the fire to assure it is the right strength for the battle that lay ahead. Testing builds patience (James 1:2-5). Testing proves genuineness (1 Peter 1:6-9). A faith untested cannot be trusted. Jesus was tested, we will be too. But what was part of this testing and preparation for service?
Fasting – abstaining from food. There’s something else Jesus did in this Spirit-led place of seclusion; He fasted. It states, “And when He had fasted forty days, and forty nights, afterward He was hungry” (Matthew 4:2). Luke states, “And in those days He ate nothing, and afterward, when they had ended, He was hungry” (Luke 4:2). Jesus abstained from food. Fasting involves not eating.
If Jesus fasted, so should we. It’s no accident that the fasting of Jesus was included in the gospel account by the Holy Spirit. Physically, fasting gives our bodies time to reset. Fasting has been connected to clarity of thought and physical cleansing. There are many benefits of fasting. [1] Personally I have found great benefits of fasting, both physical and spiritual. I do not believe fasting is a magical solution to our problems. Some present it as such. Fasting is valuable only if practiced within the parameters of God’s word in context. Fasting isn’t the fix as much as what happens in your fasting.
Jesus the fasting God-Man. That Jesus “was hungry,” speaks to us about His humanity. Later in scripture it states, “For we do not have a High Priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but was in all points tempted as we are, yet without sin” (Hebrews 4:15). Because Jesus experienced humanity, just like us (yet without sin) we should look at His life and how He dealt with the weights of this world as a Man, and follow His steps.
“Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Hebrews 4:16). What do we find at this throne of grace, at the feet of Jesus? What example set by Him will provide us with a tool, a practice, a step in the right direction toward resetting ourselves and strengthening ourselves spiritually? I believe fasting is an often neglected and misunderstood spiritually strengthening practice performed by Jesus as an example for His disciples to follow. John Wesley, greatly used by the Lord to bring revival to Great Britain in the eighteenth century, practiced fasting weekly throughout his life. He encouraged his followers to fast regularly. Maybe, just maybe, there’s something to this fasting practice.
Fasting
Some people fast to lose weight. Many people have discovered and begun including in their healthful routines the art of intermittent fasting. They fast themselves into physical shape. There are many physical benefits of fasting. [2] While “bodily exercise profits a little, . . . godliness is profitable for all things, having promise of the life that now is and of that which is to come” (1 Timothy 4:8). The Bible speaks of a fasting that goes beyond mere physical benefits.
The first mention of fasting is found in Judges 20:26 when God’s people are grieved over their tribal infighting. The next incident of fasting in scripture is found when Samuel calls God’s people to return to Him. In this incident we see a close link between fasting and the “return to the Lord with all your hearts.” The passage states:
1 Samuel 7:2–6 (NKJV) – 2 So it was that the ark remained in Kirjath Jearim a long time; it was there twenty years. And all the house of Israel lamented after the Lord. 3 Then Samuel spoke to all the house of Israel, saying, “If you return to the Lord with all your hearts, then put away the foreign gods and the Ashtoreths from among you, and prepare your hearts for the Lord, and serve Him only; and He will deliver you from the hand of the Philistines.” 4 So the children of Israel put away the Baals and the Ashtoreths, and served the Lord 5 And Samuel said, “Gather all Israel to Mizpah, and I will pray to the Lord for you.” 6 So they gathered together at Mizpah, drew water, and poured it out before the Lord. And they fasted that day, and said there, “We have sinned against the Lord.” And Samuel judged the children of Israel at Mizpah.
Here we see fasting connected with not only humiliation and sorrow, but with an admission of sin and repentance. Fasting was a part of the nation returning ot the LORD. What would happen if the United States fasted? I pray one day we find out.
Another occurrence of fasting is when David fasts for his son to be healed (2 Samuel 12:23). In this passage David’s sin with Bathsheba has just been exposed by Nathan the prophet. David has gotten Bathsheba pregnant through adultery. As a consequence, the child born to Bathsheba becomes ill. David fasts in an attempt to secure God’s mercy. David admits his sin and refrains from eating any food as an indication of his sincerity (2 Samuel 12:13-23). David weeps and fasts before the Lord, but the Lord sovereignly chooses to allow the child to die. Once the situation is resolved, David ends his fast. David’s fasting didn’t result in healing, but it did prepare his heart to accept God’s blessed, “No.”
In these incidents fasting is an expression of heartfelt sorrow, regret, humility, a plea for mercy from God, a preparation for submission as it relates to a trial encountered or consequence of sin. Fasting from the first was a way of expressing remorse and humiliation before the Lord. Fasting humbles us through willful physical deprivation. Baptism is a symbol of dying to self and sin and being risen to newness of life (Romans 6:4). Fasting similarly is a symbol before God of humbling oneself before Him.
Your Heart Has to Be in Your Fasting
In Isaiah 58 God moves the prophet Isaiah to correct His people about fasting. Over time fasting had become something that people did outwardly as a kind of ritual. People fasted outwardly, but their heart was not in their outward expression of humiliation. That is never acceptable to God. God wants our heart. Heartless approaches to God are never acceptable. No amount of fasting, without an engaged heart, will touch the heart of God. Fasting to lose weight is okay, but if you want your fasting to bring you closer to God, put your heart in it.
What was wrong with the fasting practices these people were doing? Fasting before the LORD heartlessly was offensive to God. God condemned their heartless fasting and instructed His people about the kind of fasting that is acceptable to Him. Let’s look at what the Lord through Isaiah tells us about getting our heart right before Him.
58 “Cry aloud, spare not;
Lift up your voice like a trumpet;
Tell My people their transgression,
And the house of Jacob their sins.
There is a time to “cry aloud.” There is a time to stand up and shout out; to make your voice heard and expose darkness. Jesus told us to be salt and light (Matthew 5:13-16). Paul was inspired to write that we should have nothing to do with the unfruitful works of darkness, but rather expose them (Eph. 5:11). This is what the LORD is instructing Isaiah to do, to “Lift up your voice like a trumpet.” When was the last time you made your voice heard and proclaimed the truth of the Lord?
One commentator clearly states:
God instructs Isaiah to sound out the message that His people were sinning even though they came to the temple and delighted in seeking His ways. In other words, here was a people who loved to study the Word, to fellowship together, to worship God—and yet God indicts them. Why? Because, although they loved to learn of God, they weren’t interested in obeying Him. How much that is like so many today. When the Holy Spirit begins to convict us, when the Word of God begins to speak to us, we only think of it in terms of how it applies to others.[3]
This is so true. And these verses in Isaiah speak to those who go through all the religious movements outwardly, but their heart is far from the Lord.
Not much changed from Isaiah’s day to Jesus’ incarnational days.[4] And sadly, not much has changed from Jesus’ days to our days. Human beings tend to pay lip-service to the Lord in order to make an outward show of religiosity. That’s worthless. We need to give God our heart.
Heartful. Sometimes we shy away from emotional expressions. Here God instructs Isaiah to “cry aloud.” In Hebrews it says of Jesus, “In the days of His flesh, when He had offered up prayers and supplications, with vehement cries and tears to Him who was able to save Him from death, and was heard because of His godly fear” (Hebrews 5:7). We should take these words about Jesus and follow in their steps. We should not try to work up emotion. But we should not necessarily contain it either. There are times when the Holy Spirit will move us to tears. The Spirit may do that in times of fasting. There is nothing wrong with this. We should simply be sincere and heart-full in all we do in the name of Jesus.
2 Yet they seek Me daily,
And delight to know My ways,
As a nation that did righteousness,
And did not forsake the ordinance of their God.
They ask of Me the ordinances of justice;
They take delight in approaching God.
On the outside, it appeared God’s people were seeking Him.
3 ‘Why have we fasted,’ they say, ‘and You have not seen?
Why have we afflicted our souls, and You take no notice?’
God’s people realized something was wrong. The social discord and sin, the rise of their enemies, the corruption of their leaders, the idolatry and overall spiritual darkness were all indicators that the nation was in trouble. Therefore, they sought the Lord. They sought Him “daily” They took “delight” in Him. They acted according to God’s “ordinances” and as though they were righteous. They even resorted to fasting. But God didn’t hear. God didn’t respond. Why? Because their heart wasn’t in their outward show. They were just going through the motions. They had ritual and ceremony, even fasting, but it was all shallow and superficial without their heart in it. THEY WERE HYPOCRITES. THEIR HEART WAS FAR FROM GOD.
In the new Testament it states, “In whatever you do, do it heartily, as to the Lord and not to men, knowing that from the Lord you will receive the reward of the inheritance; for you serve the Lord Christ” (Colossians 3:23-24). “Heartily” (Greek ek psucha) means out of the heart. Just as love makes anything we do for the Lord of eternal worth (1 Corinthians 13), doing what we do with our heart, in love, reaches the Lord.
The Bible says, “The LORD is near to those who have a broken heart, and saves such as have a contrite spirit” (Psalm 34:18). This doesn’t mean we should work ourselves up into a false pretentious frenzy. It means we should come humbly before the Lord asking Him to change our heart and make it acceptable to Him. We should especially do this when life in this world causes our heart to calcify, get calloused, hardened. When that happens, fast, and pray, saying “Oh Lord break my heart for what breaks Yours!”
The Purpose of Fasting
Too often we deal with the weight of the world by way of a television series, YouTube short clip videos, online gaming, or some other mindless amusement. Did you ever analyze the meaning of “amusement”? To “muse” means to contemplate, to think, to meditate. Put an “a” on the front of that and amusement means to forget, to not think, to avoid thinking. God doesn’t want us to cope with life by escaping into lives of mindless amusements. He has so much more than that for us. Fast your way to Him.
Yes, there is a time for “recreation.” “Recreation” helps us to recharge, recreate, recover. But it shouldn’t be a daily practice. Recreation should not be your sole source of joy and happiness, God should be. Your team winning a championship should not be your highest concern. That sale on your favorite brand of shoe or clothing shouldn’t be your sole delight. It is the joy of the LORD which should be your strength! (Nehemiah 8:10). If is isn’t, fast and pray until it is.
When I’m in need of a break, I like to go on long boring rides in the car. I learned this from my father. I grew up in a very dysfunctional home with a lot of fighting and screaming. My mother was psychologically unstable. Sometimes it would get so bad that my father would take my sister and I and we would just go for a long boring ride. We weren’t going anywhere in particular, but just to get out of the house for a break and let the noise subside a bit. I still go on long boring rides from time to time. I love scenery and landscapes. I live in a beautiful part of the world, Long Island. But now my long boring rides have a Passenger; His name is Jesus. To decompress I get in the car, put worship music on, and just commune with my Savior. He’s always up for a long boring ride. He’ll be there for you too.
Fasting is a way to shut out the noise. Fasting is God’s idea of a “long boring ride” except whatever you do with Him, is never boring. Whenever you spend time with Jesus, especially alone time with Him, it’s always a blessing. Fasting enhances those times with the Shepherd of your soul.
Types of Fasting
We have already spoken about fasting food and we are speaking about spiritual fasting. But some people are unable to fast food because of medical conditions. In such situations I believe we can fast things other than food. Fast your phone. How many of us would go into cold sweat withdrawals at the thought of an hour or a day without our phones? How many of us would pull our hair out if we didn’t vegetate in front of the television at night? What would happen to you if for one entire month instead of spending time amusingly in front of your TV you instead read Gods’ word? I’ll tell you what would happen, a lot of your spiritual angst and upset would disappear and be replaced by the peace of God that surpasses understanding! (cf. Philippians 4:6-7). What would happen if you fasted the gym? “Watch it Pastor, you’re kicking a hornet’s nest.” Our bodies are a temple of the Holy Spirit no doubt (1 Corinthians 3:16-17; 6:19). But instead of worshipping the Spirit in the temple, we are worshipping the temple! Maybe we need to take a break and have a fast to help us reset in this area.
Yes, there are many ways to fast. A fast helps us to focus on God. A fast helps us to press our spiritual reset button. Get alone with the Lord and ask Him to search you and see if there is any way in you displeasing Him. “Search me, O God, and know my heart; try me, and know my anxieties; and see if there is any wicked way in me, and lead me in the way everlasting” (Psalm 139:23-24). Fasting can help us in this journey of self-discovery.
The Multiple Purposes of Fasting
If you’ve been wounded by life, fasting can help you deal with festering wounds. Fasting in scripture was a way to express sorrow and suffering before the Lord. Fasting was and is a way to express need and helplessness to the Lord. Fasting is also a way to express a desire for a deeper dependence and closeness to God.
When we look in scripture, fasting is connected to the following:
- Fasting is connected with national repentance – 1 Samuel 7:6; Jonah 3:5
- Fasting was connected to ritual cleansing – 1 Samuel 31:33
- Fasting was connected with mourning the loss of people – 2 Samuel 1:12; 1 Chronicles 10:12
- Fasting was connected with pleading for God’s mercy – 2 Samuel 12:16, 21-22
- Fasting can be abused – 1 Kings 21:9-14
- Fasting was a means to entreat God and declare dependence upon the Lord for provisions and protection from enemies – 2 Chronicles 20:3; Ezra 8:21-22
- Fasting is connected with answered prayer – Ezra 8:23
- Fasting was a way to humbly express regret and shame for sins committed – Ezra 9:1-15; Nehemiah 9:1ff.
- Fasting, as seen by Ezra’s use of it when rebuilding the Temple, and Nehemiah’s return to rebuild Jerusalem was a means to seek the Lord for help to accomplish a great work -Nehemiah 1:1-11.
- Fasting is a way to express mourning to God for national danger, calamity, and defeat – Judges 20:26; 1 Kings 21:17-29; Esther 4:1-3; 9:31
- Fasting is connected with prayer for the sick – Psalm 35:13
- Fasting is connected to calling on God for revival and protection from enemies – Psalm 69:10 in context; 109:24; Jeremiah 36:6
- Fasting is connected to a cry for national restoration and revival – Daniel 9:3 in context.
- Fasting is connected with brokenness of heart and the need for revival – Joel 1:14; 2:12-15.
- Fasting without obedience is fruitless – Zechariah 7:1-7
- Jesus fasted – Matthew 4:2
- Fasting that is only external and not internally with the heart, is a sign of religious pharisaism – Matthew 6:16.
- Fasting and prayer should be between a person and the Lord, not for pretentious displays – Matthew 6:17-18.
- There is a time to fast and a time to rejoice in the Lord – Matthew 9:14-17; Mark 2:18; Luke 5:33
- Fasting is connected by Jesus with spiritual empowerment to exorcise demons – Matthew 17:21; Mark 9:29
- The Apostle Peter fasted and received a heavenly vision while fasting – Acts 10:30
- Early Christians fasted to help them discern God’s will in ministry – Acts 13:2-3; 14:23
- Fasting was mentioned by Paul as a practice married couples did together – 1 Corinthians 7:5
Fasting is a useful spiritual tool when it is used according to God’s instructions.
Fasting God’s Way
The people were, as far as they could tell, doing all the right things. They were into God’s word and “ways.” They were doing “righteousness.” They presented as sticking with God’s ordinances and justice. They even showed a “delight in approaching God.” And yet, God wasn’t moved. Why?
“In fact, in the day of your fast you find pleasure,
And exploit all your laborers.
4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate,
And to strike with the fist of wickedness.
You will not fast as you do this day,
To make your voice heard on high.
Their fasting and efforts were all external. They weren’t denying themselves but instead were indulging in pleasures. They were exploiting their workers. Maybe they were taking off and making others do their work for them while they performed their religious rites. This was unacceptable to God. Fasting involves self-sacrifice. Others should not be put in a position to sacrifice for your fasting. If anything, you should serve others during your times of fasting!
5 Is it a fast that I have chosen,
A day for a man to afflict his soul?
Is it to bow down his head like a bulrush,
And to spread out sackcloth and ashes?
Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the Lord?
The term “afflict” (Hebrew ana) means afflict, humble, force, exercise, trouble, weakened. The idea here is that God’s fast is when a person humbles themselves before the Lord. The fasting this people was doing was all surface. Their heart wasn’t in their fasting. They wore outward signs of humility such as sack cloth and ashes, but they were just going through the motions.
6 “Is this not the fast that I have chosen:
To loose the bonds of wickedness,
To undo the heavy burdens,
To let the oppressed go free,
And that you break every yoke?
God’s fast involves action. It involves not only abstaining from doing the wrong thing but doing the right thing. Yes, we come to God, but if there is any sin and injustice outstanding, we need to repent of it and come to God.
7 Is it not to share your bread with the hungry,
And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out;
When you see the naked, that you cover him,
And not hide yourself from your own flesh?
In other words, God’s fast involves denial of self and looking to invest in and help others. We don’t only fast from something, we fast to something.
8 Then your light shall break forth like the morning,
Your healing shall spring forth speedily,
And your righteousness shall go before you;
The glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
When our heart is in our fast, God will bless. There will be light and revelation, healing, holy living, and God’s glory will manifest. Fasting has great potential for blessing!
9 Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
You shall cry, and He will say, ‘Here I am.’
“If you take away the yoke from your midst,
The pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
When we fast God’s way, then He will answer. But we have to put away divisiveness and selfishness and rather humble ourselves before God. Look outside of ourselves.
10 If you extend your soul to the hungry
And satisfy the afflicted soul,
Then your light shall dawn in the darkness,
And your darkness shall be as the noonday.
God’s fast is to look outside of yourself and look to help others. In your fast seek his direction in what He would have you do to help others.
11 The Lord will guide you continually,
And satisfy your soul in drought,
And strengthen your bones;
You shall be like a watered garden,
And like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail.
If we fast God’s way, He will guide us, revive us, and strengthen us.
12 Those from among you
Shall build the old waste places;
You shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
And you shall be called the Repairer of the Breach,
The Restorer of Streets to Dwell In.
Fast God’s way and we will experience restoration and rebuilding.
13 “If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath,
From doing your pleasure on My holy day,
And call the Sabbath a delight,
The holy day of the Lord honorable,
And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways,
Nor finding your own pleasure,
Nor speaking your own words,
God’s fast leads us to enjoy His presence and delight in Him. It means putting aside the things of this world and coming into His presence. It means to put God back on the throne of your heart; give Him priority in your life. Then His blessing will follow.
14 Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord;
And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth,
And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father.
The mouth of the Lord has spoken.”
Fast God’s way and you can expect fruitfulness and success from the Lord. God wants our heart. Nothing less will suffice.
Don’t get down about the Great Reset and what the future holds. When we fast and pray, at some point along the way, you’ll discover that in the end, God wins. And because we belong to Him, we win too. Respond to the Great Reset with God’s spiritual reset through fasting. You just may find what you need, what you need to keep moving forward.
Now that you know what the Bible says about the fasting that positions us to be blessed by God, are you ready to come and respond to Jesus? To the weary soul Jesus says, “Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.” Come and fast and find rest in Jesus. Come and ask Him to help you reset your soul.
Maybe you don’t know Jesus personally as Savior. Maybe you feel awkward coming to Him because He is a stranger to you. We aren’t saved by fasting. But fasting can be a means God uses to show you how to deal with sin and how to enter into an eternal relationship with Him. Jesus said eternal life was about knowing Him (John 17:3). How can that happen?
Acts 8 speaks of a searching soul in the Bible, one wandering in the wilderness. The Holy Spirit sent a messenger to explain how this person could know Jesus as Savior. First they discussed sin and its need to be dealt with.[5] Jesus paid our debt of sin on the cross. He rose from the dead to demonstrate His sacrifice was justly accepted by the Father. God offers us forgiveness for our sins, eternal life, and help for our hurting soul. All we need do is turn from our sins and “believe with all your heart” in Jesus as Savior. By faith receive the forgiveness for your sins offered to you as a gift of God’s grace in Jesus Christ. If you can say, “I believe in Jesus Christ as the Son of God” then you will be saved (Acts 8:37). That’s because God was in Jesus. Jesus is God in the flesh. Jesus came to make a way for a sinful world separated from God because of their sins (Isaiah 59:1-2) to be reconciled to Himself (2 Corinthians 5:17-21). Just believe that good news, believe that Gospel with all your heart, and God will forgive you. Then you won’t find it so hard to fast and spend time with your newfound Savior Jesus. Then you will be able to reset yourself spiritually. Then you will find “rest for your soul.” Maybe take these verses with you, to a quiet place, fast and pray and seek the Lord. He’s waiting for you. Maybe even take a long boring ride with Him and see how He lifts your burdens and replaces them with His blessings. In Jesus’ name. Amen!
[1] Soul-Fattening: The Discipline of Fasting | Isaiah 58 | Gary Hamrick
[2] https://www.theepochtimes.com/focus/intermittent-fasting
[3] Courson, J. (2006). Jon Courson’s application commentary: Volume two: Psalms-Malachi (p. 455). Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson.
[4] Isaiah indicted the people about this earlier in his teaching in Isaiah 29:13-15. Jesus quoted Isaiah 29 in His ministry (Matthew 15:8-9).
[5] See Acts 8:26-40; and Isaiah 53 which Philip and the eunuch discussed.