Synonyms: Levi, disciple, evangelist, tax collector, the 12, the twelve, apostle, sermon on the mount, jewish audience, beatitudes, lord's prayer, great commission, parables, olivet discourse, mount of olives, olivet, synoptic
Showing 226 to 250 of 344 results
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... often prompts the reader to note the common elements in the two stories—in this case, two women (one young, one older) with contrasting conditions, the danger of ritual defilement, Jesus’s unique power, and the pivotal role of faith. All three Synoptic writers combine these two stories in the same way, perhaps simply because Matthew and Luke have adopted Mark’s outline, but perhaps also because those who were present remembered the striking interruption of the journey to Jairus’s house, so that the ...
227. Jesus’s Fallible Followers
Luke 9:51-56, Luke 9:46-50, Luke 9:37-45
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... will be the unlikely hero in one of Jesus’s best-known parables (10:25–37). The disciples’ conventional Jewish attitude here is out of step with that of Jesus (and of Luke). Interpretive Insights 9:39  A spirit seizes him. All three Synoptic Gospels describe the symptoms of this boy in a way that sounds similar to epilepsy, and some interpreters suggest that his supposed demon possession is simply an unscientific way of describing epilepsy. But epilepsy was well known in the ancient world, and none ...
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... to which the prophets and kings could only look forward. Compare 1 Peter 1:10–12 (where even the angels are keen to get a look in!); Hebrews 11:39–40. Theological Insights Luke 10:22 (= Matt. 11:27) is perhaps the highest point in the Synoptic Gospels’ presentation of the status of Jesus, the Son of God. Often described as a “Johannine moment,” this verse has the same effect as, for instance, John 10:15, “The Father knows me and I know the Father”; John 10:30, “I and the Father are ...
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... outside the disciple group prompts Jesus to illustrate the central demand of discipleship by telling one of his best-loved parables. The famous “summary of the law” in the twofold demand to love God and to love one’s neighbor occurs in all three Synoptic Gospels, but Luke’s presentation of it is distinctive in two ways: first, it is the questioner, not Jesus, who first offers the summary; second, Jesus provides extensive comment on it in the form of the parable of the good Samaritan. The recent ...
230. Negative Responses to Jesus
Luke 11:33-36, Luke 11:29-32, Luke 11:14-28
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... ” on 4:31–44. It was believed that all these lesser demons were under the authority of the chief demon, whom we have met already as “the devil” (4:2–13) and as “Satan” (10:18). The name “Beelzebul” as an appellation for Satan appears in the Synoptic Gospels as well as in the pseudepigraphic Testament of Solomon (first to third century AD?), where he is referred to as the “ruler of demons” (3:1–6; 4:2; 6:1–8). In biblical thought Satan is a malevolent power, but never on a level of ...
231. Interpreting the Times
Luke 12:54-59, Luke 12:49-53, Luke 12:35-48
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... between those who have heard and rejected the gospel and those who have never heard it? The phrase “I have come to . . .” (12:49; cf. 5:32; 19:10) implies a mission that originated elsewhere, and it has been used to argue that the Synoptic Gospels also support the idea, familiar from the Gospel of John, of Jesus’s preincarnate divine existence.1 Teaching the Text There are three main sections in this passage, which may be taught either separately or together. If taught together, the focus should be on ...
232. Ready for the Kingdom of God?
Luke 13:31-35, Luke 13:22-30, Luke 13:18-21
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... where Jesus has no illusions about his fate. 13:34  you who kill the prophets. Compare 11:47–51, and of course 13:33 here. how often I have longed to gather your children together. Here we have one of the incidental indications that the Synoptic pattern of a single journey to Jerusalem does not tell us the whole story of Jesus’s ministry. The Gospel of John records Jesus’s repeated visits to the capital and documents the resistance that the Jerusalem establishment has put up against his mission. 13 ...
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... rather than of “coming” (unlike 12:40), but this is now the clearest account in the Gospels of what we speak of as Jesus’s “second coming,” uncomplicated by any link with the destruction of the temple as it will be in the later Synoptic discourse (Matt. 24–25; Mark 13; Luke 21). The Old Testament echoes here emphasize that the parousia, like the prophetic vision of the “day of the Lord,” is a time of judgment and division, and one for which people will be found unprepared. Teaching ...
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... ) to receive his royal authority (19:12, 15), later returning to judge and reward his subjects (19:15). The second (and primary) point is the need for good stewardship during his absence (19:13–27). I have noted above the need to interpret each of the two Synoptic versions of this parable on its own terms. But in your teaching it may be helpful to read both side by side, and to identify the differences, so as to highlight more clearly what is distinctive to Luke’s version. What does he intend us to ...
235. The Coming of the King
Luke 19:45-48, Luke 19:28-44
Teach the Text
R.T. France
...  spread their cloaks on the road. For a similar gesture of homage to one proclaimed king, see 2 Kings 9:13. 19:37  the whole crowd of disciples. Matthew and Mark say that the messianic acclamation was uttered by the crowds accompanying Jesus. All three Synoptic writers therefore make clear that it was not the people of Jerusalem who hailed Jesus as king; he will not reach the city until 19:45. Jesus’s words in 19:42–44 show that Jerusalem’s reaction to the Galilean prophet would be very different ...
236. Getting Ready for the Passover
Luke 22:7-38, Luke 22:1-6
Teach the Text
R.T. France
... (and satanic influence [cf. 22:3]). This theological tension is succinctly captured in 22:22. Teaching the Text This passage provides the teacher with the opportunity to explore the meaning and significance of the Lord’s Supper. Compare the account here with the other Synoptic Gospels (Matt. 26:26–28; Mark 14:22–24) and especially with Paul’s account in 1 Corinthians 11:23–25. Explore not only the Passover imagery but also the ritual as a celebration of the inauguration of the new covenant (22:20 ...
Teach the Text
Preben Vang
... apostles [2 Cor. 11:13]). Whom he specifically has in mind cannot be determined with certainty. The Lord’s brother James and Cephas are singled out because they are recognized by the Corinthian believers. Peter’s marriage is well known and mentioned in the Synoptic Gospels (Matt. 8:14–15; Mark 1:29–31; Luke 4:38–39).4 9:6  Or is it only I and Barnabas. The strained relationship that developed between Paul and Barnabas after the first missionary journey apparently had been healed (Acts 15:36 ...
238. The Four Horsemen
Revelation 6:1-17
Teach the Text
J. Scott Duvall
... ; Ezek. 32:6–8; Joel 2:10, 30–31; 3:15–16; Hab. 3:6–11) and in the teachings of Jesus (e.g., Mark 13:24–27 and par. in Matt. 24:29–31; Luke 21:25–28; cf. Acts 2:19–20; 2 Pet. 3:10). In the Synoptics, the dissolution of the universe is connected with Jesus’s second coming, when he returns in power and glory to redeem his people and judge the wicked. At the end of the seal, trumpet, and bowl judgments, the Day of the Lord has arrived. Whether these phenomena are literal or ...
239. Closing
2 Corinthians 13:11-14
Understanding Series
James M. Scott
... in peace Paul adds a peace benediction: And the God of love and peace will be with you (cf. Rom. 15:33; 16:20; Phil. 4:9; 1 Thess. 5:23; 2 Thess. 3:16; Gal. 6:16). As a comparison of Pauline benedictions reveals (see the synoptic table in Weima, “Pauline Letter Closings,” p. 9), the apostle sometimes varies the wording his peace benedictions in order to emphasize a particular element. Here, for example, instead of referring simply to “the God of peace” (cf. T. Dan. 5:2), Paul refers to the God of ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
The healing of a blind man in Jericho concludes the journey to Jerusalem (10:46–52). Bartimaeus is the only person healed in the Synoptic Gospels who is named, and by concluding with a comment that he “followed [Jesus] on the way” (10:52 ESV), Mark designates him a model disciple. Jericho lies 20 miles northeast and 3,500 feet lower than Jerusalem. As Jesus, the disciples, and a large crowd leave Jericho, a blind ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
The preceding narratives have raised the question, who is this? Now Peter gives the decisive answer: you are the Messiah (9:18–20). The disciples see more clearly than those who identify Jesus with Elijah, John the Baptist, or one of the prophets. Of the Synoptic writers only Luke tells us that Jesus was praying (9:18). Peter understands that Jesus is the Messiah, but the disciples also need to grasp what kind of messiah he will be (9:21–27). He does not fit the popular conception of a messiah who will ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... . But to the humble and childlike he has opened up the secrets of the kingdom. Jesus emphasizes that this is in accord with God’s sovereign plan and gracious will (10:21). In verse 22 we have one of the most important verses in the Synoptic Gospels on the mutual relationship between the Father and the Son. Some scholars have questioned the authenticity of the verse, but the Jewish character of the saying shows its authenticity. When Jesus states that the Father has handed “all things” over to him, he ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
The Book of Signs chronicles Jesus’s public ministry within Israel. It begins with the traditional Synoptic starting place (John the Baptist) and concludes with Jesus in Jerusalem at his final Passover. Throughout the narrative, Jesus presents himself to Judaism through a series of miracles and compelling discourses but in the end finds rejection. Messianic fulfillment is a prominent motif. Jesus’s messiahship is shown to be ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... was before [him]” (1:30; cf. 1:15). It would not be unlikely if this included the thought of Jesus’s anointing with the Spirit (1:32–33). This was the principal event at the Jordan. John’s account of this differs from the Synoptics in one respect: two times John remarks that the Spirit descends and remains on Jesus. This permanent anointing stands in stark contrast to the temporary anointing of the Old Testament prophets. This permanence was central to the Jewish depiction of the Messiah (Isa. 11 ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... with a series of testimonies: the providence of God determines the success of ministry (3:27), and as he made clear at the outset (1:29), Jesus is the Christ and bridegroom (3:28–29); John is merely his advocate. These concrete expressions (echoing the Synoptic Gospels) now expand into abstract statements in 3:31–36. The superiority of Jesus is grounded in his superior heritage: he is from above (3:31). The Son has come from the Father, but the Baptist belongs to the earth. John the Baptist speaks “as ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
Jesus’s departure from the Jordan River is prompted by his concern that the Pharisees are viewing him as supplanting John the Baptist’s ministry (4:1; cf. 3:22–36). Would the hostility toward John now be aimed at Jesus? In the Synoptics, it is John’s arrest that brings Jesus into Galilee (Mark 1:14). The same is true in the Fourth Gospel. Jesus avoids incrimination stemming from his association with John. To be sure, Jesus’s ministry was similar to that of John: both men employed baptism (4:1–2 ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... has led some scholars to see in the archaeological remains evidence for a healing sanctuary near the pool. Jesus, however, ignores the pool’s supposed powers and with a word heals the lame man (5:8–9). But as with so many other healing stories in the Synoptics (cf. Mark 3:1–6), it is the Sabbath, and this arouses objections among the Jewish leaders. (Note that the NIV omits 5:4, placing it in a footnote, since the verse does not appear in the best ancient Greek manuscripts.) When the lame man carries ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... is sovereign over his death and departure (so 10:17–18). He may attend the feast, but he alone will control the hour of death. Jesus’s arrival is marked by controversy (7:10–13). Judaism is divided (7:40–44). This echoes the Synoptic picture of Jesus’s final days in Jerusalem, where Jesus’s teachings find both a popular following and the concentrated hatred of the Jewish leadership. It is possible that the Johannine chronology gives the best picture of Jesus’s final Judean visit: he comes ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... first century. Advanced study under a rabbinic scholar (e.g., Paul under Gamaliel) in a school was common. Jesus possessed no such credentials. In effect, the Jews wish to see these, and Jesus complies: his diplomas are divine (7:14–24). The Synoptics attest to Jesus’s uncanny sense of authority (Matt. 7:28–29). Here Jesus explains the source of that authority. The Jewish notion of authority was specialized. No one possessed inherent authority; it was secondary and indirect. Authority was passed down ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
... and it interrupts the Feast of Tabernacles story (see 8:12). If it belonged here, 7:53–8:1 would imply that Jesus was at the Sanhedrin meeting in 7:45–52! (2) Is the story authentically from Jesus? Yes it is. It is similar to Synoptic stories of Jewish entrapment climaxed by Jesus’s profound pronouncement (8:7). (3) Why was it located here in John? The surrounding discourse (esp. chap. 8) asserts themes that the story illustrates. Jesus judges no one (8:15), and his accusers cannot convict him of sin ...
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