Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2476 to 2500 of 2962 results

John 4:39-42, John 4:43-54

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... of the miracle: Jesus’s word is powerful and effectual. The very hour of healing is the hour of Jesus’s utterance (4:52). This combination of miracle and belief (4:50, 53) is what distinguishes the Johannine term “sign.” The powerful works of Jesus are designed to evoke a response, to reveal who Jesus is. They are signs that lead elsewhere—to faith. This is the intent of the signs in Cana, Jerusalem, Samaria, and again in Cana. This is the aim that John has even for his reader of the Book of ...

2477. The Shepherd and His Flock

John 10:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... . Now we learn that Jesus distributes not simply access to leadership but life itself. If the parable has allegorical elements, note that now in the interpretation Jesus assumes a new sovereignty over the fold. Has he assumed divine tasks again? The sheepfold is designed to keep out those who would harm the sheep (10:10), and Jesus is their guardian. He refuses access to many, including those like the Pharisees. These leaders destroy, but God sent Christ so that those who believe might not be destroyed (3 ...

2478. Jesus Raises Lazarus From the Dead

John 11:38-44

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Lazarus was buried in a typical first-century stone tomb (cf. Jesus’s tomb, 20:1; Mark 15:46). Since these were designed for multiple burials, there would be no difficulty reopening it (11:39) if sufficient help was available. Again we are given a second confirmation that Lazarus is dead (11:39), this time in graphic terms. But this does not deter Jesus. As his feeding miracle demonstrated that he was the ...

2479. Jesus Comforts His Disciples

John 14:1-4

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

In early Christianity, the problem of Jesus’s departure was resolved by looking forward to his return, or second coming (Greek parousia). For some this was the only comfort. However, the discourse in chapter 14 is a carefully designed reassessment of this. It begins with a description of the traditional futurist hope (14:1–3). Jesus is preparing rooms in heaven (14:2) and someday will return to transport his followers there (14:3). The discourse then introduces three questioners (Thomas, 14:5; Philip, ...

2480. The Resurrection

John 20:1-9

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... (20:1; on Mary see 19:25 and Luke 8:2), and although John mentions her alone, the Synoptic Gospels say that she is accompanied by other women (cf. Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:1; Luke 24:10). Rolling-stone tombs were not impossible to reopen and were designed to offer future access to a tomb for secondary Jewish burial or for additional primary burials. Mary’s surprise centers not so much on the fact that the stone is rolled back (for to her mind Joseph or Nicodemus might have reopened it) but on the absence of ...

2481. Philip and the Ethiopian

Acts 8:26-40

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... eunuch (8:26–40). The conversion of this Ethiopian is puzzling because Luke makes it clear that Cornelius is the first Gentile to be converted (10:1–48). Nevertheless, Luke’s focus here is not on the ethnic identity of the eunuch. He is designated once as an “Ethiopian” and an “important official” (8:27), but it is his status as a “eunuch” that is emphasized throughout this passage (8:27, 34, 36, 38–39). Luke’s inclusion of the conversion story of this eunuch is best understood in ...

2482. Conversion and Call of Paul

Acts 9:1-19a

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... these disciples as those “who belonged to the Way” (9:2). Luke is the only New Testament author who repeatedly calls the church “the Way” (cf. 19:9, 23; 22:4; 24:14, 22). As in the Qumran community, which used the same self-designation, this Way-terminology is most likely derived from Isaiah 40:3, a verse quoted in Luke 3:4. In Isaiah, this “way” points to the fulfillment of the eschatological salvation. In Acts, this Way-terminology likewise becomes a significant claim, as Luke indicates that ...

2483. God’s Righteous Judgment

Romans 2:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... with the facts: God judges those “who do such things” (1:19–32). In 2:3–4 Paul refutes the objection that the connection between human wrongdoing and divine judgment does not apply to Jews. The rhetorical questions in 2:4 are designed to demonstrate to the Jewish critic of Gentile sinners his false assumptions. Pious Jews may indeed rely on God’s kindness in delaying his judgment (“forbearance”), and they know about the importance of repentance. But they make the mistake of having little ...

2484. God’s Faithfulness

Romans 3:1-8

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... brings out God’s righteousness more clearly” implies the apparently logical inference that if sinners by their unrighteousness provoke God to manifest his righteousness (God forgives sinners), then God cannot punish sinners for their unrighteousness. This argument is designed to draw out the conclusion that, if Paul is correct, God’s righteousness stands in contradiction to God’s judgment of wrath; in other words, if Paul is right, God is unjust. Parenthetically, Paul apologizes that he utters ...

2485. Righteousness Through Faith

Romans 3:21-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... salvation of sinners. The locale of salvation is the cross, where Jesus Christ became the new place of God’s atoning presence (3:25). The Greek term hilastērion (NIV “sacrifice of atonement”) is best understood against the background of its Old Testament usage, where it designates the gold plate on the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place (Exod. 25:17–22), above which God was thought to be present and where blood was sprinkled on the Day of Atonement to cleanse the temple from sin and thus to ...

2486. All Israel Will Be Saved

Romans 11:25-32

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... and argues that “all Israel” refers to believing Jews and believing Gentiles who have been integrated into the one people of God’s new covenant on account of God’s grace through Jesus Christ. (For this comprehensive meaning of “Israel” as designation of the people of God consisting of Jewish and Gentile believers in Jesus, see Gal. 6:16.) These commentators point out that there is no indication that “all” should be restricted to “many”; that the expression kai houtōs refers back ...

2487. Living Sacrifices

Romans 12:1-8

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... of verse 1 signals that here begins a longer section in which he draws out some of the consequences of the gospel for everyday living. He begins with the fundamental charge that believers in Jesus Christ must consecrate their whole person (here designated as “body”) to God. That believers yield their entire life to God is a “reasonable act of worship” (NIV “true and proper worship”), the appropriate response to the mercies God extends to sinners. This total commitment is the “sacrifice” that ...

2488. A Report of Factions within the Community

1 Corinthians 1:10-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... is not necessary to think of this as being the only way a group associated with Peter’s Jewish Christian views may have come into existence at Corinth). The final slogan, “I follow Christ,” has always proved difficult to interpret. Although it seems to designate a fourth group (whose apparent claim was allegiance to Christ’s teaching alone), it could denote the common claim of each of the three groups (“I am of Christ,” “No, I am,” etc.), or Paul’s own retort to all (“You follow so and ...

2489. Apostles of Christ

1 Corinthians 4:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... they have become fools in the eyes of the world (but fools for Christ!), while the Corinthians prefer to be seen and regarded as wise. Similar contrasts are apparent between the apostles’ real “weakness” and the Corinthians’ self-designated “strength,” or between the apostles’ real “dishonor” and the Corinthians’ self-conferred “honor.” In verse 11, however, Paul drops the ironic comparisons as he proceeds in his attempt to teach the Corinthians that “no servant is greater than ...

2490. Questions about Worship, Gifts, and Order

1 Corinthians 11:2-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... with his physical head covered (either, as the NIV text suggests, by some form of head covering or, as the footnote has it, with long hair) symbolically dishonors the source of his existence by obscuring that which was created in the image of God and designed to reflect that image to God’s glory (11:7; Gen. 1:26). Similarly, a woman who prays or prophesies (a practice Paul affirms apart from these comments on proper dress) with her physical head uncovered symbolically refuses to honor the source of her ...

2491. One Body, Many Parts

1 Corinthians 12:12-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Weaker parts of the body are indispensable, less honorable parts (i.e., those not usually receiving recognition) are given “special honor” (12:23), and “parts that are unpresentable” are accorded a modesty that witnesses to their importance. And all this is by design (12:18). For God has now given greater honor to those members who before their incorporation into the body of Christ had little honor outside it, so that no cause for a division of honor, attention, status, or concern might exist within ...

2492. Orderly Worship

1 Corinthians 14:26-40

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... [in this way] in the church” (14:35). The whole section is now brought to a close with two rhetorical questions, a statement of the possibilities left open by the argument, and a final exhortation. The questions are designed to deflect the Corinthian tendency toward a sense of their own inspiration and the stubbornly prideful maintenance of unhelpful and idiosyncratic customs. The statement sets forth Paul’s expectation that any true “prophet” or “spiritually gifted” person will acknowledge ...

2493. Final Warnings

2 Corinthians 13:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , though they often find themselves weak in him, they may nonetheless have strength for discipline as a part of their faithful service to others in his name. In light of this, Paul urges the Corinthians to sincerely examine themselves, to take a test designed to evaluate the degree to which their recent words and deeds witness to the presence of Christ as Lord within. Failure to note any degree of correlation would, of course, suggest the complete absence of faith. Much more likely is the discovery, despite ...

2494. Paul Called by God

Galatians 1:11-24

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... other apostles—only James” (1:19), Paul apparently counted the “Lord’s brother” (likely half brother, the son of Joseph and Mary after the birth of Jesus) among the apostles. While some scholars have sought to deny this, it does seem that the traditional designation of only the Twelve plus Paul as apostles is far too limited. This seems to be a crucial point for Paul. In all this time of being a Christian, he had extremely limited contact with the Jerusalem leadership. He certainly makes it clear ...

2495. Second Meeting with Jerusalem Leadership

Galatians 2:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 2:4) are the same type of characters troubling them. The Greek terms for “infiltrated” (see also 2 Pet. 2:1) and “spy” (see 2 Kings 10:3; 1 Chron. 19:3 in the Septuagint) are usually found in descriptions of secret military operations designed to conduct subversive activities to undermine an enemy’s defenses. Are these opponents even Christians? Paul’s use of “false believers” in verse 4 and in a similar context in 2 Corinthians 11:26 suggests he is indicating that the nature of the doctrine ...

2496. Treatise: The Efficacy of Grace over Law

Galatians 3:1-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... had circumcision as its sign. Their argument surely was that if Gentiles wished to receive the benefits of that covenant, then they also must accept its accompanying sign and legal prescriptions. Paul’s utilization of the Abraham story is basically designed to make two major points: (1) Abraham’s righteous standing before God occurred prior to the institution of circumcision and the Mosaic law; (2) Abraham’s righteous standing before God was made possible through a gracious declaration of God, in ...

2497. Sons of God

Galatians 3:26--4:7

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... this fact of kinship as being received, Paul describes the Spirit as crying out through the heart of each redeemed person, “Abba” (4:6), which is literally the cry of a small child to a loving father. While Paul’s presentation appears to be designed to show the Gentiles that they are positionally equal with the prejudiced opponents, he has moved far beyond just that fact. In addition, he has shown that, by the gracious work of God in Christ, they actually have received the type of intensely personal ...

2498. An Appeal to the Galatians

Galatians 4:8-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

4:8–11 · An appeal to maturity: Appealing specifically to the Galatian Gentiles, Paul reminds them of their former enslavement to polytheism. He confronts them also with the inappropriateness of turning toward any other religious expressions designed to add to the saving work of Christ. His purpose seems to be to point out that whether they embrace Gentile religious notions or the ancient and holy traditions of Judaism, all of them are “weak and miserable forces [stoicheia; NIV note: “principles ...

2499. Conclusion with Personal Appeal

Galatians 6:11-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... need to see (see 2 Cor. 11:22–30)? The benediction is characteristic of Paul, though unusually short (see Rom. 16:25–27). Particularly poignant for this epistle is the inclusion of the title “brothers and sisters” (6:18). He sends off the letter with a prayer that such a designation might still be appropriate.

2500. The Mystery of God’s Will and God’s Threefold Blessing

Ephesians 1:1-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , not to some elect portion. It does not refer to Christians only but to the entire race. It was God’s plan for creation that we humans would be his special delight, able to commune with him and praise him forever. It is this original design, marred and corrupted by human rebellion, which God has now restored in Christ Jesus. The concept of predestination (or election) emphasizes God’s initiative, God’s choice in creating—and now in re-creating. There is no hint here of his choosing some people and ...

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