Sermon and Worship Resources

Showing 2551 to 2575 of 3099 results

Mark 8:31--9:1

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... of God, but merely human concerns” (8:33). To judge the work of God in any other light than the perspective of God is to become an “adversary” to God, which is the Hebrew meaning of “Satan” (1 Kings 11:14). In 8:34, the subject shifts from Christology to discipleship. For Mark, these are not two separate matters but two sides of the same coin. A proper confession of Jesus is inevitably also a confession of what believers must become. In verse 34, Jesus teaches that discipleship consists of ...

2552. The Day and Hour Unknown

Mark 13:32-37

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The Olivet Discourse concludes in 13:32–37, on the subject of the distant future. “About that day or hour no one knows,” says Jesus (13:32). “That day” reintroduces the theme of the second coming of verses 14–27. Remarkably, in this, the only passage in the Gospel of Mark where Jesus explicitly calls himself “the Son [of God],” he ...

2553. Teachings of Possessions

Luke 12:13-21, Luke 12:22-34

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... :32). They will not draw their security from possessions, and so they will be free to give their possessions to others. If their treasure (or security) is money, then that will be their consuming passion. Making money one’s treasure is the path to insecurity, however, because it is always subject to the uncertainties of life (12:33).

2554. Interpreting the Times

Luke 12:49-53, Luke 12:54-59

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... The arrival of Jesus did bring peace on earth (Luke 2:14), but the fire of judgment also means the separation and division of families. That division stems from one’s stance toward Jesus (cf. Mic. 7:6). Discerning the signs of the times is the subject in 12:54–59. The purifying fire of God’s judgment is imminent (12:49). Jesus warns his listeners that they need to see the urgency of the present time, because the eschatological crisis is at hand. His listeners are adept at detecting forecasts of coming ...

2555. Sin, Faith, Duty

Luke 17:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... except that each one is about discipleship. (1) Jesus warns the disciples about the danger of causing others to stumble in their faith (17:1–3a). It would be better if a person were dead than that he would lead another into sin. (2) From the subject of leading others into sin, Jesus moves to the topic of forgiving those who fall into sin (17:3b–4). No matter how many times a person sins, if that person repents after being confronted, then he or she should be forgiven. The number seven here should ...

2556. Crucifixion

Luke 23:26-43

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... fulfillment here as Jesus is crucified between two criminals (23:32–43). Jesus’s words of forgiveness (23:34) are textually uncertain, although internal evidence suggests they should be included. Even though Jesus is treated as a criminal and is subjected to the humiliation of being stripped (23:34), he responds with forgiveness. The misunderstanding of Jesus’s messiahship is revealed by the threefold mocking (23:34–39). The religious leaders, Roman soldiers, and one of the criminals ridicule Jesus ...

2557. Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... . In fact, a connecting thread may unite the chapter. On a literary level, Jesus now dislocates yet another office in Judaism, the rabbinate. Nicodemus’s ability as a teacher is faulty (3:10), while Jesus is addressed as “rabbi” (3:2). On another level, the subject the teacher Nicodemus cannot penetrate (rebirth, 3:3) is really center stage. In 1:33 we learned about a new baptism in the Spirit, which would come with the work of Jesus; in 3:1–21 it is explicated. If “born of water and the Spirit ...

2558. Jesus Talks With a Samaritan Woman

John 4:1-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... of the world,” 4:42); the woman’s testimony converts many in the village (4:39); and Jesus remains with them for two days before going north into Galilee (4:43). In verses 7–15 Jesus discusses living water. This section (like the next) introduces an “earthly” subject and through the questions of the woman leads to a spiritual message. Jesus’s request for a drink of water is rebuffed (4:9), but he issues a challenge to the woman: if she knew who Jesus was, she would see that he is the supplier of ...

2559. The Disciples Rejoin Jesus

John 4:27-38

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Now Jesus takes up the subject of true nourishment (4:27–38). When the disciples return from the village (see 4:8), the woman departs in haste, leaving her jar behind (4:28). In the light of Jesus’s offer, is it now obsolete? Her positive report in Shechem (“Could this be the Messiah?”) leads many ...

2560. Life through the Son

John 5:16-30

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the substance of the following discourse. Jesus justifies working on the Sabbath because of his special relation with God (5:17): if God can work, so can Jesus. This is a dangerous defense. Could it be proven? Jesus’s divine authority is the subject of one of the most exalted discourses in the Gospel (5:19–47). Here Jesus makes explicit claims to divinity inasmuch as he associates himself directly with God. The discourse consists of three units. First, Jesus describes his work as continuing the work ...

2561. Jesus Goes to the Feast of Tabernacles

John 7:1-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... literary springboards to reveal who Jesus is, so now the Feast of Tabernacles becomes a place where Jesus unveils himself in Jewish imagery. 7:1–13 · Jesus’s reluctance to return to Judea (7:1–13) is understandable when we recall the events of his last visit. The subject of his death arose then (5:16), and it will arise again (7:1, 7, 19). In fact, this will be Jesus’s last visit to Jerusalem; in the coming spring he will be crucified. Nevertheless, his brothers (cf. 2:12) urge him to go—to make ...

2562. The Unbelief of the Jews

John 10:22-42

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... transition. Jesus has withdrawn from public purview. The public signs are over. The Book of Signs, which began with John the Baptist (1:18), now anticipates its completion with a second reference to him (10:40). The Fourth Evangelist even reminds us of the subject of these ten chapters. Although John worked no signs, Jesus did; and those who witnessed these and perceived their truth found faith (10:42).More signs await those disciples of the inner circle (chaps. 11–12), and we as readers are privileged to ...

2563. Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

John 13:31-38

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... his imminent death and departure. But above all he holds out a promise and hope centered on the coming of the Holy Spirit—one who will guide, teach, encourage, empower, and mediate to the believer the comforting presence of Christ. 13:31–38 · The specific subject of the Farewell Discourse is Jesus’s departure to the Father (13:31–14:3), and here we see John’s technical language being employed. “Glorification” has been used to describe both Jesus’s ministry (8:54; 11:4; 12:28) and his death ...

2564. The World Hates the Disciples

John 15:18--16:4

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... –13). This treatment was expected because the disciples of Christ had inherited the hostilities shown to their master. Jesus predicted these conflicts in his final teachings (Matt. 10:17–25; 24:9–14; Mark 13:9–13), and here in the Farewell Discourse the subject is addressed in full (15:18–16:33). The conflicts are outlined, but in addition the provisions of Jesus are given. Jesus explains that the precedent for this experience is his own (15:18, 20). Christ and his followers are alien to the world ...

2565. Jesus Prays for All Believers

John 17:20-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... a human achievement but flows from a mature walk with Christ. Just as we noted the importance of Jesus’s final public words (12:44–50), now we read his final private teachings for his disciples before his arrest. John 17:24–26 sweeps up subjects from the entire Farewell Discourse but emphasizes one central theme: Jesus desires that he and the Father indwell the believer, conveying to that person the certainty of God’s love. While God’s presence will be experienced at the end of time (17:24), the ...

2566. The Resurrection

John 20:1-9

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the absence of Jesus’s body. The text gives no indication that she believes in his resurrection at this point (John 20:9). For her, Jesus’s body has simply been reburied elsewhere. Her report to the disciples introduces a complete shift in subject (20:3–10). While the story provides numerous accurate details about what they view (20:5–7), the story primarily emphasizes the relation between John (the beloved disciple) and Peter. In the Fourth Gospel, John always gains the upper hand. He outruns Peter ...

2567. Jesus and Peter

John 21:15-25

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... so too 12:33). “Stretch out your hands” implies crucifixion. While we know that Peter was martyred in the 60s, Tertullian in the early third century AD explains that he died on a cross. In 21:20–23 the discussion of Peter’s martyrdom opens the subject of the beloved disciple’s death. The nature of Jesus’s comment (21:22) and the editorial notes of the writer (21:23) indicate that within the community of believers was a belief that John was going to survive until the second coming of Christ. But ...

2568. On Cyprus

Acts 13:4-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... counters Paul’s aim in his preaching to the Gentiles as he seeks to “open their eyes and turn them from darkness to light” (Acts 26:18). The conversion of the proconsul also points to the power of the word of God as a governor of a Roman senatorial province subjects himself to the authority of the risen Lord.

2569. Jerusalem Council and the Identity of Gentile Believers

Acts 15:1-21, Acts 15:22-35

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... a minimal set of requirements as they participate in the people of God: “Abstain from food polluted by idols, from sexual immorality, from the meat of strangled animals and from blood” (15:20). The exact nature and meaning of these prohibitions is a subject of intense debate. Some have considered this to be a selection of Mosaic commandments, but this is contrary to Peter’s assertion that the “yoke” should not be placed on the neck of the Gentiles (15:10). Moreover, the precise selection of these ...

2570. Paul Arrested

Acts 21:27-36

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... offense precisely when he is fulfilling his vow in the temple area. The additional charge that he has brought a Gentile into the temple area is also one based on false assumptions (21:29), although a Gentile who steps beyond the Court of Gentiles is subject to death (Josephus, Jewish War 5.194; Jewish Antiquities 15.417). The crowd then goes against Paul, but he is delivered by and falls into the custody of the “commander of the Roman troops” (21:31), a Roman tribune of a cohort of a thousand soldiers ...

2571. Before the Sanhedrin

Acts 22:30--23:11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... directly responsible to God, not to those who claim to represent him. The note on his “good conscience” also highlights that he is only responsible to God. In Paul’s letters and in other New Testament writings, this phrase does not refer to mere subjective feelings or an adherence to an abstract set of universal moral imperatives; rather, this “good conscience” refers to submission to the will and sovereignty of God (cf. 1 Tim. 1:5, 19; 1 Pet. 3:21). Finally, “to this day” also points to the ...

2572. The Trial Before Felix

Acts 24:1-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... reforms in this nation” (24:2) has moved beyond any reasonable perception of reality. Not only does one find revolutionary movements during his reign (Josephus, Jewish War 2.252–70), but Felix is also accused of being ruthless in his dealings with his subjects (Josephus, Jewish Antiquities 20.182). The center of Tertullus’s charge against Paul is that he stirs up riots everywhere (24:5a), he is the leader of “the Nazarene sect” (24:5b), and he “tried to desecrate the temple” (24:6). Like those ...

2573. The Trial Before Festus

Acts 25:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... with maintaining peace in Judea by controlling the activities of revolutionaries (Jewish Antiquities 20.185–88). The political situation quickly deteriorated after Festus was replaced with others far less sensitive to Jewish law and custom. His ability to control his subjects is reflected in this brief account of his interaction with Jewish leadership (25:1–5), where he refuses to have Paul transferred to Jerusalem as suggested by the Jewish leaders who plan to kill him during the transfer. This account ...

2574. The Shipwreck

Acts 27:27-44

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... head” (27:34), points to their deliverance from this storm. Elsewhere in Luke, however, other “hair” references point to the significance of the salvation of one’s soul (cf. Luke 12:4–7; 21:16–19). The significance of the meal scene (27:33–35) has been a subject of debate. The taking of bread, giving thanks to God, and breaking it and eating it (27:35) recalls the account of the Last Supper (Luke 22:19), but similar acts also appear in other Lukan meal scenes (cf. Luke 9:16; 24:30; cf. Acts 2 ...

2575. God’s Righteous Judgment

Romans 2:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... ) The second supporting witness is their conscience, perhaps to be understood in terms of the assurance from the presence and the work of the Holy Spirit in their lives (cf. Rom. 9:1). (6) The third supporting witness is “their thoughts,” which are no longer subject to condemnation by God (as in 1:21) but constitute a defense for them, as their transformed hearts and their consciences are in accord with God’s verdict. (7) This demonstration will take place in the future, on the day when God will judge ...

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