Sermon and Worship Resources

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 276 to 300 of 344 results

276. A Blind Beggar Receives His Sight

Luke 18:35-43

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... his name as “Bartimaeus” (i.e., the son of Timaeus). Some scholars have suggested that the name was inserted into Mark long after Luke (and Matthew) had used Mark as their source. That is unlikely, however. In view of the scribal tendency to harmonize the Synoptic Gospels, one may wonder why the name was not added to the Matthean and Lucan versions as well. It is more likely that, not seeing any relevance in the man’s name, both Luke and Matthew (who mentions two blind men instead of one) elected ...

277. The Triumphal Entry

Luke 19:28-44

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... in Jerusalem (19:47–22:46). 19:28–40 Because Jesus is hailed king in v. 38, Fitzmyer (p. 1241) refers to this part of Luke’s Gospel as Jesus’ “Royal Entry” (Tiede, p. 327: “royal procession”). The observation is an important one, for among the Synoptics only Luke adds, the king, to the quotation of Ps. 118:26 (see John 12:15). The cry of “king” links the Triumphal (or Royal) Entry to the preceding Parable of the Ten Minas (19:11–27), where the man of noble birth is “appointed king ...

278. Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

Luke 22:1-6

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... (see Luke 7:36–38) and has shown a marked tendency to avoid repetition. Luke moves immediately from the notice that the religious authorities were trying to find a way to do away with Jesus secretly to his account of Judas’ betrayal. Of the Synoptic evangelists only Luke reports that Satan entered Judas (cf. John 13:2, 27). Fitzmyer (p. 1374) describes the Third Evangelist as “baffled as to how he should explain the sinister betrayal of Jesus by one of his own” and can find no explanation other ...

279. Jesus Appears to the Disciples

Luke 24:36-49

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... have argued for a direct literary dependence of one Gospel upon the other. Although Luke shares a few similarities with John elsewhere, their common traditions probably come from a pre-literary stage. This is less the case with the other Synoptic Gospels. Jesus’ greeting is quite common, moreover, being the Jewish greeting “shalom.” 24:37 a ghost: Lit. “a spirit,” the immaterial essence of a person’s being that survives physical death. Of uncertain relation is the suggestion that the excited ...

280. The Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... to inform the Corinthians that every time they celebrated this Supper, it was for remembrance of the Lord. Attempts to reconstruct the original words of Jesus from the lines of this tradition, usually read in conjunction with the parallel materials in the Synoptic Gospels, have produced a wide variety of results and conclusions. (Consult B. D. Smith, “The More Original Form of the Words of Institution,” ZNW 83 [1992], pp. 166–86; and for an exercise in skepticism and pessimism, see H. Maccoby, “Paul ...

281. Spiritual Gifts

1 Corinthians 12:1-11

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... ’s introduction of the word “miraculous” is unfortunate, for that word carries philosophical connotations about so-called natural law and breaches of natural laws that would be foreign to Paul and the first readers of his letter. According to the Synoptic Gospels and Acts, Jesus and certain members of the early church did “powerful acts” that were believed to be extraordinary manifestations of God’s power. Such acts were not normal, in the sense of being everyday occurrences; but Paul and other ...

282. Gifts of Prophecy and Tongues

1 Corinthians 14:1-25

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... interpretive line and focuses on the meaning of “sign.” The understanding or misunderstanding of this word in verse 22—“sign” (Gk. sēmeion)—determines the sense of this section. Readers of the NT are familiar with the references to “signs” in the Synoptic Gospels as well as the Gospel according to John and perhaps with other uses also. In John in particular, there is a significant positive meaning for this word: Jesus did signs, and through those signs his disciples came to believe in him ...

283. Jesus Begins to Preach

Matthew 4:12-17

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... the south). Judea was mountainous and isolated, but Galilee lay open to all sorts of contacts with the wider world. It was there in northern Palestine that Jesus began his public ministry. Matthew says that Jesus did not stay in Nazareth (none of the synoptic writers record anything that Jesus did during that visit to his home town) but went and lived in Capernaum (probably Tell Hum on the northwest shore of the Sea of Galilee). Capernaum becomes the base for Jesus’ Galilean ministry. In chapter 9 Matthew ...

284. The Faith of the Centurion

Matthew 8:5-13

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... is then suggested that Matthew has put together these two chapters in such a way as to parallel the ten plagues of Moses in Egypt. The conjecture is unlikely. It is true, however, that Matthew has brought together material that is scattered throughout the other Synoptics. Six of the miracles are also found in Mark, but located in chapters 1–10. By recording the miracles in a form more concise than Luke’s, Matthew makes the statements of Jesus stand out more distinctly. 8:5–9 Matthew’s second miracle ...

285. Jesus Heals Many

Matthew 8:14-17

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... . It is then suggested that Matthew has put together these two chapters in such a way as to parallel the ten plagues of Moses in Egypt. The conjecture is unlikely. It is true, however, that Matthew has brought together material that is scattered throughout the other Synoptics. Six of the miracles are also found in Mark, but located in chapters 1–10. By recording the miracles in a form more concise than Luke’s, Matthew makes the statements of Jesus stand out more distinctly. 8:14–17 From John 1:44 we ...

286. The Cost of Following Jesus

Matthew 8:18-22

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... then suggested that Matthew has put together these two chapters in such a way as to parallel the ten plagues of Moses in Egypt. The conjecture is unlikely. It is true, however, that Matthew has brought together material that is scattered throughout the other Synoptics. Six of the miracles are also found in Mark, but located in chapters 1–10. By recording the miracles in a form more concise than Luke’s, Matthew makes the statements of Jesus stand out more distinctly. 8:18–20 Jesus’ healing ministry ...

287. Jesus Calms the Storm

Matthew 8:23-27

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... It is then suggested that Matthew has put together these two chapters in such a way as to parallel the ten plagues of Moses in Egypt. The conjecture is unlikely. It is true, however, that Matthew has brought together material that is scattered throughout the other Synoptics. Six of the miracles are also found in Mark, but located in chapters 1–10. By recording the miracles in a form more concise than Luke’s, Matthew makes the statements of Jesus stand out more distinctly. 8:23–27 Jesus now gets into a ...

288. The Healing of Two Demon-possessed Men

Matthew 8:28-34

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

289. A Dead Girl and a Sick Woman

Matthew 9:18-26

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... ’s accounts are considerably shorter than Mark’s. This narrative is only one third the length of Mark’s. Differences between the accounts are often mentioned. However, since it is not the primary purpose of this work to comment on the relationships among the Synoptics, our discussion will focus on the account as it occurs in Matthew. 9:20–22 While Jesus was on the way to the ruler’s house, a woman who had for twelve years suffered with chronic bleeding approached Jesus from behind and touched the ...

290. The Sign of Jonah

Matthew 12:38-45

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... used in Matthew by those who were not followers of Jesus), let us see some spectacular sign,” they request. The Greek sēmeion occurs regularly in the Fourth Gospel, with the meaning of a “miracle of divine origin” (BAGD, p. 748). In the Synoptics, miracles are dynameis, “mighty works.” What the Pharisees wanted was something like the signs performed by Moses to convince Israel that God had appointed him to his mission (Exod. 4:1–9). They had witnessed his healings and exorcisms, but now they ...

291. The Parable of the Weeds

Matthew 13:24-30

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... a wide variety of picturesque forms of expression, including the proverb, metaphor, allegory, illustrative story, fable, riddle, simile, and parable proper. All forms of the Hebrew māšāl except the riddle are found in the New Testament, primarily in the Synoptic Gospels. The parable is a simple story taken from daily life that illustrates an ethical or religious truth. William Scott observes, “Disinclined as he was to discursive exposition, the Semite practised the art of persuasion by thus skillfully ...

292. The Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

Matthew 13:31-35

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

293. The Parable Of the Weeds Explained

Matthew 13:36-43

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

294. The Parable of the Hidden Treasure and the Pearl

Matthew 13:44-46

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

295. The Parable of the Net

Matthew 13:47-52

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

296. A Prophet Without Honor

Matthew 13:53-58

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

297. Peters Confession to Christ

Matthew 16:13-20

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... (that is, “of Philip”). The question that Jesus poses to his disciples is, Who do people say the Son of Man is? As the parallel in verse 15 indicates, Son of Man refers to Jesus himself and not someone yet to come. Throughout the Synoptic Gospels (fourteen times in Mark alone) it is Jesus’ self-designation. The purpose in posing this question is not simply to learn what others are saying but to correct in the minds of the disciples a misconception of Jesus’ role. The disciples respond to Jesus ...

298. The Healing of a Boy With a Demon

Matthew 17:14-23

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... confession. If Jesus were simply another man (cf. GNB, “sir”), why would he seek healing from him? In ancient days epileptic seizures were commonly connected with the changing phases of the moon. Selēniazomai means “to be moonstruck” (from selēnē, moon). All three Synoptic Gospels understand the boy’s condition to be the result of a demon (Matt. 17:18; Mark 9:17, 25; Luke 9:39, 42). What we are dealing with is a case of epilepsy that, in this instance, was the result of demon control. Under ...

299. Meditating on the Lord’s Instruction: From A to Z

Psalm 119:1-176

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... shift from a temple-based religion to a torah-based religion. The primary locus of Yahweh’s revelation here is written Scripture, not the temple with its festivals, sacrifices, and liturgies, which receive no mention. This shift is also illustrated in the synoptic accounts of the OT. First Kings 8:25 and 2 Chronicles 6:16 are identical, except that the former, preexilic passage enjoins the Davidic kings “to walk before me” and the latter, postexilic passage enjoins them “to walk according to my law ...

300. Jesus Again Predicts His Death

Matthew 20:17-19

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... is being carried out. Second, though it is the religious leaders who condemn him to death, it is the Gentiles (Romans) who will execute the sentence. They will make sport of him, scourge him, and he will be crucified. Matthew is the only synoptic author who indicates the specific nature of Jesus’ death. He uses stauroō (“to crucify”), whereas the others have apokteinō (“to kill”). Crucifixion was not a Jewish form of punishment. It originated with the Phoenicians and was later passed on to other ...

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