Synonyms: study, studying, education, schooling, tuition, teaching, academic work, instruction, training, scholarship, knowledge, erudition, culture, intellect, academic attainment, acquirements, enlightenment, illumination, edification, book learning, insight, information, understanding, sageness, wisdom, sophistication
Antonyms: ignorance
Showing 276 to 300 of 797 results
276. Mark 6:1-13
Mark 6:1-13
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... synagogue and begins to teach, he elicits an emphatic response from his old neighbors. But compare the difference between this situation and the early moment in Jesus' ministry at the Capernaum synagogue (1:21-28). There the people are "astonished" at Jesus' learning and the authority of his teaching, and they respond with respect (1:22). Here in Nazareth the people are also "astonished" but in an appalled manner. How dare this local boy Jesus assume such authority before them? They murmur against Jesus ...
277. John 6:35, 41-51
John 6:35, 41-51
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... argument about the gift of faith and the ability to maintain integrity of faithfulness. Verse 45 insists that all those who have been "taught by God," those who have heard God's voice, will naturally come to Jesus. But verse 46 reveals that the only way we can learn the Father's will, truly hear God's voice, is through none other than Jesus, God's Son. The One sent from God is the only one who has seen God. The assertion Jesus makes in verse 47, signaled by an authoritative "truly, truly," seems to imply an ...
278. Mark 12:38-44
Mark 12:38-44
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... in the long robe and flowing tallith of a supposedly pious scholar, is hardly complimentary. The scribe's practiced air of superiority is a direct result of the bad theology Jesus dismissed in verses 36-37. The scribe supposes himself one of the appointed learned men among the court of the messianic "king." Kings and their courts are steeped in hierarchies and such a king's wise men would indeed be high up on the pecking order. Little wonder the scribes felt themselves worthy of respect and admiration. To ...
279. Mark 1:14-20
Mark 1:14-20
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... building this kingdom through the establishment of a community of followers. When Jesus begins calling disciples to join him, it is hard for us to comprehend what an unprecedented act this is vis a vis the biblical tradition. In Israel’s long history, no learned rabbis, no revered holy men, no prophet called others to join them. The most famous or admired were sought out by would-be students who humbly hoped to be accepted into a select circle of learners. Jesus turns this tradition on its head. First ...
280. Romans 8:12-17
Romans 8:1-17
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... a member of a nation chosen by God to be in unique relationship with the Creator of the universe. Second, within this Jewish identity Paul was a Pharisee. Paul was chosen to wield special power and influence among his people because of his vast learning and piety. Third, in addition to his special religious status Paul also enjoyed unique political status. Paul was a Roman citizen, and that honor accorded him the rights and privileges of the most powerful political entity on earth the Roman Empire. So it ...
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... within a gaggle of brothers and sisters with whom Jesus grew up. Furthermore, the crowd limits Jesus’ identity to that of a “tekton,” a craftsman or builder—an individual who made his living with his hands and his back, not a learned rabbi/teacher. After recording all these derisive jabs, Mark’s text hardly needs to state the all-too-obvious: “they took offence at him” (v.3). The verb here is “eskandalizonto,” which derives from “skandalon” — literally meaning “a stone that trips ...
282. James 1:17-27
James 1:19-27
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
Among Protestants the Letter of James rarely gets a lot of playing time. In seminary students learn that Martin Luther, who fought to have the Bible available in the vernacular so everyone could read it for themselves, dismissed James as “an epistle of straw” — although whenever a professor quoted that, I always was reminded how the baby Jesus came to Earth cradled in straw. Why did Luther ...
283. Mark 8: 27-38
Mark 8:27-30
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... on campus is a huge part of the collegiate experience. Plus the football games and parties, of course. When Jesus called his disciples to “follow me” he had an entirely different kind of educative process in mind. His disciples would not learn, and would not experience his teachings, by sitting at his feet and soaking up his words. Instead this “Jesus School” or “Jesus Seminary” was a missional pilgrimage, a running road trip that would gradually transform fishermen, tax collectors and day ...
284. John 11:32-44
John 11:17-37
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
It is always risky to step into the middle of another family’s crisis. Every family is different, and within every family different family members play different roles. There is also a history of learned behaviors and subtle signals that an outsider can never fully comprehend. So it is with fear and trepidation that we enter the family crises of today’s text. In fact, there are two families in crisis in today’s readings. There is the obvious one: the Bethany family unit of ...
285. Luke 5:1-11
Luke 5:1-11
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... fisherman does so without question. As is often the case in Luke’s gospel, the first depiction of Jesus in this scene is as a teacher. Once afloat on the water, Jesus “sat down and taught.” This was the traditional posture of a learned teacher before his students. But Jesus’ “students” are not any hand picked, stellar scholars. His pupils are the whole huge crowd of those who have eagerly come to hear “The word of God,” a “word” Jesus himself has previously identified as “the good ...
286. Revelation 1:4-8
Revelation 1:4-8
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... is certain: there will be trouble. Dare to see life, to see our world, to see the church, in a different way, there will be trouble. Doesn’t matter what channel you turn on. It can be CNN, or Fox, or NPR, and you quickly learn one thing: the status quo is safer, the status quo is more comfortable, than a shifting tide. It doesn’t matter whether you are supporting or opposing the “status:” there are two certainties in history — change, and resistance to change. Knowing where you stand. Knowing ...
287. Galatians 1:11-24
Galatians 1:11-24
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... else, above living a Torah-directed life, was because of a direct revelation from God. As Paul continues, he emphasizes again that he “did not confer with any human being” nor did he travel to Jerusalem to sit at the feet of the Twelve to listen and learn from them. Paul’s revelation from God, his conviction that the truth of life was found not in Torah law but in the love of Christ, was so clear and so unclouded that he immediately proceeded to “Arabia” to begin preaching to the Gentiles. It is ...
288. Matthew 5:13-20
Matthew 5:13-16
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... for you…” Martin Luther King’s “I have a dream…” Jesus’ most recognized, remembered “speech”? It was identified as the “Sermon on the Mount” by Matthew and the “Sermon on the Plane” by Luke. What every Sunday school student learns about this “sermon” is Jesus’ list of “Beatitudes”or “Be Attitudes” — the series of “blessings” with which Jesus turned the world upside down, extolling the virtues of the poor in spirit, the mournful, the meek, the pure in heart, the ...
289. Matthew 5:38-48
Matthew 5:38-42
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... does eventually get the tone of voice, the displeasure, the “idea” that somehow he/she is “in the doghouse.” Parents work hard to perfect this tone, to instill a “shame on you” sensibility in their children. “Shame” is one way kids learn to distinguish right and wrong actions and attitudes. But sometimes “shame on you!” can go too far. In ancient near eastern cultures, the rules of “shame” and “honor” were inviolable. Without modernity’s fashion accessories of big SUV’s and ...
290. Matthew 22:1-14
Matthew 22:1-14
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... binding human trait is the ability to tell a story. Our amazing brains can process information and then weave independent bits into a coherent whole — a story. In short, the human brain is hard-wired for story. The first “stories” humans learned to tell were hunting-gathering tales. Hunters read the signs of the creatures they were tracking. The best “story tellers” became the best hunters, the best providers. Reading these earliest “stories” didn’t take a vast vocabulary. These tales were ...
291. Matthew 25:14-30
Matthew 25:14-30
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
The first lesson every politician learns is to address the issue that is most important to the people. Without a doubt — and on a global scale — that issue is easily identifiable. Retreading a slogan popular in the early nineties that James Carville gave to Bill Clinton, “It’s the economy, stupid!” What is everyone’s focus ...
292. Matthew 2:1-12
Matthew 2:1-12
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... Joseph, Mary, and Jesus as they flee to Egypt and then return to take up residence in Nazareth. Among all the wondrous events that surround the story of Jesus’ birth, there is perhaps none so startling as Matthew’s tale of the “magi.” Little surprise to learn that “The Adoration of the Magi” is one of the most portrayed moments in the history of Christian art. The Magi are such familiar characters to us now that we fail to register how truly strange they are to be on the scene at all. They are ...
293. 1 Corinthians 8:1-13
1 Corinthians 8:1-13
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... deities behind every fence, and force of nature. Pagans imbued every ruler with divine endowments. Human beings existed only because of the whims of these gods, and human life could be snuffed out by their divine mandate at any moment. The pagan pantheon was encyclopedic, and learning to appease those who made up its table of contents was nothing less than a matter of life and death. Imagine beginning every day with the worry: what kind of mood is Zeus going to be in today? And that’s only one god of many ...
294. Mark 4:26-34
Mark 4:26-29
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... that followed Jesus heard these parables, but comprehended them on various levels (see 4:10-11). Only Jesus’ chosen disciples received a private “unpacking” of the symbolics and significs of the parables. Yet the crowds kept coming. The people kept listening, kept learning. The parables of Jesus were retold and remembered both by those inside and outside the budding community of faith. The power of the parable made it possible for those in Mark’s day to listen “as they were able to hear” and ...
295. James 3:1-12
James 3:1-12
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... begins with some negative career counseling: “Not many of you should become teachers.” To be a “teacher” in the first century world inhabited by James was a verbal profession. In the Jewish tradition the teacher (“didaskales”) or “rabbi” was one learned in the Scriptures who interpreted and brought to life the written Torah for the community of the faithful. Jesus was often referred to as “Rabbi/Teacher.” In the first century of the church the “teachers” were those who provided the ...
296. Mark 10:17-31
Mark 10:17-31
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... is good but God alone.” In Judaism the emphasis on the one God and thus the unique divine goodness of God was central. While God and God’s creation could be called “good” (Genesis 1:4,10,12,18), “good” was not a title attributed to even learned, pious rabbis. Jesus’ rebuke reminds the man that his focus should be on the one true God, the One who is capital Good. Because the man has asked about what actions he should take (“what must I do”), Jesus offers him the example of the second half ...
297. Mark 12:38-44
Mark 12:35-40
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... specifically states that prayers should be private, humble, and offered with simple words and short phrases. The soapbox soliloquies of these Scribes may be offered at an elevated level. But they lead to nothing but a “greater condemnation.” Scribes, those learned in the true meaning and importance of Torah (as evidenced in last week’s gospel text) risk a greater judgment against them when they so blatantly trespass on its true nature and intent. In contrast to the “appearance is all” attitude ...
298. Colossians 3:12-17
Colossians 3:1-17
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... for our ancestors. Even those who only know about Christ from stories about Bethlehem and slip into Church on Christmas Eve, know the words to Christmas carols. “Hymns and psalms and spiritual songs” are the best and most memorable way for human beings to learn and retain the harmonic truths of Christ’s message and mission. You might not remember a single Bible verse. But everyone can sing the first few lines of “Silent Night.” Embodying the beauty of Christ in our own lives and in the harmony of ...
299. Galatians 1:11-24
Galatians 1:11-24
Sweet
Leonard Sweet
... week’s epistle text Paul begins by asserting that the gospel he received was “not of human origin” (“kata anthropon”). It is not clear whether Paul was specifically being accused by some in the Galatian community of preaching a message he had learned from some other source. But the apostle is adamant about the origin of the message he proclaims — it is “through revelations of Jesus Christ.” Every component of Paul’s mission and message has a divine origin. Now the apostle presents some ...
300. Asa King of Judah
2 Chronicles 14:2-15
Understanding Series
Louis C. Jonker
... In self-defense, Asa immediately sought alliance with Ben-Hadad king of Aram (16:2), sending to Ben-Hadad as inducements silver and gold out of . . . the LORD’s temple and of his own palace. The turnaround for Asa is dramatic, at least initially. When Baasha learned of the alliance, he stopped building Ramah (16:5). Asa carried off timber and stones from there to build up nearby Geba and Mizpah (16:6). 16:7–10 The Deuteronomistic account of this battle (1 Kgs. 15:17–22) ends quite positively for Asa ...
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