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 3326 to 3350 of 4967 results

3326. A Dead Girl and A Sick Woman

Mark 5:21-43

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... is another example of Mark’s sandwich technique, in which the story of the healing of Jairus’s daughter (5:21–24, 35–43) is interrupted by that of the woman with a hemorrhage (5:25–34). Having crossed the lake, Jesus and the disciples disembark on the western (Jewish) shore. A synagogue ruler named Jairus emerges from the crowd and begs Jesus to heal his daughter, who is deathly ill. A synagogue ruler was the president or head of a local Jewish worshiping community. His duties included general ...

3327. Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Mark 6:30-44

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... with which Jesus receives and multiplies the bread and fish is similar to his prayer over the bread and wine at the institution of the Lord’s Supper (14:22). In utilizing the Twelve to dispense the bread, Jesus ministers to the crowd through the disciples. Like the harvest in the parable of the sower (4:9, 20), the feeding of the five thousand results in a miracle of abundance: “All ate and were satisfied” (6:42), with twelve basketfuls remaining (6:43). The feeding miracle takes place within sight of ...

3328. Clean and Unclean

Mark 7:1-23

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... primary center of opposition to Jesus. The issue of ritual purity was the dominant trait of Pharisaism, and not surprisingly it is the issue at stake in 7:1–23, the longest conflict discourse in Mark. In accusing Jesus and the disciples of eating with unclean hands, the Pharisees are not primarily concerned with hygiene but with ritual and ceremonial observances instituted to maintain Jewish distinctiveness over against Gentile culture. The explanation of the observances in 7:2–4, which would be wholly ...

3329. Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

Mark 8:1-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 8:2) Jesus feels for the persevering crowd is (according to the Greek word used) deep and powerful. Jesus does not want to dismiss the vulnerable multitude in the desolate region, and the disciples, sensing an impending crisis, ask where bread could be found for such a crowd in such a place (8:4). It may seem odd that the disciples, having witnessed the earlier feeding of the five thousand, would ask such a question. It should be remembered, however, that it is not unusual for even mature believers (and the ...

3330. Blind Bartimaeus Receives His Sight

Mark 10:46-52

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... :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 beggar, whose name in Aramaic means “son of Timaeus,” cries out, “Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me” (10:47). What Bartimaeus lacks in eyesight he makes ...

3331. Jesus Anointed at Bethany

Mark 14:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 4, which amounted to the equivalent of a year’s earnings, is an attempt to convey the value of the woman’s sacrifice. Smashing the jar symbolizes the totality and irrevocability of the gift. No gift or act of generosity from either crowds or disciples approximates what this woman does. Some present regard the act as a “waste,” a judgment that both demeans the woman and insinuates Jesus’s unworthiness of it. Jesus accepts the gift as “a beautiful thing” (14:6), for the woman “did what she ...

3332. Jesus Arrested

Mark 14:43-52

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... named as “one of the Twelve” (14:43; 14:10; 3:19). Judas’s accomplices are the “chief priests, the teachers of the law, and the elders,” the three constituent bodies of the Sanhedrin, now “armed with swords and clubs” (14:43). As a disciple, Judas knew Jesus’s daytime movements and nighttime lodgings, and he gives a prearranged sign to the authorities, lest in the darkness of an olive grove at night they fall upon the wrong person. The sign is a kiss—a tender or passionate kiss, according ...

3333. Jesus Sends Out the Twelve

Luke 9:1-9

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... of good news and apostolic power over disease and demons (9:1–2). Jesus forbids the Twelve from bringing extensive provisions for the journey; he wants them to rely on God for sustenance. The disciples are to be content with the house that receives them (9:4), but if the people reject the message, the disciples are to shake the dust of the town off their feet, which symbolizes that the town is unclean and that they are severing fellowship with it. The preaching of Jesus and his followers comes ...

3334. The Coming of the Kingdom of God

Luke 17:11-19, Luke 17:20-37

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... comment does not mean that the kingdom was internally present in the Pharisees; rather, it means that the kingdom has arrived in the person and ministry of Jesus. Jesus’s words to the Pharisees on the arrival of the kingdom lead into a discourse for the disciples on the coming of the Son of Man (17:22–37). Jesus begins by emphasizing that his followers will long to see the days of his future messianic reign (17:22), but such anticipation should not blind their critical faculties (17:23). They should not ...

3335. Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives

Luke 22:39-46

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the model. He naturally feels revulsion about his destiny, entreating his Father to take the cup away from him, for the cup represents God’s wrath that will be poured out on him. But through prayer he overcomes the test, remaining faithful and fixed on his Father’s will. The disciples function as a foil. They do not pray but sink into sleep at the hour of testing. Verses 43–44 are textually uncertain; although they may not be original, they may contain ancient and probably authentic tradition.

3336. Jesus Calls Philip and Nathanael

John 1:43-51

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... of Capernaum), discovers the Messiah, but the focus of the narrative turns to his immediate response. He finds Nathanael and extends to him the same words used by Jesus for Andrew in 1:39, “Come and see” (1:46). Disciples must therefore make more disciples in the manner of Jesus. To be a disciple means coming under the authority of Jesus. In 1:42 Jesus renames Simon as Peter. Now in 1:47–50 Nathanael experiences Jesus’s prophetic power over his life. But this power is minor in comparison to what ...

3337. Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the comments of the evangelist (see NIV note on 3:15). The same holds for 3:31–36. Are these the words of the Baptist or the author? Some scholars argue that a certain symmetry should be seen: Jesus and John’s statements are followed by the beloved disciple’s additional remarks (3:16–21 follows 3:1–15 as 3:31–36 follows 3:22–30). In 3:16–21 we learn how this gift of spiritual birth offered to Nicodemus might be appropriated. Belief in the Son gains eternal life (3:15–16, 18). Disbelief ...

3338. Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

John 6:1-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... alone records that the boy holds barley bread, which was the bread of the poor, but symbolically it may recall the great Old Testament feeding miracle of Elisha (2 Kings 4:42). John also notes that it is Jesus who distributes the bread (not the disciples) and that in his prayer of blessing, rather than using the Synoptic eulogeō (“to bless”), Jesus gives thanks (Greek eucharisteō; cf. 1 Cor. 11:24). Is this a veiled symbol of the Eucharist or the Lord’s Supper? This use of symbolism seems natural to ...

3339. Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

John 13:31-38

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... Jesus speaks of comfort, terming the Spirit “the Comforter” or “Paraclete” (Greek paraklētos; NIV “Advocate”; 14:16, 26; 15:26).It is evident then that Jesus recognizes the importance of this evening and is making his formal farewell. He addresses his disciples’ worries in light of 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 ...

3340. Jesus Promises the Holy Spirit

John 14:15-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... seen, this is a redefined return. The chief attribute he desires for them is peace (similarly, Paul in Rom. 5:1; Eph. 2:17), and this will come about through the Spirit (John 14:26; cf. Eph. 2:18). On Easter Day, when Jesus appears to the disciples, “peace” is his first word (20:19, 21), and this is followed by their anointing with the Spirit (20:22). This second Paraclete promise (14:25–31) contributes to our understanding of the roles of the Spirit (cf. 14:16). Here the emphasis is on revelation ...

3341. On to Jerusalem

Acts 21:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... confirm what the Holy Spirit has already told Paul: he will face hardships in Jerusalem (21:4; cf. 20:23). In this context, it is best to understand the role of the Holy Spirit as revealing what is going to happen (cf. 21:11–15), and the disciples infer from what the Spirit has revealed that Paul should not go on to Jerusalem. Paul’s decision to move forward is therefore not in defiance of the Spirit; on the contrary, he is following “the Lord’s will” as he travels to Jerusalem (21:14). As ...

3342. No Longer Orphans

John 14:15-21

Sermon

King Duncan

... with a minimal amount of paper and ribbon. That is the same Sam Walton who went on to found Wal-Mart, the world largest department store chain. There is power in believing that you are not alone in this world. What a powerful promise Christ made to his disciples, though they could not see it at the time. They couldn’t imagine that in a couple more days he would be put to death. And they certainly couldn’t imagine that he would be resurrected on the third day or that he would send his Holy Spirit ...

3343. John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Matthew 3:1-12

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... than John that the Baptist acknowledges his unworthiness to untie or even to carry his sandals. In Jewish culture this responsibility fell to a servant. The disciple of a rabbi was understood to be obligated as a servant to his master. Green writes that “John is thus represented as saying that he has a disciple [One coming after him] whose disciple he is himself unworthy to be” (p. 63). The same attitude of humility is reflected in the Fourth Gospel, where John tells his followers, “He [Messiah ...

3344. The Greatest in the Kingdom of Heaven

Matthew 18:1-9

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... around.” As long as they were pursuing rank and status in heaven, they were heading in the wrong direction. Before they could even qualify for entrance into the kingdom, they would have to change completely their way of thinking. The answer to the disciples’ question is that the greatest in the kingdom of heaven is the sort of person (Gk. hostis should be taken qualitatively) who will humble himself and become like the little child who stood in their midst. Since children are not humble in the usual ...

3345. A Warning Against Hypocrisy

Matthew 23:1-39

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... demands that we not rewrite the past in the image of the present. Cultures are in a state of constant flux, and what may seem extreme today may well have been quite common in a former period. 23:1–12 Jesus speaks to the crowds and his disciples about the teachers of the law and the Pharisees. They are said to sit in Moses’ seat, that is, they are the authorized interpreters of Moses’ law. Moses’ seat is more than a metaphor; it was an actual stone seat on the synagogue platform close by the ...

3346. Jesus Drives Out an Evil Spirit

Mark 1:21-28

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... demons, together with the astonishment of the synagogue congregation, form part of the larger emphasis in Mark on the identity or true significance of Jesus. At several points in the narrative that follows, Mark shows the crowds (2:12; 6:2–3; 7:37) and the disciples (4:41; 6:49–52; 8:17–21, 32–33) wondering who Jesus really is and unable to perceive him and his task properly. Also, Mark tells us of the various (incorrect) estimations of Jesus circulating during his ministry (3:20–22; 6:14–16; 8 ...

3347. Crowds Follow Jesus

Mark 3:7-12

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... readers as the initial Gentiles who foreshadowed the later reception of the Christian gospel by Gentiles in the church. (For historical background, see “Tyre,” IDB, vol. 4, pp. 721–23.) 3:9 A small boat: No doubt this was a lake fishing craft such as at least some of his disciples were used to handling. A boat reappears at several points in the following narratives (cf. 4:1–2, 35–41; 5:1–2, 18–21; 6:30–36, 45–56; 8:10–15) and is so characteristic an item in the stories of Jesus and his ...

3348. Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

Mark 8:1-13

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... Pharisees’ request all the more clearly a refusal to see what they do not want to acknowledge. This characterization of the Pharisees prepares the reader for the next passage (8:14–21), where the Pharisees are mentioned in a negative light as examples that the disciples are not to follow. Jesus’ refusal to give a sign to the Pharisees (8:12) must of course be read in light of the narrative of Mark, which is filled with miraculous indications of God’s favor upon Jesus. The refusal is therefore filled ...

3349. Jesus Anointed at Bethany

Mark 14:1-11

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... failure to observe social customs. On the substance she used, see “Nard,” IDB, vol. 3, p. 510. For examples of the anointing of the head of a guest at a meal see Pss. 23:5; 141:5; Luke 7:46. 14:4 Some of those present: Mark probably means Jesus’ disciples. Cf. John 12:4–5; Matt. 26:8. 14:5 More than a year’s wages (Greek, “three hundred denarii”): The coin in question (a denarius) was the basic daily wage of the common worker (e.g., Matt. 20:2) and is the same coin mentioned in 6:37. The ...

3350. Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial

Mark 14:27-31

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... was foreseen by Jesus and was understood as prophesied (v. 27) in the OT. This means that their failure was not a failure in the plan of God, however it might seem so at first. Further, the passage anticipates that the activity of the disciples as leaders of the Christians after Jesus’ crucifixion was based not on some courage or virtue of their own, but solely upon the grace of the risen Jesus, who restored them to his fellowship and to places of leadership. Peter, as the traditional leader of the ...

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