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Showing 3326 to 3350 of 3926 results

3326. The Preparation of Daniel and His Friends

Daniel 1:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... at the royal academy were required to have no physical handicap, to be attractive in appearance, to show aptitude for learning, and to be well informed, quick to understand, and qualified to serve in the king’s palace (1:4). The royal academy is supported by the king, who supplies the students with a daily quota of food and wine (1:5). The curriculum lasted some three years, during which time the young men were to develop into competent statesmen to be used for the advance of the Babylonian kingdom ...

3327. The Lord’s Defeat of Judah’s Enemies

Joel 3:1-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to the Lord one day (cf. Isa. 60:4–14), while the merchants bow in obeisance before the very captives they traded. The mention of Tyre, Sidon, and Philistia, minor enemies of Israel in comparison to the Assyrians or Babylonians, may support an early date for the book as preceding the Assyrian captivity. Although the mention of the Greeks seems troubling at first, there is evidence for Greek trade in the Mediterranean region during the eighth century. God’s judgment, ironically, enacts a reversal ...

3328. Jonah’s Unjustified Anger and God’s Response

Jonah 4:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... God’s sparing of Nineveh: Jonah demonstrates his arrogance and his lack of understanding as he reacts with unjustified anger after the Lord revokes his judgment toward Assyria. The Hebrew term for “evil” in Jonah 3:8, 10 recurs in 4:1, supporting the connection between God’s earlier act and Jonah’s presumptuous reaction to what he perceives as a great injustice or “evil” (NIV “to Jonah this seemed very wrong”). Ironically, God’s compassion lessens his divine wrath in 3:9–10, while ...

3329. Weeping and Mourning

Micah 1:8-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... to the deportation that will follow the defeat of his hometown. The town known as Akzib (1:14), related to the Hebrew word for “lie,” will be a deception. Akzib was a city devoted to the production of materials that would bring in money for the support of the nation. It let Judah down in the moment of need. Mareshah (1:15) sounds like the word for “conqueror.” The ironic twist is that a conqueror will come against the town named “conqueror.” The last city named is Adullam (1:15), the location of ...

3330. Moab and Ammon

Zephaniah 2:8-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... cf. Num. 22:2–24:25; Deut. 23:3–6; Judg. 3:12–30; 1 Samuel 11; 2 Sam. 8:2; 10:1–19). The policy of Moab and Ammon was to ridicule Judah by scoffing at her precarious situation. When Judah needed political and military support against the Assyrians, Moab and Ammon did not come to her rescue but were intent on protecting their own delicate situation. Their concern for self-preservation and their offensive relations with Judah are the subject of the prophetic oracle of judgment. Yahweh has “heard the ...

3331. Second Message: A Word of Encouragement

Haggai 2:1-9

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... his promises or his people. The second is linked to the future, the glory that is yet to come, as promised again and again by the prophets. The fact that God is present with his people means that he approves of the work and that he will support and protect them. To God’s people this makes all the difference between despair and rejoicing, defeat and victory. The first reason they should not be discouraged at what seems so feeble an attempt to restore the temple to any semblance of its former glory is that ...

3332. Fourth Vision - Joshua Cleansed

Zechariah 3:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... on behalf of Joshua and his people. This speaks powerfully to the infinite grace of God and also to his unfailing adherence to his purpose with regard to Israel. God silences Satan with a double rebuke, as he also gives a twofold affirmation of support for Israel: (1) Satan is reminded that God has chosen Jerusalem and will not be deterred from carrying through with his sovereign electing love. (2) The burning stick taken out of a fire refers to Israel’s recent deliverance from Babylon as well as ...

3333. Jesus as Long-awaited and Rival King

Matthew 2:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , using this citation to communicate more directly with his audience, appears to draw from the context of Micah 5:2 to highlight restoration from exile through a shepherd-ruler (Matt. 2:6–7; cf. 1:11–12 for the theme of restoration from exile). This emphasis is supported by the immediate context of the Micah quotation, which points to a time in Israel’s history when they were soon to be overrun and exiled by the Assyrians (Mic. 5:1, 5). The promise of the prophet’s message is for a ruler who will ...

3334. The Return to Nazareth

Matthew 2:19-23

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... declaration cannot be found in the Old Testament or elsewhere. It is most likely that Matthew is relying here on a wordplay rather than a full quotation (intending the reader to connect Nazōraios to the location, Nazareth, in the previous line). Support for this comes from the general way he introduces the statement as coming from “the prophets” rather than a particular prophet. The precise wordplay is debated, with some scholars hearing a connection to the Nazirite vow (Hebrew nazir) in Numbers 6. In ...

3335. Preparation for Ministry

Mark 1:1-8

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 2). The final term in Mark’s opening line is “Son of God.” Although this title is absent in the important fourth-century manuscript Codex Sinaiticus and in quotations of the verse by several church fathers, the many manuscripts that include the term offer support that it was part of the original text. “Son of God” is the most important and most complete title for Jesus in the Gospel of Mark, signifying the full deity of Jesus the Messiah. Thus, in his opening line, Mark announces that the essence ...

3336. Jesus Sends out the Twelve

Mark 6:7-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... 6:8–9) recalls the sending out of the Israelites from Egypt at the exodus (Exod. 12:11). Disciples are sent not in plenty but in need, thus ensuring both their dependence on their Lord and their receptivity to others. If disciples go with an elaborate support apparatus, then they need not go in faith; and if they do not go in faith, their proclamation is not believable. The command to remain where they are received (6:10) teaches that trust in the Jesus who sends them into mission includes trust in those ...

3337. Jesus Feeds the Five Thousand

Mark 6:30-44

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the Old Testament is normally a military image (Num. 27:17; 1 Kings 22:17; Ezek. 34:5; see also Judith 11:19), betray a revolutionary fervor among the wilderness crowd and the hope that Jesus might be a military Messiah against Rome. This is further supported by the reference to five thousand men (6:44; the Greek andres specifies men alone; see Matt. 14:21), and above all by John 6:15, which explicitly states that the people “intended to come and make [Jesus] king by force.” Jesus, however, refuses the ...

3338. Clean and Unclean

Mark 7:1-23

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... word meaning “offering”) in verses 11–13 is a case in point. The fifth commandment requires honor of father and mother (7:10; Exod. 20:12), but the ritual of Corban allowed Israelites to take money that would otherwise be used for support of parents and dedicate it to God by investing it in the temple. Similar to deferred giving today, Corban allowed people to retain possession over their property, proceeds, or interest during their own lifetime, after which the money became temple property. The ...

3339. The Faith of a Syrophoenician Woman

Mark 7:24-30

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... this—and it is difficult to account for Jesus’s reference to her as a “dog” if she did not—Jesus may have employed this blunt stereotype to remind her that Jews, despite their opposition, retained priority in his mission. This interpretation is supported by Mark 1:2–3, which affirms that the gospel comes from Israel, and that Gentiles participate in the gospel only insofar as they are engrafted into salvation history in Israel (see Rom. 11:11–32). In his response to the Syrophoenician woman ...

3340. Paying Taxes to Caesar

Mark 12:13-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... tax here referred to the required payment of a denarius (the average daily wage), stamped with the impression of Tiberius Caesar (Roman emperor AD 14–37). The question of the Pharisees and Herodians is designed to ensnare Jesus however he answers: support for taxation will discredit him in the eyes of the people, who detest Roman occupation; refusal to pay will invite Roman retaliation for insurrection. In a brilliant repartee, Jesus grants that the image and inscription are Caesar’s; therefore, the ...

3341. Jesus Predicts Peter’s Denial

Mark 14:27-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... will betray me” (14:18). Following the Passover, Jesus announces, “You will all fall away [Greek skandalizō]” (14:27). The Greek word is used in a passive sense, implying that the disciples will not willfully defect but fall away through weakness. Jesus supports his announcement by quoting Zechariah 13:7: “I will strike the shepherd, and the sheep will be scattered.” The “I” refers to God, the shepherd to Jesus, and the sheep to the disciples. This quotation repeats the paradox of 14:21: evil ...

3342. Prologue: A Reliable Account of Salvation History

Luke 1:1-4

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... related in verse 4. Luke is writing so that Theophilus will be convinced of the reliability (“certainty”) of the matters in which he has been instructed. The reference to eyewitness testimony and the careful nature of Luke’s research (1:2–3) support the claim of reliability. Luke, however, was not simply writing a historical treatise; he was writing about the events of salvation history, about the events that “have been fulfilled” (1:1) through the person of Christ. Luke was not a dispassionate ...

3343. The Baptism and Genealogy of Jesus

Luke 3:21-38

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... cf. 2 Sam. 5:14), but in Matthew Jesus’s descent from David is traced through Solomon (Matt. 1:6); (3) Luke’s list is considerably longer between David and Jesus. One common solution has been that Luke is giving the genealogy from Mary, but this cannot be supported from the text of Luke. A more credible solution is that Matthew is giving the royal line of David (i.e., the legal heirs to the throne; Joseph belonged to this line via levirate marriage), and Luke is giving the actual family line of Joseph.

3344. The Faith of the Centurion

Luke 7:11-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Jesus’s compassion on a widow (7:11–17) further illustrates his concern for the poor. By losing her only son (7:12), she would be deprived of her last means of support. The town of Nain was approximately six miles south of Nazareth. Not only is Jesus able to heal someone who is near death (7:14), but he also is able to resuscitate the dead by pronouncing the word, which provides the basis for his reply to John the Baptist (7: ...

3345. The Parable of the Sower

Luke 8:1-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Luke summarizes Jesus’s preaching ministry about the kingdom of God in 8:1–3, noting that he visits a number of towns. Contrary to Jewish custom Jesus had women followers, and they supported him financially (8:3). These women are carefully distinguished from the twelve apostles. There is no evidence that Mary Magdalene was the woman in the prior story. The number seven indicates the severity of Mary’s state. The Herod mentioned here is Antipas (8:3). One of Jesus’s distinguishing ...

3346. A Lamp on a Stand

Luke 8:16-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... significance of putting one’s lamp on the stand (8:16) is probably that the hearers must bear fruit in their listening, for a day will come when what they hear will not be secret any longer; it will shine for all to see. The last part of verse 18 supports our interpretation of verse 10 above. Receptive and obedient listening will lead to increased understanding, but rejection of the truth will lead to increased incomprehension of the word of God.

3347. Jesus Sends Out the Seventy-two

Luke 10:1-24

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... that are given to the seventy (-two) are very similar to the instructions that Jesus gave to the Twelve in Luke 9:1–6. The urgency of the task is underlined. There is no time for the long greetings characteristic of oriental culture (10:4). Financial support should come from the town in which the disciples reside, but they should be content with the food and shelter they receive from their hosts, instead of looking for a house that provides for them in a more luxurious way (10:4, 7–8). The greeting ...

3348. A Crippled Woman Healed on the Sabbath

Luke 13:10-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... the physical needs of animals on the Sabbath, then it follows that one should care for the physical needs of people (13:15). Indeed, the Sabbath is a particularly appropriate day to frustrate the work of Satan (13:16). Such actions and words silenced Jesus’s opponents and delighted his supporters.

3349. The Resurrection and Marriage

Luke 20:27-40

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... , then the patriarchs must continue to live. Some have said that this example does not prove the resurrection but only the immortality of the soul. Others have tried to argue that Jesus is speaking here only of a future resurrection, but this is not supported by verse 38. Jesus’s argument seems to be this: if the patriarchs belong to God, then they are guaranteed a future resurrection. God is only the God of the living, not the nonexistent. Jesus’s answer impresses some teachers, probably Pharisees who ...

3350. Jesus Teaches Nicodemus

John 3:1-21

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... :22 Jesus moves “into the land of Judea” (NASB, NKJV) when he has just been in Jerusalem, a city of Judea (2:13, 23). While numerous plausible theories have offered to relocate 3:22–36 (generally after 1:19–34), they are difficult to support. 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 ...

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