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 3601 to 3625 of 4942 results

3601. For Every Effect There Is a Cause

Amos 3:1-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

3:1–6:14 Review · The Reasons for God’s Judgment of Israel: Many Israelites would have questioned this word of divine judgment against them, for many thought that their election as God’s special chosen people (Deut. 7:6–7) and God’s powerful grace in delivering them from Egypt (Exodus 14–15) implied that God would never destroy them (3:1–2). Amos indicates that God makes no absolute promises to sinful people but will require much from those who have received his blessings. Therefore, God’s plan is to ...

3602. Vision and Exhortation about the End

Amos 8:1-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Like the preceding section, this portion has a vision followed by a related message about God’s approaching judgment of Israel. In this vision the prophet notices a basket of ripe summer fruit, indicating that it is harvest time (8:1–3). The interpretation of the vision is that the time is ripe for God to harvest the fruit in the nation of Israel; thus its end is near. The statement “I will spare them no longer” (8:2) connects this vision with the earlier plumb line vision, which had the same warning. This ...

3603. The Lord Protects and Rescues Jonah

Jonah 2:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

1:17–2:1 · The Lord’s provision of the fish:The Lord provides (literally “appoints”) a “huge fish” or sea creature to swallow Jonah, in which Jonah remains alive for three days and nights (1:17). In the New Testament, Matthew (12:39–40) draws an analogy between the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ and the imprisonment of Jonah. Matthew identifies Jonah’s salvation by a providentially provided creature as a miraculous sign that typifies God’s provision of Christ as a means of salvation and depicts his ...

3604. God’s Word of Hope to Israel

Micah 4:1-5, Micah 4:6-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Another abrupt transition from threat to promise takes place between the end of the third chapter and the beginning of the fourth. An oracle of severe judgment (3:9–12) is followed by a contrastingly glorious picture of salvation. Micah looks beyond the immediate future of Zion’s punishment (as described in the preceding oracles) to the more distant future, in which Zion will be exalted (4:1–5). Isaiah (2:2) and Micah both speak of the day when Zion will be raised above all other mountains in preeminence. ...

3605. Second Explanation

Habakkuk 2:2-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Having voiced his protest against God’s explanation, Habakkuk assumes the position of a prophetic watchman (cf. Isa. 21:8; Jer. 6:17; Ezek. 3:17; 33:2–3). Habakkuk will wait in earnest anticipation for what God will say in response to his latest complaint (2:1–3). Again the language is figurative. As a watchman stands ready at his post to receive news from afar, so Habakkuk will prepare his soul for God’s message to him. The Lord’s reply is not long in coming. As a preliminary instruction, Habakkuk is told ...

3606. The Prophet’s Prayer and God’s Exaltation

Habakkuk 3:1-19

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

3:1–2 · The prophet’s prayer:Habakkuk’s prayer in this chapter is actually a prayer psalm. The Hebrew word for prayer used here designates five psalms (Psalms 17; 86; 90; 102; 142) and is also used of the collected psalms of David (Ps. 72:20). Habakkuk’s prayer psalm is genuinely personal and yet designed for the sacred liturgy, as further indicated by the final footnote at the end of the chapter and the recurring use of the musical term selah, probably designating a musical interlude. The phrase “On ...

3607. Oracles of Judgment against the Nations

Zephaniah 2:4-7

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

2:4–15 Review · On the international scene, Judah’s political future was far from secure. Judah was surrounded by enemies: Philistia to the west, Assyria to the north, and Moab, Ammon, and Edom to the east. Zephaniah expresses the sentiment of the population of Judah in his oracles of judgment against the nations. Yet he has a grander purpose in view. He speaks of the establishment of God’s kingdom, which the remnant of Judah and the nations will share together. Zephaniah’s particular reference to the ...

3608. Moab and Ammon

Zephaniah 2:8-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Though the Israelites were related to the Moabites and Ammonites through Lot, a nephew of Abraham, their relations had always been bitter (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 ...

3609. Third Vision - Exiles to Leave Babylon for Jerusalem

Zechariah 2:1-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

With the destruction of the world empires (four horns) described in the second vision, the stage is set for a marvelously resurgent Jerusalem. Both visions together expand on the words of the Lord in 1:14–16. God’s zeal on behalf of Jerusalem is manifested first of all in his judging the nations that have oppressed Jerusalem (vision 2). The present vision enlarges on the statement of 1:16 with regard to the rebuilding of Jerusalem. The man with the measuring line (2:1) answers to the statement in 1:16 that ...

3610. The First Coming and Rejection

Zechariah 9:1-8, Zechariah 9:9-13, Zechariah 9:14-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

9:1–11:17 Review · For Zechariah, the coming of the Messiah is central. This is clear in two oracles (chaps. 9–11 and 12–14) celebrating God’s worldwide triumph through the king’s advent. The salvation of Israel and God’s judgment against the nations is clearly in view as well. The major thrust in both cases is the last days, often referred to elsewhere in Scripture as the day of the Lord. But there are also three major differences between the two oracles: (1) In the first, the Messiah is rejected; in the ...

3611. The Second Coming and Reception

Zechariah 12:1-9, Zechariah 12:10-14

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

As God sets out to unfold his great eschatological working in and on behalf of Israel (12:1–9), he reminds us that he is the Creator of heaven and earth and that he also formed man’s spirit within him. Thus he has the absolute right and sovereign ability to do as he wishes. There is no power in heaven or earth that can deter him from accomplishing his purpose. Israel as a nation (not just the northern kingdom) will be restored, the nations will be judged, and God’s kingdom will be established. The ...

3612. Jesus’s Birth

Matthew 1:18-25

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The narration of Jesus’s birth is closely tied to the preceding genealogy by the repeated Greek term genesis, translated as “genealogy” in 1:1 and “birth” in 1:18. Both accounts provide an important aspect of Jesus’s “origin,” another possible translation of genesis. These two passages provide the question and answer to Jesus’s connection to Joseph’s lineage, with Joseph as a focal character in 1:18–25. Matthew narrates that Joseph is engaged to Mary when he discovers her pregnancy. Because of his ...

3613. Jesus as Long-awaited and Rival King

Matthew 2:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The story in Matthew 2 is organized around four scriptural quotations (2:5–6, 15, 17–18, and 23) that ground Jesus’s identity as king and bringer of restoration and authorize Jesus as true king of Israel. The chapter also serves to introduce a key conflict in Matthew’s story. Jesus as Messiah-King, even in his infancy, is understood as a threat to the existing political structures represented by Herod (73–4 BC), king of Judea, Samaria, Galilee, Perea, and Near Eastern territories beyond Galilee. Herod, an ...

3614. Jesus’s Temptation

Matthew 4:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The temptation narrative follows Jesus’s baptism and continues the focus on the preparation of Jesus for his public ministry. On the level of Matthew’s communication with the reader, he continues to emphasize Jesus’s identity as God’s obedient Son—Jesus as Israel’s representative. God’s Spirit has descended on Jesus at his baptism. Now the Spirit leads Jesus into the desert, where he will be tempted by the devil (also referred to here as the tempter and Satan). By indicating the setting of the temptations ...

3615. The Yeast of the Pharisees and Sadducees

Matthew 16:5-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

As Matthew turns to Jesus with his disciples (16:5–12), a number of disciple-related themes resurface. Once again, Jesus refers to his disciples as “you of little faith” (16:8), this time in relation to their incomprehension of Jesus’s power at the two miraculous feedings. Even though Jesus has demonstrated that he is able to provide food for large crowds, the disciples are concerned that they have forgotten to bring bread with them, in the process misunderstanding Jesus’s warning about “the yeast of the ...

3616. Jesus Again Predicts his Death

Matthew 20:17-19, Matthew 20:20-28

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

In Matthew 20:17–19, Matthew provides Jesus’s third passion prediction to his disciples, this time making explicit that Jesus’s death will be crucifixion at the hands of the Gentiles (20:19). Without narrating a specific response of the disciples (as he does at 16:22 and 17:23), Matthew implies a continuing incomprehension on the part of the disciples as to what Jesus’s mission is really about by telling the story of a bid for status in the kingdom by James and John. The request for second and third ...

3617. The Greatest Commandment

Matthew 22:34-40

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The final question asked of Jesus again comes from the Pharisees, who send one of their torah experts to ask Jesus about the greatest commandment (22:34–36). Matthew has already emphasized Jesus’s torah interpretation through the lens of love and mercy (cf. 5:43–48; 9:13; 12:7), and Jesus’s answer at 22:40 fits that theme: “All the Law and the Prophets hang on” the commands to love God (Deut. 6:5) and love neighbor (Lev. 19:18). Given previous accusations that Jesus was lax in his torah observance (cf. 12: ...

3618. Jesus’s Fifth Discourse—The Eschatological Discourse

Matthew 24:1-35, Matthew 24:36-51

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

24:1–25:46 Review · Matthew’s fifth and final extended section of Jesus’s teaching continues with the theme of judgment on Jerusalem leaders and the temple begun in chapters 21–23. Matthew provides glimpses of Jesus’s second coming or reappearing and the end of the age, with its final judgment of all peoples. Regarding the temple’s destruction, Jesus warns his followers against confusing precursor signs with the events that will occur when it falls (24:4–35). The opposite warning is given for Jesus’s ...

3619. The Lord's Supper

Matthew 26:17-30, Matthew 26:31-35

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Matthew marks the beginning of the Passover celebration at 26:17 (with “the first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread” signaling its inception or the day anticipating it, as in Mark 14:12; for the combining of the two festivals cf. Deut. 16:1–8; Philo, On the Special Laws 2.150). He tells his disciples to prepare their Passover meal by going into Jerusalem and meeting a man with whom Jesus has presumably made room arrangements. In the later evening, Jesus celebrates the Passover meal with his disciples ...

3620. Baptism and Temptation

Mark 1:9-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

According to the early church (Acts 1:21–22), the event that inaugurated Jesus’s ministry and endowed it with saving significance was his baptism (1:9–11). It is with this event that Mark commences the story of Jesus, rather than with his birth (Matthew and Luke) or preexistence (John). Mark’s wording (“Jesus . . . was baptized by John,” 1:9) portrays Jesus as the undisputed subject of the event, with John serving as mediator. Arising from the water, Jesus experiences three things that Jews associated with ...

3621. Three Short Parables

Mark 4:21-25, Mark 4:26-29, Mark 4:30-34

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Mark includes three additional, shorter parables in the parable medley of chapter 4 (4:21–34); the first is about an oil lamp on a stand (4:21–25). The NIV makes the lamp the object of the verse, but the Greek makes it the subject; that is, “Does the lamp come in order to be placed under the bowl or bed?” In the Old Testament, a lamp can be a metaphor for God (2 Sam. 22:29) or the Messiah (2 Kings 8:19; Ps. 132:17). The unusual wording of verse 21 implies that Jesus is the lamp of God who has come to bring ...

3622. Jesus Sends out the Twelve

Mark 6:7-13

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Mark now develops the theme of discipleship by means of another sandwich unit (6:6b–30), in which the mission of the Twelve (6:6b–13, 30) is divided by the poignant account of the martyrdom of John the Baptizer (6:14–29). The Greek word for “witness” is martyreō, from which the English word “martyr” is derived. By sandwiching the death of John between the sending and return of the Twelve, Mark signifies that those who heed Jesus’s summons to mission must be prepared for the ultimate witness of martyrdom. ...

3623. The Fig Tree and the Temple

Mark 11:12-19, Mark 11:20-25 (26)

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The cursing of the fig tree (11:12–25) often offends readers, not only because it is the only miracle of destruction in the canonical Gospels, but also because Jesus curses a tree for not producing fruit out of season (10:13). The fig tree story is another of Mark’s sandwich units, however, in which the cursing and withering of the tree is interrupted by the “cleansing of the temple” episode. The splicing of the two stories together signifies that the fate of the unfruitful fig tree foreshadows God’s ...

3624. The Authority of Jesus Questioned

Mark 11:27-33

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

11:27–12:44 Review · Beginning with the episode in 11:27–33, and continuing through chapter 12, Mark reports a series of controversies and conflicts between Jesus and the Sanhedrin, the supreme judicatory that controlled the temple and extended its influence over Jewish life. Composed of chief priests, elders (both Pharisees and Sadducees), and scribes, and ideally totaling seventy-one members, the Sanhedrin was granted full authority over Jewish religious affairs and significant control over Jewish ...

3625. Jesus Arrested

Mark 14:43-52

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

In contrast to the intensity and pathos of Gethsemane, the arrest is narrated in resigned objectivity (14:43–52). “My betrayer is at hand” (14:42 ESV, NKJV) immediately identifies Judas, who, as if to remind readers that disciples of Jesus can also be betrayers of Jesus, is again 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 ...

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