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Showing 4126 to 4150 of 4681 results

4126. Jesus Heals the Sick

Matthew 4:23-25

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... the doctor’s hands” (NEB). It follows that release from sickness (the evidence of sin) proved that One greater than Satan had arrived with the authority and power to rule. The news of Jesus spread everywhere. Syria was not simply the Roman province bearing that name but the entire area to the north of Galilee (with Damascus at its center). From this large region came people with various diseases and suffering severe pain (v. 24). Matthew refers to them as the demon-possessed, those having seizures (lit ...

4127. The King’s Thanksgiving for Military Victories

Psalm 18:1-50

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... of others (vv. 25–27). He has invoked no special privilege either here or in the preceding thanksgiving. 18:28–45 Now the psalm shifts from a testimony of one’s character to a military victory song. Implicit here is the moral responsibility of those who bear the sword. Key terms in verses 30–31 link this section to others (Yahweh’s “way” is first mentioned in v. 21; perfect [Hb. tāmîm] is the same term as “blameless” in v. 23; shield, refuge, and rock are epithets first heard in v ...

4128. God’s Revelation in the Skies and the Scriptures

Psalm 19:1-14

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... here refers not to the attitude of faith in God but, in keeping with its parallel expressions, to the codified faith of written torah. Verses 11–14 alone address God directly and are most like the prayer psalms of the individual. Although these three sections bear some thematic links, they use different terms (noted below), thus implying the psalm is an edited unit, not an authored one (i.e., one where the poet would be free to choose his own echoing terms). The psalm makes a remarkable journey from the ...

4129. Intercession for the King Before Battle

Psalm 20:1-9

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... desire of your heart. The psalm is careful to circumscribe the king’s exalted position not only with respect to God (as noted above) but also with respect to his subjects. His desire (v. 4) and requests (v. 5) have special significance only because they have bearing on the welfare of his people: “May we shout for joy in your victories” (lit., NIV we will shout for joy when you are victorious, v. 5). He is the object of their intercession because their well-being is bound up with his. The parallelism ...

4130. The Fulfillment of the Law

Matthew 5:17-20

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... one jot or one tittle.” The Greek text says iōta (transcribed in English by the letter i) or keraia (“little horn”). They are often held to represent the smallest Hebrew letter (yoḏ) or the decorative serif that would distinguish similar letters in Hebrew. Beare writes that the “Law remains in force to the last dot on the last ‘i’ ” (p. 139). The meaning is clear: the law remains in toto. Therefore, to break even the least significant of these commandments and lead others to do the same is ...

4131. Love for Enemies

Matthew 5:43-48

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... “brings the law to perfection” (Knox) is taken from Israel’s relationship to non-Jewish cultures. You have heard that it was said, “Love your neighbor and hate your enemy.” The foundation of Jewish ethics was Leviticus 19:18; “Do not seek revenge or bear a grudge against one of your people, but love your neighbor as yourself.” It is often mentioned that nowhere in the Old Testament will you find an explicit demand to hate your enemies. In fact, some verses seem to point in quite the other ...

4132. The Trustworthy Lord Over Nature, Nations, and Armies

Psalm 33:1-22

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... section. 33:1–5 The opening section focuses on Yahweh’s character. The qualities given special emphasis by their repetition are “uprightness” (the word of the LORD is “upright” [NIV right and true]) and righteousness, which the LORD loves. His worshipers who bear those same traits—you righteous and the upright—are called to join in this praise. 33:6–19 This section focuses on Yahweh’s sovereign power with respect to nature (vv. 6–9), the nations (vv. 10–12), and their armies (vv ...

4133. A Prayer for the Sick

Psalm 38:1-22

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... , p. 164). The psalm does not merely describe the speaker’s anguish; the poem portrays it with several metaphors and images. God’s hostility is depicted as a military assault: arrows and a striking hand (v. 2). Guilt is likened to a burden too heavy to bear (v. 4). The expressions of the speaker’s emotional state are drawn from mourning rites for the dead (v. 6). His eyes are an extinguished lamp (v. 10). The opponents are portrayed as hunters (v. 12). 38:1–12 The psalm unfolds with an introductory ...

4134. Betrayed by God in Battle?

Psalm 44:1-26

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

Adversity is never easy to bear, but what makes it worse is feeling that God has brought it on (v. 4). What makes it unbearable is the utter disappointment of what were believed to be legitimate expectations from God. As one turns to prayer, God becomes both the problem and its solution. Psalm 44 is a ...

4135. Jesus Heals Many

Matthew 8:14-17

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... 16). We now meet the first formula quotation within the public ministry of Jesus. Matthew quotes from the Hebrew text of Isaiah 53:4 using either his own translation or that of a non-LXX text that followed the Hebrew closely (the LXX spiritualizes, “He bears our sins and is pained for us”). He applies the text to the healing activity of Jesus in the physical realm (He took up our infirmities and carried our diseases). Elsewhere in the New Testament the Isaiah passage is used to support the vicarious and ...

4136. From the Miry Depths

Psalm 69:1-36

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... (v. 9). Verses 7–9 emphasize that the speaker’s suffers for your sake (esp. evident in the Hb. with the opening “upon you” in v. 7 and the closing “upon me” in v. 9; cf. 44:22), not for his own. Implicit here is that Yahweh bears some obligation to intervene on the speaker’s behalf. What particularly incurs the scorn of family (v. 8) and neighbors (v. 12) is the speaker’s expressions of mourning (I weep and fast, I put on sackcloth). Whatever is meant by zeal for your house, these verses ...

4137. The Parable of the Net

Matthew 13:47-52

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... the parable, so also will people be separated at the end of the age. That is the point of the parable. It was not intended to teach that “the appeal of the Gospel makes no discrimination of rank or class, wealth or poverty, trade or profession” (Beare, p. 316), although that, of course, is also true. The interpretation repeats the theme of verses 40–42. 13:51–52 Jesus now asks his disciples whether they understand what he has just been teaching them in parables. Their answer is that they do. On that ...

4138. The Pilgrim’s Longing to “See” the God of Zion

Psalm 84:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... Isa. 1:12). (Further on the history of this phrase, see on 42:2.) “The autumn rains” (v. 6) may connect it particularly to the Feast of Tabernacles, which was closely connected with Yahweh’s bestowal of rain (Zech. 14:16–19). This psalm bears connections with other psalms of the temple. Psalm 42–43, another pilgrim psalm, also uses this phrase “appearing before God” (v. 2, NIV “meet with God”). Like our psalm (v. 2), it describes the pilgrim’s physical yearning (cf. 63:1, another pilgrim ...

4139.

Psalm 85:1-13

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... production: The LORD will indeed give what is good, and our land will yield its harvest (cf. Ps. 67:6). For worshipers of Yahweh the religious-social world and the natural world are not distinct, because one God superintends both. How humans act has direct bearing on the natural ecosystem. But the psalm climaxes not with a fruitful harvest but with nothing less than Yahweh’s own advent: Righteousness goes before him and prepares the way for his steps (cf. the herald in Isa. 40:3–5, 9–11; 52:7 ...

4140. Today, If You Hear His Voice

Psalm 95:1-11

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... and may serve as a transition between these two reasons for praise. It can refer to Yahweh’s act in creation (as biological creator) and to his act in history (as the one who constituted them as a people). The hymnic section of this psalm bears a striking resemblance to Psalm 100 (shout, come before him, “with thanksgiving,” “the people” and flock “of his pasture”). 95:7b–11 The introduction to the prophetic oracle (cf. Ps. 50) is brief and comprises an “if” clause: if you hear his voice ...

4141. A Prayer for the Afflicted and for the Ruins of Zion

Psalm 102:1-28

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... to a future generation, “for” he released the prisoners (vv. 18–20, this time the NIV neglected to translate the Hb. kî). In other words, Yahweh must restore Jerusalem for his praise to continue and spread. The praise of this section also has direct bearing on the individual speaker. As Yahweh will hear the prayer of the destitute (v. 17), so he should “hear my prayer” (v. 1). As he will release those condemned to death (v. 20, lit. “the sons of death”), so he should heed the near-death ...

4142. Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

Matthew 15:29-39

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... feeding of the four thousand relates to the Gentiles (the seven baskets of Matt. 15:37 symbolize the seven deacons of Acts 6:1ff.). Carrington (The Primitive Christian Calendar, p. 16) says that the writer of the Gospel was following a lectionary that required the duplication. Beare holds that we have here not simply a second account of a feeding but a more extensive cycle (p. 347). It is more likely that we have not two accounts of a single event but two separate but similar events. It is unlikely that the ...

4143. The Maker of Heaven and Earth Praised and Invoked to Bless Israel

Psalm 115:1-18

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... in other psalms, one a lament (cf. v. 2 and 79:10) and the other a hymn (cf. v. 3 with 135:6; vv. 4–6, 8 with 135:15–18; vv. 9–11 with 135:19–20, also note 118:2–4). Whatever its form-critical genre, it does bear the marks of a liturgy. The variations in addressee and in the references to Yahweh (direct address “your”in v. 1, and third-person reference “the LORD,” “he,” etc., elsewhere) and to the congregation (e.g., “us/we” in vv. 1, 12, 18, and “you” in vv. 14–15) imply ...

4144. The Temple Tax

Matthew 17:24-27

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... and is therefore no better than “positive legalism” (p. 357). It has often been noted that this is the only miracle story in which the reader is left to infer that the miracle actually happened. It is therefore held by some to be a “bit of folk-tale” (Beare, p. 372). A somewhat similar tale is told of Polycrates, who throws his ring into the sea to satisfy the gods and when he is served fish for dinner gets it back. Others take it in a figurative sense. What Jesus actually means is that Peter should ...

4145. A Brother Who Sins Against You

Matthew 18:15-20

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... sia) occurs only here and in Matthew 16:18 in the Gospels. It refers to the local group of believers. Many writers have objected that Jesus would not have spoken derogatorily of the Gentiles and tax collectors, as he apparently does in verse 17. Beare is convinced that “there is not the least likelihood that Jesus himself ever spoke with such disparagement” (p. 380), and Barclay claims that it is “not possible that Jesus said this in its present form” (vol. 2, p. 187). There is no necessity, however ...

4146. The Parable of the Tenants

Matthew 21:33-46

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... the channel into the lower trough. 21:38–39 The heir … him: In Mark 12:8 the tenants kill him and then throw him out of the vineyard. It has been suggested that this adds to the crime of murder the offense of refusing to bury the corpse (Beare, p. 429). 21:44 V. 44 is considered by many scholars an early interpolation from Luke 20:18. However, in that case we would expect it to be brought in before v. 43 (to correspond with Luke). Manuscript evidence for its inclusion is exceptionally strong (Aleph, B ...

4147. Marriage at the Resurrection

Matthew 22:23-33

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... killing of those who brought the invitation (v. 6), the destruction of the guests (v. 7), and the burning of a city while a meal is waiting to be served (v. 7). These are “no doubt additions, made by the Church or the Evangelist” (p. 347). Beare notes that there are three versions: Matthew’s, which is a “fullblown allegory,” Luke’s (“a genuine parable”), and one in The Gospel of Thomas (pp. 432–34). Hill states that there can be no doubt that Matthew and Luke (14:16–24) present the same ...

4148. The Greatest Commandment

Matthew 22:34-40

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

4149. Whose Son Is the Christ?

Matthew 22:41-46

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

4150. The Day and Hour Unknown

Matthew 24:36-51

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... him over the entire estate. The servant who is wicked is the one who is led to believe that the master will be away for a long time and therefore seizes the opportunity to bully fellow servants and spend time carousing with drunkards. Beare notes that “the danger of arrogance developing in religious leaders is not a mediaeval or modern phenomenon” (p. 478). When the master does return unexpectedly, this wicked servant will be cut … to pieces and assigned his fate with the hypocrites, where there will ...

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