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Antonyms: keep, claim, continue, stick by, self-control, power through, achieve, defend, bear, hope, acquire, quick visit, adopt, continue along, adhere, remain, pursue, support, take up, keep up, reuse, advocate, stay, persevere, cherish, keep going, carry on

Showing 4526 to 4550 of 4963 results

4526. The Death of Lazarus

John 11:1-16, John 11:17-37

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... lay down your life for me?” (13:38), the answer would have to have been no. Thomas and the others were not ready, then or later, yet their aspiration was an authentic one. They were beginning to move, and in the right direction. A question that remains is why Jesus waited two days (v. 6) before calling his disciples back to Judea. The delay becomes an issue when he arrives and is greeted with the same sorrowful, almost accusing, words from Martha and from Mary: “Lord, if you had been here, my brother ...

4527. The Raising of Lazarus

John 11:17-37, John 11:38-44

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... Martha, the practical-minded but troubled hostess of Luke’s Gospel (cf. Luke 10:38–42), becomes in the Gospel of John both a woman of words and a woman of faith. Mary’s role, surprisingly, is but a faint echo of Martha’s (vv. 28–32). She had remained at home, in mourning, and came out to meet Jesus only when Martha came back to summon her (v. 28). Her first words on seeing Jesus duplicate exactly the words of Martha (v. 32; cf. v. 21), but without the added note of hopefulness (cf. v. 22). The ...

4528. The Last Passover

John 12:1-11

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... will be gone (v. 8; cf. 13:33). If the Sanhedrin verdict made his death historically certain, the anointing by Mary dramatizes its certainty to those closest to him. The prospect of Jesus’ absence in his concluding words, you will not always have me (v. 8), remains, for the moment, untempered by any hint of reunion with him or promise of his renewed presence. Only later does he extend a word of hope to servants like Mary, whose love for him is stronger than death: “Whoever serves me must follow me; and ...

4529. The Triumphal Entry

John 12:12-19

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... to gain the whole world, yet forfeit his soul?” (Mark 8:36). Now he stood, with the world at his feet, about to lose his own life—“so that the world may live” (cf. 6:51). The paradox has now been introduced, but its many dimensions remain to be explored. Additional Notes 12:13 Hosanna, an Aramaic expression meaning “Save now!” used either literally as a petition for deliverance or as a technical term ascribing praise to God. The Hebrew form of the expression is used as a petition in Ps. 118:25 ...

4530. Jesus Predicts Peter's Denial

John 13:31-38

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... the pain of his absence. The disciples will be no better off than the religious authorities whom Jesus twice rebuffed with the harsh words, Where I am going, you cannot come (cf. 7:34; 8:21). What sort of glory was this? For a moment, the question remains unresolved. Verses 34–35 provide the interpretive key to the footwashing account in verses 1–20 and will in turn be interpreted by Jesus’ teaching on love and mission in 15:1–16:4a. The recurrence in verse 34 of the triangular pattern of verse 14 ...

4531. The Impending Departure I

John 14:1-4, John 14:5-14, John 14:15-31

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... with them his wish of peace, given not … as the world gives (v. 27). It is not a peace to be measured by outward circumstances but a peace within the disciples themselves, not the kind that depends on freedom from conflict, but the kind that remains constant when trouble comes. There is a certain tension between the four questions and answers that comprise most of the farewell discourse and the summary with which it concludes. If 13:36–14:31 is viewed as a farewell discourse complete in itself, verses ...

4532. Pilate and the Condemnation of Jesus

John 18:28-40, John 19:1-16

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... by your own law (18:31). It also makes clear that, as far as Pilate was concerned, they had the power to carry out the death penalty if they so decided. Though they were unwilling or unable to do so, probably out of a lack of broad-based support, they remained firmly convinced that We have a law, and according to that law he must die [i.e., the law of blasphemy, Lev. 24:16] because he claimed to be the Son of God (v. 7). The mention of the title Son of God for the first time in the Passion ...

4533. The Second Appearance and Its Sequel

John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... giving life on the one hand, and bringing judgment or condemnation on the other (cf. 5:19–29). The same Jesus who told the royal official, “Your son will live” (4:50, 53), and called Lazarus out of his tomb (11:43) also told the Pharisees, “Your guilt remains” (9:41; cf. 15:22–24). He came “so that the blind will see and those who see will become blind” (9:39). In this respect, his disciples’ mission in the power of the Spirit would be no different from his own. The third greeting of Peace ...

4534. The Third Appearance

John 21:1-14

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... of a two-part work, yet chapter 21 functions as a small “Acts of the Apostles,” told in the form of one more symbolic narrative or sign rather than a continuous account of the establishment and expansion of the church in history. After the sign, it remains only to compare briefly the acts of two apostles in particular as models of what it means to follow Jesus. Additional Notes 21:2 From Cana in Galilee: The notice is given as if the readers already knew that Nathanael came from Cana, but (despite the ...

4535. Shining as Stars

Philippians 2:12-18

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... in John 4:6, where Jesus at noonday sits down by Jacob’s well because he is “tired” (kekopiakōs) by his journey. Paul’s Libation on the Philippians’ Sacrifice The life of the Philippian church is viewed as an offering to God: if one thing remains to make that offering perfectly acceptable, Paul is willing that the sacrifice of his own life should be that one thing—credited to their account, not to his. 2:17 Paul comes back to his present situation. He hopes for a favorable verdict in the ...

4536. No Confidence in the Flesh

Philippians 3:1-11

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

First Conclusion: Call to Rejoice “With this communication about Epaphroditus now the epistle seems to be at an end” (Ewald, ad loc.). If so, nothing remains but a final word of greeting. The reader is therefore prepared for Finally. 3:1 Finally: the natural inference from this phrase (drawn by most commentators) is that Paul is on the point of finishing his letter. If the letter be regarded as a unity, it must be assumed that ...

4537. Thanks for Their Gifts

Philippians 4:10-20

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... . In writing as he did in 2 Corinthians 11:8, 9, Paul felt it necessary to induce in the Corinthian Christians a salutary sense of shame; there was no such necessity with regard to the Thessalonian Christians—quite the contrary. 4:17 Once more, Paul cannot remain content with thanking the Philippians for their gift. He emphasizes that he is grateful not simply because they sent it to him but also because their sending it is a token of heavenly grace in their lives and, so to speak, a deposit in the bank ...

4538. Adam and Eve

Genesis 2:4-25

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... aversion to immodesty (cf. Gen. 9:22–23; Exod. 20:26). Additional Notes 2:5 “Shrub” (siakh) refers to bushy plants, ordinarily considered nonedible, and “plant” (’eseb) to edible vegetation (Wenham, Genesis 1–15, p. 58). 2:6 The precise meaning of ’ed remains an enigma. It may refer to a heavy dew, an underground river, or a swell that kept the soil sufficiently moist for plants to grow. 2:8 In Ugar. the root for Eden means “delight.” References outside this passage to the garden of ...

4539. Abram in Egypt

Genesis 12:10-20

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... ruler always has this title, never his throne name, which makes it hard to coordinate these events with those in Egyptian history. 12:16 Male donkeys were draft animals, and female donkeys were preferred for riding. The mention of camels in Genesis remains an enigma. Because the thousands of texts from the second millennium B.C. make only a few references to camels, many scholars view these references in Genesis as anachronisms. But excavations in a variety of places, including the Wadi Arabah, have ...

4540. Abram Rescues Lot

Genesis 14:1-24

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... Elam and place names from Syria to Sinai open the possibility of locating Abram in a specific time frame. Unfortunately, connections between the names, places, and events related here and the information found in ancient documents from the Near East remain elusive. Nevertheless, the abundance of proper names, along with a distinctive vocabulary and style, indicate that this account had an origin different from that of the other stories about Abram. The double names for various places—an archaic name and ...

4541. Hagar and Ishmael

Genesis 16:1-16

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... vv. 7–12); and Hagar responds and gives birth to Ishmael (vv. 13–16). The setting alternates in the pattern of A:B:A′: Abram’s house (first and third scenes) and the desert (second scene). 16:1–2 Sarai, Abram’s principal wife, remained without children despite God’s reiterated promise of seed to Abram (ch. 15). Like most wives of prominent persons in ancient times, Sarai had a maidservant, Hagar, an Egyptian. The contrast between the two women is striking. Sarai was from the consummate lineage ...

4542. Abraham Tested

Genesis 22:1-19

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... . In addition, this consecration of Isaac, the firstborn among nations in God’s economy, dedicates all peoples to God. Jesus’ saying on the seed illuminates this principle of offering the first: “Unless a kernel of wheat falls to the ground and dies, it remains only a single seed. But if it dies, it produces many seeds” (John 12:24). Therefore, Isaac, the first seed, figuratively died in being bound to the altar. Consequently, out of his death God was able to multiply Abraham’s seed, empowering it ...

4543. The Death of Abraham

Genesis 25:1-11

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... . The Midianites consisted of five tribes as reported here. Sarna (Genesis, p. 172) equates Ishbak with a Syrian tribe named Iasbuq. Shuah may refer to a country on the middle Euphrates near where the Habur River empties into it. Jokshan and Medan remain unidentified. 25:3 Sheba and Dedan occur together as the sons of Raamah in 10:7, but it is better to take them as different peoples. Uncharacteristically for genealogical lists, Dedan’s three descendants occur as gentilics in the plural. Asshurites, not ...

4544. Jacob Gets Isaac's Blessing

Genesis 27:1-40

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... father some wine, which he drank. While Isaac ate, Jacob must have wondered if the food would betray him. Given that his father was suspicious, would he figure out that it was truly Jacob in his presence? When would Esau return? Isaac also remained somewhat skeptical. Having finished eating, he asked Jacob to come near and kiss him, wanting further evidence that this was Esau before pronouncing the blessing. When Jacob bent over, Isaac smelled his clothes; being Esau’s, they smelled of the field, not the ...

4545. Jacob Flees from Laban

Genesis 31:1-21

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... father’s permission before leaving. Jacob introduced the issue to his wives by recounting how their father’s attitude had turned against him. By contrast, the God of his father had been with him, showing him favor. Jacob thus set a choice before them. They could remain under their father, who was making life hard for their husband. Or they could go to live in the land of his father Isaac, who served the God who had protected Jacob from Laban’s wiles. He pointed out how arduously he had worked for ...

4546. Jacob Returns to Bethel

Genesis 35:1-15

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... done when God had first appeared to him there. Additional Notes 35:1 The Eng. term “settle” suggests more permanence than Jacob understood in God’s instructions. A better translation of the Hb. root y-sh-b might be “stay.” This time Jacob was free to remain there as long as he wanted, in contrast to his first visit when he was fleeing from Esau (Sarna, Genesis, p. 234). These orders from God parallel those his mother gave him before leaving Canaan (27:43; Wenham, Genesis 16–50, p. 323). 35:6 The ...

4547. The Death of Jacob

Gen 49:29–50:14

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... with their father’s mummy. A military guard of chariots and horsemen accompanied them, both to assist and to provide security. It was a grand procession. The young children and the flocks of Jacob’s family, however, stayed behind in Goshen. Their remaining in Egypt guaranteed the return of Joseph and his brothers. 50:10–14 When they arrived at the threshing floor of Atad, located beyond the Jordan, the entourage held a great public memorial ceremony for Jacob. The mourning lasted seven days. The ...

4548. The Command to Leave Horeb

Deuteronomy 1:1-8

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... had shaped both their destiny and the literary structure of the Pentateuch itself—namely, the land that God had promised to Abraham. Wilderness, certainly, was the place of God’s grace, protection, and provision, but it was not the place where they were meant to remain. Indeed, the reason they were still there was that it was also a place of God’s judgment and discipline. Both points will be underscored in the rest of this chapter and in the lessons applied in chapter 8. 1:2–3 The historical context ...

4549. Wanderings in the Desert

Deuteronomy 3:21-29

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... are repeatedly mentioned, and even the parenthetical footnotes of the chapter (2:10–12, 20–23) attribute previous national migrations and conquests to Yahweh’s sovereignty. Secondly, it seems designed to explain why some nations along Israel’s route remained unmolested while others were conquered and dispossessed. The claims of brotherhood (an important ethical motivation later in the book) protected Edom (2:4, 8; cf. 23:7a). Moab and Ammon have a similar claim, being distantly related to Israel ...

4550. Love the Lord Your God

Deuteronomy 6:1-25

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... preliminary. The danger of forgetting God because of affluence (6:10–13). There is no embarrassment in Deuteronomy in anticipating the abundance and richness of life in the land that lay ahead. God’s desire for the people of God was (and still ultimately remains) a full life, enjoying the gifts of creation. But equally there is no illusion regarding the likely behavior of the people; in the enjoyment of the gift they might forget the giver. So these verses build up to that danger with rhetorical skill ...

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