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 4576 to 4600 of 4968 results
4576. Jesus’ Baptism by John
Matthew 3:1-12, Matthew 3:13-17
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Jeannine K. Brown
... and fire.” “Fire” appears in context to refer to judgment (3:10, 12), although the point of association between baptism and judgment is not precisely clear. With his reference to the Holy Spirit, Matthew foreshadows the baptism that Jesus’ disciples are to administer as they make disciples of all nations (28:19–20). Christian baptism is a baptism “in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit” (28:19). Although not particularly prominent in Matthew, the Holy Spirit is crucial ...
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Jeannine K. Brown
... were often more strict than practices of other Jewish sects. In Matthew, however, the Pharisees are not portrayed as exemplary in Torah obedience. Instead, Jesus critiques them for disobedience to the Torah (15:3–6; 23:3, 23). So Jesus’ disciples are called not to an impossible ethic, but rather to a covenant loyalty that revolves around the central values of the Torah. 5:21–48  Matthew 5:21–48 contains six contrasting interpretations of Torah commands (traditionally referred to as “antitheses ...
4578. Jesus, Isaiah’s Servant of the Lord, Heals Many
Matthew 8:14-17, Matthew 8:5-13, Matthew 8:1-4
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Jeannine K. Brown
... motif in Matthew 8 is that the “many” joining the messianic feast will include Gentiles. The reference to the exclusion of the “subjects of the kingdom” is not meant to be exhaustive; Jews most certainly will be included in the kingdom (e.g., the twelve disciples and the many seekers who put their faith in him [e.g., Matt. 8:1–4; 9:1–8]). The effect of the hyperbole for Matthew’s audience, however, is to provide a warning against Jewish presumption of inclusion based simply on heritage (3:9 ...
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Jeannine K. Brown
... marvels at the centurion’s great faith and heals on his behalf (8:5–13; for another such story, see 15:21–28). Yet in the final scene of Matthew, Jesus’ mission to the nations will be announced and begun through his disciples: “Go and make disciples of all nations” (28:19). For Matthew, understanding Jesus and his mission means understanding Isaiah’s vision of restoration that is enacted through the figure of the Servant of the Lord. So we would do well to help people understand Jesus and ...
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Jeannine K. Brown
... on taking sin seriously and forgiving without limit balance each other, as the members of the community seek to live well with Jesus and with one another. Interpretive Insights 18:21 Peter came to Jesus. Peter often functions as the representative of the twelve disciples in Matthew (14:28; 15:15; 16:16; 17:24–27; 18:21; 19:27). Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister . . . ? This verse introduces the last half of the Community Discourse, which focuses on forgiveness in the believing ...
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Jeannine K. Brown
... well as an agreed upon password, but would not persuade any but a very gullible villager to part with his animals to two strangers if he had not been forewarned.”1We see such signs of prearrangement at 26:18–19, where Jesus has his disciples connect with a particular person to arrange their celebration of Passover. 21:3  he will send them right away. The Greek is ambiguous regarding the subject of the verb “send.” It might be “the Lord” (the closest referent), but this makes little sense in ...
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Grant R. Osborne
... eat. Mark is saying that Jesus knew this and so deliberately acted in the way he did. “Not the season for figs” points the reader to the fact that Jesus cursed the tree not out of anger but as a planned symbolic action that he expected his disciples (and us) to understand. David Garland says this was not about an unfruitful fig tree but about the temple. “The word ‘season’ (kairos) is not the botanical term for the growing season but the religious term found in 1:14–15 denoting the time of the ...
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Grant R. Osborne
... what I am going to do.” The deserved retribution is swift and final. Obviously, this pictures the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple in AD 66–70, in particular the judgment of God against the leaders of Israel. The “others” could be the disciples (Matt. 19:28: “you will sit on twelve thrones, judging the twelve tribes”) but likely is more general, referring to the church as new Israel, consisting of both believing Jews and Gentiles. 12:10  The stone the builders rejected has become the ...
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Grant R. Osborne
... God. The parallel passage in Matthew 23 describes scribes and Pharisees who conduct themselves only to be seen and admired (23:5–7, 25–26) and fail to realize that God’s judgment will soon fall on them. This will be true of narcissistic leaders today as well. 3. Disciples give all they have to God. Which is better, sacrifice or plenty, to give all of the little we have to God or a little of all we have to God? The answer is obvious, but we conveniently ignore the lesson of the widow here. She is an ...
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Grant R. Osborne
... ’s word is eternal (Isa. 40:6–8; Matt. 5:18; cf. Wis. 18:4; 4 Ezra 9:36–37). The emphasis on “my words” builds upon Jesus’s unity with God and refers especially to the Olivet Discourse as a whole and verse 30 in particular. The disciples cannot depend on the events of world history or the strength of the world powers. All such are doomed. Only God and his word have permanence. The shifting sands of time will “pass away,” and only God’s truths will endure forever. 13:32  about that day or ...
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Grant R. Osborne
... ). Understanding the Text There is a frightening chronology and logical progression in each of the final scenes of Jesus’s passion. The movement away from Jerusalem to Gethsemane on the Mount of Olives is preparatory, as Jesus prayerfully conquers his own dread of what is to come even as the disciples fail to support him in prayer. Then there is movement back to Jerusalem as Jesus is arrested and brought back into the city, following the same path to his trial/hearing before the authorities. Again the ...
4587. Mary’s Song—the Magnificat
Luke 1:46-56, Luke 1:39-45
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R.T. France
... a saint (“holy one”). Point out that, while contests are often about superficial qualities or skills that mark a person as comparatively unique, the specialness a saint feels is simply based on God’s undeserved and gracious call. Quote: John Lennon is quoted as saying, “Jesus was alright, but his disciples were thick and ordinary. It’s them twisting it that ruins it for me.” Point out that Mr. Lennon is fundamentally misunderstanding the fact that God intentionally chooses thick, ordinary ...
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R.T. France
... person can be “saved.” What matters, as in 8:48, is faith. Jairus has just witnessed Jesus’s healing power, but now the challenge to faith has become even more extreme. 8:51  Peter, John and James. These three formed a sort of “inner circle” of disciples (cf. 9:28; Mark 13:3; 14:33). 8:52  She is not dead but asleep. The derision that greets this pronouncement suggests that the onlookers took it literally: Jesus was disputing the diagnosis and believed that the girl was only in a coma. But the ...
4589. Negative Responses to Jesus
Luke 11:33-36, Luke 11:29-32, Luke 11:14-28
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R.T. France
... ’s power (11:15) and the request from him for a sign (11:16)—are linked together by Luke. The teacher or preacher will do well to show how these two objections/demands are related. What do they reveal about how people outside the disciple group perceived Jesus? And how are Jesus’s responses related? What do they reveal about his overall understanding of what he has come to do? Different groups (and different members of the same group) may differ as to how this material about demons and supernatural ...
4590. Ready for the Kingdom of God?
Luke 13:31-35, Luke 13:22-30, Luke 13:18-21
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R.T. France
... link between Jerusalem’s rejection of Jesus and the destruction of the temple by the Romans in AD 70. If this is the correct interpretation, then the following sentence should be understood as referring not to the greeting that Jesus will receive from the disciples (not from the people of Jerusalem) in 19:37–38, but rather to the possibility of a subsequent change of mind by Jerusalem after the temple has been destroyed. But there is no assurance that such a greeting will ever be given, or therefore ...
4591. The Trials of Peter and of Jesus
Luke 22:66--23:25, Luke 22:63-65, Luke 22:54-62
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R.T. France
... not name again now. As chairman of the Sanhedrin, he would supervise the action taken against Jesus. Peter followed at a distance. True to his boast in 22:33, Peter is apparently the only one of the disciples who has not deserted Jesus, though he wishes to remain incognito. John 18:15 says that another disciple, presumably John himself, went with him. 22:55  a fire in the middle of the courtyard. It can be very cold at Passover time in Jerusalem. We should probably envisage the open-air courtyard of a ...
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C. Marvin Pate
... from Scripture ever more of the many-coloured wisdom of God.7 The gospel reached far beyond Spain, Paul’s specific interest. Biography: James Yen (1893–1990) came to know the Lord in rural China through the influence of China Inland Mission. He was discipled by a Christian YMCA worker and profoundly affected by the plight of the poor, illiterate Chinese people. Yen got his undergraduate degree at Yale then his Master’s at Princeton. Upon his return to China in 1921, Yen became a leader of the Mass ...
4593. Christian Maturity
1 Corinthians 3:1-23
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Preben Vang
... ) of the various orators spent much of their time ridiculing rival teachers and attempting to create jealousy and strife.[6] Paul picks up these two words precisely because they perfectly compare the Christians who claim special allegiance to a specific teacher with the disciples of Corinthian sophists. It is Paul’s shorthand for “you have become like the surrounding culture” (cf. Rom. 13:13; 2 Cor. 12:20; Gal. 5:20). They are following not God’s will but their own desires. acting like mere humans ...
4594. Last Encouragement and Final Greeting
1 Corinthians 16:19-24, 1 Corinthians 16:5-18
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Preben Vang
... they were. Illustrating the Text Christian communities are sustained over generations by a continuity of Christlike leaders. Bible: 2 Timothy 2:2. Paul’s instructions to Timothy in 2 Timothy 2:2 (which echo Exod. 18:21) clearly indicate that a process of discipling, vetting, entrusting, and releasing new leaders is the right pattern for passing on leadership and authority in Christ’s church. We also see a picture of this in Paul’s farewell to the Ephesian elders in Acts 20:13–38. Christian faith is ...
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J. Scott Duvall
... God who is in control is also the God who is with us. Bible: Refer to the story of Jesus and the disciples crossing the Sea of Galilee (Mark 4:35–41). Partway through the journey, with Jesus asleep in the front of the boat, a storm crashes ... down, threatening to capsize them. After pulling for all they are worth, the disciples finally wake Jesus, perhaps hoping he will help bail water. Jesus stands up and stops the storm with a word, demonstrating his lordship ...
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J. Scott Duvall
... in the presence of God because a strong marriage is perhaps the best picture of a deep love relationship (Eph. 5:25–33). Jesus told his disciples the night before he was crucified that he was going away to prepare a place for them. He continued, “And if I go and prepare ... kingdom being preached in the whole world prior to the end of the age (Matt. 24:14). The great commission to make disciples of all nations (Matt. 28:18–20), the powerful work of the Spirit at Pentecost (Acts 2 as a reversal of Gen. ...
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Joe M. Sprinkle
... do good to him, saying something like, “May the Lord bless you.” See also comments at Numbers 6:22–27 (the Aaronic blessing). Outstretched hands are a gesture of prayer (Exod. 17:11; Pss. 28:2; 141:2). Jesus uses this gesture when blessing his disciples before the ascension (Luke 24:50). 9:24  Fire . . . from the presence of the Lord . . . consumed the burnt offering. This happens on the first occasion that Aaron is allowed in the tent of meeting. Perhaps Aaron and Moses have gone into the tent to ...
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Robert B. Chisholm Jr.
... . we shall yet praise Him who is the health of our countenance and our God.7 Wavering faith can cause God’s servants to place themselves in precarious situations. Bible: Luke 22:51–62. In the account noted above, Peter compromises his identity as a disciple of Christ temporarily because his faith has wavered, and he is afraid. A steadfast faith relies on the character of God and his historic provision for his children. Prayer: “The Serenity Prayer.” One of the most well-known prayers of our time, a ...
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C. Hassell Bullock
... a major feature of New Testament theology. Paul says that God has chosen us in Christ “before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love” (Eph. 1:4 KJV). He has this mystery in mind as he admonishes his young disciple Timothy not to be ashamed of the testimony about the Lord but to “share in the suffering of the gospel by the power of God, who saved us and called us to a holy calling, not because of our works but because of his own purpose and grace, which ...
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Ronald W. Pierce
... spiritually because we serve a holy God—not because we should try to be like Daniel. Never allow the faithfulness of any believer to eclipse the message of the person and work of God in a text. You might wish to cite Jesus’s words to his disciples to drive the point home: “So you also, when you have done everything you were told to do, should say, ‘We are unworthy servants; we have only done our duty’” (Luke 17:10). 2. God works behind the scenes. Apparently, only the chief official and his ...
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