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 4651 to 4675 of 4968 results

4651. Apostles of Christ

1 Corinthians 4:1-21

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... described in the verses immediately prior to this section (see 4:11–13). The concept of imitation had a rich history both in the Greco-Roman world and in Judaism. Children imitated parents and disciples imitated masters. In no case was the imitative behavior understood to be simple mimicry. Children and disciples internalized the values, thoughts, and behaviors of their role models so that they became very much like them. As Paul calls the Corinthians to imitate his behavior, which he understood to be an ...

4652. The Lord's Supper

1 Corinthians 11:17-34

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... for an exercise in skepticism and pessimism, see H. Maccoby, “Paul and the Eucharist,” NTS 37 [1991], pp. 247–67.) On one extreme there are those who deny that Jesus uttered any words of institution over the elements at table with his disciples, and on the opposite extreme there are elaborate harmonizations of the differing canonical accounts that argue that Jesus said each and every word exactly as it was recorded in Scripture, although no one account preserves the full record of his sayings; rather ...

4653. The Resurrection of Christ

1 Corinthians 15:1-11

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... lack of this record leads to all kinds of speculations and interpretations. All these arguments, however, are from silence. One does also learn of the subsequent appearance to the Twelve, an odd note given that for a time there were only eleven disciples in the inner group after the demise of Judas Iscariot; indeed, Acts records the addition of Matthias as a replacement for Judas among the Twelve (Acts 1:15–26) after the risen Jesus’ appearances and ascension into heaven (Acts 1:6–11). Nevertheless ...

4654. To the Church in Ephesus

Revelation 2:1-7

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... faithfulness to Christ, whose exaltation confirms that God is love. And it is the Spirit of the exalted Christ who continues to speak on his behalf to the churches (cf. John 14:15–31; 1 John 4:1–6). The Paraclete’s role within the community of Christ’s disciples is to remind them of God’s love and truth in order to convict them of their sin and to bring about their repentance in the light of God’s truth (cf. John 16:12–15). With this result, the congregation can then hope to eat from the tree ...

4655. The Lamb and the 144,000

Revelation 14:1-5

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... it on the path to God’s shalom as firstfruits to God and the Lamb (cf. Jer. 2:3; Ladd, Revelation, p. 192). God’s salvation is the experience of a covenantal people, who live and worship in a relationship of shared responsibility. Faithful disciples of the sort who make up the 144,000 are untainted by the lies and fictions of secularism and materialism, and they are blameless and therefore acceptable to God. However, their eschatological fitness is not only the result of their faithful response to God ...

4656. Prayer

Matthew 6:5-15

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... Matthew now expands his teachings on prayer by adding what has come to be known as the Lord’s Prayer. The same prayer, in a somewhat shorter form, is found in Luke 11:2–4 where Jesus responds to his disciples’ request to teach them to pray as John had taught his disciples. The differences between the two accounts argue that the prayer was intended as a guide rather than a liturgical chant to be memorized. Matthew’s version contains three petitions that relate to God and his kingdom followed by four ...

4657. The Workers Are Few

Matthew 9:35-38

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... without a shepherd” (1 Kings 22:17: cf. Num. 27:17). It was used by Jesus (John 10:1–18) and the early church (1 Pet. 2:25) as well. In the helplessness of the crowd Jesus sees an opportunity for the proclamation of the kingdom. So he tells his disciples to pray that the Lord of the harvest will send workers to gather in the lost. Since the figure of the harvest often occurred in connection with judgment (Isa. 17:11; Matt. 13:30), some feel that the summons to the ...

4658. God's Chosen Servant

Matthew 12:15-21

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... turn of the century to develop a critical view known as the “messianic secret.” He held that belief in Jesus as Messiah came as a result of the church’s post-Easter faith. The church then put out the story that Jesus had secretly told his disciples of his messiahship and charged them not to let it be known. Thus the “messianic secret” is an attempt to read back Jesus’ messiahship into the life of Jesus (see the article by Colin Brown in NIDNTT, vol. 3, pp. 206–11). Tasker says of this theory ...

4659. Jesus' Mother and Brothers

Matthew 12:46-50

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... tells of the arrival of Jesus’ family, to the he replied to him of verse 48. To the message that his family is outside wanting to talk with him, Jesus responds with the rhetorical questions, Who is my mother, and who are my brothers? Pointing to his disciples, he declares, Here are my mother and my brothers. On what basis? Whoever does the will of my Father in heaven is my brother and sister and mother. Doing God’s will is accepting the mighty deeds of Jesus as heralding the arrival of the messianic ...

4660. The Parable of the Net

Matthew 13:47-52

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... 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 basis, then, he can say that every teacher of the law who understands the truths of the kingdom is like the master of the house ...

4661. Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

Matthew 15:29-39

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... a few small fish, Jesus had the crowd seated, and they were fed. After they all had eaten their fill, the leftovers were gathered, and there remained seven basketfuls. Not counting the women and children, some four thousand had been fed from the meager supply of the disciples. A question that is always asked concerns the relationship between the two miraculous feedings as reported both by Matthew (14:13–21 and 15:32–39) and by Mark (6:30–44 and 8:1–10). Luke records only one (9:10–17), and John 6 ...

4662. The Temple Tax

Matthew 17:24-27

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... . In order that others may not be influenced to do something wrong (skandalizō means “to cause to stumble”) Peter is told by Jesus to catch a fish, and in its mouth he will find the necessary tax money. Though there is no necessity for Jesus and his disciples to pay the temple tax (they belong to another kingdom), it is important that they do not set a bad example for others. To insist upon one’s rights in a case like this would be to indulge in what Schweizer calls a “negative legalism,” which ...

4663. The Little Children and Jesus

Matthew 19:13-15

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

19:13–15 When little children were brought to Jesus so that he might lay his hands on them and pray, the disciples rebuked those who brought them (Phillips says that they “frowned on the parents’ action”). The disciples were annoyed that their journey to Jerusalem was being slowed down. Jesus, however, had different priorities. Let the little children come to me, and do not hinder them, for the kingdom of heaven belongs to the childlike. So first he gave them his blessing (i.e., placed his hands on ...

4664. Jesus Again Predicts His Death

Matthew 20:17-19

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... it is also an example of chiasmus (for other examples compare 7:16 with 7:20, and 24:42 with 25:13). Chapter 20 also begins with the Greek conjunction gar, which emphasizes continuity. 20:17–19 As Jesus was going up to Jerusalem, he took the twelve disciples aside to tell them what would happen to him there. This is now the third prediction of his passion. Once again he speaks only to the Twelve. Three important points are made. First, he will be betrayed to the chief priests and the teachers of the law ...

4665. The Fig Tree Withers

Matthew 21:18-22

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

21:18–22 The day after the cleansing of the temple Jesus returned to Jerusalem from Bethany. Seeing a lone fig tree by the road, he went up to it but found nothing on it except leaves. To the tree he said, May you never bear fruit again! The disciples were astonished to see the tree wither so quickly and asked in amazement how it had happened (v. 20). Jesus responded, saying that if they had faith and did not doubt they could not only do what he had done but could order a mountain to cast itself into the ...

4666. Daniel’s Dream of Four Beasts

Daniel 7:1-14

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... and “judge the earth” (Ps. 82:8). Psalm 96 also proclaims God as judge: “he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with his truth” (Ps. 96:13). In the NT, Jesus promises twelve thrones for his disciples so that they might judge Israel (Matt. 19:28). There are also thrones in heaven for the twenty-four elders (Rev. 4:4). The phrase “Ancient of Days” is similar to the Canaanite expression “father of years” used of ʾel in the Ugaritic texts. There ...

4667. Daniel’s Vision of a Man

Daniel 10:1--11:1

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... ; 15:12; 1 Sam. 26:12; Job 33:15). Joshua also fell prostrate when he met a heavenly visitor, the commander of Yahweh’s army (Josh. 5:14). Similarly, Ezekiel (Ezek. 1:28) and John (Rev. 1:17) fell face down when they beheld visions, as did the disciples on the Mount of Transfiguration (Matt. 17:6–7). Terrifying and unsettling emotional reactions to dreams and visions are a recurring theme in the book of Daniel (2:1, 3; 4:5, 19; 5:6, 8–9; 7:28; 8:27). Terror, bewilderment, ghostlike looks, and physical ...

4668. The Calling of Levi

Mark 2:13-17

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... both show Jesus associating closely with people deemed unacceptable by the religious purists of his day. In the one case, a tax collector, an employee of the Roman-installed-and-supported government of Herod Antipas, is invited to become a personal disciple of Jesus. Such people were disliked by many as religiously impure or even as collaborators with the Romans (see note). By calling Levi (see note) to personal fellowship and service, Jesus would have offended many, raising questions in their minds about ...

4669. The Parable of the Mustard Seed

Mark 4:30-34

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... is not that the kingdom of God comes by quiet, prolonged growth, but rather that, though many might think the manifestation of the kingdom in Jesus’ ministry insignificant, they would be proven wrong in the day of its full appearance. And the disciples, for whom the parable was originally intended, were to have confidence that their humble ministry was to have great results. Like all Jesus’ parables examined in this chapter, this one asserts the hope for a future vindication of his ministry. As we ...

4670. The Healing of a Demon-possessed Man

Mark 5:1-20

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... raise for modern readers must be set aside. The scene should be understood solely as Mark intended: it demonstrates all the more the magnitude of Jesus’ authority. The cry of the demons at Jesus’ approach, hailing him as Son of God, answers the frightened question of the disciples in 4:41, “Who is this?” It is an example of a point Mark makes several times—though the human characters do not know what to make of Jesus, both God’s voice and the demons tell the reader the answer (cf. 1:11, 24, 34 ...

4671. Jesus Clears the Temple

Mark 11:12-19

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... act is not to be taken simply as a rash act of anger but as a solemn prophetic word pronounced for the benefit of the disciples (and for the readers). The green figs of the tree in the story appear early in the spring before the leaves. Since the tree has ... of Jerusalem and judgment upon Israel for the failure of her leaders to demonstrate faithfulness to God. Mark’s note that the disciples heard what Jesus said (v. 14) is designed to prepare for the discussion in 11:20–26 in which the sudden withering ...

4672. Whose Son is the Christ?

Mark 12:35-40

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... :18–22). Mark surely intended his readers to see in Jesus’ words not only a condemnation of the abuses of Jewish teachers but also a warning about the development of similar abuses in Christian circles. In the same way that the behavior required of disciples is distinguished from that of Gentile leaders (10:41–45), so here Jewish religious leaders are held up to criticism as a negative example. Additional Notes 12:35 In the temple courts: Note again the emphasis upon the temple location for the saying ...

4673. Jesus Heals a Paralytic

Luke 5:17-26

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... man (vv. 17–26) involves faith and the forgiveness of sins. This healing story is the first of a series of episodes where Jesus encounters religious criticism and opposition. In 6:1–5 Jesus is accused of working on the Sabbath when he and his disciples picked grain to eat, while similar charges are brought for healing the man with the withered hand (6:6–11). At this point the plot begins to thicken as the religious authorities begin considering what to do with Jesus. Thus, Luke is able to make ...

4674. The Parable of the Rich Fool

Luke 12:13-21

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... Gospel of Thomas (see note on 11:27–28 above) 72 also contains this unique Lucan passage: “[A man said] to him, ‘Tell my brothers to divide my father’s possessions with me.’ He said to him, ‘O man, who has made Me a divider?’ He turned to His disciples and said to them, ‘I am not a divider, am I?’ ” The Thomas form of the saying probably derives from Luke. Compare Exod. 2:14: “Who made you [i.e., Moses] a prince and a judge over us?” (RSV; see also Acts 7:27). 12:15 Jesus’ warning ...

4675. Jesus Again Predicts His Death

Luke 18:31-34

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... is written by the prophets about the Son of Man will be fulfilled. This reference, taken together with the statement of incomprehension in v. 34, clearly anticipates Luke 24:25–27, 44–46, where the uncomprehending disciples have the Scriptures explained to them by the risen Christ. For now, however, the disciples do not understand any of this. And it is not because they are dull of understanding (which is the impression with which one is left in the Marcan version); it is because its meaning was hidden ...

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