Sermon and Worship Resources

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Showing 4751 to 4775 of 4958 results

4751. Jotham King of Judah

2 Kings 15:32-38

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... king’s actions are beyond our grasp. All that is assured is that he is motivated by a desire not to offend (for whatever reason offence might have been taken) the king of Assyria. Perhaps the two aspects of the temple mentioned here symbolized in a particularly obvious way the claims of the Davidic kings to preeminence.

4752. Hezekiah King of Judah

2 Kings 18:1-16

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... (cf. 2 Kgs. 23:6, referring back to 21:3). The bronze snake: It comes as something of a surprise to find Nehushtan, hitherto unmentioned in the narrative of Kings, making an appearance as the object of idolatrous worship, not least because of the implicit claim of the verse that it has been a feature of Judean worship for some time (up to that time, implying customary practice). The authors of Kings have, of course, gone out of their way to make a distinction between Judean kings who were apostate (“did ...

4753. Manasseh King of Judah

2 Kings 21:1-18

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... has failed to listen to the prophets (2 Kgs. 17:12–13) and now faces the same judgment as Israel, as the LORD visits their blood-guilt upon them (1 Kgs. 2:32; cf. Deut. 19:10, 13; 21:8–9). A story that began with the house of David claiming freedom from such blood-guilt (1 Kgs. 2:5–9, 31–33, 37) is to end with guilt fully imputed. David’s descendants are not going to know “the LORD’s peace forever” (1 Kgs. 2:33). 21:18 The garden of Uzza: Hitherto we have read in the regnal ...

4754. Jehoahaz King of Judah

2 Kings 23:31-35

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... the fate of Jehoiachin’s family (exile, 24:15) very clearly with that of Zedekiah’s (death, 25:7). It is Zedekiah, and not Jehoiachin, who ends up effectively as “a eunuch in Babylon” (20:18), a mutilated man deprived of heirs who might later claim the throne. These distinctions between the two must be significant; the parallels drawn between the house of David and the house of Ahab in 2 Kings 21–23 distinctly implied that the destruction of David’s house would be total. There would be no escape ...

4755. Woe to the Obstinate Nation

Isaiah 30:1-33

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... scope for ongoing weeping. Normal human life involves this alternating of a cry for help and a responsive hearing. There will be no danger of wandering because the people will have clear guidance (vv. 20b–21). In Isaiah’s day the people could not claim that they lacked teachers, but the promise presupposes that the threat that Isaiah has hinted at, that people lose their teachers when they ignore them (see 8:16–17), has been fulfilled. They will now hear their teachers’ voices when they are inclined ...

4756. Judgment Against the Nations

Isaiah 34:1-17

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... –33). On the other hand, it is usually foreign nations that are the victims when Yahweh speaks of “total destruction” (kherem; but see 43:28). This is the term used of Joshua’s destruction of the Canaanites (see also 11:15; and 37:11, perhaps ironically). Yahweh claims them as if they were a sacrifice like the whole offering which was totally burnt because it was totally given over to God. But it is also the case that we get angry when someone does wrong to people we care about, and Yahweh’s anger ...

4757. Sennacherib Threatens Jerusalem

Isaiah 36:1-22

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... in Ezekiel 2:3. Rebellion against Assyria is rebellion against Yahweh, because Assyria is Yahweh’s agent (10:5). The argument will recur when Jeremiah sees Babylon as Yahweh’s agent a century later. If he is rebelling against Yahweh, Hezekiah cannot claim to be relying on Yahweh. Isaiah might be smiling wryly again, for relying on Yahweh was exactly what Isaiah wanted Hezekiah to do, but he agrees with the Assyrian that trust in Yahweh would not make rebellion successful. The Assyrian commander adds ...

4758. The Servant of the Lord

Isaiah 49:1-7

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... quiet and one might wonder what has happened to this theme and the issues it stood for. Then, at the very end of chapters 40–48 we are reminded of them and thereby reminded of the unsolved problem they have raised: Why is it that the prophet claims the position that belonged to Jacob-Israel? The companion half-line reassures us that we have asked the right question. “You are my servant, Israel, in whom I will display my splendor.” It is often the calling of some individual to embody the calling of a ...

4759. The Suffering and Glory of the Servant

Isaiah 52:13--53:12

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... who had nevertheless been inevitably drawn into the suffering of the state’s collapse and the deportation to Babylon. Jeremiah is the one who is best known to us, and verses 7–8 follow Jeremiah 11:19. While Jeremiah was certainly no deceiver, he could not claim to be someone who kept his mouth shut. So the servant of this vision is like Jeremiah—only more so. Like Jeremiah he has been treated in a way that ignores regular standards of law. Unlike Jeremiah, he has eventually paid a price not merely in ...

4760. An Unholy History

Ezekiel 20:1-29, Ezekiel 20:30-49

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... “pass under the rod” in the Old Testament is in Leviticus 27:32, which defines the tithe of flocks and herds as “every tenth animal that passes under the shepherd’s rod.” Passing under the rod, then, means being counted as one of the people God claims as God’s own (for the Lord as a shepherd in Ezekiel, see 34:11–31). Finally, before they enter the land of promise, God purges the community of the rebellious, who (though delivered from exile) will not enter the land (v. 38). The purpose of ...

4761. Miscellaneous Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 21:1-32, Ezekiel 22:1-31

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... You must distinguish between the holy and the common, between the unclean and the clean, and you must teach the Israelites all the decrees the LORD has given them through Moses” (Lev. 10:10–11; see the discussion of Ezek. 7:26). But Ezekiel claims that Jerusalem’s priests have perverted this teaching role, bringing defilement upon themselves and the people. Further, “they shut their eyes to the keeping of my Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them” (v. 26). In Ezekiel 20, failure to observe the ...

4762. Ammon, Moab, Edom, and Philistia

Ezekiel 25:1-7, Ezekiel 25:8-11, Ezekiel 25:12-14, Ezekiel 25:15-17

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... “red”). Pharaoh Merneptah permitted Edomite herdsmen to graze their flocks in the land of Goshen (the eastern part of the Nile Delta) in the thirteenth century B.C.—not long before the earliest evidence of Israel in the region. Indeed, Israel’s tradition claims a far closer kinship with Edom than with either Ammon or Moab. This tradition understood the Edomites to be the descendants of Isaac’s eldest son Esau (also called Edom; see Gen. 25:25, 30 and the genealogies in 36:1–43), while Israel ...

4763. A Prophecy Against Gog

Ezekiel 38:1-39:29

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... final form of Ezekiel, the battle with Gog comes after Israel’s restoration and renewal in chapters 34–37, so in Revelation, Gog and Magog emerge after a thousand years of Christ’s rule on earth. How can we make sense of this bizarre claim? In Revelation as in Ezekiel, Gog stands as a rebuke to complacency and misplaced confidence. On a personal level, these stories address a universal experience: everyone knows what it is like to be blindsided by failure or tragedy at the very moment when everything ...

4764. Prologue to the Law of the Temple: The Lord Comes Home

Ezekiel 40:1--43:12

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... , Herodotus records that Darius I (522–486 B.C.) applied a standard system across the empire, requiring tribute to be paid in Babylonian talents (Hist. 3.89). Persian-period weights, engraved with Darius’ name and titles, lend support to Herodotus’ claim (see E. Schmidt, The Treasury of Persepolis and other Discoveries in the Homeland of the Achaemenians [Chicago Oriental Institute Communications 21; Chicago: University of Chicago, 1939], p. 62; see the discussion of 45:10–12). As regards the length ...

4765. Transition to Jesus’ Public Ministry

Matthew 4:12-17

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... much a foreigner as an Irishman in London or a Texan in New York. His accent would immediately mark him out as “not one of us,” and all the communal prejudice of the supposedly superior culture of the capital city would stand against his claim to be heard even as a prophet, let alone as the “Messiah,” a title which, as everyone knew, belonged to Judea.1 4:13 Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum. Matthew narrates Jesus’ relocation from Nazareth (his hometown [see 2:23]) to Capernaum ...

4766. Sabbath Controversies with the Pharisees

Matthew 12:1-14

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... first-century Jewish man. Part of this tendency arises from our ambivalence about the Jewish law, particularly the parts that focused on the Jewish temple, purity concerns, and Sabbath regulations. Yet Matthew has no problem accenting Jesus’ adherence to the Torah and his claims that he and his followers are innocent of the charge of breaking the Jewish law. For Matthew, Jesus differs from certain Jewish teachers in his care for the central theme of mercy (9:13; 12:7). This theme itself is inherent in the ...

4767. Herod and Hometown Misunderstand Jesus’ Identity

Matthew 13:53-58, Matthew 14:1-12

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... 11:2–5 John the Baptist wonders if Jesus is the Messiah. At 12:1–44 the Pharisees attribute Jesus’ healing power to the demonic, thereby implying that his identity is quite different from the one that he is implicitly claiming. Here Herod wrongly construes Jesus to be John raised from the dead. At 14:33 and 16:13–20 the disciples rightly recognize Jesus’ messianic identity. miraculous powers. Matthew uses dynameis (“miracles”; NIV: “miraculous powers”) to describe Jesus’ messianic deeds ...

4768. Jesus, Not Jewish Leaders, Interprets the Torah Rightly

Matthew 15:1-20

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... Are you still so dull? Jesus’ exasperation with the slowness of the disciples to understand corresponds to his care in interpreting parables for them (13:18–23, 36–43, 49–50). This exasperation leads the reader to wonder at the disciples’ claim to understand the parables (13:51). The disciples continue to need Jesus’ explanations, and they misunderstand his repeated teachings. The terse parable in 15:11 is explained in 15:17–20 as teaching that evil thoughts produce evil words and actions ...

4769. The Disciples Confess Jesus as the Messiah

Matthew 16:1-4, Matthew 16:5-12, Matthew 16:13-20

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... subsequent reference to the authority to bind and to loose that Jesus promises to give to Peter. These promises of authority should be understood in light of their expansion to the Twelve (and likely the whole church) at 18:18–19 as well as Jesus’ own claim to all authority in 28:18 (see comments on 28:19–20). whatever you bind . . . whatever you loose. Mark Powell helpfully locates the language of binding and loosing in Jewish discussions of Torah application (see 16:19; 18:18; cf. 23:4). To bind a ...

4770. The Disciples’ Insufficient Faith to Heal as Jesus Heals

Matthew 17:14-23, Matthew 17:24-27

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... is bringing near God’s kingdom (e.g., 4:17; 5:3–10). And as he turns the story toward Jesus’ final days, Matthew emphasizes the necessity for Jesus to go to Jerusalem, declare himself to be the Messiah, and suffer the consequences of making this claim. Jesus will be handed over to be killed, but after three days he will be resurrected from the dead. Preaching Jesus from Matthew is about telling the story and meaning of both his life and his death. The whole of Jesus’ story is important for the ...

4771. Jesus Is the Example of Service for His Followers

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

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... position.”2 20:26 whoever wants to become great . . . must be your servant. Jesus has already responded to the disciples’ query about greatness, clearly a status question (18:1). Here he defines greatness in such a way as to derail all attempts to assume or claim status prerogatives. As Ulrich Luz suggests, “The issue . . . is not to present a new way to greatness—a more noble way than that of authority and power; it is rather that the desire to be great is itself to be eliminated, since even the ...

4772. Jesus Enters Jerusalem as a Peaceable and Humble King

Matthew 20:29-34, Matthew 21:1-11

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... Galilee and those from Judea/Jerusalem, see comments on 4:12. Teaching the Text 1. Matthew shows Jesus to be the true king of Israel, the Son of David, who brings restoration. On the story level of Matthew, Jesus now openly demonstrates his claim to be Israel’s king. For Matthew, chapter 21 provides a fitting climax to Jesus’ Galilean ministry and his turn toward Jerusalem. Now Jesus as king will assert and prove his messianic authority in contest with the temple leaders and Jerusalem establishment. We ...

4773. Three Parables about the Unfaithfulness of the Jewish Leaders

Matthew 22:1-14, Matthew 21:33-46, Matthew 21:28-32, Matthew 21:23-27

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... critique (21:1–22)—provoke a contest of authority with the chief priests and Jewish elders (21:23–27). Jesus refuses to answer their question about the source of his authority directly; instead, he tells three parables that provide an implicit claim of his messianic identity and implicate the Jewish leaders in their rejection of his identity and authority (21:28–22:14). In their rejection, Jesus contrasts them to those who have believed his message (and John’s): tax collectors and prostitutes ...

4774. More Parables of the Kingdom

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

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... sounded. The power of its beginning is a power of the Spirit, not of military might. It “is not some massive juggernaut that mows down everything in its path. . . . That is why so many will overlook its presence, underestimate its power, and shrug off its claim on their lives.”3The kingdom is the lowly Jesus, and it is entered only by hearing and believing. 2. The responsibility of Jesus’s followers is to listen and act. The only way to find the path into the kingdom is to listen carefully and heed ...

4775. The Authority of Jesus over Nature and the Cosmic Powers

Mark 5:1-20, Mark 4:35-41

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... grant them something slightly better than the abyss. 5:13 were drowned. The demons’ new home is short-lived indeed. As soon as they enter into the pigs, the herd stampedes to its destruction. The waters that almost killed the disciples (4:37–38) now claim the herd of pigs. 5:15 sitting there, dressed and in his right mind. Such a large herd of pigs was unlikely to belong to one person. Probably it constituted the combined herd of the entire village. Upon hearing the news, the entire town rushes ...

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