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Showing 4776 to 4800 of 4964 results

4776. Jesus Feeds the Four Thousand

Mark 8:1-13

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... notice is where this account appears in Mark. This feeding is mentioned right after the redefinition of clean/unclean in 7:1–23 and the two stories of miracles in gentile settings in 7:24–37, the latter story alluding to Isaiah 35 with its prophetic hope of a time of divine salvation. Immediately following the feeding in 8:1–10, there is the rejection of the Pharisees’ demand for a sign to authenticate Jesus (8:11–13), a warning about the wrong attitudes of the Jewish leaders (8:14–17), another ...

4777. The Transfiguration

Mark 9:2-13

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... no doubt with the intention of prolonging the glorious experience. Peter’s suggestion could imply that he thought that the experience meant that the kingdom had fully arrived, that the end had come, and that God was about to bring fully to pass all the hopes for a new reign of righteousness upon the earth. In this he was wrong, still not realizing the necessity for the suffering of Christ described in 8:31. Without Christ’s suffering and death the kingdom could not fully come. Neither does Peter realize ...

4778. The Triumphal Entry

Mark 11:1-11

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... green branches and the shouting of the religious slogans in verses 9–10 were actions typical of the joy of pilgrims coming to the holy city, but Mark intends his readers to see these details as further hints that Jesus’ entrance is the fulfillment of all the hopes of ancient Judaism. The cry about the coming kingdom of our father David is no doubt a reference to the ancient Jewish prayer that God would send the Messiah, the Son of David, who would restore the kingship to Israel as in David’s time (see ...

4779. The Lord's Supper

Mark 14:12-26

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... church. Like the word in 10:45 (see comment), these sayings confirm that the death of Jesus had powerful significance and provide us with an example of the early theology of the church. Finally, the passage links the celebration of the supper with the hope for the kingdom of God, showing us how the early church held together its view of the death of Christ, its own continuing Eucharistic fellowship, and the forward-looking expectation of the consummation of God’s kingdom. Additional Notes 14:12 The first ...

4780. Jesus Before Pilate

Mark 15:1-15

Understanding Series

Larry W. Hurtado

... Jews: This is the second use of the title by Pilate (cf. v. 2), and in both cases he probably intended it as a mockery of Jesus and of all things Jewish. In other words, he saw the helpless Jesus standing before him as a laughable example of the vain hopes of the Jews in the face of the might of Imperial Rome. Cf. also v. 12, where Pilate again uses the term. The same term is used consistently by the Romans again in 15:18, where the soldiers mock Jesus, and in 15:26, quoting the mocking title placed above ...

4781. Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

Luke 22:1-6

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... . 753–55. 22:2 On chief priests see note on 19:47 above; on teachers of the law see note on 5:21 above. 22:3 Recall the devil’s departure “for an opportune time” (4:13). Unable to stop Jesus at the beginning of his ministry, Satan now hopes to ruin the end of his ministry by subverting his followers. Satan is Hebrew for “Adversary”; see note on 10:15 above and HBD, pp. 908–9. On Judas, called Iscariot see note on 6:16 above. 22:4 temple guard: According to Fitzmyer (p. 1375), these persons may ...

4782. Jesus Appears to the Disciples

Luke 24:36-49

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... –36; see commentary and notes) that the evangelist has compared Jesus with Moses and with various aspects of the Pentateuch. Also it was suggested that by arranging his material in the Central Section (10:1–18:14) to follow the sequence of Deuteronomy 1–26, Luke hoped to portray Jesus as the prophet like Moses (see commentary on 10:1–24). In Acts 3:22–23; 7:37, however, there is an explicit quotation of Deut. 18:15–16, 19, in which Jesus is indeed identified as that prophet whom God would raise ...

4783. Slaves to Righteousness

Romans 6:15-23

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... be sure, that permits its servants no neutral ground. To live under grace means freedom to do not what we want but what we ought! It means, as Paul will continue in the following verse, freedom for obedience, not an excuse for disobedience. 6:16 Paul hopes to make his reasoning apparent by a rhetorical question: Don‘t you know that … you are slaves to the one whom you obey? This resumes the thought of verses 12ff., and, as there, the present tense of his verbs implies continuous or habitual action. He ...

4784. Israel's Unbelief

Romans 9:30--10:21

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... . Belief means active trust in God’s goodness to us in Jesus Christ, as opposed to mere intellectual assent to a propositional truth. And confession means a deliberate and public witness to that belief. Belief and confession forsake all hopes of establishing their own righteousness (10:3). They direct hope outward, extra nos, to the righteousness of God. 10:11–13 In support of verses 9–10 Paul again (see 9:33) quotes Isaiah 28:16, “Everyone who trusts in him will never be put to shame.” In Isaiah ...

4785. Thanksgiving

1 Corinthians 1:1-9

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... peace of God came to Christians from both God and the Lord Jesus Christ. The second typical normal element of a Greco-Roman letter—after the salutation—is a statement of thanksgiving or a thanksgiving prayer. Usually the lines mean little more than “I hope all is well with you,” although the writer typically makes some reference to “the gods.” Paul again follows the basic pattern of the standard letter of his day, but he modifies the form so that it becomes “Christian” and takes on a dynamic ...

4786. The Rights of an Apostle

1 Corinthians 9:1-27

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... and makes applications of the lessons learned from the story to the situation of those to whom the midrash is addressed. In some critical editions of the Greek text, the words when the plowman plows and the thresher threshes, they ought to do so in the hope of sharing in the harvest are set as if they are also a quotation of Scripture. The style of Paul’s words leading into these lines does seem to anticipate another quotation from the law. Although the maxim is similar to phrases in Deuteronomy 24:14 ...

4787. The Scroll and the Lamb

Revelation 5:1-14

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... , sphazō, indicates the violent slaughtering of a Paschal lamb (Exod. 12:6; cf. 1 Cor. 5:7; 1 Pet. 1:18–19). This interpretation of Christ’s death is consistent with the Exodus typology found throughout Revelation; that is, John’s intent is to evoke hope for a new Exodus from sin and into God’s promised kingdom of grace and peace. Second, with your blood you purchased men for God from every … nation. The verb purchase (agorazō; cf. Rev. 3:18; 13:17) denotes a commercial transaction, typified by ...

4788. 144,000 Sealed

Revelation 7:1-8

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... vindication. 7:5–8 The significance of the list enumerating the remnant of a true Israel has been long debated. The best suggestions begin by recognizing that biblical genealogies serve theological purposes and that John has shaped this one to reflect the messianic hope specific to his composition. The list accordingly begins with Messiah’s tribe of Judah (Rev. 5:5) rather than Reuben, who heads most OT genealogies as Jacob’s eldest son (cf. Gen. 35:23). Second, the list replaces the tribe of Dan with ...

4789. The Seventh Trumpet

Revelation 11:15-19

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... than his second coming. At this point in his vision, John is more concerned with a realized Christology than with a futuristic eschatology. Thus, the tense of the stanzas looks to the past in thanksgiving for what has “already been realized,” and not to the future in hope of what is “not yet real”: God has already begun to reign (11:17) with the exalted Lamb (cf. 5:10); and the time (kairos) of God’s wrath already has come (11:18) beginning with the vindication of the slain Lamb (cf. 6:16–17 ...

4790. The Beast out of the Sea

Revelation 13:1b-10

Understanding Series

Robert W. Wall

... record of political abuse and social maleficence testifies to humanity’s powerlessness to reverse this established evil order: Who is like the beast? Who can make war against him? Given this hopeless situation, then, the natural response of the whole world that does not hope in God (cf. 13:8) is to ascribe to the beast what belongs only to God (cf. Exod. 15:11; Isa. 40:25); without the requisite spiritual resources to resist, the lost resign themselves to follow after the beast rather than the Lamb (cf ...

4791. The Priests Begin their Ministry

Leviticus 9:1-24

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... specification given for the grain offering is that it be mixed with oil. Moses is still in charge, although he is telling the high priest to give instructions. All of this preparation, it is important to see, happens in the context of the hope of theophany, an appearance of God to the community. Central to theophany in the OT is proper preparation to encounter the divine presence. Without it, the encounter could be quite hazardous. In addition to the fellowship offering, this initial sacrificial worship is ...

4792. The Death of Nadab and Abihu

Leviticus 10:1-20

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... large in these texts (see Luke 12:47–48 and James 3:1). Chapter 10 ends at a very different place from where it began. In contrast to the sin and death in the opening verses, Moses is now satisfied. The priests now enjoy Mosaic sanction, and hope has resurfaced. This incident with Nadab and Abihu will puzzle and disturb many modern readers. Death through divine punishment seems out of place with the grace of the Christian God and gospel. The difficulty is not limited to Leviticus or to the OT. A number of ...

4793. Supplementary Offerings

Numbers 15:1-21

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

... generations to come. The people were instructed to bring an offering of firstfruits in Leviticus 23 (see Deut. 26), and here in Numbers that instruction is expanded to a first meal offering. The text certainly anticipates settled life, with agriculture, ovens, baking, and the hope for a variety of foods. As verses 1–16 relate to grains, these verses relate to foods from grains and the offerings of them. Additional Notes 15:3 Offerings made by fire: See the note on Lev. 1:9 for the alternate translation ...

4794. David at Nob

1 Samuel 21:1-9

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... have raised suspicions. 21:10–15 David’s next step was to leave Israelite territory and seek sanctuary with Achish king of Gath. Verse 11 implies that David hoped to work as a mercenary soldier and that his being recognized by one of Achish’s servants was an unfortunate accident. (Given that he was carrying Goliath’s sword, his hopes for anonymity were unrealistic.) Achish had heard of David’s reputation and was wary of his intentions. David feared for his life but managed, by feigning madness, to ...

4795. David's Lament for Saul and Jonathan

2 Samuel 1:17-27

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... tragedy for Israel. It is not clear whether Saul or the whole army is being described as the glory of Israel and as the mighty, but the point is the same. The loss to those who remained behind, to the nation as a whole, was incalculable. The forlorn hope that the news would not be spread among the Philistine cities and not become a matter for rejoicing there (v. 20) is unrealistic but heartfelt. Saul wanted to die before he could be mocked (1 Sam. 31:4); that mockery should take place in Philistia after his ...

4796. Absalom Returns to Jerusalem

2 Samuel 14:1-33

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... in public life was bound to lead to trouble. Geshur was a small state, but while he was there Absalom could have had some hopes of taking over from his grandfather or at least of working toward that end. His summons to return must have given him the impression ... like of their ignorance of Absalom’s schemes. As they would be likely to be condemned as traitors anyway, their only hope lay with Absalom’s success. David’s own counselor, Ahithophel, had apparently been aware of Absalom’s plans and supported ...

4797. The Advice of Hushai and Ahithophel

2 Sam 16:15–17:29

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... the day. There had not been too much delay. David reacted immediately and by working all night was able to move all his forces across the Jordan before daybreak. Ahithophel’s plan was no longer possible. 17:23 Ahithophel, when his advice was ignored, gave up all hope of Absalom’s success. He knew that there was no return for him to a kingdom where David reigned, so he went back to his own hometown, put all his affairs in order, and hanged himself. The story is told with no assessment of Ahithophel’s ...

4798. The Gibeonites Avenged

2 Samuel 21:1-14

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... his positive personal attitude to Saul’s family. 21:10 The story may be enigmatic, but there is little to support Hertzberg’s suggestion that Rizpah’s protection of the bodies of her sons involved “rain-magic” (I and II Samuel, p. 385). Rizpah may have hoped that the sacrifice of her sons would be given meaning by the coming of rain, but the account presents us only with her grief. Given that it was often the bodies of criminals that were exposed in this way (cf. additional note on 4:12), Rizpah ...

4799. Epilogue

Job 42:7-17

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... The narrative of Job comes to an end not in suffering, but in satisfaction. In the free will and purpose of God, such blessings can—and often do—come to the righteous. The world is, after all, a broken place beset with evil and pain. The righteous cannot hope to avoid all suffering and pain in this life, but they can rest assured, on the testimony of Job, that God is sovereign over all that he has made. His concern extends to the ends of the earth—even beyond humans to the unique and unknown creatures ...

4800. The Escape to Egypt

Matthew 2:13-18

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... ? All we are intended to understand is that as Rachel mourned for her children, so also do the mothers of Bethlehem mourn for theirs. Some have noted that the larger context of the Jeremiah passages is one of hope. The prophet goes on to say that the exiles will return (31:16) and “there is hope for your future” (31:17). God will bring his people back from captivity (31:23), refreshing the weary and satisfying the faint (31:25). Since a particular passage may intend the entire context (cf. C. H. Dodd ...

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