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 501 to 525 of 4943 results
Understanding Series
Donald A. Hagner
God’s Definitive Revelation The magnificent opening verses of this passage provide an immediate expression of the author’s theological perspective: he moves from past revelation to definitive revelation, from God’s word to the OT “fathers” to his final word through his Son, Jesus Christ. He gives first his doctrine of Christ in order to set the tone for the entire book. The introductory christological prologue in these verses is thus similar to the prologue of the Fourth Gospel (John 1:1–18) in its ...
Understanding Series
Peter H. Davids
Because he is aware of practical problems in the community, James makes an abrupt switch from peacemakers, the wise leaders of the community, to the actual situation of intrachurch conflict. 4:1 What causes fights and quarrels among you? That is a good question, for if God’s wisdom is found in peacemakers, community strife does not come from them. A conflict with the pagan world or the synagogue might be the inevitable result of following Christian standards, but these are quarrels within the church (i.e ...
Understanding Series
Norman Hillyer
A Special Charge to Elders 5:1 Peter now turns to address the local church leaders, the elders among you. The term elders can indicate those senior in age (as in v. 5) or as here, senior in experience. In the nature of the case, of course, the latter meaning will often include the former. Hints of the function of elders can be gleaned from verses 2–3. Their duties include leading and pastoring church members, taking financial responsibility, and living exemplary lives that match up to Christian teaching. ...
Understanding Series
James K. Bruckner
The first sixteen verses of Exodus 13 belong to the framework that begins in Exodus 12. They return to the themes of unleavened bread and the firstborn, completing the braided work of 12:1–13:16 (see an outline of this structure in §13). The observance of the Feast of Unleavened Bread (B′) in verses 2–10, with Moses speaking the message to the people, mirrors God’s words to Moses in (B), 12:14–20. The law of the firstborn redemption in verses 11–16 (A′) mirrors the killing of the firstborn in Egypt and the ...
Understanding Series
Leslie C. Allen
Guidelines Established and Monitored: Was there anything else left to do after the grand finale of the wall dedication ceremony? Indeed there was, according to the editor. At the close of Ezra 1–6 the narrator recognized in the dedication of the rebuilt temple an opportunity to put into place normative guidelines that echoed the Torah concerning the regular staffing of the temple. Similarly here, the editor supplements the wall dedication story with the enactment of two guidelines that brought the ...
506. Proverbs of Solomon
Proverbs 14:1-35
Understanding Series
Roland E. Murphy
14:1 Antithetic. The NIV has rendered the general sense, but see the Additional Notes. A real house might be meant, but more probably it is a metaphor for home—the family or even for one’s own life; see 24:3 and 31:10–31. 14:2 Antithetic and juxtapositional. Here is an obvious contrast between the just and the wicked in their relationships to the LORD. 14:3 Antithetic. Here is another example of the effects of wise and foolish speech (cf. 10:21; 15:7; Eccl. 10:12–13). The rod to his back (cf. also the NRSV ...
507. A Message About Babylon
Jeremiah 50:1--51:64
Understanding Series
Tremper Longman III
50:1 The superscription that begins the final oracle against the nations identifies the object of this long section as Babylon. It introduces not only the last grouping of oracles but also what are by far the longest in the oracles against the nations. The prophet pulls out all the stops to articulate the destruction that was coming Babylon’s way. Jeremiah understood that the Babylonians were being used by God as an instrument of his judgment against Judah and the other nations, but this fact did not ...
Understanding Series
Pamela J. Scalise
Superscription to the Vision Reports and Oracles (1:1): Zechariah now describes a series of visions received during one night in the second year of Darius. These reports attach revelations of God’s will and works to aspects of the people’s experience as subjects of the emperor. Zechariah 3:8 provides the key to this way of reading part two of Zechariah when it calls the Jerusalem priesthood a mofet, a sign or portent for the “Branch” to come. In every episode of the vision there is some concrete, present ...
Understanding Series
Pamela J. Scalise
Reverence for God’s Name: The second speech continues the theme of family relationships and domestic life as a metaphor for Israel’s life with God. Verse 6 introduces the Lord as a father figure and master of a patriarchal household. By the contempt they have shown for the Lord’s table and the food placed on it, the priests have fouled their own home, hurt the other family members, and brought the name of the Lord, their father and master, into disrepute. Yet an opportunity for restoration and renewal ...
Understanding Series
J. Ramsey Michaels
The principle that the “whole world has gone after” Jesus (v. 19) finds immediate illustration in some Greeks who were among the worshipers at the festival (v. 20). Their request to see Jesus was directed at Philip (cf. 1:43–44), ceremoniously passed along by him to Andrew, and by the two of them to Jesus (vv. 21–22). These two disciples have been seen together twice before: first as Jesus’ agents in initially gathering a group of followers (1:35–45), and later as the two whose faith Jesus tested before ...
511. An Unholy History
Ezekiel 20:1-29, Ezekiel 20:30-49
Understanding Series
Steven Tuell
Oracles of Destruction: The date formula in Ezekiel 20:1 is the first since 8:1; the next date in Ezekiel appears at 24:1. These dated oracles thus set chapters 20–24 apart. Still, we can find little if any formal unity here. Ezekiel 20–24 is a miscellaneous collection of various types of material, from historical recitation (20:1–26) to judgment oracle (21:25–27) to allegory (ch. 23). In many ways, this material reprises earlier images and themes (e.g., compare 22:23–31 with 7:23–27; and ch. 23 with ch. ...
Teach the Text
Jeannine K. Brown
Big Idea: Matthew indicates that Jesus will suffer in the pattern of his predecessor, John the Baptist, but also foreshadows Jesus’ resurrection glory, which will follow his suffering. Understanding the Text Matthew’s account of the transfiguration, following directly on the heels of Jesus’ first passion prediction, highlights Jesus’ (future) resurrection glory. As Peter has been prominent in the confession of Jesus as Messiah in 16:16–20, so here too he plays the key, supporting role in this narrative ( ...
Teach the Text
Grant R. Osborne
Big Idea: Jesus provides a Christian form of the Jewish Shema (Deut. 6:4–9), labeled by some the “Jesus Creed,”1 which sums up the Ten Commandments: the relationship of the Christian with God (the vertical aspect of life) and with others (the horizontal aspect). Understanding the Text The four sections in 12:27–44 form a conclusion to Jesus’s public interaction with the leaders. The next time he sees them will be at his arrest in the garden (14:43–52). The first two sections are part of the controversies ...
Teach the Text
C. Marvin Pate
Big Idea: Paul focuses on the Mosaic law’s relationship to new dominion in Christ. A stark contrast emerges: freedom from the law because of union with Christ versus enslavement to the law because of union with Adam. This relationship is paradoxical: union with Christ and with Adam both pertain to the Christian (7:13–25 will expound on this). Understanding the Text Romans 6:23 pronounces that the Christian is in union with Christ and therefore free from the law. This is illustrated in 7:1–6. But things are ...
Teach the Text
Preben Vang
Big Idea: Although the Spirit’s gifts do not grant status to their recipients, the gifts that benefit and build up Christ’s community are of greater significance and value than those used only for the personal benefit of the individual. Understanding the Text Paul now returns to his discussion of spiritual gifts begun in chapter 12. To fully appreciate chapter 14, however, chapter 13 cannot be dismissed as a digression or a simple aside. Although 14:1–25 seems to focus primarily on tongue speaking and the ...
516. The Four Horsemen
Revelation 6:1-17
Teach the Text
J. Scott Duvall
Big Idea: As Christ opens the first four seals, God allows human sinfulness to run its course, resulting in warfare, violence, bloodshed, economic hardship, and death. Understanding the Text Just as the vision of the glorified Christ in Revelation 1 leads into the messages to the seven churches in chapters 2–3, so the throne-room vision of Revelation 4–5 prepares the way for God’s righteous judgments that commence in chapter 6. Jesus, the worthy one (5:2–5), now begins to open the scroll by breaking the ...
Teach the Text
J. Scott Duvall
Big Idea: Christians are called to faithful endurance when confronted by the beast from the sea, an evil force empowered by the dragon and determined to deceive the world, blaspheme God, and persecute believers. Understanding the Text As we continue through the interlude of 12:1–14:20, chapter 12 closes with Satan standing on the shore of the sea (12:18 in the Greek text but moved to 13:1 by some translations). Chapters 12 and 13 must be seen together. Having been prevented from reaching the woman, the ...
518. God’s Judgment of Babylon Calls for Celebration
Revelation 19:1-10, Revelation 18:1-24
Teach the Text
J. Scott Duvall
Big Idea: God’s people are called to rejoice over his judgment of the evil city and his vindication of the saints. Understanding the Text We now enter the final stage of Babylon’s destruction (17:1–19:5). The laments of Babylon’s codependents in 18:9–19 are contrasted with the rejoicing of the righteous in 18:20–19:5. God’s people are urged to celebrate God’s judgment of the “great city” (18:20). This command is followed by the announcement of Babylon’s certain destruction (18:21), which focuses upon what ...
519. The Conclusion
Revelation 22:7-21
Teach the Text
J. Scott Duvall
Big Idea: Those who obey this authentic prophecy from God, which proclaims how to live in light of Christ’s imminent return, will be eternally blessed. Understanding the Text The somewhat random organization of the conclusion results from the many things John is trying to accomplish in this closing section. There are various speakers (John, an angel, Jesus, the Spirit and the bride, the hearers), important parallels with the prologue in 1:1–8,1and three central themes that reinforce the overall message of ...
Teach the Text
Joe M. Sprinkle
Big Idea: Trust that God can overcome great difficulties. Understanding the Text The people had begun complaining at Taberah and Kibroth Hattaavah (Num. 11). At Hazeroth Moses’s own sister and brother had expressed resentment against Moses and undermined his spiritual authority (Num. 12). In each of these cases God had intervened with a mixture of punishment and grace. Now they come to Kadesh (or Kadesh Barnea) in the Desert of Paran (Num. 13:26) just south of the land of Canaan. Israel has not learned its ...
Teach the Text
C. Hassell Bullock
Big Idea: God delights in the spiritual transaction of repentance that begins in the human heart. Understanding the Text Bernhard W. Anderson calls Psalm 51 “one of the pearls of the Psalter.”1Among the seven penitential psalms,2this one, in Weiser’s estimation, is the most important because it “demonstrates the essence of true penitence.”3This psalm falls generally under the classification of the individual lament, and more specifically, to use Kraus’s subcategory, “Songs of the Sick and Anguished.”4As a ...
Teach the Text
C. Hassell Bullock
Big Idea: God’s redeeming work in our lives is the extension of his great redeeming acts in history. Understanding the Text This psalm appears to be a hybrid of a hymn, a community psalm of thanksgiving, and an individual psalm of thanksgiving.1It only hints at the adversity that has prompted the psalmist to make and pay his vows of thanksgiving to God in the temple (“when I was in trouble,” 66:14). This hint, though nothing more than that, takes its place parallel to Israel’s trial in Egypt, which he ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
The next verses (12:1–3) follow naturally from the preceding discourse, in which Jesus has criticized Pharisaic religion. Here he warns his disciples to be on guard against “the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy” (12:1). Such hypocrisy cannot be hidden forever; at the end it will be revealed for all to see (12:2–3). Verses 2–3 also blend in with the following exhortation (12:4–12) to the disciples. The disciples should not deny Jesus, because ultimately such a denial will be broadcast for all to ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
13:1–20:31 Review · The Book of Glory: With chapter 13 we move to another major literary division in the Fourth Gospel, which contrasts directly with the Book of Signs (1:19–12:50). The contrast is chiefly one of perspective. In the Book of Signs, for instance, Jesus addresses a public audience. His teaching provokes a crisis of faith, as some believe while others reject him. Here, though, the audience is narrowed to the circle of disciples who follow him to the cross. We noted how in chapter 12 Jesus “hid ...
525. Love
Romans 12:9-21
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
Paul clarifies in 12:9–13 that the diversity of believers and their ministries can constitute one body only if their lives are controlled by love (cf. 1 Corinthians 13). The gifts of the Spirit are functions of the body, while love determines how the members of the body function. Love is the esteem and affection believers have for each other as a result of having been saved by God’s love (Rom. 5:5, 8; 8:39) and Christ’s love (Rom. 8:35). Since all good gifts can be manipulated and devastated by human ...
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