Sermon and Worship Resources

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2 Corinthians 8:16--9:5, 2 Corinthians 8:1-15, 2 Corinthians 9:6-15

Understanding Series

James M. Scott

... . 267,” ANRW 17.1, p. 505. Wiseman notes there is some evidence that other famines may also have affected Corinth during the reign of Claudius (cf. Seutonius, Claudius 18.2). 8:1 For a similar use of the direct address of the Corinthians as brothers in order to mark the transition to a new subject see 2 Cor. 1:8; 13:11. On Macedonia, see David W. J. Gill, “Macedonia,” in The Book of Acts in Its First Century Setting, Vol. 2: The Book of Acts in Its Graeco-Roman Setting (ed. David W. J. Gill and Conrad ...

1027. Freedom In Christ

Galatians 5:1-15, Galatians 5:16-26

Understanding Series

L. Ann Jervis

... . 5:9 The saying “a little yeast works through the whole batch of dough” is found also at 1 Corinthians 5:6. It appears to have been common in the ancient Greek-speaking world to use yeast as a symbol for evil’s powerful corrupting capacity (cf. Mark 8:15). In this case Paul is warning that even though there may be only a few advocating circumcision their influence could damage the nature of the Galatian churches. 5:10 Even though throughout most of the letter it is clear that Paul doubts his Galatian ...

1028. Advice About Widows, Elders and Slaves

1 Timothy 5:1-6:2

Understanding Series

Gordon D. Fee

... in Luke 10:7 (cf. the slightly different version in Matt. 10:10). It should be noted that in the only other instance where Paul actually cites the words of Jesus (1 Cor. 11:24–25), he also cites a version he shares with Luke, in contrast to Mark and Matthew. This should surprise us none, given Paul’s apparent closeness to Luke. The point of all this, of course, is not to give a definition of who elders are and what makes up their duties; Paul’s concern is with the elders in Ephesus who are responsible ...

1029. The Blood of Christ

Hebrews 9:11-28

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... the NT the shed blood of Jesus is explicitly associated with the new covenant (Luke 22:20; 1 Cor. 11:25; cf. Matt. 26:28; Mark 14:24). Even the ritual of the sprinkling of blood can be alluded to in reference to Christ’s blood in 1 Pet. 1: ... understood as a Hebraic way of referring to all. Earlier in this epistle we have read that he died “for everyone” (2:9). Thus the “many” of Mark 10:45 is probably also to be explained in an inclusive sense as referring to all (see 2 Cor. 5:14f. and 1 Tim. 2:6). ...

1030. God Disciplines His Sons

Hebrews 12:1-13, Hebrews 12:14-29

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

... martyrdoms of the Maccabean age in 4 Macc. 17:9ff. On the metaphorical language of “running a race,” see also Gal. 2:2; 5:7; Phil. 2:16. Perseverance or “endurance” (hypomonē) is an important need of the readers (cf. 10:36). If there is a demanding course marked out for (prokeimai, lit., “lying before”) us, there is also a great hope that is also said to lie before us (6:18, using the same verb; cf. the same verb in describing the joy set before Jesus in v. 2). 12:2 The exhortation let us fix ...

1031. Warning Against Refusing God

Hebrews 12:14-29, Hebrews 12:1-13

Understanding Series

Donald A. Hagner

1032. Israel Punished and Restored

Hosea 2:2-23

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... will usher in a new age of righteousness and justice, covenant love and mercy, in which Israel will be forever faithful to the God who has been everlastingly faithful to her. The new covenant is not simply a repair of the old, but an entirely new relationship (cf. Mark 2:18–22). And yet it will gather up all of the promises of God in the old covenant and bring them to fulfillment. The interpreter needs to be aware, then, that when Jesus sat at table with his disciples on the night in which he was betrayed ...

1033. The Gift of the Spirit

Joel 2:28-32

Understanding Series

Elizabeth Achtemeier

... the disciples, the day has begun; the new age of the kingdom has broken into human history and will now exercise its influence until the kingdom comes in its fulness. According to the gospels, the kingdom was already present in the person of Jesus of Nazareth (cf. Mark 1:15; Luke 11:20). Participation in its power is now offered to all who repent and are baptized in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins. When that takes place, the gift of the Holy Spirit, promised here in Joel, will be given ...

1034. The Lord Comes and Reigns

Zechariah 14:1-21

Understanding Series

Pamela J. Scalise

... from the earthquake indicates a complete evacuation, away from the fires and falling buildings that follow major tremors. The earthquake in the days of Uzziah king of Judah (in the first half of the 8th century B.C.) was apparently widely known. It even left its mark on the book of Amos (Amos 1:1). The Lord will not make this appearance alone. The prophet declares with joy, the LORD my God will come, and all the holy ones with him (the members of the heavenly council, Ps. 89:5, 7). Their presence points ...

1035. The Word Became Flesh

John 1:1-18

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... (monogenēs) focuses not on birth (as the KJV translation, “only-begotten,” suggests) but on being uniquely the object of a father’s love. It is used in much the same way as “beloved” (agapētos) in the synoptic accounts of the voice from heaven at Jesus’ baptism (Mark 1:11; Matt. 3:17; Luke 3:22). The author of John’s Gospel speaks as if he and his community, like John the Baptist, were eyewitnesses to the baptism of Jesus (cf. “we saw” in v. 14 with “I saw” in v. 32). 1:15 This was ...

1036. Jesus Heals the Official’s Son

John 4:43-54

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... typify the people to whom the disciples will be sent (cf. 17:18; 20:21) and to whom the Gospel itself is written (20:30–31). Additional Notes 4:44 A prophet has no honor in his own country. Slightly different forms of this proverbial saying are found in Mark 6:4/Matt. 13:57 and in Luke 4:24. In each case the reference is to Jesus’ hometown of Nazareth rather than to a whole region such as Galilee or Samaria. Because of this and because of the difference in context, these passages should not be allowed ...

1037. Jesus and Those Who “Believed”

John 8:31-41, John 8:42-47, John 8:48-59

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... ’s true descendants (cf. v. 39), nor are they children of the prophets. The pronouncement that Abraham and the prophets are dead is their pronouncement, not that of Jesus or of the narrator. The righteous have seen Jesus’ day—and they will live! (cf. v. 56, Mark 12:27; note also that Abraham is assumed to be alive in God’s presence in Luke 16:22–31). For an example of Judaism’s struggle with the notion that even such a great man as Abraham finally had to face physical death, see The Testament ...

1038. The Raising of Lazarus

John 11:17-37, John 11:38-44

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... according to 1:51). 11:44 Take off the grave clothes and let him go (lit., “loose him and let him go”). All three resuscitations in the Gospels end with a similarly warm human interest touch in which Jesus meets an additional, comparatively minor, need (cf. Mark 5:43; Luke 7:15). It is possible also that the release of Lazarus from the bands of cloth that bound him is intended to suggest the biblical imagery of “loosing” for victory over death and the powers of evil (e.g., Matt. 16:19; Luke 13 ...

1039. The Impending Departure II

John 16:5-16, John 16:17-33

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... sermons of Acts (where it is characteristically future, Acts 10:42; 17:31). Judgment is identified here, as elsewhere in this Gospel (5:29 being the only exception), with Jesus’ victory over Satan, especially in his Passion (12:31; cf. 14:30; in the Synoptics, cf. Mark 3:23–27). Because the Passion is almost upon him, Jesus can claim that the world’s evil ruler now stands judged (v. 11; cf., “now” in 12:31). What is this world that the Counselor and the disciples will confront? Is it the world of ...

1040. The Second Appearance and Its Sequel

John 20:19-23, John 20:24-31

Understanding Series

J. Ramsey Michaels

... week (v. 19). Despite the faith of the beloved disciple (v. 8) and despite the message brought by Mary Magdalene (v. 18), the disciples as a group are still afraid. Their reaction to her message is not recorded in John’s Gospel, but another tradition appended to Mark by later scribes states that after Mary had seen Jesus she “went and told those who had been with him” and found them “mourning and weeping. When they heard her say that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it ...

1041. Timothy and Epaphroditus

Philippians 2:19-30

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... own career. One can only guess the ambitions Timothy might have begun to cherish in his mind when Paul visited his home in Lystra and persuaded him to be his associate and helper. A year or two earlier Paul had been disappointed in another young man, John Mark of Jerusalem, who bade farewell to Barnabas and himself in the course of a missionary journey and went back home (Acts 13:13; 15:38). Timothy was an equally gifted young man, but Paul discerned in him the promise of greater stability, and he was not ...

1042. No Confidence in the Flesh

Philippians 3:1-11

Understanding Series

F. F. Bruce

... (R. A. Lipsius, ad loc.), by a belated stimulus from Timothy (P. Ewald, ad loc.), by a fresh report that had just reached Paul (J. B. Lightfoot, Philippians, p. 69). Watch out is the rendering of Gk. blepete, which is similarly used in warning in several NT passages; cf. Mark 4:24; 8:15; 12:38; 13:5, 9; 1 Cor. 8:9; Gal. 5:15; Col. 2:8; etc. It can, of course, mean simply “look at,” “pay attention to” (cf G. D. Kilpatrick, “Blepete Philippians 3:2,” in M. Black and G. Fohrer, eds., In Memoriam ...

1043. Cain and Abel

Genesis 4:1-26

Understanding Series

John E. Hartley

... [trans. J. Scullion; Minneapolis: Augsburg, 1984], p. 61). This creative activity, then, was an expression of humans’ being made in God’s image and aided humans in carrying out God’s commands to fill the earth and to manage it. Protected by the mark, Cain proceeded to produce offspring. We may surmise that Cain married one of his sisters. Their firstborn was Enoch, and Cain built a city and named it . . . Enoch. The building of a city informs us that the population had begun to increase significantly ...

1044. Miscellaneous Laws

Deut 23:15–25:19

Understanding Series

Christopher J. H. Wright

... a share in the food that its labor is making available for human beings. It is as though the gleaning rights of the poor (24:19–22) have been extended to include working animals as well. Such practical concern even for animals is commended by the sage as a mark of righteousness (Prov. 12:10) and indeed reflects God’s own heart (Jonah 4:11). Paul’s use of this law (twice, in 1 Cor. 9:8–12 and 1 Tim. 5:17f.) is hermeneutically instructive. It is not really a case of “allegorizing” (Mayes) or of ...

1045. Elijah Flees to Horeb

1 Kings 19:1-8

Understanding Series

Iain W. Provan

... dealing entirely with Ahab (17:1; 18:1ff.). Yet it was Jezebel who took initiatives and got things done in chapter 18, in marked contrast to her passive and impotent husband. It was she who rounded up the LORD’s prophets and killed them (Hb. ḵrṯ, 18 ... he burned the plowing equipment)—which in some ways represents greater commitment than Jesus’ disciples actually showed (they only “left” their nets, Mark 1:14–20, later to return to them, John 21:1–14). This is a good example of the way in ...

1046. Jerusalem to Be Inhabited

Isaiah 44:24--45:25

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... that there are many gods who share in such responsibility, as Babylonians believed, as well as to deny that there are two forces of light and darkness, as Persians believed (and Christians often have). There is no power beyond Yahweh. Verse 8 recalls 44:23 in marking a conclusion and the significance of what it follows, but it is not a hymn of praise but a commission by Yahweh to the cosmos to set about fulfilling the intention that has been announced. Yahweh has created it: God’s acts in history for the ...

1047. An Unholy History

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

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... Kgs. 23:10; Isa. 30:33; Jer. 7:31–32; 19:6, 11–14). To be sure, the mainstream of biblical religion regards child sacrifice with loathing and horror. Perhaps for this reason Gehenna (that is, the valley of Hinnom) becomes another name for hell (see Matt. 5:22; Mark 9:34, and Jas. 3:6). Isaac, after all, was not slain (though Abraham’s willingness to carry out this act is seen as evidence of his devotion to God; Gen. 22:12). Jephthah’s sacrifice of his daughter is not a faithful act to emulate but a ...

1048. Miscellaneous Oracles of Judgment

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

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... Zephaniah 3:4. But Ezekiel goes substantially beyond his source. Neither do the priests distinguish between the holy and the common; they teach that there is no difference between the unclean and the clean (v. 26). The holy, the common, the clean, and the unclean mark the borders of the priestly worldview. The holy is that which belongs or pertains to God, while the common is the realm of ordinary life, or what we might call the secular. While the Holiness Code calls all Israel to holiness (see, e.g., Lev ...

1049. Jesus’ Compassion and Authority to Feed and Heal

Matthew 15:21-28, Matthew 15:29-39

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... in the mouth of Israelites (e.g., Deborah in Judges 5:3; Jonathan in 1 Kings 1:48; the psalmist in Ps. 41:13; see also Luke 1:68).4Matthew mutes any indication in his Markan source that the feeding of the four thousand focuses on Gentiles (e.g., Mark 7:31; 8:10). 15:32 I have compassion for these people. The Matthean theme of Jesus as compassionate Messiah is again reiterated (see 8:3; 9:36; 14:14; 20:34). 15:33 Where could we get enough bread in this remote place? The disciples continue to evidence ...

1050. Jesus Interprets the Passover Seder of Himself

Mark 14:12-26

Teach the Text

Grant R. Osborne

... 41:10–12, where the sufferer is vindicated by God and his enemies are punished. Moreover, this continues the contrast with the virtuous woman in Mark 14:3–9 (cf. 14:10–11) in terms of Psalm 41 (41:2 = 14:9 for the woman; 42:9 = Judas). Here the emphasis ... both the fulfillment of Old Testament prophecies and Jesus’s control over the events (as evidenced by the procurement of the room in Mark 14:13–14). Sadly, many people’s view of God is that he is not in control. Albert Mohler tells of a survey ...

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