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 1226 to 1250 of 4942 results
Teach the Text
C. Hassell Bullock
Big Idea: While God’s justice is ultimately the solution to the problem of evil, evil also carries in itself the gene of self-destruction. Understanding the Text Psalm 7 is an individual lament, as are Psalms 3–6. The two ingredients that constitute this type of psalm are the lament and the reasons for lament.1 The lament is against David’s enemies, expressed in 7:1, 6, 14, 15, and 16. Whereas the innocence of Psalm 6 was more implied than explicit, here the psalmist is so convinced of his innocence that ...
Teach the Text
C. Hassell Bullock
Big Idea: The absence of the fear of the Lord that characterizes the wicked is outmatched by the covenant love of the Lord, which encompasses the world, humans and animals alike, and reaches the heavens. Understanding the Text The literary genre of Psalm 36 is a bit elusive. Dahood says it has elements of wisdom in 36:1–4, becomes a hymn in 36:5–10, and then is a lament in 36:11–12. This, of course, is not the only instance when the form-critical method of analyzing the Psalms fails. In Dahood’s words: “ ...
Teach the Text
C. Hassell Bullock
Big Idea: Even in adverse circumstances of place, atmosphere, and our own troubled thoughts, we can rally our hearts to joy and hope in God. Understanding the Text Psalms 42 and 43 are distinct psalms in the Hebrew (MT), Greek (LXX), Syriac, and Vulgate, which suggests that they were separate compositions. Yet the seamless relationship of the two poems is indicated by these factors: (1) they share a refrain (42:5, 11; 43:5); (2) Psalm 43 has no title (Ps. 71 is the only other exception in Book 2); (3) both ...
Teach the Text
C. Hassell Bullock
Big Idea: Jerusalem, like Jerusalem’s God, generates awe in her worshipers and terror in her enemies. Understanding the Text Like Psalms 46 and 47, Psalm 48 is a hymn that belongs to the subcategory of Zion songs (Pss. 46; 47; 48; 76; 84; 87; 122). It is an appropriate companion to Psalm 47 in that Psalm 47 is addressed to the nations, acclaiming Yahweh as King of the nations and announcing God’s kingly acclamation. Psalm 48 idealizes Mount Zion (Jerusalem), but it capitalizes on the fact that Mount Zion ...
Teach the Text
C. Hassell Bullock
Big Idea: To ask God to store our tears “in his bottle” is to affirm our trust in God’s attentive care to the detail of our miseries. Understanding the Text Psalm 56 is an individual lament that, suggested by the Greek and Aramaic translations of “A Dove on Distant Oaks,” came to be used as a community lament (see the comments on the title below). As is often the case with laments, the psalm is tempered by statements of trust (56:3, 4, 11), so much so that we would not go entirely wrong if we called it an ...
Teach the Text
C. Hassell Bullock
Big Idea: As the nations see God’s equitable judgment and guidance in the life of Israel, they will come to acknowledge his sovereignty. Understanding the Text Judging from its first-person plural pronouns (“us”), this psalm is a community psalm of thanksgiving.1 Hakham calls it a psalm of thanksgiving for an abundant harvest.2 Israel acknowledges God’s blessings and prays for their extension, even salvation to the nations of the world (67:2, 7). Psalm 66 ends with a word of blessing (“Blessed [baruk] be ...
Teach the Text
Ronald W. Pierce
Big Idea: Envisioning the person and kingdom work of God through the Son of Man can bring comfort and assurance in a dark, unjust, and uncertain world. Understanding the Text Daniel 7:1–28 is woven into the book’s overall literary structure in several ways. First, it resets the chronological narrative of chapters 1–6 by returning to Belshazzar’s first year as its historical marker. Second, it completes the first of three parallel pairs of chapters (2 and 7) in the book’s concentric, Aramaic center section ...
Teach the Text
Ronald W. Pierce
Big Idea: Although details remain mysterious and persecutions come, God defeats all forces of evil in the end and establishes his everlasting kingdom, in which his holy ones share. Understanding the Text See the unit on 7:1–14 for a discussion of the larger context, structure, and comparisons of this chapter. Within this framework, 7:15–28 is outlined primarily by three personal responses of Daniel that frame its question-and-answer core. First, the confused seer inquires about the vision and discovers ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
At Hazeroth (11:35), Moses has to endure a more personal kind of attack on his leadership from Miriam and Aaron, his own sister and brother: “Miriam and Aaron spoke against Moses because of the Cushite woman he had married: ‘He married a Cushite woman!’ They said, ‘Has the Lord spoken only through Moses? Has He not spoken through us as well?’” (Num. 12:1–2 NJPS). Miriam is named before Aaron, suggesting that she is the instigator. Criticism of Moses’s marriage is a way to lower him closer to the level of ...
1235. Tola and Jair
Judges 10:1-5
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
After the death of Abimelek, 10:1–5 briefly introduces two more judges: Tola and Jair. These two, plus the three listed in 12:8–15, are commonly referred to as minor judges because of the brevity of their accounts. Because these accounts contain no reports of military exploits against foreign enemies but only odd domestic details, some see the so-called minor judges as a different kind of judge from the so-called major judges. Thus, while the major judges are military leaders who fight foreign oppressors, ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
Setting: Famine and Family Tragedy (1:1–5) · The grim opening of this story grips the reader on three counts. First, it is neither a prosperous nor a fruitful time in the nation’s life (1:1). Second, and not unrelated, the people of Israel face famine (1:1). The fact that a famine prevails in Bethlehem, in Judah’s “house of bread,” together with the religious crisis dominating the landscape indicates an unpleasant visitation by the Lord on the land. The Lord promised famine as one among many of his acts of ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
Like Moses and Joshua, Samuel does not relinquish his leadership without challenging the nation to be faithful to the Lord. The theme of covenant renewal that characterizes the whole book of Deuteronomy and Joshua 24 is emphasized once again in Samuel’s farewell. Since the wickedness of Samuel’s sons was a factor behind the initial request for a king (cf. 8:3–5), Samuel begins his speech with an examination of his own conduct as leader (12:1–5). He challenges the people to point out any instance where he ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
The same prophet who told David about the eternal dynasty God has promised him (7:11–16) now appears to deliver a very difficult message (12:1–12). Although many months have passed since David’s sin, he has apparently not reckoned with the significance of his deeds. Nathan’s visit changes everything, as David listens to a parable and pronounces a death sentence on himself. The ewe lamb in Nathan’s parable is Bathsheba, and the poor man is Uriah. David as the reigning king is guilty of misusing the power ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
What follows in 1 Chronicles 12 is a depiction of David as a leader who attracts Israel’s loyalty long before the end of Saul’s life. In this the Chronicler has shifted to an earlier period of history than that depicted in 1 Chronicles 11. The first section, 12:1–22, depicts those who supported David prior to his establishment of Hebron as his first capital. It is not accidental that the first group listed is linked to Saul’s own tribe of Benjamin and his hometown, Gibeah. Others who support David are not ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
There is, however, a third phase to Rehoboam’s rule, depicted in 12:1–13a. Rehoboam’s success leads to his downfall as he “abandon[s]” and is “unfaithful” toward Yahweh, vocabulary typical of the Chronicler’s depiction of negative characters (see above on 2 Chron. 7:12–22). As expected, such disobedience leads to divine discipline in the form of an attack by Shishak king of Egypt (931–910 BC), whose campaign in western Asia is attested in Egyptian records (ANET 242–43, 263–64). This divine discipline ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
The preliminary judgments issued by Jesus on the Jerusalem elite in Matthew 21–22 lead into a more extended section of judgment in Matthew 23–25, with chapter 23 focused on prophetic judgments leveled against teachers of the law and Pharisees specifically. Yet the story audience of these woes is the crowds and Jesus’s disciples (23:1) rather than the teachers and Pharisees themselves. Matthew intends this chapter to shape the discipleship and leadership of the Christian community, focusing on themes of ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
14:1–15:13 Review · Unity in diversity: The believers in Rome are “holy people” (1:7), but they also have problems. In the final paragraph of his exhortation, Paul addresses the conflict that exists between believers who regard the Christian faith as an essentially Jewish movement and believers who do not pay attention to distinctive Jewish traditions—that is, between Jewish Christians and Gentile Christians (cf. 15:7–9). The critical debate is not about whether Gentile Christians must be circumcised (as ...
1243. Spiritual Gifts
1 Corinthians 12:1-11
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
Paul passes on now to Corinthian questions about the spiritual gifts (12:1–14:40), for Christians should not be “ignorant” about them (12:1–3). Their pagan experience should show, however, how easy it is to get carried away in ecstatic worship and “influenced” toward speech, even speech uttered falsely in the name of a mute idol. Thus, it is important to realize that speech inspired by the Spirit of God will never produce the words “Jesus be cursed,” despite any sense of ecstasy (which, if it were false, ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
Whether this final section comes in reply to reports (15:12) or tentative questions that are just beginning to be asked (15:35), its principal purpose is clear. Paul writes to defend, to clarify, and to broaden his teaching concerning the resurrection (15:1–11). From the content of the statement attributed to some of the Christians at Corinth (15:12), it seems that their attitude was being shaped by a skeptical aversion similar to that of the Athenians whose attentiveness to Paul’s preaching came to an end ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
3:1–4 · Paul described the death and resurrection of Christ in 2:12, and in 2:20–23 he detailed the ramifications of Christ’s death for believers. Now in 3:1–4 he expands on the implications of Christ’s resurrection. Both 2:20 and 3:1 begin with the same Greek phrase translated “if” or “since,” suggesting that the instructions are two sides of the same coin. Just as the death of Christ demolished once and for all the world’s wisdom and values, so, too, the resurrection of Christ confirms the future glory ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
3:14–16 · True religion: In Paul’s absence, he expects Timothy to minister under his authority (see 1 Cor. 4:17, 19; 16:10–11; 1 Thess. 3:1–6). The gospel should be expressed visibly in the life of the church, and Paul wants Timothy’s life (like his own) to exemplify that.The Bible calls God “the living God” when comparing him with dead, false gods. That is especially the case here. Ephesus was the site of a huge temple to the “great” Greek goddess Artemis (one of the seven wonders of the ancient world). ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
12:1–4 · Jesus, the superior example of faith:The author now imagines the ancient heroes of faith as a great company of spectators ready to cheer on his readers in a race the former have already completed but which the latter must yet run (12:1–2). The Christian athlete must divest himself of anything that will hamper him in this spiritual race, which is another way of saying that a chief principle of Christian spirituality is self-denial or self-discipline (cf. Matt. 19:27–29; 1 Cor. 9:24–27). Further, it ...
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
3:1–4:12 Review · Worldliness in the Church: The heart of this section, and in many ways the heart of the whole letter, is 4:4–10, with its radical call for repentance from flirtation with the world. The worldliness plaguing the Christians to whom James writes has taken the form of a bitter jealousy and has led to quarrels (3:13–4:3) and harmful, critical speech (3:1–12; 4:11–12). 3:1–12 · The concern James has already shown about sins of speech (1:19, 26) is given full exposure in this paragraph. He ...
1249. The Hidden Spiritual House
1 Peter 2:4-12, 1 Peter 2:13-25
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
2:4-10 · Peter began his letter with the themes of God’s elect and his mercy (1:1, 3). He ends this first section on the same note (2:9–10). He also returns to his central theme of hiddenness, though his treatment is different here. In 1:3–9 his thought was angled entirely toward the future, to the coming inheritance and the coming Lord, both now veiled, yet objects of love and joy. But now Peter turns to the past and the present. The hidden but coming Lord was rejected by humankind (2:4), who did not see ...
1250. The Resurrection
Revelation 20:11-15
One Volume
Gary M. Burge
Regardless of the millennial scheme, all advocate the reality of final judgment and the resurrection of the dead (20:11–12; cf. Isa. 26:19–21; Dan. 12:2; John 5:28–29). The “great white throne” in Rev. 20:11 borrows its imagery from the throne occupied by the Ancient of Days in Daniel 7:9. At the resurrection of the dead, both believers and nonbelievers will be called to account (Matt. 16:27; 1 Cor. 3:12; 2 Cor. 5:10) as their works are read from the ledgers of the king (20:12; Esther 6:1; 1 Enoch 90:20; 4 ...
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