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Showing 176 to 200 of 3852 results

176. Jesus Warns of Presuming Reward and Status

Matthew 20:1-16

Teach the Text

Jeannine K. Brown

... he is not being unfair (20:13), readers might struggle to agree. 20:13 I am not being unfair to you. The landowner claims that he has been fair precisely because he has kept his contractual obligation; he has paid the full-day workers what he had originally promised and what they had agreed to by coming to work in his vineyard. Fairness in this case is assessed not by comparison with other workers (as the full-day workers have done) but rather by the promised wage. 20:15 Or are you envious because I ...

177. Israel and the Present Curses and the Past Blessings of the Covenant

Romans 9:1-29

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C. Marvin Pate

... . Here Paul quotes Hosea 2:23 (Rom. 9:25) and Hosea 1:10 (Rom. 9:26). Hosea applies his prophecy to the future restoration of Israel: even though the exile has turned Israel into not being God’s people/children, the restoration will restore their original status. But Paul applies Hosea’s prophecy to Gentiles: even though Gentiles in Old Testament times were not the people of God and the children of the covenant, now faith in Christ (see 9:30–33) has constituted them as such. 9:27–29 “only ...

178. Witnesses of the New Covenant

Romans 12:1-8

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C. Marvin Pate

... 1While this view explains the parallel (community = body), it leaves unanswered the question of why Paul speaks of the “body of Christ” (e.g., 1 Cor. 12:27).2 2. Wilfred Knox argued that the notion of the body of Christ and its individual members originated in “the Stoic commonplace of the state as a body in which each member had his part to play.”3But, like the political theory, this suggestion cannot explain why Paul calls it the “body of Christ.” Ernest Best points out in this regard that the ...

179. Paul, Phoebe, Patronage, and Spain

Romans 16:1-27

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C. Marvin Pate

... Tryphosa . . . Persis. In 16:12 Paul greets three Christian women. Tryphena and Tryphosa probably were sisters, given their similar names and the close union between them reflected in “and.” They, along with Persis, another Christian woman, likely were of slave origin. Paul’s praise for their work in the Lord probably stemmed from their ministry with him in the eastern provinces. 16:13 Greet Rufus . . . and his mother. Rufus and his mother were Jewish Christians. Long ago, J. B. Lightfoot defended ...

180. Consider Others Higher Than Yourself

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

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Preben Vang

... s substantival adjective (“the weak ones”) seems to indicate. It is worth noticing that Paul never labels a group or certain individuals as “the strong” or “the knowledgeable.” His point is that if the knowledge they have in this area truly originates from Christ, it should lead them to consider how they can use this knowledge to strengthen those who still struggle with their former way of life. Shifting to second-person plural, Paul speaks directly to those who consider themselves knowledgeable ...

181. Imitation and Role Modeling

1 Corinthians 10:23--11:1, 1 Corinthians 10:14-22

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Preben Vang

... libertarian argument, Paul now addresses the positive application of Christian freedom. Christians can eat meat from the marketplace “without raising questions of conscience.” Neither the strong nor the weak need to have concern. The reference to “conscience” speaks to the origin of the meat—an issue of grave concern for Diaspora Jews.6Since everything belongs to the Lord, Paul argues (10:26), Christians do not have to inquire whether or not the meat came from a pagan temple. 10:27–30 If ...

182. The Fifth Trumpet (First Woe)

Revelation 8:6--9:21

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J. Scott Duvall

... frailty but his sustained response to hardened human depravity, expressed most clearly through pagan worship and the persecution (and murder) of his people. A contemporary audience unfamiliar with the horrors of persecution might not understand the longing for justice that goes up from the original audience (e.g., Rev. 6:10; 8:3; 16:6; 18:20; 19:2). For those who suffer injustice now, however, the message is clear: God will judge evil, and he does not wait until the end of the age to do so. The trumpet ...

183. Job Hears the Whispers of God’s Works

Job 26:1--31:40

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Daniel J. Estes

... measured out the waters. Verses 25–27 picture God’s activity in creating and controlling aspects of the natural world that lie beyond human understanding (cf. Prov. 8:22–31). As Proverbs 3:19–20 declares, God’s wisdom encompasses the whole sphere of his original creation of the world and his ongoing sovereignty over the world, so it is no wonder that finite humans cannot grasp it. Verses 25–27 foreshadow in brief Yahweh’s extensive speeches to come in chapters 38–41. 28:28 The fear of the ...

184. The Knowledge of God

Malachi 2:1-9

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... class as dung (NIV 1984 “offal,” 2:3), which was removed from the temple to be burned. The language is strong, but so is God’s feeling about the priests. The curse stands in contrast to the covenant God made with Levi (2:4–7). The original covenant was made with Phinehas, the grandson of Aaron, after he demonstrated his loyalty to the Lord (Num. 25:12–13). The purpose of the covenant was not curse but life and peace. However, “life and peace” were conditioned on the faithful performance of the ...

185. Introduction and No Other Gospel

Galatians 1:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... had commissioned the apostle. Greater authority would be given to one sent out personally by Jesus (as Paul claims for himself) than to one who was sent out by church authorities. Unfortunately for him, his claim to the same apostolic authority as that of the original disciples of Jesus (Gal. 2:6–10; 1 Cor. 9:1–27) was one that could not be independently verified. (See Acts 9 for the story of his conversion.) Throughout Paul’s ministry, the uniqueness of his calling, with its lack of objective proofs ...

186. Are You Sorry Enough to Wash Your Face?

Matthew 6:1-6, 16-21

Sermon

Robert Leslie Holmes

... was a matter of private devotion. It was carried out in private with no witnesses. Only the presiding clergy and the penitent were witnesses. Later it became part of the official rite for reconciling public penitents. The practice may not even have originally been birthed in the church. Prior to the birth of Pope Gregory, there is evidence that ancient Romans celebrated the festival of Lupercalia in mid-February. Lupercalia was a festival of debauchery where archaic gods who permitted indulgence in sensual ...

187. The Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:1-23

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

... about what he has just said; there is more than appears on the surface (v. 9). A few verses later (vv. 18–23) Jesus will provide his disciples with an explanation of the parable of the sower. Writers who take this explanation as originating in the early church normally interpret the parable in its primary setting to mean that the kingdom, although experiencing considerable opposition and failure, will in the long run produce a rich harvest beyond all expectation (cf. Hill, p. 225; Stendahl, p. 785). As ...

188. Jesus Prays on the Mount of Olives

Luke 22:39-46

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... . 51:17, 22; Jer. 25:15; Ps. 16:5). We are given an important glimpse of Jesus’ humanity in this utterance. 22:43–44 As suggested in the commentary on 22:39–46, vv. 43–44 were not part of the original Lucan Gospel. (Talbert [p. 214], however, accepts the verses as original because they fit Luke’s presentation of Jesus as a martyr.) The appearance of the angel from heaven is probably meant to be understood as an answer to Jesus’ prayer in vv. 41–42. The descriptive sentence, his sweat was like ...

189. Peace and Joy

Romans 5:1-11

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... of virtues similar to the sequence of vv. 3–4, see Hos. 2:19–20; Amos 5:14–15; 2 Pet. 1:5–7; Wisd. of Sol. 6:18–21. Gaugler offers a trenchant description of hope: “In the testimony of the apostle hope is, according to the original Hebrew sense, a connection stretching from God to us, in which the human creature, even in the midst of the pressure of opposition, possesses an eternal standpoint. Hope is like a rope stretching between the Now and Then, so that the Then in Christ is already realized ...

190. Israel's Unbelief

Romans 9:30--10:21

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... . And if they are called, commissioned, and empowered by Christ, then their word is Christ’s word (v. 17). Yes, Israel had heard the message. It had been proclaimed, but not all the Israelites accepted the good news (v. 16). There is a word play in the original Greek on accepted (which is a derivative of the word for “hearing”): Jews heard the gospel (ēkousan, v. 14), but they did not obey it (hypēkousan, v. 16). Paul quotes a passage from the fourth servant song of Isaiah (53:1), attesting that the ...

191. All Israel Will Be Saved

Romans 11:25-32

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... since scribes tended to render difficult readings easier. Evidence is nearly divided on this reading (see Metzger, TCGNT, p. 527). I would suggest that now was added to agree with verse 30 and to enhance the parallelism of verse 31. On the other hand, if now is original, Paul is perhaps telescoping the future mercy of God into the present, since he regards the time between the cross of Christ and the return of Christ as a unity (e.g., “Now is the time of God’s favor, now is the day of salvation,” 2 ...

192. The Weak and the Strong

Romans 14:1--15:13

Understanding Series

James R. Edwards

... in all life. 14:10–12 In light of this Paul returns to the issue at hand, the weak who judge and the strong who look down on. You, then, why do you judge your brother? Or why do you look down on your brother? (v. 10). In the original Greek the you is again singular, and thus direct and emphatic. Since we all must stand before God’s judgment seat (v. 10), it is only there (and not in individual conscience or preference) where judgment takes place. This idea is repeated in the three final verses of this ...

193. Food Sacrificed to Idols

1 Corinthians 8:1-13

Understanding Series

Marion L. Soards

... 10:1–11:1 Paul clearly takes up both the question of the believers’ involvement in the cultic aspects of sacrifice and consumption of sacrificial foods in the temple (10:1–22) and the contention that Christians may partake of food/meat that was originally from the temple but then offered in the market for eating in private settings (10:23–11:1). Which of these settings and activities does Paul have in mind in the discussion in chapter 8? Traditionally the majority of scholars have understood that in ...

194. Redeeming What is the Lord's

Leviticus 27:1-34

Understanding Series

W. H. Bellinger, Jr.

... of placing a good or bad, high or low valuation on it. That valuation will stand. If the house is to be redeemed, the requirement again is to add a fifth to its value, to compensate the priest for the loss of the use of the house. Then the original owner can reclaim the house. 27:16–25 Next is the issue of land promised in a vow. Redemption is possible, but the circumstance here is more complicated. Family estates were important, but if part of one is dedicated to the Lord, its value is determined by how ...

195. Inheritance of Zelophehad's Daughters

Numbers 36:1-13

Understanding Series

W.H. Bellinger, Jr.

... ancestral inheritance of Manasseh would be lost to the tribe of the new husband. The Manassites go on to suggest that even the custom of Jubilee will not deal with their claim. In the Jubilee year (Lev. 25), land that has been sold reverts to its original owner, but that custom does not apply to land that has been inherited. The tribal leaders appear to be anticipating a possible suggestion from the court to which they are appealing. 36:5–12 Moses declares a decision in this case at the LORD’s command ...

196. Samuel Rebukes Saul

1 Samuel 13:1-15

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... chapter 11, or the military activity found in 13:1–7a. The problem is solved if there was a second or a regular appointment to meet Samuel after waiting seven days. Another solution is to see 10:8 as being misplaced at Samuel’s first encounter with Saul and originally connected with a later meeting. It could also be that 10:8 was intended to imply that any time Saul sent to say he needed Samuel’s help to discover God’s will, Samuel would come to him at Gilgal within seven days. In any event, 13:1 is ...

197. God’s Promise to David

2 Samuel 7:1-17

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

... controls all of history is able to give assurances about the future in this way. He relates the new idea of a Davidic dynasty to the old ideas of the Sinaitic covenant. This stresses the historical continuity of God’s control and shows that the original covenant may be developed but is not superseded. God’s choice of David and his house stands alongside God’s choice of Israel. This God was able to deliver Israel and can therefore be trusted to deliver David. In the final section of his prayer, David ...

198. The Lord’s King and Rebellious Peoples

Psalm 2:1-12

Understanding Series

Craig C. Broyles

... spring, at the time when kings go off to war” (2 Sam. 11:1). Like Psalm 110, it refers to Yahweh’s installation of the king on Zion and to his promise of military dominion over enemies. The changing voices of the psalm indicate original liturgical performance: a narrator describes and quotes the subjected but conspiring nations (vv. 1–3), a prophet or a priest quotes and describes “the Lord . . . enthroned in heaven” (as in a heavenly vision, vv. 4–6), the king quotes Yahweh’s decree (vv. 7 ...

199. Daniel’s Vision of a Man

Daniel 10:1--11:1

Understanding Series

William Nelson

... be subdivided into three smaller sections: the prologue (10:1–11:1), the body (11:2–12:4), and the epilogue (12:5–13). The proper divisions do not line up with the chapter breaks in our modern Bibles because those chapter breaks are not original; they were inserted long after the Bible was completed and not always in the most helpful places. The prologue sets the stage for the Final Revelation by introducing it: telling when the vision came, where Daniel was, how he fasted, his disposition when he saw ...

200. Israel Without Weapons

1 Samuel 13:16-22

Understanding Series

Mary J. Evans

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