Sermon and Worship Resources

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 2451 to 2475 of 4942 results

2451. Oracles of Judgment against Jerusalem and the Nations

Zephaniah 3:1-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Though no direct reference is made to Jerusalem, it is clear that Zephaniah focuses on the capital city of Judah in chapter 3. As an insider familiar with the corrupt and tyrannical regimes of Manasseh and Jotham, Zephaniah charges Jerusalem with faithlessness. The oracle is a woe oracle of judgment. Jerusalem will fare no better than the surrounding nations. The charges are essentially three: Jerusalem is corrupt; it has forsaken Yahweh; its leaders are hopelessly evil. Zephaniah paints a portrait of an ...

2452. First Message: A Call to Action—Build the Temple

Haggai 1:1-15

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Each of Haggai’s messages is precisely dated, with the reign of Darius I as a reference point. The modern calendric equivalent of the first date is August 29, 520 BC. Haggai brings his first message on the day of the festival of the New Moon (Num. 10:10), when great numbers of worshipers regularly gathered in Jerusalem. Darius here is Darius I (“the Great”), who reigned over the Persian Empire in 521–486 BC. Zerubbabel is the grandson of Jehoiachin, the king of Judah who was exiled to Babylon in 597 BC. As ...

2453. Fourth Vision - Joshua Cleansed

Zechariah 3:1-10

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The first three visions had to do with God’s program regarding the establishment of Jerusalem as the center of God’s glory on earth. It will be filled to overflowing with a people living in the peace and security of God’s presence. Gentile dominion and oppression will have been removed. This is God’s work on behalf of his people. In the next two visions (the c units) the focus is on God’s ministry within the people themselves. In this vision he cleanses them, making them fit to enter his presence; in the ...

2454. The Tithe

Malachi 3:6-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

In the fifth disputation, Malachi argued that God would show his justice in judgment at his appointed time. The prophet, true to the prophetic tradition, calls for a response in preparation for the coming of the messenger and the messenger of the covenant. The appeal for a particular response links this section to the third disputation (3:10–16). In both sections, God is expecting a renewal of fidelity: in marriage (2:10–16) and in worship (3:7–12). The former is representative of our love for others and ...

2455. Judging Others

Matthew 7:7-12, Matthew 7:1-6

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The final exhortations of the Sermon on the Mount include a warning against judging others (7:1), possibly focused on inappropriate eschatological judgments—determining about others what only God will decide at the end (cf. 13:27–30). Jesus goes on to warn against attending to the sins of others, while being oblivious to the gross sin in one’s own life (7:3–5). The warnings against judging are tempered, however, by a call to discernment (7:6). Much speculation has gone into determining the referents for ...

2456. The Faith of the Canaanite Woman

Matthew 15:21-28

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Engagement in controversy again leads to Jesus’s withdrawing to compassionate ministry (15:21–31; cf. 12:15; 14:13), this time in the direction of Tyre and Sidon—Mediterranean coastal cities northwest of Galilee. In this location, Jesus is approached by a Gentile woman, a Canaanite, with the term evoking the Old Testament association of Israel’s enemies (15:22; cf. Num. 21:1). Using the messianic title “Son of David,” she cries out to him to heal her demon-possessed daughter (15:22). Yet Jesus speaks to ...

2457. Peter's Confession to Christ

Matthew 16:13-20

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The climactic moment of Matthew 11:2–16:20 is Peter’s confession that Jesus is the Messiah (16:16). In response to Jesus’s question about his identity as perceived by others, the disciples provide a range of responses (16:13–14; including John the Baptist in line with Herod’s belief at 14:2). Peter speaks on behalf of the disciples, rightly identifying Jesus as “the Messiah, the Son of the living God” (16:16). Although Matthew tells his readers that Jesus is the Messiah from the very beginning of the ...

2458. Jesus Predicts His Death

Matthew 16:21-28

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

16:21–28:20 Review · Jesus to Jerusalem: Kingdom Enactment through Death and Resurrection: In 16:21–28:20, Matthew narrates Jesus’s journey to Jerusalem to fulfill his mission to be “a ransom for many” (20:28). After repeated predictions of his death and extended teaching that his disciples are to follow his example of service without thought of personal status (16:21–20:28), Jesus rides into Jerusalem as Messiah, symbolically enacting Zechariah’s vision of a peaceable king (21:1–11). He indicts the ...

2459. Parables of Preparedness

Matthew 25:1-13, Matthew 25:14-30, Matthew 25:31-46

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

This theme of preparedness for Jesus’s reappearing at the end of the age is the center point of the parable of the ten virgins and the bridegroom (Matt. 25:1–13). Though not much is known about first-century Jewish wedding customs, it may be that these young, unmarried women leave the groom’s home to welcome and accompany the couple back to the groom’s household (Davies and Allison, 3:395). When the bridegroom is “a long time in coming” (25:5), five virgins run out of lamp oil because they neglected to ...

2460. Jesus Before Pilate

Matthew 27:11-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

In Jesus’s hearing before Pilate, the charge against him has undergone a cultural translation: Jesus’s acknowledgment of his identity as the Messiah becomes a charge that he claims to be “the king of the Jews” (27:11). Yet what the Sanhedrin expects of the Messiah is essentially the same as what Pilate understands by “king of the Jews.” Both claims are religious and political, although Pilate is presumably less versed in the religious nature of Jewish messianic hopes. So both charges imply sedition. They ...

2461. Divorce

Mark 10:1-12

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Chapter 10 entails the call to discipleship in three fundamental aspects of life: marriage (10:1–12), children (10:13–16), and possessions (10:17–31). Near the end of the journey from the north and before entering Jerusalem, Jesus teaches in “the region of Judea and across the Jordan” in Perea (10:1). There the Pharisees question him about divorce (10:1–12). Divorce and marriage were burning questions in Jesus’s day, as they are in ours. The question of whether it was lawful for a man to divorce his wife ( ...

2462. The Triumphal Entry

Mark 11:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

11:1–13:37 Review · Stories of conflict in the temple in Jerusalem: Mark 11–16 is commonly called the “passion narrative,” the account of Jesus’s suffering and death in Jerusalem. In devoting fully one-third of his narrative to the final week of Jesus’s life, Mark indicates its importance for understanding Jesus and the gospel. All the material in Mark 11–13—and most of 14–15—is oriented around the focal point of the temple. Mark does not present Jesus as either a preserver or reformer of the temple, ...

2463. Signs of the End of the Age

Mark 13:1-31

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Like the farewell discourses of major biblical figures (Jacob, Genesis 49; Moses, Deuteronomy 32–33; Joshua, Joshua 23; Samuel, 1 Samuel 12; Paul, Acts 20), Mark 13 attributes to Jesus a final discourse that constitutes the longest block of teaching in the Gospel. Some instructions occur in other contexts in other Gospels (compare Mark 13:9–13 with Matthew 10:17–22), suggesting that some of the teachings in chapter 13 were delivered at various times in Jesus’s ministry. The organizing theme of the chapter ...

2464. Jesus Anointed at Bethany

Mark 14:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

14:1–72 Review · The abandonment of Jesus in Jerusalem: Mark 14 and 15 rehearse the betrayal, suffering, and crucifixion of Jesus, commonly known as the “passion” (from Latin patior, “suffering”). Chapter 14, the longest in the Gospel, commences the chain of events in Jesus’s abandonment, first by Judas and the chief priests, then by the Sanhedrin and all his disciples, and finally by the crowds and even the Father (15:34). The passion commences with the betrayal of Jesus by Judas, into which Mark ...

2465. The Lord's Supper

Mark 14:12-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The preparation of the Passover in 14:12–16 is reminiscent of the preparation of the entry into Jerusalem in 11:1–6; both show Jesus’s foreknowledge and governance of events as his “hour” (14:35) approaches. “The first day of the Festival of Unleavened Bread” technically began at sundown on the fifteenth of Nisan (Thursday evening), but Mark appears to place the beginning of Passover on Thursday afternoon, the fourteenth of Nisan, when Passover lambs were slaughtered in the temple. The mood of expectancy ...

2466. Jesus Changes Water to Wine

John 2:1-11

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

2:1–4:54 Review · Jesus and the institutions of Judaism:The stories that hallmark the beginning of Jesus’s public ministry all share a similar theme: messianic replacement and abundance. In chapters 2–4 Jesus is compared with important institutions, and in each instance, his presence makes them obsolete. (The same will be true of 5:1–10:42. There Jesus will appear during the major Jewish festivals and demonstrate his authority.) This theme is similar to the Synoptic parables of replacement: new wine breaks ...

2467. The Vine and the Branches

John 15:1-17

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The vine metaphor (15:1–17) builds on the emphases of Jesus in chapter 14. There we saw that the answer to the disciples’ anxiety concerning Jesus’s death and departure is found in the Spirit. Christ in Spirit will indwell the believer. Jesus’s new metaphor in chapter 15 affirms this again. The verb for indwelling (Greek menō; 14:17) appears numerous times (NIV “remain,” 15:4–7, 9–10), but now it is viewed in terms of its results. Spiritual experiences must lead to fruit-bearing in the form of new ...

2468. The World Hates the Disciples

John 15:18--16:4

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Early Christianity was unanimous in its outlook on the world. Insofar as the church formed a radically new community, it experienced strife and conflict with society. Social divisions recur with marked frequency in the book of Acts. In his letters, Paul describes persecution as virtually a constituent part of the Christian experience (1 Cor. 4:11–13; 1 Thess. 2:13–16; 2 Tim. 3:10–13). This treatment was expected because the disciples of Christ had inherited the hostilities shown to their master. Jesus ...

2469. The Work of the Holy Spirit

John 16:5-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The further work of the Paraclete now receives attention. In 16:4b–15 we come to Jesus’s fourth and fifth predictions (cf. 14:16, 26; 15:26). The closing subject of chapter 15 (the world) continues to be Jesus’s concern. While sorrow may follow Jesus’s departure (16:5–6), it is actually necessary for him to go, since the coming of the Spirit is dependent on his death/glorification (cf. 7:39). In some fashion the Spirit and Jesus are mutually exclusive; or, as we shall see in chapters 19 and 20, the Spirit ...

2470. The Disciples’ Grief Will Turn to Joy

John 16:17-33

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Seven times we find a reference to “a little while” (16:16–19), which indicates the disciples’ worry about the interval between departure and return. Their concern is understandable, since in 16:10 Jesus said that they would see him no more; however, a time of “seeing him” (16:17, 19, 22) precedes this final removal, and it is not too distant. That this refers to Easter can be seen in two ways. First, joy will hallmark their attitude (16:20–22, 24), and on Easter Day, when they see Jesus, rejoicing is ...

2471. Jesus Prays for Himself

John 17:1-5

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Having concluded his discourse, Jesus now turns to prayer. Each of the Synoptic Gospels records a time of prayer in the Garden of Gethsemane (Matt. 26:36–46; Mark 14:32–42; Luke 22:40–46), and no doubt John 17 should be compared with this. If John 14:31 was the terminus of the upper room teaching, then John may want us to consider this prayer to be at another location. Some think that Jesus is somewhere between the upper room and the garden (Kidron Valley; 18:1) and suggest that he is in the temple, since ...

2472. The Crucifixion

John 19:17-27

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Each of the Gospels is content to give us a brief description of the crucifixion (19:17–37), thereby sparing us its gruesome details. It was despised by Jews and Romans alike and employed mainly in the provinces for slaves and criminals. Following a severe flogging with a metal- or bone-tipped whip, the victim was forced to march to the site of death carrying the crossbeam, even though often the individual was already fatally injured. Jesus had already been scourged thus (19:1; cf. Mark 15:16–20). The ...

2473. Fulfillment of the Twelve

Acts 1:12-26

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Restoration of God’s People in Jerusalem (1:12–7:60) After the disciples witnessed the ascension of Jesus, they “went upstairs to the room where they were staying” (1:13). This room may remind the readers of the “large room upstairs” (Luke 22:12) where Jesus had his Last Supper with his disciples. After the Last Supper, Jesus went to the Mount of Olives to pray, but the disciples failed to be alert in prayers (Luke 22:45). After his ascension, however, these disciples also return from “the Mount of Olives ...

2474. Peter and John Before the Sanhedrin

Acts 4:1-22

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

The different roles the people and their leaders played in the persecution of their Messiah (see 3:17) are again illustrated in the varied response to Peter’s call to repentance (4:1–4). Instead of repenting of their rebellious acts, the Jewish leaders put Peter and John into jail (4:1–3). Many among the people “believed” (4:4), however. This division of the people fulfills yet another prophecy concerning Jesus in Luke’s first volume: “This child is destined to cause the falling and rising of many in ...

2475. Continuing Opposition to the Apostles by Jewish Leadership

Acts 5:12-16

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

Luke here again provides a portrayal of the ministry of the apostles and the opposition from the Jewish leaders. The summary account of the miracles performed by the apostles (5:12–16) provides a different manifestation of the power of God. While the death of Ananias and Sapphira points to the powerful act of God in judgment, here the mighty acts performed through the hands of the apostles point to the powerful saving acts of God. Throughout Luke’s narrative, one finds both aspects of divine power ...

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