Sermon and Worship Resources

Synonyms: responsibility, obligation, commitment, obedience, allegiance, loyalty, faithfulness, fidelity, respect, deference, reverence, homage, job, task, chore, assignment, commission, mission, function, charge, part, place, role, concern, requirement, tax, levy, tariff, excise, toll, fee, imposition, impost, exaction, tithe, payment, rate

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1. Zacchaeus the Tax Collector

Luke 19:1-10

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... agents under his authority. “Since the [chief tax collector] usually had to pay the expected revenue to the Romans in advance and then seek to recoup the amount, plus expenses and profits, by assessing and collecting the tolls [or taxes], the system of toll-collecting was obviously open to abuse and dishonesty” (Fitzmyer, p. 470). Especially because of their relation to Gentile authorities, these tax collectors were despised by their fellow Jews. This is seen in their frequent association with all ...

2. Luke 3:7-18

Luke 3:1-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... , duties upon goods and services. Obviously the profit margin for such collecting services increased exponentially if the values of goods and services were inflated, or if special fees were assessed to certain groups of individuals. John’s admonition to these newly baptized toll collectors is not to change jobs, but to change how they do their jobs — to only collect “the amount prescribed” by Roman law. They may have had a bad job — but as baptized disciples of Jesus, they were now required to do ...

3. Luke 19:1-10

Luke 19:1-10

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... buildings, wide streets, public squares and well-appointed homes. Located near the Jordan River, Jericho was a major stop on the trade routes between Jerusalem and Judea and cities which lay to the east. It was, therefore, an important customs and tax center, where toll collectors could shake down their victims, and beggars could confront the wealthy (cf. 18:35-42). On the Jericho road, and just outside the city, Jesus is accosted by a nameless blind beggar (18:35) whom he heals in response to the beggar's ...

4. Tell It Not in Gath!

2 Samuel 1:1-16, 1 Samuel 31:1-13

Teach the Text

Robert B. Chisholm Jr.

... is the less, as well as if a promontory were, as well as if a manor of thy friend’s or of thine own were; any man’s death diminishes me, because I am involved in mankind, and therefore never send to know for whom the bell tolls; it tolls for thee.10 In these famous words, Donne (1572–1631) shows how deeply we are diminished by the tragedies of others. Christian Nonfiction: Leap over a Wall, by Eugene Peterson. In these reflections on 1 and 2 Samuel (1997), Peterson (b. 1932) writes of David’s lament ...

5. Luke 3:7-18

Luke 3:1-20

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... expected of those who would live in accordance with God justice and mercy. John the Baptist’s preaching draws a response from two groups who would have been considered particularly snake-like to the general public: tax collectors and Roman soldiers. The tax collectors or toll collectors were as popular in the first century as they are in the twenty-first. John’s counsel to those who do that dreary duty for the Roman authorities is not to find a new line work, but to do their job justly, to refuse ...

6. Luke 23:33-43

Luke 23:26-43

Sweet

Leonard Sweet

... Bethlehem? Didn’t the stable and cradle come before the cross? Luke’s gospel keeps the actual details of Jesus’ crucifixion to a merciful minimum. But while the physical atrocities may not come into fine focus, Luke’s text recounts the emotional toll of the execution with telling images. The gospel writer begins by providing only the common name of the Roman’s killing ground, “The Skull,” omitting any mention of the Hebrew name, “Golgotha.” This death’s-head identity of the place starkly ...

7. Samson's Vengeance on the Philistines

Judges 15:1-20

Understanding Series

Cheryl A. Brown

... Philistines, but not before they gave him a lecture reminding him that the Philistines were rulers over them and casitgating him for upsetting the status quo (v. 11). This is not the Judah we met in Judges 1. Forty years of subjugation had taken its toll. It was much easier to go along with the circumstances and not rock the boat. Although Samson was not the paragon of virtue, he at least was willing to fight the subjugating power—God’s enemy—even if the fight was mostly in his selfinterest. Although ...

8. Naomi and Ruth

Ruth 1:1-22

Understanding Series

Michael S. Moore

... and Kilion both die without producing a single male heir, even after ten years of marriage. 1:5 The text discreetly refrains from lingering over the pain of this childlessness, but this is doubtless the final blow for Naomi. Childlessness takes as huge a toll on Naomi as it does on Abraham (Gen. 15:2), Sarah (16:2), and Hannah (1 Sam. 1:10), other childless progenitors. The narrator is saying that Naomi is trying, under incredibly difficult circumstances, to preserve the fading memory of her dying family ...

9. Saul Takes His Life

1 Chronicles 10:1-14

Understanding Series

Louis C. Jonker

... period, according to the Deuteronomistic version of history, that Jerusalem was established as the capital (after David had reigned from Hebron for seven years) and that the illustrious temple was built there. But the success of the united kingdom took its toll. Particularly under Solomon’s reign, the dissatisfaction with the high taxes and hard labor that were required of the Israelites started growing—so much so that the united kingdom split into two monarchies at the end of Solomon’s reign. Two ...

10. Triumph of the Jews

Esther 9:1-19

Understanding Series

Timothy S. Laniak

... , the Jews in the story of Esther are completing a task left unfinished since the early days of the monarchy. The focus of verses 6–10 is on the location where killing is taking place: the citadel of Susa. Xerxes reports back to Esther on the death toll in Susa and asks her, “What have they done in the rest of the king’s provinces?” (v. 12). Knowing that two opposing edicts are in action and knowing Esther’s intense resolve (8:3–6), he asks what other petition and request she may have, attaching ...

11. Restoration of Israel

Jeremiah 30:1--31:40

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... of descendants and as that promise is exegeted, it entails a large population (as numerous as the stars of heaven and as the sand on the seashore (Gen. 22:17, see also 32:12; 41:49). Of course, the wars and exile have taken a toll on their population, but with the restoration this diminishment will be reversed. In addition, God will change their dishonor into honor. They will no longer be shamed by their subservient position as the vanquished, but in their restored relationship with God and the consequent ...

12. The Fall of Jerusalem

Jeremiah 52:1-30, Jeremiah 52:31-34

Understanding Series

Tremper Longman III

... during the third year of Jehoiakim (605 B.C.). For the details of some of these objects see the comments on Jer. 27:16–22. 52:24–27a After listing the various items plundered by the Babylonians, the text now turns to the human toll that resulted from the defeat of the city, beginning in verses 9–11 with the fate of the king, his sons, and other various governmental officials. Verses 24–27a speak of certain other priestly and political figures. Seraiah, the chief priest, and Zephaniah, his immediate ...

13. Warnings and Exhortations for Jerusalem and Judah

Zephaniah 1:1-3, Zephaniah 1:4-13, Zephaniah 1:14--2:3

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... –18, then perhaps you will be sheltered on the day of the LORD’s anger. Zephaniah speaks as if the coming of Yahweh’s day is inevitable but suggests that it need not swallow up everyone. And, in the event, it did take a heavier toll of the powerful than of the “humble.” It was the powerful who were exiled. Zephaniah’s assumption is the one Abraham makes in Genesis 18, that Yahweh will surely not sweep away the righteous with the wicked. Here Zephaniah anticipates Abraham’s question, or recalls ...

14. Hezekiah’s Illness

Isaiah 38:1-22, Isaiah 39:1-8

Understanding Series

John Goldingay

... that Yahweh should be faithful and that Yahweh should take note of wrongdoing. Yahweh might allow Jerusalem to go within a whisker of disaster but then deliver it (so 29:1–8; 31:4–5). Or Yahweh might deliver it now but let wrongdoing reap its toll in the future. Judah had both those experiences between the late-eighth century and the mid-sixth century B.C. When we have read on in the book, we may reread chapter 39 in the light of the latter experience, which the chapters that immediately follow ...

15. Signs and Oracles of Judgment

Ezekiel 4:1-5:17, Ezekiel 6:1-14, Ezekiel 7:1-27

Understanding Series

Steven Tuell

... text in its final form, Ezekiel lay on his right or left side, unable to rise (4:8). Indeed, we might ask, how was Ezekiel supposed to perform the third and fourth signs while lying on his side? In short, quite apart from the question of the physical toll this sign-act would have taken on the prophet, he could not have performed the sign literally as described. As we have seen, rather than being a record of words and events collected and recorded after the fact, the text of Ezekiel seems to stand on its own ...

16. God and Government

Romans 13:1-7

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... 81; BDAG, s.v. tele? 3). The former corresponds to the Latin term tributum, while the latter corresponds to vectigalia. Tributum refers to the Roman direct tax, which included property and poll taxes. Vectigalia refers to the indirect tax, which covered customs, duties, toll taxes, and fees for various services. We know from the Roman historian Tacitus (Ann. 13) that the masses reached a boiling point in AD 58 about exorbitant tax rates, so much so that the emperor Nero considered dropping the indirect tax ...

17. Paul, Phoebe, Patronage, and Spain

Romans 16:1-27

Teach the Text

C. Marvin Pate

... the postal system. The mail was delivered by cart and horse, but also by horse and rider for special delivery. Maps were hard to come by, so travelers followed an itinerary listing the cities on a given road. But such roads were not free. Tolls and import and export taxes helped to fund the construction and maintenance of Roman roads. Paul would have traveled one of the most famous thoroughfares in the empire, the Via Egnatia, the road that connected Asia Minor, Europe, and Italy. Paul utilized that road ...

18. Following God’s Leading

Num 9:15–10:10

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... trumpets. Church bells, like the silver trumpets, could ring out to gather people for church services, whether a regular service, a wedding, or a funeral. They could also serve secular purposes such as chiming the hour or times of general celebration. Additionally, they could toll as an indication that someone had died. They sometimes were used to warn that the land was being invaded, and thus they were a call to battle stations. How can we in our culture call people to action for God? Our prayers are like ...

19. War against Midian

Num 31:1-54

Teach the Text

Joe M. Sprinkle

... . Dividing spoils with the noncombatants is also practiced by Joshua and David (Josh. 22:8; 1 Sam. 30:24–25). 31:28 tribute for the Lord. The Hebrew word mekes (“tribute”) is better rendered “levy” (ESV). In postbiblical Hebrew/Aramaic, it denotes “tolls” on bridges and “taxes, duties” on wheat.6 One five-hundredth from the soldiers’ portion goes to the priests. One-fiftieth is taken from Israel’s portion and given to the Levites, ten times more than the priests (for a similar ratio ...

20. God Subjugates Judah under Babylon

Daniel 1:1-21

Teach the Text

Ronald W. Pierce

... larger picture of Daniel’s ministry and Judah’s exile (“seventy years”) in Babylon. Today, much like in the days of Daniel and his friends, political, economic, and ideological world powers are rising and falling around us, sometimes taking an awful toll on the otherwise confident witness of dedicated believers. The assurance that God is in control of world events has never been more relevant or needed. Help your listeners to see the practical, as well as the theological, ramifications of God’s ...

21. Conclusion with Personal Appeal

Galatians 6:11-18

One Volume

Gary M. Burge

... :6). Therefore, in Paul’s view, to be admitted as a member of the old covenant people of God, one must adhere to the provisions of the new covenant, which was promised as part of the old. Paul’s last words alert us to the toll such battles exacted from him. The constant harassment concerning his apostolic credentials and the problem of legalism as an excuse for Jewish prejudice toward Gentiles were exhausting him. His authenticity was really not a matter of speculation; it should be a matter of evidence ...

22. John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Luke 3:1-20

Understanding Series

Craig A. Evans

... in Matthew, probably because he is thinking of the various examples that will be given in 3:11–14. 3:11 John’s ethical commands in this verse are quite similar to those found in Isa. 58:7. 3:12–13 The paying of taxes (or tolls) frequently led to violence (e.g., the revolt of Judas the Galilean mentioned in Acts 5:37). Tax collectors were especially loathed because they were notoriously dishonest and were viewed as traitors and lackeys working for either Rome (which ruled Judea directly) or Herod (who ...

23. Job's Third Reply to Bildad

Job 26:1--31:40

Understanding Series

Gerald H. Wilson

... to the traveler. 31:33–34 Job concludes this sixth disavowal by denying any hidden sin kept concealed from others but left to work out its fearful consequences deep in his heart. The description of the fear of discovery engendered by hidden sin, and the toll it takes on the one who strives to live a double life—innocent to outward observation, but enslaved to evil within—is finely etched. Such a person often lives in fear of the crowd, feeling that all around can plainly see the hidden sin. Shrinking ...

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