Sermon and Worship Resources

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Matthew 2:19-23

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

2:19–23 The angel of the Lord had told Joseph to remain in Egypt until he was told to leave (2:13). Now the angel appears once again and instructs him to take his family and go to the land of Israel. When Herod died in 4 B.C. his kingdom was divided into three parts. Archelaus, the eldest son, was placed over Judea, Samaria, and Idumea, but confirmation was withheld by Augustus until the newly appointed ethnarch could prove himself. This never happened. This ruthless leader opened his reign by slaughtering ...

2. John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Matthew 3:1-12

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

John the Baptist: At the close of chapter 2, Joseph, Mary, and the child Jesus returned from Egypt and took up residence in the Galilean town of Nazareth. The time would have been shortly after the death of Herod in 4 B.C. Chapter 3 begins with the prophetic ministry of John the Baptist some twenty-five to thirty years later. What had been going on in the life of Jesus during this time? Except for one incident, the Gospels remain silent. They were never intended to be taken as biographies. The only thing ...

3. The Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:1-23

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

Parables of Jesus: In chapter 13 we come for the first time to Jesus’ favorite method of teaching, the parable. The seven parables recorded in this chapter form Jesus’ third discourse as arranged by Matthew, There are in the first three Gospels about sixty separate parables. In the LXX the Greek parabolē almost always translates the Hebrew māšāl, which denotes a wide variety of picturesque forms of expression, including the proverb, metaphor, allegory, illustrative story, fable, riddle, simile, and parable ...

4. John the Baptist Beheaded

Matthew 14:1-12

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

Feeding of the Five Thousand: Jesus was not the only prophet who was rejected by his own (cf. 13:53–58). John the Baptist had been treated the same way by Herod, ruler of Galilee and Perea. Matthew tells of Herod’s concern that Jesus might be John the Baptist returned from the dead (v. 2). This in turn caused Jesus to withdraw from a public to a secluded area (v. 13). Verses 3–12 record the death of John the Baptist, which had taken place earlier but is brought into the narrative at this point by Matthew. ...

5. Signs of the End of the Age

Matthew 24:1-35

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

24:1–2 In Matthew’s Gospel the first two verses of chapter 24 are closely related to the last two verses of chapter 23. Jesus had said, “Your house is left to you desolate” (23:38) and now adds that not one stone of the temple will be left on another (24:2), Mark’s intervening account of the widow’s gift (Mark 12:41–44) is omitted. As Jesus was walking away from the temple (hieron, the entire complex), his disciples called attention to the buildings. In 20–19 B.C. Herod the Great obtained permission from ...

6. A Prophet Without Honor

Matthew 13:53-58

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

7. Lord of the Sabbath

Matthew 12:1-14

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

Opposition Mounts: In chapter 12 Matthew relates a number of incidents that reveal the basis for Pharisaic opposition to Jesus and his ministry. Jesus vindicates his disciples’ plucking grain on the Sabbath (vv. 1–8), restores a paralyzed hand on the Sabbath (vv. 9–14), moves away when he hears of a plot against him (vv. 15–21), refutes the Pharisees’ claim that he drives out demons by the power of Beelzebub (vv. 22–32), calls his antagonists “snakes” who will be held accountable on the day of judgment (vv ...

8. Before the Sanhedrin

Matthew 26:57-68

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

The Final Evening: The Passion narrative is the account of the suffering and death of Jesus. It normally includes all the events beginning with the garden scene in Gethsemane and finishing with the burial. The centrality of the cross in early Christian preaching is reflected in the major emphasis given to it in each of the four Gospels. Matthew 26 records the events of Wednesday and Thursday of the final week of Jesus’ life. 26:57–61 Jesus was led off under arrest to the house of Caiaphas, the high priest ...

9. Prayer

Matthew 6:5-15

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

6:5–6 A second important religious duty among the Jews was prayer. In the morning and in the evening the devout Jew would recite the Shema (three short passages of Scripture from Deuteronomy 6 and 11 and Numbers 15), and at nine in the morning, noon, and three in the afternoon he would go through the Shemoneh Esreh (the Eighteen Benedictions). Acts 3:1 notes that Peter and John went to the temple “at the time of prayer—at three in the afternoon.” According to Jewish custom, if you were in the streets at ...

10. The Parable of the Tenants

Matthew 21:33-46

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

21:33–39 The second parable directed against those who refused to accept the messianic implications of Jesus’ ministry had to do with a landowner who leased his vineyard to tenants and left home. Preparations included putting a wall around the property to keep wild beasts out, hewing out a wine vat, and building a watchtower from which the entire operation could be overseen. When the harvest time approached, the owner sent his servants to receive his share of the produce. Gospel accounts differ in the ...

11. The Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

Matthew 13:31-35

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

12. Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

Matthew 26:14-16

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

The Final Evening: The Passion narrative is the account of the suffering and death of Jesus. It normally includes all the events beginning with the garden scene in Gethsemane and finishing with the burial. The centrality of the cross in early Christian preaching is reflected in the major emphasis given to it in each of the four Gospels. Matthew 26 records the events of Wednesday and Thursday of the final week of Jesus’ life. 26:14–16 Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the chief priests ...

Showing 1 to 12 of 12all results

Showing all results

1. The Return to Nazareth

Matthew 2:19-23

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

2. John the Baptist Prepares the Way

Matthew 3:1-12

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

3. The Parable of the Sower

Matthew 13:1-23

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

4. John the Baptist Beheaded

Matthew 14:1-12

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

5. Signs of the End of the Age

Matthew 24:1-35

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

6. A Prophet Without Honor

Matthew 13:53-58

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

7. Lord of the Sabbath

Matthew 12:1-14

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

8. Before the Sanhedrin

Matthew 26:57-68

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

9. Prayer

Matthew 6:5-15

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

10. The Parable of the Tenants

Matthew 21:33-46

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

11. The Parable of the Mustard Seed and the Yeast

Matthew 13:31-35

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

12. Judas Agrees to Betray Jesus

Matthew 26:14-16

Understanding Series

Robert H. Mounce

The Final Evening: The Passion narrative is the account of the suffering and death of Jesus. It normally includes all the events beginning with the garden scene in Gethsemane and finishing with the burial. The centrality of the cross in early Christian preaching is reflected in the major emphasis given to it in each of the four Gospels. Matthew 26 records the events of Wednesday and Thursday of the final week of Jesus’ life. 26:14–16 Judas Iscariot, one of the twelve disciples, went to the chief priests ...

Showing 1 to 12 of 12all results