Table of Contents
Preface xii
Acknowledgments xiv
Abbreviations xvi
Part 1 Gospels and Acts
Matthew
1 Mary's Perpetual Virginity? (Matt 1:25) 1
2 God and Satan Acting Together? (Matt 4:1; 2 Cor 12:7) 3
3 Heading for Hellfire (Matt 5:22) 5
4 "Lead Us Not into Temptation" (Matt 6:13) 7
5 Forgive and Forget? (Matt 6:14) 9
6 No Pearls to the Pigs! (Matt 7:6) 11
7 A Father Who Knows and Superintends Everything (Matt 10:29) 12
8 Misguided Expectations (Matt 11:2-6) 14
9 Being Greater than the Forerunner of the Messiah (Matt 11:11) 15
10 Violence and the Kingdom (Matt 11:12) 17
11 Peter and the Rock (Matt 16:18) 19
12 "Binding" and "Loosing" (Matt 16:19; 18:18) 20
13 Forgiveness May Prevent Divorce (Matt 19:9) 22
14 "Go and Make Disciples" (Matt 28:19-20) 23
Mark
15 The Unpardonable Sin (Mark 3:29; Luke 12:10) 25
16 Mary's Perpetual Virginity? (Mark 6:3) 27
17 Feed the Children First! (Mark 7:27) 29
18 "Get Away Behind Me, Satan!" (Mark 8:33) 30
19 A Substitutionary Ransom (Mark 10:45) 32
20 An Acted Parable about a Fig Tree (Mark 11:12-14, 20-25) 33
21 "Eloi, Eloi Lema Sabachthani?" (Mark 15:34) 35
Luke
22 A Daunting Journey (Luke 2:1-6) 37
23 Loving Because Forgiven (Luke 7:47) 38
24 Watching Satan Fall from Heaven (Luke 10:18) 40
25 Hating One's Parents? (Luke 14:26) 41
26 "The Kingdom of God Is in Your Midst" (Luke 17:21) 43
27 Forgiven Because Ignorant? (Luke 23:34) 44
28 With Christ after Death (Luke 23:43) 46
29 A Jewish Evening Prayer (Luke 23:46) 48
30 "Now You See Him-Now You Don't!" (Luke 24:31) 49
John
31 "The Word Had the Same Nature as God" (John 1:1c) 52
32 Becoming God's Children (John 1:12c-13) 53
33 When Did the Word Become Incarnate? (John 1:14) 55
34 After-Yet Before! (John 1:15) 57
35 Uninterrupted Grace (John 1:16) 59
36 The Father's Perfect Expression (John 1:18) 60
37 "Born by Water and the Spirit" (John 3:5) 62
38 Unique Giving by Unique Love (John 3:16) 63
39 "Believing That" and "Believing In" (John 3:36) 66
40 Eating Flesh and Drinking Blood (John 6:53) 67
41 Legitimate Anger (John 11:33, 38) 70
42 "Jesus Burst into Tears" (John 11:35) 72
43 Jesus my Friend? (John 15:15) 73
44 "Dear Woman, Look, Your Son!" (John 19:26) 74
45 Jesus' Real Humanity (John 19:28) 76
46 Mission Accomplished! (John 19:30) 78
47 Is Doubt Always Sinful? (John 20:27) 79
48 A Climactic Confession: "(You Are) My Lord and My God!" (John 20:28) 81
49 A Painful Reinstatement (John 21:15-17) 82
50 First Things First! (John 21:15-22) 84
Acts
51 "Under New Management" (Acts 8:16) 87
52 A Sharp Dispute-and Beyond (Acts 15:37-39) 88
53 Mutual Devotion in Marriage (Acts 18:2-3) 90
54 Devoted to Christian Doctrine (Acts 18:24-26) 91
55 A Trinitarian Project (Acts 20:28) 93
56 To Go or Not to Go? (Acts 21:4) 95
57 "Get Your Sins Washed Away" (Acts 22:6) 96
Part 2 Epistles and Revelation
Romans
1 The Highest Privilege of All-to Be a Slave of the Supreme Master (Rom 1:1) 101
2 "By Faith to Faith" (Rom 1:17) 102
3 The Most Important Verse and Word in the Bible? (Rom 3:25) 104
4 "Abraham Believed God" (Rom 4:3) 106
5 Two Contrasting Ways of Living (Rom 8:4-5) 107
6 Christ as "God Blessed Forever" (Rom 9:5) 109
7 Christ, the End of the Law? (Rom 10:4) 110
8 "Jesus Is Lord" (Rom 10:9) 112
9 Repaying Spiritual Indebtedness (Rom 15:26-27) 114
1 Corinthians
10 Boasting in the Lord (1 Cor 1:31; 2 Cor 10:17) 117
11 Sanctification by Imitation (1 Cor 4:16) 119
12 Sexual Sin Is Unique (1 Cor 6:18) 121
13 Divorce and Remarriage (1 Cor 7:15) 123
14 A Christianized Shema (1 Cor 8:6) 124
15 Raised-Never to Die Again (1 Cor 15:4) 126
16 Christ as "Firstfruits" (1 Cor 15:20, 23) 128
17 How Should Christians View Death? (1 Cor 15:26, 54-55; 2 Cor 5:8) 129
18 Baptism for the Dead (1 Cor 15:29) 131
19 What Is a "Spiritual Body"? (1 Cor 15:42-44) 132
20 Are Humans Immortal? (1 Cor 15:52) 134
21 Regular, Proportionate Giving (1 Cor 16:2) 135
2 Corinthians
22 Equipped to Dispense Comfort (2 Cor 1:4) 137
23 Thwarting Satan's Stratagems (2 Cor 2:11) 138
24 Participating in God's Triumphal Procession (2 Cor 2:14) 140
25 Pleasing the Master (2 Cor 5:9) 141
26 A Dramatic Change of Outlook (2 Cor 5:16-17) 144
27 The Sinless One for the Sinful (2 Cor 5:21) 146
28 Paul's Three Low Points (2 Cor 7:5-7) 148
29 Paul's Favorite Word (2 Cor 8:9) 151
30 An Intentional Prolonged Silence (2 Cor 12:2) 152
31 "A Thorn in the Flesh" (2 Cor 12:7) 154
Galatians
32 Should "Abba" Be Translated as "Daddy"? (Gal 4:6) 157
33 Reveling in Newfound Freedom (Gal 5:1) 158
34 Freedom for Slavery (Gal 5:13) 160
Ephesians
35 The Holy Spirit as Both Down Payment and Pledge (Eph 1:13-14) 162
36 A Normative Pattern: "To-Through-By" (Eph 2:18) 163
37 Evidences of the Spirit's Filling (Eph 5:18-21) 165
Philippians
38 The Self-Emptying of Christ (Phil 2:7) 167
39 Contentment with Circumstances (Phil 4:12-13) 168
Colossians
40 Jesus-First in Time and Rank (Col 1:15) 170
41 "God in All His Fullness" (Col 1:19; 2:9) 171
42 What Is Lacking in Christ's Afflictions? (Col 1:24) 173
43 A Canceled IOU (Col 2:14) 174
44 Love-in-Action as the Crowning Virtue (Col 3:14) 176
1 Thessalonians
45 Are Deceased Christians "Asleep"? (1 Thess 4:13-15) 178
46 Stifling the Spirit (1 Thess 5:19) 179
1 Timothy
47 Is Tradition Outdated? (1 Tim 6:20) 182
2 Timothy
48 "Salvation in Christ Jesus" (2 Tim 2:10) 184
49 Divine Exhalation (2 Tim 3:16) 186
Titus
50 Jesus Christ as "Our Great God and Savior" (Titus 2:13) 189
Philemon
51 Paul and Slavery (Phlm 15-16) 192
Hebrews
52 Different Yet Similar (Heb 1:1-2a) 194
53 The Eternality of Christ (Heb 1:8-9) 196
54 Three Crucial Appearances (Heb 9:23-28) 198
55 Pain Instead of Joy (Heb 12:2) 199
James
56 "Not by Faith Alone"? (Jas 2:24) 201
1 Peter
57 Glory Follows Suffering (1 Pet 1:31) 204
58 Jesus as Shepherd (1 Pet 5:4) 206
2 Peter
59 Sharing the Divine Nature (2 Pet 1:4) 208
60 Death as Departure and Arrival (2 Pet 1:11,14-15) 210
1 John
61 No Sinless Perfection-Yet! (1 John 2:1; 3:6, 9; 5:18) 212
62 No Teachers Needed? (1 John 2:27) 214
63 "A Sin that Leads to Death" (1 John 5:16-17) 215
Jude
64 An Unparalleled Doxology (Jude 25) 218
Revelation
65 Commendable Intolerance (Rev 2:20) 220
66 The Centrality of the Lamb in Heaven (Rev 7:17) 221
