BIBLICAL Spring 2020 - Scene7

S E E R E L AT E D B I B L E S T U D Y R E S O U R C E S :www.BibleStudiesForLife.com www.lifeway.com/ExploreTheBible www.GospelProject.com10 The Priority of Preachingby Steve W. LemkeApril 26 // Session 962 The Jewish World in Jesus’ Dayby Lynn O. TraylorMarch 22 // Session 486 Why Paul Wrote Romansby Cecil R. TaylorMay 10 // Session 1167 Life in First-Century Jerusalemby Warren McWilliamsMay 29 // Session 549 The Rise of the Roman Empireby Timothy N. BoydMay 17 // Session 1236 QuickBites: Showing Honor in the Roman WorldMay 17 // Session 1232 The Kingdom of God: Paul’s Understandingby J. Mark TerryMay 24 // Session 13InSites: Jerusalem in the Time of ChristMay 29 // Session 538 Firstfruits and Their Significanceby Charles A. Ray, Jr.April 12 // Bonus24 The Gospel of Jesus Christby Steve BoothApril 12 // Bonus28 “Witness” in John’s Writingsby Mark R. DunnApril 26 // Session 824 The Gospel of Jesus Christby Steve BoothMay 31 // Session 14THE GOSPEL PROJECT82 What Makes a Gospel, a Gospel?by Rex D. ButlerMarch 1 // Session 114 Caesar Augustusby Gerald L. StevensMarch 15 // Session 342 Unclean! Unclean! Leprosy in the First Centuryby Francis X. KimmittMay 10 // Session 1080 QuickBites: Jewish Religious FactionsMay 24 // Session 1290 Jesus, the Samaritan Woman, and Jewish Cultureby Martha S. BergenMay 31 // Session 134936LIFEWAY.COM/BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR5

BSFL: Romans 14:1-19SnaresStumbling Blocks6 BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR / SPRING 2020ISTOCK PHOTOScandals and

Right: Part of therelief that decorated the walls ofAssyria’s NorthPalace at Nineveh.A herd of deer,hunted from theleft, discover thata net has beenstretched acrosstheir escape route.One stag has beenhit with arrows; 2hunters hold thenet; dated about645-635 BC.By Paul N. JacksonSHORTLY AFTER SEMInary graduation in 1983, Iserved the Sweet Home BaptistChurch in Rule, Texas. As a hobby, Ialso tended a large garden plot next tothe church. Egbert Smith, my elderlyneighbor, allowed me to use his tractor and well water to prepare andmanage the garden. Excitedly, I greweverything I could—corn, strawberries, okra, peppers, radishes, and sweetpotatoes. I received great coachingfrom my members as I knew nothingabout gardening. As soon as I startedseeing growth, however, it happened.An unbelievable scandal!! One morning, I stood in shock, seeing a halfdozen dirt volcanoes protruding fromthe ground. Moles had mercilesslylaunched a full-scale attack. Egbertlaughed as he handed me a homemade mole trap that I used to mounta counter attack. Every evening, I slidthe trap into one of the tunnels thosesneaky fiends had burrowed. Mostmornings I happily discovered another trapped mole. I took great pleasurein hanging the dearly departed on afence facing the garden as an ominouswarning to all other moles. Then, adeacon told me that moles are blind.Scandal and insult!ScandalWe derive our English word“scandal” from the Greek wordtranslated “stumbling block” in theNew Testament.1 Unfortunately,history is filled with examples andtoday is no exception. Scandalstake down athletes, celebrities,political powers, and religiousleaders. These failures carry rippling effects on families, friends,and associates. Scandals can beself-inflicted or sprung on others.What does the New Testament sayabout “scandals”?In the FleshOne of the earliest usages of theGreek term skandalon outside theNew Testament refers to the “trapspring” in a snare employed tosnag animals.2 This is what themoles encountered in my garden.Although the New Testament contains no references to hunting, theidea of causing oneself or anotherto be ensnared is present.3 TargetingPeter for rebuking His first deathpronouncement, Jesus equated himwith Satan! “Get away from me,Satan! You are seeing things merely from a human point of view,not from God’s” (Mark 8:33, nlt).By suggesting that Jesus’s deathshould be avoided, Peter’s rebukefunctioned as a verbal “offense,”“hindrance,” or “stumbling block.”4Matthew 18:6-9 records Jesusemploying a combination of threeverb forms and one noun form ofthe word. Jesus pronounced a woeCREATIVE COMMONS LICENSE/ THE WALTERS ART MUSEUM/ BALTIMOREILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BRITISH MUSEUM/ LONDON (31/9879)Above: Terracotta figurine withtraces of paint,pedagogue andstudent, dated 3rd–2nd centuries BC;about 6 in. tall. InHellenistic culture,a pedagogue wasan adult male whowas responsible forthe moral and socialeducation of ayoung boy. Properteaching can help achild learn to avoidoffenses that leadto downfall.both on the world because of theinevitability of coming “offenses”and upon the person through whomthe “offense” comes (v. 7).5 Theverbs are translated as fall away,something that can be avoided bynot leading children astray, or byradical surgery on offending hands,LIFEWAY.COM/BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR7

In the SpiritIndicating an amazing transformation, a downcast Simon Peterdeveloped spiritually after Jesusrestored him with a key post-resurrection conversation (John 21:119). Reflecting on Jesus and quotingIsaiah, Peter proclaimed that the living stone that became the cornerstonethat the builders rejected, will proveto be a stumbling stone and a trippingrock (skandalon; Isa. 8:14; 1 Pet. 2:8).7Peter and Isaiah addressed the sameproblem—that which hampers faithful allegiance to God and the resultant destructive consequences. Anddestructive it had been! Having beenunfaithful to God, eventually boththe Northern and Southern Kingdomsfell to their enemies in 722 and 586 bcrespectively. One might say they stumbled into captivity. While skandalonWorking like afunnel, the row ofrocks on the leftand the posts onthe right indicatewhere low stonewalls were thatmen used to drivemigrating gazelles,which they trappedfor capture. Thewalls were knowndoes not appear in the Greek translation of the Isaiah text, Peter added aline that includes it as a warning toavoid his own past failure.8A stone that causes men to stumble,and a rock that trips [skandalon].—1 Peter 2:8, hcsbIn Rome and CorinthWhile Paul used the term in similarways as discussed above (see Rom. 9:33;Gal. 5:11), 1 Corinthians 8, 10, andRomans 14 highlight the sin of abusingour Christian freedom regarding whatwe eat and drink. Paul concluded withas “desert kites.”Although thepractice goes backat least 6,000years, it becamewidespread in theregion in the 4th–2nd millennium BC.This desert kite islocated at Samar inthe Araba Valley ofsouthern Israel.8 BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR / SPRING 2020a powerful declaration, “Therefore,if food causes my brother or sister tofall (skandalizo), I will never again eatmeat!” (1 Cor. 8:13). Then, he critiquedthe Corinthian slogan, “Everythingis permissible!” (10:23-33). Correctingthat misunderstanding, Paul toldthe Christians in Corinth that noteverything is “helpful” or “edifying.”Below: Part ofthe stones thatformed the foundation underneaththe Western Wallat Jerusalem’sTemple Mount.The large stone,which is partiallyvisible, measuresabout 44 feetlong, 10 feet high,and almost 11feet deep. Knownas the WesternStone, it probablyweighs about 570tons.ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BRENT BRUCE (60/0568)ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ KRISTEN HILLER (42/0324)feet, or eyes.6 Stumbling blocks canhave severe consequences.While Peter and the otherdisciples totally misunderstood theprevailing death-talk, Jesus revealedthat all of His disciples would “fallaway” (Greek, skandalizo) becauseof the pressure of the circumstances(Mark 14:27-31, nasb). While Peterstrongly denied he would skandalizo,Jesus sadly, yet correctly, predictedthat his most glaring scandal wouldcome in the form of a triple denial.

The marketplaceat the ImperialForum in Rome.The Priority of PreachingILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BOB SCHATZ (20/14/16)ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ G.B. HOWELL/ LOUVRE MUSEUM (35/23/16)Left: Datedto Egypt’s12th Dynasty(1963–1786BC), this limestone reliefcarving depicts ascene of fishingand of huntingbirds. The upperregistry showsCorinth’s issue differed from a similarissue in Rome. The Corinthianswere questioning whether or not toeat meat offered to idols. In Rome,some believers criticized others foreating meat and drinking wine, thereby causing another to stumble.9 Toaddress the issue Paul pointed outthat two laws were at work, especiallywhen Jews and Gentiles were tryingto coexist in the same fellowship; thelaw of liberty and the law of love.While the situations in Corinthand Rome differ slightly, John R. W.Stott correctly states the essentialprinciple to draw from both:There is a similar need fordiscernment today. We mustnot elevate non-essentials,captured birds;the lower registry, fish, one ofwhich has escapedthe fisherman’sharpoon. Therelief decoratedthe tomb of aprominent familyof Qaou el-Kebir,Egypt.especially issues of custom andceremony, to the level of theessential and make them testsof orthodoxy and conditions offellowship. Nor must we marginalize fundamental theological or moral questions as if theywere only cultural and of nogreat importance. Paul distinguished between these things;so should we.10If we follow Paul’s instructionsto love each other and to pursuepeace and what is edifying, we canthen most successfully and consistently avoid setting traps for others or falling into them ourselves.And finally, with respect to everyexample considered, self-centerednessis the chief scandal at work.I1. The Greek noun is skandalon (ska/ndalon) and theGreek verb form is skandalizo (skandali/zw). The Englishspelling is mostly letter-for-letter and thus easy to recognize and pronounce.2. See Bill Mounce’s freely accessible Greek-Englishdictionary at teknia.com. This word’s occurrences anddefinitions can be found at www.billmounce.com/greekdictionary/skandalon. See H. Liddell, R. Scott, andH. Jones, A Greek-English Lexicon, 9th ed. (Oxford:Clarendon,1996), 1064, and J. Moulton and G. Milligan,The Vocabulary of the Greek Testament (London: Hodderand Stoughton, 1930), 576, for references using this wordconnected to hunting prey.3. See Rom. 9:33; 11:9; and 1 Pet. 2:8. Skandalonoccurs 15 times, while skandalizo (verbal form) occurs 29times in the New Testament.4. Matt. 16:23, HCSB, ESV, and NASB.5. Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture translationsare from the Christian Standard Bible (CSB).6. Intended symbolically, but still means that we needto deal seriously with the things that can cause our skandalon. See also the parallel passage in Mark 9:42-50 wherethe verbal form of the word occurs four times.7. Isaiah 8:12-17, Septuagint.8. Karen Jobes agrees in Baker Exegetical Commentaryon the New Testament: 1 Peter (Grand Rapids: BakerAcademic, 2005), 150. “Ironically, Peter himself (the rock)was accused by Jesus of being a skandalon when Peterrebuked Jesus and attempted to deflect him from hispredicted road to rejection and death (Matt. 16:23). Peterhad become an occasion for Jesus to sin, a temptationthat Jesus vigorously overcame by his sharp rebuke ofPeter’s thought. Here in 1 Pet. 2:8 Peter claims that Christthe cornerstone presents an opportunity either for trustor for rejection.”9. Rom. 14:13,21.10. John R. W. Stott, The Bible Speaks Today: TheMessage of Romans: God’s Good News for the World(Downers Grove, IL: InterVarsity, 2001), 358.Paul N. Jackson is professor of biblicalstudies at Union University, Jackson,Tennessee.LIFEWAY.COM/BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR9

ETB: Romans 10:5-15of PREACHINGThe PriorityISTOCK PHOTOBy Steve W. Lemke10 BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR / SPRING 2020

Left: At Philippi,steps leading up tothe bishop’s standat Basilica A. Thesteps would havetion. Built with thetraditional 3 aisles,the church was constructed at the endof the 5th cent.ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ GB HOWELL (35/40/94)HY DOES THE BIBLE SAYpreaching is so important? The apostle Paul answers this question quiteclearly in Romans 10:5-15. Preachingplays a crucial role in God’s plan forbringing sinners to repentance and salvation.The word translated, “proclaim” or “preach” inRomans 10:8 is based on the Greek word kerysso, used overfifty times in the New Testament. Writers of the NewTestament used other words to describe various aspects ofpreaching, but kerysso is among the most prominent termsthey used. Three important interrelated concepts flow fromthis word kerysso. First, a preacher or herald plays the roleof a keryx, similar to a town crier who brings significantnews. The preacher serves as an agent of someone in higherauthority, communicating important news to the peopleof an area. Second, the activity of the herald is kerysso, toproclaim a significant message. For example, one usageof this word was to herald good news such as the victoryof a king returning from battle. Likewise, the Christianpreacher proclaims the victory King Jesus won over sin anddeath. Indeed, Jesus commissioned His disciples to preachthe good news of the coming kingdom of God (Mark 3:14;Luke 9:1-2). Third, the preacher’s primary message is thekerygma. For Christians, the kerygma is the gospel—the goodnews of Jesus’ sinless life, atoning crucifixion, death, andvictorious resurrection and ascension. If the keryx does notproclaim the kerygma, the herald has gone “off message.”Paul described this gospel message as both believingthat God resurrected Jesus and confessing Jesus Christ asLord (vv. 9-10). He likewise told the Corinthian churchthat “we preach Christ crucified”1 (1 Cor. 1:23; see 2:2). Theapostle elaborated this gospel message in greater detail in1 Corinthians 15:3-8—Jesus was crucified for our sins, buried,resurrected on the third day, and appeared in His resurrected body to many people in multiple settings, including PaulRight:A raisedpulpitknown as anambo; thiswas used inthe Byzantinechurch of St.Theodorosat Beit Sila, whichwas on the roadbetween Lyddaand Jerusalem. Thechurch was in usefrom the 5th untilthe 7th centuries.ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ BRENT BRUCE/GOOD SAMARITAN INN (129/B/0465)Wlead to a raisedcircular pulpit fromwhich the bishopwould addressthe congrega-himself. These events were foretold in the Old TestamentScriptures. In one of Jesus’ post-resurrection appearances,He commanded that the message should be proclaimed toall nations concerning His crucifixion, death, and resurrection, to which the proper response was repentance for theforgiveness of sins (Luke 24:44-49). Preachers in the NewTestament focused their message on the kerygma of JesusChrist.2 All preaching should be gospel-focused on the goodnews of salvation through Jesus Christ.Paul’s main point in Romans 9–11 is that righteousnessand salvation come not by our good works, but by the righteousness we have through faith in Jesus Christ. Attainingrighteousness by good works would be as impossible asclimbing up to heaven (Rom. 10:5-6; see Deut. 30:12-13). Truesalvation comes only by placing one’s faith in Jesus Christ(Rom. 10:9-10).LIFEWAY.COM/BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR11

Appealing to and exhorting hearers to respond is a crucialelement of biblical preaching. The description of Peter’ssermon at Pentecost states that he “strongly urged” hishearers to respond to the gospel and be saved, which manyof them did (Acts 2:40-41). Likewise, in describing hisown preaching, the apostle Paul said, “we try to persuadepeople” (2 Cor. 5:11). The contemporary master preacherJohn Stott made a similar point:It is not enough to expound a thoroughly orthodoxdoctrine of reconciliation if we never beg people tocome to Christ. Nor is it right for a sermon to consist of an interminable appeal that has not beenpreceded by an exposition of the gospel. The ruleshould be “no appeal without a proclamation, andno proclamation without an appeal.”3Above: Mars Hillis an outcroppingof stone thatoverlooks theforum at Athens.Philosophersgathered hereto debate anddiscuss ideasand schools ofthought. Broughthere by Epicureanand Stoic philosophers, Pauldeclared thegospel of Christ;some believed,and others rejected his messageand ridiculed him.Right: Egyptianfigure of a royalherald namedNeni; wooden;dated to about2250 BC. InEgyptian culture,the royal heraldwas responsiblefor assisting withpalace administration andfor maintainingpalace protocoland etiquette.Additionally, hewould oversee theformal ceremoniesof the Egyptiancourt and palaceand also serve asthe royal reporteror royal “repeater” of news thatthe pharaoheither received orannounced.ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/BRENT BRUCE/ ORIENTAL MUSEUM OF CHICAGO (70/9272)ILLUSTRATOR PHOTO/ GB HOWELL (35/33/79)Paul affirmed that the great value of gospel-centered preaching is that whoever calls on the nameof the Lord will be saved (v. 11-15). “Whoever” means thateveryone is potentially savable. Preaching should thereforebe addressed to everyone who will hear the gospel. Forpeople to be saved, however, they must first hear the “message of faith” preached (v. 8). The hearers cannot call uponHim in whom they have not believed; they cannot believeunless they hear the gospel preached; and they cannot hearwithout a preacher being sent to share the gospel withthem (vv. 14-15).Preaching or proclamation is more than a mereannouncement of good news. The Greeks used the wordkerysso to imply making an appeal for a decision. Theyused this word for trying to persuade someone to purchasea property or to encourage persons to agree to become colonists. Romans 10:14 uses kerysso in this sense—sharing thegospel with a view to persuading or convincing the hearers.12 BIBLICAL ILLUSTRATOR / SPRING 2020The best preaching does not draw attention tothe speaker’s oratorical skills. Paul insisted to theCorinthian church that he did not preach to themwith cleverness of words or brilliance of speech(1 Cor. 1:17; 2:1). Instead, the apostle preached thesimple gospel message of the crucifixion and resurrection of Jesus Christ (1:23; 2:2). The message of God maybe enhanced with effective speaking skills, but not if theoratory overwhelms the message. The sermon shouldbring attention to the message, not the messenger.The message of the gospel must always be the focus ofChrist-centered preaching.Most pastors both preach and teach. Indeed, Paultold Timothy that a pastor should be an “able teacher”(1 Tim. 3:2, hcsb). What is the distinction between preaching and teaching? These two important functions of aChristian minister overlap somewhat, but the two also differ in at least four ways at times. First, sometimes the location will be different. Teaching is usually done in the synagogue, church, someone’s home, or a gathering place withinthe community (Acts 17:2; 19:9; 20:20; 1 Cor. 4:17). Preachingis also done in church, of course, but can be also in morepublic places like streets or public buildings. Peter’s sermonat Pentecost was in the streets of Jerusalem (Acts 2:5-41), andPaul’s sermon on Mars Hill was outside on the Areopagusof Rome (17:16-34). The second difference is the audience.Teaching is intended primarily for people who have alreadybeen exposed to the gospel message; preaching is intendedprimarily for unbelieving sinners. The third difference concerns the content of the message. Teaching involves sharinginformation such as an exposition of Scripture, explaininga key doctrine or belief. The primary content of preachingis the gospel of Christ. Fourth, the purpose of teaching isto edify and inform believers and those who have already

Below: Locatedbetween thecolosseumand PalatineHill in Rom

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