Adult Sunday School Lesson

SUNDAY SCHOOL CLASSES FOR THE MONTH OF FEBRUARY 2025

 

February 2, 2025

Praying for Relief (Praying Properly)
Printed Text: Matthew 6:5-15
Devotional Reading: Psalm 4
Background: Matthew 6:5-15

 

February 9, 2025

Resistance to the Kingdom (Heeding Wholly)
Printed Text: Matthew 11:7-15, 20-24
Devotional Reading: Matthew 10:31-46)
Background: Matthew 11

 

February 16, 2025

The First Will Be Last Living Lastly)
Printed Text: Matthew 19:16-30
Devotional Reading: 1 Samuel 2:1-10
Background: Matthew 19:16-30

 

February 23, 2025

Kingdom Life (Ministering Mightily)
Printed Text: Matthew 25:31-46
Devotional Reading: Matthew 25
Background: Matthew 25

 

Zoom Sunday School Classes – 2 February 2025 at 09:00 AM EST

Meeting ID: 848-9423-0612
Pass Code: 669872
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84894230612?pwd=Zk1ESitzbGZwTlJyV21UZXY5aTVPZz09
Praying for Relief (Praying Properly)
Printed Text: Matthew 6:5-15
Devotional Reading: Psalm 4
Background: Matthew 6:5-15

 

KEEP IN MIND:

“Your kingdom come.  Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.” (Matthew 6:10, NRSV)

 

LESSON AIM:

UNDERSTAND Jesus’ teachings about not practicing one’s piety in order to be noticed by others;
REPENT of making a show of religiosity in order to receive praise from others; and
PRACTICE simplicity and humility in our devotional lives.

BACKGROUND:

Jesus taught that the true righteousness of the kingdom must be applied in the everyday activities of life.  He cautioned against practicing piety to impress other people.  Almsgiving was designed to be a display of mercy, but the Pharisees had distorted it to demonstrate their devotion to religious duties in almsgiving and prayer.  Giving without fanfare and quietly praying will receive its reward.

Just as the Pharisees made a public display in giving, so they did on praying.  They prayed in public places to be seen and heard by men.  Jesus says they got their reward in the applause of the people.  Instead of condemning prayer in general, though, the Lord purified the practice by directing us into a private place to be alone and pray to our Father.  Jesus went on to give us an example of how to pray with certain guidelines.

The Gospel according to Matthew emphasizes the authoritative teaching ministry of Jesus Christ and records five sermons.  These are found in chapters 5-7; 10; 13; 18-20; and 24-25.  There are more sermons recorded in Mathew than any of the other Gospels.  Throughout his Gospel, Matthew uses terminology and references that would be well-known to Jews because he is writing to prove to them that Jesus is their Messiah, and the promised King.

The first sermon is frequently referred to as the Sermon on the Mount (Matthew 5-7).  The multitudes followed Jesus “from Galilee, Decapolis, Jerusalem, Judea and beyond the Jordan” (Matthew 4:25).  They were witnesses as Jesus healed the sick, the paralyzed, the demon-possessed, and the diseased.  After they gathered, Jesus began to teach His disciples in the presence of the multitudes.  Teaching regarding a new view of life was necessary because these followers, mostly Jewish, would have been largely familiar with and influenced by the Pharisees, who were well-learned, religious experts, but legalistic and hypocritical, far from the heart of God.

 

LESSON COMMENTARY:

Praying in Secret (Matthew 6:5-8, NRSV)

⁵"And whenever you pray, do not be like the hypocrites; for they love to stand and pray in the synagogues and at the street corners, so that they may be seen by others. Truly I tell you, they have received their reward.
⁶But whenever you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your Father who is in secret; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you.
⁷"When you are praying, do not heap up empty phrases as the Gentiles do; for they think that they will be heard because of their many words.
⁸Do not be like them, for your Father knows what you need before you ask him. 

Again, Christ warns His followers to not be like the Pharisaical play-actors who pretend to have a relationship with God by showcasing their prayers in public.  We cannot take this to mean that Jesus was condemning public prayer.  After all, when He teaches His disciples later in this same sermon (Matthew 6:9-13), He is not only modeling a prayer but praying one!  Jesus’ concern is the internal motivation for praying in public.  One should not pray in public to be heard and praised by others.  Jesus gives the example of hypocrites who enjoy making a show of praying by “standing in the synagogues and in the corners of the streets” to be seen by others.  He again reminds them how doing so cheats them of a greater reward.

Jesus teaches them the proper attitude for prayer (verse 6).  He contrasts the “corners of the street” with going “into thy closet,” and praying privately.  A “closet” refers to an inner chamber used for storage (usually of food).  Jesus wanted His listeners to understand the secret, private, and personal nature their communication with Go should have. 

Jesus warns His audience about praying like the pagans (verse 7).  Greek prayers would mindlessly repeat as many of the names and titles of their gods as possible, endlessly listing favors and sacrifices performed.  These prayers were like business contracts.  Their hope was to inform, to gain the god’s or goddesses’ attention in order to earn a response.  Christ reminds them that God is different.  He is not a business partner.  He is their God and Father.  The all-knowing, ever-present Lord does not need to be informed or reminded of their past actions.  He already knows their future.

1.    Why do you believe prayer is still important when “your Father knows what you need before you ask Him?

2.    What does Jesus’ teaching in these verses tell us about His views on prayer and giving?

3.    We offer public prayers in churches and gatherings all the time.  How can public prayer maintain the proper attitude that Jesus describes?  What examples can you offer when public prayer did not demonstrate the proper attitude?

4.    Consider how modern churches collect offerings.  How can we avoid giving with the wrong attitude?  What would be modern examples of an improper attitude in giving?

 

Our Prayer (Matthew 6:9-13, NRSV)

⁹"Pray then in this way: Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name.
¹⁰Your kingdom come. Your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.
¹¹Give us this day our daily bread.
¹²And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
¹³And do not bring us to the time of trial, but rescue us from the evil one.

We want to examine God’s teachings on prayer.  Jesus gave His followers a model prayer known as the Lord’s Prayer.  We should use this prayer as a pattern, as Jesus said to pray “after this manner.”  The purpose of prayer is to glorify God, and those are the guidelines for prayer:

a. It should involve worship, reverence, and exaltation of our Father;

b. It should concern itself with the work God is engaged in, namely, the establishment of God’s kingdom and His will be done on earth;

c. It should be concerned with daily needs;

d. It should contain confession and seek forgiveness; and finally,

e. it should seek protection and deliverance from the evil one.

Notice this model prayer begins with the phrase “Our Father.”  We put God’s concerns first; then we can bring in our own needs.  This is the God-appointed way of having our needs met because prayer also prepares us for God’s answer.

1.    How do you pray most often?  Is your prayer structured like the Lord’s Prayer, another prayer, or not structured at all?

2.    Have you ever had something happen to you that was not in your control?  Where did you turn? 

 

Our Forgiveness (Matthew 6:14-15, NRSV)

¹⁴For if you forgive others their trespasses, your heavenly Father will also forgive you;
¹⁵but if you do not forgive others, neither will your Father forgive your trespasses.

Forgiveness puts you in the right relationship with your brothers and sisters and with God.  This enables you to pray effectively; therefore, forgiveness is an important part of prayer.  We must pray with a forgiving spirit toward others.  Christians must be pre4pared and willing to forgive the offenses of others.  As Christ just taught earlier in this same sermon: “Blessed are the merciful, for they shall obtain mercy” (Matthew 5:7).  If you do not forgive offenders, God will not forgive you.

We all need forgiveness.  To be forgiven is to be released from guilt and condemnation.  Forgiveness means we should not be bitter or hostile, seek revenge, or hold hard feelings against another person.  We should not rejoice when others fall on hard times.

 

DISCUSS THE MEANING:

1.    How do we reconcile Jesus’ message that God’s willingness to forgive is limited to our own willingness to forgive, with the message that Jesus offers forgiveness of sin free to all?

2.    What is prayer?

3.    Why must we pray that God “lead us not into temptation” when we know that God does not tempt anyone (James 1:13)?

4.    What elements of prayer are modeled in the Lord’s Prayer?  Are our prayers ineffective if we do not use these exact words or follow this exact outline?  (Discuss).

 

LESSON IN SOCIETY:

Many of us are tempted to spiritualize the meaning of “give us today our daily bread” as seeking a daily spiritual insight to feed our souls.  However, this is not what Jesus was talking about.  The majority of people in Jesus’’ day (and even until the 8^th century) were food insecure, meaning they didn’t know how (or even if) they would get their next meal.  While this is not a worry for middle and upper-class America, there are many around the world and even in the wealthiest cities who are food insecure today.  These people understand the necessity of praying to God to give them just the barest minimum of food for just one day.  Those of us who have never had to worry about how to afford groceries must remember that this is only by the grace of God, our only Provider.  If we are so blessed as to be sure of having food in our pantries today and tomorrow, we can thank God for removing a terrible weight of worry from our shoulders.

 

 

Zoom Sunday School Classes – 9 February 2025 at 09:00 AM EST
Meeting ID: 848-9423-0612
Pass Code: 669872
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84894230612?pwd=Zk1ESitzbGZwTlJyV21UZXY5aTVPZz09
Resistance to the Kingdom (Heeding Wholly)
Printed Text: Matthew 11:7-15, 20-24
Devotional Text: Matthew 10:31-42
Background Text: Matthew 11

 

KEEP IN MIND:

“Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent.” (Matthew 11:20, NRSV)

 

LESSON AIM:

EXPLAIN how the different actions of Jesus and John the Baptist both displayed divine wisdom,
FEEL encouraged to behave in ways that follow Jesus even when they are contrary to people’s expectations; and
REVIEW our own behavior to determine whether it reflects godly wisdom.

BACKGROUND:

The measure of the impact of the ministry of John the Baptist cannot be determined apart from a consideration of the man.  No greater compliment could be paid to John than the assessment of our Lord: “Truly, I say to you, among those born of women there has not arisen anyone greater than John the Baptist.” (Matthew 11:11a).  The Gospel writers give us an indication of the extent of his ministry: “And all the country of Judea was going out to him, and all the people of Jerusalem; and they were being baptized by him in the Jordan River, confessing their sins” (Mark 1:5).

His ministry touched multitudes in Judea.   To whatever degree numbers indicate success, John was a successful man.  When evaluated by the standard of longevity, John was also a successful preacher.  Most of his ‘converts’ were rather quickly blended into the main­stream of Jesus’ teaching and ministry, even some of John’s disciples (cf. John 1:35ff).  Perhaps the most interesting evidence of John’s effectiveness is Luke’s reference in Acts 19 to the small group of men that Paul encountered in Ephesus who were ‘believers’ only to the extent of believing in what John had taught.  This was nearly 25 years after the abrupt conclusion of John’s preaching ministry.

One of the most unique features of John was his apparel.  A camel’s hair garment and leather belt were not the attire of the fashionable young men of Jerusalem.  Neither were locusts and wild honey (Matthew 3:4) served in the finest restaurants.  Today we would be likely to identify this kind of clothing and food with the attire of a rebel, as an indication of a kind of counter‑culture.  I don’t believe this was entirely the case. There were, I believe, several reasons for John’s unusual appearance.

First, his appearance was intended to result in an association.  Zacharias had been told that his son John would go forth in the spirit and power of Elijah (Luke 1:17).  Elijah was described as “… a hairy man with a leather girdle bound about his loins” (2 Kings 1:8).  John’s attire was designed to associate him with Elijah and his ministry.

Second, his appearance was intended to signify separation.  His dress was not that of the man on the street.  John stuck out like a sore thumb.  Again, this separation was prophesied at his birth: “For he will be great in the sight of the Lord, and he will drink no wine or liquor; and he will be filled with the Holy Spirit …” (Luke 1:15).

John was to be a Nazarite (cf. Numbers 6:2ff; Judges 13:4‑5), and remain separate, set apart from normal defilements for divine service.  John was pointedly aloof from the religious system of his day, for it did not reflect the old-time religion of the past at its best.  Jesus did not come to patch up the existing mess in Judaism, but to create something new.  John’s dress symbolized his separation from all that constituted the worn-out Judaism of his day.

Third, his raiment revealed application.  John had preached that true repentance should result in a compassion for the needs of others.  It would have been glaringly inconsistent had John arrived at his speaking in an air­conditioned Cadillac and a silk suit.  The food and clothing of John were the fare of the poor who lived the simple life of the desert dweller.

 

LESSON COMMENTARY:

What Did You Expect (Matthew 11:7-11, NRSV)

⁷As they went away, Jesus began to speak to the crowds about John: "What did you go out into the wilderness to look at? A reed shaken by the wind?
⁸What then did you go out to see? Someone dressed in soft robes? Look, those who wear soft robes are in royal palaces.
⁹What then did you go out to see? A prophet? Yes, I tell you, and more than a prophet.
¹⁰This is the one about whom it is written, 'See, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.'
¹¹Truly I tell you, among those born of women no one has arisen greater than John the Baptist; yet the least in the kingdom of heaven is greater than he.

If John had some doubts about Jesus, Jesus had no doubts about John!  The crowd must have overheard the question John’s disciples put to Jesus and our Lord’s response.  As John’s disciples begin their trek to report back to John, Jesus uses this occasion to address the crowd concerning John the Baptist.  Jesus first presses the crowd to acknowledge what He knew they were thinking – that John was a prophet (see Matthew 21:26).  In effect, Jesus says this about John:

“What did you go way out into the wilderness to see?  A wishy-washy fellow whose views change with the political winds?  I don’t think so!  Maybe you went all the way out into the wilderness to see what the new fashions in menswear would be?  We all know it can’t be that.  No, you all know that the one thing which drew you out into the wilderness to hear John was the strong conviction that he is a true prophet – a man who speaks for God, a man whose words are God’s words.  John is a prophet, but he is not merely a prophet.  In a very real sense, John is the prophet – the prophet everyone has been waiting for, the prophet whose appearance and ministry have been prophesied by other prophets.  Malachi spoke of him when he wrote, ‘Look, I am sending my messenger ahead of you, who will prepare your way before you.’  John is the forerunner of Messiah, whose unique privilege has been to proclaim His appearance and reveal His identity.”

Because of John’s unique role as the last of the Old Testament prophets, the prophet whose mission it was to introduce Messiah, no one born of woman (to that point in time) was greater than he. And yet, as towering a personality as John was when viewed from the landscape of the Old Testament, even the least in the kingdom of heaven was greater than John (Matthew 11:11).

Many people cannot rise above their difficulties and circumstances.  Everyone has problems; it is overcoming them that separates great people from others.  Great people fight through, refusing to give in to their ignorance, handicaps, laziness, indifference, or whatever other obstacles may be in their way.  John the Baptist had that characteristic of greatness in full measure.

1.    When have you met someone and been surprised when you found out their occupation?  When have you met someone and been surprised that they were a fellow believer?

 

Rebellion Breeds Foolishness (Matthew 11:12-15)

¹²From the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven has suffered violence, and the violent take it by force.
¹³For all the prophets and the law prophesied until John came;
¹⁴and if you are willing to accept it, he is Elijah who is to come.
¹⁵Let anyone with ears listen!

“He who has ears to hear, let him hear” (Matthew 11:15).  This is a statement that will be used later on in Matthew 13 (verses 9, 43) when Jesus begins to teach by parables.  This is an exhortation for the reader to think more deeply than merely on the surface.  It is not a challenge to think literally, but to think beyond what is literal – that is what parables are about.  They are not meant for everyone to understand.  Thus, Jesus’ words here are not a contradiction to John’s denial that he is literally Elijah.  John is Elijah in a more symbolic sense.

In spite of the popularity of Jesus with the crowds, very little repentance is evident.  Jesus sent His disciples out to proclaim the approaching arrival of the kingdom of heaven.  Jesus’ message, along with His disciples, was virtually identical with that of John the Baptist and his disciples: “Repent, for the kingdom of heaven is near (Matthew 3:2; 4:17; 10:7-9).  Now, Jesus indicts those Israelite cities who had most frequently witnessed the presence, preaching, and miracle-working power of Jesus, and now of His disciples.

Jesus likened that generation to children who complained because He would not dance to their tune. They wanted a “have it your way” Messiah, and when Jesus refused to conform to their desires and expectations, they wanted nothing to do with Him. These were fickle folks.

Notice how our Lord continues the theme of His relationship to John the Baptist.  The two of them were very different, but that generation rejected them both.  John came to them fasting (“neither eating nor drinking” – compare Matthew 9:14), and they called him demon possessed.  Then Jesus and His disciples came along, both eating and drinking, and they accused Him of being a glutton and a drunkard, and (worse yet!)  One who associated with sinners.  The link between John and Jesus was buttressed by the fact that this generation rejected them both.

Although Jesus' miracles had already established His messianic credentials beyond any legitimate question, most of the Jewish people who witnessed those miracles refused to recognize the facts or accept Him as the Messiah.

But to what shall I compare this generation reflects a common oriental expression used to introduce a parable or other illustration.  The Midrash, an ancient compilation of Jewish traditional teaching, contains many expressions (such as "To what is the matter like?" or "How can I illustrate this point?") used by rabbis to introduce illustrative metaphors, analogies, and stories.  In this tradition Jesus was saying, "How can I illustrate the responses of this generation of God's people to His truth and work?  To what do they compare?"

Some of those who refused to believe the gospel covered their unbelief with criticism.  Jesus compared them to foolish children sitting in the marketplace who objected to everything the other children did.  They were like many people today who find fault with whatever the preacher and other church leaders do.  No matter what is said or done, such people pick it apart and use the objection—whether real or imagined, justified or unjustified—as an excuse for rejection.  Because they have no saving relationship to Christ, they refuse to receive His truth or serve in His church. But they love to harp against both.

 

The Response of Unbelieving Indifference (Matthew 11:20-24, NRSV)

²⁰Then he began to reproach the cities in which most of his deeds of power had been done, because they did not repent.
²¹"Woe to you, Chorazin! Woe to you, Bethsaida! For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Tyre and Sidon, they would have repented long ago in sackcloth and ashes.
²²But I tell you, on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for Tyre and Sidon than for you.
²³And you, Capernaum, will you be exalted to heaven? No, you will be brought down to Hades. For if the deeds of power done in you had been done in Sodom, it would have remained until this day.
²⁴But I tell you that on the day of judgment it will be more tolerable for the land of Sodom than for you."

Jesus' harsh reproach against the cities in which most of His miracles were done seems on the surface to be less justified than His comparatively mild rebuke of those who openly criticized Him.  The three cities mentioned here did not take any direct action against Jesus.  They simply ignored Him.  While the Son of God preached, taught, and performed unprecedented miracles in their midst, they carried on their business and their lives as usual, seemingly unaffected.  From the human perspective, their indifference appears foolish, but it does not appear to be terribly sinful.

But indifference is a heinous form of unbelief. It so completely disregards God that He is not even an issue worth arguing about. He is not taken seriously enough to criticize.  Indifference to the Lord will continue in the world until He returns.  "Just as it happened in the days of Noah, so it shall be also in the days of the Son of Man," Jesus said; "they were eating, they were drinking, they were marrying, they were being given in marriage, until the day that Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all.  It was the same as happened in the days of Lot: they were eating, they were drinking, they were buying, they were selling, they were planting, they were building; ... It will be just the same on the day that the Son of Man is revealed" (Luke 17:26-28, 30).

When people have great opportunity to hear God's Word, and even to see it miraculously demonstrated, their guilt for rejection is intensified immeasurably. It is far better to have heard nothing of Christ than to hear the truth about Him and yet reject Him. "For if we go on sinning willfully after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins, but a certain terrifying expectation of judgment, and the fury of a fire which will consume the adversaries" (Heb. 10:26-27). The greater the privilege, the greater the responsibility; and the greater the light, the greater the punishment for not receiving it.

Jesus' marvelous works should have shaken to the foundation every Jew in Galilee, even more than the preaching of Jonah shook every person in pagan Nineveh, from the king down to the least servant (Jonah 3:5).  But most Galileans did not respond to Christ at all, much less repent.

Jesus here makes two truths clear: there will be degrees of punishment in hell, and among those given the severest punishment will be those who have received the divine revelation and been the most religious and outwardly upright. Those who thought they were eternally safe—because they were Abraham's physical descendants and because they kept the religious traditions of their forefathers—looked with contempt on all Gentiles. Yet in hell many Gentiles will look down on those Jews.

Capernaum exceeded Chorazin and Bethsaida in privilege, and Sodom exceeded Tyre and Sidon in wickedness.  In these striking and sobering contrasts, Jesus makes plain that people who are the most blessed by God will receive the worst punishment if they reject Him.  Judgment against the moral abominations of Sodom will be exceeded by judgment against the spiritual indifference of Capernaum.  For the respectable and upright unbelievers of Capernaum, Hades will be hotter than for the crude and immoral unbelievers of Sodom.  The self-righteous orthodox person is even more repulsive in God's sight than the idolatrous and immoral pagan.

The people of Capernaum never persecuted Jesus, and few of them even criticized Him.  They never mocked Him, ridiculed Him, ran Him out of town, or threatened His life.  Yet their sin was worse than if they had done those things.  Theirs was not the sin of violence or of immorality but of indifference.

Jesus' teaching perhaps mildly interested them, and His miracles entertained them, but nothing more.  His grace never turned their hearts, His truth never changed their minds, His warning about sin never provoked repentance, and His offer of salvation never induced faith.  And because of their indifferent unbelief Jesus said to them, I say to you that it shall be more tolerable for the land of Sodom in the day of judgment than for you.

It has been said, "Every hearer of the New Testament truth is either much happier or much more wretched than the men who lived before Christ's coming."  Such a hearer is also either more secure or more condemned.

 

DISCUSS THE MEANING:

        1.    Have you ever been frustrated by someone not understanding you?  How did you address that frustration?

        2.    Spreading gossip reflects poorly on the people who spread it.  How do we close our ears and heart to it when it is spread?  When should we speak up?

        3.    Where do we look for God’s wisdom?

        4.    Have you ever encountered His wisdom in an unexpected space?

 

LESSON IN OUR SOCIETY:

The world has many standards by which it measures greatness.  These standards include intellectual achievement, political and military leadership, scientific and medical discoveries, wealth and power, and athletic, dramatic, literary, and musical skill.  Jesus here sets forth God's measure of greatness, first in the human, historical dimension as seen in the life and ministry of John the Baptist.  He then briefly contrasts John's greatness with the superior greatness of kingdom citizens.  From verses 7-14 three marks of John's greatness can be discerned: his personal character, his privileged calling, and his powerful culmination.

As William Barclay points out, the plain fact is that when people do not want to listen to the truth, they will easily enough find an excuse for not listening.  They do not even try to be consistent in their criticism.  They will criticize the same person and the same institution from quite opposite grounds and reasons.  If people are determined to make no response, they will remain stubbornly and sullenly unresponsive no matter what invitation is made to them. (The Gospel of Matthew [Philadelphia: Westminster, 1958], 2:10)

Jesus' unnamed critics were not interested in truth or justice but in condemnation.  John the Baptist and Jesus were enemies of traditional religion, with its elevation of human wisdom and disregard for divine.  Because John and Jesus could not be reasoned down, they would be shouted down; and if no truth could be found against them, falsehood would be eagerly used.

Yet wisdom is vindicated by her deeds, Jesus said.  Corrupt human wisdom produces corrupt human deeds, such as the false accusations against John and Jesus.  On the other hand, the righteous, divinely empowered wisdom of John and Jesus produced righteous deeds that resulted in repentance, forgiven sin, and redeemed lives.

Through the centuries the church's detractors have found it easy to criticize its people and its work.  Yet they are hard pressed to explain how so many lives have been changed from wickedness to righteousness, from despair to hope, from anger to love, from sadness to happiness, and from selfishness to self-giving by the power of Christ.

Jesus' rebuke of His critics was serious, but it contained a certain restraint, a restraint not seen in the brief series of withering rebukes He proceeded to give those who treated Him with indifference.

 

NEXT WEEKS LESSON:

Zoom Sunday School Classes – 16 February 2025, 09:00 AM EDT
Meeting ID: 848-9423-0612
Pass Code: 669872
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/84894230612?pwd=Zk1ESitzbGZwTlJyV21UZXY5aTVPZz09
The First Will Be Last (Living Lastly)
Printed Text: Matthew 19:16-30
Devotional Reading: 1 Samuel 2:1-10
Background: Matthew 19:16-30

Sources:

Achtemeier, Paul J. Harper's Bible Dictionary. 1st ed. San Francisco: Harper & Row, 1985.

Bloomberg, Craig L., New American Commentary: Matthew, An Exegetical and Theological Exposition of Holy Scripture, Volume 22. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1992.

Brown, Raymond E., S. S., Joseph A. Fitzmyer, S. J.; Roland E. Murphy, O Carm. The Jerome Biblical Commentary. Englewood Cliffs: Prentice-Hall, Inc., 1968.

Dummelow, J. R., M.A. Rev. The One Volume Bible Commentary. New York: The Macmillan Company Publishers, 1961.

Gaebelein, Frank E., The Expositor’s Bible Commentary: Volume 8: Matthew, Mark, Luke, Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishers, 1984.

Hagner, Donald A., Word Biblical Commentary, Matthew 14-28: Volume 33B. Nashville: Broadman & Holman Publishers, 1995.

James Orr, M.A., D.D., International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, Electronic Edition, Parsons Technology, Inc., Cedar Rapids, Iowa 1998.

Morris, William, ed., Dictionary of the English Language, Houghton Mifflin Company, 1981.

Nolland, John. The Gospel of Matthew: A Commentary on the Greek Text. Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans, 2005.

Schuller, Eileen M., The New Interpreter's Bible Commentary, Volume VII: The Gospels and Narrative Literature, Jesus and the Gospels, Matthew, and Mark, New York: Abingdon Press, 2015.

Spence-Jones, H. D. M. (Hrsg.): The Pulpit Commentary: Matthew Vol II. Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc., 2004

Strong, James, Strong’s Hebrew and Greek Dictionaries, Electronic Edition STEP Files, QuickVerse, a division of Findex.com, Inc., Omaha, Nebraska. 2003.

Vine, W.E. Vines Complete Expository Dictionary of Old and New Testament Words. Edited by Merrill F. Unger and William White Jr., Nashville, Tennessee: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1996.