The Motley Crew – November 17, 2010

Matthew 21:42-46

Happy Thanksgiving!

The Questions

Remember: No class next week. Keep everyone who will be traveling in your prayers.

Read Matthew 21:42-46

1. How often do you read the Scriptures?

2. Why is a proper cornerstone so important?

3. What is Jesus saying about Himself?

4. How did the religious folks feel about that?

5. Why did Jesus only have problems with religious folks?

6. How did verses 43-44 apply then?

7. How do they apply today?

Read Matthew 22:1-14

8. Who is the King?

9. Who received the initial invitation?

10. What does verse 9 say about the initial invitation?

11. Why was the wrong garment such a terrible crime?

All citations from the Holy Bible are from the New International Version, used with permission.

The Motley Crew – November 17, 2010

Matthew 21:42-46

Happy Thanksgiving!

Some Suggested Answers

We began with prayer.

Remember: no Motley Crew next Wednesday. Please keep everyone who will be traveling in your prayers. And remember, Terri Dube's luncheon will be taking place next Wednesday.

Also, mark your calendars for Wednesday, December 15^th. On that day the pre-school children will give their Christmas Presentation in the Sanctuary at 10:45.

Context: This is Tuesday of the Holy Week which began on Palm Sunday, and we are in the Temple. Jesus is spending this day teaching, preaching, healing – and admonishing the Pharisees, the Sadducees and the Scribes, those who had ears but who could not hear, those who were like the Fig Tree in that they offered spiritual fruit, but were barren.

A new outline of the events of this week has been prepared, and will been placed on the web page where these notes are posted in the next few days. It's title will “The Events of the Passion Week According to the Gospel of Mark.”

Read Matthew 21:42-46

42 Jesus said to them, "Have you never read in the Scriptures:
" 'The stone the builders rejected
has become the capstone;
the Lord has done this,
and it is marvelous in our eyes'?

43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."

45 When the chief priests and the Pharisees heard Jesus' parables, they knew he was talking about them. 46 They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.

Note: The “chief priests” were members the Sadducees and leaders of the Sanhedrin.

The reference that Jesus is making is to Psalm 118:22-23. The language of the corner stone and the cap stone is used with some frequency in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Some of those verses are “connected” in a discussion that is attached to this week's notes.

1. How often do you read the Scriptures?

For many the objective is daily, although for some, this is an objective that isn't realized as often as they would like.

Darlene and Bill read the Bible daily, and they pray together at home on a daily basis. Doug recommended Treasury of Daily Prayer published by Concordia in 2006; he reported that the readings were well sized, as compared to a “read the Bible in a year” where the daily readings were too long to prayerfully assimilate.

Several people mentioned keeping a Bible next to the bed (especially a smaller Bible that won't crush your chest – ruling out most of the Study Bibles). Beth mentioned that she had been gifted an older Kindle e-book, and that she had a Bible loaded in the Kindle. This gives her the ability to read in bed at night, and also great portability … something to read when in waiting rooms, etc. (several others appeared to be very interested in this option, especially with prices continuing to fall for several of the e-Readers).

Several other options were mentioned by the group:

• Portals of Prayer. A good source of daily Lutheran devotions. Excellent occasional prayers in the back of the booklet. The cost is $10.00 per year. The booklets are sent out quarterly. Available from Concordia Publishing House, http://www.cph.org/t-magazines-portals.aspx . The home page for Concordia is www.cph.org

• Our Daily Bread. Free, and the daily scripture reading is printed in the booklet. Our Daily Bread is distributed via print, large-print, radio, podcast, email, rss and mobile. For social networking users, it can also be found on Twitter and Facebook. It is published monthly by RBC Ministries, http://odb.org/ ; the order page for the print version is https://secure.rbc.org/odb/signup/ . The home page for RBC Ministries is http://www.rbc.org/index.aspx

• Facebook, http://www.facebook.com/ , is said to have a number of resources.

• A local radio station WYFD-BBN (Bible Broadcasting Network) at FM 91.7. It has numerous devotions throughout the day, including a great 15-minute segment at midnight, including beautiful hymns. The broadcast can also be listened to online. The website for this Christian radio station network is http://radiotime.com/station/s_24152/BBN_English_917.aspx

• Daily emails from a number of sources including the Lutheran Hour Ministries, http://www.lhm.org/

• Daily devotions from Saddleback Church, http://www.saddleback.com/

There are a number of places on-line that are good sources for daily prayer and daily Bible readings (lectionary). Some of them are listed on the Motley Crew notes page,

http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/prayer_and_study_resources.htm#Prayer_Links

2. Why is a proper cornerstone so important?

It governs every angle of the foundation & the building itself. It also provides the strength to join two walls solidly.

3. What is Jesus saying about Himself?

I AM.

"YHVH" is the Hebrew word that translates as "LORD". Found more often in the Old Testament than any other name for God (approximately 7,000 times), the title is also referred to as the "Tetragrammaton," meaning the "The Four Letters". YHVH comes from the Hebrew verb "to be" and is the special name that God revealed to Moses at the burning bush. "And God said to Moses, 'I AM WHO I AM; and He said, thus you shall say to the sons of Israel, I AM has sent me to you... this is My eternal name, and this is how I am to be recalled for all generations'" (Exodus 3:14-15).

The LORD who revealed Himself as YHVH in the Old Testament is revealed as Yeshua (Jesus) in the New Testament. Jesus shares the same attributes as YHVH and clearly claims to be YHVH. In John 8:56-59, Jesus presents himself as the "I AM." When challenged by some Jewish leaders regarding His claim of seeing Abraham (who lived some 2000 years earlier), Jesus replied, "Truly, truly, I say to you, before Abraham was born, I AM."

From “The Names of God” at the web site All About God, http://www.allaboutgod.com/names-of-god.htm

4. How did the religious folks feel about that?

You are not.

They knew that this parable was aimed directly at them, and in their pride, they were angry. If they had only repented, they would have been saved. But in rejecting Christ, they – like the Fig Tree in verse 18 – merely pronounced their own Judgment.

5. Why did Jesus only have problems with religious folks?

They thought they had God in a box & didn't want Jesus to let Him out. He threatened their way of life.

Likewise, the common misconception was that the Christ would be a political-military Messiah. When it turned out that this was wrong, they were unable to adjust their beliefs, and continued to teach falsely. They promised spiritual fulfillment, but delivered only emptiness.

6. How did verses 43-44 apply then?

43 "Therefore I tell you that the kingdom of God will be taken away from you and given to a people who will produce its fruit. 44 He who falls on this stone will be broken to pieces, but he on whom it falls will be crushed."

The Jews would have the grace taken away from them & given to the Gentiles. As was the case with Abraham, this was the free gift from God, which was neither a benefit of being good nor a reward for doing good deeds.

On whomsoever it shall fall, it will grind him to powder - That is, in the original, will reduce him to dust, so that it may be scattered by the winds. There is an allusion here, doubtless, to the custom of stoning as a punishment among the Jews. A scaffold was erected twice the height of the man to be stoned. Standing on its edge, he was violently struck off by one of the witnesses: if he died by the blow and the fall, nothing further was done; if not, a heavy stone was thrown down on him, which at once killed him. So the Saviour speaks of the "falling" of the stone on his enemies. They who oppose him, who reject him, and who continue impenitent, shall be crushed by him in the day of judgment, and perish forever. Barnes' Notes on the Bible

7. How do they apply today?

God's people still need to bear fruit.

It is ever important to remember that the Jews lost the gift when they failed to produce the fruit that God demanded of them. If we fail to do the same thing, the same result could come to us. We, too, could be denied the grace of God's free gift of redemption through the willing sacrifice of Jesus on the Cross. And we too could, by our actions, be pronouncing a Judgment upon ourselves.

This requirement to bear fruit, however, should not be interpreted in a legalistic sense. There isn't a tally sheet of Good Deeds that must be done each day. Rather, our good works are the fruit of our love of the Lord, because of His love for us.

We love because He first loved us. 1 John 4:19

Our discussion turned to the Bible, as we talked about praying the Scriptures. Some have a remarkable gift of memorization, and it was observed that when some forms of dementia strike, the memorized Scriptures seem to survive the onslaught, as does the memory of favorite hymns.

This has often been observed in nursing homes; people who seem otherwise non-responsive come alive when they hear the music of their youth and especially the hymns of their youth.

Sometimes, when we hear the Scriptures read, we sit quietly with our eyes closed. This allows us to focus on the Word, and eliminates distractions.

Pastor Eddie had the remarkable experience of praying and worshiping in Ethiopia recently with a large number of men from throughout that country, and who spoke a great many dialects of the common language of Ethiopia. It was remarkable to hear the Lord's Prayer recited in many tongues, knowing that God understood them all. And the prayer was concluded with a unanimous and joyous Amen!

In the same way, over the years, many of us have worshiped in different churches, different denominations, different congregations. In each, there is a traditional set of words to common prayers, creeds, and hymns in hymnals from the 1940s through hymnals printed in the 2000s. While there are many differences in words, that's okay too, because God understand them all.

Pastor Eddie remarked on the great response of the congregation on Veterans' Sunday to the appeal for the “Military Biblesticks”(compact digital audio players are pre-loaded with the entire New Testament) from the Faith Comes By Hearing ministry (http://www.faithcomesbyhearing.com/). There were a great many donations that day, and more are on the way (those of us that didn't have cash with them or a checkbook handy). Each $25 donation allows a military chaplain to provide the Military BibleStick, an MP3 disc with the complete New Testament to share with friends in their unit, and a reply card so deployed troops can ask that free discs, including the KIDZ Bible, be sent to their families back home.

Their web site reported that military chaplains stationed overseas and here at home requested over 20,000 Military BibleSticks in the month of October alone.

In a similar vein, Concordia Publishing House publishes a pocked-sized Armed Forces Devotional Book that contains prayers, a selection of Psalms and Scripture lessons, 35 hymns, a brief summary of the Christian faith, an order for Holy Baptism, and an order for Christian Burial. The cost for this 100+ page booklet is $5.00. Electronic versions are also available. Doug has purchased one for a friend who is about to be shipped to Afghanistan.

Read Matthew 22:1-14

We ran a bit short on time, and rather than short-change the beginning verses in Chapter 22, we've postponed them to our next meeting, which will be December 1^st. For those who want to read ahead, here are the questions that would have been asked:

8. Who is the King?

9. Who received the initial invitation?

10. What does verse 9 say about the initial invitation?

11. Why was the wrong garment such a terrible crime?

We closed with prayer.

Advent will have begun before we meet again. It was mentioned that the annual Advent Carol and Lesson service from St. John's College, Cambridge, will be broadcast on the Saturday before Advent, and also on Advent Sunday. A recording will also be available on BBC3 for at least a week after the service, http://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/genres/religionandethics .

The text of the service, with the words to many of the hymns, will also on the Motley Crew web page under the Advent Devotions section in a few days,

http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/prayer_and_study_resources.htm#Advent

Other Advent resources are also available on that page.

As noted above, the language of cornerstone and capstone is frequently encountered in both the Old Testament and the New Testament. Earlier in Chapter 21, we saw that Psalm 118:26 was the source of part of the joyous reception of Christ into Jerusalem:

Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD.
   From the house of the LORD we bless you.

In today's reading, Psalm 118 is also quoted by Christ:

22 The stone the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone;
23 the LORD has done this,
   and it is marvelous in our eyes.

A cornerstone is a large stone placed at the corner of a building that unites and provides strength to join two walls. Is sometimes placed at the top, also, becoming a capstone.

Psalm 118 was originally written as a Psalm of personal deliverance by David, but it had becomes a prophesy of Messianic deliverance by this time. The NET Bible noted that the irony in the use of Ps 118:22-23 here is that in the OT, Israel (or perhaps her king) was the one rejected by the Gentiles, but in the NT it is Jesus who is rejected by Israel.

That Jesus quotes Psalm 118:22-23 is recorded in all three of the synoptic Gospels.

The commentary Barnes' Notes on the Bible provides some background for the elements of this Psalm:

The stone - The figure is taken from building a house. The principal stone for size and beauty is that commonly laid as the cornerstone.

Which the builders rejected - On account of its want of beauty or size it was laid aside, or deemed unfit to be a cornerstone. This represents the Lord Jesus, proposed to the Jews as the foundation or cornerstone on which to build the church, but rejected by them - the builders - on account of his lack of comeliness or beauty; that is, of what they esteemed to be comely or desirable, Isaiah 53:2-3.

The same is become ... - Though rejected by them, yet God chose him, and made him the foundation of the church. Christ is often compared to a stone, a cornerstone, a tried, that is, a sure, firm foundation - all in allusion to the custom of building, Acts 4:11; Romans 9:33; Ephesians 2:20; 1 Peter 2:7.

Lord's doing - The appointment of Jesus of Nazareth to be the foundation of the church is proved by miracle and prophecy to be the work of God.

Marvellous in our eyes - Wonderful in the sight of his people. That he should select his only Son - that he should stoop so low, be despised, rejected, and put to death - that God should raise him up, and build a church on this foundation, embracing the Gentile as well as the Jew, and spreading through all the world, is a subject of wonder and praise to all the redeemed.

Peter refers to Psalm 118:22-23 in Acts 4:11 and 1 Peter 2:7.

Acts 4:11 (New International Version)
11 Jesus is

   “‘the stone you builders rejected,
   which has become the cornerstone.’

1 Peter 2:7 (New International Version)
 7 Now to you who believe, this stone is precious. But to those who do not believe,

   “The stone the builders rejected
   has become the cornerstone,”

That the stone is precious comes from Isaiah 28:16:

Isaiah 28:16-17a (New International Version)
 16 So this is what the Sovereign LORD says:

   “See, I lay a stone in Zion, a tested stone,
   a precious cornerstone for a sure foundation;
the one who relies on it
   will never be stricken with panic.

17 I will make justice the measuring line
   and righteousness the plumb line;

That the apostles and prophets are the foundation with Christ as the anchor is brought out in Ephesians 2:20 and 1 Corinthians 3:11.

Ephesians 2:19-20 (New International Version)
19 Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and strangers, but fellow citizens with God’s people and also members of his household, 20 built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone.

1 Corinthians 3:11 (New International Version)
11 For no one can lay any foundation other than the one already laid, which is Jesus Christ.

But, although Christ is a cornerstone to those who believe in him (e.g., The Daughters of Zion in verse 5), He is also a stumbling block for those who do not believe in Him (e.g., The Fig Tree in verse 18).

Isaiah 8:14 (New International Version)
He will be a holy place;
   for both Israel and Judah he will be
a stone that causes people to stumble
   and a rock that makes them fall.
And for the people of Jerusalem he will be
   a trap and a snare.

Romans 9:33 (New International Version)
As it is written:

   “See, I lay in Zion a stone that causes people to stumble
   and a rock that makes them fall,
   and the one who believes in him will never be put to shame.”

1 Peter 2:6 (New International Version)
For in Scripture it says:

   “See, I lay a stone in Zion,
   a chosen and precious cornerstone,
and the one who trusts in him
   will never be put to shame.”

We have seen the language of a stumbling block before, but previously, it was used as a way to describe those who place obstacles in the way of belief or righteousness. Now, the tables are turned, and Jesus becomes a stumbling block to those who fail to believe, for those who are unrighteous.

Matthew 21:46. “They looked for a way to arrest him, but they were afraid of the crowd because the people held that he was a prophet.”

The “fear” factor that was noted in verse 46 was seen the previous day (Monday) when Jesus cleared the Temple, as recorded in the accounts of Mark and Luke:

Mark 11:18 (New International Version)
The chief priests and the teachers of the law heard this and began looking for a way to kill him, for they feared him, because the whole crowd was amazed at his teaching.

Luke 19:47-48 (New International Version)
 47 Every day he was teaching at the temple. But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him. 48 Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.

Yesterday, it was the “chief priests” (the Sadducees/Sanhedrin) and the “teachers of the law” (the Scribes). Today, the Pharisees are added to the mix. Although the Sadducees and Pharisees are members of opposing parties, they are united in this one respect of failing to believe that Jesus is the Messiah, and likewise in their desire to see that Jesus is killed.

The exception is Nicodemus, a Pharisee and member of the Jewish ruling council, who came to Jesus early in his ministry as recorded in John 3:1-21. Nicodemus speaks up for Jesus before the chief priests and Pharisees in John 7:45-52.

50 Nicodemus, who had gone to Jesus earlier and who was one of their own number, asked, 51 “Does our law condemn a man without first hearing him to find out what he has been doing?”

52 They replied, “Are you from Galilee, too? Look into it, and you will find that a prophet does not come out of Galilee.”

Later, after Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead in John 11:45-53, the chief priests and the Pharisees called a meeting of the Sanhedrin, and from that day forward “they plotted to take his life.”

It was Nicodemus who with Joseph of Arimathea prepared Jesus' body for burial as recorded in John 19:

38 Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate’s permission, he came and took the body away. 39 He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds. 40 Taking Jesus’ body, the two of them wrapped it, with the spices, in strips of linen. This was in accordance with Jewish burial customs. 41 At the place where Jesus was crucified, there was a garden, and in the garden a new tomb, in which no one had ever been laid. 42 Because it was the Jewish day of Preparation and since the tomb was nearby, they laid Jesus there.

After the Assumption, the Sanhedrin — the full assembly of the elders of Israel — had the apostles arrested for preaching about Jesus. An Angel came in the night and released them, and they then went into the Temple and continued to preach the Good News, as is recorded in Acts 5.

27 The apostles were brought in and made to appear before the Sanhedrin to be questioned by the high priest. 28 “We gave you strict orders not to teach in this name,” he said. “Yet you have filled Jerusalem with your teaching and are determined to make us guilty of this man’s blood.”

29 Peter and the other apostles replied: “We must obey God rather than human beings! 30 The God of our ancestors raised Jesus from the dead—whom you killed by hanging him on a cross. 31 God exalted him to his own right hand as Prince and Savior that he might bring Israel to repentance and forgive their sins. 32 We are witnesses of these things, and so is the Holy Spirit, whom God has given to those who obey him.”

33 When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death. 34 But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while. 35 Then he addressed the Sanhedrin: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men. 36 Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing. 37 After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered. 38 Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail. 39 But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”

40 His speech persuaded them. They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.

41 The apostles left the Sanhedrin, rejoicing because they had been counted worthy of suffering disgrace for the Name. 42 Day after day, in the temple courts and from house to house, they never stopped teaching and proclaiming the good news that Jesus is the Messiah.

Parallel Verses

For Additional Study

Online Resources

Book of Concord in PDF Format, The Lutheran Church — Missouri Synod <http://www.lcms.org/graphics/assets/media/LCMS/TrigBOC.pdf> (2MB file)

These texts are in the public domain and may be copied and distributed freely. The source of these translations is Triglot Concordia: The Symbolical Books of the Evangelical Lutheran Church (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 1921).

A number of important Lutheran texts can be found in the Belief and Practice section of the website of the Lutheran Church-Missouri Synod: http://www.lcms.org/pages/internal.asp?NavID=112

John S. C. Abbott and Jacob Abbott, Illustrated New Testament
http://www.studylight.org/com/ain/

Albert Barnes, Notes on the New Testament
http://www.studylight.org/com/bnn/

Harold F. Buls
http://www.pericope.org/buls-notes/index.html and
http://www.iclnet.org/pub/resources/text/wittenberg/wittenberg-bul.html
Adapted from Exegetical Notes, Series A, Festival Season Sundays, Gospel Texts, by Harold H. Buls, Concordia Theological Seminary Press: Ft Wayne IN, 1980

The Adam Clarke Commentary
http://www.studylight.org/com/acc/

Burton Coffman, Commentary on the Whole Bible
http://www.studylight.org/com/bcc/

John Darby, Synopsis of the Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/darby/matthew1.htm

The Greek Interlinear Bible,
http://www.scripture4all.org/OnlineInterlinear/Greek_Index.htm
Based on NA26/27. A word-by-word translation of the Greek New Testament.

David Guzik, Commentaries on the Bible
http://www.studylight.org/com/guz/

The Geneva Study Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/geneva/matthew1.htm

John Gill, Exposition of the Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/gill/matthew1.htm

Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Complete)
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mh/matthew1.htm

Matthew Henry, Commentary on the Whole Bible (Concise)
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/mhc/matthew1.htm

Jamieson, Faussett and Brown, Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/jfb/matthew1.htm

B.W. Johnson, People's New Testament
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/johnson/matthew1.htm

John Lightfoot, Bible Commentary
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/light/matthew1.htm

Martin Luther, Commentary on Galatians
http://www.studylight.org/com/mlg/

J. W. McGarvey, Original Commentary on Acts
http://www.studylight.org/com/oca/

J. W. McGarvey and Philip Y. Pendleton, The Fourfold Gospel (also known as "Harmony Of the Four Gospels")
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/four/matthew1.htm

Alexander Maclaren's commentaries on the books of the Bible (various titles)
http://www.gutenberg.org/browse/authors/m#a2330

The NET Bible. <http://bible.org/netbible/> A completely new translation of the Bible with 60,932 translators’ notes. It was completed by more than 25 scholars – experts in the original biblical languages – who worked directly from the best currently available Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek texts. Excellent notes, citing both the Greek and Hebrew, as needed. Greek and Hebrew fonts available without cost.

A.T. Robertson, Word Pictures of the New Testament
http://www.studylight.org/com/rwp/

C. I. Scofield, The Scofield Reference Notes (1917 Edition)
http://www.studylight.org/com/srn/

Charles H. Spurgeon, The Treasury of David
http://www.studylight.org/com/tod/

R.A. Torrey, The Treasury of Scripture Knowledge
http://www.studylight.org/com/tsk/

W.E. Vine, Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words
http://www.antioch.com.sg/bible/vines/

John Wesley, Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible
http://www.ewordtoday.com/comments/matthew/wesley/matthew1.htm

Other Additional Resources:
http://www.hymnsandcarolsofchristmas.com/SPLC/Motley%20Crew%20Research%20Resources.html

Other Resources

Barker, Kenneth L., ed., TNIV Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2006)

Concordia: The Lutheran Confessions. Readers Edition. (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2006)

Davies, Benjamin, ed., Baker's Pocket Harmony of the Gospels (Baker Book House, 1975). Formerly printed as Harmony of the Four Gospels.

Goodrick, Edward W. and John R. Kohlenberger III, eds., The Strongest NIV Exhaustive Concordance (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 1999). This is the second edition, originally published as the Zondervan NIV Exhaustive Concordance. It was originally published as The NIV Exhaustive Concordance. It should be distinguished from The NIV Complete Concordance by the same authors.

Green, Jay P., ed., The Interlinear Greek-English New Testament. Vol. IV. Second Edition. (Hendrickson Publishers, 1985)

Halley, Henry H., Halley's Bible Handbook. New Revised Edition (24^th Edition). (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1965)

Hickie, W.J., Greek-English Lexicon to the New Testament (Grand Rapids: Baker Book House, 1977). This is a reprint of an older edition, originally published by Macmillan, August. 1893. A contemporary review described this as "A handy little volume, compiled on sound principles from trustworthy authorities." The 1911 edition is available online and for download at http://openlibrary.org/b/OL17866849M/Greek-English_lexicon_to_the_New_Testament

Hoerber, Robert G., ed., Concordia Self-Study Bible. NIV (Great Rapids, Zondervan: 1973, 1984).

Lenski, R.C.H., The Interpretation of St. Matthew's Gospel (Minneapolis: Augsburg Publishing House, 1943, reprinted 1964)

The Lutheran Study Bible (St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2009).

Nave, Orville J., ed., Nave's Topical Bible (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1979)

New Bible Dictionary. Second Edition. (Wheaton, IL: Tyndale House Publishers, 1962)

Nicoll, W. Robertson, The Greek Expositor's Testament. Vol. 1. Five Volumes. (New York: George H. Doran Co., ca. 1910). Excellent notes on the Greek text and summaries of commentators. Available at Google Books ( www.books.google.com ) and the Internet Archive ( www.archive.org - easier to find here than at Google Books).

NIV Archeological Study Bible (Grand Rapids: Zondervan, 2005)

Alexander Maclaren, Expositions of Holy Scripture (Text from Project Gutenberg)

Robertson, A.T., Word Pictures in the New Testament (Nashville: Holman Reference, 2000). This “Concise Edition” is derived from the six-volume work by Robertson published in 1933. Robertson was also the author of 45 books, including numerous commentaries, a Harmony of the Gospels, etc. Also available online

Rogers, Cleon L. Jr., and Cleon L. Rogers III, eds., The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament (Grand Rapids: Zondervan Publishing House, 1998). This is the second edition of the excellent work by Fritz Rienecker, A Linguistic Key to the Greek New Testament, translated and edited by Cleon L. Rogers, Jr.

Strong, James, ed., The New Strong's Exhaustive Concordance of the Bible. (Nashville: Thomas Nelson Publishers, 1990)

Vine, W.E., Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words: A Comprehensive Dictionary of the Original Greek Words with their Precise Meanings for English Readers (Peabody, MA: Hendrickson Publishers, no date). Originally published circa 1940.