Concordia Publishing House

The plain bows into the Sea of Galilee where families of fishers settled and built their homes. The villagers prospered and, with the help of a centurion, built a synagogue. The settlement became known as Capernaum, “Village of Comfort” or perhaps “Village of Nahum,” though there is no clear association with the Old Testament prophet by that name. Since the settlers built no wall to defend themselves, their lives must have been peaceful until the teacher from Nazareth arrived.

The Jerusalem temple was overlaid with so much gold that persons who saw it described its blinding effects as it glistened in the sun. Herod the Great refurbished it. He surrounded it with a massive court, turning the Temple Mount into a sacred complex far larger than other temples of the ancient world. The project was ongoing when Mary and Joseph brought the infant Jesus to the temple for purification (Luke 2:22–38). It was still going some 30 years later when Jesus cleansed the temple from the money-changers at the beginning of Holy Week. During those days, Jesus would prophesy the temple’s destruction and His own resurrection.

This blog post is adapted from Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary.

Forty-one times Mark describes the events flowing around Jesus’ life with the word immediately (in Greek, euthus), propelling the reader toward the cross where Jesus would die, giving His life as a ransom for many. Mark uniquely focuses on the action in the story of Jesus’ life, making his account both short and compelling to read.

This blog post is adapted from Lutheran Bible Companion, Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament, and Bible Dictionary.

The Greek title “Book of the Twelve” (dodekapropheton) describes [the last twelve] of the Latter Prophets in the Hebrew canon. Jesus son of Sirach perhaps referred to this title when he provided the earliest known description of the collection: “May the bones of the twelve prophets revive from where they lie, for they comforted the people of Jacob and delivered them with confident hope” (Ecclesiasticus [a book of the Apocrypha] 49:10; early second century BC). The title “Book of the Twelve” is also better than our familiar translation of the Latin title, “Minor Prophets.” In some cases, it does seem that these prophets were “one-theme” prophets or nearly so, in contrast to the many themes covered by the longer Prophetic Books. However, the Latin title makes it sound as though these prophets were less important, which is not the case.

The first book of the New Testament begins in a manner similar to the first book of the Old Testament: focused on genealogy (cf Matthew 1:1–17; Genesis 5). Matthew sketches for us a human landscape from Abraham, the patriarch of Israel, to Jesus, the Savior of Israel and of the nations. Matthew is keen to tell both the glorious elements of the story as well as the tragic ones. Throughout the book, Matthew emphasizes how Jesus taught and fulfilled the Word of the Lord for the sake of the people.

This blog post is adapted from Lutheran Bible Companion Volume 2: Intertestamental Era, New Testament,and Bible Dictionary.

God speaks through Malachi to rebuke His people for their unrighteousness, specifically the priests for their failure to fulfill their duties and to those marrying foreign idolatrous spouses. The Lord makes clear the Day of Judgment is coming and he wants His people to be prepared. The following is adapted from the Lutheran Bible Companion. 

When Zechariah was prophesying, the people of Judah were standing amidst the destruction of their once glorious city. With no city and no temple, the people of Judah had no hope; they feared that God had left them. God worked through Zechariah to restore faith in His people. The following has been adapted from Lutheran Bible Companion.

The day of the Lord is a permeating theme in Zephaniah. Zephaniah recorded God’s warning to Judah and Judah’s enemies about His coming judgment. However, God also assured Judah that on the day of the Lord He will be in their midst and restore their fortunes. The following has been adapted from the Lutheran Bible Companion.