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Flight into Egypt
[Bible]The Flight into Egypt is the event in which Joseph, instructed in a dream after Herod the Great sought to kill the infant Jesus, took Mary and the child and fled to Egypt. After Herod's death the family returned and settled in Nazareth. The account appears only in Matthew 2.
Descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost
[Bible]The descent of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost is the event in which the Holy Spirit came upon the disciples gathered in Jerusalem on the first Pentecost after Jesus' ascension, enabling them to speak in other languages. It is recorded in Acts 2.
Conversion of Paul
[Bible]The conversion of Paul is the event in which Saul, a persecutor of the church, encountered the risen Jesus on the road to Damascus, became a Christian, and was called to be the apostle to the Gentiles. It is recorded three times in the Book of Acts.
Ezekiel 34:11–16
[Bible Verses]Ezekiel 34:11–16 is a passage in which God promises that he himself will be the shepherd who seeks out, gathers, and cares for his scattered sheep. It is frequently cited in sermons on Jesus as the "good shepherd" and on the responsibilities of pastors.
Synagogue
[Bible]In the New Testament era, the synagogue was a local community meeting place where Jews gathered on the Sabbath and other occasions to read and study the Law and the Prophets and to pray. Jesus and Paul taught and proclaimed the gospel there.
Tax Collector
[Bible]Tax collectors (publicans) appear in the New Testament Gospels as people who collected taxes and tolls under Roman rule. Jewish society regarded them as sinners, and the Gospels record several occasions on which Jesus associated with them.
Pharisees
[Bible]The Pharisees were a group within Judaism in the New Testament era. They strictly observed the Law of Moses and "the tradition of the elders," and in the Gospels they appear chiefly as opponents who dispute with Jesus.
Herodians
[Bible]The Herodians were a group mentioned in the New Testament Gospels and are generally understood to have been supporters of the Herodian dynasty. They are portrayed as joining with the Pharisees in seeking to destroy Jesus or to entrap Him in His words.
Immanuel
[Bible]Immanuel is a Hebrew name meaning "God is with us." It first appears as the name of a child given as a sign in Isaiah 7:14, and Matthew 1:23 applies it to the birth of Jesus.
Son of Man
[Bible]"Son of Man" is a biblical expression meaning literally "son of a human being." In the Old Testament it refers to a human being; in Daniel 7 it describes a figure who comes with the clouds of heaven; and in the Gospels it is the term Jesus most often used to refer to himself.
Hosanna
[Bible]"Hosanna" is a transliteration of a Hebrew expression meaning "save now." It derives from Psalm 118, and the Gospels record it as the acclamation the crowds shouted when Jesus entered Jerusalem.
Abba, Father
[Bible]"Abba" is an Aramaic word meaning "father." It appears three times in the New Testament, each time followed by the Greek word for "father" as "Abba, Father": once in the prayer of Jesus in Gethsemane and twice in the letters of Paul.
Davidic Covenant
[Bible]The Davidic covenant is God's promise, delivered to David through the prophet Nathan, to establish his house (dynasty) and throne forever. It forms an important foundation for Old Testament messianic expectation and for the New Testament understanding of Jesus.
Bethsaida
[Bible]Bethsaida was a town on the northern shore of the Sea of Galilee. The Gospels identify it as the hometown of the apostles Philip, Andrew, and Peter, and it is where Jesus healed a blind man and rebuked the town for failing to repent.
Aramaic
[Bible]Aramaic was the language of the ancient Arameans and served as the common language of the Near East during the Assyrian and Persian periods. Portions of Ezra and Daniel in the Old Testament were written in it, and it is widely regarded as the language Jesus spoke in everyday life.
Sign
[Bible]A sign is a token that God displays to reveal His will and power, or the authority of one He has sent. The Gospel of John calls the miracles of Jesus "signs" and records them as evidence intended to lead people to faith.
Tyre
[Bible]Tyre was a Phoenician port city on the eastern coast of the Mediterranean. In the Old Testament it appears as a neighboring kingdom that dealt with David and Solomon and as a target of the prophets' oracles of judgment. In the New Testament it is a Gentile region visited by Jesus and Paul.
Breaking of Bread
[Bible]The breaking of bread is an expression derived from the Jewish mealtime custom of breaking bread by hand and sharing it. In the New Testament it refers to the meals of Jesus and to the communal meals and the Lord's Supper of the early church.
Herod's Temple
[Bible]Herod's Temple is the Second Temple in Jerusalem as extensively renovated and expanded by Herod the Great beginning in the late first century BC. It is the "temple" of the New Testament, frequented by Jesus and the early church, and it was destroyed by the Roman army in AD 70.
Lawyer (New Testament)
[Bible]In the New Testament, especially the Gospel of Luke, a lawyer was an expert who studied and interpreted the Law of Moses. The best-known example is the lawyer who asked Jesus how to inherit eternal life, which prompted the parable of the Good Samaritan.