#bibleref

In the previous verse, Paul reminded the Corinthians that when he first came to their town, he did not present the gospel to them with lofty speech or human wisdom. In other words, he did not call attention to himself by performing feats of verbal gymnastics as some entertainers of their day did. He did not wow them with a display of his great personal wisdom. Orators of that era were much like entertainers—and Paul did not want to confuse the compelling truth of the gospel with mere entertainment.

Now Paul adds that he made a conscious choice not to display his knowledge about anything at all except for Jesus Christ and His crucifixion. It is not that Paul did not know about anything else, of course. He was well educated and experienced;

“...though I myself have reason for confidence in the flesh also. If anyone else thinks he has reason for confidence in the flesh, I have more: circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; as to the law, a Pharisee…” Philippians 3:4–5. “Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where there was a synagogue of the Jews. And Paul went in, as was his custom, and on three Sabbath days he reasoned with them from the Scriptures, explaining and proving that it was necessary for the Christ to suffer and to rise from the dead, and saying, “This Jesus, whom I proclaim to you, is the Christ.” And some of them were persuaded and joined Paul and Silas, as did a great many of the devout Greeks and not a few of the leading women.” Acts 17:1–4. “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. I studied under Gamaliel and was thoroughly trained in the law of our ancestors. I was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.” Acts 22:3.

At least for these particular people, Paul wanted to be sure they weren't attracted by spectacle or entertainment. His mission was not to impress them with all he knew and could talk about. Paul decided to focus on a simple, culturally radical mission: to deliver Christ's message to them.

Jesus is walking through Jericho when He sees a small man in a sycamore tree, peering at Him over the heads of the large crowd. Jesus calls the man down and tells him, "I must stay at your house today" (Luke 19:5). The man hurries down, delighted to host Jesus (Luke 19:1–6).

The man is a tax collector named Zacchaeus. He works for the Roman government taking money from the Jews to fund their occupation. In addition, he adds a hefty fee for himself. He has betrayed his countrymen on several different levels.

When he meets Jesus, however, everything changes. He repents of his extortion and proves it by returning what he has taken unjustly—with substantial interest. Jesus declares he is restored as a child of Abraham (Luke 19:7–9)...

He hasn't come to be king—yet. He has come to save the lost, like Zacchaeus!

Priests are naturally sinful (Hebrews 7:27), while Christ is not (Hebrews 4:15). Their sacrifices are limited (Hebrews 9:6–7), while the sacrifice of Christ is perfect and infinite (Hebrews 9:11–12). These limitations prevent the Old Testament Law from saving us completely since the system is based on human efforts. The purpose of these laws was never to save us, but to point towards the ONE who could utterly save us—perfectly and completely—through His superior role. This person is Jesus Christ.

~ BibleRef

Few lies are as attractive, and poisonous, as the claim that following God is a means to worldly success (1Ti. 6:3–5). The Bible is unequivocal in teaching that earthly life can involve hardship, even for those who are faithful (Jn. 15:19; 2Co. 5:2–6). Jesus' explicit teaching was that Christians should expect hardships, a warning He gave specifically to prevent discouragement in the face of hard times (Jn. 16:33). . . This reveals several truths about how God works in the worldly lives of Christians.

First, God is willing to make use of Satan and his demons to accomplish His own purposes. Their attempts to harass God's work and servants can become part of God's strategy to accomplish His exact goals.

Second, God's answers to prayer are always subject to His overall will. He may answer "no" to a request to relieve a believer's burden, whether or not that burden comes from a demonic source. If the suffering is helping a Christian to be more dependent on God, it may be accomplishing in us exactly what He wants.

Third, it shows us that God's primary concern for His children is not a mortal life of ease and leisure. His first goal is that we trust Him. That means allowing Christ to be strong in places we are weak, and not to resent Him for allowing us to experience that weakness.

~ BibleRef

The Hebrews from the Egyptian cavalry (Exodus 12:51; 15:19).

The city of Gibeon from five kings and their forces (Joshua 10:6–11).

Israel from the oppression of the Midianites (Judges 7:15–25).

Jerusalem from the Assyrians (Isaiah 37:33–36).

Daniel from the lions' den (Daniel 6:19–23).

Peter from prison and execution (Acts 12:6–17).

Christian believers from sin (Romans 6:17–18), the law of Moses (Romans 7:24–25), "the present evil age" (Galatians 1:4), and "from the wrath to come" (1 Thessalonians 1:10).

He also delivers us from temptation (1 Corinthians 10:13).

Certainly, given all of that, we ought to agree with David that the Lord is worthy to be praised! ~ BibleRef

This statement is from an entirely different perspective than Christ's earlier comments on the wide and narrow gates. There, Jesus had said that the path to life was narrow and difficult (Matthew 7:14). In that context, Jesus was speaking of the world's view: that following Christ meant taking on difficult circumstances. This is certainly true, since being a follower of Christ often means being persecuted (John 16:33). What Jesus refers to here, however, is the perspective of eternity. Compared to the impossible task of earning one's own salvation (Romans 3:20; Galatians 2:16), Jesus offers something infinitely "easier" (Matthew 11:30). By making this comment, Jesus is not offering freedom from commitment. His yoke is still a yoke: it still comes with demands from a holy God. But the apostle John will later write that obedience to the God we love is not burdensome (1 John 5:3). This is true in part, the gospels will reveal, because Jesus will carry the ultimate burden of our sin for us and will provide power in the Holy Spirit to carry out His will.