Quote of the Day

Here’s an example of the study notes found in the forthcoming NLT Study Bible:

The City of Jerusalem

The city of Jerusalem plays a crucial but ambivalent role throughout Luke and Acts.  On the one hand, Jerusalem was the city of God, the great King–his presence dwelt there in his Temple.  God would accomplish salvation in Jerusalem and the Good News would go out from there (as recorded in Acts).  At the same time, Jerusalem symbolically represented God’s rebellious people Israel, who had persecuted God’s prophets in the past and were now rejecting his Son the Messiah.  This rejection would result in judgment against Jerusalem and its utter destruction by the Romans in AD 70 (12:33-35; 19:41-44; 21:20).

Jerusalem plays a key geographical role in the structure of Luke-Acts.  The Gospel narrative begins in the Temple at the heart of Jerusalem, the most sacred place in the world, and Jesus’ ministry culminated with his death and death and resurrection in Jerusalem.  All this confirms that salvation emerged from Israel, fulfilling the promises made to Israel in the OT.  The church then moved outward, taking the message of salvation from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth (Acts 1:8).

Study Notes on Luke 21:20-24 – NLT Study Bible, Page 1752