Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• The mission of the Anointed One 61:1-3
  These two chapters begin with an introduction of the Servant (Messiah) and His mission. That the Servant of the Servant Songs is the same person as the Anointed One (Messiah) of chapter 11 is clear from what Isaiah wrote abou...
• Writer
  External evidence strongly supports the Matthean authorship of the first Gospel. The earliest copies of the Gospel we have begin "KATA MATTHAION"("according to Matthew"). Several early church fathers referred to Matthew as th...
• The question of company 9:9-13 (cf. Mark 2:13-17; Luke 5:27-32)
  The main point of this pericope is Jesus' response to the Pharisees' criticism that Jesus and His disciples kept company with tax collectors and sinners.9:9 This incident probably took place in or near Capernaum. The tax offi...
• 2. The call of Levi and his feast 2:13-17 (cf. Matt. 9:13; Luke 5:27-32)
  The call of Levi as one of Jesus' disciples was the setting for the second instance of opposition from the religious leaders that Mark recorded in this section.2:13 "Again"(Gr. palin) identifies this incident as a different o...
• Outline
  I. Introduction 1:1-4II. The birth and childhood of Jesus 1:5-2:52A. The announcement of John the Baptist's birth 1:5-251. The introduction of John's parents 1:5-72. The angel's announcement to Zechariah 1:8-233. The pregnanc...
• 2. The announcement to the shepherds 2:8-20
  There is great theological significance in this familiar passage. It comes through mainly in the angel's words and in the symbolism of what happened."In 2:8-14 we have a third annunciation scene, which follows the same patter...
• 1. The beginning of John's ministry 3:1-6 (cf. Matt. 3:1-6; Mark 1:1-6)
  3:1-2 Luke made detailed reference to the time when John commenced his ministry to document the reliability of his Gospel.116Only the reference to Tiberius is necessary to date the beginning of John's ministry that shortly pr...
• 2. John's preaching 3:7-18 (cf. Matt. 3:7-12; Mark 1:7-8)
  Essentially John called his hearers to change their minds about their relationship to God and to demonstrate the genuineness of their repentance with righteous conduct (vv. 7-14). He also promoted Jesus (vv. 15-17). Only Luke...
• 4. The call of Peter, James, and John 5:1-11 (cf. Matt. 4:18-22; Mark 1:16-20)
  Luke's account of this incident is the longest of the three. Luke stressed Peter and omitted any reference to Andrew, his brother (Matt. 4:18; Mark 1:16). He characteristically focussed on single individuals that Jesus' touch...
• 2. Jesus' authority to forgive sins 5:17-26 (cf. Matt. 9:1-8; Mark 2:1-12)
  Luke documented Jesus' authority in yet another area of life by showing His power to forgive sins. In this incident the miracle is secondary and the issue of Jesus' authority is primary. Jesus claimed to be God by forgiving t...
• 3. Jesus' attitude toward sinners 5:27-32 (cf. Matt. 9:9-13; Mark 2:13-17)
  Luke painted Jesus bestowing messianic grace on a variety of people: a demoniac, a leper, a paralytic, and now a tax collector. He liberated these captives from a malign spirit, lifelong uncleanness, a physical handicap, and ...
• 4. Jesus' attitude toward fasting 5:33-39 (cf. Matt. 9:14-17; Mark 2:18-22)
  The setting of this controversy is the same as the previous one, Levi's banquet.5:33 The religious leaders (v. 30; Mark 2:18) and John's disciples (Matt. 9:14; Mark 2:18) raised the question of fasting. They did so because it...
• 5. Jesus' authority over the Sabbath 6:1-5 (cf. Matt. 12:1-8; Mark 2:23-28)
  The final two instances of confrontation with the Pharisees that Luke recorded involved Sabbath observance. The Sabbath was one of Judaism's main institutions, and Jesus' violation of traditional views on Sabbath observance b...
• 6. Jesus' attitude toward the Sabbath 6:6-11 (cf. Matt. 12: 9-14; Mark 3:1-6)
  This incident happened on a different Sabbath from the one in the preceding incident (v. 6). Note the similar terms Luke used to introduce both events. He evidently placed it here in his narrative because it builds on the ide...
• C. Jesus' teaching of His disciples 6:12-49
  Luke gave his readers an overview of Jesus' ministry (4:14-5:11) and then presented His relationship to His opponents (5:12-6:11). Next he described Jesus' relationship with His disciples (6:12-49). He arranged his material t...
• The Beatitudes 6:20-23 (cf. Matt. 5:3-10)
  6:20 Clearly Jesus' disciples were the primary objects of His instruction in this sermon (cf. vv. 13-19)."Blessed"(Gr. makarios) in this context describes the happy condition of someone whom God has blessed with His special f...
• 1. The healing of a centurion's servant 7:1-10 (cf. Matt. 8:5-13)
  This incident shows Jesus extending grace to a Gentile. It would have helped Luke's original Gentile readers to appreciate that Jesus' mission included them as well as the Jews. It is another case in which Jesus commended the...
• 2. The raising of a widow's son 7:11-17
  This miracle raised the popular appreciation of Jesus' authority to new heights. Luke also continued to stress Jesus' compassion for people, in this case a widow whose son had died, by including this incident in his Gospel. T...
• 4. The anointing by a sinful woman 7:36-50
  This incident, appearing only in Luke's Gospel, illustrates the truth just expressed in verse 35. Here is a case in point of what Jesus had just described happening (v. 34). Jesus reached out to a sinner only to receive criti...
• G. Jesus' preparation of the Twelve 9:1-50
  In this last major section describing Jesus' ministry in and around Galilee (4:14-9:50), Luke stressed Jesus' preparation of His disciples for the opposition that lay before them. This was the climax of Jesus' ministry in Gal...
• Jesus' prediction of His passion 9:21-22 (cf. Matt. 16:17-23; Mark 8:30-33)
  Luke omitted Jesus' prediction of the church (Matt. 16:17-19), Peter's rebuke of Jesus (Matt. 16:22; Mark 8:32), and Jesus' counter-rebuke of Peter (Matt. 16:23; Mark 8:33). These omissions enabled him to stress Jesus' predic...
• 6. The exorcism of an epileptic boy 9:37-43a (cf. Matt. 17:14-20; Mark 9:14-29)
  The effect of Luke's omission of the conversation Jesus had with the disciples about Elijah is clear. This healing appears as the work of the Son of God whom the Transfiguration presented."It is the Jesus who has been transfi...
• The exclusion of others 9:49-50 (cf. Mark 9:38-40)
  Disciples need to be aware of their attitude toward believers who are outside their circle of fellowship as well as their attitude toward those within that circle. Again Luke's account of this incident omits details to cut th...
• 2. The importance of self-denial 9:57-62 (cf. Matt. 8:19-22)
  Luke turned from a presentation of people who rejected Jesus to one in which three individuals wanted to become His disciples. Each of them underestimated the degree of commitment that Jesus required. Jesus' words clarify the...
• The Lord's Prayer 11:1-4 (cf. Matt. 6:9-13)
  Luke's record of Jesus' teaching the Lord's Prayer differs significantly enough from Matthew's account that we can safely conclude that Jesus gave similar teaching on separate occasions. This repetition illustrates the import...
• 7. A sign of Jesus' ability to affect change 13:10-17
  There are several thematic connections that tie this pericope with what has preceded and show its role in the development of Luke's argument. Jesus had just called the nation to repentance (vv. 3, 5). Now He showed that chang...
• 1. The setting for Jesus' teaching 15:1-2
  Luke just recorded that Jesus called would-be disciple to pay attention to what He said (14:35). Now he noted that many tax collectors and "sinners"were doing precisely that. Thus he presented that group of needy spiritual ou...
• 1. The parable of the Pharisee and the tax collector 18:9-14
  The superficial connection between this pericope and the preceding one is that they both contain parables about prayer. However the more significant link is the people of faith (v. 8). This parable graphically contrasts the r...
• 4. Jesus' passion announcement and the disciples' lack of perception 18:31-34 (cf. Matt. 20:17-19; Mark 10:32-34)
  Jesus' passion announcements to His disciples constitute important structural markers in Mark's Gospel. Luke and Matthew did not use them this way. The incident before us was the third passion announcement that Jesus gave bes...
• 5. The healing of a blind man near Jericho 18:35-43 (cf. Matt. 20:29-34; Mark 10:46-52)
  Luke's primary purpose for including this incident in his narrative seems to have been to show that God, through Jesus, can give insight to those who humbly call on Him for mercy. Here was another humble outcast similar to th...
• 6. Zaccheus' ideal response to Jesus 19:1-10
  This section in Luke's long narrative of Jesus' ministry as He travelled to Jerusalem (9:51-19:27) is climactic. It is a choice example of Jesus offering salvation to a needy person. Zaccheus accepted Jesus' offer and respond...
• E. A summary of Jesus' ministry in Jerusalem 21:37-38
  This summary is unique to Luke's Gospel. The writer included it to round off this phase of Jesus' ministry. During the passion week Jesus spent His days teaching in the temple area, probably Tuesday through Thursday. He must ...
• Jesus' words of welcome 22:15-16
  These verses record Jesus' introduction to what followed and are similar to the welcoming words of a host before his guests begin their meal. This is the seventh of nine meal scenes that Luke recorded in his Gospel (cf. 5:29-...
• 1. The appearance to the disciples walking to Emmaus 24:13-35
  This is another of Luke's exquisite and unique stories. Various students of it have noted its similarity to the stories of the feeding of the 5,000 (9:10-17), the appearance in Jerusalem (vv. 36-49), and the Ethiopian eunuch ...
• B. The witness of John the Baptist 1:6-8
  John the Apostle introduced John the Baptist because John the Baptist bore witness to the light, namely Jesus. John the Baptist was both a model evangelist pointing those in darkness to the light and a model witness providing...
• 3. The response to John the Baptist's witness 1:35-42
  The writer now turned his attention from John the Baptist's witness to Jesus to record the reactions of some men to Jesus' witness. Two of John the Baptist's disciples left him to follow Jesus when they heard John's testimony...
• 4. The woman caught in adultery 7:53-8:11
  The textual authenticity of this pericope is highly questionable. Most ancient Greek manuscripts dating before the sixth century do not contain it. However, over 900 ancient manuscripts do contain it including the important e...
• 3. The appearance to the Eleven minus Thomas on Easter evening 20:19-23 (cf. Mark 16:14-18; Luke 24:36-43)
  This pericope contains another post-resurrection appearance of Jesus that bolstered the disciples' faith. It also contains John's account of the Great Commission.20:19 John moved his readers directly from the events of Easter...
• The healing of a lame man 3:1-10
  Luke had just referred to the apostles' teaching, to the awe that many of the Jews felt, to the apostles doing signs and wonders, and to the Christians meeting in the temple (2:43-44, 46). Now he narrated a specific incident ...
• The apostles' appearance before the Sanhedrin 5:17-33
  The popularity and effectiveness of the apostles riled the Sadducees just as Jesus' popularity and effectiveness had earlier.5:17-18 The high priest "rose up"(Gr. anastas, cf. v. 34) taking official action as leader of the Sa...
• The healing of Aeneas at Lydda 9:32-35
  Peter continued his itinerant ministry around Palestine (cf. 8:25).9:32 Lydda (modern Lod, the site of Israel's international airport) lay on the Mediterranean coastal plain about 10 miles from the sea. It was about 25 miles ...
• The disciples of John the Baptist 19:1-7
  This is the first of two incidents taken from Paul's ministry in Ephesus that bracket Luke's description of his general ministry there.19:1-2 Two roads led into Ephesus from the east, and Paul travelled the northern, more dir...
• Diversity in the Godhead and the gifts 12:4-11
  12:4 Although there is only one Holy Spirit He gives many different abilities to different people. Everything in this pericope revolves around these two ideas. "Gifts"(Gr. charismata, from charismeaning "grace") are abilities...
• 1. A positive encouragement 1:12-17
  Paul thanked God for changing him to enable Timothy to appreciate the fact that God can transform even the worst of sinners and enable His saints to accomplish supernatural feats. What precipitated Paul's testimony here was t...
• 1. The praise of God in heaven 19:1-10
  This pericope has strong ties to what precedes (16:17-18:24). It is the concluding revelation concerning the fall of Babylon, the latter-day Egypt and Tyre, and Antichrist, the ultimate Pharaoh of the Exodus and King of Tyre....

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• Blasphemer, Or--Who?
  And it came to pass on a certain day, as He was teaching, that there were Pharisees and doctors of the law sitting by, which were come out of every town of Galilee, and Judea, and Jerusalem; and the power of the Lord was pres...