Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 4. The seventh day 2:1-3
  "2:1-3 echoes 1:1 by introducing the same phrases but in reverse order: he created,' God,' heavens and earth' reappear as heavens and earth' (2:1) God' (2:2), created' (2:3). This chiastic pattern brings the section to a neat...
• The fourth commandment 5:12-15
  This is the most positively stated of the Ten Commandments. Only one other commandment appears in the affirmative, namely, the fifth. The fourth commandment is a charge to refresh oneself physically and spiritually. The Hebre...
• Writer
  Several factors indicate that the writer of this Gospel was the same person who wrote the Book of Acts. First, a man named Theophilus was the recipient of both books (Luke 1:3; Acts 1:1). Second, Acts refers to a previous wor...
• 1. The importance of toleration 9:51-56
  The first verse (9:51) sets the agenda for all that follows until Jesus' Triumphal Entry. It was now time for Jesus to begin moving toward Jerusalem and the Cross. As He did so, He immediately encountered opposition (cf. Acts...
• 1. Jesus' washing of the disciples' feet 13:1-20
  Jesus began His farewell address (cf. Moses, Deut. 31-33; Joshua, Josh. 23-24; Paul, Acts 20) with an object lesson....
• Thomas' final belief 20:26-29
  20:26 John located this post-resurrection appearance eight days after Easter Sunday, namely the following Sunday. His "eight days"(Gr. hemeras okto) evidently included both Sundays. Perhaps he identified the day because, by t...
• Writer
  Two lines of argument lead to the conclusion that Luke, the friend, fellow missionary, and physician of Paul wrote this book under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit. First, there is the internal evidence, the passages writte...
• Structure
  Longenecker identified five phenomena about the structure of Acts that the reader needs to recognize to appreciate what Luke sought to communicate."1. It begins, like the [Third] Gospel, with an introductory section of distin...
• Outline
  I. The witness in Jerusalem 1:1-6:7A. The founding of the church 1:1-2:461. The resumptive preface to the book 1:1-52. The command to witness 1:6-83. The ascension of Jesus 1:9-114. Jesus' appointment of a twelfth apostle 1:1...
• 2. The command to witness 1:6-8
  The key to the apostles' successful fulfillment of Jesus' commission was their baptism with and consequent indwelling by the Holy Spirit. Without this divine enablement they would only have been able to follow Jesus' example,...
• The choice of Matthias 1:15-26
  1:15 In view of Peter's leadership gifts, so obvious in the Gospels, it is no surprise that he is the one who took the initiative on this occasion."Undoubtedly, the key disciple in Luke's writings is Peter. He was the represe...
• Peter's exhortation 2:37-41
  2:37 The Holy Spirit used Peter's sermon to bring conviction, as Jesus had predicted (John 16:8-11). He convicted Peter's hearers of the truth of what he said and of their guilt in rejecting Jesus. Their question arose from t...
• 6. The early state of the church 2:42-47
  Luke now moved from describing what took place on a particular day to a more general description of the life of the early Jerusalem church (cf. 4:32-5:11; 6:1-6). Interestingly he gave comparatively little attention to the in...
• 3. Stephen's death 7:54-8:1a
  Stephen's speech caused a revolution in the Jews' attitude toward the disciples of Jesus, and his martyrdom began the first persecution of the Christians.Luke recorded the Sanhedrin's response to Stephen's message to document...
• Saul's calling from the Lord 9:10-19a
  9:10-12 Evidently Ananias was not a refugee from Jerusalem (22:12) but a resident of Damascus. He, too, received a vision of the Lord Jesus (v. 17) to whom he submitted willingly (cf. 1 Sam. 3:4, 10). Jesus gave Ananias speci...
• 2. The mission to Cyprus 13:4-12
  Luke recorded the events of Paul's first missionary journey to document the extension of the church into new territory and to illustrate the principles and methods by which the church grew. He also did so to show God's supern...
• Ministry at Derbe 14:20b-21a
  Paul and Barnabas next moved about 60 miles farther to the southeast to Derbe (meaning juniper, modern Kerti Hüyük) on the eastern border of the Galatian province.595Many more people became believers and disciples t...
• The return trip to Syrian Antioch 14:21b-28
  14:21b-22 The missionaries confined their labors to the Galatian province on this trip. They did not move farther east into the kingdom of Antiochus or the province Cilicia that Paul may have evangelized previously during his...
• 1. The call to Macedonia 16:6-10
  Luke recorded Paul's vision of the Macedonian man to explain God's initiative in encouraging Paul and his companions to carry the gospel farther west into Europe.". . . this section [6:6-10] makes it overwhelmingly clear that...
• Ministry in Thessalonica 17:1-9
  17:1 Paul, Silas, Timothy, and perhaps others left Philippi and headed southwest on the Egnatian Road. Luke evidently stayed in Philippi since he again described Paul's party as "they"instead of "we"(cf. 20:5-6). Paul and Sil...
• Ministry in Berea 17:10-15
  17:10 For a second time Paul fled a city under cover of night (cf. 9:25; Matt. 10:23). He and Silas left the Via Egnatia at Thessalonica and took the eastern coastal road toward Athens. They headed for Berea (modern Verria) a...
• The response to Paul's preaching 17:32-34
  Most Greeks rejected the possibility of physical resurrection.721Many of them believed that the most desirable condition lay beyond the grave where the soul would finally be free of the body (e.g., Platonists). The response o...
• Paul's arrival in Corinth 18:1-4
  18:1 Corinth was the capital of the Roman province of Achaia and was a Roman colony. The Romans razed Corinth in 146 B.C., but it was rebuilt a century later in 46 B.C. Its site lay about 50 miles southwest of Athens at a ver...
• Paul's general approach to ministry in Ephesus 19:8-12
  19:8 Paul followed his standard procedure of preaching to the Jews in the synagogue at Ephesus as long as possible. Here the Jews were more tolerant than they had been in some other towns that Paul had evangelized, and he was...
• D. The extension of the church to Rome 19:21-28:31
  "The panel is introduced by the programmatic statement of 19:21-22 and concludes with the summary statement of 28:31. Three features immediately strike the reader in this sixth panel: (1) the disproportionate length of the pa...
• The riot in Ephesus 19:23-41
  This incident reveals more about the effects of the gospel on Ephesian society and religion (cf. vv. 13-20)."Luke's purpose in presenting this vignette is clearly apologetic, in line with his argument for the religio licitast...
• Paul's visit to Macedonia and Achaia 20:1-6
  "This report of Paul's return visit to Macedonia and Achaia is the briefest account of an extended ministry in all of Acts--even more so than the summary of the ministry at Ephesus (cf. 19:8-12). Nevertheless, it can be fille...
• Paul's raising of Eutychus in Troas 20:7-12
  "From 20:5 through the end of Acts (28:31), Luke's narrative gives considerable attention to ports of call, stopovers, and time spent on Paul's travels and includes various anecdotes. It contains the kind of details found in ...
• The journey from Troas to Miletus 20:13-16
  "In a few business-like words Luke takes his readers over some of the most storied coasts of ancient myth and history."82620:13-14 Ships had to round Cape Lectum to reach Assos (modern Bahram Koi) from Troas. This was a more ...
• Paul's address to the Ephesian elders 20:17-35
  "Paul's farewell address to the Ephesian elders is the nearest approximation to the Pauline letters in Acts. Its general content recalls how in his letters Paul encouraged, warned, and exhorted his converts. Moreover, its the...
• Paul's advance to Caesarea 21:7-14
  21:7 Ptolemais (Acco of the Old Testament and modern Acre located on the north side of the bay of Haifa) lay 20 miles south of Tyre. It was the southernmost Phoenician port. There Paul also met with the local Christians as st...
• The riot in the temple 21:27-36
  21:27-28 The Jews from Asia, possibly from Ephesus, were obviously unbelievers. They charged Paul with the same kind of crimes the unbelieving Jews had accused Stephen of committing (6:11, 13-14). The Jews permitted Gentiles ...
• The Jews' plot to kill Paul 23:12-24
  23:12-15 Paul's adversaries (cf. 21:27-29) evidently agreed together not to taste food or drink again until Paul was dead. Their plan was to have the chief priests and elders of Israel ask the Roman commander to return Paul t...
• The voyage from Caesarea to Crete 27:1-8
  27:1 Luke appears to have remained with Paul from the time he left Philippi on his third missionary journey (20:5). He may have ministered to him during his entire two-year detention at Caesarea. We know he travelled with Pau...
• Paul's situation in Rome 28:16
  Paul was a Roman citizen who had appealed to Caesar and had gained the respect (to say the least) of his centurion escort. Therefore he was able to reside in a private rented residence with a Roman guard (v. 30).This is the e...
• Appendix 2
  Sequence of Paul's ActivitiesDateEventReferenceBirth in TarsusActs 22:3Early life and theological education in Jerusalem under GamalielActs 22:334Participation in Stephen's stoning outside JerusalemActs 7:57-8:134Leadership i...
• 2. Present program 15:22-29
  15:22 This verse captures the point of what Paul explained in the preceding pericope.15:23-24 The apostle felt that the Christians in the areas he had evangelized were in a good position to carry on the propagation of the gos...
• 4. Greetings from Paul's companions 16:21-24
  The men whom Paul mentioned in verse 21 all seem to have been his fellow missionaries who were working with him in Corinth when he wrote this epistle. Lucius may have been Luke, the writer of Luke and Acts.414Jason (v. 21) ma...
• Appendix
  Sequence of Paul's ActivitiesDateEventReferenceBirth in TarsusActs 22:3Early life and theological education in Jerusalem under GamalielActs 22:334Participation in Stephen's stoning outside JerusalemActs 7:57-8:134Leadership i...
• Abuse of the poor 11:17-22
  This aspect of the problem involved showing disregard for the poorer members of the church.11:17 The Corinthians' behavior at the Lord's Supper was so bad that Paul could say they were worse off for observing it as they did r...
• 2. The travel plans of Paul and his fellow apostles 16:5-12
  As the preceding verse revealed, Paul's plans were tentative to some extent. He wanted the Corinthians to know that he anticipated a return to Corinth and hopefully a stay of several months. Timothy and Apollos might return t...
• Historical background
  First Corinthians did not dispel the problems in the church at Corinth completely. While it resolved some of these, opposition to the Apostle Paul persisted and Paul's critics continued to speak out against him in the church....
• III. INSTRUCTIONS CONCERNING THE COLLECTION FOR THE POOR SAINTS IN JUDEA 8:1--9:15
  The New Testament reveals that Paul was actively collecting money for "the poor among the saints in Jerusalem"(Rom. 15:26) for about five years (52-57 A.D.). He solicited funds from the Christians in Galatia (Acts 18:23; 1 Co...
• E. The benefits of generous giving 9:6-15
  Paul concluded his exhortation regarding the collection by reminding his readers of the benefits God inevitably bestows on those who give liberally. He did this so they would follow through with their purpose and believe that...
• 3. Paul's service and sufferings 11:16-33
  To answer his critics and prove the extent of his own service and sufferings for Christ, Paul related many of his painful experiences as an apostle.11:16 Paul apologized again for having to resort to mentioning these experien...
• 2. Paul's warnings 13:1-10
  13:1 There are at least four possibilities about what Paul meant by the two or three witnesses that would confirm his credibility and his critics' guilt. First, he may simply have been saying that the church would pass judgme...
• C. The benediction 13:14
  This so-called "Trinitarian benediction"is one of the most widely quoted verses in the Pauline corpus. In each of the three phrases the genative is subjective (i.e., the grace that comes from Jesus Christ, etc.).Paul wished t...
• 1. Living without the Law 5:1-12
  The apostle warned his readers not to think that they could satisfy the demands of the Mosaic Law by obeying only a few of its commands. Only complete compliance satisfies its demands.5:1 Paul's readers were in danger of retu...
• Historical background
  Almost all Christians believed in the Pauline authorship of Ephesians until the nineteenth century when destructive biblical criticism gained influence (cf. 1:1; 3:1). The critics built a case against Pauline authorship from ...
• IV. CONCLUSION 6:21-24
  Paul's anticipation of his defense before Nero brought him back to the present in his thinking. His exposition of the mystery of the church to his readers had ended. He had also explained their proper conduct in view of their...
• I. Salutation 1:1-2
  Paul began this epistle by identifying himself and his companion and by wishing God's richest blessings on his readers."Almost all letters from the Greco-Roman period began with a threefold salutation: The Writer, to the Addr...
• A. The bearers of this epistle 4:7-9
  4:7-8 Paul sent Tychicus with this letter for two primary purposes. He wanted to provide more information about himself and his present ministry than he felt led to record in this letter. He also wanted to encourage the Colos...
• B. Greetings from Paul's companions 4:10-14
  Paul mentioned six individuals five of whom he also named in Philemon.4:10 Aristarchus came from Thessalonica (Acts 20:4), had been with Paul in Ephesus (Acts 19:29), and accompanied him to Rome (Acts 27:2). "Prisoner"(v. 10)...
• Historical background
  Timothy apparently became a Christian as a result of Paul's missionary work in Lystra (Acts 14:6-23). He joined Paul on the second missionary journey when the apostle's evangelistic team passed through that area where Timothy...
• A. Fellow workers and an opponent 4:9-15
  4:9-10 Paul urged Timothy to join him in Rome soon. He did not expect to live much longer (cf. v. 6)."The constitutional method of inflicting capital punishment on a Roman citizen was by the lictor's axe. The criminal was tie...
• C. Additional greetings and instructions 4:19-21
  4:19 Paul sent greetings to his old friends Prisca (Priscilla) and Aquila who then lived in Ephesus (cf. Acts 18:2, 18, 26; Rom. 16:3; 1 Cor. 16:19). He also greeted the loyal family of Onesiphorus of whom he had written earl...
• I. INTRODUCTION vv. 1-4
  John identified himself and greeted the recipient of this shortest New Testament epistle to set the tone for what follows.v. 1 As in 2 John, the Apostle identified himself as "the elder."We do not know exactly who Gaius was. ...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• Loving Greetings
  Paul and Timothy, servants of Christ Jesus, to all the saints in Christ Jesus which are at Philippi, with the bishops and deacons: 2. Grace to you and peace from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ. 3. I thank my God upo...