Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• The Nazirite vow 6:1-21
  The emphasis in this section continues to be on the importance of maintaining purity in the camp so God's blessing on Israel might continue unabated.The Nazarite (from the Hebrew root nazar, meaning "to separate") illustrated...
• 1. The victory over Jabin and Sisera ch. 4
  4:1-3 As long as Ehud lived he kept Israel faithful to God (v. 1). However after he died, God's people again turned from the Lord. In discipline God allowed the Canaanites in the North to gain strength and dominate the Israel...
• 3. The request of Nehemiah 2:1-8
  Nehemiah prayed for four months about conditions in Jerusalem before he spoke to Artaxerxes about them (cf. 1:1; 2:1). Artaxerxes' reign began in the seventh Jewish month, Tishri (late September and early October), of 464 B.C...
• 1. Counsel of despair 11:1-3
  11:1 As a principle of life David sought refuge from his enemies in the Lord, his stronghold. Consequently when his counselors urged him to run and hide in a physical stronghold, he refused to do so (cf. Matt. 16:22; Acts 21:...
• 1. Conflict with the people ch. 26
  This section consists of four parts: a summary of Jeremiah's Temple Sermon (vv. 2-6), the prophet's arrest and trial (vv. 7-16), the elders' plea for his life (vv. 17-19, 24), and the incident involving Uriah and his executio...
• 1. Dramatizations of the siege of Jerusalem chs. 4-5
  The Lord had shut Ezekiel's mouth (3:26), so the first prophecies he delivered were not spoken messages but acted-out parables (cf. 1 Kings 11:30; 22:11; 2 Kings 13:17; Isa. 20:2-4; Jer. 13:1-14; 19:1-10; Acts 21:10-11). Ezek...
• Condemnation of the female false prophets 13:17-23
  There were female as well as male prophets in Israel (Exod. 15:20; Judg. 4:4; 2 Kings 22:14; Neh. 6:14; Luke 2:36) and in the early church (Acts 21:9; 1 Cor. 11:5). However there were far fewer female than male prophets, and ...
• The rooms and implements used for preparing sacrifices 40:38-43
  40:38-41 Ezekiel also saw a room outside each of the three inner gate complexes close to its doorway. There priests would rinse animals brought as burnt offerings.519Within each inner gate complex, in the vestibules, there we...
• The ordinary priests and their service 44:4-14
  The emphasis on the holiness of God that has marked this vision continues strong in this pericope and the next. God's holiness will determine who serves as priests and how they serve.44:4 The guide proceeded to take Ezekiel t...
• 3. Daniel's faithfulness and Darius' predicament 6:10-15
  6:10 The new decree did not deter Daniel from continuing to pray for the welfare of the city where God had sent them into exile and for the Jews' return from exile. That this was the subject of his praying, among other things...
• Praying 6:5-15 (cf. Luke 11:1-13)
  6:5-6 Jesus assumed that His disciples would pray, as He assumed they would give alms (v. 2) and fast (v. 16). Again He warned against ostentatious worship. The synagogues and streets were public places where people could pra...
• The trial before Pilate 27:11-26 (cf. Mark 15:2-15; Luke 23:3-25; John 18:33-19:16)
  Pilate was a cruel ruler who made little attempt to understand the Jews whom he hated.1047He had treated them unfairly and brutally on many occasions, but recently Caesar had rebuked him severely.1048This probably accounts fo...
• 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...
• 4. Jesus' presentation in the temple 2:22-38
  The emphasis in this section is Simeon's prediction of Jesus' ministry (cf. 1:67-79). He pointed out the universal extent of the salvation that Jesus would bring and the rejection that He would experience.2:22-24 Under Mosaic...
• 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. The importance of fearless confession 12:1-12 (cf. Matt. 10:19-20, 26-33)
  Jesus used His condemnation of the Pharisees' hypocrisy as an occasion to warn His disciples against being hypocritical. The context of this teaching in Matthew's Gospel is Jesus' instruction of the Twelve before He sent them...
• 1. The setting and the warning about being misled 21:5-9 (cf. Matt. 24:1-6; Mark 13:1-6)
  21:5 Luke did not mention that Jesus gave this teaching on Mt. Olivet exclusively to His disciples (Matt. 24:1-4; Mark 13:1-5). His omission of these facts created continuity in his narrative and connected this discourse with...
• 2. The need for faithful perseverance 21:10-19 (cf. Matt. 24:7-10; Mark 13:8-13)
  21:10-11 Luke's interruption of Jesus' teaching suggests a break of some kind in His thought. It seems clear from what follows, in verse 11 especially, that Jesus now broadened His perspective from the wars that would precede...
• 6. Jesus' second appearance before Pilate 23:13-25 (cf. Matt. 27:15-26; Mark 15:6-15; John 18:39-19:16)
  The overall impression that Luke presented with this part of his narrative is that Jesus' condemnation was a terrible travesty of justice. Pilate condemned an innocent man. This decision comes across as specially heinous sinc...
• 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 setting of the sermon 3:11
  Peter and John, with the healed lame man clinging to them, moved into the portico of the temple, and a large crowed, amazed by the healing, followed them (cf. 21:30). A covered porch supported by a series of columns surrounde...
• 4. Internal conflict 6:1-7
  The scene shifts back to life within the church (cf. 4:32-5:11). Luke wrote this pericope to explain some administrative changes that the growth of the church made necessary. He also wanted to introduce the Hellenistic Jews w...
• 1. Stephen's arrest 6:8-7:1
  6:8 Stephen was full of grace (cf. cf. 4:33; Luke 4:22) and power (cf. 2:22; 4:33) as well as the Holy Spirit (vv. 3, 5), wisdom (v. 3), and faith (v. 5). His ability to perform miracles seems unrelated to his having been app...
• 2. Philip's ministry to the Ethiopian eunuch 8:26-40
  Luke recorded this incident to show the method and direction of the church's expansion to God-fearing Gentiles who were attracted to Judaism at this time. This man had visited Jerusalem to worship, was studying the Old Testam...
• 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...
• Saul's reception in Jerusalem 9:26-30
  Luke concluded each of his narratives of the Samaritans' conversion (8:4-25), Saul's conversion (9:1-31), and Cornelius' conversion (10:1-11:18) with references to the mother church in Jerusalem. He evidently wanted to stress...
• Cornelius' vision 10:1-8
  10:1 Caesarea stood on the Mediterranean coast about 30 miles north of Joppa. Formerly its name was Strato's Tower, but Herod the Great renamed it in honor of Augustus Caesar, his patron and the adopted heir of Julius Caesar....
• The spiritual initiative of the Antioch church 11:19-26
  11:19 Luke's reference back to the persecution resulting from Stephen's martyrdom (7:60) is significant. It suggests that he was now beginning to record another mission of the Christians that ran parallel logically and chrono...
• The material initiative of the Antioch church 11:27-30
  11:27 Prophets were still active in the church apparently until the completion of the New Testament canon. A prophet was a person to whom God had given ability to speak for Him (forth-telling, cf. 1 Cor. 14:1-5), which in som...
• The supernatural deliverance of Peter 12:1-19
  "Peter's rescue from prison is an unusually vivid episode in Acts even when simply taken as a story about Peter. Because it is not connected with events in the chapters immediately before and after it, however, it may seem ra...
• 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...
• 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...
• 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...
• 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...
• 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 ...
• 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 departure from Miletus 20:36-38
  20:36 Prayer for God's grace and protection undoubtedly bonded these men together in Christian love. The kneeling posture here, as elsewhere in Scripture, reflects an attitude of submission to the sovereign God. The normal po...
• The trip from Miletus to Tyre 21:1-6
  The third "we"section of Acts (21:1-18) is of theological importance because it focuses on Paul's recapitulation of Jesus' passion. Note the similarities between Luke's accounts of Jesus' trip to Jerusalem and Paul's. Both st...
• 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 last stage of Paul's trip to Jerusalem 21:15-16
  Jerusalem was about 65 miles southeast of Caesarea, a long two-day trip. Mnason evidently became a Christian early in the history of the church, perhaps on the day of Pentecost. He was a Hellenistic Jewish Christian; he was f...
• The advice of James and the elders 21:17-26
  21:17-19 As he had done before, Paul related to a group of elders what God had done on his missionary journeys among the Gentiles (14:27; cf. 18:23). This undoubtedly helped the Jerusalem church accept the gift that Paul had ...
• 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 ...
• Paul's defense before the Jewish mob 21:37-22:21
  "In this first of Paul's five defenses, Luke's apologetic interests come to the fore in highlighting the nonpolitical character of Christianity (contrary to other messianic movements of the day, cf. 21:38) and in presenting P...
• Paul's request to address the people 21:37-40
  21:37-38 The commander had assumed that Paul was a certain Egyptian who had appeared in Jerusalem three years earlier. This man claimed to be a prophet of God and announced that the wall of Jerusalem would collapse at his com...
• Paul's speech in his defense 22:1-21
  Paul needed to defend himself against the charge that he had been disloyal to his people, the Mosaic Law, and the temple (cf. 21:28). His devout Jewish audience was especially skeptical of Paul since he was a Hellenistic Jew ...
• Paul's defense before Claudius Lysias 22:23-29
  22:23-24 Claudius Lysias could not understand why the Jews reacted as they did. If he did not understand Aramaic, his confusion would have been even greater. He could not tolerate a riot, so he decided to get the truth from P...
• 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...
• Lysias' letter to Felix 23:25-30
  23:25 The commander had to send a copy of the background of Paul's case along with Paul himself. Luke wrote that what follows in the text was substantially what the letter contained.23:26 This is the first mention of the comm...
• Paul's introduction to Felix 23:33-35
  23:33 The governor (procurator) of Judea at this time was Antonius Felix (52-59 A.D.).890Pontius Pilate occupied this office from 26-36 A.D. Felix had a reputation for being a harsh ruler who had risen from a lowly background...
• The presentation of charges against Paul 24:1-9
  24:1 The heat of the Jews' hatred of Paul is obvious from their speedy trip to Caesarea. The five days seem to describe the period from Paul's arrest in the temple courtyard to this trial (cf. v. 11; 21:27). The Jews' antagon...
• Paul's defense before Felix 24:10-21
  24:10 Paul's complimentary introduction was sincere and truthful. Felix had had contact with the Jews in Palestine for over 10 years, first in Samaria and then in Judea. Paul's introduction was also briefer than Tertullus' op...
• The conclusion of Paul's hearing 24:22-23
  24:22 Felix probably gained his knowledge of Christianity from several sources: his current Jewish wife who was a Herodian, and Romans and Jews from Judea and other parts of the empire. He sought to preserve the peace by dela...
• The preliminaries of the hearing 25:23-27
  25:23 Festus used this occasion to honor Agrippa and Bernice before the local Caesarean leaders. There were five commanders based in Caesarea each with responsibility for 1,000 soldiers. They all had the same authority as Cla...
• Paul's speech to the dignitaries 26:1-23
  Paul was not on trial here. When he had appealed to Caesar (25:11), he had guaranteed that his next trial would be before the emperor. This was just a hearing designed to acquaint Agrippa with Paul's case so Agrippa could giv...
• 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...
• 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...
• Paul's judgment of this case 5:1-5
  5:1 "Immorality"is a general translation of the Greek word porneia, which means fornication, specifically sexual relations with a forbidden mate. The precise offense in this case was sexual union with the woman who had marrie...
• Apostolic freedom 9:19-23
  The extent to which the apostle was willing to lay aside his rights comes out in this pericope. Since Paul chose not to receive pay for his ministry in Corinth, he was free from the restrictions that patronage might impose. T...
• 1. The argument from culture 11:2-6
  Paul introduced the first of the two subjects he dealt with in this chapter, the Corinthian women's participation in church worship, with praise. He did not introduce the second subject this way (vv. 17, 22). As with the othe...
• 1. Arrangements for the collection 16:1-4
  16:1 It seems that the Corinthian Christians had heard about the collection (Gr. logeias, extra collection) Paul was getting together for the poor saints in Jerusalem (v. 3) and wanted to make a contribution. James, Peter, an...
• Sufferings inflicted by other people
  "Stripes"or "beatings"are punishments delivered with a whip or lash (cf. 11:24-25)."Imprisonments"in Paul's day involved confinement and discomfort (cf. 11:23)."Tumults"are "riots"(cf. Acts 13:50; 14:15; 16:19; 19:29; 21:30)....
• 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...
• B. Interdependence with other apostles 2:1-10
  Paul related other events of his previous ministry, specifically his meeting with the Jerusalem church leaders. He did so to establish for his readers that although he was not dependent on anyone but God for his message and m...
• 2. Past ignorance 3:1-13
  Paul began to pray for his readers again (cf. vv. 1, 14), but he interrupted himself to tell them more about the church. What he said in this section gives background information concerning the church as a mystery.3:1 "For th...
• The preservation of unity 4:7-16
  Having described the basis of Christian unity Paul next explained the means by which we can preserve it, namely with the gifts that the Spirit gives.4:7 Whereas each believer has received grace (unmerited favor and divine ena...
• B. Spiritual warfare 6:10-20
  That this section is distinct from the five that precede it is evident from two facts. Paul introduced it differently, and the emphasis in it is on God's resources. Earlier Paul urged the strengthening and growth of the body ...
• V. Women in the Life and Ministry of the Early Church
  A. The Holy Spirit fell on men and women on the Day of Pentecost (Acts 2:1-4).B. Women prayed with men (Acts 1:14; 12:12).C. Women had various ministries of hospitality, service and good works (Dorcas, Acts 9:36; Mary, the mo...
• 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...
• Historical background
  The writer of this epistle was evidently the half-brother of our Lord Jesus Christ (Gal. 1:19) and the brother of Jude, the writer of the epistle that bears his name (cf. Matt. 13:55). This was the opinion of many of the earl...
• 3. Living with the promise in view 4:1-6
  Since Jesus Christ has gained the victory, Peter urged his readers to rededicate themselves to God's will as long as they might live. He wanted to strengthen their resolve to continue to persevere. He resumed here the exhorta...
• B. Protecting the Truth vv. 7-11
  Next John moved on to his second purpose. He wrote to encourage his readers to resist the false teachers who were distorting the truth and deceiving some of the believers."The presbyter's attention now moves from the existenc...
• 3. Rebuke 2:20-23
  Evidently a woman claiming to be a prophetess (cf. Luke 2:36; Acts 21:9; 1 Cor. 11:5) had been influencing some in this church to join the local trade guilds without which a tradesman could not work in Thyatira. This meant pa...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• Seed Scattered And Taking Root
  And Saul was consenting unto his death. And at that time there was a great persecution against the church which was at Jerusalem; and they were all scattered abroad throughout the regions of Judaea and Samaria, except the apo...
• Drawing Nearer To The Storm
  And it came to pass, that, after we were gotten from them, and had launched, we came with a straight course unto Coos, and the day following unto Rhodes, and from thence unto Patara: 2. And finding a ship sailing over unto Ph...
• II. A Few Disciples Would Make But Little Show.
  Tyre was a busy seaport then, and in its large population the few disciples would make but little show. They had to be sought out before they were found.' One can feel how eagerly the travellers would search, and how thankful...
• III. The Vessel Ran Down The Coast To Ptolemais Then To Caesarea.
  The vessel ran down the coast to Ptolemais where one day's stop was made, probably to land and ship cargo, if, as is possible, the further journey to Caesarea was by sea. But it may have been by land; the narrative is silent ...
• Philip The Evangelist
  We entered into the house of Philip the evangelist, which was one of the seven; and abode with him.'--Acts 21:8.THE life of this Philip, as recorded, is a very remarkable one. It is divided into two unequal halves: one full o...
• An Old Disciple
  One Mnason of Cyprus, an old disciple, with whom we should lodge.'--Acts 21:16.THERE is something that stimulates the imagination in these mere shadows of men that we meet in the New Testament story. What a strange fate that ...
• Paul In The Temple
  And when the seven days were almost ended, the Jews which were of Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the people, and laid hands on him, 28. Crying out, Men of Israel, help: This is the man, that teacheth al...