Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 3. The sanctification of the priesthood ch. 10
  One of the remarkable features of chapters 8 and 9 is the obedience of Moses and Aaron to God's commands (cf. 8:4, 9, 13, 17, 21, 29, 36; 9:5, 7, 10, 21). In chapter 10 there is a notable absence of these references. The care...
• The broken jar object lesson 19:1-20:6
  This message to the people involved another symbolic act (cf. 13:1-11). This incident may have occurred between 609 and 605 B.C.19:1 Yahweh told Jeremiah to take some of Judah's elders and senior priests and to go and purchas...
• The perils of their mission 10:16-25
  Jesus proceeded to elaborate on the dangers the apostles would face and how they should deal with them.In His descriptions of the opposition His disciples would experience, Jesus looked beyond His death to the time of tribula...
• Revelation about the church 16:18-20
  16:18 "I say to you"(cf. 5:18, 20, 22, 28, 32, 34, 39, 44; 8:10) may imply that Jesus would continue the revelation the Father had begun. However the phrase occurs elsewhere where that contrast is not in view. Undoubtedly it ...
• Jesus' fourth passion prediction and the plot to betray Him 26:1-5 (cf. Mark 14:1-2; Luke 22:1-2)
  26:1-2 These verses record the fourth major prediction of Jesus' death that He gave His disciples (cf. 16:21; 17:22-23; 20:18-19). Matthew just finished recording Jesus' claim to judge humankind (25:31-46). Now he wrote that ...
• 2. Zechariah's song of praise 1:67-79
  This is the second major song of praise in Luke, the "Benedictus."This title also comes from the first word in the Latin version translated "blessed"(Gr. eulogetos). The first part of the song praises God for messianic delive...
• 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 controversy over authority 20:1-8 (cf. Matt. 21:23-27; Mark 11:27-33)
  Jesus' authority was crucial not only for the Jewish leaders who opposed Him but for Luke's readers. This passage established Jesus' authority beyond reasonable doubt.20:1-2 Luke's reference to Jesus preaching the gospel as w...
• 1. The arrest of Jesus and the identification of the high priests 18:12-14
  John began his account of Jesus' trials with a brief description of His arrest and by identifying the chief religious leaders who examined Him.18:12 The commander (Gr. chiliarchos, cf. Acts 22:24, 26, 27, 28; 23:17, 19, 22) i...
• 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,...
• 5. The birth of the church 2:1-41
  The Holy Spirit's descent on the day of Pentecost inaugurated a new dispensation in God's administration of the human race.78Luke featured the record of the events of this day to explain the changes in God's dealings with hum...
• The descent of the Spirit 2:1-4
  Luke introduced the beginning of Jesus' earthly ministry with His baptism with the Spirit (Luke 3:21-22). He paralleled this with the beginning of Jesus' heavenly ministry with the Spirit baptism of His disciples (Acts 2:1-4)...
• Peter's proclamation 2:22-36
  In this part of his speech Peter cited three proofs that Jesus was the Messiah: His miracles (v. 22), His resurrection (vv. 23-32), and His ascension (vv. 33-35). Verse 36 is a summary conclusion.2:22 Peter argued that God ha...
• 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...
• B. The expansion of the church in Jerusalem 3:1-6:7
  Luke recorded the events of this section (3:1-6:7) to document the continued expansion of the church and to identify the means God used to produce growth. In chapters 3-5 the emphasis is on how the Christians' witness brought...
• 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 ...
• Peter's proclamation 3:12-16
  "In his former address Peter had testified to the power and presence of the Spirit of God at work in a new way in the lives of men through Jesus. Now he proclaims the power and authority of the name of Jesus by which his disc...
• Peter's exhortation 3:17-26
  3:17-18 If Peter's charges against his hearers were harsh (vv. 13-15), his concession that they acted out of ignorance was tender. Peter undoubtedly hoped that his gentle approach would win a reversal of his hearers' attitude...
• The arrest of Peter and John 4:1-4
  In chapters 4-7 there is a series of similar confrontations with each one building up to the crisis of Stephen's death and the persecution that followed. The first four verses of chapter 4 conclude the incident recorded in ch...
• Peter's explanation before the Sanhedrin 4:5-12
  4:5 The "Council"(v. 15) before which soldiers brought Peter and John the next day was the Sanhedrin, which was the senate and supreme court of Israel. It consisted of the high priest, who served as its presiding officer, and...
• The Sanhedrin's response 4:13-22
  4:13-14 The Sanhedrin observed in Peter and John what they had seen in Jesus, namely courage to speak boldly and authoritatively without formal training (cf. Matt. 7:28-29; Mark 1:22; Luke 20:19-26; John 7:15). They may also ...
• The church's reaction 4:23-31
  4:23-28 After hearing the apostle's report, the Christians sought the Lord (Gr. Despota, sovereign ruler) in prayer."Three movements may be discerned in this prayer of the early church: (1) God is sovereign (v. 24). (2) God's...
• The generosity of Barnabas 4:36-37
  Luke now gave a specific instance of what he had just described in verses 34 and 35. This reference to Barnabas is significant because it introduces him to the reader. Barnabas becomes a major character in Acts later. Further...
• The death of Ananias 5:1-6
  5:1-2 "But"introduces another sacrificial act that looked just as generous as Barnabas' (4:37). However in this case the motive was quite different. Ananias' Jewish name means "Yahweh is gracious,"and Sapphira's Aramaic name ...
• The expanding influence of the apostles 5:12-16
  This pericope is another of Luke's summaries of conditions in the church that introduces what follows (cf. 2:42-47; 4:32-35). It also explains why the Sadducees became so jealous that they arrested not only Peter and John but...
• 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...
• 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...
• Stephen's accusation 7:51-53
  Stephen concluded his defense by indicting his accusers. They had brought charges against him, but now he brought more serious charges against them.In his first speech to the Sanhedrin, Peter had been quite brief and forthrig...
• 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...
• Peter's message to Cornelius 10:34-43
  Peter's sermon on this occasion is the first sermon in Acts addressed to a Gentile audience (cf. 14:15-17; 17:22-31). It is quite similar to the ones Peter preached in 2:14-40 and 3:11-26 except that this one has more informa...
• 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...
• The continuing growth of the church 12:24
  In contrast to Herod and like Peter, the word of the Lord, the gospel, continued to grow and multiply through God's supernatural blessing. Therefore the church continued to flourish in Jewish territory as well as among the Ge...
• 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 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 Sanhedrin 22:30-23:10
  "The irregular structure of Luke's account of Paul's defense before the Sanhedrin evidently reflects the tumultuous character of the session itself. Three matters pertaining to Luke's apologetic purpose come to the fore: (1) ...
• Appendix 1
  Sermons and Speeches in Acts984SpeakersOccasions and or HearersCitiesReferencesPeter (1)Selection of successor to JudasJerusalem1:16-22Peter (2)Signs on the day of PentecostJerusalem2:14-36Peter (3)Healing of lame man in the ...
• 1. Conduct towards the government 13:1-7
  Paul passed from a loosely connected series of exhortations in 12:9-21 to a well-organized argument about a single subject in 13:1-7."Forbidding the Christian from taking vengeance and allowing God to exercise this right in t...
• Paul's greater goal 3:8-11
  3:8 Paul had regarded his advantages over other people as what put him in a specially good position with God. However, he had come to realize that absolutely nothing apart from Jesus Christ's work on the cross was of any valu...
• 3. The inconsistency of favoritism 2:5-7
  James' three questions in these verses all expect positive answers, as is clear in the construction of the Greek text.2:5 Since God has chosen the poor of this world to be the recipients of His blessings it is inconsistent fo...
• 2. The address and doxology 1:4-6
  "As is true of NT epistles in general, the address of Revelation contains three elements: the writer, the addressees, and the greeting."181:4 John sent this letter to the seven churches mentioned in chapters 2 and 3, which we...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• The First Blast Of Tempest
  And as they spake unto the people, the priests, and the captain of the temple, and the Sadducees, came upon them, 2. Being grieved that they taught the people, and preached through Jesus the resurrection from the dead. 3. And...
• 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...