Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• The Servant exalted 52:13-15
  52:13 "Behold, My Servant"marks a new section in the development of Isaiah's argument, but it also calls the reader to fix his or her attention carefully on the Servant (cf. 42:1). The Servant would prosper in the sense of fu...
• 4. The King's final instructions to His disciples 28:16-20 (cf. Mark 16:15-18; 1 Cor. 15:6)
  Whereas the chief priests used bribe money to commission the soldiers to spread lies, the resurrected Jesus used the promise of His power and presence to commission His disciples to spread the gospel.1091This is the final add...
• A. The preincarnate Word 1:1-5
  John began his Gospel by locating Jesus before the beginning of His ministry, before His virgin birth, and even before Creation. He identified Jesus as co-existent with God the Father and the Father's agent in providing creat...
• 4. The witness of Philip and Andrew 1:43-51
  The disciples of John were not the only men who began following Jesus. Andrew continued to bring other friends to Jesus. This incident preceded Jesus' formal appointment of the Twelve, but it shows Him preparing those who wou...
• Jesus' testimony about Himself 8:12-20
  8:12 The context of the events in this paragraph continues to be the temple during the feast of Tabernacles (v. 20, cf. 7:14). Jesus was speaking to the Jews who had assembled there some of whom were residents of Jerusalem an...
• The ministry of the coming Spirit 16:5-15
  16:5 Jesus again pointed out that the revelation of His departure had made the disciples sad rather than happy. They had little interest in where He was going. What concerned them was the sorrow that His departure produced fo...
• 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...
• The positive reality 15:20-28
  Paul turned next to show that the resurrection of Christ makes the resurrection of believers both necessary and inevitable. The consequences of this fact are as glorious as the effects of His not being raised are dismal. Thos...
• 1. In relation to God the Father 1:15a
  The concept of "image"involves three things: likeness (Christ is the exact likeness of God, a mirror image [cf. Heb. 1:3]), representation (Christ represents God to us), and manifestation (Christ makes God known to us [cf. Jo...
• 2. In relation to all creation 1:15b-17
  "First-born"(Gr. prototokos) may denote either priority in time or supremacy in rank (cf. v. 18; Exod. 4:22; Ps. 89:27; Rom. 8:29; Heb. 1:6; Rev. 1:15). It may also denote both of these qualities. Both seem to be in view here...
• Outline17
  I. The culminating revelation of God 1:1-2:18A. The agent of God's final revelation 1:1-4B. The superiority of the Son 1:5-14C. The danger of negligence (the first warning) 2:1-4D. The humiliation and glory of God's Son 2:5-9...
• I. The culminating revelation of God 1:1--2:18
  Hebrews is a sermon reduced to writing (cf. 13:22; James). Indications of this fact are the writer's references to speaking and hearing (cf. 2:5; 5:11; 8:1; 9:5; 11:32). His epistle is more typical of speech than of writing.V...
• A. The Agent of God's Final Revelation 1:1-4
  The writer began his epistle with an affirmation of Jesus Christ's greatness to introduce his readers to his subject. This section is one sentence in the Greek text. It contrasts God's old revelation with the new, specificall...
• B. The Superiority of God's Son 1:5-14
  The writer proceeded to explain the exaltation of Jesus Christ to help his readers appreciate the fact that He fulfilled Old Testament prophecy concerning the Son of David. He did this so they would appreciate Him properly an...
• C. The Danger of Negligence (The First Warning) 2:1-4
  Having just encouraged his readers with a reminder of God's help for the faithful (1:14) the writer next urged his readers to be faithful. He did so to warn them of the possibility of retrogressing spiritually and consequentl...
• D. The Humiliation and Glory of God's Son 2:5-9
  Verses 5-18 present eight reasons for the incarnation of the Son: to fulfill God's purpose for man (vv. 5-9a), to taste death for all (v. 9b), and to bring many sons to glory (vv. 10-13). He also came to destroy the devil (v....
• A. The Danger of Immaturity (The Third Warning) 5:11-6:12
  "Dull of hearing"(5:11) and "sluggish"(6:12, Gr. nothroiin both cases) form an inclusiothat frames this pericope and sets it off as a distinct textual segment.159The first two warnings in Hebrews were against drifting (2:1-4)...
• 1. Faith in the Antediluvian Era 11:1-7
  The writer began by stating three facts about faith. These are general observations on the nature of faith, some of its significant features. He then illustrated God's approval of faith with examples from the antediluvian era...
• 1. The example of Jesus 12:1-3
  One writer posited a chiastic structure for verses one and two."Therefore we,[A] having seated around aboutus such a cloud of witnesses,[B] setting asideevery weight and every clinging sin. . .[C] with patient endurance . . ....
• V. Life in a Hostile World 12:14--13:25
  This final major section of the book apparently grew out of the writer's reflection on the Greek text of Proverbs 4:26-27 (cf. 12:13). He specified how his readers could "make straight paths for your feet.""In the final divis...
• Bibliography
  Andersen, Ward. "The Believer's Rest (Hebrews 4)."Biblical Viewpoint24:1 (April 1990):31-38.Bailey, Mark L., and Thomas L. Constable. The New Testament Explorer. Nashville: Word Publishing Co., 1999.Barclay, William. The Lett...
• 2. Obeying God 2:3-11
  "The author is explaining to the members of his church, in answer to developing heretical tendencies, the nature of true Christian belief and practice, and the way in which these interact. To do this he first chooses as his t...
• I. THE PREPARATION of the prophet ch. 1
  The first chapter contains a prologue to the book, which is similar to the one in John 1:1-18, the prologue to John's Gospel (cf. 1 John 1:1-4). It also relates a vision that God gave John that prepared him for what follows. ...
• 2. The source of the commission 1:12-16
  John turned to see the person who had given him his commission. These verses describe what he saw.1:12 When John turned to see the person who spoke to him he saw a majestic figure clothed in a long robe standing among seven l...
• 4. The judgment of the wicked 20:11-15
  20:11 This "And I saw"introduces something else John saw in this vision (cf. 19:11, 17, 19; 20:1, 4, 12; 21:1, 2). The continuation of chronological progression seems clear from the continued use of "And"to introduce new info...
• The illumination of the city 21:23-27
  21:23 Evidently there will be no sun and moon (and stars) in the new heaven because God's glory will illuminate the whole earth. The need for created light sources will end when the Creator Himself lives among His people. God...
• The restoration of Paradise 22:1-5
  Essentially what John saw next was Paradise regained (cf. 2:7; Gen. 2; Luke 23:43; 2 Cor. 12:2). Having viewed the splendor of the New Jerusalem he now saw what will nourish and enrich the lives of God's people there."Up to t...