Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 1. An initial statement of creation 1:1
  There are three major views concerning the relationship of 1:1 to the rest of the creation account.1. Verse 1 describes an original creation of the universe. God began fashioning the earth as we know it in verse 2 or verse 3....
• The first day 1:3-5
  1:3 The world came into being by God's word (cf. Ps. 33:9; Heb. 11:3). Each of the six creative days began with God speaking.55Jesus Christ, the Word of God, was the Creator (John 1:3). The theme of God's word (spoken, writte...
• The Servant's calling 49:1-7
  "The first [biographical Servant] Song was a word from the Lord to the world about his Servant: Your plight is known, my Servant will deal with it' [42:1-4]; but the second [autobiographical] Song is the Servant's testimony h...
• 1. Instruction about marriage 19:3-12 (cf. Mark 10:2-12)
  Matthew evidently included this instruction because the marriage relationships of His disciples were important factors in their effective ministries. Jesus clarified God's will for His disciples that was different from the co...
• Writer
  The writer of this Gospel did not identify himself as such in the text. This is true of all the Gospel evangelists. Nevertheless there is evidence within this Gospel as well as in the writings of the church fathers that the w...
• Message27
  In one sense the Gospel of John is more profound than the Synoptics. It is the most difficult Gospel for most expositors to preach and to teach for reasons that will become evident as we study it. In another sense, however, t...
• Outline
  I. Prologue 1:1-18A. The preincarnate Word 1:1-5B. The witness of John the Baptist 1:6-8C. The appearance of the Light 1:9-13D. The incarnation of the Word 1:14-18II. Jesus' public ministry 1:19-12:50A. The prelude to Jesus' ...
• I. Prologue 1:1-18
  Each of the four Gospels begins with an introduction to Jesus that places Him in the historical setting of His earthly ministry. Matthew connected Him with David and Abraham. Mark associated Him directly with John the Baptist...
• 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...
• C. The appearance of the Light 1:9-13
  The first section of the prologue (vv. 1-5) presents the preincarnate Word. The second section (vv. 6-8) identifies the forerunner of the Word's earthly ministry. This third section introduces the ministry of the Incarnate Wo...
• 1. Jesus' first sign: changing water to wine 2:1-11
  The first miracle that Jesus performed, in His public ministry and in John's Gospel, was semi-public. Apparently only Jesus' disciples, the servants present, and Jesus' mother understood what had happened.2:1 The third day ev...
• 1. The interview with the Samaritan woman 4:1-26
  There are several connections between this section and the preceding ones that provide continuity. One is the continuation of water as a symbol (cf. 2:6; 3:5; 4:10-15). Another is the continuation of conversation in which Jes...
• F. Jesus' second visit to Jerusalem ch. 5
  "In chapters 1-4 the subject is described from the standpoint of a spectator, ab extra, and we are thus enabled to see something of the impression created on others by our Lord as He deals with individuals in Jerusalem, Samar...
• V. Epilogue ch. 21
  This Gospel began with a theological prologue (1:1-18). It ends with a practical epilogue. John concluded his narrative designed to bring unbelievers to faith in Jesus Christ in chapter 20. Chapter 21 contains instruction for...
• C. The writer's postscript 21:24-25
  Some commentators refer to this ending as a colophon.690However, it is more similar to a postscript because it contains only hints of the writer's identity. Mainly it claims that this Gospel is a reliable though limited recor...
• 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...
• 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...
• 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. ...
• 1. Destination and description of Christ 3:14
  The last of the seven cities (modern Eski-hisar, "the old fortress") lay about 40 miles southeast of Philadelphia and 90 miles east of Ephesus. It was a wealthy town that specialized in banking, producing black woolen cloth, ...
• The dragon's hostility toward the male child 12:1-6
  This pericope furnishes the plot for the drama that unfolds in the rest of the chapter.12:1 John saw a "sign,"something that signified or represented something else (cf. v. 3; 13:13-14; 15:1; 16:14; 19:29). Usually John used ...
• 2. The return of Christ to earth 19:11-16
  On the one hand, the return of Jesus Christ to the earth is the climax of all that has preceded. On the other, it is the first of seven final things that John saw and recorded. These things were Christ's return, Satan's captu...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• II. The King's Mandate Summoning His Servants.
  The call of the first four disciples is so told as to make prominent these points: the brotherhood of the two pairs; their occupation at the moment of their call; the brief, authoritative word of Christ; His investiture of th...
• III. We Have The Gentle Figure Of The Stronger Son.
  The introduction of Jesus is somewhat less abrupt than that of John; but if we remember whom Mark believed Him to be, the quiet words which tell of His first appearance are sufficiently remarkable. There is no mention of His ...
• The Word In Eternity, In The World, And In The Flesh
  In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. 2. The same was in the beginning with God. 3. All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made. 4. In Him was lif...