Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• God's provision of manna and His Spirit 11:4-35
  The "rabble"(v. 4) were the non-Israelites who had come out of Egypt with God's people (Exod. 12:38). It did not take them long to become discontented with conditions in the desert and to complain about their bland diet of ma...
• The sixth commandment 5:17
  The meaning of the Hebrew word ratsahtranslated "kill"or "murder"(NASB, NIV) is "murder"or "slay."Of course, humans rather than animals are in view. Both forms of murder, premeditated and non-premeditated (i.e., manslaughter ...
• 3. Petition for renewed forgiveness 51:7-12
  51:7 Again David pleaded for purification and cleansing (vv. 1-2). In Israel the priest sprinkled animal blood on the altar with a hyssop branch. This ritual symbolized cleansing by sacrificial death (cf. Heb. 9:22). If God w...
• God's preparations to depart from the temple 10:9-22
  "God would not share His dwelling place with other gods,' and the sanctuary had been polluted with idolatry. God's worship center at Shiloh was removed shortly after His glory had departed from it (1 Sam. 4:1-4, 10-11, 19-23;...
• 1. Jesus' forerunner 3:1-12 (cf. Mark 1:2-8; Luke 3:3-18)
  It was common when Jesus lived for forerunners to precede important individuals to prepare the way for their arrival. For example, when a king would visit a town in his realm his emissaries would go before him to announce his...
• Their condition 5:3-10 (cf. Luke 6:20-26)
  This pericope describes the character of the kingdom's subjects and their rewards in the kingdom.236"Looked at as a whole . . . the Beatitudes become a moral sketch of the type of person who is ready to possess, or rule over,...
• 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 ...
• The institution of the Lord' Supper 14:22-26 (cf. Matt. 26:26-30; Luke 22:17-20; 1 Cor. 11:23-26)
  Matthew and Mark's accounts of this event are similar, but Paul's is more like Luke's.14:22 The bread Jesus ate would have been the unleavened bread that the Jews used in the Passover meal. The blessing Jesus pronounced was a...
• C. Events in the upper room 22:14-38
  Luke included more information about what Jesus said and did on this occasion than Matthew or Mark did. John's account is the fullest of all (John 13-17).
• The mission of Jesus' disciples 24:44-49 (cf. Acts 1:3-8)
  All the Gospels contain instances of Jesus giving the Great Commission to His disciples, but evidently He did not just give it once. The contexts are different suggesting that He repeated these instructions on at least four s...
• Characteristic features and purpose
  John's presentation of Jesus in his Gospel has been a problem to many modern students of the New Testament. Some regard it as the greatest problem in current New Testament studies.15Compared to the Synoptics that present Jesu...
• 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' ...
• 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...
• The promise of the Spirit 7:37-44
  Having announced His departure Jesus proceeded to offer the Holy Spirit for those who believed on Him (cf. chs. 14-16).7:37 The feast of Tabernacles lasted seven days (cf. Deut. 16:13). However the day following the feast was...
• The act of foot-washing 13:1-11
  "In the Synoptic account of the events of this evening we read of a dispute among the disciples as to which of them would be the greatest. John does not record this, but he tells of an action of Jesus that rebuked their lack ...
• The promise of the Spirit 14:15-21
  At the end of His answer to Peter's question (13:36), Jesus moved the conversation back to the general theme of preparation for His departure (v. 4). He did the same thing after answering Philip's question (v. 8). Obedience t...
• 4. The promise of future understanding 14:25-31
  Jesus realized that the Eleven did not fully understand what He had just revealed. He therefore encouraged them with a promise that they would understand His words later.14:25-26 Jesus had made these revelations to His discip...
• The vine and the branches metaphor 15:1-8
  Jesus often used a grapevine to describe the nation of Israel (cf. Matt. 20:1-16; 21:23-41; Mark 12:1-9; Luke 13:6-9; 20:9-16). The vine as a symbol of Israel appears on coins of the Maccabees.474Here Jesus used the vine meta...
• 6. The warning about opposition from the world 15:17-27
  Jesus had discussed the Father's unity with the Son, the Son's unity with His disciples, and the disciples' unity with one another, as recorded in this chapter. It was natural then that He should also address the disciples' r...
• 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...
• 8. The clarification of Jesus' destination 16:25-33
  16:25 "These things I have spoken unto you"(NASB) indicates another transition in the discourse (cf. 14:25; 16:1, 4, 33; 17:1). Jesus acknowledged that He had not been giving direct answers to His disciples' questions. He had...
• The request for sanctification 17:17-19
  17:17 "To sanctify"(Gr. hagiazo) means to set apart for God's service (cf. Exod. 28:41; Jer. 1:5). Jesus is the perfect example of a sanctified person. He devoted Himself completely and consistently to God's will for Him. San...
• A. Jesus' presentation of Himself to His enemies 18:1-11 (cf. Matt. 26:47-56; Mark 14:43-52; Luke 22:47-53)
  18:1 "These words"evidently refer to all of what Jesus had said in chapters 13-17 all of which He probably spoke in the upper room. The Kidron Valley formed the eastern boundary of Jerusalem. The Kidron was also a wadior dry ...
• 3. The appearance to the Eleven minus Thomas on Easter evening 20:19-23 (cf. Mark 16:14-18; Luke 24:36-43)
  This pericope contains another post-resurrection appearance of Jesus that bolstered the disciples' faith. It also contains John's account of the Great Commission.20:19 John moved his readers directly from the events of Easter...
• G. The purpose of this Gospel 20:30-31
  John followed the climactic proof that Jesus is God's Son with an explanation of his purpose for writing this narrative of Jesus' ministry. This explanation constitutes a preliminary conclusion to the book.20:30 "Therefore"ti...
• B. Jesus' teachings about motivation for service 21:15-23
  Jesus now proceeded to use the miracle that He had just performed as the background for important instruction. John presented Jesus doing this many times in this Gospel. The repetition of this pattern in the epilogue is an ev...
• Bibliography
  Allen, Ronald B. "Affirming Right-of-Way on Ancient Paths."Bibliotheca Sacra153:609 (January-March 1996):3-11.Ante-Nicene Christian Library: Translations of the Writings of the Fathers. Edited by Alexander Roberts and James D...
• Message16
  If I were to boil down to one sentence what the Book of Acts is in the Bible to teach us, I would say this.The message of Acts is that the church of Jesus Christ is God's instrument to glorify Himself in the present age. The ...
• Peter's defense 2:14-21
  2:14-15 Peter, again representing the apostles (cf. 1:15), addressed the assembled crowd. He probably gave this speech in the Temple outer courtyard (the court of the Gentiles). He probably spoke in the vernacular, Aramaic or...
• 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...
• Saul's conversion on the Damascus road 9:1-9
  "No conversion has been more significant in the history of the Church . . ."389"In this passage we have the most famous conversion story in all history."390"The conversion of the Ethiopian eunuch was in a chariot; the convers...
• The disciples of John the Baptist 19:1-7
  This is the first of two incidents taken from Paul's ministry in Ephesus that bracket Luke's description of his general ministry there.19:1-2 Two roads led into Ephesus from the east, and Paul travelled the northern, more dir...
• Message6
  The subject of 2 Corinthians is ministry, the church's work of service in the world. This is the central concept Paul dealt with in this epistle. What did he say about ministry?He spoke of ministry in two ways. There is minis...
• The old and new covenants 3:4-11
  3:4 Jesus Christ had given Paul confidence that the changes that the gospel had produced in the Corinthians validated his apostolic credentials. That confidence was not merely the product of Paul's imagination.3:5 Paul did no...
• The consequences of Gentile believers' union with Jewish believers 2:19-22
  2:19 Because of this union Gentile believers are no longer strangers (foreigners) and aliens respecting Israel. They are fellow citizens with Jewish believers in the church, God's new household (1 Tim. 3:15). Christians are a...
• The Judaizing danger 3:2-4a
  Paul proceeded to deal with a significant group of antagonists that the Philippians faced.3:2 Jesus and other prophets used the term "dogs"to refer to opponents of God's truth (Matt. 7:6; cf. Deut. 23:18; 1 Sam. 17:43; 24:14;...
• 4. Summary affirmation of our identity 2:9-10
  Peter proceeded to clarify the nature of the church and in doing so explained the duty of Christians in the world.2:9 All the figures of the church that Peter chose here originally referred to Israel. However with Israel's re...
• Message9
  If I were to boil down the message of this epistle into one sentence it would be this. Fellowship with God is the essence of eternal life.Both the Gospel of John and the First Epistle of John deal with eternal life. John wrot...
• Signs of the believer 2:20-23
  2:20-21 In contrast to the heterodox secessionists (v. 19), the faithful believers within the community were "keeping the faith."The "anointing"referred to is evidently the Holy Spirit whom Jesus gives to each believer at con...
• 5. Keeping the faith reaffirmed 5:5-13
  Here John set out his fifth and final condition for living as children of God (cf. 2:18-29)."We canbelieve, and therefore we shouldmaintain the faith."162In the previous section (4:7-5:4) John wove together the themes of fait...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• John's Doubts Of Jesus, And Jesus' Praise Of John
  Now when John had heard in the prison the works of Christ, he sent two of his disciples, 3. And said unto Him, Art Thou He that should come, or do we look for another? 4. Jesus answered and said unto them, Go and shew John ag...
• Ambassadors For Christ
  And the Pharisees went forth, and straightway took counsel with the Herodians against Him, how they might destroy Him. 7. But Jesus withdrew Himself with His disciples to the sea: and a great multitude from Galilee followed H...
• Elijah Come Again
  There was, in the days of Herod the king of Judea, a certain priest named Zacharias, of the course of Abia: and his wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elisabeth. 6. And they were both righteous before God, w...
• The Comforter Given
  And I will pray the Father, and He shall give you another Comforter, that He may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of Truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth Him not, neither knoweth Him: but ye know Him...