Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 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 ...
• 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 restoration of a wayward disciple 18:15-20
  Jesus proceeded to explain what a humble disciple should do when a brother or sister disciple has wandered from the Shepherd and the sheep.18:15 By using the term "brother"Jesus encouraged a humble approach. The disciples sho...
• 1. The sign of Jesus' rejection of Israel 21:18-22 (cf. Mark 11:12-14, 19-25; Luke 21:37-38)
  The Triumphal Entry happened on Monday. The cursing of the fig tree took place on Tuesday, and the disciples' mention of its withering followed on Wednesday (cf. Mark 11:1-14).78021:18-19 Jesus passed the lone fig tree somewh...
• 5. The exorcism of an epileptic boy 9:14-29 (cf. Matt. 17:14-20; Luke 9:37-43a)
  This is the last exorcism that Mark recorded. His narration of this story includes more detail than either Matthew's or Luke's. The disciples' lack of glory in this story contrasts with Jesus' glory in the Transfiguration.9:1...
• 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).
• 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' ...
• The meaning of believing 6:52-59
  Jesus introduced a new metaphor for believing on Him, namely eating His flesh. The following pericope is highly metaphorical.6:52 As Jesus' hearers had objected to what He had said about His identity (vv. 41-42), so they now ...
• 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 request to reveal the Father 14:8-14
  14:8 The Eleven regarded Jesus very highly. Notwithstanding they did not yet realize that He was such an accurate and full revelation of God the Father that to see Jesus was to see the Father. Philip asked for a clear revelat...
• 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...
• 5. The importance of abiding in Jesus 15:1-16
  Jesus continued to prepare His disciples for His departure. He next taught the Eleven the importance of abiding in Him with the result that they would produce much spiritual fruit. He dealt with their relationships to Himself...
• The exposition of themes in the metaphor 15:9-16
  Jesus proceeded to expound further on some of the themes that He had introduced in His teaching on the vine and the branches (vv. 1-8). The subject moves generally from the believing disciple's relationship with God to his or...
• 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 reappearance of Jesus 16:16-24
  Jesus next turned the disciples' attention from the Spirit's future ministries to His own reappearance.16:16 As the following verses show, Jesus was referring here to His imminent departure in death and His return to the disc...
• 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 unity 17:20-23
  17:20 Jesus now identified future believers as the objects of His intercession, as well as the Eleven. He described them as those who would believe through the witness of the Eleven. All Christians have come to Jesus Christ e...
• 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...
• 4. Our place in God's sovereign plan 8:26-30
  In the foregoing verses Paul spoke of God's plan for creation and the believer. In these verses he showed how central a place His children occupy in the plan He is bringing to completion in history.8:26 Hope helps us in our s...
• 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 basic admonition 5:15-21
  Paul began this section with a basic admonition (vv. 15-21). Then he applied this instruction to various groups of Christians (5:22-6:9).5:15 The word order and usage in the Greek text suggest that "careful"modifies "walk"rat...
• Paul's persistent zeal 3:12-14
  3:12 Paul had said that he had not already grasped the intimate knowledge of His Savior that he sought to obtain (v. 10). He did not want his readers to understand him as saying that his conversion brought him into the intima...
• 3. The Witnesses of Our Salvation 1:10-12
  Peter reminded his readers that the prophets had predicted that Jesus Christ's life, as their own lives, would include suffering followed by glory. He mentioned this to encourage them to realize that their experience was not ...
• 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...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• Christ's Friends
  Ye are My friends, if ye do whatsoever I command you. Henceforth I call you not servants; for the servant knoweth not what his lord doeth: but I have called you friends; for all things that I have heard of My Father I have...
• III. Thirdly, Notice How Christ's Friends Come To Be So, And Why They Are So.
  Ye have not chosen,' etc. (John 15:16).Our Lord refers here, no doubt, primarily to the little group of the Apostles; the choice and ordaining as well as the fruit that abides,' point, in the first place, to their apostolic o...