Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• The rule of the Shoot 11:1-9
  Messiah would meet certain qualifications (vv. 2-3a) and would rule with absolute justice (vv. 3b-5) with the result that people would live in peace (vv. 6-9)11:1 The prophet had just described Assyria cut down like a forest ...
• The Servant's confidence 50:4-9
  This is the third Servant Song (cf. 42:1-4; 49:1-6; 52:13-53:12). Like the second song, this one is autobiographical, but unlike the first and second songs it contains no reference to the Servant. That it is the Servant who i...
• Literary form and characteristics
  Malachi's style is quite different from that of any other writing prophet. Instead of delivering messages to his audience, he charged them with various sins, six times in all. His was a very confrontational style of address. ...
• 3. The trials of Jesus 26:57-27:26
  Matthew stressed Jesus' righteousness for his readers by highlighting the injustice of His trials."The breaches in law are so numerous as to be unbelievable . . ."1026". . . even the ordinary legal rules were disregarded in t...
• The trial before Pilate 27:11-26 (cf. Mark 15:2-15; Luke 23:3-25; John 18:33-19:16)
  Pilate was a cruel ruler who made little attempt to understand the Jews whom he hated.1047He had treated them unfairly and brutally on many occasions, but recently Caesar had rebuked him severely.1048This probably accounts fo...
• B. The Servant's endurance of suffering 14:53-15:47
  Jesus' sufferings until now had been anticipatory. Now He began to experience pain resulting from His trials and crucifixion. As the faithful Servant of the Lord who came to do His Father's will, His sufferings continued to i...
• Jesus' first appearance before Pilate 15:2-5 (cf. Matt. 27:11-14; Luke 23:1-5; John 18:28-38)
  15:2 Pilate had absolute authority over Jesus' fate under Roman law. Customarily trials such as this one took place in public.375First, the plaintiffs or accusers made their charges against the defendant. Then the prosecutor,...
• Jesus' second appearance before Pilate 15:6-15 (cf. Matt. 27:15-26; Luke 23:13-25; John 18:39-19:16)
  Mark's brief account of Jesus' arraignment and sentencing concentrates on Pilate's offer to release Jesus or Barabbas.15:6 Evidently this custom served to improve relations between the Roman ruler and his subjects. Dictatoria...
• 4. Jesus' first appearance before Pilate 23:1-7 (cf. Matt. 27:2, 11-14; Mark 15:1b-5; John 18:28-38)
  Jesus' trial now moved from its Jewish phase into its Roman phase.497It did not take long for Pilate to determine that Jesus was innocent of any crime worthy of death. Notwithstanding the record stresses how difficult it was ...
• 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' ...
• B. The witness of John the Baptist 1:6-8
  John the Apostle introduced John the Baptist because John the Baptist bore witness to the light, namely Jesus. John the Baptist was both a model evangelist pointing those in darkness to the light and a model witness providing...
• 5. Jesus' triumphal entry 12:12-19 (cf. Matt. 21:1-11; Mark 11:1-11; Luke 19:29-40)
  The importance of this incident in Jesus' ministry is evident from the fact that all four Gospel evangelists recorded it. Matthew and Mark placed this event before Mary's anointing of Jesus in Simon's house (vv. 1-8). However...
• C. Jesus' civil trial 18:28-19:16
  John reported much more about Jesus' trial before Pilate than did any of the other Gospel writers. He omitted referring to Jesus' appearance before Herod Antipas, which only Luke recorded (Luke 23:6-12). He stressed Jesus' au...
• 2. The question of Jesus' kingship 18:33-38a (cf. Matt. 27:11; Mark 15:2; Luke 23:3)
  Having heard the Jews' charges, Pilate returned to the inside of his headquarters and began interrogating Jesus. His questioning centered on the issue of Jesus' kingship.18:33 The Jews' accusations motivated Pilate's question...
• 3. The Jews' request for Barabbas 18:38b-40 (cf. Matt. 27:12-21; Mark 15:3-11; Luke 23:4-19)
  John condensed the scene in which Pilate declared Jesus innocent, the Jews accused Jesus further, Jesus replied nothing, and Pilate marvelled at Jesus' silence (Matt. 27:12-14; Mark 15:3-5; Luke 23:4-6). He simply related Pil...
• 2. The men crucified with Jesus 19:18 (cf. Matt. 27:38; Mark 15:27; Luke 23:33b)
  The horrors and shame of crucifixion are difficult for people who have grown up hearing pleas against "cruel and unusual punishment"to appreciate. It was a deliberately long and painful form of death that humiliated the suffe...
• Ministry in Thessalonica 17:1-9
  17:1 Paul, Silas, Timothy, and perhaps others left Philippi and headed southwest on the Egnatian Road. Luke evidently stayed in Philippi since he again described Paul's party as "they"instead of "we"(cf. 20:5-6). Paul and Sil...
• Paul's defense before Claudius Lysias 22:23-29
  22:23-24 Claudius Lysias could not understand why the Jews reacted as they did. If he did not understand Aramaic, his confusion would have been even greater. He could not tolerate a riot, so he decided to get the truth from P...
• 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) ...
• Lysias' letter to Felix 23:25-30
  23:25 The commander had to send a copy of the background of Paul's case along with Paul himself. Luke wrote that what follows in the text was substantially what the letter contained.23:26 This is the first mention of the comm...
• 1. A positive encouragement 1:12-17
  Paul thanked God for changing him to enable Timothy to appreciate the fact that God can transform even the worst of sinners and enable His saints to accomplish supernatural feats. What precipitated Paul's testimony here was t...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• Art Thou A King?
  Then led they Jesus from Caiaphas unto the hall of judgment: and it was early; and they themselves went not into the judgment hall, lest they should be defiled; but that they might eat the passover. Pilate then went out unto...