Expository Notes on the Bible (Constable)

• 4. The tabernacle structure ch. 26
  The tabernacle walls consisted of rigid supports with curtains hung over the boards. These draperies also evidently formed its ceiling. Most commentators believe that the tabernacle was a single structure, but a few believe i...
• 2. The second account of God's promises to David chs. 22-27
  In this section of chapters we have David's preparations for the fulfillment of those aspects of the covenant that extended beyond his reign. We can see David's belief that God would fulfill the rest of His promises in the wa...
• III. THE REIGN OF SOLOMON chs. 1--9
  The Chronicler's main interest in David's reign, as we have seen, focused on the Davidic Covenant with its promises to David and his descendants. In recounting the events of Solomon's reign he proceeded to emphasize the templ...
• 3. Solomon's prayer 6:12-42
  In his prayer Solomon explained the significance of God's coming to indwell His temple. God had come to empower, to have fellowship, and to judge if necessary. God was present among His people, and He would hear their prayers...
• The completion of the temple foundation 3:10-13
  The people celebrated God's faithfulness when they had completed phase one of the temple reconstruction."Principles of praise to be gleaned from these verses include the following: (1) Praise is the act of publicly exalting G...
• Types
  The messianic psalms are perhaps the most commonly known type. They predict the coming of a messiah. Franz Delitzsch broke these psalms down into five kinds. The first is the purely prophetic, which predicts that a future Dav...
• 2. The reason for and the results of David's condition 69:5-12
  69:5 David did not pretend to be sinless. However he believed his enemies' present antagonism was not due to sins he had committed.69:6-7 The psalmist did not want others who trusted in God to feel discouraged by the oppositi...
• The basis of acceptance and blessing 56:1-8
  This transitional pericope introduces the problem that the previous sections of the book posed, which I have tried to explain just above. It also begins the explanation of the solution by placing in stark contrast two opposin...
• The assassination of Gedaliah 40:13-41:3
  40:13-14 One of the remaining Judean princes, Johanan (cf. v. 8), asked Gedaliah if he was aware that the king of Ammon had encouraged another one of the Judean princes, Ishmael (cf. v. 8), to assassinate him. Baalis, the Amm...
• 1. The setting of Jesus' ministry 4:12-16
  Comparison of John's Gospel and Matthew's shows that Jesus ministered for about a year before John the Baptist's arrest. John had criticized Herod Antipas for having an adulterous relationship with his brother Philip's wife (...
• 1. The setting of the Sermon on the Mount 5:1-2 (cf. Luke 6:17-19)
  The "multitudes"or "crowds"consisted of the people Matthew just mentioned in 4:23-25. They comprised a larger group than the "disciples."The disciples were not just the Twelve but many others who followed Jesus and sought to ...
• Jesus' feeding of the 5,000 14:13-21 (cf. Mark 6:30-44; Luke 9:10-17; John 6:1-13)
  Matthew's record of this miracle, which all four Gospels contain, stresses Jesus' power to create, His compassion, and the disciples' responsibility to minister to multitudes as Jesus' representatives. It also previews the ki...
• The trial before the Sanhedrin 26:57-68 (cf. Mark 14:53-65; Luke 22:54, 63-65)
  Matthew omitted Jesus' hearing before Annas (John 18:12-14, 19-23). Quite possibly Annas lived in one wing of the same building in which the Sanhedrin met.102826:57 Josephus wrote that the building in which the Sanhedrin norm...
• II. The Servant's early Galilean ministry 1:14--3:6
  Mark omitted Jesus' year of early Judean ministry (John 1:15-4:42), as did the other Synoptic evangelists. He began his account of Jesus' ministry of service in Galilee, northern Israel (1:14-6:6a). Because of increasing oppo...
• 1. The Triumphal Entry 11:1-11 (cf. Matt. 21:1-17; Luke 19:29-44; John 12:12-19)
  This is only the second incident that all four evangelists recorded, the other being the feeding of the 5,000 (cf. 6:30-44). This fact reflects its importance. Mark's account of this event gives much detail indicating its eye...
• The hearing before Caiaphas 14:53-65 (cf. Matt. 26:57-68; Luke 22:54, 63-65; John 18:24)
  14:53 The high priest in view here was Caiaphas. Interestingly Mark never mentioned him by name. He was the high priest that the Romans had appointed in 18 A.D., and he served in this capacity until 36 A.D.This was an unoffic...
• 2. The angel's announcement to Mary 1:28-38
  1:28 The fact that Gabriel greeted Mary as he did and did not greet Zechariah the same way shows Mary's favored position. Gabriel's greeting was customary: Hail! or Greetings! (Gr. chaire). Mary was highly "favored"(Gr. kecha...
• 2. Jesus' cleansing of the temple 19:45-46 (cf. Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17)
  Judgment began when Jesus threw the merchants out of the temple courtyard. Jesus did this twice, once at the beginning of His ministry (John 2:13-22) and here at the end. Luke stressed the temple as a place of prayer. Jesus p...
• 1. The setting and the warning about being misled 21:5-9 (cf. Matt. 24:1-6; Mark 13:1-6)
  21:5 Luke did not mention that Jesus gave this teaching on Mt. Olivet exclusively to His disciples (Matt. 24:1-4; Mark 13:1-5). His omission of these facts created continuity in his narrative and connected this discourse with...
• 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' ...
• II. Jesus' public ministry 1:19--12:50
  The first part of the body of John's Gospel records Jesus' public ministry to the multitudes in Palestine who were primarily Jewish. Some writers have called this section of the Gospel "the book of signs"because it features s...
• 1. John the Baptist's veiled testimony to Jesus 1:19-28
  The writer recorded John the Baptist's witness to Jesus' identity as preparation for his narration of Jesus' public ministry. He was the first of the Apostle John's witnesses to the Incarnation.Previously the writer had menti...
• 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 first cleansing of the temple 2:13-22
  The Synoptics record Jesus' cleansing of the temple after His triumphal entry (Matt. 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-16; Luke 19:45-46). Only John noted this cleansing of the temple at the beginning of Jesus' ministry. The differences b...
• 2. Initial response to Jesus in Jerusalem 2:23-25
  John included another summary of Jesus' activities (cf. v. 12). It enables the reader to gain a more balanced picture of popular reaction to Jesus than the preceding incident might suggest.2:23 Jesus did many signs (significa...
• 3. Jesus' conversation with Nicodemus 3:1-21
  John now presented evidence that Jesus knew people as no others did and that many believed in His name (2:23). This constitutes further witness that He is the Son of God. John summarized several conversations that Jesus had w...
• 4. John the Baptist's reaction to Jesus' ministry 3:22-30
  The writer next noted the parallel ministries of John the Baptist and Jesus in Judea. John the Baptist readily confessed Jesus' superiority to him even though they were both doing the same things. This was further testimony t...
• 5. The explanation of Jesus' preeminence 3:31-36
  This pericope explains why Jesus must become greater. It also unites several themes that appear through chapter 3. John the Apostle or John the Baptist may be the speaker. This is not entirely clear.3:31-32 The incarnate Son ...
• 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...
• 3. The response to Jesus in Samaria 4:39-42
  The response of the Samaritans to Jesus was considerably more positive than the response of the Jews had been (1:11; 2:23-25). This would prove true as Jesus' ministry continued to progress.4:39 Harvesting followed the arriva...
• 1. Jesus' return to Galilee 4:43-45
  John again bridged the gap between important events in his narrative with a transitional explanation of how Jesus moved from one site to another (cf. 2:12; 4:1-3). John typically focused on clusters of events in Jesus' minist...
• 2. The second sign: healing the official's son 4:46-54
  This incident completes a cycle in John's Gospel. Jesus performed His first sign in Cana (2:1), and now He returned and did another miracle there (v. 46). There is even a second reference to Capernaum (2:12; 4:46). John's acc...
• 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...
• 1. The third sign: healing the paralytic 5:1-9
  This third sign in John's Gospel signaled Jesus' identity and created controversy that followed. Particularly it testified to Jesus' authority over time.2095:1 Some time later Jesus returned to Jerusalem to celebrate one of t...
• 4. The Father's witness to the Son 5:30-47
  Jesus now returned to develop a theme that He had introduced previously, namely the Father's testimony to the Son (vv. 19-20). Jesus proceeded to cite five witnesses to His identity, all of which came from the Father, since t...
• 1. The fourth sign: feeding the 5,000 6:1-15 (cf. Matt. 14:13-23; Mark 6:30-46; Luke 9:10-17)
  The importance of this sign is clear in that all four Gospels contain an account of it. Apparently John was familiar with the other evangelists' versions of this miracle as well as being an eyewitness of the event. His story ...
• Jesus' identity as the Bread of Life 6:41-51
  Jesus' claim to be the Bread of Life that had come down from heaven was something His hearers found hard to accept. Consequently Jesus clarified what He meant further.6:41-42 Some of Jesus' hearers had known Him all His life....
• 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 response of the Jews 7:1-9
  "John 7 has three time divisions: before the feast (vv. 1-10), in the midst of the feast (vv. 11-36), and on the last day of the feast (vv. 37-52). The responses during each of those periods can be characterized by three word...
• Jesus' origin and destiny 7:25-36
  7:25-26 Though many of the Jewish pilgrims in the temple courtyard did not realize how antagonistic the religious leaders were to Jesus (v. 20), some of the locals did. They marvelled that Jesus was speaking out publicly and ...
• 4. The woman caught in adultery 7:53-8:11
  The textual authenticity of this pericope is highly questionable. Most ancient Greek manuscripts dating before the sixth century do not contain it. However, over 900 ancient manuscripts do contain it including the important e...
• 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 challenge to professing believers 8:31-47
  Jesus next addressed those in His audience who had expressed some faith Him (v. 30).8:31 The mark of a true disciple is continuation in the instructions of his or her teacher. A disciple is by definition a learner, not necess...
• The violent response of Jesus' critics 8:48-59
  8:48 Since the Jews could not refute Jesus' challenge they resorted to verbal abuse (cf. 7:52). Perhaps they called Him a Samaritan because He had questioned their ties to Abraham. This may have been a Samaritan attack agains...
• Jesus' withdrawal from Jerusalem 10:40-42
  10:40 John presented Jesus' departure from Jerusalem as the result of official rejection of Him. The event had symbolic significance that the evangelist probably intended. Jesus withdrew the opportunity for salvation from the...
• Lazarus' death 11:1-16
  In this pericope John stressed Jesus' deliberate purpose in allowing Lazarus to die and the reality of his death.11:1-2 "Lazarus"probably is a variant of "Eleazar"meaning "God helps."379The Synoptic writers did not mention hi...
• The popular response 11:45-46
  Even this most powerful miracle failed to convince many that Jesus was God's Son. Many who had come to console Mary believed on Him, but the depth of their faith undoubtedly varied. A faith based on miracles is not the highes...
• The official response 11:47-53
  The raising of Lazarus convinced Israel's leaders that they had to take more drastic action against Jesus. John recorded this decision as the high point of Israel's official rejection of God's Son so far. This decision led di...
• Jesus' reaction 11:54-57
  This pericope summarizes the situation at this stage of Jesus' ministry. The leaders had determined to kill Him, and Jesus withdrew to the town of Ephraim.11:54 Jesus may have learned of the Sanhedrin's decision from a sympat...
• 3. Mary's anointing of Jesus 12:1-8 (cf. Matt. 26:6-13; Mark 14:3-9)
  In contrast to the hatred that the religious leaders manifested stands the love that Mary demonstrated toward the One she had come to believe in. Her act of sacrificial devotion is a model for all true disciples. This is the ...
• 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...
• The kernel of wheat teaching 12:20-26
  12:20 The New Testament writers frequently referred to any Gentiles who came from the Greek-speaking world as Greeks (cf. 7:35; et al.). We do not know where the Gentiles in this incident came from. They could have lived in o...
• 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...
• 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...
• 1. Jesus' requests for Himself 17:1-5
  17:1 "These things Jesus spoke"(NASB, Gr. tauta elalesen Iesous) clearly connects what follows with what Jesus had just been saying (cf. 14:25; 16:1, 4, 25, 33). Lifting up the eyes to heaven indicated prayer, as did Jesus' w...
• 5. Jesus' provision for His mother 19:25-27
  John is the only evangelist who recorded this incident.19:25 The four women standing nearby contrast with the four soldiers.593While the soldiers behaved callously and profited immediately from Jesus' death, the women waited ...
• 6. The death of Jesus 19:28-30 (cf. Matt. 27:48-50; Mark 15:36-37; Luke 23:46)
  John did not mention the darkness that came over the land as the other evangelists did (cf. Matt. 27:45; Mark 15:33; Luke 23:44-45). This is noteworthy in view of John's interest in the light and darkness motif. Perhaps he di...
• 1. The discovery of Peter and John 20:1-9 (cf. Matt. 28:1-8; Mark 16:1-8; Luke 24:1-8)
  John omitted the earthquake, the angel rolling away the stone that covered the tomb entrance, and his sitting on the stone (Matt. 28:2-3). He also did not include the appearance of two angels to the women who visited the tomb...
• 2. The discovery of Mary Magdalene 20:10-18 (cf. Mark 16:9-11)
  This is the first of four of Jesus' post-resurrection appearances that John included in his Gospel.Jesus' Post-resurrection Appearances627Easter morningto Mary Magdalene (Mark 16:9-11; John 20:10-18)to other women (Matt. 28:9...
• 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...
• A. Jesus' appearance to seven disciples in Galilee 21:1-14
  21:1 John recorded still another post-resurrection appearance of Jesus to His disciples. It undoubtedly occurred during the 32-day period between Thomas' confession (20:28) and Jesus' ascension (Acts 1:9). Exactly when is uni...
• 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...
• The choice of Matthias 1:15-26
  1:15 In view of Peter's leadership gifts, so obvious in the Gospels, it is no surprise that he is the one who took the initiative on this occasion."Undoubtedly, the key disciple in Luke's writings is Peter. He was the represe...
• 1. Stephen's arrest 6:8-7:1
  6:8 Stephen was full of grace (cf. cf. 4:33; Luke 4:22) and power (cf. 2:22; 4:33) as well as the Holy Spirit (vv. 3, 5), wisdom (v. 3), and faith (v. 5). His ability to perform miracles seems unrelated to his having been app...
• The folly of a crucified Messiah 1:18-25
  "This paragraph is crucial not only to the present argument (1:10-4:21) but to the entire letter as well. Indeed, it is one of the truly great moments in the apostle Paul. Here he argues, with OT support, that what God had al...
• 1. Reply to the charge of cowardice 10:1-6
  10:1-2 Paul may have identified himself by name here so his readers would have no doubt that what he proceeded to say indeed came from him. He began by gently asking his readers to respond to his appeal to submit to his apost...
• The new man 4:20-32
  Paul turned from how not to walk to the positive responsibility Christians have to live in holiness.4:20 In contrast to unsaved Gentiles, Christians' minds are no longer dark, they are no longer aliens from God, and their hea...
• The example of Christ 2:5-11
  This paragraph is the most important one in the epistle and the most difficult to interpret."By anyone's reckoning, 2:6-11 constitutes the single most significant block of material in Philippians."582:5 Paul introduced an ill...
• 1. Renouncing sin 1:8-2:2
  John continued a structural pattern that he established in the previous section (vv. 6-7) in which he used pairs of clauses to present a false assertion followed by his correction.1:8 This second claim (cf. v. 6) is more seri...
• 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 ...

Expositions Of Holy Scripture (Maclaren)

• II. The Startling New Revelation Of The Suffering Messiah.
  The second section (Matt. 16:21-23) contains the startling new revelation of the suffering Messiah, and the disciples' repugnance to it. The Gospel has two parts; Jesus is the Christ, and the Christ must suffer and enter into...
• Jesus The Joy-Bringer
  And the third day there was a marriage in Cana of Galilee; and the mother of Jesus was there: 2. And both Jesus was called, and His disciples, to the marriage. 3. And when they wanted wine, the mother of Jesus saith unto Him,...
• The First Miracle In Cana--The Water Made Wine
  This beginning of miracles did Jesus in Cana of Galilee. and manifested forth His glory.'--John 2:11.THE keynote of this Gospel was struck in the earlier verses of the first chapter in the great words, The Word was made flesh...
• Christ Cleansing The Temple
  Take these things hence; make not My Father's house an house of merchandise.'--John 2:16.THE other Evangelists do not record this cleansing of the Temple at the beginning of Christ's ministry, but, as we all know, tell of a s...
• The Destroyers And The Restorer
  Jesus answered and said unto them, Destroy this Temple, and in three days I will raise it up.'--John 2:19.This is our Lord's answer to the Jewish request for a sign which should warrant His action in cleansing the Temple. The...
• I. First, Then, We Have Here Our Lord Lamenting Over An Ignorant And Sensuous Faith.
  At first sight His words, in response to the hurried, eager appeal of the father, seem to be strangely unfeeling, far away from the matter in hand. Think of how breathlessly, feeling that not an instant is to be lost, the poo...