Bible Commentaries

Mark 13:10 — And the gospel must first be preached unto all the nations. (1)    The primary fulfillment of this was in the apostolic age, whereof Paul affirmed that it had indeed been done (Colossians 1:23), and that well ahead of the destruction of Jerusalem and the temple. (2)    the secondary fulfillment will take place before the Second Advent of Christ. As Crain accurately declared: The meaning of this verse is that it is part

Mark 13:20 — Elwood Sanner, op. cit., p. 384. Some of the events that might have entered into their breaking off of the Jewish war without the total destruction of the whole nation were: (1) disturbances in Gaul that interfered with the campaign of Vespasian; (2) the death of Nero plunged Rome into civil war as Otho and Vitellius each sought to be emperor; (3) Vespasian was declared emperor by his soldiers, their verdict being final, due to the might of the military; (4) Vespasian returned to Rome as emperor,

Mark 13:25 — "stars cannot fall," it need only be remarked that if our earth was suddenly blasted out of its orbit, they would certainly appear to fall. Moreover God has promised a second time to "shake" this earth in the sense of removing it (Hebrews 12:26). We should believe God's promise and construe the words here as a reference to cataclysmic future events incapable of description by finite men. In this connection, see 2 Peter 3:8-13. Bickersteth's comment is pertinent: The powers may here mean

Mark 15:16 — call together the whole band. THE MOCKERY The mockery about to begin was not the only mockery of Jesus, there being in fact no less than six, as pointed out by Major: The Evangelists record six mockings of Jesus by: (1) the High Priest's servants; (2) Herod Antipas and his soldiers; (3) the soldiers of the Roman garrison; (4) the general public; (5) priests and scribes; and (6) the two crucified brigands.H. D. A. Major, The Gospel according to St. Mark (New York: E. P. Dutton and Company, 1939),

Luke 1:66 — of this one whom God has chosen as herald of the Redeemer. For the hand of the Lord was with him … This verse is a projection of the attitude in that community as it extended for years after the events narrated. Along with Luke 1:80, and Luke 2:52, this is a typically Lukan style. This clause is an anthropomorphic metaphor such as abounds in the Old Testament. The "feet" of God (Exodus 24:10), the "finger" of God (Exodus 31:18), the "eyes" of God (Deuteronomy

Luke 1:80 — And the child grew and waxed strong in spirit, and was in the deserts till the day of his showing unto Israel. Like a similar statement in Luke 2:52, this compresses thirty years of John's life into one sentence. A comparison of the two reveals some significant differences, there being no hint here that John increased in favor "with men." The strong, rugged, ascetic character of the

Luke 18:1 — THE PARABLE OF THE UNJUST JUDGE And he spake a parable unto them to the end that they ought always to pray, and not to faint. Dummelow listed the lessons from this parable, thus: (1) The duty of continual prayer; (2) the answer to prayer, persisted in, is certain; (3) in the end, God will maintain the cause of his elect against their adversaries; and (4) a warning against the failure of faith in times of seeming abandonment by God.J. R. Dummelow, Commentary on

Luke 22:52-53 — of Nisan 14. It was therefore the night before, on Nisan 13 (technically the 14th) that this arrest occurred. Had it been Nisan 14th after sundown, it would have been technically Nisan 15th, the night of the Passover meal. See chronology under Luke 22:2.

Luke 24:44 — three divisions Jesus here mentioned, the same being the ones recognized by the Jews. This gives a clue to the inspired reckoning of the divisions of the Bible. See article, "The Golden Candlestick," in my Commentary on Hebrews, Hebrews 9:2. The divisions of the Old Testament are: the Law, the Psalms, and the Prophets, as here; and in the New Testament, four divisions, the Gospels (which are central to the whole Bible), the Acts, the Epistles and the Revelation, thus making seven divisions

Luke 8:45-46 — me. Who touched me …? Here, to be sure, are the grounds of cavil. Did not Christ know all things? Why the perplexity here? Of course, there was no perplexity. Mark said, "He looked round to see her that had done this thing" (Mark 5:32); and it is certain that Jesus knew, not merely that some woman had touched him, but which woman had done so, as well. As Trench observed: Elisha said, "Whence cometh thou, Gehazi?" (2 Kings 5:25); and God said, "Adam, where art thou?"

John 11:57 — Christ but entertained the design secretly; but now they issued what amounted to an order of arrest. It was, however, a very unpopular decision, as attested by: (1) the events of the next chapter wherein a great company made a feast in Jesus' honor, and (2) the revelation that the Sanhedrin, for fear of public opposition, decided to delay killing Jesus until after the Passover (Matthew 26:1-3), and (3) their decision to assassinate Jesus privately rather than risk a public execution. In the latter two

John 15:6 — as to be lost. Both the precept and the example are here. Judas, at first a true apostle, did not abide in Christ and was cast forth as a branch. Salvation for every man ever born turns upon just two questions: (1) is he "in Christ"? and (2) does he remain "in Christ"? Given an affirmative answer to those two key questions, a man's salvation is absolutely secure. There is no way to be lost if one, "being in Christ." remains "in him" until probation is ended.

John 4:28-29 — … With these same words, Philip persuaded Nathaniel (John 1:46); and with the same Jesus invited the disciples to his abode (John 1:39); and, with the same words, an angel of heaven said, "Come see the place where the Lord lay" (Matt. 2:8:6). That phenomenon which is Jesus Christ our Lord needs only to be observed to be believed; and the apostle who wrote this gospel retained that truth in focus throughout. Can this be the Christ …? There is no reason to suppose that this woman

John 5:30 — true. Here Jesus changed his approach to the closed minds of the priests, still trying to induce them to believe. I can of myself do nothing … These words have a double application: (1) I see that nothing I can say will have any weight with you, and (2) my signs should be interpreted by you as revealing that myself alone, apart from God, could never have done such a thing as cure the invalid. My judgment is righteous … is the equivalent of "My witness of myself is absolutely true, because

Acts 11:2 — views before the conversion of Cornelius were those of practically the whole church at that time. Furthermore, as Benson noted, "Even afterward, on one occasion, Peter withdrew himself from the believing Gentiles, for fear of the Jews (Galatians 2:12). Joseph Benson, One Volume New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1972), in loco. Contended with him … Alexander Campbell translated this place, "Disputed with him," declaring that this "is more

Acts 16:3 — over that issue wherever possible; and therefore, purely as a matter of expediency, Paul met it by the circumcision of Timothy. Those who have accused Paul of inconsistency in this, in the light of his adamant refusal to circumcise Titus (Galatians 2:3), have failed to discern the essential differences in the two situations. Titus, a Greek (thought by some to be Luke's brother), had no Jewish connection whatever; and there could have been no excuse at all for circumcising him, except, as the Pharisee

Acts 20:9 — him," just as Jesus said, "The maid is not dead, but sleepeth," and "Our friend Lazarus is asleep." Paul fell on him in a manner suggesting the action taken by Elijah and Elisha when raising the dead in the Old Testament (1 Kings 17:21; 2 Kings 4:34 f). It is impossible to believe that if Eutychus was not actually dead, that his loved ones, friends, and other members of the congregation would not have appealed to the physician Luke. As a matter of fact, they did; for nobody in similar

Romans 1:3 — the very first verse of the New Testament hailing him as "the Son of David." However, it was only the humanity of Jesus that descended through David. In his totality, Christ descended from no man but was co-existent with the Father. Hebrews 2:14-16 plainly declares that Christ "take hold of" the seed of Abraham, thus affirming that he had an existence before assuming a human body.

Romans 14:14 — I know and am persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean of itself: save to him who accounteth anything to be unclean, to him it is unclean. See under Romans 14:2 and Romans 14:5, regarding clean meats and the power of conscience to make even an innocent action wrong. Paul did not here place himself upon either side of such a question and refrained utterly from making it a matter of faith. It was all a question

Romans 4:22 — and took the knife to slay his son. And the angel of the Lord called to him out of heaven, and said … Lay not thine hand upon the lad; for now I know that thou fearest God, seeing thou hast not withheld thy son, thine only son from me (Genesis 22:11-12). The inspired author James categorically stated that the justification of Abraham occurred "WHEN he brought up Isaac his son to the altar" (James 2:21). From the Emphatic Diaglot. Paul revealed that Abraham's faith justified him, without