Bible Commentaries

Luke 16:25 — the rich man's being one of the patriarch's fleshly descendants. This circumstance makes it easy to identify the class of men represented by the rich man. Who but the Pharisees were always proclaiming their rights as children of Abraham (see Matthew 3:8; John 8:37-44, etc.)? Mere fleshly descent was exposed in this parable as having no value in the sight of God. Good things … evil things … They are wrong who try to make this parable teach that mere wealth is sinful and mere poverty

Luke 21:21-22 — of the Sea of Galilee. Pella was one of the Greek towns of the Decapolis, and there the Christians remained free from the Roman warfare and Jewish persecution.Eusebius, the ancient church historian, was thus quoted by Norval Geldenhuys, op. cit., p. 535. All things that are written may be fulfilled … The great chapter of Deuteronomy 28:15-68 is surely included in this. Almost no form of calamity which was visited upon the Jews during the Roman war was left unmentioned in this chapter; but

John 17:11 — Father" (John 17:25). Keep them in thy name … There is no way to avoid respect of the importance attached to the sacred name of "Jesus Christ," and it is likely that here is a reference to that compound title introduced in John 17:3. Let men face it, salvation is accomplished in an all-powerful name, a fact which the apostles strongly emphasized. "Neither is there any other name under heaven, that is given among men, wherein we must be saved" (Acts 4:12). Immediately

John 18:1 — margin), meaning that it was dry most of the year. It flowed by the southeast wall of the city, and between it and the Mount of Olives. William Hendriksen, Exposition of the Gospel according to John (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Baker Book House, 1961), II, p. 375. It was down this little valley that David fled from the rebellion of his son Absalom (2 Samuel 15:23); here Asa burned the abominable image (1 Kings 15:3); and near here, Josiah caused the idolatrous vessels to be burned (2 Kings 23:4). In the reign

John 4:46 — noted repeatedly, this is the second sign only in the sense of being the second recorded by John. See under preceding verses. The identity of this person is not known. Some have supposed that he might have been Chuza, the steward of King Herod (Luke 8:3), or Manaen (Acts 13:1), the king's foster-brother; but these are just guesses. Not even the title "nobleman" is certainly understood. Trench said, "The precise meaning of `nobleman' can never be exactly fixed … Either he is one

John 5:14 — all human sorrows and sufferings, even death itself, head up at last in the fountainhead of the sin of Adam. This is far from teaching that all sickness or suffering is specifically related to the sin of the sufferer. Jesus himself stressed (John 9:3) that the blindness of the man he healed was not related to either his or his parents' sins. Nevertheless, an incredible amount of the world's woe is merely the sins af men returned at last upon their own heads. Trench expressed it thus: As some eagle

Acts 10:36 — Die Bekehrung des Cornelius (Gottingen, 1951), p. 97. There can be no way of viewing this as "such a long speech"; such a criticism exposing the bias and unreliability of the criticism. The same author declared that, "Except for Acts 10:34-35, there is nothing in the present speech relevant to the special question of Gentile evangelization." Ibid. But that remark is an unbelievable affirmation that (1) the lordship of Jesus Christ, (2) the mighty works of the Master, (3) the death,

Acts 26:10 — approved." "The Greek here means, `I cast down my pebble,' … They literally cast their pebbles into the urn, white for acquittal, black for condemnation." H. Leo Boles, Commentary on the Acts (Nashville: The Gospel Advocate Company, 1953), p. 402. Despite the fact of Barnes and others denying that Paul was a member of the Sanhedrin, Albert Barnes, op. cit., p. 350. strong agreement is felt here with Boles, Hervey and Dummelow who declared that this clause is equivalent to: "I was

Romans 12:4-5 — the same view of the body of Christ that Paul outlined in 1 Corinthians 12 th chapter, where it is declared that there "is but one body." All Christians are part of the same entity. (See article "Christ Incorporated" under Romans 3:24.) Since Christians are all members of one body and therefore intimately joined in one communion and fellowship with each other, the savage competition for honors and preferments should give place to loving concern on the part of every member for

Romans 14:13 — or an occasion of falling. Paul here included himself, not as a confession of guilt in the matter of the judgments he was condemning, but in order to make a more delicate and persuasive appeal to his readers (just as he doubtless did in Hebrews 2:1-3); but, as noted by Lenski, Exhortations against wrong are in place for all of us, if for no other reason, then at least that we may keep on avoiding wrong. R. C. H. Lenski, loc. cit. Lenski also has a very dramatic translation of this verse, thus: But

Romans 15:15 — to refresh their memory of those things. The same device was employed by Peter who wrote: This is now, beloved, the second epistle that I have written unto you and in both of them I stir up your pure mind by putting you in remembrance, etc. (2 Peter 3:1 f). In some measure … is capable of two meanings: (1) that of declaring such portions of the epistle as that dealing with weak brethren (14:1-15:15) were bold, and (2) that of suggesting that he had boldly gone beyond the information they already

Romans 15:24 — Christians of Ephesus, for example, when Paul was about to leave, fell on Paul's neck and kissed him, sorrowing most of all for the word which he had spoken, that they should behold his face no more. And they brought him on his way to the ship (Acts 20:37-38). For other examples of this same custom, see 1 Corinthians 16:6; Acts 15:3; and 2 Corinthians 1:16. In some measure … satisfied with your company … does not imply any limitation of the intensity of Paul's anticipated pleasure of seeing

Romans 15:32-33 — another doxology, among many in this epistle; and a doxology differs from a prayer in three important particulars: (1) it is addressed to people, and not to God; (2) it does not contain or advocate any request or petition for the forgiveness of sins; and (3) it is not offered in the name of the Lord Jesus Christ.

Romans 16:22 — 6:11). We are indebted to Hodge for this: In order to authenticate his epistles, he generally wrote himself the salutation or benediction at the close; 1 Corinthians 16:21, "The salutation of me, Paul, with mine own hand"; 2 Thessalonians 3:17, "The salutation of Paul with mine own hand; which is the token in every epistle: so I write." Charles Hodge, loc. cit. Tertius was a Christian, and Paul honored him by asking that he write his own salutation to the brethren in Rome, which

Romans 7:13 — interest in psychology! Paul simply states that sin led to death — the doom of creation separated from the Creator; and that this happened that sin might stand out in its true colors. The serpent had promised Eve that men should be as God (Genesis 3:5); but the rebellion begun with the highest conceivable hope ended in condemnation and death. Sin might appear as human progress, or in any other attractive guise; but death proved it to be nothing but sin. The most damning feature of its disclosure

1 Corinthians 10:8 — Neither let us commit fornication, as some of them committed, and fell in one day three and twenty thousand. Notice the list of sins: (1) we should not lust after evil things; (2) neither be idolaters; (3) neither let us commit fornication. The whole sequence was the normal procedure in idol worship. In one day three and twenty thousand … Numbers 25:9 gives the number who fell as 24,000; and many have been perplexed by this, even Lipscomb saying,

1 Corinthians 11:30 — likely is that Paul was speaking of those who had become spiritually weak and sickly, some no doubt having perished spiritually. If that was meant, then the condition of those asleep was terminal and irrevocable, being the same as that evident in Mark 3:29; Hebrews 6:6; 1 Timothy 5:6; 2 Peter 2:20; 1 John 5:16; 1 Thessalonians 5:19. For a dissertation on the unpardonable sin, see my Commentary on Mark, pp. 65-67. The condition of those asleep was no different from that of Ananias and Sapphira; and

1 Corinthians 15:3 — scriptures. First of all … This means "First in importance, not in time, the doctrine of the resurrection being primary, cardinal, central and indispensable." David Lipscomb, Commentary on First Corinthians (Nashville: Gospel Advocate Company, 1935), p. 221. That which I also received … Wesley was no doubt correct in the conviction that this meant "I received from Christ himself; it was not a fiction of my own." John Wesley, One Volume New Testament Commentary (Grand Rapids,

1 Corinthians 15:7-8 — Jesus risen from the dead, and that Jesus, appearing to him, said, "My brother, eat thy bread, for the Son of man is risen from the dead." Jerome as quoted by Farrar, op. cit., p. 484. Jesus' brothers did not, at first, believe in him (John 7:3). Last of all … does not mean that Jesus appeared to no other afterward, because he also appeared to John at a much later time (Revelation 1:16 ff). It has the meaning of "last in this list which I am giving." Untimely born …

1 Corinthians 2:8 — of the temple, the promised Messiah, a holy and righteous prophet of God, and also the undisputed heir to the throne of David. What they did not know was that the "fullness of the Godhead" dwelt in him bodily (Colossians 2:9). In Matthew 21:38, the Jewish leaders, under the figure of wicked husbandmen, said, "This is the heir; come, let us kill him, and take his inheritance." Had the human wisdom of the world's leaders been capable of recognizing God in Christ, they would not have