Bible Commentaries

Isaiah 35:8-10 — has often been called to the numerous parallels between Isaiah 35 and those found in Isaiah 40-66. The themes shared in common include: (1) the transformation of the desert into a lush oasis at the appearance of God, which appears also in Isa. 41:17-20; 43:19-21; 51:3,10,11; 55:12:13; (2) the coming of God as a source of comfort and strength, found also in Isaiah 40:9-11; Isaiah 52:7-10; (3) the restoration to health of the weak and infirm, appearing again in Isaiah 42:16; Isaiah 61:1; (4) the preparation

Zephaniah 2:11 — will be terrible unto them; for he will famish all the gods of this earth; and men shall worship him, every one from his own place, even all the isles of the nations." Here again, there are Messianic overtones of overwhelming significance. In John 4:23 f, Christ spoke of a time when men would worship neither in Jerusalem nor in Gerizim but, "The true worshippers shall worship him in spirit and in truth." As Gill said, "This was more than an after-thought on Jesus' part. It was the main thrust of

Zechariah 10:4 — "From him shall come forth the corner stone, from him the nail, from him the battle bow, from him every ruler together." This is a dramatic reference to Jesus Christ the Messiah. He is the chief cornerstone (1 Peter 2:3-8); he is the nail, or the tent peg, upon which all depends; he is the battle bow, and from him comes every ruler together. "Every ruler" All earthly authority derives from Christ who told Pilate that he would have no power at all except it had been

Malachi 2:11 — foreign god." "And hath married the daughter of a foreign god" This gives light upon which marriages were forbidden. A great mixed multitude went up out of Egypt, but they were circumcised, and adopted into Judaism by keeping the Passover, etc. (Exodus 12:48, and Numbers 9:14). Ruth was married to Boaz, but that took place after she had rejected the Moabite gods (Ruth 1:16); also, Rahab the harlot was likewise married to a prince of Israel, but after she was committed to the true God. Thus, it was clearly

Malachi 2:8 — the holy obligations cited above had been flagrantly and willfully violated, to the extent that the very covenant itself had been "corrupted." Pusey noted that this means that the priests had "forfeited"E. B. Pusey, Notes on the Minor Prophets, Vol. 2 (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Zondervan Publishing House, 1953), p. 480. the blessings of the covenant; however, it means a lot more than that. "Since a covenant must be observed by both parties, the covenant which should have brought happiness and blessing

Malachi 3:10 — blessing, that there shall not be room enough to receive it." "The whole tithe" As Smith said, "The form… suggests not that the tithe had been allowed to go wholly by default, but that it had not been paid in full."J. M. Powis Smith, op. cit., p. 72. "There shall not be room enough to receive it" This carries the meaning that, "God's gifts will overflow the capacity of his children to receive them."E. B. Pusey, op. cit., p. 493. It will be remembered that in 2 Kings 4:1-7, Elisha aided the widow

Matthew 15:21 — he might have avoided it by calling for the legions of angels. Two reasons for the Lord's conduct attest its honorable nature. These are: (1) It was not yet time for him to die. Too much work remained undone. The disciples were not fully grounded. (2) He was teaching the disciples by this action the necessity for prudence in avoiding always, if possible, unnecessary conflict with the state. It was in line with this policy that Jesus had instructed the Twelve to flee to another city when persecuted

Matthew 2:13-15 — "out of Egypt" when God delivered the chosen race under the leadership of Moses, but it was fulfilled even more gloriously when the Christ returned from his journey in Egypt. Another case of this double fulfillment will be noted in Matthew 2:18. Spoken by the Lord through the prophet … In words like these and also those in Matthew 1:22, one sees the Scriptural affirmation that it was actually GOD who spoke THROUGH the prophets. The prophets were only instruments to convey God's message.

Matthew 20:10 — that vice in these words: For we are not bold to number or compare ourselves with certain of them that commend themselves: but they themselves, measuring themselves by themselves, and comparing themselves with themselves, are without understanding (2 Corinthians 10:12). The workers first employed fell into that same foolish trap. As a result, they developed a conceit that turned to outrage when the householder made them equal to the latecomers.

Matthew 26:30 — account it is learned that several very important discourses were made by Jesus on that same occasion, extending the meeting for a considerable time. John 14—17 records the following as having taken place at that time: (1) the farewell discourse, (2) concerning the Comforter, (3) I am the true vine, (4) Christ's intercessory prayer, and other significant teachings. At least a part of these extended words of Christ might have been, and certainly could have been, spoken on the way to Gethsemane. The

Matthew 5:4 — means. The ministry of grief, mourning, and sorrow as affecting the development of Christian character is set forth in detail in the New Testament. Tribulation results in patience (Romans 5:3-4). It yields the peaceable fruit of righteousness (Hebrews 12:11). Godly sorrow leads to repentance (2 Corinthians 7:10). What a generous and merciful arrangement of Almighty God that even life's sorrows shall bless and reward his servants! "Sweet," indeed, "are the uses of adversity." Why

Matthew 9:1 — boat, and crossed over, and came into his own city. (Matthew 9:1) Christ simply and immediately complied with the request of the citizens of Gadara and shipped immediately to his own city, Capernaum, directly across the lake. This body of water, some 12 or 13 miles in length and only about six miles wide, did not require long to cross. Deductions from this abrupt departure of Jesus are significant: (1) Christ will not force his gospel upon any man or upon any community. (2) The fact that Jesus never

Mark 11:17 — prayer for all the nations? But ye have made it a den of robbers. Here Christ quoted from Isaiah 56:7 and Jeremiah 7:11. For discussion of the messianic implications of what Jesus did in both these cleansings, see comment in my Commentary on John, John 2. What Jesus did in each of these cleansings was to present a dramatic claim upon his own behalf as God's Messenger who had suddenly come to his temple. One may only be amused at a comment like that of Grant who said that "`Den of thieves' …

Mark 13:12-13 — for my name's sake: but he that endureth to the end shall be saved. No one may doubt the literal fulfillment of such familial treachery against the Lord's disciples; for such would naturally have occurred: (1) because of craven hatred of the truth; (2) hope of saving one's own life; or even (3) from hope of sordid gain. And ye shall be hated … As Sanner said, Has our time forgotten the chilling words of Jesus, "Ye shall be hated of all … for my name's sake"? Let a man of God

Mark 14:36 — creation as a prime objective of Satan, reaching all the way back to Eden; and, if Christ's redemptive death had been aborted, absolutely nothing would have stood in the way of Satan's total achievement of his goal. See my Commentary on Hebrews, Hebrews 2:14. Howbeit not what I will, but what thou wilt … At such overwhelming cost to himself, the Lord consented to the Father's will, despite the agony within himself. Here, in the garden, the human nature of our Lord was, for a time, in the ascendancy;

Mark 9:11 — the scribes say that Elijah must first come? Several things of great importance surface in this verse: (1) The three were now fully and completely convinced that Jesus is the Christ, a fact that the scribes had been diligently trying to contradict. (2) The opposition of the scribes had made some headway in the minds of the apostles who were unable to answer their arguments. (3) The apostles here sought the answer that would refute the scribes. (4) The argument of the scribes was based on the final

Luke 1:79 — peace. Darkness and the shadow of death … Here there is a certain reference to salvation for the Gentiles, as more pointedly stated by Matthew, who explained Jesus' residence in Capernaum as a fulfillment of the prophecy of Isaiah (Isaiah 9:1-2), as follows: The land of Zebulun and the land of Naphtali. Toward the sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles. The people that sat in darkness Saw a great light, And to them that sat in the region and shadow of death To them did light spring

1 Corinthians 12:13 — his requirement that people be "born of the water and of the Spirit" (John 3:5 ff). Peter joined them on Pentecost by the command that all people should "repent and be baptized … and … receive the Holy Spirit" (Acts 2:38 ff). There is no doubt whatever that Paul's words here refer to the same twin essentials of the new birth, the same being a prior condition of participation in the body of Christ. In one Spirit … As Kelcy said, `This is actually `by one Spirit,'

2 Timothy 4:8 — is for Paul to receive the crown. Crown of righteousness … Hervey thought the crown of righteousness here means "that crown the possession of which marks the wearer as righteous before God"; A. C. Hervey, The Pulpit Commentary, Vol. 21, 2 Timothy (Grand Rapids, Michigan: Wm. B. Eerdmans Publishing Company, 1950), p. 59. whereas White believed that "it is the crown which belongs to, or is the due reward of, righteousness"; Newport J. D. White, op. cit., p. 178. however,

Hebrews 4:3 — the fact that God was fully prepared to welcome them into such a glorious rest, indeed, had been anticipating it "from the foundation of the world." What is meant by "the foundation of the world"? The words are used in Hebrews 9:26; Matthew 13:35; Matthew 25:34; Luke 11:50; John 17:24; Ephesians 1:4; 1 Peter 1:20; Revelation 13:8; Revelation 17:8 and the message these references carry is that God's plans and purposes for people predate the formation of the world itself. "He