Bible Commentaries

Jeremiah 1:19 — Judah would fight him and try to destroy him, but the Lord promised again to be with Jeremiah and to protect his life (cf. Jeremiah 1:8). The Lord would "rescue" him, as He had rescued the Israelites in the Exodus (cf. Exodus 3:8; Exodus 18:4; Exodus 18:8-10; et al.). ". . . if you are a Christian looking for an easy ministry in a post-Christian culture where Christians are a minority, you are unrealistic in your outlook. It was not to be so in Jeremiah’s day, and it cannot be

Ezekiel 4:6-7 — After the 390 days had expired, he was to lie on his right side for an additional 40 days. This was to represent the number of additional years the Southern Kingdom of Judah would have to suffer punishment for her sins. He was to face Jerusalem with his arm bared signifying Yahweh’s hostility toward His people. The prophesying

Ezekiel 44:3 — A prince (king) who would rule over the Israelites would sit in this gate complex and eat sacrifices to the Lord there (cf. Ezekiel 34:24; Ezekiel 37:25; Ezekiel 46:2; Ezekiel 46:8-10). Jesus Christ will be the King of Kings. He will rule over many kings including this king (prince). The city gate was a place of civil and judicial business in the ancient world (cf. Ruth 4:1-11). It

Zechariah 3:8 — The Lord also said that He planned to bring into the picture His Servant, the Branch. This is a double title of Messiah (cf. Zechariah 6:12; Psalms 132:17; Isaiah 11:1; Isaiah 53:2; Jeremiah 23:5; Jeremiah 33:15). As Yahweh’s servant (Isaiah 42:1; Isaiah 49:3; Isaiah 49:5; Isaiah 52:13; Isaiah 53:11; Ezekiel 34:23-24), Messiah would come into the world to do His Father’s will, including redeeming, cleansing, and restoring Israel to God’s intended place for her. "As Branch,

Zechariah 4:14 — leadership the Lord would restore agricultural prosperity to the land (see Zechariah 3:10, as well as Haggai 2:19). These ’sons of oil’ were, of course, the high priest Joshua and the governor Zerubbabel (see Zechariah 3:1-10; Zechariah 4:7-10; Zechariah 6:9-15)." [Note: Chisholm, Handbook on . . ., p. 462.] Nevertheless, the earlier reference to the Spirit’s enablement (Zechariah 4:6) presents these "sons of oil" as empowered by Him. [Note: For an edifying explanation

Matthew 15:34-39 — Matthew wrote that this time the disciples gathered the remaining scraps in a different type of basket. The Greek word spyridas describes baskets made of rushes that the Gentiles used to carry fish and other food (cf. Acts 9:25). In Matthew 14:20 the disciples used kophinous, baskets the Jews used to carry kosher food, at least in Rome. [Note: A. E. J. Rawlinson, The Gospel According to St. Mark, p. 87.] This is another clue that the audience here was mainly Gentile. Possibly there is some

Matthew 26:39 — Jesus’ prostrate posture reflected the intense anguish He felt. He addressed God as "My Father" (cf. Matthew 6:9). This title stresses the intimacy that Jesus felt with God (cf. Mark 14:36). This is the only time, according to the Gospels, that Jesus addressed God this way. In view of the limits that His incarnation involved, Jesus may not have known if another way to provide redemption existed (cf. Matthew 24:36), though this seems

Matthew 27:54 — themselves Gentiles, they attest in this way as well that the time for embarking upon the universal mission is at hand." [Note: Kingsbury, Matthew as . . ., p. 90.] Other confessions that Jesus is God’s Son appear in Matthew 3:17; Matthew 4:3; Matthew 4:6; Matthew 8:29; Matthew 11:25-27; Matthew 14:33; Matthew 16:16; Matthew 17:5; Matthew 21:37-39; Matthew 22:42-45; and Matthew 24:36.

Matthew 5:14-16 — Light is a common symbol in the Bible. It represents purity, truth, knowledge, divine revelation, and God’s presence all in contrast to their opposites. The Israelites thought of themselves as lights in a dark world (Isaiah 42:6; Romans 2:19). However the Old Testament spoke of Messiah as the true light of the world (Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:6; cf. Matthew 4:16; John 8:12; John 9:5; John 12:35; 1 John 1:7). Jesus’ disciples are lights in the derived sense, as the moon

Luke 5:10-11 — sinners who feel conviction because of their sin. He draws them to Himself and sends them out to serve Him. Jesus used the fish to represent people that Peter would draw into the kingdom of God and before that into the church (cf. Acts 2; Acts 10:9-48). This seems to be a reference to catching in the sense of saving rather than in the sense of judging and destroying. "Fishermen caught live fish to kill them, but the disciples would be catching people who were dead to give them life." [Note:

Luke 6:20 — 6:13-19). "Blessed" (Gr. makarios) in this context describes the happy condition of someone whom God has blessed with His special favor. [Note: See Theological Dictionary of the New Testament, s.v. "makarios," by F. Hauck and G. Bertram, 4:362-70.] Luke’s original Greek readers would have been familiar with the word. "Originally in Greek usage the word described the happy estate of the gods above earthly sufferings and labors." [Note: Martin, p. 220.] Poor disciples are

Acts 9:1-2 — undoubtedly believed that he was following in the train of other zealous Israelites who had purged idolatry from Israel (e.g., Moses in Numbers 25:1-5; Phinehas in Numbers 25:6-15; Elijah in 1 Kings 18; Mattathias in 1 Maccabees 2:23-28; 1 Maccabees 2:42-48). "Saul never forgave himself for that. God forgave him; the Christians forgave him; but he never forgave himself . . . 1 Corinthians 15:9[;] Galatians 1:13." [Note: Ironside, Lectures on . . ., pp. 203-4.] The King of

Romans 6:3-4 — Christ Jesus in his." [Note: G. R. Beasley-Murray, Baptism in the New Testament, p. 130.] ". . . baptism is introduced not to explain how we were buried with Christ but to demonstrate that we were buried with Christ." [Note: Moo, p. 364. See his excursus on Paul’s "with Christ" concept on pages 391-95.] "From this and other references to baptism in Paul’s writings, it is plain that he did not regard baptism as an ’optional extra’ in the Christian

Colossians 1:27 — That God would save Gentiles was no new revelation (e.g., Isaiah 49:6), but that He would dwell in them and deal with them on the same basis as He did Jews was new revelation. Those who rejected this revelation insisted that Gentiles had to become Jews before they could become Christians (cf. Acts 15:1). "At least

Colossians 3:5 — old stock that may appear. So, in the believer’s life, since he has now been grafted into the Last Adam and His new life, he must by the Spirit put to death any products of the old life that may appear (cf. Romans 8:13)." [Note: Johnson, 481:24.] Paul’s first list deals with sexual practices. Lists of virtues and vices were common in the ethical systems of the ancient world, and the imagery of putting off and on was also well-known. [Note: Dunn, p. 211; O’Brien, Colossians

1 Thessalonians 5:23 — utilizes two optative verbs, asking that God ’may . . . sanctify’ the Thessalonians and that they ’may . . . be kept blameless.’ The prayer for sanctification reminds the readers of the exhortations in chaps. 4-5. In fact, the call for sanctification brackets these final two chapters. Chapter 4 begins with an exhortation to the people to lead sanctified lives (1 Thessalonians 5:3-8), and chap. 5 ends with a prayer that God would sanctify his people (1 Thessalonians

2 Timothy 1:6 — altar of your heart.’ Anyone who has tended a fireplace fire knows that it needs to be stirred up occasionally." [Note: Earle, p. 395.] Timothy may have received special abilities from the Lord through Paul at his ordination (cf. 1 Timothy 4:14). The bestowal of these may have been a unique apostolic ministry that ceased with that office (Ephesians 2:20; Hebrews 2:3-4). "Every Christian minister needs at times to return to the inspiration of his ordination, to be reminded not only

Philemon 1:25 — forgive Onesimus? We have no direct record of his response to this letter. However the fact that Philemon preserved this epistle and allowed it to circulate among the churches strongly suggests that he did behave as Paul had requested. In Colossians 4:9 Paul referred to Onesimus as "our faithful and beloved brother, who is one of your number," which would have encouraged reception of him in Colossae. According to Christian tradition Onesimus later became bishop of Ephesus. [Note: O’Brien,

Hebrews 3:7-11 — when they entered the Promised Land, not just entrance into the Promised Land. The next generation of Israelites did enter the Promised Land and experienced rest there because they chose to trust and obey God (cf. Joshua 1:13; Joshua 1:15; Joshua 21:44; Joshua 22:4; Joshua 23:1). For the Christian, "rest" is the enjoyment of all that God has promised us, not just going to heaven. This includes the full enjoyment of rewards that can be ours if we follow the Lord faithfully. All Christians

1 Peter 1:18-19 — The Greek word for "redeemed" (elytrothete) means to ransom, to free by paying a price (cf. Mark 10:45; Luke 24:21; Titus 2:14). "He [Peter] has some of the most noteworthy statements in the New Testament about the atoning value of Christ’s suffering." [Note: Leon Morris, New Testament Theology, p. 319. See 1:1-3, 18-25; 2:21-25; 3:18;