Bible Commentaries

Jonah 3:2 — God can’t use you." [Note: Wiersbe, p. 383.] Nineveh was a "great" (Heb. gadol) city in several respects. It was a leading city of one of the most powerful nations in the world then. It was also a large city (cf. Jonah 3:3; Jonah 4:11). "The point is that Nineveh was a city God was concerned for, one that was by no means insignificant to him." [Note: Stuart, p. 487.]

Micah 5:7 — In that day the remnant of Jacob will live all over the world scattered among the other nations. "The remnant of Jacob" is one of Micah’s favorite terms for the believing Jews living in the "last days" (cf. Micah 2:12; Micah 4:7; Micah 5:8; Micah 7:18), and here it refers to them after God judges the nations (Micah 5:5-6). The presence of the Jews will be a divine gift to the other people of the world, as dew and rain are to the earth (cf. Genesis 12:3). God will have sent

Micah 6:5 — Yahweh charged the Israelites to remember that Balak, king of Moab, wanted God to curse His people, but Balaam revealed that God would never do that (Numbers 22-24). God’s intentions for His people had consistently been good. The events of their crossing the Jordan River and entering the Promised Land showed the same thing. Shittim was the Israelites’ last camping place before they crossed the Jordan,

Zephaniah 2:12 — 3. Judgment coming on Ethiopia 2:12 Zephaniah’s oracle against Ethiopia is very brief (cf. Isaiah 18-20; Jeremiah 46; Ezekiel 29-32). Patterson suggested that Zephaniah may have meant Egypt rather than Ethiopia. [Note: Patterson, pp. 349-50.] Biblical Ethiopia occupied the territory now held by southern Egypt, Sudan, Eritrea, and northern Ethiopia. The Ethiopians

Haggai 2:13 — touching a corpse, touches food of any kind, will the food become unclean? The answer was, yes it would become unclean. The Mosaic Law taught that moral uncleanness could be transmitted, but moral cleanness could not (cf. Leviticus 6:18; Leviticus 22:4-6; Numbers 19:11-16). The same principle applies, by the way, in the area of physical health today. A sick person can transmit his or her illness to healthy people and make them sick, but a healthy person cannot transmit his or her health to sick people

Zechariah 10:2 — In contrast to the only true God, teraphim (household idols; cf. Genesis 31:19; Judges 17:5; Judges 17:13; Judges 18:5; 1 Samuel 15:23; Hosea 3:4) only led people into iniquity, and diviners saw misleading visions and dreams (cf. Deuteronomy 18:9-14; Jeremiah 23:30-32; Jeremiah 27:9-10). Their comfort was worthless. Consequently the people who rely on these false indicators of God’s will

Malachi 2:4 — intent was to purify the priests so God’s covenant with Levi could continue (cf. Malachi 3:3). This is the first of six explicit references to "covenant" in Malachi. The covenants in view are God’s covenant with Levi (Malachi 2:4-5; Malachi 2:8), the Mosaic Covenant (Malachi 2:10), the marriage covenant (Malachi 2:14), and the New Covenant (Malachi 3:1). God had promised a continuing line of priests from Levi’s branch of the Chosen People (Deuteronomy 33:8-11; cf. Exodus

Matthew 11:16-17 — The generation Jesus spoke of consisted of the Jews to whom He offered the kingdom (cf. Matthew 11:20-24; Matthew 12:39; Matthew 12:41-42; Matthew 12:45; Matthew 16:4; Matthew 17:17; Matthew 23:36; Matthew 24:34). Jesus must have observed children playing the marriage and funeral games He referred to here, and He used them to illustrate the childish reaction

Matthew 15:1-20 — 4. The opposition of the Pharisees and scribes 15:1-20 (cf. Mark 7:1-23; John 7:1) Matthew recorded another round of opposition, withdrawal and disciple training, and public ministry (ch. 15). This is his last substantial group of events in Jesus’

Matthew 25:31 — This verse fixes the time of the judgment described in the following verses at the beginning of Jesus’ messianic reign (cf. Daniel 7:9-14; Daniel 7:22-27). Nowhere in this discourse did Jesus explicitly identify Himself as the Son of Man. However, since He used that title in answer to the disciples’ questions in Matthew 25:3, the inference is inescapable (cf. Zechariah 14:5; Joel

Matthew 27:24 — out of cowardice and fear of the Jews whom he despised. He could no more pass his personal responsibility for Jesus’ death off on the people than the chief priests and elders could avoid their responsibility for it by blaming Judas (Matthew 27:4).

Matthew 28:2-4 — the rolling away of the stone is indefinite in the text. All of these events have supernatural connotations. An angel had announced the Incarnation, and now an angel announced the Resurrection (Matthew 1:20-23; cf. Matthew 18:10). [Note: Plummer, p. 417.] The angel rolled the stone away to admit the witnesses, not to allow Jesus to escape (cf. John 20:26). The guards experienced the earthquake and observed the angel who appeared as a young man (Mark 16:5). It was seeing the angel that evidently terrified

Matthew 4:21-22 — Synoptics, unlike Paul’s epistles, Jesus’ call is not necessarily effectual. But in this instance it was immediately obeyed." [Note: Carson, "Matthew," p. 120.] The disciples left their father as well as their fishing (Matthew 4:22). "The call of God through Jesus is sovereign and absolute in its authority; the response of those who are called is to be both immediate and absolute, involving a complete break with old loyalties. The actual shape of this break with the past

Mark 13:30 — Jesus probably meant that the fulfillment of "all these things" (Mark 13:4 b) would begin in the generation of His present disciples, but complete fulfillment would not come until later. [Note: E.g., C. E. Stowe, "The Eschatology of Christ, With Special Reference to the Discourse in Matt. XXIV. and XXV.," Bibliotheca

Luke 12:36 — In this parable the master returns from a wedding feast. Perhaps Jesus had the heavenly marriage supper of Jesus with His bride, the church, in view (cf. Revelation 4-5). This event will precede His second coming to the earth (Revelation 19). Jesus was not referring to the messianic banquet since that will follow the Second Coming. The disciples in view are on earth, and Jesus is returning from heaven. Thus this

Luke 22:3-4 — mentioned Satan’s entering into Judas now (cf. John 13:2). Perhaps Luke wanted to clarify that Jesus’ death was due to more than just human scheming (cf. Acts 5:3; 1 Corinthians 2:8). It was part of a cosmic plan to destroy the God-man (cf. Luke 4:1-12). Ironically Satan’s participation in Jesus’ arrest led to his own downfall (cf. Colossians 2:15; Hebrews 2:14). Luke also clarified Judas’ identity for his readers (cf. Luke 6:16) and noted Judas’ contact with the Jewish

Luke 3:3 — of baptism (cf. Luke 3:16). Luke said little about John’s baptizing but stressed his preaching. "The task of ’proclaiming . . . repentance for release of sins’ (Luke 3:3) remains central throughout Luke-Acts [cf. Luke 4:18; Luke 5:17-32; Luke 24:47]." [Note: Tannehill, 1:48.]

Luke 8:30-31 — The "abyss" refers to the final confinement place of the devil and his angels (cf. Romans 10:7; Revelation 9:1-3; Revelation 11:7; Revelation 17:8; Revelation 20:1-3). The Jews thought of it as a watery deep below the earth (cf. 2 Peter 2:4; Judges 1:6). Only God can send demons to the abyss. This is another indication that the demons recognized Jesus as God. The disciples should have learned from them.

John 2:12 — Capernaum 2:12 Sometime after the miracle just narrated, Jesus went down topographically from Cana to Capernaum. Cana was on a higher elevation than Capernaum, though Capernaum was about 13 miles northeast of Cana. Some family members (cf. Matthew 12:46; Mark 6:3) and Jesus’ disciples accompanied Him. Jesus had physical brothers. The idea of Mary’s perpetual virginity first appeared in the second century. Evidently this was only for a short stay since John wrote that they stayed a few

John 4:7-8 — It was unusual for a woman to come to draw water alone and to come in the heat of the day. Perhaps this woman’s morality led her to shun the company of other women and to seek solitude at the expense of comfort (cf. John 4:18). Normally Jesus’ disciples would have drawn the water. Jesus evidently asked the woman for a drink because she was drawing water and to initiate conversation with her. Strict Jews would not have purchased food from Samaritans as Jesus’