Bible Commentaries

Zechariah 14:7 — twilight, neither day nor night (cf. Genesis 1:3-5). Even in the evening there will be more light than usual. It would be a unique day in human history (cf. Jeremiah 30:7). This phenomenon would occur on a day that only Yahweh would know (cf. Matthew 24:36; Acts 1:7). Other passages also predict cosmic phenomena in the Day of the Lord (Isaiah 13:9-10; Joel 2:31; Joel 3:15; Amos 5:18; Matthew 24:29-30; Revelation 6:12-14; Revelation 8:8-12; Revelation 9:1-18; Revelation 14:14-20; Revelation 16:4; Revelation

Zechariah 2:3-4 — 55.] But it seems more probable that the other angel gave this revelation to Zechariah directly. During the restoration period, the Jews built walls around the city to make it secure, yet few people wanted to live in it (cf. Nehemiah 11:1-2; Nehemiah 7:4). This prophecy must have a future fulfillment, though it doubtless encouraged Zechariah’s contemporaries to rebuild the city in their day. [Note: See Merrill, pp. 116-18, for defense of this "both in Zechariah’s day and in the future"

Zechariah 9:3-4 — fortifications for her defense and in stockpiles of silver and gold for her security. She had built a 150-foot high wall around the city, which stood on an island just offshore following Nebuchadnezzar’s earlier unsuccessful 13-year siege (cf. Isaiah 23:4; Ezekiel 29:18), and she had gained great wealth through commerce. There is wordplay (paronomasia) in the Hebrew text. Tyre (Heb. sor, rock) was a fortress (Heb. masor, stronghold, rampart). Nevertheless the Lord would dispossess Tyre and displace her

Matthew 13:3-9 — The parable of the soils 13:3b-9 (cf. Mark 4:3-9; Luke 8:5-8) The first parable is an introduction to those that follow, and the last one is a conclusion and application of the whole series. [Note: Stanley D. Toussaint, "The Introductory and Concluding Parables of Matthew Thirteen,"

Matthew 15:23-24 — The disciples probably wanted Jesus to heal the woman’s daughter so she would stop bothering them. Jesus had previously healed many demon-possessed people (Matthew 4:24; Matthew 8:16; Matthew 8:28; Matthew 8:33; Matthew 9:32; Matthew 12:22). However, He declined to do so here because His mission was to the Jews. "The lost sheep of the house of Israel" probably means the lost sheep, namely, the house of

Matthew 25:24-25 — When the third slave said his master was a "hard" (Gr. skleros) man, he meant that he exploited the labor of others, namely, this slave and his fellow slaves (cf. John 6:60; Acts 26:14; James 3:4; Judges 1:15). This slave evidently felt that his master would not share many of the rewards of his labor with him if he proved successful but would punish him severely if he failed. The fact that he had received less than the other slaves

Matthew 27:63-64 — Jesus was in the tomb only about 36 hours, but because these hours included parts of three days the Jews viewed the period as three days long (cf. Matthew 12:40). The fact that Jesus’ prediction of His resurrection had reached the ears of these men reflects badly on the disciples’ lack of faith. They should have understood and believed that Jesus would arise since knowledge of His prediction of

Matthew 27:65-66 — Pilate did not think the chance that Jesus’ disciples would steal His body was very great. The chief priests and Pharisees secured the tomb by posting their guards at the site and by putting an official wax seal on the stone door (cf. Psalms 2:4). This pericope stresses the corruptness of Israel’s rulers and their willful rejection of Jesus. [Note: Toussaint, Behold the . . ., p. 314.] It also shows that Jesus was definitely dead. "The incongruous, ironical result is that the opponents

Matthew 9:35-1 — charge to His disciples to proclaim the nearness of the kingdom (ch. 10). Matthew prefaced this charge with a demonstration of the King’s power, as he prefaced the Sermon on the Mount by authenticating the King’s qualifications (cf. Matthew 4:23; Matthew 9:35). However there are also some significant dissimilarities between these sections of the Gospel. Before the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus separated from the multitudes (Matthew 5:1), but here He has compassion on them (Matthew 9:36). Then

Mark 13:24-25 — In contrast to the appearance of false Messiahs, the true Messiah will appear after the predicted Tribulation. [Note: Bruce, 1:431.] This is, of course, a reference to the Second Coming, not the Rapture. The Rapture terminates the church age, a period of time within the inter-advent age. The Olivet Discourse deals with the larger period, the inter-advent age, and does not refer

Mark 14:65 — Having judged Jesus guilty, some of the Sanhedrin members vented their anger by attacking Him bodily. The temple guards present joined them in beating Jesus. Spitting and hitting were traditional Jewish ways of expressing repudiation (cf. Numbers 12:14; Deuteronomy 25:9; Job 30:10; Isaiah 50:6). Even today spitting in someone’s face is one of the grossest forms of personal insult. Evidently they blindfolded Jesus and challenged Him to identify His assailants because of a belief that Messiah

Mark 5:6-7 — Jesus shows that the demons within him recognized Jesus as someone superior to them. The demons controlled the man’s physical movements and his words. They addressed Jesus as "Son of the Most High God" recognizing His deity (Genesis 14:18-24; Numbers 24:16; Isaiah 14:14; Daniel 3:26; Daniel 4:2; cf. Mark 1:23-24). The fact that the man knelt before Jesus likewise shows that the demons regarded Jesus as their superior. The demons feared that Jesus would send them to their eternal judgment

Mark 9:50 — figure for testing. He said that tests from God, as salt on food, are good for us. Salt preserves food, prevents decay, and enhances flavor. The trials that God allows people to experience should have similar beneficial effects on them (cf. James 1:2-4). However if salt becomes bland, it will not achieve its desired results (cf. Matthew 5:13). Likewise if God’s trials lose their bite-if we become insensible and unresponsive to the self-discipline that He is seeking to teach us, by hardening

Luke 1:64-66 — God rewarded Zechariah’s obedience by removing his temporary disability. His first words were praise of God (cf. Acts 2:4; Acts 2:11). "The first evidence of his dumbness had been, that his tongue refused to speak the benediction to the people; and the first evidence of his restored power was, that he spoke the benediction of God in a rapturous burst of praise and

Luke 10:15 — Capernaum had been the center of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee. While it was more responsive than Nazareth (Luke 4:23), it was still less responsive than it should have been in view of the witness it had received. Jesus’ words of judgment undoubtedly grew out of God’s condemnation of the king of Babylon’s pride (Isaiah 14:13-15; cf. Matthew 11:23).

Luke 10:7 — The Seventy, like the Twelve (cf. Luke 9:4), were normally to remain with their hosts and not move around in one neighborhood trying to improve their situation (cf. Matthew 10:11; Mark 6:10). This would result in their wasting time and possibly insulting their hosts. Going from house to house

Luke 4:13 — The devil only left Jesus temporarily; he continued to tempt Him later. However, Luke viewed Jesus’ victory here as significant. His lack of reference to the fact that angels then ministered to Jesus (Matthew 4:11; Mark 1:13) reinforces Jesus’ personal victory over Satan. "Moses fasted in the middle, Elijah at the end, Jesus at the beginning of His ministry. Moses fasted in the Presence of God; Elijah alone; Jesus assaulted by the Devil. Moses had

Luke 4:34-35 — power. Luke, who consistently showed interest in people’s physical conditions, noted that even though the demon exited violently he did not hurt the man. Jesus effected the release of one whom Satan had held captive, and He did it completely (Luke 4:18).

Luke 9:1-50 — G. Jesus’ preparation of the Twelve 9:1-50 In this last major section describing Jesus’ ministry in and around Galilee (Luke 4:14 to Luke 9:50), Luke stressed Jesus’ preparation of His disciples for the opposition that lay before them. This was the climax of Jesus’ ministry in Galilee, and these events formed a bridge to Luke’s unique major section on Jesus’

Luke 9:53-54 — The Samaritans whom the messengers contacted refused to accept Jesus and His followers because they were on their way to Jerusalem, evidently to worship there. The Samaritans rejected Jerusalem as a legitimate site of worship (cf. John 4:20). Evidently they did not reject Jesus because He claimed to be the Messiah but simply because He was a Jew. The attitude of James and John was typically hostile. They may have been thinking that Jesus would react to the Samaritans as Elijah had to