Bible Commentaries

John 10:34 — identity of the people whom God addressed as gods in Psalms 82:6 is debatable. The most popular and probable view is that they were Israel’s judges who were functioning as God’s representatives and so were in that sense little gods (Psalms 82:1-4; cf. Exodus 21:6; Exodus 22:8). [Note: Blum, p. 312.] Another view is that these gods were angels. [Note: J. A. Emerton, "Some New Testament Notes," Journal of Theological Studies 11NS (1960):329-36.] This seems unlikely since the contrast

John 11:1-44 — 1. The seventh sign: raising Lazarus 11:1-44 Jesus had presented Himself as the Water of Life, the Bread of Life, and the Light of Life. Now He revealed Himself as the resurrection and the life. This was the seventh and last of Jesus’ miraculous signs that John recorded, and it was the

John 20:8 — John 16:22). The evidence of Jesus’ resurrection convinced John even before he met the risen Jesus. Disciples since John can believe in Him because of this evidence too even though we have not yet seen the risen Jesus (cf. John 20:29; 1 John 1:1-4). The writer did not say that Peter also believed. This omission does not necessarily mean that Peter failed to believe. The writer was simply confessing his own belief, not contrasting it with Peter’s reaction. Nevertheless John seems to have

John 4:22 — come. Jesus here summarized all Old Testament revelation as being essentially soteriological. God intended His revelation to result in salvation for humankind (cf. John 3:17). In that sense salvation had come through the Jews (cf. Romans 3:2; Romans 9:4-5). Salvation also came from the Jews in that Messiah came from Judah’s tribe (Genesis 49:10) whereas the Samaritans traced their ancestry through Joseph. [Note: Josephus, Antiquities of . . ., 11:8:6.] Jesus did not take sides on the question

John 5:19 — Jesus introduced his reply with another solemn affirmation. He began by assuring the Jewish leaders that He was not claiming independence from the Father. He was definitely subordinate to Him, and He followed the Father’s lead (cf. John 4:34; John 5:30; John 8:28; John 12:50; John 15:10; Luke 5:17). Jesus described His relationship to the Father as similar to that of a son growing up in a household who learns a trade from his father while remaining submissive to him. The Son of God receives

John 6:41-42 — down from heaven seemed to them to contradict what they knew about His human origins. Again they were thinking only in physical terms. It is interesting that the Israelites in the wilderness who received the manna from heaven also grumbled (Exodus 15:24; Exodus 17:3; Numbers 11:4-6). Mankind’s dissatisfaction with God’s good gifts shows the perversity of the human heart. It was Jesus’ claim to a heavenly origin that offended these people, as it had offended the people of Jerusalem

Acts 16:1 — Lycaonian Galatia, to Derbe, and then to Lystra. At Lystra a young believer named Timothy impressed Paul. Many Bible students have assumed that Timothy was from Lystra and had trusted Christ during Paul’s first trip to that town (cf. 1 Corinthians 4:17). The text does not state these facts, but they are certainly strong possibilities. Mixed marriages between Jews and Gentiles were more common outside Palestine than within it. [Note: Bruce, Commentary on . . ., p. 322.] Timothy’s mother Eunice

Acts 17:14-15 — back to Thessalonica (1 Thessalonians 3:2). Silas, however, seems to have gone back to Macedonia (cf. Acts 18:5)-probably to Philippi, where he received from the young congregation there a gift of money for the support of the missioners (Philippians 4:15). In the meantime, Paul had moved from Athens to Corinth (Acts 18:1) and was joined there by Silas and Timothy on their return from Macedonia (Acts 18:5; 1 Thessalonians 3:6)." [Note: Longenecker, p. 471.] Thus Luke’s account of Paul’s

Acts 17:31 — concluded his speech by clarifying His hearers’ responsibility. "He has presented God as the Creator in His past work. He shows God as the Redeemer in His present work. Now he shows God as the Judge in His future work." [Note: McGee, 4:591.] Wiersbe outlined Paul’s speech as presenting the greatness of God: He is Creator (Acts 17:24); the goodness of God: He is Provider (Acts 17:25); the government of God: He is Ruler (Acts 17:26-29); and the grace of God: He is Savior (Acts

Acts 19:25-27 — clay, builders, carpenters, pastry cooks, barbers, embalmers and transport workers." [Note: Blaiklock, p. 158.] The only other protest by Gentiles against the gospel that Luke recorded in Acts also resulted from financial loss (cf. Acts 16:16-24). The profit motive still opposes the spread of the gospel. ". . . you cannot step on a man’s pocketbook without hearing him say, ’Ouch!’" [Note: McGee, 4:600.]

Acts 23:11 — encouragement of Paul 23:11 Paul was undoubtedly wondering how he would ever get out of the mess in which he found himself. At this critical moment, during the night of the next day (Gr. te epiouse nykti), the Lord appeared to him again (cf. Acts 9:4-6; Acts 16:9; Acts 18:9-10; Acts 22:17-21; Acts 27:23-24; Genesis 15:1). The Lord’s appearances to Paul all occurred at great crises in his life. He assured the apostle that he would bear witness in Rome as he had already done in Jerusalem (Acts

Acts 5:27-28 — earlier had instructed Peter and John not to teach (Acts 3:18; Acts 3:21), but Peter had said they would continue to do so because of Jesus’ authority (Acts 3:19-20). Moreover Peter had charged Israel’s leaders with Jesus’ death (Acts 4:10-11). These rulers had rationalized away their guilt for Jesus’ death probably blaming it on Jesus Himself and the Romans (cf. Acts 3:15). The Jewish leaders felt the disciples were unfairly heaping guilt on them for having shed Jesus’

Acts 7:4 — Obeying God’s call, Abraham left Mesopotamia, specifically Ur of the Chaldeans (cf. Genesis 15:7; Joshua 24:3; Nehemiah 9:7), and settled temporarily in Haran, near the top of the Fertile Crescent. After Abraham’s father Terah died, God directed Abraham south into Canaan, the land the Jews occupied in Stephen’s day (Genesis 12:5). "A comparison

Acts 7:8 — to His promises to Abraham. The Sanhedrin needed to reevaluate these promises in the light of how God was working in their day. Stephen affirmed belief that the God of glory had given the Abrahamic Covenant, which contained promises of land (Acts 7:2-4), seed (Acts 7:5), and blessing (Acts 7:6-7). He had sealed this covenant with a sign, namely, circumcision (Acts 7:8). Circumcision was one of the Jewish customs that would pass away in view of the new revelation that had come through Jesus Christ

Romans 1:8-10 — Paul felt concern for the welfare of this church. The faith of the Roman church had become well known in the few years since it had come into existence (cf. Ephesians 1:15-16; Colossians 1:3-4; 1 Thessalonians 1:3). Typically Paul began by offering commendation to his readers for some praiseworthy trait whenever he could. Here he thanked God for the Romans through Jesus Christ, who had created access to God. He praised the Roman Christians

Romans 12:21 — nature of the commands in this pericope illustrates the essentially gracious character of the new covenant Law of Christ (Galatians 6:2) under which Christians now live. Compare this with the legal nature of the commands in the Mosaic Law (cf. Romans 10:4). God gave the Israelites many explicit commands about how they were to behave in a multitude of specific situations. The commands in Romans 12:9-21, as well as in all the New Testament, are much more general and are similar to principles. This is one

Romans 5:3-4 — enables us to view present difficulties with joy. We can rejoice in tribulations because God has revealed that He uses them to produce steadfast endurance and proven character in those who relate to their sufferings properly (cf. Job 23:10; James 1:2-4; Hebrews 12). "Our English word ’tribulation’ comes from a Latin word tribulum. In Paul’s day, a tribulum was a heavy piece of timber with spikes in it, used for threshing the grain. The tribulum was drawn over the grain and it

Romans 6:7 — person has died he or she has no more earthly obligations. Because of our death with Christ we have no obligation to respond to the dictates of our sinful nature. We may choose to do so, but we do not have to do so, and we should not do so (cf. Ephesians 4:22-32). This verse does not mean that the power of sinful habits or the effects of sinful influences will cease to bother a person when he or she becomes a Christian. It does mean that the Christian is no longer under the slavery of sin that he or she

1 Corinthians 4:1 — humble position as belonging to Christ and their trusted yet accountable position under God. The mysteries of God refer to the truths of the Christian faith. "(’Mysteries’ appear often in this letter, 1 Corinthians 2:7; 1 Corinthians 4:1; 1 Corinthians 13:2; 1 Corinthians 14:2; and perhaps 1 Corinthians 2:1; this is consistent with their interest in Hellenistic wisdom [cf. Wisdom of Solomon 2:22; Wisdom of Solomon 6:22; as opposed to pagan mysteries in Wisdom of Solomon 14:15; Wisdom

1 Corinthians 6:18 — neutral, and abstinence may correct their effects. Fornication is also an especially serious sin because it involves placing the body, which is the Lord’s (1 Corinthians 6:19-20), under the control of another illegitimate partner (cf. 1 Corinthians 7:4). [Note: Fee, The First . . ., p. 262.] No other sin has this result. All other sins are outside or apart from the body in this sense. "Every sin that a man commits is outside the body," could be another incorrect Corinthian slogan that Paul