Bible Commentaries

Zechariah 2:5 — her in contrast to any human glory. Such a promise would have been a great encouragement to the returnees from captivity. Yahweh Himself (emphatic in the Hebrew text) would provide security by His protection and presence (cf. Zechariah 1:16; Psalms 24:7-10). Though God did protect the returnees, His promise has not yet found fulfillment. The wall of fire that Yahweh would be recalls the pillar of cloud and fire by which God visualized His protecting presence at various times throughout her history

Zechariah 8:18-19 — messengers from Bethel had asked about the traditional fasts (Zechariah 7:3). In addition to the fasts in the fifth and seventh months (Zechariah 7:3; Zechariah 7:5), the exiles also had commemorated the breaching of the walls of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:3-4; Jeremiah 39:2) in the fourth month and the beginning of the siege of Jerusalem (2 Kings 25:1; Ezekiel 24:2) in the tenth month. [Note: The Illustrated . . ., 8:93.] Strict modern Jews still observe these four fasts. They seemingly died out

Zechariah 8:23 — this future time of Yahweh’s blessing many Gentiles from many nations and language groups will lay hold of a Jew. In this case, as in many others, 10 is a round number suggesting completeness (cf. Genesis 31:7; Leviticus 26:26; Judges 17:10; Ruth 4:2; 1 Samuel 1:8; Jeremiah 41:8). They will do so not to persecute him but to ask his permission to accompany him because God’s blessing would rest on the Jews so obviously. "The prophecy teaches, then, that Israel will be the means of drawing

Zechariah 9:9 — world’s peace depends upon a Savior and His salvation." [Note: Feinberg, God Remembers, p. 165.] The king would, therefore, be humble, not proud and boastful. Zechariah pictured this humble king riding on a gentle donkey colt (cf. Genesis 49:11; Matthew 21:1-9; Mark 11:1-10; Luke 19:28-38; John 12:12-15). A donkey’s colt was a purebred donkey, one born of a female donkey rather than of a mule. "It thus qualified to be a royal mount." [Note: Baldwin, p. 166.] In the ancient

Matthew 11:28 — feel their need for help they cannot obtain themselves to come to Him (cf. Matthew 5:3; Revelation 22:17). Israel’s spiritual leaders had loaded the people with burdens that were heavy to bear. The rest in view involves kingdom rest (cf. Hebrews 4), but it is a present reality too. Throughout Israel’s history God held out the promise of rest if His people would trust and obey Him. The Promised Land was to be the scene of this rest. However, when Israel entered Canaan under Joshua’s

Matthew 12:36-37 — "careless" word is the word spoken without deliberation. One might think it insignificant except that it reveals character. Every word spoken reflects the heart’s overflow, and God knows about it. Therefore words are very important (cf. Ephesians 5:3-4; Ephesians 5:12; Colossians 3:17; James 1:19; James 3:1-12). Matthew 12:37 sounds as though it may have been proverbial, or perhaps Jesus made it a proverb here. The context clarifies that the justification and condemnation in view deal with God passing

Matthew 12:7-8 — the same thing. They had not grasped the real significance of the Law, as their criticism of Jesus’ disciples demonstrated. Jesus accused the accusers and declared the disciples innocent. "Note that Jesus appealed to prophet [Matthew 12:3-4], priest [Matthew 12:5-6], and king [Matthew 12:7]; for He is Prophet, Priest, and King. Note too the three ’greater’ statements that He made: as the Priest, He is ’greater than the temple’ (Matthew 12:6); as Prophet, He is ’greater

Matthew 17:11-12 — Jesus confirmed the scribes’ teaching about Elijah coming, but He said another factor needed consideration. John the Baptist’s ministry had been a success as far as it had gone (cf. Matthew 3:5-6; Matthew 14:5), but he had "restored all things" to only a limited degree. The scribes perceived the ministry of Messiah’s forerunner correctly, but they did not realize that John the Baptist had been that forerunner (Matthew 11:10). Elijah had

Matthew 18:15 — private. The disciple must take the initiative and confront (cf. Galatians 6:1). ". . . if it is hard to accept a rebuke, even a private one, it is harder still to administer one in loving humility." [Note: Carson, "Matthew," p. 402.] "The possession of humility is proven not by passively waiting for one to beg forgiveness and then granting it. Rather, it is manifested by actively seeking out the erring brother and attempting to make him penitent." [Note: Toussaint,

Matthew 21:15-16 — this. Jesus introduced the Psalms 8:2 quotation with a rebuke. Surely these experts in the Old Testament should have seen the messianic implications of what Jesus was doing and the words people were using as they responded to Him (cf. Matthew 12:3; Matthew 19:4; Matthew 21:42; Matthew 22:31). This psalm describes the praise that people, even little children, will give to God for the conditions that will prevail during the messianic kingdom. Ancient Near Eastern mothers often nursed their babes long after the

Matthew 8:10 — astonishment at this Gentile’s great faith in Him. The Greek verb thaumazo, "to be amazed," usually describes the reaction of people to Jesus in Matthew (cf. Matthew 8:27; Matthew 9:33; Matthew 15:31; Matthew 21:20; Matthew 22:22; Matthew 27:14). This is the only time it describes Jesus’ reaction to someone. "’Wonder’ cannot apply to God, for it arises out of what is new and unexpected: but it might exist in Christ, for he had clothed himself with our flesh, and with

Matthew 8:18-19 — Matthew 8:18 gives the occasion for the scribe’s statement in Matthew 8:19 (cf. Mark 4:35). The other side of the lake (from Capernaum) would have been the eastern side. There was only so much room in the boat, and the scribe wanted to get in with other disciples. At this time in Jesus’ ministry there were many more than just 12

Mark 1:10 — This is the first of Mark’s 42 uses of the Greek adverb euthys ("immediately") that give his narrative a feeling of rapidly moving action. Mark used this word more than the other three evangelists combined. "As the story progresses, the frequency of the word ’immediately’

Mark 1:24 — cried out, but it was really the demon speaking through him. This is clear because Jesus replied to the demon (Mark 1:25). The words "what do we have to do with you" represent a Hebrew idiom that introduces conflict (cf. Mark 5:7; Joshua 22:24; Judges 11:12; 2 Samuel 16:10; 2 Samuel 19:22). Today we might express the same thought by saying, "Why are you meddling with us?" The demon recognized Jesus, and it knew about His mission. It was common for the Jews to identify a person by

Mark 11:22-23 — Rather than explaining the symbolic significance of the cursing of the fig tree, Jesus proceeded to focus on the means by which the miracle happened. This was an important discipleship lesson that Jesus had taught before (cf. Matthew 6:13-14; Matthew 7:7; Matthew 17:20; Matthew 18:19; Luke 11:9; Luke 17:6), but it appears only here in Mark. The point was that dependent trust in God can accomplish humanly impossible things through prayer (cf. James 1:6). God is the source of the power to

Mark 4:37-38 — they pass from the west, are sucked down in vortices of air, or by the narrow gorges that break upon the lake. Then arise those sudden storms for which the region is notorious." [Note: G. A. Smith, The Historical Geography of the Holy Land, pp. 441-42.] Jesus was probably sleeping on a seat at the stern of the boat that had a cushion on it. The fact that Jesus could sleep in such a storm reflects His physical exhaustion, another indication of His full humanity. This is the only place where

Mark 5:43 — Cranfield, p. 191.] Obviously many people outside the house would have discovered what had happened, but Jesus wanted to avoid all unnecessary publicity, at least immediately, so He could continue His ministry with maximum freedom of movement (cf. Mark 1:43-45). His second command revealed His continuing compassion for the girl in her need. It also clarified that He had restored her to physical life that needed sustaining. He had not resurrected her to a new form of life with an immortal body (cf. 1 Corinthians

Luke 8:24-25 — Jesus’ word (cf. Luke 8:13). They stopped believing momentarily. Their double address, "Master, Master," showed their urgency. Jesus reminded them of their unbelief with His question. Luke recorded a milder rebuke than Mark did (Mark 4:40) perhaps showing that faith is a dynamic quality that grows and shrinks (cf. Luke 8:13-15). The disciples’ question showed their lack of perception of Jesus’ true identity (cf. Luke 9:20). They had believed that He was the Messiah, but

Luke 8:54-56 — Jesus called the girl’s spirit back to her body (cf. 1 Kings 17:21; Acts 9:41). He evidently extended His hand to offer her assistance in sitting up rather than to transfer divine power to her. Luke wrote that the girl rose up off her deathbed immediately and was able to eat, facts that preclude a gradual or only spiritual restoration

Luke 9:45 — popular view of the Messiah that still influenced them, the glorious prophecies about the Son of Man in the Old Testament, and Jesus’ great popularity. Most important they did not understand because God hid this understanding from them (cf. Luke 24:16). That is, they understood the words but could not understand how this would happen, partly because of their limited faith. They remembered Jesus’ words, but they only understood the prediction after Jesus’ resurrection. Perhaps they