Bible Commentaries

Matthew 3:11-12 — Matthew 3:11-12 . John defines his relation to the Messiah (Mark 1:7-8 ; Luke 3:15-17 ). This prophetic word would come late in the day when the Baptist’s fame was at its height, and men began to think it possible he might be the Christ (Luke 3:15 ). His answer to inquiries plainly expressed or hinted was unhesitating.

Matthew 5:22 — interdict against anger may be required, but it was not Christ’s habit to supply qualifications. His aim was to impress the main idea, anger a deadly sin. κρίσει , here as in Matthew 5:21 . The reference is to the provincial court of seven ( Deu 16:18 , 2 Chronicles 19:5 , Joseph. Ant. iv. 8, 14) possessing power to punish capital offences by the sword. Christ’s words are of course not to be taken literally as if He were enacting that the angry man be tried as a criminal. So understood He would

Luke 9:51 — Luke 9:51 forms the introduction to the great division, Luke 9:51 to Luke 18:15 . It makes all that follows up to the terminus ad quem stand under the solemn heading: the beginning of the end . From this time forth Jesus has the close of His earthly career in view. His face is fixedly set towards Jerusalem and heaven . This

Acts 1:10 — Acts 1:10 . ἀτενίζοντες ἦσαν : this periphrasis of ἦν or ἦσαν with a present or perfect participle is very frequently found in St. Luke’s writings (Friedrich, pp. 12 and 89, and compare the list in Simcox, u. s. , pp. 130 134). The verb is peculiar to St. Luke and St. Paul, and is found ten times in Acts, twice in St. Luke’s Gospel, and twice in 2 Cor.; it denotes a fixed, steadfast, protracted gaze: “and

Acts 2:38 — Acts 2:38 . βαπτισθήτω : “Non satis est Christocredere, sed oportet et Christianum profiteri, Romans 10:10 , quod Christus per baptismum fieri voluit,” Grotius. John’s baptism had been a baptism of repentance for the remission of sins, but the

Acts 3:14 — righteous Servant, Isaiah 53:11 ( cf. Acts 11:5 , and Jeremiah 23:5 ), see Acts 7:52 ; Acts 22:14 . Later, in the Book of Enoch , the title is applied to the Messiah as the Righteous One , xxxviii. 2, liii. 6, xlvi. 3 (Charles’ edition, pp. 48, 112, 144). In Acts 7:52 ; Acts 7:56 , the title is found on the lips of St. Stephen, and in Acts 22:14 , Ananias, a Jewish Christian, announces to Paul that God had chosen him to see the Righteous One . When we remember too that this title is used

Galatians 3:25-29 — antecedents”. Their adoption is assumed, as their possession of the gifts of the Spirit is assumed in Galatians 3:2 . The spirit of adoption, of which they were conscious within their hearts, assured them that they were sons of God ( cf. Romans 8:15-16 ). Galatians 3:27 . ἐνεδύσασθε . The conception of spiritual manhood is here associated with baptism by a figure borrowed from Greek and Roman usage. At a certain age the Roman youth exchanged the toga praetexta for the toga virilis and passed

Ephesians 6:6 — men-pleasers . ἀνθρωπάρεσκος is another non-classical word, occurring only in biblical and ecclesiastical Greek, and in the NT limited to this passage and Colossians 3:22 ; cf. Psalms 53:6 , ὀστᾶ ἀνθρωπαρέσκων in LXX, and Ps. Salom. , Ephesians 4:8 ; Ephesians 4:10 . ἀλλʼ ὡς δοῦλοι [ τοῦ ] Χριστοῦ : but as bond-servants of Christ. τοῦ is found in [740] 3 [741] [742] , etc., but not in [743] [744] [745] [746] * [747] , etc., and is omitted by LTTrWH. The contrast is with ἀνθρωπάρεσκοι , servants

Philippians 2:12-16 — Philippians 2:12-16 . THE CHRISTIAN LIFE TO BE LED IN A SPIRIT OF AWE AND WATCHFULNESS, AS IN THE PRESENCE OF GOD’S WORKING. On Philippians 2:12-13 see two important discussions, Schaeder, Greifswalder Studien , pp. 231 260, and Kühl, SK [2] . , 1898, pp. 557 580. Philippians 2:12 . ὥστε . With what does it link the following verses? Paul has returned to practical exhortation. So we should naturally expect him to take up the thread which he dropped at Philippians 2:6 on turning to the example

Philippians 3:12 — νεκροφορεῖν σαυτὴν ὑπολήψῃ ; ἆρά γε οὐχ ὅταν τελειωθῇς καὶ βραβείων καὶ στεφάνων ἀξιωθῇς ; ἔσῃ γὰρ τότε φιλόθεος , οὐ φιλοσώματος . διώκω . It is unnecessary to assume the metaphor of the racecourse. δι . and καταλαμβάνω are correlative words ( δι . esp [58] . frequent in Paul) = “seek and find,” “pursue and overtake”. Cf. Romans 9:30 , Exodus 15:9 (LXX). Of course both may be used with a metaphorical colour. Cf. 1 Corinthians 9:24 , and also 2 Clem. xviii. 2 (quoted by Wohl [59]

Philippians 3:3 — one of purification, the grace associated with it was a cleansing process. This explains expressions like that in Jeremiah 9:26 , etc. οἱ … λατρεύοντες . The participle has become a noun denoting a class of men, spiritual worshippers. Contrast Hebrews 8:5 ; Hebrews 13:10 , and cf. Hebrews 9:14 . Most edd. with a number of high authorities read Θεοῦ (see crit. note supr. ). This gives a peculiar combination: “who worship by the Spirit of God”. But the occurrence of σαρκί immediately after

Philippians 3:5 — name, Paul wishes to emphasise the purity of his lineage. Probably they are right. κατὰ νόμον . Are we to distinguish between νόμος and ὁ νόμος in Paul? Attempts have been made (notably that of Gifford, Romans in Speaker’s Comm [37] . , pp. 41 48) to show that when Paul omits the article he is thinking mainly of the principle of law as a method of justification in opposition to faith, etc. In our judgment it has been made abundantly clear by Grafe ( Die paulinische Lehre vom Gesetz , pp. 1

Colossians 1:26 — is intentionally chosen to point the contrast between those secret mysteries and the Gospel which is offered to all. But for the mysteries the plural was employed. And there would be more justification for this Interpretation in Matthew 13:11 = Luke 8:10 , where the disciples are told by Jesus that to them it is given to know the mysteries of the kingdom, but not to others. But it will not be seriously supposed that Christ borrowed the term from the Greek mysteries. A mystery is a truth which man

Hebrews 6:2 — Similarly Winer ( Gramm. , p. 240): “If we render βαπτ . διδ . baptisms of doctrine or instruction , as distinguished from the legal baptisms (washings) of Judaism, we find a support for this designation, as characteristically Christian, in Matthew 28:19 , βαπτίσαντες αὐτούς … διδάσκοντες αὐτούς ”. It is better to take the words as equivalent to διδαχῆς περὶ βαπτισμῶν . In N.T. βάπτισμα is regularly used of Christian baptism or of John’s baptism, while βαπτισμός is used of ceremonial

Hebrews 9:7 — the bullock which atoned for his own sins and those of his house, and finally with the blood of the goat for the sins of the people. μόνος ὁ ἀρχιερεύς in contrast with οἱ ἱερεῖς of Hebrews 9:6 . This point is also emphasised by Philo, De Mon. , p. 821 E., where he says that the things inside the veil were hidden from everyone πλὴν ἑνὶ τῷ ἀρχιερεῖ , and by Josephus ( Bell . Jud . ver. 5; ver. 7) εἰσῄει ἅπαξ κατʼ ἐνιαυτὸν μόνος . See also Leviticus 16:17 . The law was emphasised by the destruction

James 1:12 — “shall deliver unto thee a crown of glory” (Proverbs 4:9 ); in Pirqe Aboth vi. 7 this is said of the Torah , of which it is also said in the same section, “She is a tree of life to them that lay hold upon her” (Proverbs 3:18 ); in Sir 15:6 it is said that a wise man shall “inherit joy, and a crown of gladness (there is no mention of a crown in the Hebrew), and an everlasting name,” cf. 32 (35):2. In the Test. of the Twelve Patriarchs , Lev. iv. 1, we read

James 2:23 — to claim his reward from God. Very pointed, in this connection, are the reiterated words of Christ in Matthew 6:5 ; Matthew 6:16 , “Verily, I say unto you, they have received their reward”. φίλος θεοῦ : Cf. 2 Chronicles 20:7 ; Isaiah 41:8 ; Dan. 3:35 (Septuagint); in Sir 6:17 the Septuagint reads: ὁ φοβοίμενος Κύριον εὐθύνει φιλίαν αὐτοῦ , ὅτι κατʼ αὐτὸν οὕτως καὶ ὁ πλησίον αὐτοῦ ; the Hebrew has: “For as He Himself is, so is His friend, and as is His name, so are his works”

2 Peter 2:1 — LXX. ψευδοπροφῆται . A class of False Prophets is frequently mentioned in the O.T. In the earlier ages it is not suggested that there was conscious deceit on the part of the prophet. His prophecy is false, if it is proved so by the event (Jeremiah 28:9 ). “When a prophet lies, without being inspired by a false or impotent god, it is because God in His anger against Israel’s sin means to destroy him, and therefore put into the prophets ‘a lying spirit’ ”. (Schulz. O.T.

Revelation 2:6 — have been anticipated by the Nicolaitans, who represented the spirit of libertinism which, like the opposite extreme of legalism at an earlier period, threatened the church’s moral health. But if the comment of Vict. were reliable, that the N [899] principle was merely ut delibatum exorcizaretur et manducari posset et ut quicumque fornicatus esset octauo die pacem acciperet , the representation of John would become vigorously polemical rather than historically accurate. The tradition of the

Revelation 2:8 — Revelation 2:8 . The title from Revelation 1:17-18 , with special reference to Revelation 2:10 and its situation, also to the promise of Revelation 2:11 . The Smyrniote Christians, in peril of death, are addressed and encouraged by One who himself has died and risen