Latest Commentaries

In God’s perfect plan, He invites believers to suffer for the sake of Christ, even if it means suffering unjustly. Jesus suffered for us, providing a model for us to follow. He always did and said the right thing. Even while the Savior suffered, He did not try to get even or take revenge but trusted God, because God is the ultimate righteous judge and will right all wrongs with perfect judgment.

Peter addresses the Christian slave’s responsibility to submit to his master’s authority. This submission must be done regardless of the personality of his master, even if it means having to endure unjust sufferings for doing the right thing. If may be painful, yet worthwhile because he will be rewarded by God.

Peter instructs believers to use our freedom to be effective servants of God. Rather than abuse God’s grace and live sinfully, we ought to dedicate our choices to God’s will. We can do this by treating all people, unbelievers and especially believers, with honor and love. We should live in submission to the highest human authority in our earthly life, but our ultimate king whom we should seek to please is God.

Since our true home is with Jesus in His kingdom, we should live in peace with the authorities on earth. Peter exhorts his readers to submit to earthly governments for the purpose of silencing the ignorance of foolish people. If we live with good character as good citizens, it will be difficult and inaccurate for anyone to speak badly of believers in Jesus.

Since our future is with Jesus in His kingdom, Peter challenges believers to have an eternal perspective which will motivate us to live holy lives and avoid sin. Even people hostile to Jesus and His followers will be silenced if believers have integrity, such that those who slandered believers might themselves change their minds, believe in the Messiah, and praise God when Jesus returns.

Peter describes the incredible position believers have in Christ as members of a royal family. Each believer has an appointment as a priest in God’s spiritual kingdom. Understanding the mercy which He granted us should lead us to turn aside from darkness and walk in His light, so that we can declare God’s goodness to the rest of the world.

Peter quotes Isaiah and the psalms to demonstrate that Jesus is the perfect cornerstone upon which the spiritual building of believers is being built. By faith, we gain benefit in Jesus the Cornerstone, but through disobedience to the word we lose that benefit and stumble over Him.

Peter uses the illustration of believers being like living stones building a spiritual house-the church of Jesus. Jesus is the most valuable stone upon which we build our lives. We point others to Him through acts of service and love.

Peter instructs believers who have experienced the grace of God to set aside their sinful natures and stop behaviors that destroy our relationships with others. Putting away these hateful behaviors, like envy and slander, we should instead commit to read and understand God’s word to grow in spiritual maturity.

The gospel prologue pivots from eternal truths about the Logos/Word to a specific moment in human history. John introduces John the Baptizer, a divinely sent witness tasked with testifying about the Light so that all might believe. Though not the Light himself, John’s mission was to prepare hearts and point people to the true Light, which was coming into the world. This Light, the ultimate source of life and enlightenment, shines universally, offering hope and truth to every person.

John states the Messiah’s mission and the profound struggle between divine truth and the forces of spiritual darkness with his proclamation: “The Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it.” Jesus is the Light/Messiah who brings life and truth to humanity. This verse sets the tone for the gospel’s message, emphasizing the unstoppable power of Christ’s Light to illuminate and overcome the darkness of sin and ignorance.

John’s prologue and introduction of the Word/Logos continues. But John 1:4 also introduces two core themes of his gospel account—life and light. John reveals their intimate connection to the Word. The Word as the source of life. And the Word is the Light of men—the World’s Messiah, and the source of truth and goodness for humanity.

John reaffirms and elaborates the core truths from the previous verse, namely that the Word was in the beginning from the beginning and that He is the Creator of all things.

The Roman commander and his soldiers rescue Paul from being murdered in the street by the mob. The commander arrests Paul and begins transporting him to the Roman barracks where he can safely investigate whether Paul is a criminal or not. Paul appeals to the commander in Greek, surprising the Roman, who had suspected Paul of being an Egyptian leader of assassins from a past insurrection. Paul explains he is from Tarsus and asks permission to speak to the mob. The commander allows it. Paul turns and addresses his would-be murderers.

Some Jews from the Roman province of Asia (the western region of modern-day Turkey) recognize Paul in the temple. They attack him and spread the lie that he had brought a Gentile into the inner court of the temple, which was forbidden. A mob seizes Paul and drags him out of the temple, where men start beating Paul with the intent to kill him in the street. The Roman commander stationed in Jerusalem receives a report about the murderous riot.

Paul, Luke, Timothy, and the rest of the team go to Jerusalem. The elder James, half-brother of Jesus, greets Paul warmly. He and the other elders praise God for all the Gentiles who now believe in Him through Paul’s ministry. They warn Paul that some of the believers in Jerusalem take the Mosaic Law extremely seriously, and have heard rumors that Paul teaches against the Law. To prove this slander wrong, the elders advise that Paul help pay for the temple sacrifices necessary to complete a vow which four of their men have taken. Paul agrees.

In Caesarea, Paul and his team stay with Philip the Evangelist, who settled down there after spreading the gospel in Samaria. Agabus the prophet visits Paul and warns him that he will certainly be arrested and bound by ropes if he comes to Jerusalem. Paul’s traveling companions and the Caesarean believers weep and beg Paul to avoid the holy city, but Paul, though touched by their affection, declares that he is ready even to die for Jesus, if it is God’s will.

Paul and his team sail from Miletus to Lycia, where they board a ship bound for Phoenicia. In Tyre, Phoencia, they stay with believers for a week. The Tyrian believers warn Paul not to go to Jerusalem, but Paul is determined. They have a time of prayer before Paul departs.

There will be no temple in the new earth. God Himself is the temple. We gain a glimpse into life in the new earth, which is vibrant and filled with activity and industry. We also get a warning that some will not be allowed to enter the new Jerusalem.

John describes the measurements and construction materials of New Jerusalem, which include many jewels and logic-defying pearls.