The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1) Quotes

“Critics often style early Christians as anti-Semitic, but it was not the intent of early Christian believers to separate from Judaism or degrade Jews. They went into the synagogues seeking to convince Jews that Jesus was the Messiah, the promised one of Israel. The church became distinct sociologically when they were forced out of the synagogues and had to form their own communities. As these messages to Jews in the book of Acts show, the argument in the synagogue was that if one was a good Jew and believed God’s promises, then one would embrace Jesus as the promised Messiah and become complete as a Jew.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“Mention of “the Law and the Prophets” tells us that Judaism had a well-defined collection of sacred Scripture by this time in history. Its divisions were sometimes called the Law and the Prophets as here, or Law, Prophets, and Psalms as found in Luke 24:44. By the time of Jesus, the Torah (Genesis through Deuteronomy), most of the Historical books, the Major Prophets, and most of the Minor Prophets would have been understood to be a part of this collection.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“The opponents see Stephen’s message as blasphemy because they say he demeans God’s temple and the law. The following speech by Stephen shows he is not guilty of blasphemy, but that he declares that God is bigger than the temple, so the temple is not everything. This break from popular conceptions accounts for much of the animosity the Jewish leaders showed toward the early Christians.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“Satan’s work continues, but “the fundamental smashing of his reign of tyranny takes place in the death/exaltation of Jesus” (Carson 1991, 443). In other words, the NT indicates that even though the war still continues, the decisive battle has already been won and the ultimate defeat of Satan and victory of God are not in doubt.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“Jesus meant for his words to be taken neither in a literal nor in a sacramental sense. The expression “flesh and blood” constitutes a Hebrew idiom referring to the whole person”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“Jesus can say the Jews have set their hope on Moses and at the say time charge them with not believing Moses because they misunderstood both Moses and the law. Rather than being an end in itself, the law was meant to point to Christ”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“What Jesus prohibits in Luke 6:37 is not moral discernment but a judgmental and censorious perspective toward others, a graceless attitude that does not seek to lead the guilty to reconciliation with God and people. Rather than being quick to condemn and slow to forgive, Jesus asks us to be slow to condemn and quick to forgive. Again, what Jesus prohibits is an arrogance that reacts with hostility to worldly and morally lax persons, viewing them as beyond God’s reach.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“What really got the crowd angry was not Jesus’ extraordinary claims about himself. They merely puzzled over that, perhaps thinking he was not of sound mind. Their anger was provoked when Jesus suggested that God’s blessing might go to the Gentiles rather than Israel, just as had happened in the past.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“The desire to construct a tight timeline of all the events in Jesus’ early life was not a concern of either Gospel writer. The differences indicate the independence of Matthew and Luke in choosing what details to share.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“The ossuary of Simon’s son Alexander may have been recovered. Found in Jerusalem in 1941, inscriptions on the ossuary read “Alexander (son) of Simon” (in Greek) and “Alexander (the) Cyreanite” (in Hebrew). The combination of father’s Aramaic name Simon, his son’s Greek name Alexander, the connection with Cyrene, and the burial in Jerusalem match all of the details and inferences we find in Mark 15:21”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“In light of his earlier teaching in the temple precincts, especially as seen in the parable of the Vineyard Tenants (see commentary on 12:1–12) and prediction of the temple’s destruction (see commentary on 13:1–2), we should probably assume that Jesus’ reply carries with it an element of threat. When next Caiaphas and his colleagues see Jesus, he will be installed at God’s right hand and will be coming with the clouds of heaven, in judgment upon the temple establishment. The temple “made by human hands” will be destroyed (and this probably means more than only the physical buildings themselves, but refers to the entire establishment) and will be replaced with one of heavenly construction (compare Rev 11:19, which speaks of “God’s sanctuary in heaven”; and Rev 21:22, where God and the Lamb are themselves the temple).”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“Mark begins his Gospel with a quotation from Isaiah 40 in order to show that his focus will be on Jesus the divine warrior who will lead his people from their bondage and exile. It is commonly understood that in his prophecies of restoration from exile, Isaiah portrays the restoration as a new exodus. Rikki E. Watts has shown that “for Mark the long-awaited coming of Yahweh as King and Warrior has begun, and with it, the inauguration of Israel’s eschatological comfort” (1997, 90). The Gospel’s action begins in the wilderness, indicating that God’s people are still in exile, outside the land of promise and blessing (cf. Evans 1997, 317–18).”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“In effect, the Evangelist is saying to the Roman world: Caesar is neither the beginning of the gospel (or good news) for the world, nor God’s son; Messiah Jesus is. As such, Mark’s opening words directly challenge the Roman emperor cult (see comments on Mark 15:39 below) and offer a powerful apologetic in support of the Christian movement and its faith in Jesus.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“Matthew’s Gospel reflects the difficulty that Jews had in understanding their distinctiveness in God’s program along with the inclusion of Gentiles. Jesus’ ministry to Jews throughout his ministry was a fulfillment of the promises to Israel of messianic blessings (see comments on 10:5–15, 23). But throughout his ministry Jesus had increasingly revealed that now was the time to include Gentiles as well (see comments on 8:5–13; 10:16–22). This concluding commission of Jesus’ earthly ministry coheres with Jesus’ intention to include Gentiles, which is soon reemphasized in the book of Acts in his charge to the disciples before his ascension: “you will be My witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). During his earthly ministry Jesus’ followers struggled to comprehend how Israel could retain its distinctiveness in God’s program, yet include Gentiles in the kingdom that Jesus was establishing. And that difficulty remained in the early church. A significant breakthrough came with the vision from the Lord to Peter to go to the Gentile centurion Cornelius with the gospel (Acts 10:1–48). The early church continued to struggle with the inclusion of Gentiles (Acts 11:1–18; 15:1–6) until Peter and the other leaders of the church finally acknowledged that God’s intention was that the church was to be made up of disciples of all the nations, Jews and Gentiles alike (Acts 15:7–29).”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“Jesus’ use of Exodus 3:6 goes to the heart of Jewish thinking and practice, including that of the Sadducees, because Exodus 3 is the place where God introduces himself to Moses as “I AM who I AM” (Exod 3:6, 14–16). Jesus reminded the Sadducees that the rich ambiguity of this formula in Exodus 3:6 (employing the verbless nominative construction “I am the God of”), allows it to refer not merely to history, as in, “I was the God of,” but also to the present. Moses would have understood God to be saying that at the present time he was still the God of the four persons named. They had not ceased to exist even though they were no longer among the living on earth. If Moses would have understood this, then rightly should the Sadducees (cf. Stuart 2006, 115).”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“Peter’s expression “the Son of the living God,” had special significance in the area of Caesarea Philippi, which was host to worship of Baal, Pan, and Caesar. Jesus is the Son of the God who is living, unlike mythical gods etched in stone. The expression also references the relationship that has characterized Jesus and God throughout Matthew’s narrative.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“The intent of the Law is to serve God’s people, not for God’s people to serve the Law.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“Jesus’ institution of the new covenant in his blood, which is poured out for the forgiveness of sin, is a dividing line. The complex of events including the cross, resurrection, ascension, and sending of the Spirit at Pentecost brings the arrival of the kingdom’s redemptive life, by which time John had been executed. John is the greatest of those born during the OT era because of his crucial role in preparing the way for the Messiah and his kingdom. John’s mission was great because of the greatness of the one he introduced. Those in the kingdom of heaven are greater because of their privilege to have actually entered the kingdom of heaven.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“Is Jesus inconsistent about whether he came for peace or for strife (cp. John 14:27; Matt 26:52)? Jesus’ ultimate purpose is to bring reconciliation between God and humans, but the gospel itself causes division. On the one hand the gospel brings peace between true believers and God (John 14:27), and between true believers (Eph 2:14–18). But on the other hand, the gospel divides those who believe from those who are hostile to the gospel. One either believes in Jesus, or rejects him. There is no middle ground.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“The theme of judgment upon Israel for rejecting the mission of the Twelve leads Jesus to reverse the sheep metaphor. Those whom Jesus formerly construed as sheep are now said to be wolves: “I’m sending you out like sheep among wolves” (10:16). Prior to this, the disciples were to go to the sheep, the lost people of Israel (9:36: 10:6). In the first part of the commissioning (10:5–15), Jesus gave instructions to the disciples about their short-term mission to Israel during his earthly ministry. In the second part (10:16–23), he instructs them about their long-term mission throughout the world until his return.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“Did the mission eventually turn to the Gentiles only because Jesus’ original plan (to evangelize the Jews) failed, as some critics have claimed? This charge misses the fact that Jesus went first to Israel (cf. 15:21–28) to fulfill the salvation-historical order that God established, with Israel being the tool that God would use to bless the world (e.g., Gen 12:2–3; 22:18). The world cannot be blessed if the Jewish messengers always kept the message of salvation to themselves, however, and so the plan always entailed an eventual turn to the Gentiles.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“Therefore, we can hardly think of submission to his baptism as an act of righteousness, and certainly not a fulfillment of all righteousness. More likely Jesus means “fulfill all righteousness” in a salvation-historical sense. God’s saving activity prophesied throughout the OT is now being fulfilled with the inauguration of Jesus’ ministry and will culminate in his death on the cross. This is supported by the similar salvation-historical reference to John the Baptist in 21:31–32 (Hagner 1992, 116–17). Jesus is expressing his obedience to God’s plan of salvation that has been revealed in the Scriptures (Keener 2009, 132). The public baptism illustrated salvation-historical continuity between John the Baptist’s and Jesus’ ministries. By identifying himself with John through baptism, Jesus endorsed John’s ministry and message, and linked his own cause to John’s (“this is the way for us to fulfill all righteousness” 3:15; emphasis added).”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“Neither the religious leaders nor Matthew alter the meaning of the OT prophecies, but emphasize certain features that had relevance for their situation. This is typical of OT exegesis in Second Temple Judaism.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“Judging from citations found in early Christian writers, Matthew was the most widely read and frequently used of the four Gospels in the formative years of the church. There are many reasons for its popularity, but one of the primary reasons why this Gospel is so important is because of its verification that Jesus is recognized as the long-awaited Messiah, the prophesied fulfillment of God’s promise of true peace, deliverance, salvation, and new life in the kingdom of God for all of humanity, both Jew and Gentile.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)

“The divine inspiration and inerrancy of Scripture are baseline convictions for this commentary.”
― Michael Wilkins, The Gospels and Acts (The Holman Apologetics Commentary on the Bible Book 1)