Commentary on the

NEW TESTAMENT

Verse-by-Verse Explanations

with a Literal Translation

ROBERT H. GUNDRY

Commentary on the New Testament

© 2010 by Hendrickson Publishers Marketing, LLC

P. O. Box 3473

Peabody, Massachusetts 01961-3473

ISBN 978-1-56563-933-1

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the publisher.

First Printing—July 2010

Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data

Gundry, Robert Horton.

Commentary on the New Testament / Robert H. Gundry.

p. cm.

ISBN 978-1-56563-933-1 (alk. paper)

1. Bible. N.T.—Commentaries. I. Title.

BS2341.52.G86 2010

225.7′7—dc22

2009044843

CONTENTS

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

INTRODUCTION

MATTHEW

MARK

LUKE

JOHN

ACTS

ROMANS

FIRST CORINTHIANS

SECOND CORINTHIANS

GALATIANS

EPHESIANS

PHILIPPIANS

COLOSSIANS

FIRST THESSALONIANS

SECOND THESSALONIANS

FIRST TIMOTHY

SECOND TIMOTHY

TITUS

PHILEMON

HEBREWS

JAMES

FIRST PETER

SECOND PETER

FIRST JOHN

SECOND JOHN

THIRD JOHN

JUDE

REVELATION

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

My sincere thanks to Shirley Decker-Lucke, Editorial Director at Hendrickson Publishers, for accepting this exposition of the New Testament for publication, and to Mark House, Phil Frank, and others for their work there on the publication. My brother Stan Gundry, whose contributions to Christian publishing are deservedly well-known, encouraged me to write the exposition. Connie Gundry Tappy copyedited the manuscript. Her copyediting included not only the correction of errors and the refinement of style, but also a host of interpretive improvements and scriptural cross-references arising out of her comprehensive knowledge of the Bible. To her, my daughter as well as my copyeditor, I affectionately dedicate this volume.

Robert H. Gundry

Westmont College

Santa Barbara, California

INTRODUCTION

Above all, this volume aims to serve Christian ministers, Bible study leaders, and serious-minded lay students who are either too busy or otherwise unable to plow through technical commentaries on individual books of the New Testament. I’ve therefore omitted scholarly documentation and discussions of authorship, date, sources, historicity, harmonization, and similar topics and concentrated instead on what is likely to prove useful for expository preaching, teaching, group discussion, and private edification. As a result, my comments plunge into the text of each New Testament book with only minimal introductions. Nevertheless, even scholars and seminarians may discover in the comments many particulars not to be found elsewhere yet worthy of consideration.

To suit the orality of preaching, teaching, and group discussion, I’ve avoided almost all abbreviations and freely used contractions (for example, “we’ll,” “you’re,” “they’ve”) and italics (the italics mostly for vocal emphasis), plus occasional colloquialisms. In the same vein, I’ve portrayed ...