Barnes' Notes: Luke and John

by Albert Barnes; Robert Frew

Publisher:

Blackie & Son

, 1884–1885

Overview

Albert Barnes and James Murphy wrote this verse-by-verse commentary on Luke and John. Published in the 1800s, it is still well-loved and well-read by evangelicals who appreciate Barnes' pastoral insights into the Scripture. It is not a technical work, but provides informative observations on the text, intended to be helpful to those teaching Sunday School. Today, it is ideally suited to anyone teaching or preaching the Word of God, whether a professional minister or layperson.

Contents

Top Highlights

“Jesus replied to that that he existed before Abraham.” (Page 276)

“Filled with wrath. They were enraged, probably, for the following reasons: 1st. They saw that the cases applied to themselves, because they would not receive the miraculous evidences of his mission. 2d. That he would direct his attention to others, and not to them. 3d. That the Gentiles were objects of compassion with God, and that God often showed more favour to a single Gentile than to multitudes of Jews in the same circumstances. 4th. That they might be worse than the Gentiles.” (Page 36)

“Believed on him. This does not mean that they did not before believe on him, but that their faith was confirmed or strengthened. They saw a miracle, and it satisfied them that he was the Messiah. Before this they believed on the testimony of John, and from conversation with Jesus (ch. 1:35–51); now they saw that he was invested with almighty power, and their faith was established.” (Page 194)

“The object of John was to prove that ‘the Word’ became incarnate.” (Page 180)

“The point of the comparison or the meaning of the figure is this: A vine yields proper juice and nourishment to all the branches, whether these are large or small. All the nourishment of each branch and tendril passes through the main stalk, or the vine, that springs from the earth. So Jesus is the source of all real strength and grace to his disciples. He is their leader and teacher, and imparts to them, as they need, grace and strength to bear the fruits of holiness.” (Page 336)

Product Details

• Title: Barnes' Notes: Luke and John
• Authors: Albert Barnes and James Murphy
• Publisher: Blackie & Son
• Publication Date: 1884–1885
• Pages: 415

About Albert Barnes

Albert Barnes graduated from Hamilton College, Clinton, New York, in 1820, and from Princeton Theological Seminary in 1823. Barnes was ordained as a Presbyterian minister by the presbytery of Elizabethtown, New Jersey, in 1825, and was the pastor of the Presbyterian Church in Morristown, New Jersey (1825–1830), and of the First Presbyterian Church of Philadelphia (1830–1867).

He held a prominent place in the New School branch of the Presbyterians during the Old School-New School Controversy, to which he adhered on the division of the denomination in 1837. In 1836, he had been tried (but not convicted) for heresy, mostly due to the views he expressed in Notes on Romans of the imputation of the sin of Adam, original sin and the atonement; the bitterness stirred up by this trial contributed towards widening the breach between the conservative and the progressive elements in the church. He was an eloquent preacher, but his reputation rests chiefly on his expository works, which are said to have had a larger circulation both in Europe and America than any others of their class. Of the well-known Notes on the New Testament, it is said that more than a million volumes had been issued by 1870. The Notes on Job, the Psalms, Isaiah and Daniel were also popularly distributed. The popularity of these works rested on how Barnes simplified Biblical criticism so that new developments in the field were made accessible to the general public.