And after six days Jesus taketh Peter, James, and John his brother, and bringeth them up into an high mountain apart,

Then answered Peter, and said unto Jesus, Lord, it is good for us to be here: if thou wilt, let us make here three tabernacles; one for thee, and one for Moses, and one for Elias.

And when they were come to Capernaum, they that received tribute money came to Peter, and said, Doth not your master pay tribute?

Peter saith unto him, Of strangers. Jesus saith unto him, Then are the children free.

Then came Peter to him, and said, Lord, how oft shall my brother sin against me, and I forgive him? till seven times?

Then answered Peter and said unto him, Behold, we have forsaken all, and followed thee; what shall we have therefore?

Peter answered and said unto him, Though all men shall be offended because of thee, yet will I never be offended.

Peter said unto him, Though I should die with thee, yet will I not deny thee. Likewise also said all the disciples.

And he took with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, and began to be sorrowful and very heavy.

And he cometh unto the disciples, and findeth them asleep, and saith unto Peter, What, could ye not watch with me one hour?

19:4 all the people. The enormity of Sodom’s wickedness is indicated by the eagerness with which not a few degenerates, but all the men of the city desired to commit the crime of homosexual rape, probably leading to murder, on two unknown visitors to their city. Lot’s desire to protect them demonstrates his basically godly character (II Peter 2:8) even though his carnality had led him into this compromising association.

19:19 magnified thy mercy. This first reference in the Bible to God’s “mercy” is described quite properly by Lot as “magnified.” God’s mercy is also said to be “from everlasting to everlasting” (Psalm 103:17), and as great “as the heaven is high above the earth” (Psalm 103:11). He is “rich in mercy” (Ephesians 2:4) and has shown “abundant mercy” (I Peter 1:3) in saving us. God’s mercy is appropriately described in superlatives!

7:18 prevailed. The word “prevailed” in the original conveys the meaning “were overwhelmingly mighty.” Not only would all land animals eventually drown, but the plant covering would be uprooted and rafted away, the soils eroded and finally even the mountains and hills washed away. In the sea depths, the eruption of the fountains of the great deep would also profoundly affect marine life. Great quantities of magma, metals and other materials were extruded from the earth’s mantle. The sediments from the lands were transported down to be deposited in the encroaching sea basins. Complex hydrodynamic phenomena–tsunamis, vortices, turbidity flows, cyclic erosion and deposition, and a variety of geomorphologic activity–took place throughout the year. Earth movements of great magnitude, and tremendous volcanic explosions shook the earth again and again, until finally, “the world that then was, being overflowed with water, perished” (II Peter 3:6).

20:7 a prophet. This is the first use of the word “prophet” or “prophecy” in Scripture. As the context indicates, its meaning is not primarily that of foretelling the future, but of being God’s spokesman, conveying His words by divine inspiration to man (compare II Peter 1:19-21). God exacts strong punishment on any who harm His prophets, even when they themselves are blameworthy (Psalm 105:15).

23:19 Sarah his wife. Sarah is the only woman in the Bible whose age at death is given (Genesis 23:1). Isaac was thirty-seven when she died. As Abraham is called the father of all believers, so Sarah is considered mother of all believing women (I Peter 3:5,6), and she died in faith (Hebrews 11:13).

1:20 dealt well with the midwives. The midwives had both disobeyed their rulers and lied to them, both of which actions are normally sinful in God’s sight (e.g., I Peter 2:13; Ephesians 4:25), and yet God rewarded them. When situations arise in which the commands of rulers conflict with explicit commandments of God (in this case, the murder of innocent children conflicts with the commandment against murder and also His explicit commandment and promise to Jacob–note Genesis 46:3,4), then God’s word must be obeyed (Acts 5:29) rather than the unlawful orders of men. The midwives protected the infants at the risk of their own lives. What may seem superficially to have been a “false witness” was not “against thy neighbour” (Exodus 20:16), but in hazardous protection of their neighbor, just as was the case with those Christians who hid their Jewish neighbors during Hitler’s pogroms.

12:4 too little for the lamb. Note that the lamb was never too little for the household. The lamb, of course, is a foreshadow of Jesus Christ, the Lamb of God (John 1:29) our Passover (I Corinthians 5:7) without blemish, sacrificed for us (I Peter 1:19).

19:6 kingdom of priests. Israel was called by God to be a peculiarly holy nation, as a witness to all other nations that either had already departed from acknowledging the true God of creation, or were in the process. In the sense of mediating between other nations and God, all the Israelites were to serve as a royal priesthood, even though within their own nation the tribe of Levi would be designated as their priests. This wonderful offer was given to Israel even before they received the ten commandments. Even though they failed miserably, the promise is still there, probably to be accomplished in the millennial age (Isaiah 61:6; Revelation 5:10). In the meantime, in this present age Christian believers have been chosen spiritually to be both a “holy priesthood” and a “royal priesthood” (I Peter 2:5,9), and this shall be our privilege throughout eternity (Revelation 1:6).

1:3 burnt sacrifice. Burnt offerings were offered first of all by Abel (Genesis 4:4), as well as by the later patriarchs. It is the first of the five types of offerings mentioned in Leviticus as incorporated into the ceremonial law of Israel. In order to make a true atonement (or “covering”) for sins, the blood of a spotless animal must be shed, thereby anticipating the eventual offering of the sinless blood of the Lamb of God as a once-for-all offering for the sin of the world (John 1:29; I Peter 1:18-20; Hebrews 10:10).

8:23 Aaron’s right ear. The atoning blood was placed on the ear, the hand and the foot of God’s priests to designate, respectively, hearing and obeying God’s Word, doing God’s service, and walking in God’s will. Today, as a spiritual priesthood, we also should so hear, serve, and walk (I Peter 2:9) in the will of God.