John 16:1-6 These things have I spoken to you, that you should not be offended.… Matthew 5:23; Matthew 8:4). The word "service" means the service of worship (Romans 9:4; Romans 12:1; Hebrews 9:1-6). A rabbinic comment on Numbers 25:13 is, "Whosoever sheddeth the blood of the wicked is as he who offereth sacrifice." The martyrdom of St. Stephen, or St. Paul's account of himself as a persecutor (Acts 26:9; Galatians 1:13, 14), shows how these words were fulfilled in the first years of the Church's history, and such accounts are not absent from that history's latest page. (Archdeacon Watkins.) Abuse of conscience: — What a rattle and noise hath this word conscience made! How many battles has it fought? how many churches has it robbed, ruined, and reformed to ashes? how many laws has it trampled upon, dispensed with, and addressed against? and in a word, how many governments has it overturned? Such is the mischievous force of a plausible word applied to a detestable thing (Acts 26:9). (R. South, D. D.) Parallel Verses KJV: These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended.WEB: "These things have I spoken to you, so that you wouldn't be caused to stumble. |
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