Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself.) I am more so: in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, and in deaths often. Five times I received forty stripes minus one from the Jews. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I suffered shipwreck. I have been a night and a day in the deep. I have been in travels often, perils of rivers, perils of robbers, perils from my countrymen, perils from the Gentiles, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the sea, perils among false brothers; in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, and in cold and nakedness.
Show the surrounding paragraph
2 Corinthians 11:23-27 sits inside this longer paragraph.
I say again, let no one think me foolish. But if so, yet receive me as foolish, that I also may boast a little. That which I speak, I don’t speak according to the Lord, but as in foolishness, in this confidence of boasting. Seeing that many boast after the flesh, I will also boast. For you bear with the foolish gladly, being wise. For you bear with a man if he brings you into bondage, if he devours you, if he takes you captive, if he exalts himself, or if he strikes you on the face. I speak by way of disparagement, as though we had been weak. Yet in whatever way anyone is bold (I speak in foolishness), I am bold also. Are they Hebrews? So am I. Are they Israelites? So am I. Are they the offspring of Abraham? So am I. Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself.) I am more so: in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, and in deaths often. Five times I received forty stripes minus one from the Jews. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I suffered shipwreck. I have been a night and a day in the deep. I have been in travels often, perils of rivers, perils of robbers, perils from my countrymen, perils from the Gentiles, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the sea, perils among false brothers; in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, and in cold and nakedness.
Parallel Translations
-
Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself.) I am more so: in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, and in deaths often.
Five times I received forty stripes minus one from the Jews.
Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I suffered shipwreck. I have been a night and a day in the deep.
I have been in travels often, perils of rivers, perils of robbers, perils from my countrymen, perils from the Gentiles, perils in the city, perils in the wilderness, perils in the sea, perils among false brothers;
in labor and travail, in watchings often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, and in cold and nakedness.
-
They are the ministers of Christ (I speake as a fole) I am moare: In labours moare aboundant: In strypes above measure: In preson more plenteously: In deeth ofte.
Of the Iewes five tymes receaved I every tyme.xl. strypes saue one.
Thryse was I beten with roddes. I was once stoned. I suffered thryse shipwracke. Nyght and daye have I bene in the depe of the see.
In iorneyinge often: In parels of waters: In parels of robbers: In ieoperdies of myne awne nacion: In ieoperdies amonge the hethen. I have bene in parels in cities in parels in wildernes in parels in the see in parels amonge falce brethren
in laboure and travayle in watchynge often in honger in thirst in fastynges often in colde and in nakednes.
Show all 3 translations
-
They are the ministers of Christ (I speake as a foole) I am more: in labours more aboundant: in stripes aboue measure: in prison more plenteously: in death oft.
Of the Iewes fiue times receiued I fourtie stripes saue one.
I was thrise beaten with roddes: I was once stoned: I suffered thrise shipwracke: night and day haue I bene in the deepe sea.
In iourneying I was often, in perils of waters, in perils of robbers, in perils of mine owne nation, in perils among the Gentiles, in perils in the citie, in perils in wildernes, in perils in the sea, in perils among false brethren,
In wearinesse and painefulnesse, in watching often, in hunger and thirst, in fastings often, in colde and in nakednesse.
Cross-references (94)
- Acts 14:19 (vv23, 25, 26) But some Jews from Antioch and Iconium came there, and having persuaded the multitudes, they stoned Paul, and dragged him out of the city,…
- 2 Corinthians 6:4-5 (v23) but in everything commending ourselves, as servants of God, in great endurance, in afflictions, in hardships, in distresses, in beatings,…
- 2 Corinthians 6:5 (v27) in beatings, in imprisonments, in riots, in labors, in watchings, in fastings;
- Philippians 4:12 (v27) I know how to be humbled, and I also know how to abound. In everything and in all things I have learned the secret both to be filled and to…
- 2 Corinthians 1:9-10 (v23) Yes, we ourselves have had the sentence of death within ourselves, that we should not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead,…
Show all 90 cross-references
- 2 Corinthians 6:9 (v23) as unknown, and yet well known; as dying, and behold, we live; as punished, and not killed;
- Colossians 1:24 (v23) Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and fill up on my part that which is lacking of the afflictions of Christ in my flesh for his…
- 1 Thessalonians 2:9 (v27) For you remember, brothers, our labor and travail; for working night and day, that we might not burden any of you, we preached to you the…
- Acts 14:5 (vv25–26) When some of both the Gentiles and the Jews, with their rulers, made a violent attempt to mistreat and stone them,
- 1 Corinthians 15:10 (v23) But by the grace of God I am what I am. His grace which was given to me was not futile, but I worked more than all of them; yet not I, but…
- 2 Corinthians 11:24-25 (v23) Five times I received forty stripes minus one from the Jews. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I suffered…
- 2 Thessalonians 3:8 (v27) neither did we eat bread from anyone’s hand without paying for it, but in labor and travail worked night and day, that we might not burden…
- Acts 9:16 (v23) For I will show him how many things he must suffer for my name’s sake.”
- 1 Corinthians 4:11-12 (v27) Even to this present hour we hunger, thirst, are naked, are beaten, and have no certain dwelling place. We toil, working with our own…
- 2 Corinthians 3:6 (v23) who also made us sufficient as servants of a new covenant, not of the letter, but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives…
- Acts 13:50 (v26) But the Jews stirred up the devout and prominent women and the chief men of the city, and stirred up a persecution against Paul and…
- Acts 17:5 (v26) But the unpersuaded Jews took along some wicked men from the marketplace, and gathering a crowd, set the city in an uproar. Assaulting the…
- Acts 20:19 (v26) serving the Lord with all humility, with many tears, and with trials which happened to me by the plots of the Jews;
- Acts 25:3 (v26) asking a favor against him, that he would summon him to Jerusalem; plotting to kill him on the way.
- Colossians 1:29 (v23) for which I also labor, striving according to his working, which works in me mightily.
- 2 Timothy 2:9 (v23) in which I suffer hardship to the point of chains as a criminal. But God’s word isn’t chained.
- Hebrews 11:37 (vv25, 27) They were stoned. They were sawn apart. They were tempted. They were slain with the sword. They went around in sheep skins and in goat…
- Jeremiah 38:9 (v27) “My lord the king, these men have done evil in all that they have done to Jeremiah the prophet, whom they have cast into the dungeon. He is…
- Mark 13:9 (v24) But watch yourselves, for they will deliver you up to councils. You will be beaten in synagogues. You will stand before rulers and kings…
- Acts 13:2-3 (v27) As they served the Lord and fasted, the Holy Spirit said, “Separate Barnabas and Saul for me, for the work to which I have called them.”…
- Acts 14:23 (v27) When they had appointed elders for them in every assembly, and had prayed with fasting, they commended them to the Lord, on whom they had…
- Acts 16:22-23 (v25) The multitude rose up together against them and the magistrates tore their clothes from them, then commanded them to be beaten with rods.…
- Acts 16:33 (v25) He took them the same hour of the night and washed their stripes, and was immediately baptized, he and all his household.
- Acts 16:37 (v25) But Paul said to them, “They have beaten us publicly without a trial, men who are Romans, and have cast us into prison! Do they now release…
- Acts 20:34-35 (v27) You yourselves know that these hands served my necessities, and those who were with me. In all things I gave you an example, that so…
- Acts 27:1-44 (v25) When it was determined that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the…
- Romans 8:35-36 (v27) Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Could oppression, or anguish, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or peril, or sword?…
- 1 Corinthians 3:5 (v23) Who then is Apollos, and who is Paul, but servants through whom you believed, and each as the Lord gave to him?
- 1 Corinthians 7:5 (v27) Don’t deprive one another, unless it is by consent for a season, that you may give yourselves to fasting and prayer, and may be together…
- 1 Corinthians 15:30-32 (v23) Why do we also stand in jeopardy every hour? I affirm, by the boasting in you which I have in Christ Jesus our Lord, I die daily. If I…
- 2 Corinthians 1:8-10 (v26) For we don’t desire to have you uninformed, brothers, concerning our affliction which happened to us in Asia, that we were weighed down…
- 2 Corinthians 11:23 (v27) Are they servants of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself.) I am more so: in labors more abundantly, in prisons more abundantly, in…
- Ephesians 6:20 (v23) for which I am an ambassador in chains; that in it I may speak boldly, as I ought to speak.
- Philippians 1:13 (v23) so that it became evident to the whole palace guard, and to all the rest, that my bonds are in Christ,
- Philemon 1:9 (v23) yet for love’s sake I rather beg, being such a one as Paul, the aged, but also a prisoner of Jesus Christ.
- James 2:15-16 (v27) And if a brother or sister is naked and in lack of daily food, and one of you tells them, “Go in peace. Be warmed and filled;” yet you…
- Deuteronomy 25:2-3 (v24) It shall be, if the wicked man is worthy to be beaten, that the judge shall cause him to lie down and to be beaten before his face,…
- Matthew 21:35 (v25) The farmers took his servants, beat one, killed another, and stoned another.
- Acts 7:58-59 (v25) They threw him out of the city and stoned him. The witnesses placed their garments at the feet of a young man named Saul. They stoned…
- Acts 9:23-30 (v26) When many days were fulfilled, the Jews conspired together to kill him, but their plot became known to Saul. They watched the gates both…
- Acts 11:25-26 (v26) Barnabas went out to Tarsus to look for Saul. When he had found him, he brought him to Antioch. For a whole year they were gathered…
- Acts 13:1-14 (v26) Now in the assembly that was at Antioch there were some prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon who was called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene,…
- Acts 15:2-4 (v26) Therefore when Paul and Barnabas had no small discord and discussion with them, they appointed Paul and Barnabas, and some others of them,…
- Acts 15:40–16:24 (v26) but Paul chose Silas and went out, being commended by the brothers to the grace of God. He went through Syria and Cilicia, strengthening…
- Acts 16:23-24 (v23) When they had laid many stripes on them, they threw them into prison, charging the jailer to keep them safely, who, having received such a…
- Acts 18:12 (v26) But when Gallio was proconsul of Achaia, the Jews with one accord rose up against Paul and brought him before the judgment seat,
- Acts 18:18-23 (v26) Paul, having stayed after this many more days, took his leave of the brothers, and sailed from there for Syria, together with Priscilla and…
- Acts 19:1 (v26) While Apollos was at Corinth, Paul, having passed through the upper country, came to Ephesus and found certain disciples.
- Acts 19:23–20:6 (v26) About that time there arose no small disturbance concerning the Way. For a certain man named Demetrius, a silversmith who made silver…
- Acts 20:5-11 (v27) But these had gone ahead, and were waiting for us at Troas. We sailed away from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to…
- Acts 20:23 (v23) except that the Holy Spirit testifies in every city, saying that bonds and afflictions wait for me.
- Acts 20:31 (v27) Therefore watch, remembering that for a period of three years I didn’t cease to admonish everyone night and day with tears.
- Acts 21:11 (v23) Coming to us and taking Paul’s belt, he bound his own feet and hands, and said, “The Holy Spirit says: ‘So the Jews at Jerusalem will bind…
- Acts 21:27-31 (v26) When the seven days were almost completed, the Jews from Asia, when they saw him in the temple, stirred up all the multitude and laid hands…
- Acts 23:10 (v26) When a great argument arose, the commanding officer, fearing that Paul would be torn in pieces by them, commanded the soldiers to go down…
- Acts 23:12-22 (v26) When it was day, some of the Jews banded together, and bound themselves under a curse, saying that they would neither eat nor drink until…
- Acts 24:26-27 (v23) Meanwhile, he also hoped that money would be given to him by Paul, that he might release him. Therefore also he sent for him more often and…
- Acts 25:14 (v23) As he stayed there many days, Festus laid Paul’s case before the king, saying, “There is a certain man left a prisoner by Felix;
- Acts 27:1 (v23) When it was determined that we should sail for Italy, they delivered Paul and certain other prisoners to a centurion named Julius, of the…
- Acts 28:10-11 (v26) They also honored us with many honors, and when we sailed, they put on board the things that we needed. After three months, we set sail in…
- Acts 28:16 (v23) When we entered into Rome, the centurion delivered the prisoners to the captain of the guard, but Paul was allowed to stay by himself with…
- Acts 28:30 (v23) Paul stayed two whole years in his own rented house and received all who were coming to him,
- Romans 8:36 (v23) Even as it is written, “For your sake we are killed all day long. We were accounted as sheep for the slaughter.”
- Romans 15:19 (v26) in the power of signs and wonders, in the power of God’s Spirit; so that from Jerusalem, and around as far as to Illyricum, I have fully…
- Romans 15:24-28 (v26) whenever I travel to Spain, I will come to you. For I hope to see you on my journey, and to be helped on my way there by you, if first I…
- 1 Corinthians 15:32 (v26) If I fought with animals at Ephesus for human purposes, what does it profit me? If the dead are not raised, then “let’s eat and drink, for…
- 2 Corinthians 4:11 (v23) For we who live are always delivered to death for Jesus’ sake, that the life also of Jesus may be revealed in our mortal flesh.
- 2 Corinthians 10:7 (v23) Do you look at things only as they appear in front of your face? If anyone trusts in himself that he is Christ’s, let him consider this…
- 2 Corinthians 11:5 (v23) For I reckon that I am not at all behind the very best apostles.
- 2 Corinthians 11:32 (v26) In Damascus the governor under King Aretas guarded the Damascenes’ city, desiring to arrest me.
- 2 Corinthians 12:11-12 (v23) I have become foolish in boasting. You compelled me, for I ought to have been commended by you, for I am in no way inferior to the very…
- Galatians 1:17-21 (v26) nor did I go up to Jerusalem to those who were apostles before me, but I went away into Arabia. Then I returned to Damascus. Then after…
- Galatians 2:4 (v26) This was because of the false brothers secretly brought in, who stole in to spy out our liberty which we have in Christ Jesus, that they…
- Ephesians 3:1 (v23) For this cause I, Paul, am the prisoner of Christ Jesus on behalf of you Gentiles,
- Ephesians 4:1 (v23) I therefore, the prisoner in the Lord, beg you to walk worthily of the calling with which you were called,
- Philippians 2:17 (v23) Yes, and if I am poured out on the sacrifice and service of your faith, I rejoice, and rejoice with you all.
- 1 Thessalonians 2:15-16 (v26) who killed both the Lord Jesus and their own prophets, and drove us out, and don’t please God, and are contrary to all men, forbidding us…
- 1 Thessalonians 3:2 (v23) and sent Timothy, our brother and God’s servant in the Good News of Christ, to establish you, and to comfort you concerning your faith,
- 1 Timothy 4:6 (v23) If you instruct the brothers of these things, you will be a good servant of Christ Jesus, nourished in the words of the faith, and of the…
- 2 Timothy 1:8 (v23) Therefore don’t be ashamed of the testimony of our Lord, nor of me his prisoner; but endure hardship for the Good News according to the…
- 2 Timothy 1:16 (v23) May the Lord grant mercy to the house of Onesiphorus, for he often refreshed me, and was not ashamed of my chain,
- Hebrews 10:34 (v23) For you both had compassion on me in my chains, and joyfully accepted the plundering of your possessions, knowing that you have for…
- Matthew 10:17 (v24) But beware of men: for they will deliver you up to councils, and in their synagogues they will scourge you.
- Acts 22:24 (v25) the commanding officer commanded him to be brought into the barracks, ordering him to be examined by scourging, that he might know for what…
- 1 Corinthians 4:1 (v23) So let a man think of us as Christ’s servants, and stewards of God’s mysteries.
90 distinct cross-references across this passage (94 total citations).
Cross-references from openbible.info (CC BY 4.0)
Explain this passage (21 sources)
Historical commentary, presented as a primary source — not an endorsement.
Private notes
Saved on this device only — never synced or sent anywhere.
John Calvin 1540 · Public Domain On vv23–27 23. Are they ministers of Christ? Now when he…
23. Are they ministers of Christ? Now when he is treating of matters truly praiseworthy, he is no longer satisfied with being on an equality with them, but exalts himself above them. For their carnal glories he has previously been scattering like smoke by a breath of wind, by placing in opposition to them those which he had of a similar kind; but as they had nothing of solid worth, he on good grounds separates himself from their society, when he has occasion to glory in good earnest. For to be a servant of Christ is a thing that is much more honorable and illustrious, than to be the first-born among all the first-born of Abraham’s posterity. Again, however, with the view of providing against calumnies, he premises that he speaks as a fool “Imagine this,” says he, “to be foolish boasting: it is, nevertheless, true.”
In labors. By these things he proves that he is a more eminent servant of Christ, and then truly we have a proof that may be relied upon, when deeds instead of words are brought forward. He uses the term labors here in the plural number, and afterwards labor What difference there is between the former and the latter I do not see, unless perhaps it be, that he speaks here in a more general way, including those things that he afterwards enumerates in detail. In the same way we may also understand the term deaths to mean any kind of perils that in a manner threatened present death, instances of which he afterwards specifies. “I have given proof of myself in deaths often, in labors oftener still.” He had made use of the term deaths in the same sense in the first chapter. (2 Corinthians 1:10.)
John Calvin's Commentaries (1540-1563) — public domain. Text from the Calvin Translation Society English edition (1840s-50s) via the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (ccel.org). Calvin's coverage is partial (roughly two-thirds of the Bible); uncommented books and verses are honest gaps, never fabricated. The 19th-century editor's footnotes and remarks are omitted so the notes are faithfully Calvin's own voice.
Geneva Bible translators 1599 · Public Domain On vv23, 24, 25, 27 In danger of present death.
In danger of present death.
Paul being honorable indeed, defendeth his ministry openly, not for his own sake, but because he saw his doctrine come into hazard.
Geneva Bible (1599) marginal notes — public domain.
John Trapp 1656 · Public Domain On vv23–27 23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as…
23 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as a fool) I am more; in labours more abundant, in stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent, in deaths oft.
Ver. 23. In labours more abundant] Chrysostom calleth Paul, Insatiabilem Dei cultorem, an unweariable servant of God.
John Trapp, A Commentary or Exposition upon All the Books of the Old and New Testament (1647–1656) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Matthew Poole 1685 · Public Domain On vv23–27 Will they glory in this, that they are ministers…
Will they glory in this, that they are ministers of Christ, employed as the servants of Christ in preaching the gospel? I should not boast about this, (in that I may seem to speak as a fool), but I am much more a minister than they, both with respect to my call to the work, and also my performing of it. I had a more immediate call and mission to the work than what they can boast of, and I have done more in that work than any of them have done.
In labours more abundant; I have travelled more to preach it, I have laboured more in the propagation of it.
Read full note →
In stripes above measure, in prisons more frequent; I have suffered more for the preaching of it, I have been oftener whipped, oftener imprisoned, than any of them ever were: see 2Co 6:4,5.
In deaths oft; I have been oftener in hazard of my life: he calls dangers threatening death, deaths, as 2Co 1:10.
Matthew Poole's English Annotations on the Holy Bible (1683–1685) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
William Burkitt 1703 · Public Domain On vv24–25 The law in Deu 25:3 allowed forty stripes to…
The law in Deu 25:3 allowed forty stripes to be given to them that were worthy to be beaten, but forbade them to exceed that number: But it being their custom to beat them with a whip that had three cords, they must either stop at thirty-nine, or exceed and go to forty-two.
Here observe, That the apostle contending with these false teachers, proves the truth of his ministry and apostleship; not, as elsewhere, from the miracles and gifts of the Holy Ghost, which did accompany his preaching, but from his sufferings, as being the things which these false apostles could not pretend unto, and so could not glory that they were like unto him in them.
William Burkitt's Expository Notes on the New Testament (1700–1703) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
John Gill 1763 · Public Domain On vv23–27 Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes…
Of the Jews five times received I forty stripes save one. We have no account in the Acts of the Apostles, or elsewhere, of any one of these five scourgings, which the apostle underwent from the Jews; but there is no doubt to be made of them. The number of stripes he received at each time agrees with the traditions and customs of the Jews. The original law for scourging a delinquent is in Deu 25:2 where it is said, "forty stripes he may give him, and not exceed"; according to the nature of the case, forty stripes and no more might be inflicted, but fewer might suffice in some cases; the apostle's having but thirty nine at a time was not because the Jews thought his crime did not require full forty; or that they out of tenderness and compassion to him abated him one; but they proceeded with him to the utmost rigour of this law, according to their interpretation of it; for so runs their tradition (i),
"with how many stripes do they beat him? (a criminal,) it is answered, , "with forty save one"; as it is said, "with the number forty"; that is, which is next to forty; R. Judah says, with full forty is he to be beaten;''
Read full note →
but the decision is not according to R. Judah, as the commentators say (k); and this is the general sense of their (l) interpreters of that law, and what they take to be the genuine meaning of it; so that the apostle was punished according to the extremity of it, in their account. This is a settled rule and point with them, (m), "that scourging according to the law is with forty stripes save one"; Maimonides (n) observes, that
"they did not add to forty, if a man was as strong and robust as Samson, but they lessen the number to a man that is weak; for if a weak man should be beaten with many stripes, he may die; wherefore the wise men say, that if he be never so robust, they scourge him but with "thirty nine";''
so that no mercy shown to Paul, or any regard had to his weak constitution, for it was the utmost they ever inflicted; besides, according to their manner of scourging; see Gill on Mat 10:17, they could not have given him another stroke, without giving him three stripes more, which would have made it forty two, and so have exceeded, which the law forbids; for they whipped with a scourge of three cords, and every stroke went for three; so that by thirteen strokes, thirty nine stripes were given, and if a fourteenth had been added, there would have been forty two stripes; agreeably to which they say (o),
"when they condemn a delinquent to how many stripes he is able to receive, they do not count but by stripes that are fit to be trebled; if they reckon he is able to bear twenty, they do not say he is to be beaten with twenty one, so that they may be able to treble, but he is to be beaten with eighteen; they condemn to receive forty, and after he begins to be beaten, they see he is weak, and they say he cannot receive more than these nine or "twelve" with which he is beaten, lo, this is free; they condemn him to receive twelve, and after he is scourged they see he is strong and able to receive more, lo, he is free, and is not to be beaten any more upon the estimation:''
so that you see that, according to their own canons, they could if they would have mitigated this punishment of the apostle's; but such was their cruelty and malice, that they carried it to the utmost height they could.
(i) Misn. Maccot. c. 3. sect. 10. (k) Maimon. & Bartenora in ib. (l) Targum Jon. & Jarchi in Deut. xxv. 3. Zohar in Deut. fol. 119. 3. Joseph Antiqu. l. 4. c. 8. sect. 23. Moses Kotsensis Mitzvot Tora, pr. Affirm. 105. (m) T. Hieros. Nazir, fol. 53. 1. (n) Hilchot Sanhedrin, c. 17. 1. (o) Ib. sect. 2. Misn. Maccot, c. 3. sect. 11.
John Gill's Exposition of the Whole Bible (1746–1763) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
John Wesley 1765 · Public Domain On vv23, 24, 25, 27 I am more so than they. In deaths often…
I am more so than they. In deaths often - Surrounding me in the most dreadful forms.
John Wesley, Explanatory Notes Upon the Whole Bible (1754–1765) — public domain. Text via the GEBible commentary corpus.
Adam Clarke 1810 · Public Domain On vv23–27 Verse 23. Are they ministers of Christ] So we…
Verse 23. Are they ministers of Christ] So we find that these were professors of Christianity; and that they were genuine Jews, and such as endeavoured to incorporate both systems, and, no doubt, to oblige those who had believed to be circumcised; and this appears to have been the bondage into which they had brought many of the believing Corinthians.
I am more] More of a minister of Christ than they are, and have given fuller proofs of it. I have suffered persecution for the cross of Christ, and of the Jews too; and had I preached up the necessity of circumcision, I should have been as free from opposition as these are.
Read full note →
In labours more abundant] Far from sitting down to take my ease in a Church already gathered into Christ; I travel incessantly, preach every where, and at all risks, in order to get the heathen brought from the empire of darkness into the kingdom of God's beloved Son.
In stripes above measure] Being beaten by the heathen, who had no particular rule according to which they scourged criminals; and we find, from Ac 16:22; Ac 16:23, that they beat Paul unmercifully with many stripes. See the note on the above passage.
In prisons more frequent] See Ac 21:11, and the whole of the apostle's history; and his long imprisonment of at least two years at Rome, Ac 28:16; Ac 28:30. It does not appear that there is any one instance of a false apostle having been imprisoned for the testimony of Christ; this was a badge of the true apostles.
In deaths oft.] That is, in the most imminent dangers. See 1Co 15:31; 2Co 4:11. And see the apostle's history in the Acts.
Adam Clarke's Commentary on the Bible (1810–1826) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Joseph Benson 1811 · Public Domain On vv23, 26 2Co 11:23-25. Are they ministers of Christ? — “St.…
2Co 11:23-25. Are they ministers of Christ? — “St. Paul does not compare himself with the false teachers as an apostle, but as a minister of Christ simply. And to show how much he exceeded them in that inferior character, he mentions his labours in the ministry, and his sufferings undergone in his many journeys and voyages, for the sake of spreading the gospel. And from his account it appears, that none of the heroes of antiquity, however vehemently actuated by the love of fame, or of military glory or power, either did or suffered as much in the pursuit of their objects, as the Apostle Paul did and suffered for Christ and his gospel.” I am more so than they; in labours more abundant — Sustained for a long series of years; in stripes above measure — All endured for Christ and his cause. In prisons more frequent — In the narrative of Paul’s travels and sufferings, contained in the Acts, we only read of his being imprisoned once, before this epistle was written, namely, at Philippi. But doubtless many particulars of his life, besides the imprisonments here referred to, were omitted in that history, for the sake of brevity. In deaths oft — Surrounding me in the most dreadful forms. Of the Jews five times received I — In their synagogues, and before their courts of judgment; forty stripes, save one — According to the law, punishment by stripes was restricted to forty, at one beating, Deu 25:3; but the whip with which these stripes were given, consisting of three separate cords, and each stroke being counted as three stripes, thirteen strokes made thirty-nine stripes, beyond which they never went. See Whitby. As the apostle, before his conversion, had been very active in inflicting this punishment on the disciples of Christ, he could not complain when he himself was treated in the same manner by the zealots for the law. Thrice was I beaten with rods — By the Roman lictors or beadles, at the command of their superior magistrates. In his history, contained in the Acts, we find no mention made of his being punished with stripes, and only one instance occurs there of his being beaten with rods. See the margin. Once was I stoned — Namely, at Lystra, at which time he was left for dead. Thrice I suffered shipwreck — Before his voyage to Rome, in which he was shipwrecked at Malta; of these we have no account in the Acts. A night and a day I have been in the deep — Probably floating on some part of a shipwrecked vessel, by which, possibly, he escaped to shore. This, it is likely, happened in one of the three shipwrecks mentioned in the preceding clause.
Joseph Benson's Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1811–1818) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Albert Barnes 1834 · Public Domain On vv23–27 Are they ministers of Christ? - Though Jews by…
Are they ministers of Christ? - Though Jews by birth yet they claimed to be the ministers of the Messiah.
I speak as a fool - As if he had said, “Bear in mind, in what I am now about to say, that he who speaks is accused of being a fool in boasting. Let it not be deemed improper that I should act in this character, and since you regard me as such, let me speak like a fool.” His frequent reminding them of this charge was eminently suited to humble them that they had ever made it, especially when they were reminded by an enumeration of his trials, of the character of the man against whom the charge was brought.
Read full note →
I am more - Paul was not disposed to deny that they were true ministers of Christ. But he had higher claims to the office than they had. He had been called to it in a more remarkable manner, and he had shown by his labors and trials that he had more of the true spirit of a minister of the Lord Jesus than they had. He therefore goes into detail to show what he had endured in endeavoring to diffuse the knowledge of the Saviour; trials which the had borne probably while they had been dwelling in comparative ease, and in a comfortable manner, free from suffering and persecution.
In labors more abundant - In the kind of labor necessary in propagating the gospel. Probably he had now been engaged in the work a much longer time than they had, and had been far more indefatigable in it.
In stripes - In receiving stripes; that is, I have been more frequently scourged; 2Co 11:24. This was a proof of his being a minister of Christ, because eminent devotedness to him at that time, of necessity subjected a man to frequent scourging. The ministry is one of the very few places, perhaps it stands alone in this, where it is proof of special qualification for office that a man has been treated with all manner of contumely, and has even been often publicly whipped. What other office admits such a qualification as this?
Above measure - Exceedingly; far exceeding them. He had received far more than they had, and he judged, therefore, that this was one evidence that he had been called to the ministry.
In prisons more frequent - In the Book of Acts , Luke mentions only one imprisonment of Paul before the time when this Epistle was written. That was at Philippi with Silas, Act 16:23 ff. But we are to remember that many things were omitted by Luke. He does not profess to give an account of all that happened to Paul; and an omission is not a contradiction. For anything that Luke says, Paul may have been imprisoned often. He mentions his having been in prison once; he does not deny that he had been in prison many times besides; see on Act 16:24.
In deaths oft - This is, exposed to death; or suffering pain equal to death; see on 2Co 1:9. No one familiar with the history of Paul can doubt that he was often in danger of death.
Albert Barnes' Notes on the Bible (1834–1885) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
Haydock's Catholic Bible Commentary 1859 · Public Domain On vv23–25 They are ministers of Christ: I am more. To…
They are ministers of Christ: I am more. To wit, an apostle chosen and sent by Jesus Christ, appointed in a special manner to be the apostle of the Gentiles, your apostle. (Witham)
George Leo Haydock (1774–1849), Haydock's Catholic Family Bible and Commentary, 1859 edition — public domain. Excludes Psalms (Douay-Rheims chapter numbering differs from Protestant) and Deuterocanonical books (Catholic canon only).
Robert Jamieson, A. R. Fausset & David Brown 1871 · Public Domain On vv23–27 I speak as a fool--rather, as Greek, "I speak…
I speak as a fool--rather, as Greek, "I speak as if beside myself"; stronger than "as a fool."
I am more--namely, in respect to the credentials and manifestations of my ministry, more faithful and self-denying; and richer in tokens of God's recognition of my ministry. Old authorities read the order thus, "In prisons above measures, in stripes more abundantly" (English Version, less accurately, "more frequent"). Acts 16:23-40 records one case of his imprisonment with stripes. CLEMENT OF ROME [First Epistle to the Corinthians] describes him as having suffered bonds seven times.
Read full note →
in death oft-- (Co2 4:10; Act 9:23; Act 13:50; Act 14:5-6, Act 14:19; Act 17:5, Act 17:13).
Jamieson, Fausset & Brown — Commentary Critical and Explanatory on the Whole Bible (1871) — public domain (CC PDM 1.0). Text via the HelloAO Bible API.
Daniel D. Whedon 1874 · Public Domain On vv23–27 2. By incomparably greater sufferings, 2Co_11:23-33.
2. By incomparably greater sufferings, 2Co_11:23-33.
With consummate skill St. Paul, (in whose ears are echoing the retorts of his foes, “What a boaster!”) shows off here, not his victories and conquests, not the oratory he had displayed, the converts he had gained, the Churches he had founded; but the unparalleled sufferings and disgraces he had undergone. He enumerates them almost statistically, classifying their sorts, and giving their figures. But, all the while, the more profoundly he thus humbles himself, the more transcendent is his superiority over his easy-living adversaries.
Read full note →
Of a large number of the sufferings here undergone, Luke’s brief sketch in the Acts gives no account. This confirms Paley’s argument for the truth of Christianity, drawn from the sufferings of the early Christian preachers. It shows, too, that in accounting for the writing of some of the epistles we may easily suppose voyages and journeys unmentioned by Luke. When, for instance, Luke informs us (Act_20:31) that Paul spent three continuous years at Ephesus, it is as when we say that a young man spends four years at college; that is, without counting three months each year of vacation.
As both a catalogue and a picture the present section is strikingly parallel to 2Co_4:8-12; 2Co_6:5-10.
The endurances enumerated are, 2Co_11:23-27, bodily; 2Co_11:28-29, mental; 2Co_11:32-33, a single notable event.
2Co_11:23 gives four general bodily endurances, of which all that follow are specials.
23. Ministers—The Greek word technically for deacons, and genetically for humble servitors of any kind.
As a fool—The echo from the other side is a stronger term for madness than any yet used. Are they servants of Christ? And now I am, by their outcry, a greater infatuate than ever when I boldly reply, I more. The abrupt and concise υπερ εγω, above, I is, indeed, a bold fling. It may mean, above them am I, that is, as a servant of Christ; or it may mean, above a servant of Christ am I. The import, at any rate, is, If these are, forsooth, servants of Christ, I am something above that; and the result is, If I am merely a servant of Christ, they are below that—none at all. That this last inference is meant is plain from 13-15.
Labours… stripes… prisons… deaths—Four generic bodily endurances. The details that follow are specialties included under the four.
The next two verses give the numerical figures of bodily sufferings so severe as to leave distinct traces on the memory of the number.
Daniel D. Whedon (gen. ed.), Commentary on the Old and New Testaments (1874–1909) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges 1878 · Public Domain On vv23–27 23. Are they ministers of Christ?] St Paul here…
23. Are they ministers of Christ?] St Paul here cannot be content with the simple ‘so am I.’ These men (see ch. 2Co_10:7; 1Co_1:10) claimed to be in some special sense Christ’s ministers. But when the Apostle thinks of the singleness of his devotion to Christ’s cause, of which he had so frequently boasted (ch. 2Co_2:17, 2Co_4:5, 2Co_6:4-10, 2Co_7:2, &c.), and of the nature of his services as compared with theirs, his spirit rises within him. ‘I may speak like a madman,’ he cries (see next note), ‘but I cannot contain myself at such a charge. What have they done for the cause of Him whose name they falsely arrogate to themselves, compared to the services I have rendered? I use no mere words of vaunting, but appeal to the devotion of a life to His Gospel.’
I speak as a fool] Rather as a madman (scarse wise, Rhemish. Our translation is Tyndale’s). The word in the original is stronger than that in 2Co_11:16; 2Co_11:19. St Paul is not thinking here so much of the impression his words may produce on the Corinthians, as of the fact that all ‘boasting’ in God’s sight is ‘excluded’ by the ‘law of faith’ (Rom_3:27; cf. Luk_17:10). Mad indeed is it to boast of anything as constituting a claim on God for reward. But facts are facts, and they may be appealed to, not for self-glorification, but (ch. 2Co_12:11) to confute pretensions which ought never to have been advanced.
Read full note →
in labours more abundant] Cf. 1Co_15:10. He now commences the proof of this assertion, and it consists not in words but in deeds. He appeals to “a life hitherto without precedent in the history of the world. Self-devotion at particular moments, or for some special national cause, had been often seen before; but a self-devotion involving sacrifices like those here described, extending through a period of at least fourteen years, and in behalf of no local or family interest, but for the interest of mankind at large, was up to this time a thing unknown.” Stanley. De Wette would translate more abundantly (the word is an adverb in the original) and connect it with what has gone before, ‘in labours I am more abundantly a minister of Christ than they.’
in prisons more frequent] “What is left out is more than is enumerated.” Chrysostom. There is but one imprisonment mentioned up to this time in the Acts (ch. Act_16:23). So there is but one beating with rods (see below). The Acts of the Apostles, being written with a special purpose (see note on ch. 2Co_1:8, 2Co_6:5), does not attempt to give a full account of St Paul’s labours and sufferings. See Stanley’s note on 2Co_11:21 and Paley, Horae Paulinae, Ep. to Corinth. 9. Estius accounts it a proof of St Paul’s modesty that he had never mentioned these things even to a friend so intimace as St Luke.
in deaths oft] Cf. ch. 2Co_1:9-10, 2Co_4:11; 1Co_15:31. “Perils containing death,” i.e. as a possible event. Chrysostom.
The Cambridge Bible for Schools and Colleges (gen. ed. J. J. S. Perowne; Cambridge University Press, 1878–1918) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
Ellicott's Commentary for English Readers 1878 · Public Domain On vv23–27 (23) Are they ministers of Christ?—It is obvious that…
(23) Are they ministers of Christ?—It is obvious that this title was claimed by the rival teachers in some special sense. They were “ministers of Christ” in a nearer and a higher sense than others. This again falls in with all that has been said as to the nature and pretensions of those who said, “I am of Christ.” (See Notes on 2Co_10:7; 1Co_1:12.)
I speak as a fool.—The form of the Greek verb is slightly varied, and means, more emphatically than before, I speak as one who is insane; I speak deliriously. In this instance, as before, we must believe that the Apostle is using, in a tone of indignant irony, the very words of insult which had been recklessly flung at him.
Read full note →
In labours . . .—All that follows up to 2Co_11:28, inclusive, is a proof of his claim to call himself a minister of Christ. The word “labours” is, of course, too vague to admit of more than a general comparison with the picture of his life presented in the Acts of the Apostles. The more specific statements show us that the writer of that book tends to understate rather than exaggerate the labours and sufferings of the Apostle. It tells us, up to this time, only of one imprisonment, at Philippi (Act_16:23), and leaves us to conjecture where and under what circumstances we are to look for the others. In the “deaths oft,” we trace an echo of the “sentence of death,” the “dying daily” (see Notes on 2Co_1:9; 2Co_4:10); but the words probably include dangers to life of other kinds as well as those arising from bodily disease.
A Bible Commentary for English Readers, edited by Charles John Ellicott (1878–1897) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Pulpit Commentary 1880 · Public Domain On vv23–27 I speak as a fool. Not merely as before…
I speak as a fool. Not merely as before aphron, but paraphronon," I speak as a madman." It is downright insanity on my part to enter into this contest of rival egotism. The verb does not occur elsewhere in the New Testament; the substantive is used of "downright infatuation" in 2Pe_2:16. I am more. I may claim to be something beyond an ordinary servant of Christ. (comp. 2Co_11:5) This is the "frantic" boast which he proceeds to justify in a fragment of biography which must ever be accounted as the most remarkable and unique in the world"s history. And when St. Paul lived the life was, as Dean Stanley says, "hitherto without precedent in the history of the world." No subsequent life of saint or martyr has ever surpassed St. Paul"s, as here sketched, in self-devotion; and no previous life even remotely resembled it. The figure of the Christian missionary was, until then, unknown. In labours more abundant; literally, more abundantly. The best comment is 1Co_15:10. In stripes above measure. The expression is partly explained in the next verse. In prisons. St. Clement of Rome says that St. Paul was imprisoned seven times. The only imprisonment up to this date recorded in the Acts is that at Philippi. (Act_16:23) The imprisonments in Jerusalem, Caesarea, and Rome all took place later. He says later," The Holy Ghost witnesseth in every city that bonds and imprisonment await me". (Act_20:23) In deaths oft. He alludes to the incessant opposition, peril, and anguish which make him say in 1Co_15:31, "I die daily". (comp. 2Co_4:11; Rom_8:36) With the whole passage we may compare 2Co_6:4, 2Co_6:5.
Ministers of Christ.
Read full note →
It was not congenial to St. Paul"s nature to beast. He would have preferred to keep himself in the background, that his Lord might be prominent and might attract the attention and the admiration of all men. But his apostolic authority and consequently the value of his life work, the credibility of his doctrines, the soundness of the Churches he had founded, were all at stake. As to his national position, that was comparatively immaterial. But the great question was this Was he, or was he not, a true minister of Christ? His adversaries made great pretensions; he had no choice but to overwhelm them with his own unrivalled credentials: "Are they ministers of Christ? I more!
I TRUE MINISTERS ARE APPOINTED BY CHRIST. Whatever be the human, the ecclesiastical agency by which men are summoned to, prepared for, employed in, the ministry of the gospel, all true Christians are agreed that the real appointment is by the Divine Head of the Church. It is he who, from the throne of his glory, places one minister in this position, and another in that, holding the stars in his right hand.
II TRUE MINISTERS ARE WITNESSES TO CHRIST. It was Paul"s justifiable boast "We preach not ourselves, but Christ Jesus the Lord." His ministry had for its one great theme the character, the life, the sacrifice, the redemption of the Divine Saviour. A ministry which, professing to be Christian, is concerned with anything rather than with Christ, discredits and condemns itself. Inadequate as is all human witness to our Lord, it is required to be sincere and outspoken.
III TRUE MINISTERS ARE FOLLOWERS OF CHRIST. Upon this the apostle lays great stress. His own ministry was, in many of its circumstances, a copy of his Lord"s. His labours, privations, and sufferings were all akin to those of the Lord whose spirit he shared, and in whose steps he trod. The outward circumstances of the ministerial life may vary, but the temper, and aim must ever be those of the Divine Master.
IV TRUE MINISTERS LOOK FOR THEIR REWARD TO CHRIST. Had the apostle expected an earthly recompense for all he undertook and underwent, bitter indeed would have been his disappointment. But he and every faithful minister must have one supreme desire and aim to receive the approval and the acceptance of the Divine Lord himself. T.
Labours and prisons.
This is one of those passages which enable us to institute a comparison between the Book of the Acts and the apostolic Epistles. It is true that some of the circumstances alluded to in the context have nothing corresponding with them in St. Luke"s narrative. But this exception proves the independence of the documents, whilst the coincidences, which are numerous and striking, confirm our faith in the authority and validity of both.
I THE VARIOUS ENDURANCES INVOLVED IN THE APOSTOLIC LIFE.
1. Labours abounded, both of body and of mind; almost incessant toil was continued throughout long years. Journeyings, preaching, writing, were a constant strain upon his whole nature.
2. Hardships, sufferings, perils, and persecutions were even more painful to endure. There are many, especially in the prime of life, to whom toil and effort are congenial; but none can do other than shrink from pains and imprisonments. Paul"s enumeration of his privations and afflictions shows how deep an impression they had made upon his nature.
II THE AIM OF THE APOSTOLIC LIFE IN VIEW OF WHICH THESE EXPERIENCES WERE CHEERFULLY ACCEPTED. His purpose was, not his own exaltation, but the spread of the gospel and the salvation of his fellow men. His benevolent heart found in the extension of that kingdom, which is "righteousness, peace, and joy in the Holy Ghost," an object worthy of all his devotion and all his endurance.
III THE MOTIVE OF THE APOSTOLIC LIFE. If it be asked How came St. Paul to voluntarily engage in a service which involved experiences so bitter? there is but one solution of the problem, but that is a sufficient and satisfactory one: "The love of Christ constrained" him. No inferior motive can be relied upon for the production of such results.
IV THE PRACTICAL ADVANTAGES ACCRUING TO MANKIND FROM THIS APOSTOLIC LIFE.
1. It has an evidential value. Why should such a man as Saul of Tarsus have lived a life of obloquy, poverty, and suffering? Is any other explanation credible than this that he knew and felt that he was witnessing to the truth?
2. It has a moral value, both in the beneficent results of the ministry and in the illustration afforded of the power of the gospel and of the Spirit of Christ to raise a true Christian above the control of influences and interests merely earthly and human. T.
Vers. 23-33.
Apostolic experiences on earth.
I THESE EXPERIENCES, AS NARRATED HERE, ASSUME A GLOOMY CHARACTER.
1. Painful.
(1) Bodily suffering. Excessive toil, prison privations, scourgings, stoning, shipwrecks, a night and day in the deep, sleeplessness, coldness, foodlessness, nakedness.
(2) Mental suffering.
(a) Persecution from Jews as well as Gentiles. His "own countrymen" hated him more fiercely than any.
(b) Hostility of false brethren. Peculiarly painful to such a noble nature as Paul"s.
(c) Anxieties respecting the numerous Churches.
(d) Acute sympathy with the weak and hindered ones (ver. 29).
2. Perilous. What a catalogue of perils in ver. 26. how extreme the one instanced in vers. 32, 33! how pathetic and suggestive the expression, "in deaths oft" (ver. 23)! Paul lived on the margin of the next world. Of him was it peculiarly true that he knew not what a day would bring forth.
II MUCH OF THE PAINFUL AND PERILOUS EXPERIENCE OF THE APOSTLE AROSE FROM HIS MARVELLOUS ZEAL AND ENTERPRISE. He might bare avoided not a little by:
1. Being only moderately active. That delightful "mean" coveted by so many it was too mean for Paul!
2. Being more compliant. If he bad been a man of expediency, and not, as he was, a man of principle. If he had bent to the storm; but he intended that the storm should bend to him, or rather to those God-truths which he proclaimed.
3. Placing Gods honour in the second place. The servant was persecuted so vindictively because he would talk so much of his Master. It was not Paul that Jew and Gentile hated so much, but Christ; but where Paul was there men could hear of nothing but the contemned Nazarene;
4. Loving himself more than a perishing world. It was a question which should suffer, Paul or the world; Paul said, "I will." In his sphere he thus imitated his Lord, who, though he was rich, for our sakes became poor.
III NO SUFFERING OR PERIL SUCCEEDED IN DAMPING THE APOSTOLIC ARDOUR. How keen must have been his love for Christ and for his fellow men! Ever before him he had the future exaltation of Christ and the "saving some." We haste here a marvellous triumph of mind over matter, and a still more marvellous one of spirituality over carnality. The life of the apostle was so vigorous that he could bear to die daily. What little aches and pains stop us! An avalanche of grief and trial failed to arrest Paul!
IV IT WAS ONLY WHEN SUBJECTED TO GREAT PRESSURE, AND THEN ONLY UNDER PROTEST, THAT THE APOSTLE ALLOWED HIMSELF TO DWELL UPON THIS PERPETUAL MARTYRDOM. He rejoiced in it; yet he did not like to speak about it. He almost calls himself a fool for doing so. The martyr has sometimes sullied his crown by pride; but the apostolic affliction seemed strangely sanctified to him. Some are not great enough to suffer much for Christ. God does not allow it. It would make them so intolerable that prayer would ascend on all hands for their transference to a world where they would have a humble opinion of themselves. Paul went through all the privation, anguish, peril, catalogued here, and came out from it with the spirit of a little child. H.
Vers. 23-30.
The evidential value of sufferings borne for Christ"s sake.
Recall Paley"s use of the labours and sufferings of the early Christians as an argument for the truth of Christianity. Carefully observe under what limitations such an argument must be set. There have been martyrs of all sorts of opinions. Men intense on any subject are usually willing to bear much for its sake; and the enthusiast or fanatic does not shrink from giving his life for his faith, though his faith may be unreasonable or absurd. We can only go so far as to say that willingness to bear suffering proves
I PERSONAL SINCERITY. Men"s hearts must be in that which they will maintain at cost of toil, sorrow, disability, and pain. Christianity must be true to the man who can die for it; but it is not therefore proved to be absolutely true.
II A DIVINE CALL OR COMMISSION. It is one of the indications of such a call. Not sufficient if it stands alone, but very helpful as a buttress to other arguments and considerations.
III THAT THERE IS A FINE MORAL STRENGTH CULTURED BY CHRISTIANITY. This, perhaps, is its chief value. The noble endurance illustrates Christianity, and shows what the almighty grace in it can do.
That must be worthy, and it may be Divine, which nerves men to such heroic labour, such patient submission, and such triumphs over ills and death. So, when kept within due limits and carefully combined with other considerations, the sufferings and martyrdoms of the Christian saints become an evidence of the Divine origin of Christianity. R.T.
The Pulpit Commentary (1880–1919), ed. H.D.M. Spence-Jones & Joseph S. Exell — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
The Biblical Illustrator 1887 · Public Domain On vv26–27 In journeyings often.
2Co_11:26
In journeyings often.
Read full note →
The Christian away from home
Paul was a traveller. His journeyings by sea and land formed an important part of the educating influences that formed his Christian life. Notice--
I. The mental stimulus gained. Monotonous toil wears us out. It is good to get out of ruts, to look on new objects, to talk about new subjects, to freshen up our spirits. It is good to get out of ones home, store, city, out of ones country even, and see new heavens and a new earth, though for a little while. The rust and the dust of routine life are removed. This mental stimulus of travel is threefold. It is awakened by anticipation, it is intensified by actual enjoyment, and it continues in the joy of reminiscence.
II. The actual presence and guidance of God is more impressively felt in journeyings oft. It has been truly said that the spectre of uncertainty haunts the cabin of every departing ship. So of all vehicles and modes of travel. Their history has its tragedies, and the beginning of any journey should elicit the prayer, If Thy presence go not with me, carry me not up hence. Sweetly to the believer comes the answer, I am with thee, and will keep thee in all places whither thou goest, and will bring thee again into this land, for I will not leave thee. Is thy journey by the sea? The sea is His. Passing through the waters, He will be with thee. So in malarious districts or in heated climes the same shelter is guaranteed. Not only in peril, but in perplexity, do we prove the truth of these pledges. He leadeth me when in doubt as to what is best to do, saying, This is the way, walk in it. We enter a foreign city alone, and unacquainted with the language. Such exigencies of travel are educating. An uplift is gained by the trustful soul that is never lost (Job_31:32).
III. The fellowship of saints is realised abroad as it can never be in the familiar intercourse of home. How Pauls heart did leap within him at Appii Forum! Ten miles farther on, another group, at Three Taverns, welcome him.
IV. Absence endears the localities, friendships, privileges, and employments of home.
V. Our journeyings remind us that life itself is a journey, to be pursued with thoughtfulness, with reference to lifes great ends and our eternal home. (E. P. Thwing, D. D.)
In perils.--
In perils of water
It required courage to be a voyager in olden times, the ships were small and clumsy, the rocks and shores so poorly defined; no weather probabilities, signals or lighthouses. Yet there are as great perils now, notwithstanding our sea-charts, lighthouses, ironclads, storm-signals, etc. The danger arises now from the multiplicity of crafts. Note--
I. The responsibility of those who hold the lives, or the property, or the souls of men in keeping.
1. Captains, guards, engineers, architects, have very great responsibility, and God will hold them to account.
2. Pastors of churches, private Christians who hold in their hands the souls of people, had better obey the injunction: Watch!
II. When we part from our friends, reunion is uncertain.
III. Elegant surroundings are no security. Iceberg, and storm, and darkness, and collision can see no difference between magnificent mail steamship and whaler with rusty bolts and greasy deck. Do not think that brilliant surroundings will keep off the last foe.
IV. Some Christians are nearer to glory than they think. Some of you are spending your last Sabbath, singing your last song, giving your last salutations.
V. The world has not yet been persuaded of the nonsense of prayer.
VI. The importance of always being ready for transition. (T. de Witt Talmage, D. D.)
In perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness.--
Environment
Let us talk a little about what is known as environment. Men are apt to think they would be better if their circumstances, their surroundings were of another kind and quality. They do not go in upon themselves and say, We are to blame. We must get rid of that delusion before we can make any real progress in life. All history shows us that whatever a mans environment may be he can conquer it; or he can respond to it in the degree in which it is Divine, beautiful, and fascinating. Where did man first fall, according to the Biblical history? Was it in some narrow, ill-lighted street? Was it in soma swamp or wilderness? It was possible to fall in Eden. Therefore do not say that if you were in Eden you would be safe. Men say that, if they were only in the city, at the very centre of civilisation, if they had the security of social life as it is to be found in the metropolis of any country, all would go well. The Apostle Paul answers that in our text, In perils in the city. You thought you would be safe in the city. Here is Paul in all kinds of cities, classical, advanced, thoughtful, immoral; and he says he was in perils in the city. Men think that if they could be only in the city, in the metropolis, where there is an abundance of literature, where all kinds of galleries are open to the people--picture-galleries, museums, art-repositories, music of every hue and range--then they would have something to think about, and to engage their attention, and to divide at least the intensity of the temptations by which souls are besieged. Paul says, let us repeat again and again, In perils in the city. The city grows its own weeds; the city opens its own fountains of poison-water. The city is eating out the best life of the nation. In perils in the city. Yet how many of these perils do we make ourselves, and how eagerly do we avail ourselves of many an open door that invites us to enter and go down to hell! I have seen this in the city--namely, young men, certainly not five-and-twenty years of age, before ten oclock in the morning going into public-houses. Not vagabonds, but men who were evidently going to some kind of business afterwards, well-dressed young men. What would you say about an instance of that kind, except that it means ruin? You cannot trifle with that state of affairs. You cannot begin a little reform now and a little then. You must throw your enemy now! In perils in the city. What a temptation there is there to bet and gamble and trifle with other peoples money! You do not suppose that a young man makes up his mind to be a thief. In many instances he knows that he is honest in purpose, and he says that, if he can only succeed, no man shall lose a penny by him; he will only back his own judgment against some other mans judgment. He says, What harm can there be in my setting up my sagacity against the sagacity of some other man? You cannot be fortunate in betting and gambling. Do not say that you know instances in which men have made tens of thousands of pounds, and are in great prosperity. There are no such instances. They may have all the pounds, but they have not the prosperity. There is no prosperity in wickedness. Do not think you can trifle with the spirit of evil and succeed. Resist the devil, and he will flee from thee. Then what do men say? They continue in this fashion--namely, If I could only get away from the city, if I could get into the country somewhere, if I could get into some quiet place, then all would be well. In perils in the city, in perils in the wilderness--in the solitude, in the great emptiness; as much peril in the wilderness as there is in Cheapside; as much peril in the desert as there is in the Stock Exchange. How often in passing through beautiful places have we said, Surely there must be peace in that habitation and in yonder dwelling. Go where you will, you will find the devil has been there before you. There are great perils even in solitude: in fact, it is possible that solitude may be the greatest peril of all. It is the voice of history that the devil comes to men individually, and not to them in crowds only. All the great tragedies are connected with individual instances. Solitude gives us a false standard of self-judgment. It is only by man meeting man, comparing himself with his fellow-men, seeking the judgment of higher minds than his own, that he becomes chastened and thus ennobled; rebuked, and thus elevated. Observe, then, that circumstances cannot give us security. You thought that, when you made ten thousand pounds, you would be perfectly secure. No man ever rested content with ten thousand pounds; there was always another sovereign which some other man had which he wanted; there was always another field which, if he obtained, would beautifully sphere out his estate; and going after fields is like going after the horizon, there is always another. Do not imagine that if you were rich you would be good. Let no man be discouraged because of his environment. You say, What can a young man do in my circumstances? He can do everything through Christ strengthening him. If men begin to sit down and say, What can I do with only five shillings a week? what can I do with only a workhouse education? what can I do with people such as these round about me? they will never come to anything. A man must not look at his surroundings, but he must look at his universe and at God enthroned above its riches and forces; and he must say, It is my business by the blessing of God to take hold of circumstances and twist them and bind them and round them into a garland or a diadem. (J. Parker, D. D.)
The Biblical Illustrator, edited by Joseph S. Exell (c. 1880s–1900s) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword module.
B. W. Johnson 1891 · Public Domain On vv23–27 23. Are they ministers of Christ? Speaking foolishly, that…
23. Are they ministers of Christ? Speaking foolishly, that is, commending himself (see verse 1), he is more; not only a minister, but a pre-eminent sufferer for Christ. To show how much he exceeded them, he gives some account of his sufferings. In labors more abundant. The record of Acts shows how his labors abounded. In stripes above measure. See verse 24, 25. In prisons more frequent. Clement, who wrote about the close of the first century, says in his Epistle to the Corinthians that Paul was imprisoned seven times. In Acts only one occurrence is named before the date of this letter, that at Philippi. It is evident from this enumeration that Acts is only a part of the history of his labors. In deaths oft. Often in peril of death.
B. W. Johnson's The People's New Testament with Notes (1889–1891) — public domain. Electronic text from the Christian Classics Ethereal Library (CCEL) ThML edition.
J. W. McGarvey 1914 · Public Domain On vv23–27 Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as one…
Are they ministers of Christ? (I speak as one beside himself) I more; in labors more abundantly [ 1Co_15:10 ], in prisons more abundantly, in stripes above measure, in deaths oft . [ 1Co_15:31 . On Jewish grounds Paul claimed equality, but as a minister of Christ, superiority. Knowing that his enemies would say that it accorded with his general insanity to thus assert his superiority, he ironically admits his madness in thus asserting that his ministerial labors exceeded those of his easy-living adversaries--theirs being in fact no labor at all, but rather an effort to steal the credit of his labors. This verse gives the general bodily distresses endured, while the next three tell of special cases. According to Acts, Paul had, up to this date, been imprisoned but once, and was afterwards imprisoned thrice. Clement of Rome, who wrote toward the close of the first century, says that Paul was imprisoned seven times. Paul's life for long periods was hourly exposed to death ( Act_9:23 ; Act_13:50 ; Act_14:5-6 ; Act_14:19 ; Act_17:5 ; Act_17:13 ); but the best comment on this expression is the catalogue of sufferings which follow.]
J. W. McGarvey (with Philip Y. Pendleton), Commentaries on the New Testament (The Fourfold Gospel, 1914; Acts; and the epistles) — public domain. Text from a community e-Sword/MySword module.
unfoldingWord translationNotes 2017 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv24, 27 forty lashes minus one
forty lashes minus one
This was a common expression for being whipped 39 times. In Jewish law the most they were allowed to whip a person at one time was forty lashes. So they commonly whipped a person thirty-nine times so that they would be guilty of whipping someone too many times if the accidentally counted wrong.
Read full note →
I was beaten with rods
This can be stated in active form. AT: "people beat me with wooden rods" (See: Active or Passive)
I was stoned
This can be stated in active form. AT: "people threw stones at me until they thought I was dead" (See: Active or Passive)
I have spent a night and a day on the open sea
Paul was referring to floating in the water after the ship he was on sank.
in danger from false brothers
The full meaning of this statement can be made explicit. AT: "and in danger from people who claimed to be brothers in Christ, but who betrayed us" (See: Assumed Knowledge and Implicit Information)
translationWords
Jew
Gentile
desert
unfoldingWord translationNotes — © Distant Shores Media and the Door43 World Missions Community, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Source: git.door43.org/Door43/en_tn.
Tyndale Open Study Notes 2022 · CC BY-SA 4.0 On vv23, 25, 26 11:23-27 I have served him far more! Paul’s service…
11:23-27 I have served him far more! Paul’s service to Christ had entailed Christlike sufferings and toils. Some of the difficulties in this litany are recorded in Acts.
11:23-24 in prison more often: E.g., see Acts 16:22-23. Clement of Rome says that Paul was imprisoned a total of seven times. • thirty-nine lashes: This punishment was prescribed in Deut 25:1-3. The Jewish leaders punished Paul as a renegade Jew, and he faced death again and again.
Tyndale Open Study Notes — © Tyndale Open Resources, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0. Text via the HelloAO Bible API.