''Explanatory Notes Upon the New Testament'' is a Biblical commentary and translation of the

New Testament The New Testament grc, Ἡ Καινὴ Διαθήκη, transl. ; la, Novum Testamentum. (NT) is the second division of the Christian biblical canon. It discusses the teachings and person of Jesus, as well as events in first-century Chris ...

by English theologian

John Wesley John Wesley (; 2 March 1791) was an English cleric, theologian, and evangelist who was a leader of a revival movement within the Church of England known as Methodism. The societies he founded became the dominant form of the independent Meth ...

. First published in 1755 the work went through five editions in Wesley's lifetime.Scroggs p.415

Development

In 1753 Wesley became gravely ill, leaving him temporarily unable to travel and preach. As a result of this he set to work on a Biblical commentary and translation. He began writing on 4 January 1754 and continued without preaching until March, by which point he had produced a rough draft of the translation. Wesley's pace was slowed by other activities, and he completed the commentary on 23 September 1755, publishing the same year. Further updates were made in 1759 and 1787. In 1790 the translation was published without an accompanying commentary. He was aided in his work by his brother

Charles Wesley Charles Wesley (18 December 1707 – 29 March 1788) was an English leader of the Methodist movement. Wesley was a prolific hymnwriter who wrote over 6,500 hymns during his lifetime. His works include "And Can It Be", "Christ the Lord Is Risen T ...

Content

Translation

Wesley worked from Greek manuscripts of the New Testament, particularly those of

Johann Albrecht Bengel Johann Albrecht Bengel (24 June 1687 – 2 November 1752), also known as ''Bengelius'', was a Lutheran pietist clergyman and Greek-language scholar known for his edition of the Greek New Testament and his commentaries on it. Life and career B ...

, keeping his translation closely in line with the

King James Version The King James Version (KJV), also the King James Bible (KJB) and the Authorized Version, is an English translation of the Christian Bible for the Church of England, which was commissioned in 1604 and published in 1611, by sponsorship of K ...

(KJV). He made around 12,000 minor alterations to the KJV, many of which have been incorporated into modern translations such as the

Revised Version The Revised Version (RV) or English Revised Version (ERV) of the Bible is a late 19th-century British revision of the King James Version. It was the first and remains the only officially authorised and recognised revision of the King James Versio ...

. Wesley attempted to modernise the dated language of the KJV. He also changed many occurrences of the word "shall" to "will", thereby downplaying an emphasis on

predestination Predestination, in theology, is the doctrine that all events have been willed by God, usually with reference to the eventual fate of the individual soul. Explanations of predestination often seek to address the paradox of free will, whereby ...

within the text and bringing it more in line with

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

theology.

Commentary

In his preface, Wesley claimed that his notes were aimed at the "unlearned reader," and were meant to be anti-sectarian in nature. He based his work on four earlier commentaries: '' Gnomon Novi Testamenti'' by Bengel, ''The Family Expositor'' by

Philip Doddridge Philip Doddridge D.D. (26 June 1702 – 26 October 1751) was an English Nonconformist (specifically, Congregationalist) minister, educator, and hymnwriter. Early life Philip Doddridge was born in London the last of the twenty children of ...

, ''The Practical Expositor'' by

John Guyse John Guyse (1680-1761) was an English independent minister. Life Guyse was born at Hertford in 1680. He was educated for the ministry at the academy of the Rev. John Payne at Saffron Walden, and began to preach in his twentieth year. He sometim ...

and ''Theological Lectures'' by

John Heylyn John Heylyn (1685 – 11 August 1759) was an Anglican divine, who had a major influence on religious thought in eighteenth century England. Because of his interest in mysticism he was known as the Mystic Doctor. Early life Heylyn was the son of Jo ...

. Many parts of the commentary were merely transcriptions or translations of these texts. All four authors were doctrinally

Calvinist Calvinism (also called the Reformed Tradition, Reformed Protestantism, Reformed Christianity, or simply Reformed) is a major branch of Protestantism that follows the theological tradition and forms of Christian practice set down by John C ...

, while Wesley was

Arminian Arminianism is a branch of Protestantism based on the theological ideas of the Dutch Reformed theologian Jacobus Arminius (1560–1609) and his historic supporters known as Remonstrants. Dutch Arminianism was originally articulated in the '' ...

in his theology. As such Wesley refrained from using these texts when issues of

and

free will Free will is the capacity of agents to choose between different possible courses of action unimpeded. Free will is closely linked to the concepts of moral responsibility, praise, culpability, sin, and other judgements which apply only to ac ...

were raised. Wesley focused on providing historical context in his commentary, giving explanations of the Jewish court system and the positions of groups such as the

Sadducees The Sadducees (; he, צְדוּקִים, Ṣədūqīm) were a socio- religious sect of Jewish people who were active in Judea during the Second Temple period, from the second century BCE through the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. T ...

and the

Pharisees The Pharisees (; he, פְּרוּשִׁים, Pərūšīm) were a Jewish social movement and a school of thought in the Levant during the time of Second Temple Judaism. After the destruction of the Second Temple in 70 CE, Pharisaic beliefs b ...

. Wesley's doctrine of

Christian perfection Christian perfection is the name given to theological concepts within some sects of Christianity that purport to describe a process of achieving spiritual maturity or perfection. The ultimate goal of this process is union with God characterized by ...

that features heavily in his other writings is notably absent in his notes.Smith p.109

Citations

References

* * *

External Links

Wesley's Explanatory Notes
at Studylight.org * ''Explanatory Notes upon the New Testament'' at Archive.org{{Authority control Arminianism 1755 books Bible translations into English Biblical commentaries Methodist texts New Testament editions