This volume is part of the "Understanding the New Testament" series. This series provides useful, brief studies on the books of the New Testament. The studies are aimed specifically at helping laypeople, including Bible study teachers, grasp the essentials of the text of each book by providing helpful comments on the book as a whole and by helping them understand each unit of Scripture in the book. The comments aim at answering the questions laypeople tend to ask and providing the information that laypeople tend to need and want. The studies are intended for use in individual or group study. The emphasis is on interpreting each unit of Scripture in its context in the surrounding Scripture, in the book as a whole, and in first-century culture.