Customer Reviews

The Gospel According to John (The New International Commentary on the New Testament)

5 star:		(11)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I have over 100 commentaries on the Gospel of John and none of them even comes close to this volume. Critical and exegetical issues are treated fully and fairly. Footnotes are jam-packed with excerpts from numerous authors holding differing viewpoints. Evaluations of other positions are peacable yet thorough. Morris brings out the richness of John's message on every page. I recently preached on John 1:1 and this commentary was eminently useful for understanding the background and meaning of the text. Massive conservative scholarship, a lucid and penetrating style, profound insight and, above all, spirtual depth make this volume a masterpiece! Morris is not the only commentator on I consult, but he is always the first and usually the most rewarding.

Leon Morris, principal emeritus of Ridley College (Melbourne, Australia) and author of over forty books, masterfully comments on St. John's Gospel.

The two aspects of this commentary I most appreciate are the conservative nature of the commentary and its high readability. In this commentary, the reader will find no historical-criticism. Rather, the author has faith in the inerrancy of Scripture and treats this portion of Scripture accordingly. Happily, when difficulties arise between the Synoptic Gospels and the Gospel according to John, he acknowledges these difficulties, lists several possible ways in which they can be reconciled, then ends with a statement reminding the reading not to be unreasonably dogmatic about such a difficult thing. Morris' conservatism and respect for the text is refreshing. Morris also writes in a very readable, fluid style. I found myself reading the nearly 800 pages of text much quicker than I expected to, mainly because the narrative structure was captivating and a joy to read. Morris frequently ties John's writings to the other Gospels, the Old Testament, Jewish/Roman history, and the post-Ascension church. He also has helped my understanding of John by pointing out his unique writing style (double meanings, playing loose with quotes, fondness for numbers, time, and geography, etc.)

There were aspects of this book that I did find frustrating. The most frustrating for me was Morris' anti-sacramentarian treatment of John 6 and the account of blood and water flowing from Jesus wound. Morris argues that John 6 should be read primarily as Jesus "teaching about spiritual realities...but...there may be a secondary reference to the sacrament(313)." However, he spends the following pages arguing against each and every perceived reference to the sacrament. I have strong beliefs that Jesus teaches primarily about the sacrament in these verses--that is my bias and I would like it do be shared by Morris--but the fact that he promises to address the sacramental teachings of Christ,then argues against his own stated view! I have a similar problem with Morris' treatment of blood and water flowing from Jesus' post-death wound as he barely addresses the belief that it is some reference to Communion and Baptism. A second issue I have with this book is the poor copy editing. The final pages of this book especially have frequent misspellings, misplaced commas, and extra letters inserted within common words ("nthe").

Overall, the weaknesses of this book do not even come close to overcoming the many, many positive aspects. I feel as if my insight into the writing style and theology of John has greatly increased because of Morris' book. Furthermore, I am anxious to continue my studies of both John and the Synoptics as a result of Morris' work. Highly recommended.

Leon Morris commentary on the Gospel of John is a must have for anyone building a library of Biblical commentaries. I have taught through this gospel on several occasions and have collected many great works on John. However, I always find myself comming back to this commentary by Leon Morris. It is not the only commentary to have of this great book but it is one that will contribute to your insight and understanding of John's message and meaning. Other key Bible commentaires on John are the classic by Godet, Beasley-Murray in the Word Bible Commentary and Ridderbos' theological commentary on the gospel of John. If you are just beginning to build your library, start with Morris. He covers all the major issues, doesn't hide from difficult questions and fairly present alternative positions. As a supplement to this work pick up Leon Morris' "Reflictions on the Gospel of John". More devotional in nature, it was originally written to compliment his NIC commenatry on John. However, last I checked this work is out of print but it can still be found via Amazon's out of print service. Morris' commentary on John and the Reflections offer the reader a great one-two punch. Either work can stand alone. These works make great gifts for the Bible student or your pastor if he doesn't already have them. You won't be disappointed!! Enjoy!

Morris takes a scholarly look at quite possibly the world's most intriguing and important book, The Gospel According to John. Technical aspects of Greek vocabulary are discussed in an interesting way that brings the text to life. I used it as the basic text of a class I taught and was delighted at its usefulness and information. A must for the serious Bible student!

Morris' commentary was all I expected it to be, and much more. Before purchasing this commentary I was told to expect a top-notch work of scholarship in the evangelical tradition. What I did not know was the Morris' commentary, while certainly being a scholarly work, has at its core a devotional feel. While never compromising his assignment to faithful scholarship, Morris betrays an intense personal committment to the teachings of this great gospel.

A commentary worthy of five stars both for its scholarship and devotional content. A masterful job that is highly recommended.

... I had the honor of taking a class in which Dr. Morris taught an overview of the Gospel of John. It was after this commentary had been published. Both hearing Dr. Morris and seeing this commentary have convinced me that although he was somewhat diminutive in stature, he was one of the scholarly giants of his generation.

If I may make a suggestion: when reading Morris' commentary, picture yourself sitting in a classroom with Dr. Morris. Then, as he "speaks", pretend you have the ability to raise your hand and ask him a question. (Had you been in his class, you would have found him remarkably cogent and very approachable.) Treat his commentary as an opportunity to, so to speak, interact with this great scholar.

To expand on my point a little, it seems to me that the point of reading a commentary is not so much to collect "all the right answers" like butterflies in a jar, as it is to have the opportunity to sit next to a gifted student (e.g. Dr. Morris) and listen to him as he tries to figure out what are the correct questions.

I don't want to suggest that reading Dr. Morris' commentary is a voyeuristic exercise. Not at all. Unlike many of our contemporaries (i.e. consistent post-Modernists), Dr. Morris apparently assumed that there is such a thing as objective truth and, through diligent study, we can know more and more about it. Yet, he seemed to have possessed a humility in his scholarship which is missing in the majority of scholars (and "poseur" scholars) in every field. That may have been the reason he was such an excellent student and teacher of the Johannine literature. (Plus, he was as sharp as a tack.)

Well Im not going to get many votes here :) as it wont be theologically deep but I have this volume and his Thessalonians and in both I see Leon Morris striving to not allow tradition to cloud looking at the texts anew. I really liked Morris even more than say Calvin (in whom I have great respect) in his commentary on 2 Thes...as we see Morris striving to stick to the original meaning and Calvin vering from the actual original meaning. Yes "we all stumble in many things" James says and Dr. Morris does too Im sure but Dr. Morris just really strives to stick to the original meaning and helping to make the arguments in the text through exegesis alone. He's not vering off on the Papacy and things like that but trying to stick to what the text says and what John and Paul (in the thess commentary) .would know at the time.... how can you beat that? Like I said Dr. Morris is the BOMB pretty much says all I feel about this volume and every other one of his I have read so far. Oh and get his Thess commentary... you just cant have enough Leon Morris on your shelf IMO!

First off, the Amazon information lists this as 1971, but it is the revised version from 1995. Now to my review.

This is an excellent commentary and I highly recommend it. However, it has one important drawback. This revised edition is only "lightly revised" in the sense that very little scholarship since the 1971 version of Morris' commentary is included. Some is, but the majority of the secondary sources come from pre-1970. That's the ONLY reason I gave this 4 stars instead of 5.

With that said, this continues to be an outstanding guide to John's Gospel. I love using it. He has great knowledge and insight into this gospel. I won't repeat other reviewers here on this point.

Hurry and buy this quickly because Eerdman's has already announced on its site that a replacement volume will be released in 2010 by J. Ramsey Michaels. Michaels has already written a commentary on John in the NIBC series. He is an old colleague and friend of the NICNT editor Gordon Fee (they taught together at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in the 1970s and early 80s). I am very confident that Michaels' commentary will be a great addition to the NICNT series, and will bring that series up-to-date on John's Gospel (which Morris' 1995 light revision, unfortunately, did not). However, I will be sad to see Morris' masterful commentary go. Let's hope that Eerdman's has the wisdom to offer both simultaneously, because despite it's lack of interaction with much of the scholarship on John in the last 30-40 years, it will still have much value into the future. However, based on how Eerdmans replaces volumes in this series, I don't anticipate they will. So, as I said, get your copy of Morris' commentary soon!

Morris' insights into John's text are, for the most part, extremely helpful. Although there are other commentaries on John that are more comprehensive, Morris doesn't get lost in the trees but always takes you back from the trees to see the Forest.

The thing that sets Morris apart from other commentators is his often pastoral insights. He always brings back the text to Christ and his redemptive work. If you are a pastor and want great sermon material, use Morris after your own study, he will not disappoint.

Not only is this a great commentary that can be easily read and understood, but it's footnotes take you even deeper and enrich the commentary for those who really want a scholarly experience. This is definately a tool the serious Bible student would want in his or her own library. This is one volume in a set of New Testament Commentaries, but does not depend on the other volumes. However, now that I have purchased this volume, I plan on buying the others as I continue into other New Testament studies.