Customer Reviews

The Gospel of John: The New Daily Study Bible (Volume 2)

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This edition, with minor changes and corrections, is essentially the same as the revised edition issued in 1975. What this and the previous revised edition fail to inform the reader of is that it does not contain all of the commentary text written by William Barclay. The two volumes of the revised edition of the Gospel of John contain 547 pages. However, the 2nd edition of the two volumes of the Gospel of John (published in 1956) contains 634 pages. Thus, the revised edition has 13.7% fewer pages than the 2nd edition.

This reduction in pages is not solely due to differences in formatting. It is largely due to the deletion of many portions of Barclay's commentary contained in the 2nd edition. I first noticed the selective deletion of portions of Barclay's original commentary in the commentary for John 13:33-35, in which Jesus speaks of loving one another as he loved us. In the 2nd edition, Barclay so beautifully states the following: "He [Jesus] knew all their [his disciples] weaknesses and yet He still loved them. Those who really love us are the people who know us at our worst and who still love us." However, these two sentences, along with four other sentences, do not appear in the revised edition, and they do not appear in this edition. Repeatedly, key sentences and phrases are deleted from this edition. At another point in this commentary, Barclay states that: "It is when we live with people that we find out their moods and their irritabilities and their weaknesses." Although this sentence is contained in this edition, the sentence that immediately follows it in the 2nd edition will not be found in this edition. That sentence is: "And others have the same experience with us."

Furthermore, the changes in the revised edition are not the work of William Barclay, but as William Barclay states in the introduction to the revised edition, "the work of revision and correction has been done entirely by the Rev. James Martin." Clive Rawlins, who wrote an authorized biography of William Barclay, stated in the biography that it was especially questionable for Barclay to allow republication without his own personal revision (due to Barclay's physical decline, Rawlins indicates that Barclay was unable to make the revisions himself). Rawlins was very critical of the revisions by Martin, stating that the nature of the original work was not always respected. At one point, Rawlins stated that Martin's elimination of two key phrases was a great pity and lessened the force of Barclay's statement. In the introduction to the book of Romans, Rawlins stated that it was strange that Martin should have so completely missed Barclay's emphasis in the revised edition prepared by Martin. Rawlins stated in the biography that the reduction of approximately 600 pages in the 17 volume set was because of "vigorous pruning" of Barclay's writing. In conclusion, Rawlins found that the revisions made by Martin in the revised edition "are not of the highest order."

On the other hand, I cannot emphasize enough the value of Barclay's commentaries. His knowledge of the Greek language, the Jewish culture and religion, and the Roman occupation during the New Testament era is phenomenal. Furthermore, he has a unique ability to convey this immense knowledge in a manner which is very easy for any reader to understand. William Barclay has the ability to convey to the reader not only what that passage meant to the people to whom Jesus spoke to 2,000 years ago, but what those passages say to us today. On countless occasions, I have felt that Barclay was speaking to me personally as he discussed the relevance of the passage in his commentary.

William Barclay's New Testament commentaries are the most insightful and meaningful commentaries that I have ever read, and I cannot recommend them highly enough. He has both challenged and inspired me; William Barclay's writings have truly changed my life. However, if you want to read all of what Barclay actually said instead of what some editor thought was important enough to leave in, then check with a used book store or do a used book search on the internet to get the 2nd editions of the Gospel of John or other volumes in Barclay's Daily Study Bible.

I have "seen" the Gospel of John over a dozen of times, but never really read it, in terms of deep understanding, until Barclay helped to reveal it to me in his commentary. Barclay's explanation of the Greek in the original text, and the historical background he provides, has been very significant to my study of Jesus Christ. An example is Barclay's extensive analysis of Jesus as the "logos" that commences his commentary on the Gospel of John. Barclay's discussion of the story of the woman caught in adultery is one of the most beautiful interpretations of an aspect of Jesus's ministry I have ever heard or read. I strongly recommend the Revised Edition to anyone in search of greater understanding of Jesus Christ.

One unfortunate criticism of the Revised Edition of Barclay's Commentaries on the New Testament is that it is somewhat inferior to the 2nd Edition. It is true that the Revised Edition has fewer pages, but this criticism does not take into account the fact that the size of the pages in the Revised Edition is larger than that of the 2nd Edition. Also, Barclay removed a number of redundancies of writing in preparing the Revised Edition. Barclay was a prolific writer, and I suspect that he improved his writing talent considerably in the 19 years between when the two editions were published. I am also hard-pressed to believe that Barclay would have compromised the message of these commentaries in any way in later editions. Further, printing technology improved considerably in that period, such that the Revised Edition is much easier on the eyes. And I would note that it is quite difficult to locate the 2nd Edition of these commentaries. I believe that the Revised Edition is a perfectly viable if not preferable substitute for the 2nd Edition.

I first studied the Book of John by Barclay in the 80's and thought it was outstanding. Coming back to his new volumes, I am even more impressed with the depth and genuine grace-filled commentary he delivers. If you have a Bible Study or Sunday School class that is hungry to understand what John was trying to convey about Jesus, this is the best book you could find.

I still have Barclay's original commentary on the Gospel of John from many years ago. This updated version, with some corrected wording (and a good introduction by Drane), is faithful to the remarkable clarity and depth of Barclay. He speaks directly to all of us in simple and understandable language. I recommend it without hesitation.

William Barclay's commentaries are written for the common person. You do not have to be a seminarian or theologian to understand his writing. Yet he is able to give historical information and Biblical interpretation that will add to your understanding of the Bible or enhance your lessons if you're teaching. The Gospel of John comes in two volumes, so don't forget to order v. 2, if you order this one!

Gives excellent insight into John's Gospel through his eyes...after all, he was an eyewitness of the Lord's work. Barclay is an excellent source of information in each of his commentaries of the Holy Bible

Barclay's Bible studies are the best, as far as I'm concerned. His clarity of explanations and interpretations are top notch!

I have most of the New Testament commentary set from the hardcover Second Edition, which I obtained years ago. I had a few holes however, and did not have the two volumes of John. So I purchased a revised paperback edition. I was very disappointed. I since obtained hardcover Second Edition copies. They are out there, and they are worth finding and getting. I would pass on the Revised (edited) edition.

Barclay's daily Bible studies are all outstanding, even if he has weak view of the miraculous. He tends to look for a natural explanation for some of the miracles, yet he does not miss the very thing that Jesus was demonstrating with that miracle. In every instance Barclay cuts to the quick of the matter, giving a good historical context for Scripture, as well as very pointed exegetical insights. I like these studies because of the things they make me think about. Sometimes I read only a section a day; sometimes I cover a whole chapter. I always come away with a deepened appreciation for the complex, powerful book, the Bible. In reading through these studies on John I have been very touched by the humanity of the disciple band. "One of the lovliest things in the Fourth Gospel, is that John, the old fisherlman turned evangelist,found all the wealth of the Christ in the memory of a fisherman's story (John 6, Christ coming to the disciples in the boat on the windy Sea of Galalee.) Volume 2 of course covers the Crucifiction. From John 18, covering Peter's denial of Christ, Barclay says,"The forgiving love of Jesus is so great that he sees our real personality, not in our faithlessness, but in our loyalty; not in our defeat by sin, but in our reaching after goodness, even when we are defeated." Time after time, Barclay points to the living reality of a relationship with Jesus Christ.
The "New" daily Bible studies by Barclay have been updated to more modern English; not necessary in my opinion. We lose a lot when we stop reading old books as they were written.

Barclay does a wonderful job of analyzing and adding more insight to the Gospel of John. His information is biblically accurate and highly recommend to anyone seeking more understanding.