Customer Reviews

The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary

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

 

 

Of the scholarly commentaries on John's Gospel (there are SO many), I put 4 on top of all others, yet have a hard time picking any of them as greater than the other, as they work so well together. These four are: Carson's Pillar commentary on John, Morris' NICNT on John, Keener's 2-volume Gospel of John, and this commentary by Ridderbos. Ridderbos' view of John is clear and concise with great insights into a very difficult book, especially in view of critiques of John in the past 70+ years. Interestingly, Carson, Morris and Beasley-Murray (the editor of the translation of Bultmann's commentary on John) all endorse this commentary on the back of the book.

This commentary is hefty enough for scholarly reference, while still remaining accessible to all levels of Christian studies due to the clear writing (not overly difficult to understand as many theological writings can be for laypeople) and does not heavily use Greek to make points (almost all Greek reference is found in his footnotes.)

Ridderbos does not spend a great deal of time on theological aspects such as unity and authorship in the beginning of the text. He discusses these issues throughout the text and touches finally on authorship at the end in an epilogue. Throughout, Ridderbos builds a picture of unity of the text, and while not ruling John-son of Zebedee as the dogmatic truth as author since he believes authorship was purposefully veiled, he does point heavily in that direction while discussing most major differing viewpoints.

He also does not presuppose or tie his commentary to any one translation like Carson and Morris do (both speak at length about the NIV, each in positive and negative aspects where they either agree or disagree with the translation.)

While strictly tagging Ridderbos as any specific mindset when he avoids describing himself in any such way would be unfair, his theology seems to fit with Evangelical theology of a conservative mold. This is said not to turn others off, because Ridderbos provides detailed evidence for his conclusions, but just to give my impression of the work.

Overall, this is one of my most valued books on the Fourth Gospel, and I highly recommend it as an initial/primary commentary or as a superb addition to the library of anyone studying the Fourth Gospel.

This work on John by Herman Ridderbos is simply magnificant in so many ways. It is trully a breath of fresh air in the ever stagnating pool of Johannine exegesis.

I have nicknamed Ridderbos 'the razor'. And this commentary on John is the prime reason why. Ridderbos does not mess around. He shaves off the 'later reading's into the text', to expose a true flowing narrative of John's words and redaction. Ridderbos wrestles with the theology of the 4th gospel in a way that is almost never seen in America.

In short, this could possibly be the most underrated work on John of the second half of the 20th century. It has challenged my views as few commentaries have. I recommend this work highly.

Rick E Aguirre, Southern California, (Aguirre100@aol.com) <><

This is truly a fine addition to the vast numbers of commentaries on the gospel of John. Ridderbos does an outstanding job in thinking theologically through the issues in John's gospel. As a Presbyterian pastor who loves to preach on Johannine texts, I have found Ridderbos' comments to be cogent, beautiful, insightful and preachable. I would recommend it highly for the pastor wanting resources on the gospel of John. My only complaint is that it is in paperback, I would have much preferred a hardback for wear and tear.