Carson states he is trying to explain the text of Johns Gospel to those who minister the Word of God to others, either by preaching or by leading Bible studies. It can be used by those laypeople who want personal growth. He looks at the flow of the text; specifically, on the movement of thought.
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About the Author
D. A. Carson is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Deerfield, Illinois. He has written nearly fifty other books, including The Gagging of God: Christianity Confronts Pluralism, How Long, O Lord? Reflections on Suffering and Evil, and Becoming Conversant with the Emerging Church.
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D. A. Carson (Ph.D., University of Cambridge) is research professor of New Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Deerfield, Illinois. He is the author or coauthor of over 45 books, including the Gold Medallion Award-winning book The Gagging of God and An Introduction to the New Testament, and is general editor of Telling the Truth: Evangelizing Postmoderns and Worship by the Book. He has served as a pastor and is an active guest lecturer in church and academic settings around the world.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
69 of 71 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
Anyone hoping to write an exhaustive commentary on the Fourth Gospel will die long before they finish. The FG is widely recognized as being the kind of work in which the interpretational possibilities are almost endless. One can focus on Christology, election, sacramentalism, atonement and resurrection, the church, or none of the above. As a result, when one reads any commentary on John, the reader is advised to pay attention to what the author tends to pay attention to, because this will say something about the author's own theological emphases. This is good to know because not only will the reader get a better idea of where the author is coming from, he will also be on alert for ways in which the commentary may be imbalanced as a result of emphasizing certain things and neglecting others. Such is the reality of Johannine scholarship and the richness of the FG.
In the case of Carson, the reader will find the strongest evangelical defense of apostolic authorship among the commentary encyclopedia devoted to the FG. As a result, the reader will also find a commentary that takes the historical veracity of the narrative seriously and attempts to interact with the material from the perspective of considering the material to be normative and historically reliable. This alone separates this commentary from most other major commentaries on the FG in the last 40 years.
Carson properly interacts with the heavy hitters in Johannine scholarship such as Bultmann, Brown, Barrett, Smith, and Culpepper. Carson's interaction with Brown and Culpepper is especially good and provides a solid rebuttal to their differing approaches to literary interpretation.
The commentary is thorough in its coverage of the FG, but like all commentaries, is inevitably incomplete. Carson has his hot buttons just like everyone else, and the result is a good emphasis on issues such as authorship, testimony, election, and christology. The downside is that other emphases, like the much neglected motif of hospitality in the FG and its ramifications on christology, election, the church, etc is ignored. Is this enough to give the book a 4 star rating instead of 5? If so, then no commentary on John would be worthy of a 5 star rating for the reasons already mentioned. For what Carson attempts to do, he does it very well. For this reason, the book deserves 5 stars and should be the standard work on John that evangelicals in particular should consult.
In the case of Carson, the reader will find the strongest evangelical defense of apostolic authorship among the commentary encyclopedia devoted to the FG. As a result, the reader will also find a commentary that takes the historical veracity of the narrative seriously and attempts to interact with the material from the perspective of considering the material to be normative and historically reliable. This alone separates this commentary from most other major commentaries on the FG in the last 40 years.
Carson properly interacts with the heavy hitters in Johannine scholarship such as Bultmann, Brown, Barrett, Smith, and Culpepper. Carson's interaction with Brown and Culpepper is especially good and provides a solid rebuttal to their differing approaches to literary interpretation.
The commentary is thorough in its coverage of the FG, but like all commentaries, is inevitably incomplete. Carson has his hot buttons just like everyone else, and the result is a good emphasis on issues such as authorship, testimony, election, and christology. The downside is that other emphases, like the much neglected motif of hospitality in the FG and its ramifications on christology, election, the church, etc is ignored. Is this enough to give the book a 4 star rating instead of 5? If so, then no commentary on John would be worthy of a 5 star rating for the reasons already mentioned. For what Carson attempts to do, he does it very well. For this reason, the book deserves 5 stars and should be the standard work on John that evangelicals in particular should consult.
46 of 47 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
I have just finished reading through this commentary for the third time. I have read many commentaries on John's Gospel and consider this one of the best evangelical commentaries on John available today. Carson interacts with many views on controversial items but is never boring. The commentary is a good mix of excellent and profound scholarship but never loses its readability. If one is not familiar with the Greek Language of the Bible this commentary is a good one. If you do have a working knowlege of Greek, Carson is an excellent Greek exegete and you will find satisfaction here. I recommend this great commentary wholeheartedly.
57 of 67 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
As I write this review, I am preaching through the gospel of John in the church I serve as pastor. Taken on its own merits, this is a good commentary by a fine Evangelical NT scholar which leans more toward theological exposition than either in-depth analysis of the Greek text or outright sermonic form. For myself, I find it useful, but I cannot say that it stands out among the many other commentaries I am also using. Barrett and Brown are better on the Greek text and strike me as more insightful; Morris (in the revised edition) is still my first choice for the pastor because his writing style is clearer, his tone is more devotional, and he has much more quotable material for sermons (not to mention the goldmine of info in the footnotes); Ridderbos is a more astute theological exposition than Carson's work, while Bruce and Newbigin are better popular level commentaries (not to mention the more sermonic works like Boice, Hughes and Milne). Given my assessment of Carson's work among its peers, I admit that I wonder why this volume was published (of course, that could go for the whole Pillar series of which it is a part. They are all decent volumes, but none are the best available and do not always surpass even earlier works). There is little in it that cannot be found in other volumes (although to be fair, Morris's revised work and Ridderbos are both later than Carson's commentary). This commentary was originally intended for the Tyndale series, which means that it would have been much shorter and more popularly oriented. That effort, I would very much have liked to see, since there is no recent work at that level, since Carson could have given us a crisp, concise guide to John packed with sage advice. In sum, my recommendation is that you should use Carson in your preaching and teaching, but it is not indispensible if you already have (or have access to) some of the other works cited in this review (most notably Morris and Ridderbos). One last thought, all this could change if Carson were to revise the work any time soon (it is ten years old now), or even offer a shorter version of it in the Tyndale series (as Alec Motyer did on Isaiah).
Most Recent Customer Reviews
better than other commentaries
I purchase this book for class, and it is a very informative book, the reading is a little difficult for someone that does not have english as a first language, but if you take... Read more
Published 3 months ago by Pearl Luv
Best on John
This volume will be the standard on the book of John for years to come. Pastors and teachers cannot afford to skip this book if they hope to expound clearly what the text actually... Read more
Published 10 months ago by Athanasius2000
A Johannine Masterpiece
In the process of studying the writings of John I kept seeing various commentators making reference to Carson. Read more
Published 12 months ago by Joshua B. Hughes
D.A. Carson's The Gospel According to John Commentary
D.A. Carson is surely one of the most incisive, thorough, in-depth exegetes of our day. He delves into the text with great detail & exhaustive background knowledge. Read more
Published on November 16, 2009 by Michaelrobertguertin
D A Carson's Commentary on John Worth the Money
The Gospel According to John: An Introduction and Commentary is a very thorough commentary. D. A. Carson has great insight. Read more
Published on August 15, 2009 by Marilyn Geeo
A Sound, Reliable and Illuminating Commentary on John
I keep this book on my desk right beside Craig S. Keener's commentaries. Carson writes clearly and succinctly and touches on almost every mystery of the Gospel that concerns me. Read more
Published on May 14, 2008 by Anne Rice
The Gospel According to John, by D.A. Carson
I am thrilled to add this commentary to my library. D.A. Carson is scholarly, but not so complicated that an interested lay bible student cannot follow his writing.
Published on April 30, 2008 by Margaret Bates
A Quality Work by an evangelical scholar
Carson's Gospel according to John is a quality work by an evangelical scholar. His commentary is well acquainted with scholars like Barrett, Raymond, Dodd, Westcott, and Morris. Read more
Published on April 5, 2008 by Kam C. Hon
Worthwhile purchase
Carson's commentary on the Gospel of John is thorough and a great aid. He addresses opposing views on certain topics and gives great insight on difficult passages. Read more
Published on March 8, 2007 by B. Edfeldt
Required Commentary for Evangelicals
Carson's volume is an absolutely outstanding commentary that brings together the rigorous exegetical work of one of evangelicalism's most trusted and well-thought teachers with a... Read more
Published on February 10, 2007 by Bryan C. McWhite
Inside This Book
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First Sentence:
The Prologue is a foyer to the rest of the Fourth Gospel (as John's Gospel is often called), simultaneously drawing the reader in and introducing the major themes. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
strong asseverative, vine imagery, cff notes, pronoun ekeinos, saving reign, antecedent revelation, ensuing verses, spurious faith, futurist eschatology, ecclesiastical redactor, revelation bound, meta tauta, ego eimi, beloved disciple, verb rendered, true bread from heaven, inaugurated eschatology, ultimate glorification, functional subordination, farewell discourse, healed man, unqualified obedience, messianic community Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Fourth Gospel, Old Testament, New Testament, John the Baptist, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Synoptic Gospels, Feast of Tabernacles, John's Gospel, Judas Iscariot, Coming One, Jesus the Messiah, Christ Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mount Gerizim, Simon Peter, Cambridge University Press, Gospel of John, Lord Jesus, Pirke Aboth, Certainly John, Genesis Rabbah, Hebrew Scriptures, Herod Antipas, Mishnah Sanhedrin New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The Prologue is a foyer to the rest of the Fourth Gospel (as John's Gospel is often called), simultaneously drawing the reader in and introducing the major themes. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
strong asseverative, vine imagery, cff notes, pronoun ekeinos, saving reign, antecedent revelation, ensuing verses, spurious faith, futurist eschatology, ecclesiastical redactor, revelation bound, meta tauta, ego eimi, beloved disciple, verb rendered, true bread from heaven, inaugurated eschatology, ultimate glorification, functional subordination, farewell discourse, healed man, unqualified obedience, messianic community Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Fourth Gospel, Old Testament, New Testament, John the Baptist, Holy Spirit, Jesus Christ, Synoptic Gospels, Feast of Tabernacles, John's Gospel, Judas Iscariot, Coming One, Jesus the Messiah, Christ Jesus, Mary Magdalene, Mount Gerizim, Simon Peter, Cambridge University Press, Gospel of John, Lord Jesus, Pirke Aboth, Certainly John, Genesis Rabbah, Hebrew Scriptures, Herod Antipas, Mishnah Sanhedrin New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
Citations (learn more)
This book cites 94
books:
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100
books
cite this book:
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- The Glory of Christ in the New Testament: Studies in Christology in Memory of George Bradford Caird by L. D. Hurst on 4 pages
- Showing the Spirit: A Theological Exposition of 1 Corinthians, 12-14 by D. A. Carson on page 441, page 542, and Back Flap
- Law and Religion: Essays on the Place of the Law in Israel and Early Christianity by Barnabas Lindars in Front Matter, page 179, and page 585
- The Gospel of John: Introduction, Exposition, Notes by F.F. Bruce in Front Matter (1), and Front Matter (2)
- From Sabbath to Lord's Day: A Biblical, Historical and Theological Investigation by D. A. Carson on page 316, and page 657
See all 94 books this book cites
- The New Testament: Its Background and Message by Thomas Lea on 8 pages
- That You May Believe (Studies in the Gospel of John): New Life in the Son by Joseph "Skip" Ryan on 7 pages
- The New American Commentary Volume 25 B - John 12-21 by Gerald L. Borchert on 5 pages
- Beyond the Bounds: Open Theism and the Undermining of Biblical Christianity by John Piper on 4 pages
- The Race Set Before Us: A Biblical Theology of Perseverance & Assurance by Thomas R. Schreiner on 4 pages
See all 100 books citing this book
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