Customer Reviews

The Gospel according to John (Pillar New Testament Commentary)

5 star:		(14)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

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.

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.

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).

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. I think he is completely correct in his criticism of the skeptics. The book is obviously shaped by immense faith and displays great attention to current scholarship and to the details of the text of John. The book also contains a marvelous and forceful summary of the arguments for and against the belief that the Apostle John bar Zebedee wrote the gospel. This is a decisive and brave commentary. Also recommended are all D.A. Carson's other books, including Divine Sovereignty & Human Responsibility. This scholar's output is enormous. It will take me years to catch up with what he has written, and I doubt I'll ever catch up with all of it. I admire him greatly, and recommend him wholeheartedly. --- Addendum added May 16, 2008 as I continue to read this book: There is something commonsensical and firm about the way this author presents his points; he dispatches the objections or contrary theory of others with conviction and an economy of language. Again and again, he appeals simply and unobtrusively to sound judgment as to points over which people argue, and it is refreshing. --- Some scholars today are so hampered by earlier skeptical objections, speculations, and disputes that it is difficult to get through their books. One gets the feeling sometimes that some authors are writing for one another. ---- Not so with D.A. Carson. His writing serves the text and the mainstream reader as well as the scholar. ---- Yet he is ever the Christian (charitable) writer. ---- I sense no snideness or unkindness, but simply a great deal of well earned self confidence, and a straightforward appeal to sound logic. Some readers may find this commentary particularly accessible because of all this. The writing is brisk.

This commentary is the best I've read on the Gospel of John. It majors on Biblical Theology, not on lending credence to existing traditions. Highly recommended. I am using it with much profit in teaching and preaching.

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. While academic, this commentary can be of tremendous use to anyone who is either leading a Bible study on John or wants to have some help during personal devotions.

Considered by many evangelicals to be a leading scholar in the field of biblical exegesis, Professor D. A. Carson has produced an outstanding commentary on the Gospel According to John. One of the many strengths of this commentary is Carson's ability to combine his extensive knowledge of biblical theology with a thorough exegesis of the original text. No study of John's Gospel is complete without this fine commentary. Highly recommended!

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 pastoral heart (and Carson's is big). The commentary is pitched at the level of the reasonably well-educated clergyman, but does not require proficiency in the biblical languages, and could certainly be useful to an advanced lay Bible student.

In the process of studying the writings of John I kept seeing various commentators making reference to Carson. I have a friend who is also a big fan of Carson's works so both of these things influenced me to buy this work. This book actually exceeded any expectations I had. I cannot decide what is the best work on John but it is certainly between F.F. Bruce and this one.

First I would like to say that Carson is very articulate and exact. He is not given to fanciful fits of imagination of clumsy exegetical comments. He is a real scholar who approaches the topic with class and sensitivity. The book started with him giving a synopsis of past hundred and fifty years of scholarship on John. He systematically deconstructs and dismantles every objection to the authorship of the Apostle John. He does this in a cool and calm manner that takes all views into account while exposing the weaknesses of the methodology espoused by Bultmann and his school of thought. This part of the work was colossal!

Carson proceeds with the narrative with reserve and caution. He talks about a variety of views and usually shows their strengths and weaknesses pointing out the one he thought was most likely. He has mastery over New Testament Greek and his command of the language makes his ideas even more plausible. There are areas where he is unsure and he leaves those areas open with a few possibilities but usually he discusses why he favors one over another. He never resorts to belittling or running another view down but always proceeds with a cool-headed approach to theology.

This book is unique because he achieves a strong balance. For those who are well-versed in the Gospel of John they will find this book to be a great addition to their library and will no doubt acquire some things to add to what they are already know. At the same time, it is not an overwhelming work and one could hypothetically read this book without any previous background to John's works and still walk away with valuable insights into the overall theme of John's Gospel.

I would like to offer some criticism as I often do for other works but I really can't think of anything that was big enough to bring up. It is accessible, theologically sound, well argued, exhaustive, and professional all the way around. He deals with some delicate theological issues and does so without resorting to dogma like Sproul did in his work on John. Overall, this is a must for your library. I would say that this and Bruce are two of the best works out there on the subject. Carson offers great advice for young preachers who are preaching John to their people for the first time and great devotional reflections. It is a big work so be ready to labor working your way through it but it is worth it!

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. His tenacity to hold to conservative, biblical inerrancy makes him trustworthy. I had recently searched to see if this commentary had been updated, since it was written by Carson in 1991. It had not.
You won't be disappointed by any means, though, as the author will surely lead you into a deeper knowledge of this book that so wonderfully displays Christ, Who is "Wonderful".
I also have Carson's commentary on Matthew's gospel. I immediately noticed in this commentary set when I left Carson and went to another author who was submitting commentary on another gospel. The depth of insight & attention to detail was noticably lacking.