Johns epistles appear to be among the simplest books in the New Testament, until you dig a little deeper. Colin Kruses The Letters of John---a trustworthy contribution to The Pillar New Testament Commentary series---explores the full depth of what the apostle taught to enrich your spiritual life. Kruse examines authorship, audience, purpose, major Christian doctrines, theological themes, and more. Includes verse-by-verse commentary on each letter.
The Letters of John (Pillar New Testament Commentary)
and over one million other books are available for Amazon Kindle.
Learn more
| ||||||||||||||||||
Book Description
Frequently Bought Together
Product Details
Would you like to update product info or give feedback on images?
|
More About the Author
Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.
Customer Reviews
Most Helpful Customer Reviews
21 of 21 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
In the last 30 years, a number of standard commentaries on the Johannine epistles have been produced that require interaction from the church. Brown's commentary on the epistles is the most obvious example, but the work of Judith Lieu and Strecker also demand engagement. What has been missing for some time is a solidly evangelical commentary on the epistles that is both pastoral and academically robust. This effort by Colin Kruse does not fail the reader on either front, but neither is it a glowing success either.
Kruse presents a generally conservative approach to interpretation, though he does at times draw heavily from non-evangelical scholarship, particularly in his excursus on hospitality. Kruse is helpful if for no other reason than because he offers some balance to many prevailing commentators and their pet theories. Kruse does not jump on the sectarian reading bandwagon, nor does he adopt the fashionable scholarly position of holding a rather unsympathetic view toward the Elder of 2 and 3 John. Kruse rightly attempts to show that these epistles are not merely the situational period pieces that seem to form the basis for most scholarly interaction with the epistles. All of this makes the book refreshing in its outlook and treatment of these letters.
But in my view, the commentary is a bit weak when it comes to the 'robustness' of its scholarship. Compared with other commentaries, very little time is spent surveying the historical situation of the writings and interacting with other scholarly proposals on this score. This is disappointing considering Kruse himself acknowledges the necessity of establishing such a starting point as a basis for approaching the texts. While it is very true that Johannine scholars have let their imaginations too often get the best of them when tackling these topics, it is not inappropriate (or irrelevant) to examine these subjects in some detail and arrive at more solid conclusions. Kruse does not break any new ground here, and doesn't really retill the earth that has already been dug. This does the commentary a disservice.
In addition, while his excursus on hospitality is good, it similarly does not break new ground but simply regurgitates what others (mainly Malina) have done. I would argue that while Kruse hits a number of necessary points in his hospitality excursus, he actually misses the component of Mediterranean hospitality that is most relevant to interpreting 2 and 3 John (and even 1 John) - the step of testing. It is very surprising that this has gone predominately unnoticed in most commentaries on the epistles (including Kruse's), when its reckoning can serve to really open a doorway into the historical situation of the writings as well as the instructions given by the Elder which often get so many interpreters bent out of shape. Kruse had a great opportunity to present a very robust hospitality reading of 2 and 3 John that could have successfully refuted much of the trepidation scholars often have about these epistles. But in my view, this opportunity was largely missed.
In conclusion, the commentary is helpful and at least begins to provide a counterweight to prevailing scholarly opinions which are mostly negative about the epistles. But the evangelical church still awaits a commentary that is as robust as its non-evangelical counterparts and can truly compete in the academic world with those currently inclined to follow the theories of Brown, Lieu, Strecker and others. Carson gives Kruse's commentary a bit too much credit, and it is hoped by this reader that his upcoming commentary on the epistles will be the kind of commentary that is needed to balance the scales.
Kruse presents a generally conservative approach to interpretation, though he does at times draw heavily from non-evangelical scholarship, particularly in his excursus on hospitality. Kruse is helpful if for no other reason than because he offers some balance to many prevailing commentators and their pet theories. Kruse does not jump on the sectarian reading bandwagon, nor does he adopt the fashionable scholarly position of holding a rather unsympathetic view toward the Elder of 2 and 3 John. Kruse rightly attempts to show that these epistles are not merely the situational period pieces that seem to form the basis for most scholarly interaction with the epistles. All of this makes the book refreshing in its outlook and treatment of these letters.
But in my view, the commentary is a bit weak when it comes to the 'robustness' of its scholarship. Compared with other commentaries, very little time is spent surveying the historical situation of the writings and interacting with other scholarly proposals on this score. This is disappointing considering Kruse himself acknowledges the necessity of establishing such a starting point as a basis for approaching the texts. While it is very true that Johannine scholars have let their imaginations too often get the best of them when tackling these topics, it is not inappropriate (or irrelevant) to examine these subjects in some detail and arrive at more solid conclusions. Kruse does not break any new ground here, and doesn't really retill the earth that has already been dug. This does the commentary a disservice.
In addition, while his excursus on hospitality is good, it similarly does not break new ground but simply regurgitates what others (mainly Malina) have done. I would argue that while Kruse hits a number of necessary points in his hospitality excursus, he actually misses the component of Mediterranean hospitality that is most relevant to interpreting 2 and 3 John (and even 1 John) - the step of testing. It is very surprising that this has gone predominately unnoticed in most commentaries on the epistles (including Kruse's), when its reckoning can serve to really open a doorway into the historical situation of the writings as well as the instructions given by the Elder which often get so many interpreters bent out of shape. Kruse had a great opportunity to present a very robust hospitality reading of 2 and 3 John that could have successfully refuted much of the trepidation scholars often have about these epistles. But in my view, this opportunity was largely missed.
In conclusion, the commentary is helpful and at least begins to provide a counterweight to prevailing scholarly opinions which are mostly negative about the epistles. But the evangelical church still awaits a commentary that is as robust as its non-evangelical counterparts and can truly compete in the academic world with those currently inclined to follow the theories of Brown, Lieu, Strecker and others. Carson gives Kruse's commentary a bit too much credit, and it is hoped by this reader that his upcoming commentary on the epistles will be the kind of commentary that is needed to balance the scales.
17 of 18 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover
1 John is not the easiest book of the Bible to understand, but Kruse is very helpful in his analysis. Originally a thematic analysis, Kruse expanded his work to be a detailed commentary with the thematic sections appearing as they arise within the text.
Kruse is succinct in style and conservative in content. I am currently using this book as I preach through 1 John, and I am finding his work invaluable. For those who have found certain passages in 1 John to be discouraging (ie Christians don't sin), Kruse shows that the author is writing during a period of time when proto-gnostic heresy was infiltrating the church - a heresy that denied Christ's humanity and sin within believers. Rather than discourage believers, 1 John (interpreted in this correct context) is a great encouragement to all who walk in the light and have fellowship with the Father.
David Jackman (Bible Speaks Today) and John Stott (Tyndale), are helpful side-commentaries - but Kruse is much more helpful.
16 of 17 people found the following review helpful
Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase
This is a very good commentary on the letters of John, which I referred to often when I was preaching through 1 John last year. The commentary reflects competent scholarship (but without being cumbersome, e.g. Greek words are transliterated) and a conservative theological perspective. Of special help are the many theological excursions spread throughout the text (A Note on the Meaning of 'Fellowship,' A Note on Hilasmos, A Note on Antichrist, A Note on Sinless Perfectionism, A Note on Sins that Do and Do Not Lead to Death, etc.) Kruse gives a good survey of various interpretations, but also grounds his own conclusions in solid exegesis of both text and context. This is, without doubt, one of the best commentaries on John's letters available today.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
Great Commentary With A Load of Extras
I'm very happy to have this commentary in my library now. It is in line with the rest of the emerging series (PNTC), possessing excellent and readable comments. Read more
Published on June 14, 2008 by David A. Bielby
Helpful introduction to John's Letters
Colin Kruse is a professor of New Testament at the Bible College of Victoria (Melbourne, Australia) and author of several commentaries and other works intended to apply New... Read more
Published on August 20, 2006 by Matthew Gunia
Weak
I have over 20 commentaries on First John. I consider this among the bottom five. Analysis is superficial and not particularly insightful. Read more
Published on November 23, 2005 by C. Hafer
Inside This Book
(learn more)
First Sentence:
The Letters of John provide readers with a cameo of life in one part of the early church. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
secessionist teaching, baptising ministry, loving fellow believers, concomitant behaviour, love for fellow believers, sin that leads, travelling missionaries, first person plural forms, sinful behaviour, faithful missionaries, greeting formula, providing hospitality, antichrist figure, chosen lady, atoning sacrifice, anointing teaches, semantic density, epideictic rhetoric, many deceivers, wicked work, doing righteousness, many antichrists, itinerant missionaries, conditional sentence, whoever claims Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Jesus Christ, Fourth Gospel, The Epistles of John, Holy One, God the Father, Spirit of God, Against Heresies, Gospel of John, John's Gospel, Lord Jesus, New York, Georg Strecker, Grand Rapids, Hans-Josef Klauck, Last Supper, Dead Sea Scrolls, Greco-Roman Antiquity, Ignace de la Potterie, Letter Writing, Cambridge University Press, Judith Lieu, Rudolf Schnackenburg, Tunbridge Wells, John the Baptist, Son of the Creator New!
Books on Related Topics | Concordance | Text Stats Browse Sample Pages:
Front Cover | Table of Contents | First Pages | Index | Back Cover | Surprise Me!
The Letters of John provide readers with a cameo of life in one part of the early church. Read the first page Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
secessionist teaching, baptising ministry, loving fellow believers, concomitant behaviour, love for fellow believers, sin that leads, travelling missionaries, first person plural forms, sinful behaviour, faithful missionaries, greeting formula, providing hospitality, antichrist figure, chosen lady, atoning sacrifice, anointing teaches, semantic density, epideictic rhetoric, many deceivers, wicked work, doing righteousness, many antichrists, itinerant missionaries, conditional sentence, whoever claims Key Phrases - Capitalized Phrases (CAPs): (learn more)
Jesus Christ, Fourth Gospel, The Epistles of John, Holy One, God the Father, Spirit of God, Against Heresies, Gospel of John, John's Gospel, Lord Jesus, New York, Georg Strecker, Grand Rapids, Hans-Josef Klauck, Last Supper, Dead Sea Scrolls, Greco-Roman Antiquity, Ignace de la Potterie, Letter Writing, Cambridge University Press, Judith Lieu, Rudolf Schnackenburg, Tunbridge Wells, John the Baptist, Son of the Creator 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 38
books:
See all 38 books this book cites
19
books
cite this book:
See all 19 books citing this book
- The Epistles of John (The Anchor Bible, Vol 30) by Raymond E. Brown on 59 pages
- The Johannine Epistles by Rudolph Schnackenburg on 35 pages
- Letter Writing in Greco-Roman Antiquity (Library of Early Christianity) by Stanley K. Stowers on 6 pages
- The Epistles of John (The New International Commentary on the New Testament) by I. Howard Marshall on 5 pages
- The Theology of the Johannine Epistles (New Testament Theology) by Judith M. Lieu in Front Matter, page 16, and page 231
See all 38 books this book cites
- The New American Commentary Volume 38 - 1,2,3 John by Daniel L. Akin on 34 pages
- 1, 2, and 3 John (Sacra Pagina series, Vol. 18) by John Painter on 14 pages
- Translating Truth: The Case for Essentially Literal Bible Translation by C. John Collins on page 99, page 104, and page 108
- Terrorism and Modern Literature: From Joseph Conrad to Ciaran Carson by Alex Houen in Front Matter, and Back Matter
- I, II, III John: A Handbook on the Greek Text (Baylor Handbook on the Greek New Testament) by Martin M. Culy in Back Matter (1), and Back Matter (2)
See all 19 books citing this book
Books on Related Topics
(learn more)
|
|
What Other Items Do Customers Buy After Viewing This Item?
Tags Customers Associate with This Product(What's this?)Click on a tag to find related items, discussions, and people.
|
Customer Discussions
|
This product's forum
Active discussions in related forums
Search Customer Discussions
|
Related forums
|
