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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
An excellent value, February 19, 2001
This review is from: Luke (Paperback)
... Craig Evans has given us a commentary on Luke that is packed with information. This commentary is not nearly as detailed or in-depth as others on Luke (i.e. Bock, Fitzmeyer, etc), but it wasn't intended to be; as is acknowledged by Evans in the introduction. Evans begins with a concise, yet helpful introduction in which he argues that this gospel was written by Luke, a companion of Paul, sometime around 75-85 C.E. After the intro, Evans picks up the commentary on Luke by breaking it into sections of roughly a half chapter in length. The commentary is based on the NIV translation. For a commentary as short as this one, I was amazed at the amount of historical background provided. Its obvious that Evans is very well-read on this gospel. He covers many differing opinions on passages which have received different interpretations. If you're looking for your first commentary on Luke and you're on a tight budget, then you can't go wrong with this one.... Evans fills a much needed area by providing an affordable, yet scholarly commentary on Luke.
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4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Excellent Shorter Commentary On Luke's Gospel, February 2, 2007
I'm working on a short sermon series through Luke's gospel. I have read a number of works (select portions). I think that Evans NIBC commentary brings aspects into the picture that I haven't found in the other commentaries. For example, most commentaries deal with the temptation of Christ in the wilderness and mention allusions or parallels to Israel's wandering in the wilderness, or Job's trials or Paul's affliction. It was Craig Evans that pointed out the link to Moses' forty days of fasting and then the proclamation of the law which followed that.
Perhaps another commentator brings this out, but what pastor has time to read them all. The thing I like about this one is that he is to the point and he tries to bring in pertinent points that others don't always bring out.
For pastors/teachers who need a commentary to supplement their exegetical work but who are under a time constraint, this NIBC series generally works really well in that role. It also works well as another view in the mix of several quality commentaries. For Luke, I have found Bock's to be perhaps the best. Even so, I am still checking what Evans says and sometimes find some nuggets worth adding to my notes. Therefore, I heartily recommend this commentary.
I would like to add one caution on Evans. This is an older commentary, and he does not seem to bring out the Already aspect of the Kingdom of God as he comments on Luke. For example, he takes great care to point out that the Triumphal Entry of Jesus into Jerusalem in Luke 19 is a 'Royal Entry' with the term King specifically added by Luke to the OT quote for theological emphasis. Yet he goes on to say that because Luke omits the palm branches and other aspects of the entry that may point to the Kingdom's presence, that he has in mind only the Kingship of Jesus, but NOT the Kingdom of God. He then draws the conclusion that Luke must believe that the Kingdom is not in mind...and cites Acts 1:6-7 as his proof for this...but I contend that the Kingdom of God's nature was misunderstood by the disciples and that Jesus Christ inaugurated the Kingdom's presence when he arrived...and established it through his death, burial and resurrection even though the disciples thought he was going to overthrow the Romans. So, I do believe that Evans needs to be supplemented with a commentator who has a stronger 'Already/Not Yet' view of the Kingdom of God.
Having said that, he is packs a lot of nuggets into the material he does give. For a fuller treatment of passages see Joel B. Green or if that's not enough try Darrell L. Bock's two volume set. Where Evans gives a page of material Bock gives 14 to 16 pages.
None of these commentaries bring out preachable or exegetical statements on a regular basis like some commentators do on other books in this series (see Achtemeier's Minor Prophets work for a great example of preaching aids mixed into the commentary in this very same series!)
Having said all of this, you can get some very good ideas for further study in a few minutes of reading on a passage. So I do heartily recommend this commentary for all pastors and bible teachers, students of the word and researchers focused on the English text of Luke.
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5 of 6 people found the following review helpful:
3.0 out of 5 stars
You Get What You Pay For, August 15, 2004
This review is from: Luke (Paperback)
Craig Evans is a well-respected New Testament scholar and this is one of the least expensive commentaries by someone of his caliber that you will find. Even so, it remains true that you get what you pay for.
In a brisk introduction, Evans covers authorship, date, emphasis, relationship with the other canonical gospels, and basic outline. He then moves through the text, section by section in brief overviews of each that have a few additional notes at the end. As you would expect of someone of Evan's caliber, he often provides insight and overviews that are helpful to the layperson. However, if you are a layperson who is a little more informed than the average, you will probably be better served by saving up a few bucks and buying a more expensive commentary.
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