Luke: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching & Preaching) [Hardcover]

Fred B. Craddock (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: January 1, 1990 | Series: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching & Preaching

Using Luke's own prologue as the guideline for his commentary, Fred B. Craddock calls attention to the continuities between Jesus and his heritage in Judaism and the church after him. Like Luke, Craddock assumes the reader is not only a believer but also a leader in the community of faith.

Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching is a distinctive resource for those who interpret the Bible in the church. Planned and written specifically for teaching and preaching needs, this critically acclaimed biblical commentary is a major contribution to scholarship and ministry.

Editorial Reviews

From Library Journal

Craddock, a noted professor of preaching and of New Testament, provides an introduction to Luke, a section-by-section commentary on Luke's Gospel, and a selected bibliography. This commentary is focused upon the use of Luke's Gospel in Christian preaching and teaching, concentrating on the meaning of the narrative as a whole, its sequences, and its echoes of the Old Testament. Highly recommended for seminaries and public libraries.
Copyright 1990 Reed Business Information, Inc.

About the Author

Fred B. Craddock is the Bandy Distinguished Professor Emeritus of Preaching and New Testament at Candler School of Theology, Emory University, in Atlanta, Georgia. He is also Minister Emeritus at Cherry Log Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) in Cherry Log, Georgia.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 298 pages
• Publisher: Westminster John Knox Press (January 1, 1990)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0804231230
• ISBN-13: 978-0804231237
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 6.1 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #198,100 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

19 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Craddock makes Luke accessible., August 21, 2000

By 

Thomas M. Carpenter (Little Rock, AR United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Luke: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching & Preaching) (Hardcover)

It is always hard to write a commentary about a gospel. The stories we have heard in our youth leave us with one perspective, and the insecurities we have as adults (who cannot read Greek, Hebrew & Aramaic) many times keep us from developing another. But, Craddock makes Luke an accessible gospel despite the fact so many of the stories recorded in this gospel are so difficult to understand. For example, his breakdown of the influential 10th chapter helps provide the reader with a framework to discern how Jesus' misson to his followers was really an effort to help people come to realize that point where earthly knowledge must give way to faith. He does so by providing a context in which the various stories are written, and a suggestion as to why they are written. The Bible can be a difficult book to study for ministers, much less for laymen. But, Craddock opens a door that makes the stories in Luke so much more alive, and therefore, so much more meaningful, for the student. While it is a commentary for preachers and teachers, it is really a framework for anyone who wishes to learn more.

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars disappointing, November 29, 2005

By 

Kathy F. Cannata "Rev. Dr. R. Cannata" (New Orleans, LA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Luke: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching & Preaching) (Hardcover)

The Interpretation series is a real mixed bag. There are volumes like Willimon on Acts -- not what you'd want for your ONLY commentary on that book, but an ideal 2nd or 3rd one (original, well illustrated, theologically interesting, etc.) Then there are volumes like Craddock's.

I expected alot from this commentary. Craddock is a professor of both homiletics and NT at Emory, one of the leading liberal seminaries in America. He has a long-standing reputation as one of the premier preachers of his generation. And yet, there was nothing worthwhile I could locate in this book. (At least not in the first few chapters -- I gave up after Luke 2).

The problems as I see them:

1. Generally way too brief.

2. Highly idiosyncratic in what he chooses to focus on. For example, on the annuciation to Mary (Luke 1:26f.) Craddock devotes just two pages and wastes most of it digressing on ancient near east views on angels.

3. shockingly, almost no practical application.

4. Spills too much ink exploring highly speculative (and sometimes dated) critical issues that would seem to have very little use for preaching (even if they WERE true). For example, in Zechariah's song at the end of Luke 1, Craddock spends one of the three short paragraphs wondering if this might have originally been a hymn of John the Baptist's followers, with an new ending added by Christians to reshape it.

5. Dry as dust, with an artless use of English (again shocking for one with a reputation for eloquence).

I could go on. For a decent, theologically aware homiletical commentary try R. Kent Hughes' 2 vol. work (1998). The volume in the Bible Speaks Today series (BST) is also better. If you want something theologically creative (if sometimes wrong) and practically oriented, while academically solid, try NT (Tom) Wright instead. That volume is what this Interpretation series entry OUGHT to be.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars One of my favorite preachers, not my favorite commentary, July 28, 2007

By 

H. K. Derr "Dodinel le Savage" (Melrose Park, PA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Luke: Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching and Preaching (Interpretation: A Bible Commentary for Teaching & Preaching) (Hardcover)

Craddock is one of the best preachers of the last fifty years. At least in my estimation. He is an excellent instructor of preachers, but I found this commentary to be to short, lacking in access to more substantial resources and at points off topic. It is at its best when used with a few other commentaries on Luke. If you can only purchase one, this is not your commentary.