Customer Reviews

New Testament Commentary - James, Epistles of John, Peter, and Jude

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This commentary is among my favorite three for James because of its good exegesis, accessibility, and lucidity of writing. His comments are both exegetically sound and defended, making this a good tool of the scholar, but his hermeneutics lead to homiletics in this commentary: His practical applications flowing from the meaning of the text make this a great resource for pastors, small group leaders, and even all Christians.

Unfortunately, he falls short by taking the view of James as the "Proverbs of the New Testament". He tends to take each section as an independent piece, drawing from others in his explanations of them, but he fails to reveal the connectedness fo the various sections as Moo and others do. This is a rather serious downfall of many commentaries on James. A thorough defensible and effectual view of James comes from an understanding of the flow of thought among the sections. When this is not understood, the book can tend to become a "to-do" list with tons of application, but the motivation can be lost. I know that Kistemaker would never have intended to do this in his very well written and useful commentary, but it is a potential downfall of the work nevertheless.

Despite that downfall, I very highly recommend Kistemaker's Exposition of James.