The Gospel of John (New International Commentary on the New Testament) [ハードカバー]

J. Ramsey Michaels has given his life to New Testament studies. This important new addition to an excellent commentary series is worth attention. As a pastor who has often utilized the NICNT series, this new replacement of Leon Morris' commentary in the series has been a great resource for my own study on John's Gospel. I have found it to be very helpful and easy to use. The commentary is quite expansive (1094 pages), but the manner in which it is written is engaging and easy to move in and out of for study and sermon preparation. Michaels exhibits a careful attention to the flow of the text with a meaningful engagement of key themes, language, and background.

After a lengthy career of teaching and writing, J. Ramsey Michaels delivers a detailed 1,000+ page slab of commentary on the "maverick gospel" (thanks Robert Kysar). For those interested in commentary history, this replaces Leon Morris' 800+ volume in the same series.

I struggled to appropriately title this review because I needed to use the proper words to convey the value of this commentary. It is lengthy--not only in pages, but in the issues Michaels chooses to cover. Often the main body and footnotes will carry on discussions about what certain Greek articles and pronouns refer to, but then Michaels will skimp over issues like John's use of the Old Testament or the Johannine communty debate (which is my own pet interest). That also explains why I called this commentary idiosyncratic--Michaels' use of secondary sources (very limited) and positions that he takes on certain issues (often unique) make this commentary distinctive. He blazes his own trail through John, often where few have gone before him.

Let me give one example of a colorful interpretation from Michaels. In John 19:30, when Jesus "lays" his head and gives up his spirit, Michaels connects this with Jesus' words in Matthew 8:20 that the Son of Man has no place to "lay" his head. This surely is an intriguing connection, but is he right? Another way he bucks scholarly convention is he gives more attention to the woman caught in adultery passage (John 7:53-8:11; the "pericope adulterae") and sees it as an important set-up for Jesus' teaching in the temple. So again, one is hard-pressed to find a current commentary that reads John the way Michaels does.

For the scholars looking at this commentary, you likely won't be satisfied with Michael's use of secondary sources which are often limited and dated. Bultmann and early church fathers are his main dialogue partners, but he omits interacting with major contemporary scholars (Kostenberger, for example). Abbott's "Johannine Grammar" seems to be referenced on every other page--certainly a classic work, but has Greek scholarship progressed since 1906? So while this commentary won't provide the breadth of current scholarly exposure and discussion, Michaels is aware of this and is up front about what is the goal of his commentary. If you want to learn about Jewish and Greco-Roman backgrounds, go to Keener, he's got two volumes ready for you. If you want to preach, Carson or Burge should already be on your shelf. But if you want a thorough analysis of John's narrative of Jesus, Michaels will add depth and fresh thinking your study of this fascinating gospel.

For the general reader, I wouldn't make this the first commentary on John to own; pick up one of the "standards" first--Lincoln, Carson, Kostenberger, Bruce, Burge or Whitacre--in order to get a solid grounding in John. But do look to Michaels to give some depth to your Johannine study.

For pastors, you must be willing to dig through Michaels' lenghty and valuable analysis of each passage--he won't spoon-feed you theology or application. Fortunately, his tone is readable, often winsome, despite the complex discussion.

So, all in all, be aware of what this commentary is set to do and what you want from a commentary. It won't be all things to all people. While initially disappointed in it, I'm growing more fond of it and the alternative perspective it often gives.

Amazing to note that few commentaries actually give the first verse of John's Gospel accurately, as "In the beginning was the word, and the word was toward God, and the word was God." The difference between the word "[going] toward" God, as the original Greek has it, and the word being "with" God may not strike one as terribly significant, but for those seeking a one-volume commentary which delves into such detail, J. Ramsey Michael's volume should satisfy.

May be well-paired with Barrett's 1978 commentary (for example), whose introduction remains an excellent overview on John's context and content, as well as recent narrative efforts, such as those by Mark Stibbes, and thematic treatments, such as Dorothy Lee's "Flesh and Glory."