{Book Review} John’s Letters: An Exegetical Guide for Preaching and Teaching

John’s Letters: An Exegetical Guide for Preaching and Teaching is a volume in the “Big Greek Idea Series” which is published by Kregel Academic (an imprint of Kregel Publications). This specific volume, covering the Gospel of John and the Epistles of John (1 John, 2 John, and 3 John) is authored by Herbert W. Bateman IV and Aaron C. Peer. 

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Another Commentary?

The question that could be asked is this: “Why another commentary series?”

There are many commentaries on the Gospel of John and the Epistles of John. There are academic, critical, devotional, and other types of commentaries on these books. So again, why another commentary series, and specifically for this review, why another commentary on these specific books?

I believe one of the answers that could be given is that this commentary is truly a different kind of commentary. As the blessed owner of many books and various commentaries, I can say that this commentary is bringing something new to the table. If you read the Preface to the series, you will find that this series is considered a grammatical-like commentary, having an interlinear-like presentation of the Greek New Testament text with a corresponding English translation, with expositional-like nuggets pointing the reader to important interpretive issues. This “Big Greek Idea Series” is essentially a complement to critical commentaries that offers expositional nuggets for those who teach and preach the glorious Word of God! It really is a special addition to the libraries of preachers, teachers, and students of God’s Word. 

The three features that are presented in John’s Letters are:

1. Units of thought (aka the “big Greek idea”)
2. Clausal outlines (clausal relationships visualized, structural markers identified, English translation provided)
3. Explanations (syntax explained, interpretative translation justified, etc.)

Strengths of John’s Letters: An Exegetical Guide for Preaching and Teaching

There is no doubt about it, this commentary is one of the most helpful I’ve seen in dealing with the Greek text from a commentary level. Now I am saying that as one who is trained in biblical Greek, but does not use it every day. I do believe that the average pastor and student will appreciate the simplicity of the presentation given. The Greek scholar will probably say otherwise, but for the majority of us, this approach will prove very helpful!

Let me briefly sketch what you’ll find in this commentary’s layout:

• Each unit of thought is given a “Big Greek Idea” (the main idea of the unit) and a structural overview, followed by a brief outline of that unit of thought.
• Next, a clausal outline is provided in Greek (along with the chapter and verse identification), written in a way that one is able to easily identify independent and dependent clauses. Underneath each Greek clause is an English translation with every structural marker underlined or in bold for easy recognition.
• After that, the syntax is explained verse by verse. You will again find words in bold to easily recognize the type of explanation being given. For example, you will see the words “syntactically” and “semantically” in bold on just about every page to easily identify the clause’s type (syntactical function) and the explanation of the Greek structural markers (semantic function).
• Furthermore, you will also see portions of the page that are grayed out, offering “nuggets” that are either lexical, theological, grammatical, text-critical, semantical, syntactical, or a combination of these.

All of the above features make this commentary an extremely useful and helpful tool in better understanding and rightly handling the Word of God! I appreciate the presentation and the format that is utilized, and I am sure that many others will as well. 

The Introduction

Another fine strength of this volume is the introduction to the book. No, seriously! The introduction provides a wonderful refresher on the clausal outline that will make using this book very easy and effective. If you, like me, need to be reminded of how certain aspects of the Greek language work, then this introduction will be much appreciated.

The intro also provides a short section on Johannine style and vocabulary that is likewise very helpful to read prior to diving into the commentary. If you flip to the very back of the book, you will also find six pages worth of different figures of speech that are utilized in John’s writings. This, too, acts as a great refresher. 

Weaknesses of John’s Letters: An Exegetical Guide for Preaching and Teaching

It’s very easy to provide criticism to a commentary since there is no such thing as one commentary that gives a person everything he or she is looking for. That’s the blessing of the multitude of commentary sets that are available to us. However, this commentary is attempting to accomplish a very specific goal, and I believe that it has done so very nicely. It doesn’t claim to be everything that every preacher and teacher will need. But it is definitely a great exegetical guide for preaching and teaching, and that is what it has set out to do. 

Conclusion

I highly recommend this volume to my fellow preachers and teachers of the Gospel. It will prove to be quite helpful in your task of rightly handling the Word of Truth. 

Disclaimer: My thanks to Kregel Academic for providing me with a complimentary copy of this book on behalf of an unbiased review. The opinions expressed are my own.