New Testament Commentaries: Johannine Epistles

"With this study—companion to the masterful two-volume The Gospel According to John—Raymond E. Brown completed his trilogy on the Johannine corpus. Meticulous in detail, exhaustive in analysis, persuasive in argument, it examines controversies that have long troubled both biblical scholars and lay readers. Questions of authorship, composition, and dating, as well as the debate over source theories, are discussed at length; but these are kept subordinate to the overall question of meaning.
What gives this commentary special interest and excitement is the bold, imaginative reconstruction of the setting of the Johannine work—in particular of the “opposition figures,” who are only dimly sketched in the Epistles—so that we see clearly that the author is writing to his flock both about the dangers and difficulties confronting them, and about the eternal life that is theirs by the gift of God. In this way, the Epistles of John become intelligible as broadsides in a critical engagement between the forces of light and darkness. In addition to his superb textual analysis of the letters, Raymond Brown has brought to life the community in which these works were formed and shaped. We are forcefully reminded that the Gospel and the Epistles were addressed to very real people living in the first century a.d., people with religious problems not unlike our own. In all respects, The Epistles of John stands out as a model of biblical scholarship and study." - Yale University Press

"Robert Yarbrough, coauthor of the leading New Testament survey text Encountering the New Testament, here offers a historical and theological commentary on the Johannine Epistles. The commentary explores the relationship between John's Epistles and Jesus's work and teaching, interacts with recent commentaries, reviews the history of interpretation, and seeks to relate these findings to global Christianity. Yarbrough looks at the Johannine Epistles from several perspectives--sociological, historical, and theological. The result is a guide that clearly and meaningfully brings 1-3 John to life for contemporary readers." - Baker

"In this volume Culy provides a basic lexical, analytical and syntactical analysis of the Greek text of 1, 2, and 3 John--information often presumed by technical commentaries and omitted by popular ones. But more than just an analytic key, I, II, III John reflects the latest advances in scholarship on Greek grammar and linguistics. The volume also contains recommendations for further reading and an up-to-date bibliography. A perfect supplement to any commentary, I, II, and III John is as equally helpful to language students, of any level, as it is to busy clergy who use the Greek text in preparation for proclamation." - Baylor University Press

"In her commentary on John's letters, Karen H. Jobes writes to bridge the distance between academic biblical studies and pastors, students, and laypeople who are looking for an in-depth treatment of the issues raised by these New Testament books. She approaches the three letters of John as part of the corpus that includes John's gospel, while rejecting an elaborate redactional history of that gospel that implicates the letters. Jobes treats three major themes of the letters under the larger rubric of who has the authority to interpret the true significance of Jesus, an issue that is pressing in our religiously pluralistic society today with its many voices claiming truth about God." - Zondervan

“The late Georg Strecker's Meyer (KEK) commentary on the Johannine Letters (1989) has now appeared in English translation. Like its predecessor in that series, Rudolf Bultmann's commentary, it becomes the Hermeneia Commentary on these three letters. Strecker's work is more than twice as long as Bultmann's and is a fuller, richer commentary. In its demonstrations of genuine erudition and technical competence it is a worthy successor in the tradition of the Kritisch-exegetischer Kommentar. Strecker's chief discussion partners, aside from Bultmann, are, appropriately, R. E. Brown and R. Schnackenburg; and there are frequent references to other twentieth-century commentators such as C. H. Dodd, S. Smalley, A. E. Brooke, and H. Windisch.” – D. Moody Smith

“The three Epistles of John, according to I. Howard Marshall, are concerned with the fundamentals of Christian belief and life - faith and love. The reader who grasps the message of these short but essential letters will have a sound basis in Christian doctrine. This group of Epistles, says Marshall, is also a good starting point for the study of the Gospel of John. This commentary, then, was written so that students of the Bible might not only master the content of John's Epistles but also better understand Johannine theology as a whole. The volume includes an "invitation" to general readers and an "introduction" addressed to students and specialists. Another unique feature is a rearrangement of the traditional order of the three letters: 2 John and 3 John are studied before 1 John. This structure assures that the two shorter letters are not relegated to the position of appendices but are treated as important documents of early Christianity in their own right.” - Eerdmans

The New Testament's three letters attributed to John have always provided remarkable theological riches for the Christian tradition, including the assertion "God is love." Each letter shows how an early Christian author responded to threats against authority by recourse to the correct teachings of the faith and a proper understanding of the relationship between Jesus and God. Together, these letters argue for a bond of unity among believers, based on fidelity to the truth of God.

"The Johannine Epistles are today read as an important part of the Johannine literature. Yet the meaning of the text is often unclear. Part of the problem arises because, although 1 John is called an Epistle, it lacks the formal marks of an Epistle. In 1, 2, and 3 John, John Painter illuminates the relationship 1, 2, and 3 John have to each other and to the Gospel. Painter explains the historical context of the Johannine Epistles using a socio-rhetorical approach. The writings are shown to reflect a situation of conflict and schism within the Johannine community; they seek to persuade the readers of the truth of the writer's message. In this truth, the readers are encouraged to abide if they would have the assurance of eternal life. Painter also examines the inseparable connection between belief and ethical life in active love for one another. Through the socio-rhetorical approach Painter brings to light the continuing relevance of these writings." - Publisher

"Letters and Homilies for Hellenized Christians is the first of three volumes extending Ben Witherington's innovative socio-rhetorical analysis of New Testament books to the latter-Pauline and non-Pauline corpora. A second volume will continue the focus on letters and homilies for Hellenized Christians (1-2 Peter), while a third will focus on letters and homilies for Jewish Christians (Hebrews, James and Jude). By dividing the volumes according to the socio-religious contexts for which they were written, Witherington sheds fresh light on the documents, their provenance, character and importance. Throughout, Witherington shows his thorough knowledge of recent literature on these texts and focuses his attention on the unique insights brought about through socio-rhetorical analysis that either reinforces or corrects those gleaned from other approaches. Strikingly, based on his rhetorical analysis of the Pastorals, he makes the case for Luke as Paul's amanuensis for these letters. He also makes a strenuous argument against New Testament pseudepigrapha. "Bridging the Horizons" sections point to the relevance of the text for believers today, making this volume of special value to pastors and general readers as well as students and scholars." - Intervarsity Press

"John evidently loves the people committed to his care," says John Stott in the preface to this commentary on 1, 2 and 3 John. "They are his 'dear children,' his 'dear friends.' He longs to protect them from both error and evil and to see them firmly established in faith, love and holiness. He has no new doctrine for them. On the contrary, he appeals to them to remember what they already know, have and are. He warns them against deviating from this and urges them to remain loyal to it. Whenever innovators trouble the church, and ridicule whatever is old or traditional, we need to hear and heed John's exhortation, to continue in what we have learned and received, and to let it continue in us." The Tyndale New Testament Commentaries have long been a trusted resource for Bible study. Written by some of the world's most distinguished evangelical scholars, these twenty volumes offer clear, reliable, and relevant explanations of every book in the New Testament.These Tyndale volumes are designed to help readers understand what the Bible actually says and what it means. The introduction to each volume gives a concise but thorough description of the authorship, date, and historical background of the biblical book under consideration. The commentary itself examines the text section by section, drawing out its main themes. It also comments on individual verses and deals with problems of interpretation. The aim throughout is to get at the true meaning of the Bible and to make its message plain to readers today.The original, unrevised text of this volume has been completely retypeset and printed in a larger, more attractive format with the new cover design for the series."

“Smalley's commentary on the Johannine Epistles is a major work. It begins with a modest introduction of 13 pages, which is followed by an ample discussion of the text by section and by verse. As regards the introduction, Smalley had previously dealt with the immediate background of the Fourth Gospel in his John: Evangelist and Interpreter (Exeter: Paternoster, 1978) and chose not to rehearse that here. This weakens the integrity of the present work, for it sends readers scrambling for that earlier work to learn what should be in the present volume. His positions on the Johannine epistles are unprovocative: they were written in Ephesus in the 90s after the Fourth Gospel. Unlike 2 and 3 John, which are genuine letters, 1 John is a "paper," a genre or form which Smalley never really explains and which remains quite nebulous throughout. This "paper" is not a commentary on the gospel but a general exhortation to a typical Christian community. Smalley stands apart from current attention to the sectarian character of Johannine Christianity and interprets 1 John as a "balanced" exposition of the apostolic gospel about Jesus and as a standard exhortation to correct ethical life.” – Jerome H. Neyrey

"Brimming with lavish, full-color photos and graphics, the Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary walks you verse by verse through all the books of the New Testament. It's like slipping on a set of glasses that lets you read the Bible through the eyes of a first-century reader! Discoveries await you that will snap the world of the New Testament into gripping immediacy. Things that seem mystifying, puzzling, or obscure will take on tremendous meaning when you view them in their ancient context. You'll deepen your understanding of the teachings of Jesus. You'll discover the close, sometimes startling interplay between God's kingdom and the practical affairs of the church. Best of all, you'll gain a deepened awareness of the Bible's relevance for your life. Written in a clear, engaging style, this beautiful set provides a new and accessible approach that more technical expository and exegetical commentaries don't offer." - Zondervan