Commentaries on John
Scroll below the Quick Recommendations List for my reviews.
Quick Recommendations List
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Best Choices: Keener (The Gospel of John: A Commentary); Burge (NIVAC); Carson (PNTC).
Other Strongly Recommended: Kruse (TNTC); Whitaker (IVPNTC); Kostenberger (BECNT); Borchert 1-11, 12-21 (NAC), Talbert (RNT) (may be listed from reseller).
Most Economical: Kruse (TNTC); Michaels (NIBC); Bruce (The Gospel of John) or The Gospel and Letters of John); Milne (BST); Gangel (HNTC).
Easiest to Read: Kruse (TNTC); Whitaker (IVPNTC); Burge (NIVAC); Bruce (The Gospel of John) or The Gospel and Letters of John); Milne (BST); Gangel (HNTC).
Most Practical: Burge (NIVAC); Borchert 1-11, 12-21(NAC); Witherington (John’s Wisdom).
Mainline Perspectives: Smith (AbingdonNTC). Roman Catholic: Moloney (SP).
Research Specialists: Conservative evangelical: Kostenberger (BECNT). Moderate evangelical: Beasley-Murray (WBC). Moderate mainline: Barrett (The Gospel according to St. John). Roman Catholic: Moloney (SP); Brown (AB 1-12, 13-21, introductory update edited by Moloney).
Ideal Pastor’s Library: Keener (The Gospel of John: A Commentary); Burge (NIVAC); Carson (PNTC); Kruse (TNTC); Whitaker (IVPNTC); Borchert 1-11, 12-21 (NAC); Kostenberger (BECNT); Smith (AbingdonNTC).
Strongly Recommended
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The Gospel of John 
, two volumes, Craig S. Keener, Hendrickson, 2003. Moderate evangelical; developing level. Strengths: Keener’s emphasis is on socio-historical context with some attention to exegetical issues (narrative, translation, historical accuracy, etc.). For a major technical commentary, this is extraordinarily readable Although I have listed Keener as “moderate evangelical,” his appreciative reading audience will include conservative evangelical and moderate mainline Bible students. Readers will come away from his commentary with an education not only in John’s Gospel, but also in the context of first century Christianity. Weaknesses: Keener acknowledges that this commentary is not strong on application (although his commentaries on Matthew and Revelation were and he says that his forthcoming commentary on Acts will be). He nevertheless hopes that, in understanding the social context of the Gospel of John, readers will be aided in making their own applications. The author and his writings: Keener offers two commentaries on Matthew, one on Revelation, and books on many topics of biblical theology and ethics.
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John
, Gary M. Burge, NIV Application Commentary, Zondervan, 2000. Conservative evangelical, beginning level. Strengths: This commentary is readable, up-to-date, thoroughly conversant with the previous scholarship, theologically sound, and solidly evangelical. It offers some profound applications that will be useful to the preacher and teacher. Nearly every page instructs, inspires, challenges, or provokes. Burge is careful to get his exegesis right, but he is not afraid to be controversial in making us think through the implications of our faith, touching on issues ranging from worship-style, evangelism methods, and spiritual gifts, through sexual morality, women’s rights, the death penalty, and Middle Eastern politics. Even when the reader disagrees with a particular application, the encounter should prove educational. But what shines through most clearly is a deep commitment to the unique saving qualities of a divine and human Jesus and to his evangelistic mission. Weaknesses: The format requires that supportive detail in the exegetical sections be selective, and so this is not a detailed exegetical commentary. Anyone who is willing to take as many risks in application as Burge does cannot always be right. The author and his writings: Burge has written a brief commentary on John in the Baker Commentary on the Bible. He has a previous highly recommended NIVAC volume on the Letters of John.
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The Gospel According to John 
, Donald A. Carson, Pillar New Testament Commentary, Eerdmans, 1991. Conservative evangelical; developing level. Strengths: This commentary is comprehensive, packed with helpful information and explanations. Carson defends the integrity and authority of John's Gospel. Even students who are inclined toward more moderate or liberal views should force themselves to examine Carson's arguments because no one does better what he does. There are times when I disagree with Carson’s conclusions but am still glad that he has forced me to see the issue from his angle. Weaknesses: Carson’s strong views, not always as creative or applicable to real life as those of other commentators, should be balanced by several other viewpoints (e.g., Keener or Burge). The author and his writings: Carson has a highly recommended commentary on Matthew. He has written many other works of Bible scholarship and biblical theology, including a book advocating a rare position: a peaceful, middle-of-the-road approach to inclusive language in Bible translation.
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John
, Colin G. Kruse, Tyndale New Testament Commentaries, Eerdmans, 2003. Conservative evangelical, developing level. Strengths: This great little commentary would be a good volume in a starter collection, but also will hold its own with some of the larger volumes that are more concerned with academic niceties. Kruse gives attention to historical issues, literary structure, word study, and theology. He lays out the major options and weighs them judiciously. Weaknesses: Although Kruse lays out the options, he does not usually identify their major advocates (which would have made this a thicker and more expensive volume). The author and his writings: Kruse also has written the TNTC volume on 2 Corinthians and the Pillar NTC on The Letters of John.
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John
, Rodney A. Whitacre, IVP New Testament Commentary, InterVarsity, 1999. Conservative evangelical, developing level. Strengths: This readable treatment of John’s message covers most of what needs to be covered to put the reader on solid ground in explaining John’s Gospel: cultural background and context, word studies, and theology. Preachers and teachers should benefit. Weaknesses: Users of this series may expect more contemporary illustrations and applications than appear here (although I find Whitacre’s focus on John’s message preferable).
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John
, Andreas J. Köstenberger, Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament, Baker, 2004. Conservative evangelical, developing/intermediate level. Strengths: This detailed commentary is especially helpful on translation issues, but it covers all the standard jobs of a commentary. It offers helpful insights at many points. It is a technical academic commentary, but, since Greek words are printed not only in Greeks letters but also in transliterated letters and English translation, most readers will be able to follow it. One will find more interaction with other scholars than in most of the commentaries that appear above it on this list. Weaknesses: I do not find Köstenberger as thorough, fair, and judicious as I would like in his presenting and weighing the options. The author and his writings: Köstenberger has written two previous books on John’s Gospel.
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John 1-11; John 12-21 
, two volumes, Gerald L. Borchert, New American Commentary, 1996. Conservative evangelical, developing level. Strengths: Borchert is informative, thoughtful, and stimulating, frequently interacting with wide array of modern scholars. I have found some useful sermon thoughts and illustrations in his work. Weaknesses: Borchert spends much space critiquing scholarly views and popular misconceptions that could distract us from the main points, but unfortunately his own treatment of the main points, by the time he gets to them, is sometimes relatively thin.
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Reading John, Second Edition, Charles H. Talbert, Reading the New Testament, Smyth & Helwys, original edition published 1994. Moderate evangelical, developing level. This commentary covers John’s Letters as well as the Gospel. Strengths: Talbert addresses literary structure, cultural background, and theology. His insights are often compelling and almost always stimulating. The reader will find useful perspectives here that are not available in other commentaries. Weaknesses: This is not a comprehensive exegetical commentary. It emphasizes Talbert’s strong points and leaves the rest for other commentaries. It is not good on introductory matters. Publisher Smyth & Helwys has not reached a good working relationship with Amazon yet, and so this book may be erratically priced and handled. The author and his writings: Talbert has RNT volumes on Luke, Acts, and Corinthians, an S & H volume on Romans, and another commentary on Revelation.
Also Recommended
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The Gospel of John, F. F. Bruce, Eerdmans, 1983. Conservative evangelical; developing level. Strengths: This is written for the general reader; it is rich in information and insight, and it can serve as a first commentary or as a practical supplement to a more technical one. Weaknesses: It is neither comprehensive nor up-to-date. The edition, author and his writings: This commentary is available combined in one volume with his commentary on John’s Letters (The Gospel and Letters of John) that may be available from resellers for bargain rates. Bruce, deceased, is the revered founding figure of modern evangelical scholarship. It is hard to find a New Testament book on which Bruce has not written some sort of commentary. His weightier commentaries are on Acts (two), Galatians, Ephesians, Colossians, Philemon, I and II Thessalonians, and Hebrews; some of his lighter works include Romans, I and II Corinthians, Philippians, and Habakkuk. Perhaps the greatest of his many books is Paul: Apostle of the Heart Set Free, but a number of other candidates would suggest themselves.
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John, J. Ramsey Michaels, New International Biblical Commentary, Hendrickson, 1984/1989. Moderate evangelical; developing level. Strengths: This slim bargain is just right for quickly looking up a bit of background information and helpful perspectives. Weaknesses: It is brief, not comprehensive, and has been lowered on the list by Kruse and Whitacre. The author and his writings: Michaels also has commentaries on 1 Peter and Revelation. He is scheduled to write a major commentary on John.
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John's Wisdom: A Commentary on the Fourth Gospel, Ben Witherington III, Westminster John Knox Press, 1995. Moderate evangelical, developing level. Strengths: Witherington’s literary and sociological sensitivity along with his practical suggestions for modern proclamation offer much enrichment for the preacher and teacher. He shows in detail the connections between Jophn’s Gospel and Jewish Wisdom traditions. Weaknesses: Witherington's least persuasive case is that the Beloved Disciple is a Judean disciple with past connections to Qumran and John the Baptist, that he is not one of the Galilean disciples, that he is the primary source of most of the message of the Gospel, but that the final writing is by an unknown follower we may call the Fourth Evangelist. While it seems obvious that there is a final--perhaps quite minor—writer/edtior other than the Beloved Disciple, I do not find Witherington's arguments against identifying the Beloved Disciple with the son of Zebedee even in the same league of persuasiveness as arguments for such an identification by most of the commentaries that appear above this on the list (and a few that appear below). The author and his writings: Witherington also has commentaries on Mark, Acts, Romans, Corinthians, Galatians, Philippians, and Revelation, as well as numerous books on the historical Jesus, the historical Paul, the end-times, the role of women, and so forth. The volume on John would be one of the least impressive on the list, but it can be seen as a warm-up for the socio-rhetorical series he has been writing for Eerdmans.
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The Gospel According to John, Second Edition, Leon Morris, New International Commentary on the New Testament, 1971/1995. Conservative evangelical; developing level. Strengths: Morris is thorough and solid. His revision has added about a dozen footnotes apiece to more recent scholars (Carson, Beasley-Murray, Schnackenburg, Culpepper, Robinson). He has also updated the writing style, using more active verbs and quoting the NIV as opposed to the KJV; these changes make the commentary easier to read. The substance is little changed from the first edition. Perhaps his most unique contribution is his advocacy of the early (pre-70) authorship of the Gospel; although this has not won general support, it is worth consideration. Weaknesses: I do not find this commentary as penetrating, insightful or generally helpful as the works in the top category. The author and his writings: Morris has major commentaries on Matthew, Romans, Galatians, and I and II Thessalonians as well as an EBC commentary on Hebrews, TNTC volumes on Luke, I Corinthians, I and II Thessalonians, and the Revelation to John, and even a TOTC work on Ruth. In addition, he has written extensively on New Testament introduction and theology, atonement and the cross, and John's theology.
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The Message of John, Bruce Milne, The Bible Speaks Today, InterVarsity Press, 1993. Conservative evangelical, beginning level. Strengths: This beginning level work offers information and perspectives that will be especially helpful for the beginner. It is solid in content and devotional in tone. Weaknesses: There are several commentaries that I believe will be approachable enough for the beginner and that will offer more lasting value. This commentary has been surpassed except as an easy-to-read introduction.
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John, Kenneth O. Gangel, Holman New Testament Commentary, Broadman & Holman, 2000. Conservative evangelical, beginning level. Strengths: This is a reader-friendly commentary series, and the author provides help for the beginning student. He touches most of the basics and provides some useful illustrations. Weaknesses: This commentary was dated by the time it was published. It is not the writer’s fault that Whitacre and Burge were coming out in the same time frame as this commentary and that Keener, Kruse, and Köstenberger were following, but the current purchaser of commentaries needs to consider that this volume will not benefit from this wealth of current insight. Several of the scholars on whom the writer does rely are relatively weak.
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John, Revised Edition, George R. Beasley-Murray, Word Biblical Commentary, Nelson-Word, 1987, 1999. Moderate evangelical, intermediate level. Strengths: Beasley-Murray's goal is to make accessible to the preacher and teacher the best theological fruit of the advanced and voluminous scholarship of Brown, Schnackenburg, Barrett, Bultmann, Schlatter, Hoskyns, Gardner-Smith, Dodd, etc., joining his own views to those of his predecessors. This commentary is and will be of aid to the serious preacher or teacher. Weaknesses: Most of Beasley-Murray's admired predecessors are of a liberal stripe, a tendency he somewhat tones down with his own broadly evangelical views. His views still strike me as unnecessarily complicated. I have not used the revised edition, but, at 151 extra pages, it is to be hoped that it supplemented the latter half of the book where the first edition appeared to grow thin in its treatment. The author and his writings: Beasley-Murray has also commented on the Revelation and written on New Testament theology. Beasley-Murray is deceased.
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John, D. Moody Smith, Jr., Abingdon New Testament Commentary, Abingdon, 1999. Moderate mainline, developing level. Strengths: theologically perceptive; draws on full range of scholars from Bultmann to Carson (although he almost apologizes for liking a scholar as conservative as Carson; why would one not rather apologize for liking a scholar as discredited as Bultmann?). This is a top option for representing the mainline perspective. Viewpoints: Smith shares Witherington’s view that this was written by a Judean John, not the Galilean fisherman. Smith was Keener’s professor.
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The Gospel of John, Francis J. Moloney, Sacra Pagina, Liturgical Press, 1998. Catholic equivalent of moderate mainline, developing level. Strengths: This volume offers the practical fruit of Moloney’s more detailed three-volume study of John’s Gospel. His strength is in the areas of narrative criticism and theological perspectives. He treats the Gospel as a literary unity. I have found useful insights scattered throughout this commentary. Weaknesses: His critical views, especially on historicity, will be objectionable to evangelicals, although that is not his focus. The author and his writings: In addition to his three volume work, Moloney has edited a posthumously-published update to Brown’s introductory material on John. He also has a commentary on Mark.
Others
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The Gospel according to John, 1-12, 13-21, two volumes, Raymond E. Brown, Anchor Bible, Doubleday, 1966, 1970. Roman Catholic equivalent of moderate mainline; advanced level. Strengths: This has been for many years the most widely respected advanced treatment of John's Gospel; it is very informative and theologically perceptive. Weaknesses: Brown does more reconstruction than I think warranted or justifiable. Although formative for all who have followed, this commentary is now dated. The author and his writings: He also wrote the AB volume on the epistles of John. He has a three volume set on the birth and death of the Messiah, an introduction to the New Testament, a book on the community of the Beloved Disciple, and many more writings. Brown's views on many important issues have varied through the years, and so one will not always find consistency from book to book. Brown is deceased. Moloney has edited a posthumously-published update to Brown’s introductory material on John: An Introduction to the Gospel of John (Anchor Bible Reference Library) .
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The Gospel according to St. John, Second Edition, C. K. Barrett, Westminster John Knox Press, 1955/1978. Moderate mainline; advanced level. Strengths: Barrett is informative and theologically perceptive. Those who read Greek will find this one helpful. This has been a first choice by many evangelicals who are looking for a technical commentary. Weaknesses: Evangelicals will not be pleased with all Barrett's views, especially on historicity. This commentary is difficult for those who lack Greek skills. The author and his writings: Barrett is a major scholar with commentaries on Acts, Romans, and I and II Corinthians.
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"John," Merrill C. Tenney, Expositor's Bible Commentary, Zondervan, 1981. Conservative evangelical, developing level. Strengths: One may pick up some tidbits in this commentary. Weaknesses: It is sketchy on some important points, uneven in style and treatment, unreliable on detail, and dated. Edition: In hardback it is bound with the much more valuable Longenecker on Acts. There is no reason to consider the stand-alone paperback. CD-ROM users should note that the least expensive way to buy the Expositor's Bible Commentary is on compact disk.
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"John," Gail R. O'Day, New Interpreter's Bible, Abingdon, 199-. Moderate mainline, developing level. O’Day concentrates on theology. She is a bit hostile to evangelical viewpoints, but neither does she automatically accept the standard liberal positions. Bound with Culpepper on Luke.
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