The Gospel of Luke (Sacra Pagina Series, Vol 3)

Rating:
Summary: Not what I expected
Review: I bought this book because I was particularly taken with authorLuke Johnson's "Reading Romans" and because I was equally delighted with the first book I purchased in the Sacra Pagina series, "John" by F. Maloney.

The commentary seems a bit thin in this volume to me, and I found it distracting that each section of the book presents first the scriptural passage to be discussed, then notes on the translation second, and finally the commentary. For me, this broke the cadence of the text -- inserting the "end notes" between the passage and the analysis -- and made the book feel more like a companion guide to a text on learning historical Greek.

Sad to say, as much as I enjoyed this book's thorough discussion, I took away more understanding and a more cohesive sense of Luke's Gospel from reading the one chapter about Luke in Raymond Brown's last work on the New Testament. I looked to Sacra Pagina to provide a more in-depth exegetical and hermeneutic commentary.... and it did.

Rating:
Summary: AN EXCELLENT GUIDE TO LUKE'S GOSPEL
Review: I first became aware of the Sacra Pagina commentary of Luke's Gospel when I was taking a course on Luke's Gospel at Boston College. From a student's point of view, the commentary was both insightful and chock full of details. In that same year, the gospel readings in the Roman Catholic Lectionary as well as the Common Lectionary were generally taken from Luke's Gospel, and I would sometimes read the commentaries prior to hearing the Gospel proclaimed in a church. From a spiritual point of view, the commentary also had much to offer.

The set up of this commentary is like the other volumes in this series. It begins with a general introduction to the Gospel of Luke as well as current research on this gospel. As far as the actual commentary is concerned, the gospel is divided into major sections and subsection. The sections are divided into the major plot lines of Luke's Gospel, e.g. the birth narratives, early ministry, journey to Jerusalem, etc. Each subsection begins with the scholar's translation of a short gospel passage, has notes about significant words and phrases in the lines that have been translated, and ends with an interpretation of the passage and how it relates to specific themes in the Gospel. Johnson, a noted Catholic scripture scholar and a respected authority on the Gospel of Luke includes ample material in the commentary. His scholarship is current, but also includes historical interpretations as well. While it is evident that Johnson's perspective is Catholic, his sources are not limited to Catholic scholars alone.

People who preach will more than likely found this commentary most useful. Since so many of Luke's stories are relatively well known, finding new interpretations that are authentic to the text can be challenging for anyone involved in preaching. Johnson includes a plethora of information that is bound to capture the interest of a congregation or Bible study group. Students will also find the commentary helpful since it includes an extensive bibliography for further research on Luke's Gospel. This commentary may not be that interesting for a person looking for casual or semi-serious scripture study, but people who want to study Luke's Gospel at home or in a small group in an in depth manner will certainly find this book worthwhile.

Rating:
Summary: Good, But Leaves Much to Be Desired
Review: Johnson is a matchless New Testament scholar and his output has been on the whole, very helpful. However, this book leaves much to be desired. The comments on the various passages are too short and Johnson does not provide much help for the pastor preaching on Luke's gospel. His interpretation, of course, is orthodox, there is just too little with which to interact. This is a jr. hamburger, when steak is needed. There are other more helpful commentaries.