The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary

Rating:
Summary: Tough, clever, Reformed and proud of it.
Review: Commentaries on John's Gospel abound like fish in the sea. They can be divided up into three categories. First are the "Must have" commentaries (e.g. Bultmann, Brown). Second are the "Should have" (e.g. Morris, Sanday, Bernard). Third are the "Avoid with your entire being" (I will refrain from identifying these). This commentary on John falls into the second category and is a "theological" interpretation of John's Gospel that is heavily influenced by Calvin's commentary and by Calvinism. It is easy enough to follow and provocative. If you are a sacramentalist, Ridderbos will annoy you beyond imagination (he hardly ever sees allusions to the sacraments) although he always does so intelligently. My own impression is that Ridderbos is a better Pauline scholar than a Johannine one, although there can be no doubt this is an important work. If you want an unorthodox commentary that is not intimidated by any "modern" interpretation or ecclesiastical interpretation of John this is a good buy.

Rating:
Summary: Short review
Review: This work on John by Herman Ridderbos is simply magnificant in so many ways. It is trully a breath of fresh air in the ever stagnating pool of Johannine exegesis.

I have nicknamed Ridderbos 'the razor'. And this commentary on John is the prime reason why. Ridderbos does not mess around. He shaves off the 'later reading's into the text', to expose a true flowing narrative of John's words and redaction. Ridderbos wrestles with the theology of the 4th gospel in a way that is almost never seen in America.

In short, this could possibly be the most underrated work on John of the second half of the 20th century. It has challenged my views as few commentaries have. I recommend this work highly.

Rick E Aguirre, Southern California, ([e-mail]) <><