The Gospel of John: A Theological Commentary

by Herman N. Ridderbos

This excellent commentary by Herman Ridderbos engages seriously the host of twentieth-century interpretations of John while also developing its own integral understanding of John in which the Gospel emerges as a profoundly theological work. Ridderbos presents John in its distinctively apostolic character and includes important criteria for the literary and homiletical exegesis of the Fourth Gospel.

Genres: Theology, New Testament, Biblical Studies, Reference

735 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 1997

Reviews

[Greg · Rating 3 out of 5]

I am not quite sure what to make of this commentary. It has an awful lot of words but doesn't say much. Most commentaries engage the text from the bottom of the stack to the top: text-critical issues, form-critical issues, historical-critical issues, finishing with systematic theology. This commentary really skips mainly to the last step, and is couched in a jargon-laden theological discourse that is difficult at times to understand. It is useful as a supplement to another commentary like the NICNT or AB.

[Vitor Ericeira · Rating 4 out of 5]

A thoughtful and revealing commentary on this profound piece of theology. No one made better sense of it for me than Ridderbos. It gets four stars because sometimes the author lingers too much on subjects of secondary importance, and too little in the most relevant matters. For example, he deals with the matter of predestination (in John, those who respond to Jesus voice as sheppard) very shortly, dedicanting only four or five pages - even to reject the notion, given its prominent role in various theological traditions, it deserved more than what was given in the commentary. Besides, these four and five pages doesn't disclose very well Ridderbos' opinion on the matter, it is at least ambiguous.

[Deiniol Williams · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good without being brilliant, but perhaps this assessment is due to having high expectations at the start. Engages with a range of scholarship and is helpfully assertive when it comes to his interpretation throughout.

[Mr. Yoon · Rating 5 out of 5]

I read this as a compliment to the D. A. Carson commentary.

[Thomas · Rating 2 out of 5]

A seemingly thorough tome on John's Gospel. The author presents alternative theories well, but occasionally suffers from a lack of definitive summation. e.g. he quotes Bultmann incessantly, but seems to disagree with Bultmann on most points - where we can infer that he has an opinion.

Overall, a good reference commentary on the fourth gospel, but its use is in breadth, not depth.