John: Volume 2A (Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary)
Overview
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.
Features include:
- Commentary based on relevant papyri, inscriptions, archaeological discoveries, and studies of Judaism, Roman culture, Hellenism, and other features of the world of the New Testament
- Hundreds of full-color photographs, color illustrations, and line drawings
- Copious maps, charts, and timelines
- Sidebar articles and insights
- “Reflections” on the Bible’s relevance for 21st-century living
- Provides illuminating and interesting historical/cultural background information
- Draws upon relevant papyri, inscriptions, archaeological discoveries, and the numerous studies of the world of the New Testament
- Contains full-color photographs, maps, charts, color illustrations, and timelines
Top Highlights
“As in some testings in the Synoptics (Matt 22:35; Mark 8:11; 10:2; 12:15), these leaders test Jesus. Here they test whether Jesus will reject the law, compromising his patriotic Jewish following, or reject Roman rule, which will allow them to accuse him to the Romans. If Jesus opposes her execution, he must explain why he reduces a sentence in the law of Moses; if he approves her execution, he can be viewed as usurping Roman prerogatives in the name of returning to God’s law, hence charged with treason.” (Pages 78–79)
“The first and last ‘signs’ in John reveal Jesus’ glory (2:11; 11:40). Moses’ first plague was turning water into blood (Ex. 7:20; cf. Rev. 8:8); Jesus’ first sign is turning water into wine. The final plague was the death of the firstborn (Ex. 12:12); Jesus’ final sign is the raising of Lazarus.” (Page 22)
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“By calling Jesus ‘the Word,’ John calls him the embodiment of all God’s revelation in the Scriptures” (Page 7) |
“‘Once I begin performing signs, I start toward the cross.” (Page 21)
“Gardeners pruned away useless branches lest they divert the vine’s strength from fruitful branches. The weaker the vine, the more harshly one pruned it, reducing short-term fruit but ensuring a greater measure of fruit the following year. Farmers pruned in two different ways: they pruned fruitful branches to make them more fruitful, and (as in 15:6) they removed unfruitful branches entirely. Here is another of John’s plays on words (cf. comment on 3:3): the term he uses for ‘prunes’ normally means ‘cleanses,’ reflecting a motif in John (cf. e.g., 2:6; 13:10).” (Page 155)
- Title: John: Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary, Volume 2A
- Author: Craig Keener
- Series: Zondervan Illustrated Bible Backgrounds Commentary
- Volume: 2A
- Publisher: Zondervan
- Print Publication Date: 2019
- Logos Release Date: 2019
- Era: era:contemporary
- Language: English
- Resources: 1
- Format: Digital › Logos Research Edition
- Subject: Bible. N.T. John › Commentaries
- ISBNs: 9780310528876, 9780310528852, 9780310528838, 0310528879, 0310528852, 0310528836
- Resource ID: LLS:ZIBBCNT02A
- Resource Type: Bible Commentary
- Metadata Last Updated: 2022-09-30T04:33:06Z
Dr. Craig S. Keener (PhD, Duke University) is professor of New Testament at Asbury Theological Seminary, and is the author of 17 books, four of which have won book awards in Christianity Today. One, The IVP Bible Background Commentary: New Testament, has sold more than half a million copies. He has authored scholarly commentaries on Matthew, John (two volumes), Acts (four volumes), and more briefly on Romans, 1 and 2 Corinthians, and Revelation. Dr. Keener is married to Dr. Médine Moussounga Keener, who spent 18 months as a refugee in her nation of Congo before their marriage.