The commentary will prove particularly valuable to seminary students seeking to get a feel for these epistles’ message in light of ongoing scholarly discussion

Yarbrough, Robert

English

Concordia Seminary, St. Louis: Scholarly Resources

Concordia JournalVolume 39 | Number 4 Article 1920131–3 JOHN. Concordia Commentary Series. ByBruce G. SchuchardRobert YarbroughCovenant Seminary, St. Louis, ir_YarbroughR@csl.eduFollow this and additional works at: http://scholar.csl.edu/cjPart of the Practical Theology CommonsThis Book Review is brought to you for free and open access by Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. It has been accepted for inclusion inConcordia Journal by an authorized administrator of Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary. For more information, please contactseitzw@csl.edu.Recommended CitationYarbrough, Robert (2013) "1–3 JOHN. Concordia Commentary Series. By Bruce G. Schuchard," Concordia Journal: Vol. 39: No. 4,Article 19.Available at: http://scholar.csl.edu/cj/vol39/iss4/19 Concordia Journal/Fall 2013 3571–3 JOHN. Concordia Commentary Series. By Bruce G. Schuchard. St. Louis: Concordia Publishing House, 2012. 752 pages. Hardcover. $49.99.This is among the world’s thickest commentaries on these short epistles, containing some 800 pages when bibliog-raphy and other front matter are factored in. Some of  the bulk is the result of  the frequent inclusion of  long citations from secondary sources in the footnotes. While this is unusual, I do not find it overdone and in fact feel it is helpful, for it gives the larger context of  other schol-ars’ best insights as Schuchard has dug them out through his research. In some ways, then, this is not only the author’s attempt to present 1–3 John’s insights in the most thorough way pos-sible: he also compiles a mini-library of  the richest, most pithy observations he could find in other commentators’ works. This feature will be especially valuable for preachers, who may not have access to all these other significant studies, but who will be able to cite them with confidence because Schuchard has provided suffi-cient context to do so.While Schuchard is alert to patristic commentary and Luther, he most fre-quently cites contemporary exegetes like Brown, Dodd, Kruse, Lieu, Marshall, Smalley, Stott, Witherington, and many others. He also gives due attention to the standard grammars, lexica, and other technical resources. On the whole, this is a scholarly and not a popular-level or ser-monic commentary (like, say, David Allen’s recent 1–3 John: Fellowship in God’s Family). The commentary’s introductory sec-tions lay out an informed and persuasive case that John the son of  Zebedee is the author of  1–3 John. Included here are thorough reviews of  the patristic data along with careful interaction with important current scholarship by the late Martin Hengel, Charles Hill, Richard Bauckham, Paul Trebilco, and others.Readers can go to www.cph.org/t-topic-bgscharts and access supplemen-tary color-coded charts highlighting various literary and linguistic features of  each section of  1–3 John. They are additional testimony to the care with which Schuchard has pored over the Greek text.A very simple structural analysis of  all three epistles is found at the outset on a single page (viii). Individual sec-tions (twelve for 1 John, one each for 2 and 3 John) are broken down as fol-lows: Translation, Limits and Structure, Textual Notes (mainly close grammatical and syntactical analysis), Commentary, and Concluding Observations. Reading knowledge of  Greek is needed to con-sult “Textual Notes” with profit, but the “Commentary” section is free of  Greek citations. “Commentary” also includes the “Icons” (xviii–xix) that highlight important theological themes.A notable feature of  this commen-tary is the absence of  odium theologicum—rancor or snarkiness toward scholars with whom Schuchard disagrees. In that respect, it not only explains but models the graciousness and love that are such central features of  1–3 John. This is a commendable achievement in comment-ing on a corpus containing so many hotly disputed passages. Schuchard declines to fixate on points of  disagreement with other scholars, instead choosing simply to cite them when he agrees with them or finds their formulations beneficial.1Yarbrough: 1–3 JOHN.  Concordia Commentary SeriesPublished by Scholarly Resources from Concordia Seminary, 2013A challenge in reading 1 John is the Apostle John’s tendency to revisit the same subject in various places and from varying angles. Schuchard helps the reader here with a thorough subject index (696–718). If a reader wants to know what 1 John says about “anointing,” for example, one does not have to guess at where Schuchard might have enlarged on that topic, or read the whole commentary to find out, but will be directed (697) to the nearly two dozen passages where this theme is broached in the commentary. Considering that the word occurs only three times in 1 John (2:20, 2:27 [twice]), this opens up a wealth of discussion that would otherwise remain hidden from all but the most avid readers with lots of time on their hands—which does not describe many pastors, at least, who might consult this book. While this is among the longest com- mentaries on 1–3 John, opinion will vary on whether it is also among the best. The decisive question is: for what purpose? If the ideal is breaking new ground with innovative “critical” theories, this work is not at the top of the list. If however one seeks resources for a grasp of these epistles that is faithful to the original writer’s likely meaning, Schuchard has produced a valuable work indeed. There is plenty of data provided to help readers make up their own minds about disputed questions. Schuchard’s own proposed solutions are generally reasonable and clearly formulated. I especially appreciate the com- mentary’s openness to theological and pastoral dimensions of the text’s mes- sage, matters that can be overlooked in an exegetical commentary. This feature (along with others already mentioned) suggests that the commentary will prove particularly valuable to seminary students seeking to get a feel for these epistles’ message in light of ongoing scholarly dis- cussion. Working pastors with aspirations to highlight God, Christ, and the gospel in their preaching will likewise find this to be a go-to homiletical resource for preaching from these epistles. Robert W. Yarbrough  Covenant Seminary  St. Louis, Missouri  .  2Concordia Journal, Vol. 39 [2013], No. 4, Art. 19http://sch lar.csl.edu/cj/vol39/iss4/19

1–3 JOHN.  Concordia Commentary Series.  By Bruce G.  Schuchard

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1–3 JOHN. Concordia Commentary Series. By Bruce G. Schuchard

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Concordia Seminary, St. Louis: Scholarly Resources