These are five good commentaries on the fourth gospel, in no particular order:
- D. A. Carson’s The Gospel According to John (Pillar New Testament Commentary) – You just can’t go wrong with a NT commentary penned by Don Carson – arguably the greatest NT scholar alive today. Carson is also the general editor of the entire Pillar New Testament Commentary series, which is excellent.
- Leon Morris’ The Gospel According to John (The New International Commentary on the New Testament) – Leon Morris was a very respected NT and Greek scholar who passed away in 2006. When preaching and teaching the NT, Morris was known to use only a few notes and only the Greek text. His commentary on John’s gospel is one of his greatest legacies to the church.
- Andreas J. Kostenberger’s John (Baker Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament) – Kostenberger is a NT professor at SEBTS and editor of the Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society (JETS). He is recognized for outstanding NT scholarship, and his commentary on John is considered one of the best.
- Merrill Tenney’s commentary on John in The Expositor’s Bible Commentary (Volume 9) – I own all twelve volumes of this commentary series. This series uses the New International Version for it’s text, but also makes use of other translations and the original languages as well. Frank Gaebelein is the general editor, and each contributor (different for each book of Scripture) is a respected OT or NT scholar (i.e John Sailhamer, Don Carson, Merrill Tenney, Leon Morris, etc.).
- William Hendricksen’s volume on John in the 12-volume New Testament Commentary Series – I also own and recommend all twelve volumes of this outstanding commentary on the NT.
See also my review of Chuck Swindoll’s recently-published volume on this gospel. Swindoll writes more from the perspective of a pastor/teacher than an academic, with more of an emphasis on application. Insights on John is an excellent resource to accompany one or more of these classic commentaries.
Does anyone have a commentary on John’s Gospel that they would like to add to the list?