Opening John’s Gospel and Epistles is a well-written commentary on the Gospel of John and his three Epistles. It is easy to read and even harder to put down. It’s a scholarly work that is easy to follow and understand.

The writers break the books down into an outline, and then comment on the passages within each section of the outline. It is well laid out, making it easy to find specific passages and topics.

The commentary begins with an exposition of the passage. Then the authors discuss key words and phrases and give the Biblical references and Greek word studies. Next, there are lots of notes on every verse within the passage. Each passage ends with plenty of references.

The book’s introduction to the Gospel of John is one of the best introduction’s I’ve read. It includes the authorship, place of writing, publication, circulation, the primary and secondary purposes of the Gospel, John’s portrait of Jesus, word studies, and narrative structure that works as an outline to the book of John.

I really enjoyed the commentary on the prologue of John. Rather than starting with “In the beginning” or “the Word”, the authors start by explaining what a prologue is and give reasons as to why the prologue of John is among the best prologues ever written.

The introduction to the Epistles of John includes information about the author, the date and occasion of writing, the audience, the canonicity and textual history, literary style, major themes, theological concerns, and a thematic outline.

This book is very interesting and easy to follow. It is well worth reading. I highly recommend this book for personal and group study. Five out of five stars!

I would like to thank Tyndale House Publishers for this free review copy. I was not required to give a positive review. My comments and opinions are entirely my own.