1-3 John (The IVP New Testament Commentary Series), by Marianne Meye Thompson

This weekend, I finished reading Marianne Meye Thompson's commentary on the Epistles of  John for The IVP New Testament Series. Thompson is probably one of the best female Biblical scholars in the world today and certainly one of the best when it comes to the Johannine works. I've read many of her works and conversed with her through email in my early days of seminary when I was leaning towards Johannine studies. I subsequently followed Lucan studies.

I think it is really necessary for the Christian interested in 1-3 John to read good commentaries upon the subject. John frequently writes in general, universal, absolutist, and dichotomous manner which can cause the faithful reader to make thought applications not intended by the author.

A good commentary will help the reader put some of the more stringent statements of John in context, both the context of the letters, the situation in which the letters were written, and within the overall Johnannine corpus. This is what Thompson does in her book.

1-3 John continues to be even more relevant today with its focus on love, truth, fellowship, division, and discipleship. With so much of the North American church adopting new, pseudo-definitions of what it means to love, hate, and pursue the truth, it's important for those followers of Jesus who still have their feet planted in the mission of the church to adequately relate to those other members of the church.

Here is one of my two favorite quotes from the commentary:

"Sacrificial love that models itself after Jesus' example does not enable the destructive behavior of others, but encourages them in actions that lead to love and life, and to healing and wholeness."