John (EEC) Interview with Dr. Köstenberger

Biblical Foundations (BF) recently sat down with author Dr. Andreas Köstenberger (AK) for an interview about his latest book, the Evangelical Exegetical Commentary (EEC) on John’s Gospel. The book is available digitally on Logos. The hardback is available through Amazon in two volumes: John 1–12 and John 13–21. Dr. Köstenberger also serves as the senior New Testament editor of the EEC series. Here, then, is Dr. Köstenberger . . .

Introduction

BF: Dr. Köstenberger, your new commentary is the culmination of a lifetime of study in John’s Gospel. You’ve previously written A Theology of John’s Gospel and Letters, Encountering John, and a plethora of other works on John’s Gospel (not to mention your dissertation, The Missions of Jesus and the Disciples according to the Fourth Gospel and The Gospel Coalition Commentary on John). What motivated you to invest your time and energy in this massive project? Your commentary is over 330,000 words long, 475 pages for volume 1 and 312 pages for volume 2. That’s almost 800 total pages!

AK: Actually, it was incredibly fulfilling to put all my work on John’s Gospel together in this commentary. Even before my dissertation, I wrote a paper on the “greater works” in John 14:12 during my M.Div. at Columbia International University (CIU). In my dissertation, I explored the Johannine mission theme with a special emphasis on John 20:21, “As the Father has sent me, so I am sending you.” I argued that while Jesus’s mission is unique (only he is the heaven-sent Son, the preexistent Word made flesh), his sending by the Father is the model for the way in which we are sent by Jesus. Over the last 30 years, then, I wrote numerous specialized articles on Johannine topics, which are all taken up in my new commentary.

Special Topics

BF: Tell us about those specialized articles, briefly, please.

AK: Certainly. In one article, I explored the temple theme in John’s Gospel. I argue that John implicitly assumes the destruction of the Jerusalem temple. In its place, John offers Jesus as the new temple and as its replacement.

In another piece, I set forth my view on the relationship between John and the Synoptic Gospels. Here, I proposed a new model, that of theological transposition. I argued that John takes up a given Synoptic theme, such as Jesus’s miracles. Just like a composer might transpose a tune into another key, John transposed a Synoptic motif.

In the case of Jesus’s miracles, John recast these as messianic signs. This was based on the recognition that people might witness Jesus’s miracles and yet miss the way in which that miracle pointed to Jesus as the Messiah.

Major Distinctives

BF: Alright, let’s now move on your new EEC commentary on John. What are some major distinctives?

AK: I am very excited about the way in which this commentary is laid out uniquely. First of all, the engagement with the Greek text is primary. While I refer to the views of other scholars throughout my commentary, my primary goal is to explain the text in the original language.

So if you’re a pastor preaching through John’s Gospel, you’ll find in the commentary a concise, accessible discussion of what a given passage is saying based on John’s original intent. This can be a reliable and authoritative foundation for your sermon as you flesh it out by adding pertinent illustrations and further explanation.

In fact, I’ve had several pastors use my commentary already while preaching through John and received very positive feedback.

Other Distinctives

BF: What are some of the other distinctive elements for those who are trying to decide if your commentary is sufficiently unique for them to get a copy?

AK: Well, to start with, it is faithful to the evidence and theologically rich. I unapologetically affirm, and defend, apostolic authorship by John, the son of Zebedee and one of the Twelve. I believe we have in his Gospel a precious gift: a close-up-and-personal eyewitness testimony to Jesus. In his Gospel, John calls himself “the disciple Jesus loved.” What a beautiful self-description! John knew that Jesus loved him, and that was what he cherished supremely.

Also, if you buy my commentary, you really get 2 things in 1. It is a standard unit-by-unit exposition of John’s Gospel. But you also get an embedded Johannine theology. There are 28 figures, 12 excursuses, and 19 Biblical Theology comments on just about every conceivable Johannine topic. They are interspersed in the commentary wherever a given topic is most prominently featured in John so as to put these materials at your fingertips as you’re preaching through John.

Writing of Commentary

BF: So as you sat down to write your commentary, how did you go about writing it?

AK: Great question. The first thing I did was break up the entire Gospel into interpretive units. I can’t remember exactly, but I believe I divided the Gospel into close to thirty literary units. Delineating individual literary units is very important. This is the case especially as these units often don’t correspond to the chapter divisions in our English Bibles. For example, I believe that John 2:23–25 introduces Jesus’s conversation with Nicodemus, so the literary unit doesn’t start with 3:1 but with 2:23, yielding a unit of John 2:23–3:21.

BF: Very interesting. I think that’s very helpful. Can you give us a few other examples just to whet our appetite?

AK: Sure. Another example is chapters 9 and 10. There is really no new introduction at the beginning of chapter 10, so I propose the unit goes from John 9:1 all the way through 10:21. Or take chapter 12, for example. The introduction to that chapter is found already at 11:55, so the unit here is 11:55–12:8. Other examples where a unit spans multiple chapters are 15:18–16:4a and 18:28–19:16a. I’ve been told by several preachers that this careful delineation of literary units has been invaluable in their sermon preparation. One additional contribution of my commentary is that when it comes to smaller units within those larger breakdowns, I follow the Tyndale House Greek New Testament (THGNT). The THGNT indicates the way in which early scribes divided the Greek text into paragraphs or subunits, which I find extremely helpful.

BF: Fascinating. What else is there to love about your new commentary?

A Few More Distinctives

AK: Let me just mention a few more things. First, in keeping with the series format, I include Literary unit bibliographies. This should be very helpful for those who want to engage in further study of a given passage or topic. Also in keeping with the series format, I include a discussion of application at the end of every literary unit. So there is a built-in application portion in my commentary comprised of almost 30 applications. Finally, as a result of my longtime study of the Gospel, I contribute several unique interpretations. One example is my identification of the temple cleansing as a Johannine sign in place of Jesus’s walking on the water. I also provide a detailed Johannine chronology and listing of Johannine transpositions.

Conclusion

BF: Sounds definitely unique and ideal for preachers and serious students of John’s Gospel. We are indebted to you, Dr. Köstenberger, for producing this commentary. Thank you for your labor of love and the many hours studying this wonderful book of Scripture. May many be blessed and edified by this commentary and may God be glorified and exalted.