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  1. Kevin M. Fiske
    Joliet, IL
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: male
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    GREAT PASTORAL COMMENTARY
    December 20, 2010
    Kevin M. Fiske
    Joliet, IL
    Age: 25-34
    Gender: male
    Quality: 5
    Value: 4
    Meets Expectations: 4
    Several weeks ago, Zondervan Academic's blog, "Koinonia", announced a blog tour featuring some of the newly released volumes in the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series. Through their generosity, I received a review copy of Grant Osborne's volume on Matthew.

    It's my hope that this brief review will provide the reader with some basic information about the series, as well as the "Matthew" volume in particular, hoping that one will be able to make a good assessment as to whether the "Matthew" volume would be of general benefit to personal study and/or pastoral preparation.

    General Remarks

    I'm excited about the volumes in this series, as the ZECNT series is proving to be solidly evangelical, exegetically helpful, academically credible, and designed with the pastor-teacher in mind.

    If grades were given out solely in terms of layout, construction, and design, the ZECNT would score very highly. This commentary is not small by any means (1154 pages), but its hardcover construction and binding are of great quality for such a sizeable book. The layout and design are clear and logical, with a very readable typeset.

    Textually speaking, the commentary series, as a whole, utilizes 7 different components for the analysis of each pericope:

    Literary Context

    Each pericope is considered in light of how it functions within the book as a whole.

    Main Idea

    An incredibly helpful 1-2 sentence summary of the "big idea" of each pericope.

    Translation and Graphical Layout

    The commentator provides his translation of the Greek text. This part is particularly helpful for visualizing the interconnectedness and flow of the text, as each section is displayed with each clause or phrase on it's own line. This is greatly helpful for understanding how each clause or phrase supports or develops the main action of the text.

    Structure

    After the graphical layout, the commentator explains his interpretive decisions regarding the way he related the clauses in each pericope.

    Exegetical Outline

    A detailed description and overall flow of each passage, in outline form.

    Explanation of the Text

    Utilizing the Greek language (English translation provided as well for the non-specialist) the commentator works his way through the text noting and explaining textual, historical, contextual, cultural, and interpretational issues. I appreciate that the English translation is cited first and is in bold; the Greek text is offered afterward in parentheses. This, again, helps the non-specialist get the most out of this commentary, while continuing to provide the original text for the Greek student.

    Theology in Application

    The commentator addresses the theological implications of the passage for the church today.

    Overall, the layout and design of this series are superb for the person desiring a commentary that will be "user-friendly" as well as one that will effectively and logically help a person thoroughly work their way through a particular pericope.

    My only qualm with the design, and a seemingly insignificant one at that, is the use of the "computing-style" scroll bar next to each of the outline snapshots in the "Literary Context" sections. It just seemed a little cheesy and didn't connect with the rest of the overall graphical layout.

    Commentary

    The "Introduction" to the volume was brief, but to the point. Though it my not be as thorough in matters as many scholars would like, it follows the series' purpose/intention by providing information essential in understanding Matthew's gospel for the purpose of preaching/teaching.

    I found the section on "The Purpose and Audience of Matthew's Gospel" particularly helpful in giving the student a lens through which to see Matthew's purpose in writing, specifically to show the impact of Jesus' life and ministry on four groups–the leaders, the crowds, the disciples, and the demons. This will no doubt be pastorally and homiletically helpful for the pastor to aid the church in asking which group they identify with each time they come to the text.

    Osborne has interacted will with other scholars well, and has provided a great deal of wealth and direction in his footnotes as well.

    Overall, I appreciated Osborne's ability throughout the commentary to work his way through the text of Matthew's Gospel in such a way as to provide information and explanation essential to pastoral preparation. There aren't long discourses on controversial minutiae (though that is certainly necessary at times for certain aspects of biblical study), but rather clear, concise, and altogether helpful undertakings of the most essential matters for the pastor-teacher.

    Theology

    This commentary series is worth its price for the "Theology in Application" section alone. As many pastors are very busy with the ins-and-outs of fulltime vocational ministry, this section will help the pastor credibly teach a passage and with theological depth, effectively help the congregation see the practical theological implications for their lives.

    One specific example of the helpful nature of this section is in Osborne's treatment of the temptation of Messiah Jesus in Matthew 4. Many pastors often make hasty, pragmatic conclusions about this text saying that it teaches that believers can defeat Satan with Scripture in every temptation. Though there may be some principles to be drawn regarding the effectiveness of God's Word in aiding the believer to think in truth and avoid the lies and temptations of the Enemy, the passage is explained with a proper focus upon Jesus as the victorious Son of God and noting the work of perfect obedience that He has successfully accomplished for the salvation of His people and the glory of His Father.

    Conclusion

    Overall, Osborne's volume is definitely one to be considered when studying or preaching through Matthew's gospel. I would highly recommend it!

    The ZECNT series as a whole is one that should be sought after by pastors who desire to understand and teach the Scriptures credibly. I believe the series makes a valuable contribution in what it specifically provides to the pastor-teacher. With the matters addressed, and to the quality with which they are, this commentary series will help pastors cut straighter lines in their exegesis of the text, helping those entrusted to their care understand the theological implications of the text for doxological purposes in their lives and in the body of Christ.
  2. dtazlang
    Millville, NB
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: male
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Detailed, organized, readable.
    January 22, 2014
    dtazlang
    Millville, NB
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: male
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This commentary has got to be one of my favorite commentary discoveries of the past 20 years.

    Good scholarship. Clear consistent layout. Very helpful for preaching and teaching. I also bought James and the rest of the series is on my wishlist. Cheers to Zondervan for this series.
  3. Pastor Ken
    UK
    Age: Over 65
    Gender: male
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Very helpful
    April 7, 2011
    Pastor Ken
    UK
    Age: Over 65
    Gender: male
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    I appreciate the fact that it has been presented particularly for preachers (At least it suites me)

    I love the fact that it has the Greek, as well as the English.
  4. carl garrison
    South Georgia
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: male
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Organization scheme is strongest point.
    December 18, 2010
    carl garrison
    South Georgia
    Age: 55-65
    Gender: male
    Quality: 5
    Value: 3
    Meets Expectations: 4
    My favorite thing about this commentary is its layout and organization. The section on literary flow and the relation of the passage to the whole is one of the areas that seminary always talks about but never teaches how to determine. This will be of huge help in deciding how big a passage to preach from when doing a whole book series. the theology application was helpful too, as it gave me new ideas on each passage. Looks as if this series is going to rank up there with NICNT, BECNT, and PNTC as the premier evangelical commentaries. I just hope that Zondervan hasn't gottem my hopes up only to dash them at the altar of skeptical authors.
  5. Debbie from ChristFocus
    Harrison, AR
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: female
    5 Stars Out Of 5
    Also interesting for those not pastors or teachers
    December 16, 2010
    Debbie from ChristFocus
    Harrison, AR
    Age: 35-44
    Gender: female
    Quality: 5
    Value: 5
    Meets Expectations: 5
    This commentary on Matthew is a thick but surprisingly easy and interesting read. I know the basics of biblical Hebrew and intend to learn biblical Greek, so I was interested in this commentary but was concerned it'd be "over my head." It wasn't. While you probably will get the most out of it if you know some biblical Greek and it certainly helps to understand terms like past tense, genitive absolute, etc., you can still clearly understand the author's point even if you don't. I suspect pastors and teachers will find these commentaries useful, but I'd also highly recommend them to individuals who want to take their study of the Bible deeper and want to better understand some of those confusing passages or differences between translations that you've noticed.

    The commentary had an introduction which included an outline of Matthew. Each chapter then covered a section of this outline (usually one scene) and examined the text and its interpretation. The author first looked at how the passage fit within the theme of the whole book. He then explained the main message of the passage. Next, he laid out the Bible verses in a diagram showing the flow of thought in the passage (with tags like: setting, problem, solution, fulfillment). After that, there was an outline of the scene.

    The main part of each chapter was the examination of the text. Each verse (usually only part at a time) was given in English and then in the original Greek. The author then commented about notable tenses or word meanings, cultural or historical background information, and other information which would help the reader get the most out of the passage. Differing opinions were briefly mentioned. He gave excellent footnoting to tell where the information came from and/or comment more in-depth about something in the text. At the end of each chapter, there were a couple pages discussing the themes in the passage and how to apply their message to modern life.

    I received this book as a review copy through the koinonia blog.
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