MacArthur New Testament Commentary: Luke 1-5

I miss my husband at Bible Study. God has gifted him with the ability to teach, to understand theology, and to explain difficult Biblical concepts. Two weeks ago, the other folks in our small group and I were a bit stuck on how to answer one of the questions. Normally, the studies we have done come with a Leader's Guide and answers, but not this one. So, I went downstairs and grabbed the appropriate book from our Word Biblical Commentary series. I tried to find an answer, but it was difficult to sift through the words on the pages because of the formatting and how it was written. The Word Biblical Commentary is a very academic commentary which focuses a lot on linguistics.

For personal study, I really like Warren Wiersbe's commentary books. It is an expository commentary. He focuses a lot on what is in the Word as well as what isn't, without reading a lot into the Bible. They're easy to read and not super heavy.

Recently, I received one of the books from the MacArthur New Testament Commentary series by John MacArthur. I have always been curious about this commentary series but have never had a chance before now to spend time reading it.

This commentary is an expository one like Wiersbe's, but it goes much, much more in depth in its explanations of the Bible. This book was very different than I expected and I don't think I would have had any idea of what it would be like based on the reviews I'd read about it on Amazon. The book begins with a very short preface explaining what type of commentary this is--an expository one, rather than a linguistic or homiletical (more academic) one. An introduction to the book of Luke follows and then MacArthur begins to explain each verse/passage from the first five chapters of Luke. In the middle of the book was a sermon John MacArthur gave about premillenialism and amillenialism in 2007.

The explanations for each verse were easy to understand and give the reader a thorough understanding of the passage. MacArthur talks a lot about the settings in which the verses can be seen in--including the historical setting, geographical setting, world/national settings, personal setting, and more. As I read different chapters in this book, I became aware of how much I didn't understand about biblical times. An example is when MacArthur talks about Harod and the good things he did--he did a lot of bad things, but he did a lot of good as well. I had no idea he had done anything good. I realized how much I don't know even about the setting and life in the time of Christ's birth.

If you are looking for a commentary that will really help you as you dig into the scripture, then this commentary is very helpful. Commentaries aren't filled with questions for you to answer as you are reading the bible, but rather are meant (I think) to help you understand things that you wonder about or struggle to understand as you are reading the scriptures or are doing a Bible study.

One last note before I forget...with linguistic commentaries, I suppose it isn't as important whether someone is Reformed or Arminian in doctrine. But, with expository commentaries like this one, that perspective does matter. What I mean by Reformed is a belief in predestination and Arminian is a belief in free will when it comes to our salvation and how we are saved. MacArthur does write from a Calvinist and reformed theological perspective and is premillenialist in his perspective about Israel. These things particularly shape the sermon included in the commentary and what he chooses to write about in the commentary, but it only stood out to me especially in a few particular passages. MacArthur's explanations are very thorough and very good. Whether you are Arminian or Reformed in theology, this commentary is worth reading.

* Please note that I was provided with a complimentary with copy of this book by Moody Publishing for review. Thank you Moody Publishing! It is a very good book.

Comparison of Verses

Tonight I was reading the Mom's Bible again (NCV) and compared this verse: NCV Ephesians 5:22-24 22 Wives, yield to your husbands, as you do to the Lord, 23 because the husband is the head of the wife, as Christ is the head of the church. And he is the Savior of the body, which is the church. 24 As the church yields to Christ, so you wives should yield to your husbands in everything. NIV Ephesians 5:22-24 22 Wives, submit to your husbands as to the Lord. 23 For the husband is the head of the wife as Christ is the head of the church, his body, of which he is the Savior. 24 Now as the church submits to Christ, so also wives should submit to their husbands in everything. The Message 22-24 Wives, understand and support your husbands in ways that show your support for Christ. The husband provides leadership to his wife the way Christ does to his church, not by domineering but by cherishing. So just as the church submits to Christ as he exercises such leadership, wives should likewis...

Grieved

Why is it that my generation (I belong to Gen X) and generations after us always seem to think that they know more than the generations that have come before us? Why is there such a lack of respect in our generation for our elders? Why do we think that the liturgy of the church and hymns are irrelevant? It is ironic to me that the emergent movement is saying that the seeker sensitive movement is irrelevant. It seems as if it was only a few years ago when it was the seeker sensitive movement that said to the traditional church that it (the traditional church) was irrelevant. I'm reading a book with all of these big words and I want to be honest--I didn't understand a lot of it. I'm not dumb. I understood most of it, but the author was assuming a lot of background knowledge on the part of the reader. Most of the time I learn deep theological concepts and then I have to store them in my "attic" (as Autumn would say) because there isn't enough room in the ...

Missing Pieces

The other day I was discussing a book with my mom and explaining to her my concern about how "blame" is cast upon the child in the story. My mom commented about how deeply I read and consider what is written. Sometimes I wonder if I go overboard. Am I questioning too much? Am I overreacting? Why am I reacting this way? I come back to knowing that God wired me this way. But, I also reflect on how God has guided my path through the maze of books I've read over the past few years and what I've learned from the books themselves and from reading them. Recently, I read a book that troubled me. The book I finished reading was Guiltless Living by Ginger Hubbard. When I began reading it, I found myself puzzled and then disconcerted. And in the end, I cried. But, I cried for a different reason than one might suspect. I'd like to explain. I did not read Ms. Hubbard's previous book “ Don't Make Me Count to Three ”, but I knew from f...

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