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Let's study JohnSpice up your Scripture readingLET'S STUDY JOHN The Let's Study series is a welcome attempt by The Banner of Truth to encourage ordinary Christians to read and reflect on their Bible. Mark Johnston's contribution on the Gospel of John goes a long way to fulfilling that aim. John's Gospel is divided up into 45 sections each of which is printed in full in the ESV (which, if recent EN correspondence is anything to go by, will delight some and exasperate others). Each section then has four or five pages of comment designed to point out the main thrust of the text and apply it to our lives. The author combines an appreciation of the theological issues in John's Gospel with a sensitivity to the structure of the narrative. His exegesis is rarely laboured however, and the stated aim of writing 'in the language of friend seated alongside you' is achieved. The book is made the more valuable by the provision of a group study guide at the end. At times I would have appreciated a deeper exploration of how the truths of John's Gospel interact with the 21st century, but there is some effort to do this. The book is simpler than Bruce Milne's Bible Speaks Today Commentary on John, which is the closest parallel. Unlike the BST series it does not have footnotes, or an index, or interact with any secondary literature. This book would be an excellent text to work through in personal prayer times, or in a small group. A preacher or a serious student would want much more, but it serves excellently as a useful help to get us reading and reflecting on John. It would spice up many people's personal reading of Scripture. Peter Comont,
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