Paul for Everyone: Pastoral Epistles
I had mixed feelings about picking up a copy from N.T. Wright’s Paul for Everyone series. On one hand, I generally stay away from devotional type commentaries. On the other hand, N.T. Wright is one of my favourite New Testament scholars.
I ended up purchasing his volume on the pastoral epistles because of a potential course for me to teach. I was extremely surprised by how much I enjoyed this book.
It helps that I really like the pastoral epistles. They touch on everything from Christian ethics to how to respond to false teachers. The letters to Timothy and Titus deserve more attention than they normally receive from Christians.
Is Wright’s book a commentary? Yes and no. He touches on the main features of each passage but does not overwhelm the reader with details. The focus is on illustrating what Paul is teaching by sharing stories from today’s context. Storytelling could easily become fluffy but everything that Wright says is built on a solid scholarly foundation.
Who would this book be good for? I think any Christian could benefit from it. It would be good for new Christians or for Christians with little or no biblical grounding. But it would also be very appropriate for pastors. Wright’s comments provide great fodder for preaching.
I recommend that you get a copy of Paul for Everyone: Pastoral Epistles. (USA) (Canada)
