Fantastic 80% discount on Gundry's Commentary on the NT

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Larry Heflin | Forum Activity | Replied: Sat, May 9 2015 11:31 AM

Careful on that Amazon link. Unless I'm missing something, the price for the entire hardcover commentary is $41.66 with Amazon Prime The $1.99 link gets you a 60 page commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians for Kindle.

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Rick Ausdahl | Forum Activity | Replied: Sun, May 10 2015 6:19 AM

mab:

Bruce Dunning:

I had sort of decided to let this one pass, but after reading more about it I decided to go for it. Has anyone here had personal experience with it?

I have this already (from a Baker collection) but haven't yet used it. Gundry should be read with care (you'd surely do this anyway, but some need this more). 

Prior to reading this thread, I had never heard of Gundry, but mab's statement that "...Gundry should be read with care..." left me curious as to what was meant by that.  So, I did quick look into Gundry and was mildly stunned by what I understand him to believe/teach about the apostle Peter--i.e. that he was an apostate.  This concept was so far off the charts (i.e. my radar), that I'm wondering if I've completely misunderstood him and would appreciate either correction or confirmation about it.

In brief, based on this presentation I understand him to be saying Matthew's gospel "clearly" shows Matthew to see and present Peter as an apostate--that we should be able to see this, but we have failed to do so for three main reasons.

1. The Catholic church's elevation of Peter in their desire to link the church's papal authority to Peter as the first pope.
2. Our insatiable need to harmonize the gospels.  In this case our need to harmonize Matthew's obvious teachings of Peter's apostasy with the other gospels which don't seem to teach this, resulting in a denial (or inability) to see Matthew's teaching on this issue.
3. Our romanticizing of Peter as the poor fellow who often puts his foot in his mouth making a fool of himself, but who is loved by God all the same.  I.e.  We so much identify with Peter that we can't help but like him and can't bear to think of him as being an apostate.

Am I somehow completely misunderstanding Gundry?

PS:  Afterthought:  I don't mean to imply that this issue is what mab was referring to when suggesting we read Gundry with care.  Only that this statement is what raised my curiosity about Gundry.  It may well be mab has a high regard for Gundry and simply meant we could glean much from him if we didn't rush through his commentary.  I think I'm having a "Peter" moment and should try to extract foot from mouth. 

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Lew Worthington | Forum Activity | Replied: Sun, May 10 2015 12:04 PM

Alrighty then, I've made it a suggestion for when it comes out. 

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ChelseaFC | Forum Activity | Replied: Sun, May 10 2015 4:14 PM

Can someone please post a sample of this commentary? I've tried on the Logos site and Amazon for a preview and haven't had any luck. Thanks. 

Cheers, 
 ChelseaFC

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mab | Forum Activity | Replied: Sun, May 10 2015 4:32 PM

Rick Ausdahl:

Am I somehow completely misunderstanding Gundry?

PS:  Afterthought:  I don't mean to imply that this issue is what mab was referring to when suggesting we read Gundry with care.  Only that this statement is what raised my curiosity about Gundry.  It may well be mab has a high regard for Gundry and simply meant we could glean much from him if we didn't rush through his commentary.  I think I'm having a "Peter" moment and should try to extract foot from mouth. 

I've tried to maintain my respect for scholars that are problematic in their ideas and/or methodology. A lot of what goes on in scholarly circles is nothing more than conjecture and it sometimes gets more so with time as seems to be with Gundry. If the Bereans were thoughtful enough to verify what Paul said, should we do anything less?

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JT (alabama24) | Forum Activity | Replied: Sun, May 10 2015 5:29 PM

JoshInRI:

Because of your post, I bought this book.  Thanks.

You will return it in 5,4,3... (read the rest of the thread).

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Rayner | Forum Activity | Replied: Mon, May 11 2015 2:24 PM

Can anybody that owns the commentary recommend it as a resource for a wider (eg. beyond Evangelical) audience?

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Rayner | Forum Activity | Replied: Tue, May 12 2015 2:44 AM

Thanks.

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MJ. Smith | Forum Activity | Replied: Tue, May 12 2015 4:41 PM

-An excerpt from which you may pick examples:

THE ENCOURAGING WORD OF GOD AS TAUGHT BY THE GREATER MOSES TO HIS PERSECUTED DISCIPLES

Matthew 5:1–10

5:1–2

: And on seeing the crowds, he went up onto a mountain

[as Moses went up onto Mount Sinai to receive and then promulgate the Law]; and when he’d sat down [that is, taken the posture that rabbis took to teach the Mosaic law], his disciples approached him. ²And opening his mouth he started teaching them, saying.… Since Jesus speaks to his disciples (by definition "learners"), we should take the Sermon on the Mount as instruction for discipleship, not as the good news of salvation or as a program for the social betterment of the world at large (though the world at large might well adopt such a program). And since at the conclusion of the Sermon on the Mount it’ll be said that "the crowds were awestruck at his teaching" (7:28), the disciples who approach him and whom he starts teaching here in 5:1 are the same crowds that were portrayed in 4:25 as disciples (a mixture again of the true and the false), not a smaller group that separated themselves from the crowds by following Jesus up the mountain. This portrayal exhibits Matthew’s desire to make Jesus’ teaching the Law to the crowds anticipate and symbolize the mission described in 28:19–20, where Jesus will order his original disciples to teach newly made disciples from all nations to obey "all things" that he has commanded them. And since he’s "God with us" (1:23) and human beings are to live "on the basis of every word proceeding out through God’s mouth" (4:4), what now proceeds out through Jesus’ mouth when he opens it are the very words of God, like the law of God promulgated through Moses on Mount Sinai. Thus Jesus as God incarnate and Jesus as the new and greater Moses merge.

5:3

: "Fortunate

[are] the poor in spirit, because theirs is the reign of heaven." (Here and following, italics indicate points of emphasis and implication: "theirs rather than others,’　" "they rather than others," and so on.) The traditional translation, "Blessed," is sometimes updated to "Happy." But "Happy" wouldn’t fit those who in 5:4 "mourn"; and Jesus is stating a matter of fact, not a matter of what should be, as though the poor in spirit should be happy whether or not they are. So "Fortunate" is a better update to "Blessed." "Poor in spirit" echoes the word of the Lord in Isaiah 66:2 and thus furthers the identification of Jesus’ words with the words of God, as in 5:2 with 4:4. Poverty in spirit means inward dependence on God by disciples who because of persecution have no outward means of support. The use of the third person (not "you" and "yours" but "they" and "theirs") both here and in the following verses makes these beatitudes (as they are traditionally called) into statements that teach the characteristics and effects of true discipleship. "The reign of heaven" belongs to "the poor in spirit" in that though they’re persecuted now, someday they’ll share in reigning over the regenerated earth (compare 19:28; 25:21, 23, 28).

5:4

: "Fortunate

[are] those who are mourning [that is, grieving over their persecutions], because they will be comforted [when Jesus comes back and the reign of heaven fully takes over]." This beatitude echoes Isaiah 61:1–2.

5:5

: "Fortunate

[are] the meek, because they will inherit the earth [again, when Jesus comes back and the reign of heaven fully takes over]." "The meek" are those who suffer persecution without retaliating. This beatitude echoes Psalm 37:11.

5:6

: "Fortunate

[are] those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, because they will be sated." But since they’re being persecuted "on account of righteousness [their own, that is (5:10)]," they’re already righteous; and Jesus will soon speak of "your righteousness" in addressing his disciples (5:20 [compare 1:19; 5:45; 10:41 and so on]). So the righteousness they hunger and thirst for is the righteousness of God in the sense of his vindication of them. They want him to do the right thing by way of rewarding them and punishing their persecutors. "They will be sated" alludes to being filled to satisfaction with divine vindication at the messianic banquet, which will take place when the reign of heaven fully takes over (compare 8:11–12; 22:1–10; 26:29). This beatitude echoes Isaiah 49:10; 61:1.

5:7

: "Fortunate

[are] the merciful, because they will be treated mercifully." Now their persecutors treat them mercilessly, and in return they show only mercy toward their persecutors. So when the reign of heaven fully takes over, God will treat the merciful with mercy (and their persecutors without mercy, we might add from passages such as 23:29–36). This beatitude echoes Psalm 18:25.

5:8

: "Fortunate

[are] the pure in heart, because they will see God." Great stress falls in Matthew’s Gospel on inward purity as opposed to a merely outward show of purity, piety, and the like (see, for example, 6:1–6, 16–18). For it’s only inward purity that can fortify a professing Christian against temptations to recant in times of persecution. "They will see God" when the reign of heaven fully takes over. To see him is to be brought into his glorious presence, as opposed to being thrown into outer darkness (for which see the comments on 4:16). This beatitude echoes Psalm 24:3–6.

5:9

: "Fortunate

[are] the peacemakers, because they will be called sons of God." "The peacemakers" have their counterparts in those who persecute them ("people" who "hate you," as Luke 6:22 puts it). They make peace with their persecutors. "They will be called sons of God" means that when the reign of heaven fully takes over, God will acknowledge them as his sons. ("Sons" functions generically here and thus includes females as well as males.) This beatitude echoes Psalm 34:14; Hosea 1:10.

5:10

: "Fortunate

[are] those who’ve been persecuted on account of righteousness, because theirs is the reign of heaven." As noted in connection with 5:6, here it’s not God’s righteousness but the disciples’ righteousness for which they’ve been persecuted. Literally, to be persecuted means to be pursued, to be hounded—hence the withdrawals that we’ve noted in earlier chapters and the later command to flee (10:23). This beatitude echoes Psalm 15:1–2; Isaiah 51:7. So every one of these beatitudes displays unity between the teaching of Jesus, who is "God with us" (1:23), and the words of God in the Old Testament. Repetition from the first beatitude of the promise, "theirs is the reign of heaven," brings the series to a close (see further the comments on 5:3). The first four beatitudes emphasized the persecuted condition of Jesus’ disciples. The last four have emphasized the ethical qualities that characterize the persecuted. Accordingly, the first four end on the note of righteousness as divine justice, the last four on the note of righteousness as the disciples’ good conduct. So in these beatitudes we don’t have a gospel for the unevangelized, but words of encouragement for a suffering church.

THE DISCIPLES’ PERSECUTION AND MISSION IN THE WORLD

Matthew 5:11–16

Though this passage begins with "Fortunate," it doesn’t belong with the preceding series of beatitudes which begin the same way. For no longer do we read a "because"-clause right after the "Fortunate"-clause, and the person changes from third ("they," "theirs," and "those") to second ("you" and "yours" in the plural). At this point, therefore, the term "Fortunate" simply forms a link between the beatitudes proper (5:3–10) and the following description of the persecutions to be endured by Jesus’ disciples because of their mission in the world (5:11–12). There follow two descriptions of that mission, the first under the figure of salt (5:13), the second under the related figures of a light, a city, and a lamp (5:15–16). These three subdivisions of the passage close, respectively, with an encouragement to rejoice, a warning, and an exhortation.

5:11–12

: "Fortunate are you whenever people vilify you and persecute

[you] and on account of me say every kind of evil thing against you, lying [when they do]. ¹²Rejoice and be glad, because your reward in heaven [is] much. For in this way they persecuted the prophets before you." Here persecution takes the form of verbal abuse in addition to physical pursuit. The redundancy of "vilify" and "say every kind of evil thing against you" magnifies the verbal abuse. So too does "every kind of." "Lying" qualifies the verbal abuse to ensure that it’s undeserved. "On account of me" has the same purpose but qualifies physical pursuit as well as verbal abuse, corresponds to "on account of [disciples’] righteousness" in 5:10, and thus points to Jesus as the one whose teaching produces righteousness in those who obey it. The redundancy of "Rejoice and be glad" underlines the coming good fortune of those who suffer such abuses undeservedly. "Your reward" defines the good fortune as deserved, in contrast with the abuses. Since the meek "will inherit the earth" (5:5), "in heaven" doesn’t mean you’ll get your reward when you go to heaven. It means, rather, that your reward is already packaged in heaven, so to speak, and only awaits delivery when the reign of heaven fully takes hold on earth. "Much" describes the reward as quite sufficient to compensate even for the saying of "every kind of evil thing against you." The similarity between the way people persecuted the Old Testament prophets and the way Jesus’ disciples are persecuted supplies the reason "your reward in heaven [is] much." You’re being persecuted no less than and no differently from those ancient prophets, and you don’t doubt that their reward is much. In fact, some of you are prophets just as they were (10:41; 23:34). All in all, compare Genesis 15:1; Isaiah 51:7; 66:5.

5:13

: "You are the salt of the earth. But if the salt is made foolish

[in the sense of losing its saltiness], with what will it be made salty?" Implication: nothing can resalt the salt. "It’s no longer strong for anything [that is, capable of doing its job], except on being thrown out to be trampled by people." "Earth" means "soil" and stands for the world of human beings (compare 5:14, 16). Behind this figure lies the ancient agricultural practice of using a light sprinkling of salt as fertilizer. So disciples in the world are like fertilizer in the soil. They’re capable of producing "fruit in keeping with repentance" (3:8), that is, "righteousness" (5:10) consisting in "good deeds" that contribute to others’ conversion (5:16). But salt can lose its saltiness through adulteration or leaching. As in the foregoing translation, the verb for losing saltiness literally means "to be made foolish." Elsewhere in Matthew a foolish person is a falsely professing disciple (5:22 [with comments]; 7:26; 25:2–3, 8 [compare 23:17 for hypocrisy]). Here, then, for salt to be made foolish is for a disciple to be proved false in his profession. Persecution has a way of bringing out such falsity. "With what will it be made salty?" means that the falsity is irreversible. "It’s no longer strong for anything" means that because of its falsity the discipleship has lost its usefulness for converting others. "Except on being thrown out to be trampled by people" stands for being thrown out of the kingdom of heaven into eternal punishment (8:12; 22:13; 25:30, 46). (People threw refuse, like useless salt, into the street, where people walked.) So the last part of this verse warns against allowing persecution to cause apostasy from discipleship, for such apostasy puts one under an irrevocable sentence of judgment.

5:14–16

: "You are the light of the world."

In other words, you disciples are like the sun, which illuminates the whole world. "A city situated on a mountaintop can’t be hidden." For easier defense, many ancient cities were built on mountaintops or, by modern standards, hilltops. ¹⁵"Neither do people light a lamp and place it under a basket [used for measuring and equivalent to almost ¼ bushel or eight quarts], but on a lampstand; and it gives lamplight to all those in the house. ¹⁶In this way your light is to give lamplight in people’s presence, so that they may see your good deeds and glorify your Father in heaven." The light of the sun is visible to all throughout the world. A city situated on a mountaintop is visible to all in the vicinity. And the light of a lamp placed on a lampstand is visible to all in the house. Despite the threat and actuality of persecution, Jesus says, you must behave as a disciple out in the open, where your discipleship is visible. No hiding it to save your neck. Your discipleship consists in doing good deeds as defined by Jesus’ teachings. Given the emphasis on mercy and neighborly love in 9:13; 12:7; 19:19; 22:39 and elsewhere, "good deeds" means especially works of charity. So the doing of good deeds is to back up the proclaiming of good news. "And glorify your Father in heaven" requires that the motive for the doing of such deeds be not for your own glory (6:1–18; 23:5) but for the glory of God the heavenly Father, whose "sons" are "the peacemakers" (5:9). But how do nondisciples who see your good deeds glorify him? By becoming disciples themselves as a result of the good deeds that back up the proclamation of good news. There comes about, then, a chain reaction of disciples’ making disciples who make even further disciples, and so on. "Of the world," "on a mountaintop," "to all those in the house," and "in this way" point forward to Jesus’ telling the disciples to go disciple "all nations" (28:19).

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Tes | Forum Activity | Replied: Thu, May 14 2015 8:34 PM

Is the book about Peter written by this Author part of this resource or it is a separate book?