John is the most personal of the four gospels. John's account is
generally agreed to be the last one written, so he had the advantage of
seeing how the other gospels were received in the early church. He then
could reemphasize what the Holy Spirit viewed as most important. In Dr.
Laney's phrase, what we have in John's book is the "Gospel
of Belief."In this gospel we have the record of the conflict
between belief and unbelief due to Jesus' claim to messiahship.
Belief in Christ leads to life; unbelief leads to darkness and death.
The purpose of John's gospel is to persuade the reader to believe.
Laney performs two equally important tasks in his commentary, which is
part of the Moody Gospel Commentary series. He writes as a scholar who
must be engaged in all the textual and critical issues. But in his
heart, Laney is a preacher who must distill this scholarship into
practical application for the layman. Working from overall chapter
outlines, Laney takes the reader versebyverse through the text, ensuring
interpretive continuity. But he also highlights how belief in Christ
unfolded as His ministry developed. Laney arranges his commentary into
homiletical sections that can easily be taught or preached, a helpful
guide for teachers and pastors that is rarely found in commentaries. He
also includes at crucial points a number of questions that hook the
reader into deeper study. The book ends with selected bibliography of
other works to use in further study.