A Bible commentary can often help you see things in scripture that you may have otherwise missed. A commentary can allow you to view Bible passages from a different point of view and to understand the Word of God more fully. This can be especially helpful to anyone who is seeking to read the whole Bible or anyone leading or teaching a group Bible study.
However, on many occasions, I have found myself disappointed and discouraged when attempting to read Bible commentaries because they are so often very scholarly and dry. Sometimes I can’t read more than a paragraph or two before I find myself giving up.
Bible commentaries are typically packed with extensive footnotes, historical analyses, and lengthy explanations of Greek or Hebrew terms, these works can feel more like dense academic textbooks than accessible guides to Scripture. Authors like *Raymond E Brown have spent 100 pages discussing preliminaries and background materials before even touching a single verse of scripture. Scholars tend to focus on parsing each verse meticulously, discussing various theological perspectives, and addressing the nuances of ancient manuscripts, which can make the text heavy and slow to read. This academic approach, while thorough, and valuable for some, can often disconnect the average Bible reader from everyday application and spiritual insight into God’s word.
For people looking to simply understand the Bible more easily, to build and cement their faith more readily, and to find more easily the practical applications conveyed to us through scripture, I’ve decided to take this effort to tackle the entire New Testament in a simple, observational type of commentary with the goal of making scripture more engageable for new Christians and those who may be less inclined to perform exhaustive studies.
I’m creating this New Testament Bible commentary for the benefit of the average Christian who’s not necessarily interested in studying Greek or Hebrew, and does not find appealing a word by word study of scripture; (no exaggeration: I once sat through a 45 minute sermon in which the pastor preached the entire message on what the first word of a particular passage meant.)
Goals
My goal, on the other hand, is to present the Bible from a broader perspective, offering a high-level view that captures the overarching themes and messages. I’m writing this commentary, chapter by chapter, and have a few simple goals for each commentary I write.
1. What stands out to me when I read the chapter?
2. How can I strengthen my faith in Jesus after reading this chapter?
3. What practical applications can I apply to my life after reading this chapter?
4. Let the Bible interpret the Bible. When I read the text, what other Biblical passages pop into my mind? (John 14:26, The Holy Spirit will remind you of everything Jesus said).
Please note that the decision to make this only a New Testament Bible Commentary is based solely upon the self-assessment of my personal ability to tackle such a large project. The New Testament contains 260 chapters. Publishing a chapter commentary once per week will require 260 weeks to complete the New Testament. 260 weeks equals 5 years of work to complete this project.
The Old Testament, while equally valuable, contains 929 chapters. Writing a weekly chapter by chapter commentary of the Old Testament would require an additional 17 years to complete.
I want to make it absolutely clear to the reading audience that I am in no way dismissing or minimizing the value of the Old Testament. I encourage all Christians to read the entirety of God’s Word. However, I quite simply, am not likely up to the massive task of performing a chapter by chapter commentary on both the Old and New Testaments.
I tip my hat to those who have done so before me, as well as to those who will endeavor to do so in the future.
It’s my intention that the information on this website be completely free. However, it will require thousands of hours of my time to produce. Therefore, if any reader would like to make a donation, it would be greatly appreciated. I serve as your ox (1 Timothy 5:18), and request politely that you consider feeding your ox.
Other Formats
For those who prefer to digest information by means other than the reading of lengthy text, I’m also creating a video version of this content on the platform YouTube. And for those who would prefer to listen to this content in an audio format, I record myself reading each commentary and publish said commentaries as an audio Podcast. In all circumstances, you should be able to search for my name “Gary Eugene Howell” on your preferred platform in order to find video, audio or text of these commentaries.
Gary Eugene Howell uses the Berean Standard Bible (BSB)
Throughout these commentaries, I use the Berean Standard Bible (BSB) which is also featured digitally on Bible Hub
One of the reasons I’m drawn to the BSB is its clear and readable style, which makes it accessible to a wide range of readers. In my commentaries and topical studies, I aim to make the Bible approachable for everyone, from seasoned believers to those who are just beginning their spiritual journey. The BSB’s commitment to maintaining a balance between literal accuracy and readability aligns well with my mission to help this audience understand the Bible without oversimplifying or distorting its meaning.
The Holy Bible, Berean Standard Bible, BSB is produced in cooperation with Bible Hub, Discovery Bible, OpenBible.com, and the Berean Bible Translation Committee. This text of God’s Word has been dedicated to the public domain as of April 30, 2023.
*It’s not my intent to criticize Raymond E. Brown, I’m sure that people have found his work very valuable.