What if you know the writer of the book you’re reading, and he’s a jerk?
Some folks have offered some recommendations for biblical commentaries on the Book of Hebrews, suggestions I appreciate. I pondered as I read them why I favor one commentary on the Book over the others: that of William Lane. Lane wrote a two-volume set for the Word Biblical Commentary series that is impressive. Still, I prefer his popular level, more devotional work, Call to Commitment.
Most of the reasons for this are related to the quality of the work, but not all of them. Much of it has to do with Lane himself. I never met him, and don’t know much about him personally. But I have read and heard first-hand of the way he discipled men I respect greatly, such as singer/songwriter Michael Card and Hebrews scholar George Guthrie.
In this line of work, one tends to know many of the evangelical (and other) scholars who write much of the theological and biblical studies work in the field. This guild is awfully small. It is easy to see at conferences and society meetings brilliant scholars who are consumed by vanity, lovelessness, rivalry, fits of rage, envy, or factiousness.
That’s actually good for me. It helps me to remember that I am an even greater sinner and the writer of the commentary or article or systematic theology or blogpost I’m reading is a sinner for whom Christ died. I believe, after all, in total depravity and so shouldn’t be surprised by such things in others, though I should be horrified by them in myself.
Still, it is a rare providence to read a commentary by a man his own disciples still revere, because he washed their feet, gave his time and energy away to them, and pointed them to Christ. At least that’s the testimony of Lane recorded in, among other places, Card’s reflections on Lane in his book, The Walk. Whether or not Bill Lane lived up to the honor given him by his students, we should all pray that we would.
It is much the same when I am reading a Pauline theology or commentary on Romans by my favorite living New Testament scholar, Tom Schreiner, my next-door neighbor, while watching him across the way pruning flowers in his backyard. I didn’t know Bill Lane, but I see Tom Schreiner everday. His peace, joy, love, kindness, gentleness, and self-control might not cause him to conjugate Greek verbs any quicker. But these virtues point to a reflection on the Scripture that will lead to a body of work that is more than wood, hay, and stubble.
They also remind me, as I read, that I believe in more than just total depravity. I believe in the Holy Spirit.
