The expositors Bible commentary has been recognized as one of the leading Commentary series for the past quarter-century. Having started in 1978 and completed in 1992 is Commentary series was in sore need of a revised updated Edition. Therefore in 2008 the expositors Bible commentary begin its revised Edition of all of its 13 volumes of commentary. Completed in 2012 this Commentary series included updated commentaries of almost every book included in the previous version as well as fleshing out a previous commentaries as well.

The best updated version in this Commentary series is that of the commentary on the books of Mathew (D.A. Carson) and Mark (Walter W. Wessel and Mark L. Strauss [Update of Wessel]). Weighing in at just under 1000 Pages each book gets a mid-level commentary treatment, yet each individual commentary has invaluable exegesis that most pastors will greatly appreciate.

This book touted as one of the best volumes in the series. Each passage is thoroughly treated looking not only at the Hebrew text but dealing with critical questions, exegetical points, and practical application. This commentary truly is for both the pastor and Scholar. Furthermore it is not inaccessible to the Layman who desires to get a thorough treatment of this section of Holy Scripture for their understanding. I highly recommend this commentary as the first pick of any Pastor for a series on the books of Matthew and Mark as well as to the scholar who is looking to write a paper on a specific theme or passage in these books. You can truly not go wrong with this superb commentary.

With that said are a few issues I have with the commentary on Matthew. Carsons commentary on the book of Matthew is phenomenal and the issue is not of the content itself, rather, as the name implies (ECBR), I expected a reversion or at least an expansion of the commentary rather, the expansion can only be seen in the enlarged bibliography.

This book was provided to me free of charge from Zondervan Academic in exchange for an unbiased, honest review.

Volume 9 of the Expositors Bible Commentary (revised edition) covers only the Gospels of Matthew and Mark. Fortunately, that means that Matthew, one of the most important books of the Bible, gets a great deal of extra space in the series. D.A. Carson, one of the most respected scholars of our day, handles Matthew in this volume. It seems to me that Carsons Matthew is the most heralded volume in either the old set, or this new revised series of the Expositors Bible Commentary.

Although the rewrite was not substantial, Carsons Matthew still holds its place among the commentaries on Matthew available today. Carson wrote a substantial Introduction. He begins discussing the criticism of Matthew, or in other words, how critical scholars have debated the book of Matthew. Considering Carsons reputation in conservative circles, his credence of the opinion of some of the more critical scholars is somewhat surprising. Still, his work is outstanding. He addresses history and theology, as well as the synoptic problem, and again entertains more than I could. In any event, I can hardly imagine a better overview. When he discusses authorship, he is tentatively agreeable to the historic position of Matthew being the author. On subjects like occasion, purpose, and structure, he begs for restraint. His discussion of themes and special problems was well done. While the text of the Introduction was not altered greatly from the original volume, I noticed the footnotes and bibliography were updated a great deal.

The commentary on Matthew would just what youd expect from Carson detailed, careful, cautious, thoughtful, and with skilled scholarship. He is occasionally harsh, but this is one of the most important commentaries on the Gospel of Matthew available today.

The Gospel of Mark received a more substantial rewrite. The work of the late Walter Wessel, much appreciated by pastors in the old set, was thoroughly updated by scholar Mark Strauss. The Introduction was also updated a great deal, I noticed, when I laid the old and new volumes side by side. The upgrade was a success. The new work covers in its Introduction the place of Marks gospel in biblical studies, genre, authorship, origin and destination, date, occasion and purpose, literary features, and ends with a bibliography and outline. The commentary itself was also effectively updated.

The 2-for-1 nature of this volume, along with the fact that the Matthew portion is considered one of the premier commentaries on Matthew, means you cant go wrong in adding this book to your library. Its a good deal and I highly recommend it.

I received this book free from the publisher. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commissions 16 CFR, Part 255.