8 Important Forthcoming New Testament Studies Books (2021)

Those of you who know me, know that I drool over the book catalogs of forthcoming books. Publisher catalogs are like movie trailers for academics. These are some of the books I can’t wait to read and talk about in 2021.

N.T. Wright, Galatians, Commentaries for Christian Formation (Eerdmans): May 2021

 Nijay’s Notes:

You know who Wright is. This is bound to be a great commentary, worthy of buying for your reference shelf, of course, but I would bet Mike Bird’s right arm that this would be worth reading cover to cover. By the way, this is the launch volume for a new commentary series from Eerdmans that is focused on Christian formation. Wright has written a few academic commentaries before (Romans, Colossians), so I have high expectations. 

Luke Timothy Johnson, Interpreting Paul (Eerdmans): May 2021.

 Nijay’s Notes:

This is a planned sequel to his 2020 book Constructing Paul. I really enjoyed the agenda-setting first book, so I am enthused about this second volume. As far as I understand, Johnson will work through each of Paul’s letters giving his approach and interpretation (aside from Philemon, already treated in the first volume).

Rebekah Eklund, The Beatitudes Through the Ages (Eerdmans): April 2021

 Nijay’s Notes:

As the title suggests, Eklund will examine the reception of the famous Matthean Beatitudes. She is a highly capable Gospels scholar, so I have no doubt this will become a go-to study on one of the most famous sections of the New Testament.

Timothy Gombis, Power in Weakness: Paul’s Transformed Vision for Ministry (Eerdmans): February 2021

Nijay’s Notes:

This is a very short, but powerful study of Paul’s theology of ministry and ministry ethos. Not only does Gombis exposit key Pauline passages related to service and ministry, but he also weaves in numerous real-world case studies. This would be an excellent group-study text for a pastoral leadership team.

Here is my official endorsement: “Most of the books I have read on pastoral leadership suffer from a fatal flaw. They try to ‘use’ Scripture to help pastors ‘succeed.’ But success is often connected to church size, money, power, and popularity. These kinds of books are misguided because they try to squeeze biblical material to fit into a worldly mold. Gombis subverts that approach by demonstrating the cruciform spirit of Paul’s ministry. Power in Weakness blends biblical insight with numerous case studies in real-life ministry today. This is not only one of the best ministry books I have read but an incisive study of Paul’s theology as well.”

F. Scott Spencer: Passions of the Christ: The Emotional Life of Jesus in the Gospels (Baker Academic): March 2021

Nijay’s Notes:
I really don’t know much about this book, but I like the work of Spencer and he certainly knows his way around the Gospels. The study of emotions in the Bible is a rapidly growing field of scholarship. Eager to see Spencer’s approach.

Dorothy A. Lee, The Ministry of Women in the New Testament
by Dorothy A. Lee

Nijay’s Notes:

I’ve read this book in a pre-pub form, it is a great overview, as the title says, of the ministry of women as found in the New Testament. This is a good place for beginners who might be engaging with this topic for the first time or just entering into theological education for ministry training.

Here is my official endorsement: “Dorothy Lee offers a fresh review of the relevant New Testament texts related to women and ministry. Lee looks at women not only in the Gospels and in Paul’s letters but also in important passages in Acts, the Catholic Epistles, and Revelation, and she includes reflections on early Christian tradition and systematic theology. Newcomers to this conversation will find this book a great place to begin. Others will benefit from her discussions of the latest scholarship. Lee makes a well-rounded and compelling case for women in ministry.”

Stephen C. Barton and Todd Brewer, ed. The Cambridge Companion to the Gospels. Second Edition. (Cambridge University Press): February 2021.

 Nijay’s Notes:

I benefited immensely from the first edition of the CCG (edited by Barton) when I was in seminary. I was better acquainted with Pauline scholarship than that of the Gospels, so this was an up-to-date resource that was relatively concise. Looking forward to “topping up” on Gospels scholarship again with this second edition. NB: The (very first) Cambridge Companion to the New Testament is also being published in 2021, a completely separate volume with different contributors. Big year for the Cambridge Companions! 

Brittany E. Wilson, The Embodied God: Seeing the Divine in Luke-Acts and Early Christianity (Oxford University Press): April 2021.

Wilson is a highly-respected Luke-Acts scholar (Duke Divinity School). I don’t know much about this book, but I am interested in this topic and it should shed light on Luke’s Christology.