The New Testament in Color

The old New Bible Commentary was the standard 1 volume commentary set. The New Testament in Color may be this generations NBC for the NT. The scholars in both works are respected by their peers and pastors go to their shelves for to reference what they have to say. It's hard to put into words the impact the The New Testament in Color will have. Yes there are different ethnicities purposefully included here but the academic rigor cannot be downplayed. God is showing he can work with his whole church around the globe as Rev 7:9 states there was a vast multitude from every nation, tribe, people, and language, which no one could number, standing before the throne and before the Lamb. God has chosen a people with a range of color. For the new believer, pastor, or longtime pew sitter this will open your eyes to God's color pallet in painting his story of redemption.
A sampling of the authors include:
First Letter to the Corinthians-Gene L. Green
Letter to the Galatians-Eric C. Redmond
Letter to the Ephesians-Esau D. McCaulley
Letter to the Colossians-Dennis R. Edwards
Pastoral Letters-Osvaldo Padilla
Letter to the Hebrews-Madison N. Pierce

The New Testament in Color is an extensive one-volume commentary that focuses on the voices of people of color and how their experience and tradition informs their interpretation of Scripture. Some might look at this commentary and say that it is a resource for seminarians, academia, or people in multicultural ministry. I would caution against such an assumption. The reality is that this commentary was a necessary addition to the range of commentaries already published because the vast majority of biblical commentaries have come from male, white, European or American contexts or contributors. By utilizing this commentary in preparation for sermons or study in majority white churches or institutions, it is providing the reader with the opportunity to consider a perspective different from there own. God cannot be confined to one culture and by bringing together multiple voices, it then expands and enriches the interpretation of Scripture for study and proclamation.

The way that this commentary is structured is first with introductions to the interpretive traditions of African Americans, Asian Americans, Hispanics, Turtle Island, and Majority-Culture. Then for each book of the New Testament it gives an introduction to the book, context of the contributor, author/date, genre, setting, and critical issues. It then gives a passage-by-passage commentary (i.e Acts: 1:6-11) with asides on things like Pharisees, Sadducees, and leprosy. In addition, it includes important chapters on wider themes such as Gender in the New Testament and Immigrants in the Kingdom of God.

This commentary belongs on the shelf of every pastor and scholar in the United States, if not on an even larger scale. It is comprehensive, well-written, well-researched, and eye-opening. I recommend without reservation.

Thank you IVP Academic and NetGalley for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review. All opinions expressed in this review are my own.

This collection of essays that feature academics and theologians of colour offers diverse perspective and historical understanding of various racialized groups and their history within the Christian faith. I appreciated the context provided by each author. Additionally, as a person that is not in seminary, and is merely interested in learning more about theology, the writing in the book was extremely high quality and accessible. This book has given me many new ways to consider and read the Bible in its full context and to learn about how the New Testament resonates with POCs.

Perhaps you’ve read a familiar scripture verse or passage and had it mean something new to you—because you’re in a new stage in life like dating, marriage, divorce, widow-hood, being a child of a parent and now a parent, early career versus late career or retirement, migration from rural to urban or vice versa. Similarly, if you have a different familial history or geographic origin than the majority culture, the scripture passages might appear differently to you. Thus we can learn much from the contributors to the “New Testament in Color.” They provide a commentary on each of the books of the New Testament (Greek scriptures) as well as several other essays. The introduction to the Gospel of Mark is worth the price of the whole book. They do not exegete each verse but provide a minority perspective on the theme(s) of a passage throughout the book(s). We get to read insights from Black (African American), Asian American, First Nation, Hispanic (Latino/a), minority female scholars and more.

They acknowledge that they are approaching this as North American residents, some from many generations on the margin, sometimes 2nd generation immigrants or transplants from another country. Thus, their perspective is somewhat limited by the time lapse from their family’s original culture. Still these commentaries are scholarly, personal and insightful. For example, though outside the scope of this work, one contributor illuminates the coldness of First Nations people to embrace easily the Israelites crossing the Jordan—as perhaps an act of colonization—to displace the current inhabitants of Canaan.

There were a few places I thought a more non-European perspective could be expressed but wasn’t: the jailer’s household being baptized because of the patriarch’s experience with Paul and Silas; the silent conflict of Philip (one of the original apostles) warning Paul on his return to Jerusalem because Paul is ignoring the elders of the community; the provoking of anger perhaps when Jesus praises the centurion’s faith over his own disciples’, the crowd’s, his mother Mary’s and the baptized John’s. And there were a few where better insights are given. Such as Peter’s vision in Acts 10 and being told to eat unclean food just before being summoned to a Roman centurion’s household: most interpreters focus purely on the cultural challenge—one Peter has already faced—while this book’s interpreter here focuses on the socioeconomic power clash between Peter, a poor Jew, and Cornelius. Like the power conflict between an urban Black and White metro law enforcement officer, who’s been taught that blacks are criminals and it may be the only portion of that group they’ve interacted with. Both would be totally unfamiliar with each other except as powerful/powerless, oppressive/rebellious stereotypes.. The centurion would have been educated that the Israelites were kicked out of Egypt so many generations ago so that their diseases (aka the plagues) wouldn’t contaminate the Egyptian populace. The centurion then wouldn’t have wanted to engage much with the “slum-dwelling” Jewish inhabitants, and yet kneels contritely before Peter.

If you’ve never been challenged to ask different questions when you read scripture—like you haven’t read this book or “Misreading Scripture Through Western Eyes”—then you really need to pick up this commentary.

I’m thankful for the publisher allowing me to see an early copy.

Description
Historically, Bible commentaries have focused on the particular concerns of a limited segment of the church, all too often missing fresh questions and perspectives that are fruitful for biblical interpretation. Listening to scholars from diverse backgrounds and ethnicities offers us an opportunity to explore the Bible from a wider angle, a better vantage point.

The New Testament in Color is a one-volume commentary on the New Testament written by a multiethnic team of scholars holding orthodox Christian beliefs. Each scholar brings exegetical expertise coupled with a unique interpretive lens to illuminate the ways social location and biblical interpretation work together. Theologically orthodox and multiethnically contextual, The New Testament in Color fills a gap in biblical understanding for both the academy and the church. Who we are and where God placed us—it's all useful for better understanding his Word.

My Take:
This a great resource for people who have the bible on their syllabi or pastor multi-ethnic Christian spaces. As a Black woman who attended many Christian schools, I always wondered where "I" was in the bible. This resource begins to answer this question and illuminates pathways for discussion and future research.