The Message of 1 and 2 Thessalonians

This is my favorite commentary on Thessalonians. There is solid exegesis without being too wordy and the application to today's world is insightful. This quality puts this book at the top of the list.

Anything by John Stott has to be good. I am preaching a series through Thessalonians and have found Stott's work to be my favorite. Stott offers the meat, veggies, and potatoes. Good stuff. If you are not familiar with Stott, he is a conservative evangelical with faith in the integrity of Scripture. He seeks to interpret objectively, seeking the meaning intended by the human author and how the original recepients would have understood these letters. Although I do not necessarily agree with every single interpretation, I confidently recommend this one for pastors, Bible teachers, or serious laymen.

This is classic Stott -- scholarly aware but relentlessly pastoral. This BST is my favorite series. Stott's was the most helpful commentary I found for teaching and preaching. Also decent was Leon Morris (1991 - in the excellent NICNT series -- more technical than Stott); Leon Morris' earlier work in the shorter Tyndale series (1956); and the Ancient Christian Commentary (2000 - more novelty than practical help), vol. IX.

If you're at all familiar with Stott, you know that he is one of the finest Christian writers of the 20th century. Anything he writes is a pleasure to read in terms of sheer literary quality, perhaps even on the level of a C.S. Lewis. This commentary is no exception. As for substance, this is an excellent commentary on 1 & 2 Thessalonians. Stott's emphasis is more pastoral and practical than academic. Though he does occasionally discuss the Greek text, he does so in a way that is easily understandable by those not familiar with Greek. His insights are, well, insightful, and easily applied to the life of any Christian. I used this commentary to prepare a Sunday School lesson this summer; none of the other commentaries I consulted offered anything substantial that I did not already have from Stott.