Four Portraits One Jesus

Book Description :

To Christians worldwide, the man Jesus of Nazareth is the centerpiece of history, the object of faith, hope, and worship. Even those who do not follow him admit the vast influence of his life. For anyone interested in knowing more about Jesus, study of the four biblical Gospels is essential. Four Portraits, One Jesus is a thorough yet accessible introduction to these documents and their subject, the life and person of Jesus. Like different artists rendering the same subject using different styles and points of view, the Gospels paint four highly distinctive portraits of the same remarkable Jesus. With clarity and insight, Mark Strauss illuminates these four books, first addressing their nature, origin, methods for study, and historical, religious, and cultural backgrounds. He then moves on to closer study of each narrative and its contribution to our understanding of Jesus, investigating things such as plot, characters, and theme. Finally, he pulls it all together with a detailed examination of what the Gospels teach about Jesus’ ministry, message, death, and resurrection, with excursions into the quest for the historical Jesus and the historical reliability of the Gospels.

Book Description :

In this modern classic Richard Burridge offers an engaging introduction to the New Testament Gospels. Using the ancient visual symbols for the Gospels — human face, lion, ox, and eagle — Burridge presents a clear interpretation of each Gospel author's portrait of Jesus. This new edition contains updated suggestions for further reading and a substantial new Afterword in which Burridge reflects personally on his book's genesis, development, and positive reception over the years. Four Gospels, One Jesus? in this third edition will continue to be appreciated by teachers, students, pastors, and other readers wanting to understand Jesus more fully.

Book Description :

"This second edition incorporates the latest scholarship on the historical Jesus, a new section on how the Gospels have been read throughout history, and an expanded discussion of how to teach and preach the Gospels through the lectionary. Burridge also tackles the question of how these ancient writings bear on today's hot-button issues of unity and diversity. Four Gospels, One Jesus? will be appreciated by teachers, pastors, students, and other readers wanting to understand Jesus more fully."--BOOK JACKET.

Book Description :

Many find it difficult to take words that were written thousands of years ago and apply them to twenty-first-century life in the Western world. How do we read God's unchanging Word in a world that is increasingly defined by change? How to Read the Bible in Changing Times shows everyday Christians how to interpret and apply the Scriptures regardless of time and culture. Rather than seeing the Bible as a magic answer book, a list of commands to obey, or a series of promises to claim, this insightful book allows the Bible to retain its identity as a complex, inspired document while showing that the truth it contains is relevant and life-changing. It shows the reader how to determine the meaning of the text in its original context identify culturally relative features understand what the text teaches about God, his will, and his purposes apply the truths discovered to contemporary life situations It even shows readers how to discern God's will on the many modern issues that the Bible does not directly address.

Book Description :

To Christians worldwide, the man Jesus of Nazareth is the centerpiece of history, the object of faith, hope, and worship. Even those who do not follow him admit the vast influence of his life. For anyone interested in knowing more about Jesus, study of the four biblical Gospels is essential. An abridged edition of the bestselling textbook Four Portraits, One Jesus by Mark Strauss, this simple, easy-to-understand guide introduces the four biblical Gospels and their subject, the life and person of Jesus. Like different artists rendering the same subject using different styles and points of view, the Gospels paint four distinctive portraits of the same remarkable Jesus. With clarity and insight, Mark Strauss addresses questions that surround the study of Jesus and the Gospels. What are the Gospels - are they history, theology, biography? Where did they come from? What do we know about their context? What does each Gospel uniquely teach us about Jesus? Finally, he pulls it all together illuminating what the Gospels together teach about Jesus' ministry, message, death, and resurrection, and how do we know we can trust their witness. Including questions at the end of each chapter for group discussion or personal reflection, Introducing Jesus makes the words, history, and context of the Gospels come alive for readers.

Book Description :

To Christians worldwide, the man Jesus of Nazareth is the centerpiece of history, the object of faith, hope, and worship. Even those who do not follow him admit the vast influence of his life. For anyone interested in knowing more about Jesus, study of the four biblical Gospels is essential. The second edition of Four Portraits, One Jesus has been updated throughout to meet the needs to today's students. It is a thorough yet accessible introduction to the four biblical Gospels and their subject, the life and person of Jesus. Like different artists rendering the same subject using different styles and points of view, the Gospels paint four highly distinctive portraits of the same remarkable Jesus. With clarity and insight, Mark Strauss illuminates these four books addressing the following important areas: First he addresses the nature, origin, methods for study, and historical, religious, and cultural backgrounds of the Gospels. He then moves on to closer study of each narrative and its contribution to our understanding of Jesus, investigating things such as plot, characters, and theme. Finally, he pulls it all together with a detailed examination of what the Gospels teach about Jesus' ministry, message, death, and resurrection, with excursions into the quest for the historical Jesus and the historical reliability of the Gospels. This textbook together with its workbook, video lectures, and laminated sheet gives students everything they need for a thorough and enriching study of Jesus and the Gospels.

Book Description :

The Bible contains four Gospels which tell the story of Jesus of Nazareth. And yet, many more Gospels once existed. Who, then, determined which Gospels would, for the next two thousand years, serve as the main gateways to Jesus and his teaching? Recent books and films have traced the decision to a series of fourth-century councils and powerful bishops. After achieving victory over their rivals for the Christian name, these key players, we are now told, conspired to 'rewrite history' to make it look like their version of Christianity was the original one preached by Jesus and his apostles: the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John became the prime tools for their re-sculpting of the Christian story, leading to the destruction of previously treasured writings like the Gospels of Judas, Mary, and Thomas. Are the four canonical Gospels, then, in the Bible as the result of a great, ecclesiastical conspiracy? Or does this explanation itself represent another 'rewriting of history', this time by a group of modern academics? Who Chose the Gospels? takes us to the scholarship behind the headlines, examining the great (and ongoing) controversy about how to look at ancient books about Jesus. How the four Biblical Gospels emerged into prominence among their competitors is a crucial question for everyone interested in understanding the historical Jesus and the development of the Christian church.

Book Description :

The Jesus everybody likes, says Mark Strauss, is not the Jesus found in the Gospels. He preached about hell far more than the apostle Paul. He told his followers to hate their families. Not one of his twelve apostles was a woman. When we unpack these puzzling paradoxes and more, we gain greater insight into Jesus' countercultural message and mission.

Book Description :

Updated Edition of a Bestselling Study of Jesus and the Gospels In this work Darrell Bock, a leading evangelical New Testament scholar who speaks and teaches around the world, and Benjamin Simpson show that a coherent portrait of Jesus emerges from the four Gospels when they are taken seriously as historical documents. When read together, the Gospels provide a clear picture of Jesus and his unique claims to authority. This book surveys all the Gospel units and relates them to their parallel passages, showing how the literary and canonical relationships work. Offering up-to-date interaction with the latest discussions about Jesus, the second edition has been substantially revised and updated throughout and includes three new chapters on how we got the Gospels.

Book Description :

Edited by Joel B. Green, Scot McKnight and I. Howard Marshall, this reference work encompasses everything relating to Jesus and the Gospels.

Book Description :

This groundbreaking approach to the study of the fourfold gospel offers a challenging alternative to prevailing assumptions about the creation of the gospels and their portraits of Jesus. How and why does it matter that we have these four gospels? Why were they placed alongside one another as four parallel yet diverse retellings of the same story? Francis Watson, widely regarded as one of the foremost New Testament scholars of our time, explains that the four gospels were chosen to give a portrait of Jesus. He explores the significance of the fourfold gospel's plural form for those who constructed it and for later Christian communities, showing that in its plurality it bears definitive witness to what God has done in Jesus Christ. Watson focuses on reading the gospels as a group rather than in isolation and explains that the fourfold gospel is greater than, and other than, the sum of its individual parts. Interweaving historical, exegetical, and theological perspectives, this book is accessibly written for students and pastors but is also of interest to professors and scholars.

Book Description :

The nature of Lukan christology has been much debated in recent years, with scholars claiming the pre-eminence of such categories as Lord, Prophet, Christ, or Isaianic Servant. In the present work the author examines one major theme within Luke's christology, that of the coming king from the line of David. A study of the Lukan birth narrative and the speeches in Acts reveals that Luke shows a strong interest in this royal-messianic theme, introducing it into passages which are introductory and programmatic for his christology as a sermon, portraying Jesus in strongly prophetic terms. The author seeks a synthesis of these seemingly conflicting royal and prophetic portraits in Luke's interpretation of the Old Testament book of Isaiah. When Isaiah is read as a unity, the eschatological deliverer is at the same time Davidic king (Isa. 9.11), suffering servant of Yahweh (Isa. 42-53), and prophet herald of salvation (Isa. 61), leading God's people on an eschatological new exodus. On the basis of this synthesis the christology of Luke-Acts is seen to be both consistent and unified, forming an integral part of Luke's wider purpose in his two-volume work.

Book Description :

This textbook on how to read the Gospels well can stand on its own as a guide to reading this New Testament genre as Scripture. It is also ideally suited to serve as a supplemental text to more conventional textbooks that discuss each Gospel systematically. Most textbooks tend to introduce students to historical-critical concerns but may be less adequate for showing how the Gospel narratives, read as Scripture within the canonical framework of the entire New Testament and the whole Bible, yield material for theological reflection and moral edification. Pennington neither dismisses nor duplicates the results of current historical-critical work on the Gospels as historical sources. Rather, he offers critically aware and hermeneutically intelligent instruction in reading the Gospels in order to hear their witness to Christ in a way that supports Christian application and proclamation.

Book Description :

At your fingertips: the most vital information you need for reading and truly understanding the Bible. The Essential Bible Companion is a unique, easy-to-use reference guide that gives you clear, crisp insights into the Bible, book by book. Developed by two world-class Bible scholars and the creator of The Bible in 90 Days curriculum, this compact reference tool visually lays out the key details for each book of the Bible, including: Essential background information, such as the underlying purpose, the key terms and concepts, and the key teachings about God in that book. An easy-to-reference timeline of the book with callouts for notable events. Important people to know. Key verses, maps, and historical introductions. Between the brief introductions you might find in a study Bible and the overwhelming amount of detail in an exhaustive reference handbook or commentary, The Essential Bible Companion strikes the perfect balance of manageable information that doesn't distract or detract from Scripture itself. This richly informative volume will assist you on your journey toward a well-grounded biblical faith.

Book Description :

A personal portrayal of the one who launched the path followed by billions over the course of two millennia, this book is a biography of Jesus that also contains reflections on theology, discipleship and prayer.

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If asked how Matthew’s Gospel differs from Luke’s, or what aspects of Jesus’ personhood and ministry the Gospel of Mark focuses on compared to those of John, how would you answer? In Discovering Jesus, T. D. Alexander sets out to help readers understand how each Gospel account is uniquely written and why all four are important for having a rich picture of the person of Jesus Christ. Alexander guides readers to see how the Gospels display Jesus as the Son of David who establishes the kingdom of God, the Son of God who suffers to ransom others, the Savior of the world who seeks the lost, and the Lamb of God who brings eternal life through a new exodus. Each chapter ends with discussion questions for individual or group study.

Book Description :

For some of us, the apostle Paul is intimidating, prickly, and unpredictable. But maybe it's time to get to know Paul on his own terms. Drawing on the best of contemporary scholarship, and with language shaped by conversations with today's students, this expanded edition of Rediscovering Paul gives fresh consideration to Paul’s conversion, call, and his ongoing impact on church and culture.

Book Description :

The earliest of the four Gospels, the book portrays Jesus as an enigmatic figure, struggling with enemies, his inner and external demons, and with his devoted but disconcerted disciples. Unlike other gospels, his parables are obscure, to be explained secretly to his followers. With an introduction by Nick Cave

Book Description :

Popular writer and teacher Jeannine Brown shows how a narrative approach illuminates each of the Gospels, helping readers see the overarching stories. This book offers a corrective to tendencies to read the Gospels piecemeal, one story at a time. It is filled with numerous examples and visual aids that show how narrative criticism brings the text to life, making it an ideal supplementary textbook for courses on the Gospels. Readers will gain hands-on tools and perspectives to interpret the Gospels as whole stories.

Book Description :

With so many Bible translations available today, how can you find those that will be most useful to you? What is the difference between a translation that calls itself “literal” and one that is more “meaning-based”? And what difference does it make for you as a reader of God’s Word? How to Choose a Translation for All Its Worth brings clarity and insight to the current debate over translations and translation theories. Written by two seasoned Bible translators, here is an authoritative guide through the maze of translations issues, written in language that everyday Bible readers can understand. Learn the truth about both the word-for-word and meaning-for-meaning translations approaches. Find out what goes into the whole process of translation, and what makes a translation accurate and reliable. Discover the strengths and potential weaknesses of different contemporary English Bible versions. In the midst of the present confusion over translations, this authoritative book speaks with an objective, fair-minded, and reassuring voice to help pastors, everyday Bible readers, and students make wise, well-informed choices about which Bible translations they can depend on and which will best meet their needs.