Full Description
Jesus of Nazareth and the four New Testament gospels continue to fascinate people from many cultural and religious backgrounds. Who was Jesus? Are Christian claims about him supported by solid historical evidence? How reliable are the evangelists' portraits of Jesus which were written some 50 years after the crucifixion? These questions can be explored only on the basis of a sound grasp of the intentions and methods of the four evangelists. This study examines the distinctive emphases of all four evangelists, discusses briefly the apocryphal gospels, and deals with the methods of assessing evidence which describes Jesus' teaching, his intentions and the reasons for his downfall.
Contents
PART I: The Four Gospels: From the Gospels to Jesus; What is a Gospel?; Mark's Gospel: The way of Jesus; Matthew's Gospel: The way of righteousness; Luke's Gospel: God's way triumphs; John's Gospel: 'I am the way'; Why four Gospels?; PART II: Jesus in Gospel Tradition: What do we know about Jesus of Nazareth?; Assessing the evidence; John the Baptist; Prophet and Teacher; The Kingdom of God; Parables and miracles; Messiah, Son of God, Son of Man; Conflict; The last days; Who was Jesus of Nazareth?; Indices; Key passages discussed
