Spurgeon commented 'The sermons are priceless.'

    

    The author's attention is concentrated on the political, social and religious factors in this period.Beginning with the period in which Judea was under Persian rule, from which much of the religion and cultural heritage of Judaism derives, the author goes on to describe the process of hellenization that occurred after the conquest of Alexander the Great when Persian rule came to an end.The major portion of the book is devoted to the New Testament era proper, when Palestine was under Roman domination. Finally, the author traces the events which led to the ultimate divorce of Christianity and Judaism.

    The NICNT authors evaluate significant textual problems and take into account the most important exegetical literature. More technical aspects--such as grammatical, textual, and historical problems--are dealt with in footnotes, special notes, and appendixes.