The Four covers everything from running themes within each book to more technical issues like the "synoptic problem." Written for high school students and beyond, this book includes review and thought questions throughout each chapter, as well as a bibliography and scripture index.

    But this is much more than a discussion of the order in which the gospels were written. Using both internal data from the gospels themselves and an exhaustive and careful examination of the statements of the early church fathers, Dr. Black places each gospel in the context of the early development of Christianity. Though Markan priority is the dominant position still in Biblical scholarship, Dr. Black argues that this position is not based on the best evidence available, that the internal evidence is often given more weight than it deserves and alternative explanations are dismissed or ignored. If you would like an outline of the basis for accepting both early authorship of the gospels and the priority of Matthew, this book is for you.

    Helps people read the Bible as a whole; and even when the whole is narrowed to whole books, helps readers to see how each book fits into the grand Story of the Bible.

    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.

    Robin Routledge's Old Testament Theology is gauged to meet the needs of readers who want to dine on the meat of Old Testament theology but do not have time to linger over hors d'oeuvres and dessert. And his thematic approach makes it easy for selective readers to find what they need. Routledge provides a substantial overview of the central issues and themes in Old Testament theology. In a style that is clear, concise and nuanced, Routledge examines the theological significance of the various texts within their wider canonical context, noting unity and coherence while showing awareness of diversity. Readers looking for a substantial overview of the central issues and themes in Old Testament theology will find that in the main body of the text, and those with more specific interests will find more detailed discussion and references to further reading in the numerous and expansive footnotes.

    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.

    Wright reveals how we have been misreading the Gospels for centuries, powerfully restoring the lost central story of the Scripture: that the coronation of God through the acts of Jesus was the climax of human history. Wright fills the gaps that centuries of misdirection have opened up in our collective spiritual story, tracing a narrative from Eden, to Jesus, to today. Wright’s powerful re-reading of the Gospels helps us re-align the focus of our spiritual beliefs, which have for too long been focused on the afterlife. Instead, the forgotten story of the Gospels reveals why we should understand that our real charge is to sustain and cooperating with God's kingdom here and now. Echoing the triumphs of Simply Christian and The Meaning of Jesus, Wright’s How God Became King is required reading for any Christian searching to understand their mission in the world today.

    Naturally, these interpretations all contradict each other which leads many believers to decide that efforts to understand it are a waste of time.In fact, however, Revelation is not all that difficult to interpret. It completes the history begun in the book of Acts, and is closely tied to everything else that is going on in the apostolic age. It deals with the end of the Old Creation and the full arrival of the New, and then looks forward to the final return of Jesus and the bodily resurrection at the end of history.

    Wiersbe feels Matthew wanted to convey to us about Jesus Christ and His ministry.

    Klyne Snodgrass explores in vivid detail the context in which these stories were told, the purpose they had in Jesus' message, and the ways they have been interpreted by the church and modern scholarship. While holding a consciously evangelical approach, Snodgrass deals throughout with a broad spectrum of opinions and interpretations. He begins by surveying the primary issues in parables interpretation. Offering both a new, more functional classification system for Jesus' parables and guidelines for interpreting them, he provides an overview of other parables -- often neglected in the discussion -- from the Old Testament, Jewish writings, and the Greco-Roman world. The remaining chapters group the longer and more important parables of Jesus thematically and give a comprehensive treatment of each, including background and significance for today.

    KOstenberger's new commentary on the Gospel of John draws on extensive research and engages the best of contemporary scholarship, yet provides a readable study that will be beneficial to students, pastors, and scholars.After considering the historical context of the letter as well as its relation to other New Testament writings, KOstenberger turns to his exegetical work. An introduction to each exegetical unit is provided along with the author's own translation of the Greek text. In the course of his verse-by-verse comments, KOstenberger incorporates references to other ancient writings that help explain the book's theological, cultural, and social context. Where appropriate, he draws upon the work of other commentators and provides extensive notes for further reading and research.

    It introduces the Gospel of Mark as a unified composition, laying bare the narrative thread as well as the basic motifs. It is marked throughout by clarity, freshness, and a lively style.

    A. Carson in one: his popular The Sermon on the Mount, which has been in print for over twenty years, and When Jesus Confronts the World. Carson offers a thorough explanation of the teaching of Jesus in Matthew 510. Bible teachers in church and parachurch groups, thoughtful Christians who want more than surface devotionals, and pastors who preach on Matthew 510 will benefit from this book. The Sermon on the Mount and When Jesus Confronts the World were both published in 1978.

    This book makes a plea for us to recover the old gospel as that which is still new and still fresh. The book stands on four arguments: that the gospel is defined by the apostles in 1 Corinthians 15 as the completion of the Story of Israel in the saving Story of Jesus; that the gospel is found in the Four Gospels; that the gospel was preached by Jesus; and that the sermons in the Book of Acts are the best example of gospeling in the New Testament. The King Jesus Gospel ends with practical suggestions about evangelism and about building a gospel culture.

    In the more than eight decades since Hastings our understanding of Jesus, the Evangelists and their world has grown remarkably. New interpretive methods have illumined the text, the ever-changing profile of modern culture has put new questions to the Gospels, and our understanding of the Judaism of Jesus' day has advanced in ways that could not have been predicted in Hasting's day. But for many readers of the Gospels the new outlook on the Gospels remains hidden within technical journals and academic monographs. The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels bridges the gap between scholars and those pastors, teachers, students and lay people desiring in-depth treatment of select topics in an accessible and summary format. The topics range from cross-sectional themes (such as faith, law, Sabbath) to methods of interpretation (such as form criticism, redaction criticism, and death of Jesus) to each of the four Gospels as a whole. Some articles--such as the Dead Sea Scrolls, rabbinic traditions and revolutionary movements at the time of Jesus--provide significant background information to the Gospels. Others reflect recent and less familiar issues in Jesus and Gospel studies, such as divine man, ancient rhetoric and the chreiai (aphorisms). Contemporary concerns of general interest are discussed in articles covering such topics as healing, the demonic and the historical reliability of the Gospels. And for those entrusted with communicating the message of the Gospels, there is an extensive article on preaching from the Gospels. TheDictionary of Jesus and the Gospels presents the fruit of evangelical New Testament scholarship at the end of the twentieth century--committed to the authority of Scripture, utilizing the best of critical methods, and maintaining dialog with contemporary scholarship and challenges facing the church.