How often have you heard the Gospel at Sunday Mass and wondered, "What happens next?" Often, our only experience of the Gospels is of those isolated segments taken out of context, like unassembled pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, rather than the story of our Savior's life. The Life of Jesus Christ: Understanding the Story of the Gospels aims to change that experience. Author Russell Shaw weaves together the events of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John's narratives in chronological order to capture a true and rounded picture of Jesus’ life. The Life of Jesus Christ is the scriptural companion you've been searching for. Together, the four Gospels reveal Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, as a man of complexity and depth — compassionate but stern, who knew how to laugh and how to cry, a charismatic leader uninterested in worldly power, a subtle thinker who drew sublime messages from ordinary life. With Shaw guiding you, you'll truly get to know the Son of God in a new way. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Russell Shaw is an author and journalist who has written more than twenty books. For eighteen years, he was secretary for public affairs for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/United States Catholic Conference. He later oversaw media relations for the Knights of Columbus for ten years.

Jesus Christ is arguably the most famous man who ever lived. His image adorns countless churches, icons, and paintings. He is the subject of millions of statues, sculptures, devotional objects and works of art. Everyone can conjure an image of Jesus: usually as a handsome, white man with flowing locks and pristine linen robes. But what did Jesus really look like? Is our popular image of Jesus overly westernized and untrue to historical reality? This question continues to fascinate. Leading Christian Origins scholar Joan E. Taylor surveys the historical evidence, and the prevalent image of Jesus in art and culture, to suggest an entirely different vision of this most famous of men. He may even have had short hair.

Reproduction of the original.

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A lucid, intelligent page-turner” (Los Angeles Times) that challenges long-held assumptions about Jesus, from the host of Believer Two thousand years ago, an itinerant Jewish preacher walked across the Galilee, gathering followers to establish what he called the “Kingdom of God.” The revolutionary movement he launched was so threatening to the established order that he was executed as a state criminal. Within decades after his death, his followers would call him God. Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history’s most enigmatic figures by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived. Balancing the Jesus of the Gospels against the historical sources, Aslan describes a man full of conviction and passion, yet rife with contradiction. He explores the reasons the early Christian church preferred to promulgate an image of Jesus as a peaceful spiritual teacher rather than a politically conscious revolutionary. And he grapples with the riddle of how Jesus understood himself, the mystery that is at the heart of all subsequent claims about his divinity. Zealot yields a fresh perspective on one of the greatest stories ever told even as it affirms the radical and transformative nature of Jesus’ life and mission. Praise for Zealot “Riveting . . . Aslan synthesizes Scripture and scholarship to create an original account.”—The New Yorker “Fascinatingly and convincingly drawn . . . Aslan may come as close as one can to respecting those who revere Jesus as the peace-loving, turn-the-other-cheek, true son of God depicted in modern Christianity, even as he knocks down that image.”—The Seattle Times “[Aslan’s] literary talent is as essential to the effect of Zealot as are his scholarly and journalistic chops. . . . A vivid, persuasive portrait.”—Salon “This tough-minded, deeply political book does full justice to the real Jesus, and honors him in the process.”—San Francisco Chronicle “A special and revealing work, one that believer and skeptic alike will find surprising, engaging, and original.”—Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power “Compulsively readable . . . This superb work is highly recommended.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

With Dr. Mears as teacher and mentor, readers will study the four accounts of Jesus Christ’s life and ministry: the books of Matthew, Mark, Luke and John. They will gain a big-picture understanding of key events—Jesus’ miraculous birth, His ministry, His teachings, and His crucifixion and resurrection—yet also see how each Gospel evangelist chose to emphasize particular themes for his reading audience. Twelve sessions of study give readers an opportunity to examine Jesus’ life in depth, whether on their own or with a group, and discussion/reflection questions invite groups or individuals to go even deeper.