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.

Beautifully designed and featuring stunning photographs, this moving book will appeal to Christians of all denominations and colors who seek a deeper understanding of the meaning and the glories of their faith. This is a tribute to the people who awakened the author's personal faith.

John's Gospel is best known for its presentation of Jesus as the Word of God made flesh. But as the narrative unfolds, readers discover that the identity of Jesus is surprisingly complex. He is depicted as a teacher, a healer, a prophet, and Messiah. He is Jewish and Galilean, a human being who is Son of Man and Son of God. Portraits of Jesus in the Gospel of John considers each of these roles in detail, showing how each makes a distinctive contribution to the Gospel's rich mosaic of images for Jesus. John's multifaceted portrait of Jesus draws on a broad spectrum of early Christian traditions, and the contributors to this collection of essays explore the ways in which these traditions are both preserved and transformed in the Fourth Gospel. The writers draw us more deeply into the questions of the way in which traditions about Jesus developed in the early church and how the Gospel of John might contribute to our understanding of that dynamic process.

"Four Portraits of Jesus is a Bible study guide based on the four distinctive portraits of Jesus in the four Gospels. Each chapter begins with a passage relating to a key theme for each particular Gospel and then addresses a series of questions designed to acquaint readers with important issues related to that Gospel and its audience. The all-in-one volume incorporates detailed lesson plans for the teacher or study leader, course reading material and worksheets for the participant, and biblical background information for both."--BOOK JACKET.Title Summary field provided by Blackwell North America, Inc. All Rights Reserved

Many people realize that the cultural landscape of North America has shifted significantly. With such changes, new challenges for how churches live as a proclamation of the gospel have and continue to emerge. These challenges are related to the church's participation in the mission of God and particularly how local churches live faithfully to God while remaining relevant to such challenges. Because Scripture is revered as God's word, this matter also pertains to the way churches read Scripture, since the Bible does shape how churches embody the gospel. Gospel Portraits addresses the intersection of mission and hermeneutics for churches within their local contexts. Believing the gospel calls the church to follow Jesus and bear witness to the kingdom of God, this book proposes that churches should read the Bible as a Christ-centered and kingdom-oriented narrative. This reading of Scripture allows churches to reimagine how they might embody the gospel within their local contexts. Discerning what a contextual embodiment of the gospel involves, churches portray God's new creation in ways that are coherent with the biblical story and relevant to their local context. In doing so, churches live as Christ-formed and Spirit-led communities portraying the gospel.

This is an introductory guide to the ways Jesus is depicted in the New Testament. Both college students and the general reader will find here a variety of New Testament understandings of Jesus that are rooted in critical reading of the four gospels and Pauline letters. This new edition adds historical context to the portraits of Jesus as each document is somewhat shaped by historical factors. This work presumes neither religious faith nor lack of faith; its aim is to inform and to stimulate some fundamental questions as well as to give the readers portraits as synthetic balance to the vital work of analysis.