Why read this book? Because you want more substance than you have found in Sunday School lessons. And you don't want to get into scholarly tomes, but something between.
What did Jesus really do and say and believe? Are the Gospels, written 40-90 years later, believable? How can we find the historical reality?
Read my best answers, think, then reach your own conclusions.
Here, accessibly presented, are ideas of great scholars, verse by verse, with every source, every difference between Gospels, plus history, culture and language.
Did you know?
- The image of Jesus changes through the New Testament.
- Mark's Gospel was written as Sabbath readings covering half the year. (Matthew expanded on Mark's Gospel to provide readings for a full year, including all major Jewish festivals and holy days.)
- Mark was apparently not a Jew and not familiar with Palestine.
- Matthew uses over 90% of the Gospel of Mark, correcting its mistakes and rephrasing Mark's sometimes embarrassing wording. (Matthew also omits Mark 3:19-21, in which Mark says that Jesus' family sought to have him locked up because they thought he was crazy.)
- Mark wrote the crucifixion story as a parody on a gaudy Roman imperial procession
Have you ever wondered?
- Why does Mark not have a Christmas story?
- Why does Mark not have the Lord's Prayer?
- Where did Mark get his material? (He was not one of the Twelve Disciples, and probably never knew them.)
- Why are so many incidents duplicated in Mark, Matthew, and Luke? But with so much duplication, why are there such differences in the way the three Gospels present them?
Read this book to learn more.
