Many commentaries written on the Bible deal primarily with the individual books, rather than on the Bible as a whole. This innovative series offers a broader and more unified view of the Bible, providing various interpretations of the entire work as well as the separate texts. Thematically structured, each volume embraces a number of biblical books, including, in two of the volumes, introductions to both the Old and New Testaments. Through lively and detailed discussions of selected biblical passages, the series throws fresh light on the ways in which interpretation of the biblical texts provide a deeper understanding of the wider theological and historical issues that concern the Bible.
General Editors: PETER ACKROYD, Emeritus Professor of Old Testament Studies, University of London and GRAHAM N. STANTON, Professor of New Testament Studies, Kings College, London.
Jesus of Nazareth and the four New Testament gospels continue to fascinate people from many cultural and religious backgrounds. Who was Jesus? Are Christian claims about him supported by solid historical evidence? How reliable are the evangelists' portraits of Jesus written some fifty years after his crucifixion? Examining the intentions and methods of the four evangelists, Graham Stanton argues that the evangelists are concerned with both the story and the significance of Jesus of Nazareth. In Part I, he analyzes the distinctive emphases of all four evangelists and discusses briefly the apocryphal gospels. In the final section, Stanton examines the ways of assessing the evidence for Jesus, exploring his teaching, intentions, and the reasons for his downfall.