Jesus the Hero: A Guided Literary Study of the Gospels

by Leland Ryken

Publisher:

Lexham Press

, 2016

Overview

Take a guided tour on how to interpret the Gospels. Leland Ryken shows pastors and students and teachers of the Bible how to appreciate the craftsmanship and beauty of the four Gospels. In Jesus the Hero, he explores the intersection of the Bible and narrative. And he goes one step further than merely explaining the genre of gospel story—he includes exercises to help students of the Bible master it.

Reading the Bible as Literature series

In the Reading the Bible as Literature series, Leland Ryken explores the intersection of the Bible and literature. In the series preface he writes, “It is my belief that a literary approach to the Bible is the common reader’s friend, in contrast to the more specialized types of scholarship on the Bible.”

Praise for the Reading the Bible as Literature series

Leland Ryken has been a pacesetter in the literary study of the Bible, especially within the evangelical community. Those of us who find this approach to Scripture especially enriching are always ready to listen when Ryken speaks. Readers who master Ryken’s principles will find the Bible open up to them in new, exciting ways.

—Robert B. Chisholm Jr., Chair and Professor of Old Testament Studies, Dallas Theological Seminary

Contents

Top Highlights

“The primary form of the Gospels is story, or narrative.” (Page 14)

“The Gospels do not follow a strict chronological format” (Page 14)

“First, the Gospels have a unifying central character and hero. Everything revolves around Jesus.” (Page 16)

“The Gospels are not structured as a smooth narrative flow” (Page 14)

“There is not a unity of action, but there is a unity of hero. Furthermore, because Jesus acts and speaks in such a way as to encounter people and demand that they make a choice for or against him, something like a unified plot conflict emerges as the Gospels unfold. It is a conflict between belief and unbelief, following Jesus and rejecting him, being saved and being lost.” (Page 16)

Contents

• What You Need to Know about the Gospels
• Narrative Genre: The Primary Form
• Biography and Hero Story
• Encounter Story and Conflict Story
• Additional Narrative Forms
• Passion Story
• Discourse and Oration
• Parable
• Poetry and Proverb
• A Gospel Miscellany

Product Details

• Title: Jesus the Hero: A Guided Literary Study of the Gospels
• Author: Leland Ryken
• Series: Reading the Bible as Literature
• Publisher: Lexham Press
• Publication Date: 2016
• Pages: 136
• Format: Logos Digital, Paperback
• Trim Size: 6x9
• ISBN: 9781683591580

About Leland Ryken

Leland Ryken, (PhD, University of Oregon) served as professor of English at Wheaton College for nearly fifty years. He served as literary stylist for the English Standard Version Bible and has authored or edited over sixty books, including The Word of God in English and A Complete Handbook of Literary Forms in the Bible.