Digital Logos Edition
A reader-friendly guide to the life and teachings of the Jesus of the Gospels.
The Jesus of the Gospels brings together the best elements of a survey of the Gospels and a commentary on the Gospels to help readers know Jesus and understand the good news. Drawing on decades of experience teaching and writing on the Gospels, Andreas Köstenberger presents a holistic portrait of Jesus by leading readers through an in-depth study of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John.
Each chapter explores one gospel account, beginning with a short introduction that highlights the gospel’s individual distinctives, followed by an outline of the book. Köstenberger breaks each gospel into short sections, explaining the meaning and how it sheds light on Jesus and His mission. Numerous sidebars, maps, and diagrams highlight supplemental information, and regular “Recap” sections summarize key points. For those interested in further study, footnotes point to useful resources. In addition to helping readers follow the storyline and theology of each gospel, Köstenberger also emphasizes practical application, showing readers how to apply what they’re learning to their lives.
Ideal for those who are new to the study of the Gospels, and for instructors looking for an accessible introduction based on solid scholarship, The Jesus of the Gospels offers readers and students to the riches of the Gospels and a deeper knowledge of Jesus and the good news.
Andreas Köstenberger, one of the experts on the Gospels in our day, provides an accessible and heartwarming introduction to the Jesus of the Gospels. A wonderful resource for students and for all who wish to encounter Jesus Christ.
—Thomas R. Schreiner, James Buchanan Harrison Professor of New Testament Interpretation and Associate Dean, The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary
In this helpful introduction to the Jesus of the canonical Gospels, Andreas Köstenberger helps us all to appreciate that Jesus was far too complex a historical and religious figure for one portrait to do him justice. We should be thankful that we have four, each of which contribute something to our overall understanding of our Savior. Portraits are not like bare photographs; they are inherently interpretative in their very nature, and so what we actually have in the New Testament are four distinct—but yet compatible—portraits of the real Jesus of both history and faith, which help us ‘see him more clearly, love him more dearly, and follow him more nearly, day by day.’ Highly recommended.
—Ben Witherington III, Amos Professor of New Testament for Doctoral Studies, Asbury Theological Seminary, and emeritus doctoral faculty, St. Andrews University
Books on this subject may be so technical that only scholars can make sense of them. Not so here. The author makes wonderfully plain what the Gospel writers were convinced of—that Jesus is Lord, and that his life, teachings, self-sacrifice, and resurrection are not dead tales of the past. Rather, they are truths that remain life-changing right now. Read each Gospel with this book as a guide. It will give you fresh eyes for Jesus’s meaning on the vast stage of first-century Jewish expectation and Roman history. And it will open up avenues for the informed personal commitment to Jesus now that all four Gospels commend.
—Robert W. Yarbrough, Professor of New Testament, Covenant Theological Seminary