Jesus according to Scripture, 2nd Edition

"I am pleased that a second edition of Bock's Jesus according to Scripture is now available. This book offers a needed corrective to the quirky portraits of Jesus that have appeared in recent years. As the title implies, Bock and Simpson present Jesus in the light of what the Gospels actually say. Readers will especially appreciate the accessible layout."

"The four Gospels are a vast forest in which even the well-initiated can lose their way, especially among the thickets of burgeoning scholarship. We should all be grateful not just for a big handy map like this but also for the experienced trail guides putting it into our hands."

"Two centuries of scholarly inquiry have demonstrated that the 'canonical Jesus' is the closest we will ever get to the 'real Jesus.' Jesus according to Scripture presents a portrait of this canonical Jesus through a detailed engagement with the Gospel material. Assuming a historically and theologically complementary relationship among the diverse and complex materials in the four Gospels, Bock and Simpson have with the second edition strengthened this important resource for assessing the meaning of Jesus of Nazareth for the twenty-first-century church."

"That there are four canonical Gospels has always presented challenges for studying the life and teaching of Jesus of Nazareth. Although reading each Gospel on its own terms is an essential step, and commentaries on the Gospels abound, all four need to be read together for the full picture of Jesus they provide. Jesus according to Scripture offers something of undeniable value: a comprehensive investigation of the portrayal of Jesus in the four Gospels informed by the best historical Jesus research, taking careful note of similarities and differences among the four accounts. The book represents a major resource for restoring the full portrait of Jesus from the Gospels."

Praise for the First Edition

"Darrell Bock is a well-known expert in the Gospels, and in Jesus according to Scripture he provides a detailed analysis of the portrait of Jesus from each Gospel as well as a theological synthesis of Jesus' message and import as the Gospels portray him. Here we have a much more fulsome and helpful portrait of Jesus than is offered in many recent treatments of the historical Jesus. Highly recommended."

"After writing three entire commentaries on Luke, Darrell Bock naturally turns his attention to all four Gospels. Neither a contribution to historical-Jesus research nor a conventional textbook on the Gospels, this is a common-sense yet academically informed commentary--first on a synopsis of Matthew, Mark, and Luke and then on John. Laypersons, theological students, and pastors needing a review course will greatly benefit from it. In many ways, Jesus according to Scripture is a successor to Dwight Pentecost's Words and Works of Jesus, and a worthy one indeed!"

"This book is a wonderful illustration of the value of canonical criticism. The author's great knowledge of historical criticism is here employed in a study that takes the final form of the biblical texts as a literary unity. Bock's work has a wonderful balance between a respect for the uniqueness of each Gospel and an appreciation of the overall unity in the portrait of Jesus provided for the church."

"This book drives students to the texts of the four canonical Gospels; defends their historical reliability; interpretively distinguishes the Synoptics from John in the main, but somewhat from each other as well; and harmonizes all of them as much as possible. Teachers of courses on the life of Jesus who want a textbook that blends these approaches are likely to find here just what they're looking for."

"In this book Darrell Bock has accomplished for Evangelical theology what the late Raymond Brown achieved for its Catholic counterpart: a judicious synthesis of the scholarship of his colleagues with the concerns of a canonical reading of Scripture. The result is a readable textbook that respects the exegetical diversity of the Gospels while emphasizing the unity of their underlying witness."

"Rooted in outstanding scholarship and written with exceptional clarity, Bock's presentation of Jesus' life and teaching will be of great help to pastors, Christian leaders, and students of Scripture. Our students have already benefited from a pre-published version of this volume and speak with enthusiasm about it."