"What was Jesus' relationship with John the Baptist? Did Jesus baptize people like John? Where did Christian baptism come from? In this book Dr. Dapaah looks at these and other important questions, coming up with some intriguing answers. His well-written work offers thought-provoking insights into the questions of the historical Jesus, and I very warmly commend it." — David Wenham, Dean and Lecturer, Wycliffe Hall, Oxford University
John Shelby Spong, bestselling author and Episcopal bishop of Newark, NJ, challenges the doctrine of the virgin birth, tracing its development in the early Christian church and revealing its legacy in our contemporary attitudes toward women and female sexuality.
An analysis that challenges the conventional Christian hierarchy of John the Baptist and Jesus of Nazareth While the Christian tradition has subordinated John the Baptist to Jesus of Nazareth, John himself would likely have disagreed with that ranking. In this eye-opening new book, John the Baptist in History and Theology, Joel Marcus makes a powerful case that John saw himself, not Jesus, as the proclaimer and initiator of the kingdom of God and his own ministry as the center of God's saving action in history. Although the Fourth Gospel has the Baptist saying, "He must increase, but I must decrease," Marcus contends that this and other biblical and extrabiblical evidence reveal a continuing competition between the two men that early Christians sought to muffle. Like Jesus, John was an apocalyptic prophet who looked forward to the imminent end of the world and the establishment of God's rule on earth. Originally a member of the Dead Sea Sect, an apocalyptic community within Judaism, John broke with the group over his growing conviction that he himself was Elijah, the end-time prophet who would inaugurate God's kingdom on earth. Through his ministry of baptism, he ushered all who came to him—Jews and non-Jews alike—into this dawning new age. Jesus began his career as a follower of the Baptist, but, like other successor figures in religious history, he parted ways from his predecessor as he became convinced of his own centrality in God's purposes. Meanwhile John's mass following and apocalyptic message became political threats to Herod Antipas, who had John executed to abort any revolutionary movement. Based on close critical-historical readings of early texts—including the accounts of John in the Gospels and in Josephus's Antiquities—as well as parallels from later religious movements, John the Baptist in History and Theology situates the Baptist within Second Temple Judaism and compares him to other apocalyptic thinkers from ancient and modern times. It concludes with thoughtful reflections on how its revisionist interpretations might be incorporated into the Christian faith.
Is it possible to reconcile Jesus, the Prince of Peace, with religious violence? From the Inquisition to the burning of women healers to modern pedophilia scandals, spiritual leaders and followers are deeply divided about how to reconcile the teachings of Jesus with the atrocities of church history. How did his message get misinterpreted, and what relevance does that message have in the 21st century? Here, critically acclaimed author and social historian Rex Weyler explores the mystery surrounding the historical Jesus, whose voice and words have been distorted by centuries of revision. By examining the research of international Bible scholars and some 200 ancient sources, including the recently discovered Gospels of Thomas and Mary, Weyler recreates the life of Jesus and his legacy, from the Roman Empire to the present day. Combining popular history with modern scholarship, The Jesus Sayings is a revelatory and highly readable work that entertains, inspires, and enlightens.
For centuries the Jewish community in Europe possessed a copy of Matthew in the Hebrew language. The Jews' use of this document during the Middle Ages is imperfectly known. Occasionally excerpts from it appeared in polemical writings against Christianity.
“This book is . . . my personal search ‘for the face of the Lord.’” –Benedict XVI In this bold, momentous work, the Pope––in his first book written as Benedict XVI––seeks to salvage the person of Jesus from recent “popular” depictions and to restore Jesus’ true identity as discovered in the Gospels. Through his brilliance as a theologian and his personal conviction as a believer, the Pope shares a rich, compelling, flesh-and-blood portrait of Jesus and incites us to encounter, face-to-face, the central figure of the Christian faith. From Jesus of Nazareth: “. . . the great question that will be with us throughout this entire book: But what has Jesus really brought, then, if he has not brought world peace, universal prosperity, and a better world? What has he brought? The answer is very simple: God. He has brought God! He has brought the God who once gradually unveiled his countenance first to Abraham, then to Moses and the prophets, and then in the wisdom literature–the God who showed his face only in Israel, even though he was also honored among the pagans in various shadowy guises. It is this God, the God of Abraham, of Isaac, and of Jacob, the true God, whom he has brought to the peoples of the earth. He has brought God, and now we know his face, now we can call upon him. Now we know the path that we human beings have to take in this world. Jesus has brought God and with God the truth about where we are going and where we come from: faith, hope, and love.”
New in the Eerdmans Classic Biblical Commentaries collection In this now-classic exposition of Revelation, first published in 1972, George Eldon Ladd offers a clear, engaging, and insightful reading of the Apocalypse that is ideal for the pulpit, classroom, or personal study. In a brief introduction Ladd discusses the subject of authorship, the date and historical setting of Revelation, and the various methods of interpretation (preterist, historical, idealist, and futurist) that have been applied to the book throughout history. He then offers an analytical outline of Revelation’s structure and his verse-by-verse commentary, which reflects a historic premillennial perspective. The entire work is marked by Ladd’s sensitivity to the needs of both scholars and general readers and by his concern for proclaiming the message of Revelation for our time.
For years Christians have been asking, "If you died tonight, do you know where you would go?" It turns out that many believers have been giving the wrong answer. It is not heaven. Award-winning author N. T. Wright outlines the present confusion about a Christian's future hope and shows how it is deeply intertwined with how we live today. Wright, who is one of today's premier Bible scholars, asserts that Christianity's most distinctive idea is bodily resurrection. He provides a magisterial defense for a literal resurrection of Jesus and shows how this became the cornerstone for the Christian community's hope in the bodily resurrection of all people at the end of the age. Wright then explores our expectation of "new heavens and a new earth," revealing what happens to the dead until then and what will happen with the "second coming" of Jesus. For many, including many Christians, all this will come as a great surprise. Wright convincingly argues that what we believe about life after death directly affects what we believe about life before death. For if God intends to renew the whole creation—and if this has already begun in Jesus's resurrection—the church cannot stop at "saving souls" but must anticipate the eventual renewal by working for God's kingdom in the wider world, bringing healing and hope in the present life. Lively and accessible, this book will surprise and excite all who are interested in the meaning of life, not only after death but before it.
The NIV is the world's best-selling modern translation, with over 150 million copies in print since its first full publication in 1978. This highly accurate and smooth-reading version of the Bible in modern English has the largest library of printed and electronic support material of any modern translation.
Table of Contents 1. You Must Know and Believe in the Ministry of John the Baptist (Mark 1:1-2) 2. John the Baptist Was Not a Failure (Matthew 11:1-14) 3. John the Baptist, Who Came in the Way of Righteousness (Matthew 17:1-13) 4. Look at the Ministry of John the Baptist! (Luke 1:17-23) 5. Let Us Gladly Enjoy the Glory of God (John 1:1-14) 6. Do You Know the Ministries of Two Servants of God? (John 1:30-36) 7. Why Did Jesus Have to Receive the Baptism? (John 3:22-36) 8. Spread the True Gospel and Jesus’ Righteous Deed (Matthew 3:1-17) 9. The Relationship between the Work of John the Baptist and the Gospel of Atonement for Our Sins (Matthew 21:32) 10. Jesus Who Came to Blot Out Your Sins (Matthew 3:13-17) 11. “Behold, I Send My Messenger” (Mark 1:1-5) 12. Let’s Believe in Jesus with the Understanding of John the Baptist (Luke 1:1-17) The New Testament begins with the Four Gospels, that is, the Gospels of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John. All of the Four Gospels dealt with and completely recorded the ministry of John the Baptist. It is because his ministry is so important. Without the understanding of the ministry of John the Baptist, we cannot claim to know the ministry of Jesus Christ. If so, we can ask ourselves, "Was the ministry of John the Baptist recorded in the Four Gospels of that much importance?" Pointing out John the Baptist, even Jesus said, "And if you are willing to receive it, he is Elijah who is to come" (Matthew 11:14). Hence, John the Baptist was a man born on this earth to carry out a special ministry. Jesus also said, "And from the days of John the Baptist until now the kingdom of heaven suffers violence, and the violent take it by force" (Matthew 11:12). This is true because John the Baptist was born on this earth, and when he baptized Jesus Christ, the sins of this world were passed on to Him. Thus, Jesus was able to take on the sins of this world at once. By having allowed this to be so, the Lord has allowed those who believe in the ministry of John the Baptist and the ministry of Jesus to enter Heaven by receiving the cleansing of sins. This is the meaning inherent in the Scripture passage from the Gospel of Matthew chapter 11, verses 12-14. Do you believe that the gospel of the water and the Spirit is the Truth? If you do, it means that you know the ministry of John the Baptist and the ministry of Jesus completely. However, many Christians who do not understand the ministry of John the Baptist do not know the gospel Truth of the water and the Spirit, and they lead their life of faith only with the fervors of their flesh. Though ignorance, such people do not even try to know the ministry of John the Baptist written in the Four Gospels. Hence, the ministry of John the Baptist has all too long been coming under disregard even among Christians who claim to believe in Jesus. Perhaps for this reason, I find there isn't that many people who have interest in the ministry of John the Baptist these days. Thus, people are prone to look strangely at those who have interest on this topic. It is because many people have been looking away from the ministry of John the Baptist and the ministry of Jesus reluctantly for all too long. The New Life Mission https://www.bjnewlife.org
