Abstract
In this excellent overview of Jesus’ life and ministry, one of the most experienced scholars in the field, Darrell Bock, succeeds in presenting years of high-quality research on Jesus and the Gospels in new creative ways. Building on his previous book Jesus according to Scripture: Restoring the Portrait from the Gospels (Baker Academic, 2002), Bock (with Benjamin Simpson) here takes on board newly won insights from historical Jesus research (e.g., focus on ‘Jesus remembered,’ his acts rather than just his sayings and titles, and the narrative theology of the Gospels) and combine these with more traditional methods.
In the eight chapters, which are well-suited for any reader interested in the Jesus of history seen through the lens of the four Gospels, the following central elements of the Jesus tradition are treated: Birth, John the Baptist, the temptations (chapter 1); the kingdom of God and its nature (chapters 2 and 3); Jesus’ titles (chapter 4); his teaching and actions (chapter 5); his community of the new era (chapter 6); the vindication to come (warning to Israel, Gentile inclusion, the Son of Man’s return to judge; chapter 7); and Jesus’ final week (chapter 8). Noteworthy, Jesus’ titles are treated in close relation to his teaching and actions (chapters 4 and 5).
The section on Jesus and the law offers valuable insights not least for biblical theology, and for readers involved in church work (pp. 104–9). Jesus’ ethical prioritisation in matters of the law is exemplified by ‘the greatest commandment’ (Mark 12:28–35 par.), and by highlighting relationship dimensions—which include preventing relationships from breaking down. The authors are sympathetic to Ben Witherington’s approach to Jesus’ authority over Torah (affirming, intensifying, adding, setting aside; p. 108). The book’s particular stress on acts comes to the fore through references to Jesus’ own ministry: When given the opportunity to confess who he is, Jesus points to the miracles as his ‘witness’ and ‘explanation’ (p. 100). Accordingly, as Jesus is asked by the Baptist’s messengers to confess whether he is ‘the one who is to come,’ he does not offer a direct confession but directs their attention to ‘the acts that God is working through him, appealing to the language of the prophet Isaiah in the process’ (Matt 11:2–6; p. 89).
An especially valuable approach surfacing throughout the book is the emphasis on the Synoptic Gospels seen as a treatment of Jesus ‘from the earth up’ (Jesus uniquely transcending categories we normally apply to people) as contrasted to John’s Gospel, which is depicted as offering a perspective ‘from heaven down.’ The particular path that the Synoptic Evangelists take in their from-the-earth-up presentation of Jesus is something the church—being much more familiar with the Johannine from-heaven-down perspective—needs to relearn (p. 3). In the end, however, a synthesis of what the Gospels are doing is commended (p. ix); ‘seeing how Jesus emerged as unique, how he is portrayed from the earth up as well as from heaven down, is a full story the church needs to be able to tell’ (p. 171). I hope this information-packed, accessible volume will be widely read and discussed in church and academy alike.