Reviews
Review by: R. Culpepper, Dean, McAfee School of Theology, Mercer University - August 25, 2011
This is the work of a master teacher – a lifetime of study, travel, reflection, and teaching distilled in lively prose for beginning students of the New Testament. It is an ideal textbook for courses on Jesus and the Gospels: comprehensive, balanced, and constructive. Students will find new insights about Jesus, his times, and the Gospels on every page.
Review by: Mitzi Minor, Professor of New Testament, Memphis Theological Seminary - August 3, 2011
More than 25 years ago Gerald Borchert taught me to study Jesus and the gospels within their cultural and historical contexts. This wisdom was life-altering for me. He offers that wisdom to a broader audience in this book as he “sets” Jesus in the soil of first century Palestine where Jesus and his people were impacted by Roman occupation and Jewish tradition. In so doing, Borchert presents a compelling understanding of Jesus as a flesh-and-blood person living out a transformative mission from God in a difficult world. No “plastic” Jesus here! Rather, Borchert’s careful, analytical, faithful study helps readers relate to Jesus’ revolutionary living and appreciate anew the testimonies to his life and significance in the gospels. Believers who wish both to think and believe will welcome Borchert’s effort as his students have been doing for decades.
Review by: Charles J. Scalise, Professor of Church History, Fuller Theological Seminary - July 29, 2011
In Jesus of Nazareth Gerald Borchert guides readers into historical encounter with the Jesus of the Gospels. Displaying wisdom and skill developed over decades of teaching the New Testament in Christian colleges and seminaries, Borchert blends descriptions of the ancient contexts of the Gospels with a literary survey analysis that utilizes methods of careful critical study of the texts. In this era when debates over Jesus too often shed more rhetorical heat than kindly light, Borchert offers a trustworthy guide to Christians seeking deeper understanding of Jesus and the testimonies of the Gospels.