Jesus according to Scripture

Top Highlights

“Jesus’ authority is not one of raw power. In terms of proportion, Mark highlights Jesus as the suffering Son of Man and Servant more than the other Gospels.” (Page 32)

“The combination of external and internal evidence suggests that two Gospels are rooted in apostolic origins (Matthew, John), while two others have close connections with the apostolic tradition (Mark through Peter, Luke through Paul and others).” (Page 24)

“None of the Gospels names its author. What we do often have is a rich tradition that describes authorship.” (Page 24)

“One argument made throughout the book is that the reader of the Gospels needs to respect the documents’ claims to present Jesus as a figure making unique claims of authority tied to his unique relationship to God. It is especially at this point that the Gospel portraits cohere, even in the midst of their diversity. Rather than seeing difference as evidence of contradiction and inauthenticity, I hope to show that the very diversity in the Gospels underscores an inherent unity in their claims that adds depth to the account of Jesus in a way that simply overlapping accounts would not. Just as a three-dimensional portrait gives depth to an image in a way that two dimensions cannot, so these four Gospels reveal a many-sided Jesus whose fundamental claims still challenge us today.” (Pages 17–18)

“Thus, this synagogue event seems to be placed where it is for purposes of summarizing what this period of ministry was like by way of a representative scene. These examples suggest that the orderliness may have more to do with general development of the ministry than strict chronology. Luke will tell the account in an orderly way so that the development of God’s plan for salvation is clearly evident.” (Page 54)