The Four Witnesses

by Griffith-Jones, Robin

• ISBN13: 9780062516480
• ISBN10: 0062516485
• Edition: 1st
• Format: Paperback
• Publisher: HarperCollins Publications

Summary

"Who Do You Say I Am?" Four Witnesses Offer Strikingly Different Testimony to the Life and Death of JesusBringing the stories of Jesus to life for the contemporary reader, Robin Griffith-Jones revives the origional power and intent of each of the four gospels. He presents a lively discussion of how and why each gospel was written, considering the substance and style of the testimony itself as well as the unique context of each story. Mark's gospel tells the rebel's story of Jesus as a failed revolutionary whose mission mysteriously succeeds. For the rabbi Matthew, Jesus is the long-awaited fulfillment of Jewish expectation. For Luke, Jesus is a heroic, compassionate social revolutionary who confidently and mercifully dies on behalf of all humanity. John's gospel is a mystic's interpretation of the divinity of Jesus told in powerful poetic language."Who do you say I am?" Each gospel offers its own answer to Jesus' question, influenced by the context of its writing and the personality of its writer. All four gospels taken together provide what one alone could not: a remarkably full and compelling presentation of Jesus and his message.

Author Biography

Robin Griffith-Jones served as chaplain and taught New Testament for several years at Lincoln College, Oxford University. He was recently named Master of the Temple Church in London.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments	vii
Preface	ix
PROLOGUE
The Four Greatest Stories Ever Told	3	(18)
Joy of Man's Desiring	21	(28)
BOOK I: MARK'S STORY
Introduction to Mark	45	(4)
Storm Warning	49	(19)
Composing the Story	68	(35)
From Mark to Matthew	90	(9)
BOOK II: MATTHEW'S STORY
Introduction to Matthew	99	(4)
The Promised Land?	103	(37)
The Old Israel and the New	140	(51)
From Matthew to Luke	177	(12)
BOOK III: LUKE'S STORY
Introduction to Luke	189	(2)
The Birth of the Church	191	(38)
The Old Order and the New	229	(56)
From Luke to John	267	(14)
BOOK IV: JOHN'S STORY
Introduction to John	281	(4)
From the Beginning to the End	285	(32)
The Trial	317	(25)
Dark Splendor	342	(41)
``It Is Completed''	378	(5)
EPILOGUE
The Last Act	383