To Christians worldwide, the man Jesus of Nazareth is the centerpiece of history, the object of faith, hope, and worship. Even those who do not follow him admit the vast influence of his life. For anyone interested in knowing more about Jesus, study of the four biblical Gospels is essential.

The second edition of Four Portraits, One Jesus has been updated throughout to meet the needs to today’s students. It is a thorough yet accessible introduction to the four biblical Gospels and their subject, the life and person of Jesus. Like different artists rendering the same subject using different styles and points of view, the Gospels paint four highly distinctive portraits of the same remarkable Jesus.

With clarity and insight, Mark Strauss illuminates these four books addressing the following important areas:

• First he addresses the nature, origin, methods for study, and historical, religious, and cultural backgrounds of the Gospels.
• He then moves on to closer study of each narrative and its contribution to our understanding of Jesus, investigating things such as plot, characters, and theme.
• Finally, he pulls it all together with a detailed examination of what the Gospels teach about Jesus’ ministry, message, death, and resurrection, with excursions into the quest for the historical Jesus and the historical reliability of the Gospels.

This textbook together with its workbook, video lectures, and laminated sheet gives students everything they need for a thorough and enriching study of Jesus and the Gospels.

Figures, maps, images, discussion questions, key terms, and a glossary are included in the audiobook companion PDF download.

The Zondervan Biblical and Theological Lectures series provides a unique audio learning experience. Unlike a traditional audiobook’s direct narration of a book’s text, Four Portraits, One Jesus: Audio Lectures includes high quality live-recordings of college-level lectures that cover the important points from each subject as well as relevant material from other sources.

To Christians worldwide, the man Jesus of Nazareth is the centerpiece of history, the object of faith, hope, and worship. Even those who do not follow him admit the vast influence of his life. For anyone interested in knowing more about Jesus, study of the four biblical Gospels is essential. Four Portraits, One Jesus is a thorough yet accessible introduction to these documents and their subject, the life and person of Jesus. Like different artists rendering the same subject using different styles and points of view, the Gospels paint four highly distinctive portraits of the same remarkable Jesus. With clarity and insight, Mark Strauss illuminates these four books, first addressing their nature, origin, methods for study, and historical, religious, and cultural backgrounds. He then moves on to closer study of each narrative and its contribution to our understanding of Jesus, investigating things such as plot, characters, and theme. Finally, he pulls it all together with a detailed examination of what the Gospels teach about Jesus’ ministry, message, death, and resurrection, with excursions into the quest for the historical Jesus and the historical reliability of the Gospels.

Everybody likes Jesus. Don’t they? We overlook that Jesus was ·Judgmental?preaching hellfire far more than the apostle Paul ·Uncompromising?telling people to hate their families ·Chauvinistic?excluding women from leadership ·Racist?insulting people from other ethnic groups ·Anti-environmental?cursing a fig tree and affirming animal sacrifice ·Angry?overturning tables and chasing moneychangers in the templeHe demanded moral perfection, told people to cut off body parts, made prophecies that haven’t come true, and defied religious and political authorities. While we tend to ignore this troubling behavior, the people around Jesus didn’t. Some believed him so dangerous that they found a way to have him killed. The Jesus everybody likes, says Mark Strauss, is not the Jesus found in the Gospels. He’s a figure we’ve created in our own minds. Strauss believes that when we unpack the puzzling paradoxes of the man from Galilee, we find greater insight into his countercultural message and mission than we could ever have imagined.

The Zondervan Biblical and Theological Lectures series provides a unique audio learning experience. Unlike a traditional audiobook’s direct narration of a book’s text, Mark: Audio Lectures includes high quality live-recordings of college-level lectures that cover the important points from each subject as well as relevant material from other sources.

Mark’s fast-paced, powerful, and dramatic Gospel takes the reader on a breath-taking tour through the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus the Messiah. Mark: Audio Lectures, taught by Mark Strauss, uses a narrative and theological approach to provide insight into the Evangelist’s story-telling craft, theological purpose, and narrative themes.

Mark: Audio Lectures, along with accompanying book Mark from the Zondervan Exegetical Commentary on the New Testament series, stresses both the message of Jesus as he proclaims the kingdom of God and the mission of Jesus as he suffers and dies as a ransom for human sin. Lectures examine the biblical text in its original environment, with an emphasis on practical messages and passages of great theological depth. Strauss provides interpretive insights into the background and meaning of the text, and discusses how the message of the text fits within the book itself and its broader biblical-theological context. Learners will discover Jesus’s call to be his disciples and to live in obedience to his kingdom calling in their lives today.