The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels is unique among reference books on the Bible, the first volume of its kind since James Hastings published his Dictionary of Christ and the Gospels in 1909. In the more than eight decades since Hastings our understanding of Jesus, the Evangelists, and their world has grown remarkably. New interpretive methods have illumined the text, the ever-changing profile of modern culture has put new questions to the Gospels, and our understanding of the Judaism of Jesus’ day has advanced in ways that could not have been predicted in Hasting’s day. But for many readers of the Gospels the new outlook remains hidden within technical journals and academic monographs.
Contemporary concerns of general interest are discussed in articles covering such topics as healing, the demonic, and the historical reliability of the Gospels. And for those entrusted with communicating the message, there is an extensive article on preaching from the Gospels.
The Dictionary of Jesus and the Gospels presents the fruit of evangelical New Testament scholarship at the end of the 20th century—committed to the authority of Scripture, utilizing the best of critical methods, and maintaining dialog with contemporary scholarship and challenges facing the church.
