Sometimes it’s hard to find your bearings in the New Testament, as you enter the time and place of Jesus and His disciples. There are confusing practices, new people groups, and even unexplained religious conflicts. How did it all come about?
Dr. William Marty walks you through the history leading up to the arrival of Jesus in order to help you better understand His life and teachings. He answers such questions as:
• Why did "Israelites" start being called "Jews"?
• What's a "synagogue" and what happened to worshiping in the temple?
• Who were the Pharisees and why was Jesus so upset with them?
• Why didn't anyone like the Samaritans?
Get to know the times in which Jesus lived, so you'll better understand His teaching and ministry. And along the way, discover how God prepared the world for the One who would turn it upside down.
My review:
This isn't a long book, but it is packed full of information. The author has some background information from the Old Testament and also from the time between the Old and New Testaments to help the reader better understand what it was like in Jesus' time.
The book is easy to read, and I found it very interesting and informative. It explains why the Jews hated the Samaritans, who the Pharisees were, and other things like that which is mentioned in the Gospels. The author obviously did a lot of research for the book, and that comes across. I did learn some new things reading the book, and recommend it to anyone who wants to better understand what things were like in Jesus' time.About the author:
Dr. William H. Marty (ThD, Dallas Theological Seminary) is Professor of Bible at Moody Bible Institute and has published two textbooks, Surveying the New Testament and Survey of the Old Testament. He is unique among Bible college professors in that he teaches and writes on both the New and Old Testaments. Dr. Marty lives with his wife in Chicago.
The World of Jesus is available from Bethany House Publishers. Thanks to Bethany House for the review copy.
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