The fully anglicized text uses the accurate and accessible ERV (Easy-to-Read Version) translation. The contemporary language makes this gospel easy to get into, so that you can get a lot out of it! Many extra features are included in this gospel edition to help you easily understand it, including advice on how to read the Bible, an introduction to the book of Matthew, studies that dig deeper into key passages, and insight boxes that help explain the meaning of certain verses. This Gospel of Matthew is the perfect introduction to the life of Jesus and will help you to start reading the Bible for yourself. Content Benefits: The ERV Holy Bible Gospel of Matthew is a contemporary and accessible translation that is bursting with extra features that will help you understand and live out God's Word today. * A full text gospel with extra notes and features * Contemporary translation which is relevant and accurate * Simple to understand * Anglicized text, with UK spelling and grammar * Ideal for new Christians or anyone just starting out reading the Bible * Perfect for anyone wanting to dig deeper into the Bible * Suitable for anyone wanting to explore who Jesus is * Introductory notes size up the setting and discover the Who, When and What of Matthew's gospel * Bible Bit pages help you dig deeper and explore key passages * Insight boxes enable you to probe passages and explore the meaning of verses * Easy to read type in two columns * Suitable for use as an outreach resource for churches

These five late biblical books offer readers a range of pleasures not usually associated with the Bible. They are artful, entertaining literary works innovative, even startling. Women often stand center stage. Song of Songs is a celebration of young love, frankly sensuous, with no reference to God or covenant. It offers some of the most beautiful love poems of the ancient world. The story of Queen Esther s shrewd triumph is a secular entertainment that mixes farce with sly sexual comedy. The character of Ruth embodies the virtues of loyalty, love, and charity in a harmonious world. Enigma replaces harmony in Daniel, whose feverish night dreams envision the end of time. And the traditions of prophecy are recast in the tale of a fish that, on God s command, swallows Jonah and imprisons him in its dark wet innards for three days. Alter s translation restores the original power of these popular books."

"Thomas Yoder Neufeld has provided readers with 'the raw material and some of the skill with which to jump into the fray' of the debates about Jesus. This highly readable book has been carefully honed through years of undergraduate teaching by a scholar who often preaches and teaches in church settings. Well informed and with enviable clarity, Neufeld presents the fruit of the best critical Jesus scholarship--hospitable for students in the pluralistic context of the university classroom. Anyone interested in the Jesus we encounter in the New Testament will turn these pages with great interest and profit."--Graham H. Twelftree, Regent University

"Tom Yoder Neufeld is an outstanding writer! An extraordinarily engaging teacher, Tom guides us with gripping vitality on an invigorating and exhilarating tour through the biblical accounts. Throughout the adventure he achieves the perfect voice--undergirding our faith even as he imparts necessary skills to sort through various scholarly debates concerning Jesus. This exceptional book is superb for both new and seasoned students of the Scriptures."--Marva J. Dawn, author of "Talking the Walk"

"Recovering Jesus is a difficult task in our day. Skeptical words abound on many sides. Thomas Yoder Neufeld does a good and accessible job of clearing the decks and showing the way in this introduction to Jesus and his teaching in the context of the scholarly cacophony that surrounds Jesus. Nicely done."--Darrell Bock, Dallas Theological Seminary

""Not" just another Jesus book, Thomas Yoder Neufeld's "Recovering Jesus" integrates sound scholarship with a profound and reflective faith. Written with a wide spectrum of contemporary college students inmind, Yoder Neufeld's accessible and engaging prose will also attract thoughtful laypeople as well as busy church leaders. His centering the Jesus story in the ethic and theology of the kingdom of God is not only refreshingly true to the heart of our written Gospels but will be especially helpful for those who long to follow Jesus in life. Few scholars of Yoder Neufeld's breadth and depth write with this clarity of thought and joy in discipleship."--Mary Schertz, Associated Mennonite Biblical Seminary

Few ancient Christian authors attempted anything like a complete commentary on the "Gospel of John", among them Origen, John Chrysostom and Augustine. Of these, Augustine's must count as the greatest. Unlike Origen's, it has come down to us in its entirety, and of the others that remain it is certainly the most theologically profound. John's gospel allows Augustine to range broadly over themes that were his life's work - the Trinity, the person of Christ, the nature of the Church and its sacraments, the fulfillment of the divine plan. The 124 homilies that constitute Augustine's commentary, however, are masterpieces not only of theological profundity but also of pastoral engagement. In the question-and-answer style that he frequently employs, for example, one can sense Augustine's real awareness of his congregation's struggles with the gospel text. And the congregation's response to Augustine, which he frequently alludes to, is an indication of the success of his dialogical preaching style. The Johannine literature drew out the best in Augustine." The Homilies on the "Gospel of John" are the indispensible complement to "The Homilies on "The First Epistle of John", recently published in this series, and they should be a part of any serious theological library.

Margaret Froelich examines the Gospel of Mark using political and empire-critical methodologies, following postcolonial thinkers in perceiving a far more ambivalent message than previous pacifistic interpretations of the text. She argues that Mark does not represent an entirely new way of thinking about empire or cosmic structures, but rather exhibits concepts and structures with which the author and his audience are already familiar in order to promote the Kingdom of God as a better version of the encroaching Roman Empire. Froelich consequently understands Mark as a response to the physical, ideological, and cultural displacement of the first Roman/Judean War. By looking to Greek, Roman, and Jewish texts to determine how first-century authors thought of conquest and expansion, Froelich situates the Gospel directly in a historical and socio-political context, rather than treating that context as a mere backdrop; concluding that the Gospel portrays the Kingdom of God as a conquering empire with Jesus as its victorious general and client king.