Discovering Luke is the perfect introduction to the interpretation of Luke's gospel. Through a critical assessment of key interpreters and interpretative debates, this is a New Testament commentary that encourages in-depth study of the text and a genuine grappling with the theological and historical questions raised. As part of the Discovering Biblical Texts series, Discovering Luke draws on a range of author-, text- and reader-centred methodological approaches as complementary rather than mutually exclusive ways of understanding the text. It also focuses on the reception history of Luke's gospel, increasingly viewed by Biblical scholars as a vital aspect of interpretation rather than an optional extra. Discovering Luke is an ideal Bible commentary for students and those looking to dig deeper into this key book of the New Testament. You will gain a solid grasp of the structure and content of Luke's gospel, and a thorough understanding of a wide range of interpretative approaches and theological concerns that will enhance your own reading of the text.

Much is written about the theory of theological interpretation, but how does it apply to actually working with biblical texts? This volume shows that theological interpretation is not so much an exegetical method as it is a practice concerned with Scripture's role in the faith and formation of persons and church communities. Widely recognized biblical scholar Joel Green demonstrates both the practice of theological interpretation and the fruitfulness of this approach to reading biblical texts, providing students with helpful ways of wrestling with knotty interpretive issues. He also explores how theological inquiry can coexist with rigorous academic study of the Bible.

Repentance and conversion are key topics in New Testament interpretation and in Christian life. However, the study of conversion in early Christianity has been plagued by psychological assumptions alien to the world of the New Testament. Leading New Testament scholar Joel Green believes that careful attention to the narrative of Luke-Acts calls for significant rethinking about the nature of Christian conversion. Drawing on the cognitive sciences and examining key evidence in Luke-Acts, this book emphasizes the embodied nature of human life as it explores the life transformation signaled by the message of conversion, offering a new reading of a key aspect of New Testament theology.

In Methods for Luke, four leading scholars demonstrate how different interpretive methods provide insight into the Gospel of Luke. Introducing contemporary perspectives on historical criticism, feminist criticism, narrative criticism, and Latino interpretation, they illustrate these approaches to New Testament study by examining either the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31 ) or Jesus' warning regarding the scribes and the story of the women with two small coins (Luke 20: 45-21:4). The use of two "set texts" enables readers to understand how method makes a difference in the reading of the same text.

This volume addresses the most important issues related to the study of New Testament writings. Two respected senior scholars have brought together a team of distinguished specialists to introduce the Jewish, Hellenistic, and Roman backgrounds necessary for understanding the New Testament and the early church. Contributors include renowned scholars such as Lynn H. Cohick, David A. deSilva, James D. G. Dunn, and Ben Witherington III. The book includes seventy-five photographs, fifteen maps, numerous tables and charts, illustrations, and bibliographies. All students of the New Testament will value this reliable, up-to-date, comprehensive textbook and reference volume on the New Testament world.

Are humans composed of a material body and an immaterial soul? This view is commonly held by Christians, yet it has been undermined by recent developments in neuroscience. Exploring what Scripture and theology teach about issues such as being in the divine image, the importance of community, sin, free will, salvation, and the afterlife, Joel Green argues that a dualistic view of the human person is inconsistent with both science "and "Scripture. This wide-ranging discussion is sure to provoke much thought and debate.
Bestselling books have explored the relationship between body, mind, and soul. Now Joel Green provides us with a biblical perspective on these issues.

Designed to empower preachers as they lead their congregations to connect their lives to Scripture, Connections features a broad set of interpretive tools that provide commentary and worship aids on the Revised Common Lectionary. For each worship day within the three-year lectionary cycle, the commentaries in Connections link the individual lection reading with Scripture as a whole as well as to the larger world. In addition, Connections places each Psalm reading in conversation with the other lections for the day to highlight the themes of the liturgical season. Finally, sidebars offer additional connections to Scripture for each Sunday or worship day. This nine-volume series is a practical, constructive, and valuable resource for preachers who seek to help congregations connect more closely with Scripture.

Designed to empower preachers as they lead their congregations to connect their lives to Scripture, Connections features a broad set of interpretive tools that provide commentary and worship aids on the Revised Common Lectionary. For each worship day within the three-year lectionary cycle, the commentaries in Connections link the individual lection reading with Scripture as a whole as well as to the larger world. In addition, Connections places each Psalm reading in conversation with the other lections for the day to highlight the themes of the liturgical season. Finally, sidebars offer additional connections to Scripture for each Sunday or worship day. This nine-volume series is a practical, constructive, and valuable resource for preachers who seek to help congregations connect more closely with Scripture.

For the first-century Roman world the cross was first and foremost an instrument of shameful and violent execution. But early Christians, who had seen their world upended by the atoning power of the cross of Christ, came to view it in an entirely different light. Deeply scandalous, it was paradoxically glorious. For the cross of Christ marked the epochal saving event in God's dealings with Israel and the world. And its meaning could not be fathomed or encircled by a single image or formulation. Since its publication in 2000, Recovering the Scandal of the Cross has initiated among evangelicals a new conversation about the nature of the atonement and how it should be expressed in the varied and global contexts of today. In this second edition Green and Baker have clarified and enlarged their argument in a way that will continue to provoke thought and conversation on this critical topic.

In Methods for Luke, four leading scholars demonstrate how different interpretive methods provide insight into the Gospel of Luke. Introducing contemporary perspectives on historical criticism, feminist criticism, narrative criticism, and Latino interpretation, they illustrate these approaches to New Testament study by examining either the Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus (Luke 16: 19-31 ) or Jesus' warning regarding the scribes and the story of the women with two small coins (Luke 20: 45-21:4). The use of two "set texts" enables readers to understand how method makes a difference in the reading of the same text.

This highly original commentary, part of the New International Commentary, is unique for the way it combines concerns with first-century culture in the Roman world with understanding the text of Luke as a wholistic, historical narrative.

There is often an unfortunate division between the technical work of biblical scholars and the practical work of preachers who construct sermons each week. These two fields of study, which ought to be mutually informed and supportive, are more often practically divided by divergent methods, interests, and goals. Narrative Reading, Narrative Preaching aims to bridge that divide.
Using narrative as an organizing theme, the contributors work through the New Testament offering examples of how interpretation can rightly inform proclamation. Three pairs of chapters feature an exemplary reading by a New Testament scholar followed by a sermon informed by that reading. Introductory and concluding chapters provide guidance for application of the model.
Pastors and seminarians will find here a uniquely practical work that will help them with both the reading and preaching of Scripture.

The Gospel of Luke, often mined for information about the life of Jesus, is also one of the earliest Christian examples of narrative theology. Luke goes to great lengths to ground the work of Jesus in the continuing story of God's redemptive plan, and his emphasis on the ongoing character of that story challenges his audience to discern the purpose of God and order their lives around it. This exploration of the way in which he accomplishes his theological task in the first century is both informative and illuminating for contemporary readers.

Introducing the New Testament is an outstanding guide to the writings of the New Testament for readers ranging from Bible students to those approaching the Christian Scriptures for the first time. Written by three leading Bible specialists, this book discusses in a clear and balanced way the New Testament's literature, its message, and the issues raised by a careful reading of its pages. Wonderfully readable and well supplied with maps and photographs, this volume is both an ideal textbook for courses covering the New Testament and a superb introduction for general readers wanting authoritative, straight-forward instruction on the writings of the New Testament. Unlike other New Testament introductions that are primarily concerned with historical-critical issues or with what scholars have said, this book gets directly to the business of explaining the New Testament's background, content, and theology. The authors do not presume that readers need to be familiar with scholarly debates about the New Testament, nor do they assume those debates have necessarily raised the most important issues. Instead, this book is aimed at putting the message of the Christian Scriptures back within the reach of general readers. Although informed by the current scholarship in the history, traditions, and literature of the New Testament, this book is primarily designed to induct readers of the New Testament into sensitive appreciation and serious awareness of its major figures and concerns.After explaining the nature of the New Testament and the world in which it was written, the authors thoroughly discuss each of the twenty-seven books of the New Testament. The content and essential message of these ancient works are described in simple but dynamic language that reveals why they continue to inspire and challenge readers today. Separate chapters also explore the types of literature found in the New Testament, the life and teachings of Jesus, Paul's life and world, and the formation of the New Testament canon. In addition, numerous sidebars offer a wealth of fascinating and highly relevant background information that helps modern readers more fully grasp biblical themes. No other work on the New Testament is so accessible and enjoyable to use.

The CEB Study Bible gives you the tools, illustrations, and explanations necessary for making informed decisions about the meaning of the Bible. The notes in this study Bible don't tell you what to believe. Instead, they give you the context for what the books of the Bible meant to their earliest readers and what the Bible means right now. The CEB Study Bible is for encouragement and challenge, for guidance and reflection, for study and prayer: The reliable, readable, and relevant CommonEnglish Bible translation in a single-column setting Detailed book introductions, outlines, and notes from the finest biblical studies professors Full-color throughout, including more than 200 illustrations, photographs, maps, and charts Hundreds of thousands of cross references More than 300 indexed sidebar and general articles 21 full-color maps designed by National Geographic and fully indexed "

The acclaimed "Dictionary of Scripture and Ethics" ("DSE"), written to respond to the movement among biblical scholars and ethicists to recover the Bible for moral formation, offered needed orientation and perspective on the vital relationship between Scripture and ethics. This book-by-book survey of the Old Testament features key articles from the "DSE," bringing together a stellar list of contributors to introduce students to the use of the Old Testament for moral formation. It will serve as an excellent supplementary text. The stellar list of contributors includes Bruce Birch, Mark Boda, William Brown, Stephen Chapman, Daniel Harrington, and Dennis Olson.

Given the way many in the West have read the New Testament in the last century, the church might be regarded as an afterthought at best. But at the worst, it can be viewed as an unnecessary, perhaps even problematic, institutionalization of genuine faith especially in our post-denominational context. These perspectives fly in the face of the robust ecclesiological concerns and commitments of the New Testament documents when read as witnesses from, to, and for congregations of God's people. For Wall, the problem is spiritual because fewer go to find God in church. Why the church? Because this peculiar fellowship of saints, whose loving communion is with the risen One, has been appointed by the triune God as God's herald. With its sacred vocation, every demonstration of the church's oneness, holiness, catholicity, and apostolicity--each eschatological mark enabled and brought to maturity by God's grace--is the concrete means to address our theological crisis. This book will contribute to New Testament studies but also serve related discussions in theology and church history. Reframing New Testament Theology is a series that fulfills the need for brief, substantive, yet highly accessible introductions to central questions and themes raised by New Testament study.