The greatest story ever told was honed like any good performance, on the road in front of audiences. Acclaimed scholar L. Michael White challenges us to read the gospels as they were intended--as performed stories of faith, not factual accounts--and illuminates the agendas that motivated each of their authors. A fresh account of the gospels that have shaped centuries of Christian belief, "Scripting Jesus" offers important insight into how we can understand Jesus's story today.

This volume contains 28 essays in honor of Abraham J. Malherbe, whose work has been especially influential in exploring modes of cultural interaction between early Jews and Christians and their Graeco-Roman neighbours. Following an introductory essay on the problems inherent to such comparative studies in the history of New Testament scholarship, the essays are grouped into five topic areas: Graphos -- semantics and writing, Ethos -- ethics and moral characterization, Logos -- rhetoric and literary expression, Ethnos -- self-definition and acculturation, and Nomos -- law and normative values. Some key examples are studies dealing with The Greek Idea of "Divine Nature" and its relation to the "Divine Man" tradition; Compilation of Letters in Cicero's collection; Radical Altruism in Paul; Greek Ideas of Concord and Cosmic Harmony in 1 Clement; The Rhetorical Use of Friendship Motifs in Galatians in comparison with Second Sophistic Orators; Wills and Testaments in Graeco-Roman perspective.