The Story of Jesus
A Mosaic
Foreword by Mark C. Mattes
Imprint: Resource Publications
This book, written for college and seminary age students, is the distillation of reflection on the life and career of Jesus of Nazareth for over three decades. Such reflection needs no legitimizing since preoccupation with Jesus of Nazareth continues in one form or another till the present day. The arrangement of the pieces and fragments which make up the "mosaic" in part pursue the usual chronological order as appears in most editions of the Bible. But the interpretation of events within each sequence are this author's own.
In discussion with early or contemporary scholars, the text may reflect agreement or disagreement, but assumes the right to and responsibility for a specific point of view.
As indicated, the book is a "mosaic," comprised of pieces and fragments. It in no way intends to match the often massive attempts at describing Jesus of Nazareth that have been published over the centuries. Like a mosaic, it will show wear and tear, but it will be sufficient to indicate to the reader precisely whose face appears amid all those fragments and pieces, and enough to awaken reflection on his life and career.
Roy A. Harrisville is professor emeritus of Luther Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota. He is the author of many books on the New Testament and theology.
“With admirable courage, the New Testament scholar Roy Harrisville sums up his lifelong personal and professional engagement with the life and teaching of the Nazarene, as attested to by the four evangelists of the New Testament. . . . I have read this fascinating story of Jesus with great pleasure and profit, and I know that I will return to it again. I wholeheartedly recommend it to all students and teachers of the New Testament, as well as to anyone else who has an interest in this most important topic.”
—Oswald Bayer, Tubingen University, Professor Emeritus, author of Living by Faith: Justification and Sanctification and Theology the Lutheran Way
“Harrisville’s book sharply puts the central questions for readers of the New Testament. What can we know about Jesus and what can we believe about him? His answer to the first question is a detailed scholarly reckoning that runs throughout the book. His answer to the second stands in the tradition of Pascal and others. Faith is finally a wager, or more fully an act of trust, taken with due respect to the evidence and full knowledge of the stakes. Harrisville’s personal answers to these questions are informed and provocative and will both challenge and reward the engaged reader.”
—Todd Nichol, Professor of History Emeritus, St. Olaf College
“What Harrisville has accomplished in this book may be best described as a running commentary on the complementarity of the four Gospels. . . . The book is a tour de force. As Harrisville tells the story of Jesus—birth and baptism, preaching and mighty deeds, passion, death, and resurrection—he roams freely among the Gospels and the Scriptures they draw upon, to proclaim the life of the Lord as the intention of God. His narrative is enhanced by his remarkable knowledge of the church fathers, the history of doctrine, and modern biblical scholarship which he employs to great effect.”
—Walter Sundberg, Professor of Church History Emeritus, Luther Seminary
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