The Final Days of Jesus – Review by Schreiner at TGC

Credo Magazine contributor Thomas Schreiner has just written a review over at The Gospel Coalition of The Final Days of Jesus: The Most Important Week of the Most Important Person Who Ever Lived (Crossway),edited by Andreas J. Köstenberger and Justin Taylor, with Alexander Stewart. Here is what he says to start:

Andreas Köstenberger, an outstanding biblical scholar from Southeastern Seminary; Justin Taylor, the well-known blogger and publisher at Crossway Books; and Alexander Stewart, a research assistant for Köstenberger; have teamed up to write a book on the last days of Jesus—that is, the final week of his life. The authors primarily march through the week day by day, from Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, though they also include a brief epilogue that includes other resurrection appearances, the Great Commission, and Christ’s ascension.

The format of the book is easy to follow, and the commentary is brief and consistently excellent. For each day in the final week of Jesus’ life, the events are listed, the scriptural passage (or passages) pertaining to the event is printed, and a commentary on the passage is provided. The Final Days of Jesus should prove to be helpful for pastors, teachers, and interested laypersons who preach and teach about the events in our Lord’s last week. Moreover, those who desire to meditate on Jesus’ last week will find this to be an excellent resource as well.

One of the main advantages of Köstenberger and Taylor’s book is its brevity. Here is a resource that pastors and teachers will be able to read in advance of teaching, for the commentary is concise and accessible. I especially found helpful the numerous tables that illustrated events or other truths. Sometimes busy pastors and teachers don’t have the time to plunge into technical details about Jesus’ crucifixion and resurrection, and yet they need to be informed by responsible scholarship about what occurred. This book serves that need.

Read the rest of Schreiner’s review here.