Four Portraits, One Jesus: A Survey Of Jesus And The Gospels

Second Edition Available Here

To Christians worldwide, the man Jesus of Nazareth is the centrepiece of history, the object of faith, hope and worship. Even those who do not follow him admit the vast influence of his life. For anyone interested in knowing more about Jesus, study of the four biblical Gospels is essential.

Four Portraits, One Jesus is a thorough yet accessible introduction to these documents and their subject, the life and person of Jesus. Like different artists rendering the same subject using different styles and points of view, the Gospels paint four highly distinctive portraits of the same remarkable Jesus.

Strauss illuminates these four books by addressing their nature, origin, methods for study, and historical, religious and cultural backgrounds. He then moves on to closer study of each narrative and its contribution to our understanding of Jesus, investigating plot, characters and theme. Finally, he provides a detailed examination of what the Gospels teach about Jesus' ministry, message, death and resurrection, with excursions into the quest for the historical Jesus and the historical reliability of the Gospels.