 Book Reviews Stories come alive from two testaments
Reviewed by Craig M. Kibler February 2002 |
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| The “Holy Spirit first
prepared, and then used, their [the human authors] individuality of
upbringing, experience, temperament and personality, in order to convey
through each some distinctive and appropriate truth,” John Stott
writes. In these two books, that theme stands out as the stories come to life for us and we once again learn about Jesus Christ; Abraham and David and Joseph; Solomon and the Temple; the early Church; Paul’s journeys and preaching; Matthew, Mark, Luke and John; Peter and James; and other elements of the New Testament. Helping along readers, whether or not they are familiar with Scripture, are maps, photographs and charts of the places, people and things talked about – Sinai, where the Israelites wandered before entering the Promised Land; the Jerusalem of Isaiah; the Sea of Galilee; the Roman Forum; the Garden of Gethsemane; Herod’s temple and so on. These are excellent, clear-eyed guides for studying – and, more importantly, for understanding – the Old and New Testaments, those who wrote them and the themes reinforced by the writing. In Romans, for example, Paul teaches us how Christ “died our death;” Luke shows us over and over again how Jesus loved those who were on the “fringes of society;” and John stresses the importance of how believers should “lead blameless and pure lives.” Travel from Genesis to Malachi and discover that, far from being a strange and alien landscape that may seem repetitive and hard to read, the Old Testament lays the groundwork and sets the stage for the New Testament. Throughout, readers easily can see that, no matter the different backgrounds or experiences of the authors, they continually present a unified message – the “saving grace of God in Christ.” As Motyer succinctly phrases it: “They were all chosen by God, shaped by experience, and empowered by the Spirit, first to understand the revolutionary Good News of Jesus, and then to communicate and apply it in the various situations they faced. “But at the same time they were Men with a Message, not men with many messages. In the midst of their variety, they communicate one message … for all men and women in all times and places.” |
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