For Christians, Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, who died for the sins of the world, and who rose from the dead in
triumph over sin and death. For non-Christians,
he is almost anything else--a myth, a political revolutionary, a prophet whose teaching was misunderstood or distorted
by his followers.
Jesus of Nazareth is the Son of God, and no myth, revolutionary, or misunderstood prophet, insists Benedict XVI. He
thinks that the best of historical scholarship, while it can't "prove" Jesus is the Son of God, certainly
doesn't disprove it. Indeed, Benedict maintains that the evidence, fairly considered, brings us face-to-face with the
challenge of Jesus--a real man who taught and acted in ways that were tantamount to claims of divine authority, claims
not easily dismissed as lunacy or deception.
Benedict XVI presents this challenge in his new book, Jesus of Nazareth: Holy Week: From the Entrance into Jerusalem
to the Resurrection, the sequel volume to Jesus of Nazareth: From the Baptism in the Jordan to the
Transfiguration.
Why was Jesus rejected by the religious leaders of his day? Who was responsible for his death? Did he establish a Church
to carry on his work? How did Jesus view his suffering and death? How should we? And, most importantly, did Jesus really
rise from the dead and what does his resurrection mean? The story of Jesus raises many crucial questions.
Benedict brings to his study the vast learning of a brilliant scholar, the passionate searching of a great mind, and the
deep compassion of a pastor's heart. In the end, he dares readers to grapple with the meaning of Jesus' life, teaching,
death, and resurrection.
"Only in this second volume do we encounter the decisive sayings and events of Jesus' life . . . I hope that I
have been granted an insight into the figure of Our Lord that can be helpful to all readers who seek to encounter Jesus
and to believe in Him." -Pope Benedict XVI
"Working from Scripture, the Church Fathers and contemporary scholarship, Benedict XVI deftly brings together the
historical and theological dimensions of the gospel portraits of Jesus. This is a splendid, penetrating study of
the central figure of Christian faith; a learned and spiritual illumination not only of who Jesus was, but who he is for
us today." +Charles J. Chaput, O.F.M. Cap., Archbishop of Denver
"What better guide could you find than Benedict XVI to lead you on the bracing adventure of exploring the historical
Jesus and discovering, under the tutelage of this most sage successor to Peter, the inner meaning of Jesus‘ death
and resurrection. Faith and reasonare the two wings Benedict XVI takes up to lead us to astonishingly fresh
spiritual perspectives and dizzying heights. This book often takes ones breath away, while infusing in the reader
the God-breathed Word, which is the Gospel." - Tim Gray, Ph.D., President, Augustine Institute
"As is his first volume of Jesus of Nazareth, so, once again, in his second volume Pope Benedict XVI has
authored a marvelous book, this time on the passion, death and resurrection of Jesus. What makes this study so
attractive is the depth of its biblical insight, its attention to historical issues, its keen theological acumen, and
its lucid and precise expression. Moreover, as with the first volume, it is written in a serene and prayerful
manner - a serenity and a prayerfulness that is conveyed to the heart and mind of the reader. This book fulfills
Pope Benedict's ardent desire - that it would "be helpful to all readers who seek to encounter Jesus and to believe
in him." -Thomas G. Weinandy, O.F.M., Cap., Executive Director for the Secretariat for Doctrine, United States
Conference of Catholic Bishops
"On the Day of Pentecost, Peter sought to explain to the assembled multitude what God had done through Jesus of
Nazareth, crucified and risen. Peter's successor, Benedict XVI, here undertakes the same urgent task, in fruitful
dialogue with the historical-critical biblical scholarship that dominates contemporary academic study of
Jesus. Charting the path of the new evangelization, Pope Benedict XVI uncovers for us the living source of Peter's
evangelizing mission: Jesus, in whom God gives hope to the world." -Matthew Levering, Ph.D., Co-Editor, Nova et Vetera, and Co-Director, Center for
Catholic-Evangelical Dialogue
"This theological masterpiece courageously confronts head-on two centuries of historical exegesis and establishes a
fresh way of reading the Gospels as both biography and theology in a coherent way. The author explains, "I set out
to discover the real Jesus, on the basis of whom something like a Christology from below would then become possible. The
quest for the historical Jesus, as conducted in mainstream critical exegesis in accordance with its hermeneutical
presuppositions, lacks sufficient content to exert any significant historical impact. It is focused too much on the past
for it to make possible a personal relationship with Jesus."
Here we find a compelling model for the presentation of the life of holy rabbi, Hillel or Aqiba, in the same
context as we account for the life of Jesus." - Jacob Neusner, Distinguished Service Professor of the History and Theology of Judaism; Senior Fellow,
Institute of Advanced Theology - Bard College
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