Darrell L. Bock

In October 2013, seventeen pastors and scholars, most if not all Jewish Christians, came together for a conference talking about the plan of God for Israel. This book is made up of their lectures, each in a chapter, and consider Old Testament prophecy, New Testament interpretation, the relationship between Jews and the Church throughout history, and theology.

The main thrust of the book could be summed up in once sentence: God still has a plan for Israel, literally involving the Promised show more Land, and when Israel as a nation and as a people acknowledge Jesus as Messiah, their true restoration and end times will arrive. To support this, each chapter takes a slightly different but overlapping approach to showing why this, rather than a replacement theology, is true. The first half takes specific portions of Scripture, while the second half focuses more on general theological, historical or political attitudes. The final chapter, a survey of seminaries, probably has the least interest or application for lay readers, but may be of interest to pastors. I agree with much of what they present and found the arguments convincing, though marred somewhat by typos and in one memorable instance a chapter with 72 notes that were all off by one starting somewhere around note 25. The book was meant to be a study guide, and I did answer the questions at the end of each chapter to help myself remember the material. The QR codes, however, didn't seem to work and I skipped using them after the first couple of chapters. That being said, I probably would read the book or certain chapters over again when I was studying the applicable verses of the Bible. I'll probably add some of the books mentioned in the notes to a list of further reading as well. show less

Bock is a respected, conservative New Testament scholar. In Studying the Historical Jesus, he offers one of the most accessible introductions to the study of the "Historical" Jesus. If you have simply read your New Testament your entire life and are now curious about its background, origins, and the history behind it. Or if you have had little exposure to the New Testament and wonder what it is all about, historically speaking. This book delivers.

The Introduction opens with brief discussions show more of sources relevant to the study of the historical Jesus, including the Old Testament, the Apocrypha, the Pseudepigrapha, the Dead Sea Scrolls, Philo, and Josephus. Each is only a few paragraphs long but explains well the source and its relevance to studying Jesus. The main event of the Introduction, however, is his run down on each of the Canonical Gospels. Bock delivers solid discussions of each, including their structure, unique emphasis, authorship, and date. Not surprisingly, Bock's conclusions are traditional.

Bock also delivers a chapter on the Nonbiblical evidence for Jesus, ably covering the "usual suspects" of Josephus, Thallus, Tacitus, and company. Next there is an informative discussion about the chronology of Jesus' life. Bock nondogmatically discusses the various alternatives about when Jesus was born, how long his ministry was, and the date of his death. Thereafter, Bock delivers a helpful general history of the Greek and Roman empires, and then a more focused discussion on the geography, population, and culture of first century Palestine.

In Part 2 of his book, Bock moves into a more argumentative tone as he discusses and criticizes the search for the "historical Jesus." There is a helpful history highlighting the key players and their theories in the three "quests" for the historical Jesus. Bock then summarizes five systemic problems in historical Jesus research, including an undue skepticism of narratives or sayings that are similar to Old Testament narratives and sayings, and inadequate historical attention being given to Luke's special material, Matthew's special material, and the Gospel of John. The criticisms are well taken and receive insufficient consideration in most New Testament research.

Next Bock devotes chapters to several methods of historical inquiry as applied to the New Testament: Historical Criticism, Source Criticism, Form Criticism, Redaction Criticism, Tradition Criticism, and Narrative Criticism and Gospel Genre. The discussions are well done, defining each as well as emphasizing the strengths and weaknesses inherent to each disciple. Bock is no reactionary. He sees a role for each in researching and understanding the New Testament and Jesus, but appropriately chides much modern "historical Jesus" studies as overly skeptical.

In sum, Bock has delivered an excellent resource for those interested in looking into the unfamiliar ground of New Testament criticism or studying the "historical" Jesus. Indeed, this would be one of the first books I would recommend to any such person. show less

A book of this kind ought to have been unnecessary, but the fact is, many in the general public fell for Dan Brown's self- serving fraud by taking Da Vinci Code for a work of non-fiction.

Darrell Bock seeks to refute the wild claims and suppositions of Brown's lightweight novel by considering such issues as the identity of Mary Magdalene, the marital status of Jesus, the significance of the gnostic gospels, and the history of the New Testament. Bock draws primarily on work by theologians, show more and his arguments are therefore based on religious ideology and dubious assumptions that the biblical accounts are true, despite their many contradictions. Nevertheless, he offers an interesting, if ill-informed, counterweight to such scholars as Elaine Pagels in putting gnostic works into context.

A credible historian would have written a very different work, albeit one no less critical of the Da Vinci Code. This book is likely to be well regarded by Christians seeking reassurance that they need not question their own religious beliefs. Others will look to works of a more scholarly nature for dispassionate, objective evaluations of the historical evidence. show less

I was very impressed with this book. Not only does it provide a thorough investigation of PD, but it does so in a scholarly yet approachable way. I was especially impressed with the logical progression of the "argument", but also the excellent use of Scripture to make the finer points, including very important references to Greek issues.
I would like to have seen the authors address, not only PD in the context of mainstream dispensationalism, but also within the wider world of hermeneutics, show more including especially the Catholic tradition. I was amazed at how closely the two methods parallel one another. I think it reveals a point of possible dialogue to return to a greater unity of the Body of Christ. I do think the author hints at the need to pursue greater Christian unity in ch. 9, but stops short of outright making the point and unfortunately limits it to unity within Evangelical Protestantism.

Over all, this is a great read, and I highly recommend it to anyone interested in emerging hermeneutics issues that are sure to change the interpretational understanding of many. show less