How often have you heard the Gospel at Sunday Mass and wondered, "What happens next?" Often, our only experience of the Gospels is of those isolated segments taken out of context, like unassembled pieces of a jigsaw puzzle, rather than the story of our Savior's life. The Life of Jesus Christ: Understanding the Story of the Gospels aims to change that experience. Author Russell Shaw weaves together the events of Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John's narratives in chronological order to capture a true and rounded picture of Jesus’ life. The Life of Jesus Christ is the scriptural companion you've been searching for. Together, the four Gospels reveal Jesus Christ, God Incarnate, as a man of complexity and depth — compassionate but stern, who knew how to laugh and how to cry, a charismatic leader uninterested in worldly power, a subtle thinker who drew sublime messages from ordinary life. With Shaw guiding you, you'll truly get to know the Son of God in a new way. ABOUT THE AUTHOR Russell Shaw is an author and journalist who has written more than twenty books. For eighteen years, he was secretary for public affairs for the National Conference of Catholic Bishops/United States Catholic Conference. He later oversaw media relations for the Knights of Columbus for ten years.

What difference does it make to identify Mark's gospel as an ancient biography? Reading the gospels as ancient biographies makes a profound difference to the way that we interpret them. Biography immortalizes the memory of the subject, creating a literary monument to the person's life and teaching. Yet it is also a bid to legitimize a specific view of that figure and to position an author and his audience as appropriate "gatekeepers" of that memory. Biography was well suited to the articulation of shared values and commitments, the formation of group identity, and the binding together of a past story, present concerns, and future hopes. Helen Bond argues that Mark's author used the genre of biography to extend the gospel from an earlier narrow focus on the death and resurrection of Jesus so that it included the way of life of its founding figure. Situating Jesus at the heart of a biography was a bold step in outlining a radical form of Christian discipleship patterned on the life - and death - of Jesus.

"Extraordinarily entertaining....Learned, witty....Wilson [is] a gifted novelist and diligent biographer."--Newsday

#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • “A lucid, intelligent page-turner” (Los Angeles Times) that challenges long-held assumptions about Jesus, from the host of Believer Two thousand years ago, an itinerant Jewish preacher walked across the Galilee, gathering followers to establish what he called the “Kingdom of God.” The revolutionary movement he launched was so threatening to the established order that he was executed as a state criminal. Within decades after his death, his followers would call him God. Sifting through centuries of mythmaking, Reza Aslan sheds new light on one of history’s most enigmatic figures by examining Jesus through the lens of the tumultuous era in which he lived. Balancing the Jesus of the Gospels against the historical sources, Aslan describes a man full of conviction and passion, yet rife with contradiction. He explores the reasons the early Christian church preferred to promulgate an image of Jesus as a peaceful spiritual teacher rather than a politically conscious revolutionary. And he grapples with the riddle of how Jesus understood himself, the mystery that is at the heart of all subsequent claims about his divinity. Zealot yields a fresh perspective on one of the greatest stories ever told even as it affirms the radical and transformative nature of Jesus’ life and mission. Praise for Zealot “Riveting . . . Aslan synthesizes Scripture and scholarship to create an original account.”—The New Yorker “Fascinatingly and convincingly drawn . . . Aslan may come as close as one can to respecting those who revere Jesus as the peace-loving, turn-the-other-cheek, true son of God depicted in modern Christianity, even as he knocks down that image.”—The Seattle Times “[Aslan’s] literary talent is as essential to the effect of Zealot as are his scholarly and journalistic chops. . . . A vivid, persuasive portrait.”—Salon “This tough-minded, deeply political book does full justice to the real Jesus, and honors him in the process.”—San Francisco Chronicle “A special and revealing work, one that believer and skeptic alike will find surprising, engaging, and original.”—Jon Meacham, Pulitzer Prize–winning author of Thomas Jefferson: The Art of Power “Compulsively readable . . . This superb work is highly recommended.”—Publishers Weekly (starred review)

Reproduction of the original.

Jesus Christ is arguably the most famous man who ever lived. His image adorns countless churches, icons, and paintings. He is the subject of millions of statues, sculptures, devotional objects and works of art. Everyone can conjure an image of Jesus: usually as a handsome, white man with flowing locks and pristine linen robes. But what did Jesus really look like? Is our popular image of Jesus overly westernized and untrue to historical reality? This question continues to fascinate. Leading Christian Origins scholar Joan E. Taylor surveys the historical evidence, and the prevalent image of Jesus in art and culture, to suggest an entirely different vision of this most famous of men. He may even have had short hair.

Jesus comes to life in this fascinating modern biography excerpted from The Urantia Book. Many of these historical stories are familiar to readers of the New Testament but dozens are new, including the missing years not found in the Bible. Here you discover Jesus presented as never before, both as divine Son and human hero whose matchless life inspires, comforts, and transforms you. It is beautifully written in modern, page-turning prose and complemented with 106 paintings from 35 renowned artists, including 42 originally commissioned works you will see for the first time. The paintings run the gamut of fine art celebrating the life of Christ, both classic and modern. These artists poured their souls into these portraits of higher spiritual reality. Our deep appreciation and humble gratitude go out to each one of them. These paintings illustrate Jesus' life journey from his humble birth and childhood to adolescence and manhood; from private to public ministry and on to his death, resurrection, and ascension. The artwork celebrates his diverse life as son, father-brother, carpenter, boat designer and builder, tutor, translator, caravan conductor, teacher, healer, minister, and friend. No one knows what Jesus looked like, but these artists painted their soulful interpretations to spark our imagination of these scenes from the Master's life. Our intent is to give you a visual communion with Jesus that complements the enthralling narrative. This impeccably designed book provides relevant and empowering spiritual insights, helping you navigate the challenging yet promising conditions of the 21st century. We live in an exciting era of unprecedented improvements in our material lives brought about by scientific, industrial, and social achievements. Yet despite all this progress, many souls feel lonely and displaced. We need God and have an innate thirst for spiritual answers because of that "still, small voice" that lives within us. Finding God by living the personal religion of Jesus satisfies that thirst. The search for the genuine Jesus continues to intrigue humanity. Since the Bible only records an estimated 50 days of his life, it follows that there is more to his story. You will find it here in this detailed history of the Master's entire life, including the public ministry recorded in the Gospels. It provides a coherent and seamless biography of this magnificent personality who continues to shape spiritual progress in our world. The story of Jesus is one of the most enthralling chapters in human history. The closing passage of the Apostle John's gospel speaks to a life larger than even the world itself. How fitting that the last words of his gospel should be the first words of this book: "But there are also many things which Jesus did; were every one of them to be written, I suppose that the world itself would not contain the books that would be written." In John's day the Word was made flesh. In these days the Word is made book. The Untold Story of Jesus reveals the living Christ to members of the church that bears his name, as well as to worshipers of all world religions. It is sure to become a favorite volume for all who seek God.

For two centuries, Jesus has connected the Latter-day Saints to broader currents of Christianity, even while particular Mormon beliefs have been points of differentiation. From the author of the definitive life of Brigham Young comes a biography of the Mormon Jesus that enriches our understanding of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.