Foreword
Preface
Biblical and Church Timeline
Introduction: The Ancient and Timeless Journey of Faith
The Composition of The Bible
Gospels
The Canonical Gospels
From an Ancient to a Modern Application
The Responsible Interpretation of Scripture
Tools for Interpreting Scripture
Our Silence Will Not Save Us
Chapter 1: Beginning Our Journey
The Synoptic Problem
And if we do not tell it the stones will speak…
Chapter 2: The Synoptic Journeys
The Rebel’s Journey
The Galilean Journey of the Q Community
The Rabbi’s Journey
The Chronicler’s Journey
Chapter 3: Out of Ur in the Chaldees and into Occupied Israel
Tamar
Rahab
Ruth
Bathsheba
Mary
Chapter 4: From the Jerusalem Temple to the Judean Hill Country
The Time
The Occasion
The Players
The News
The Reaction
What of Elizabeth?
The Time
The Occasion
The Players
The News
The Reaction
What of Joseph?
John and Jesus: Shared Patterns and Paths
Of Men and Angels
Chapter 5: From Denial to Acceptance: Two Journeys to Fatherhood
The Circumcision and Naming
Zechariah Speaks
The Friends and Relations Respond
Zechariah Sings
The Benedictus
Preliminary Matters
Joseph’s Dilemma and his “Righteous” Response
A Change of Direction: An Angelic Message
The Virgin Birth
Chapter 6: From Nazareth to Bethlehem
An Occasion for a Trip to Bethlehem
An Old Story
The God of the Lowly
A New Story
Out of Bethlehem
An Ethereal Visit
The Religious Traditions of the Wise Men
The Sign
The Gifts
The Title
The Future
The Traditions
Chapter 7: From Bethlehem to Nazareth: A Transitional Journey
The Rites of Circumcision and Purification
Blessings and Honors Bestowed
A Proclamation
Poetry and Evangelism
In the World of a Tyrant
Connections to the Past, According to Matthew
A Theological Problem with Matthew’s Story
On the Place of Dreams in Scripture
Chapter 8: From Nazareth to the Jerusalem Temple: A Journey to Adulthood
A Pilgrimage with a Twist
A Different Tradition
Gnosticism
The Infancy Gospel of Thomas
A Broader Orthodoxy
Jesus and Moses; Jesus and Augustus
Chapter 9: Out of the Old Order and into the New: John Proclaims the Ultimate Return from Exile
John the Baptist Appears
John the Baptist Speaks
Chapter 10: From Nazareth to the River Jordan: “You Are My Son, the Beloved; with You I Am Well Pleased”
Looking Ahead
Acknowledgments
Reading List
Synoptic Gospels Scripture Excerpts
Index