Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes: Cultural Studies in the Gospels, like Kenneth Bailey’s other works focus on the culture and context of the Biblical world. This includes:
- social dynamics that are foreign to those of us in the West
- grammatical structures that build on ancient rhetoric
- connections to historical events and other writings that would shape the original audience’s hearing of the text
Already an owner of his studies on Luke and 1 Corinthians, I happily bought this book to explore The Parable of the Talents. Immediately, I put it to use as part of my exploration into Jesus’ Abundant Life and the meritocracy post.
I was doubly glad I did when writing the inaugural edition of the Abundance Reconstructed newsletter. This time it helped me understand the crowd’s reaction to the inauguration of Jesus‘ ministry in Luke 4.
Both of these uses came within the first week of owning the text. Therefore, I have no doubt this book will be as used and beloved as Bailey’s other works:
- Poet and Peasant and Through Peasant Eyes: A Literary-Cultural Approach to the Parables in Luke (Combined edition)
- Paul Through Mediterranean Eyes: Cultural Studies in 1 Corinthians
While Jesus Through Middle Eastern Eyes is not the kind of book you would usually read from front to back, if you want to understand Jesus in context, it is a book that needs to be part of your library.
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