Four Gospels, One Jesus: A symbolic Reading

In this very readable book Richard Burridge depicts Jesus through the four Gospel authors' distinctive portraits of him. Without bogging down readers with technical terminology, Burridge brings to bear his research comparing the Gospels with classical biographies and offers a clear interpretation of each Gospel author's portrait. In a particularly striking move, he draws on the traditional symbols of the Gospels — the human face, lion, ox, and eagle — to represent each book's unique picture of Jesus.

This second edition incorporates recent scholarship on the historical Jesus, a new section on how the Gospels have been read throughout history, and an expanded discussion of how to teach and preach the Gospels through the lectionary. Burridge also tackles the matter of how these ancient writings bear on today's hot-button issues of unity and diversity. "Four Gospels, One Jesus?" will be appreciated by pastors, churches, and other readers keen to understand Jesus more fully.