Jesus, the Final Days: What Really Happened by Craig Evans, N. T. Wright, Troy A. Miller (Editor)

A Superb Scholarly Presentation of the Last Days of Jesus that is Accesible to the Non-Expertby NBrasfield

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November 29, 2008: I had a small hand in this project, but not enough to profit if it is purchased or not, so my honest reader's opinion is that this is a very well done book that satisfies a great need in the wealth of books about Jesus already out there.

By no means do Evans and Wright sacrifice their depth of scholarship, but this work is highly accessible to the layperson that may or may not have much knowledge about Jesus. His death, burial, and resurrection are situated in their historical contexts and the evidence and reasons for believing the gospel accounts (Evans works mostly from Mark) are brought out. Evans, utilizing his extensive knowledge of not only Scripture but many other relevant ancient texts, argues concisely and effectively that Jesus was in fact dead and was in fact buried--two ideas that have been argued against for any number of reasons. Wright, building on his extensive research into the historical evidence for Jesus' resurrection (see his Resurrection of the Son of God), provides not only reasons to believe that Jesus was literally raised from the dead but also elaborates on what the resurrection of Jesus means for the world(in the same manner as some material in his absolutely excellent Surprised by Hope.)

As the overseer of the project, Troy A. Miller, makes clear in the preface, this is meant to be a book studied not only by scholars and students but by the laypeople of the church as well, and certainly those people who are not committed to Jesus in any certain of way. Its conciseness, lack of elaborate footnotes, and straightforward presentation are precisely what curious readers should find attractive--not to mention its authorship by well-respected and widely-read scholars that are praised even by those who often disagree with their conclusions. Furthermore, Evans and Wright offer their extremely thought-provoking and well-supported conclusions about Jesus' death, burial, and resurrection in light of conflicting arguments.

The star rating is a little tricky because for all that the book attempts, it accomplishes very very well. When compared to other pieces of work that go into greater detail on these subjects, of course the book does not offer as much. However, the book deserves a wide readership specifically among students and the general public. It is a superb introduction to the reliability of the gospel accounts of Jesus' final days.

I Also Recommend: Surprised by Hope, The Resurrection of the Son of God, Fabricating Jesus.