Top Jesus scholars Marcus J. Borg and John Dominic Crossan join together to reveal a radical and little-known Jesus. As both authors reacted to and responded to questions about Mel Gibson's blockbuster The Passion of the Christ, they discovered that many Christians are unclear on the details of events during the week leading up to Jesus's crucifixion.
Using the gospel of Mark as their guide, Borg and Crossan present a day-by-day account of Jesus's final week of life. They begin their story on Palm Sunday with two triumphal entries into Jerusalem. The first entry, that of Roman governor Pontius Pilate leading Roman soldiers into the city, symbolized military strength. The second heralded a new kind of moral hero who was praised by the people as he rode in on a humble donkey. The Jesus introduced by Borg and Crossan is this new moral hero, a more dangerous Jesus than the one enshrined in the church's traditional teachings.
The Last Week depicts Jesus giving up his life to protest power without justice and to condemn the rich who lack concern for the poor. In this vein, at the end of the week Jesus marches up Calvary, offering himself as a model for others to do the same when they are confronted by similar issues. Informed, challenged, and inspired, we not only meet the historical Jesus, but meet a new Jesus who engages us and invites us to follow him.
Customer Reviews:
Avg. Customer Rating: 4.0 / 5.0
Jesus without the Supernatural:
The Last Week by John Dominic Crossan and Marcus Borg is a good book on the Gospel of Mark by a couple of Jesus-Seminar scholars. The authors assume many things, which most Christians accept as core doctrines, didn't happen or only happened in ways that can be explained without any miraculous intervention by God. The appearances of the resurrected Jesus are assumed to be visionary experiences of the apostles. The conflicting details reported by Matthew, Mark, Luke, and John are made clear enough that... more info
The Last Week:
Very thorough, revealing of the life in those biblical days, relational to present day Christians.
Ransom by Participation, Not Substitution:
Borg and Crossan have given us an account that follows daily events in the last week of Jesus' life as recorded in the gospel of Mark. One might expect these alumni of the Jesus Seminar to delve into which events are more likely to be historical; but that is completely foreign to their purpose, for they focus on explicating the meaning and significance of what Mark has to say. This is serious bible study that can appeal to the most literal-minded as well as the most liberal of readers. They begin their... more info
The Last Week:
In keeping with St. Augustine's comment (Confessions 12) about the varying and useful value of individual interpretation of biblical passages, The Last Week does present a well written, easily readable and researched treatise on Mark's presentation of Holy Week events. Is it the definitive understanding on the subject? Probably not but it does contribute much to the exegesis of those events. It is certainly worth reading and contemplating. G. Trejos
