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The Jesus of the Bible
More than any other Bible character, Jesus is the person both Christians and non-Christians admire and want to better understand. Now, from Stephen M. Miller, author of the bestselling Who's Who and Where's Where in the Bible, this brand-new reference details the life of Christ, His teachings, and the faith He introduced to the world - all in Miller's casual, easy-to-read journalistic style. Miller sets the story in the Roman world where Jesus lived, adding new insights from archaeology and ancient history. Gorgeous full-color illustrations, fascinating sidebars, and a complete topical index round out this important book.
- GenresTheology
379 pages, Paperback
First published March 1, 2009
1 person is currently reading
32 people want to read
About the author
Stephen M. Miller
89 books22 followersSTEPHEN M. MILLER was born in Oakland, Maryland on August 3, 1952. He was the first of six children--four boys, two girls--born to Clyde and Virginia Miller. Their sixth child, a boy, lived just a few hours. So Steve grew up in a family of five kids and both parents. At age 12, when his Grandpap died, Granny moved in with Steve's family. She's was Virginia's mom.
Steve's parents grew up two miles apart in coal country near Tunnelton, West Virginia, a deer hunter's long walk south of Morgantown.
After Steve came along, Clyde went looking for a job that didn't involve dragging a pick into a dark hole. He moved the family to Akron, Ohio where he became a tool and die maker, crafting steel parts for machinery.
His tax withholding statement for 1963 shows a salary of $5,990.51. By that time, all five kids were on board, the youngest age three.
Virginia didn't work outside the home until all the kids were in school. Then she took a part-time job as a sales clerk at JC Penney--as much for the clothing discount as for the slight salary.
Steve, at age 15, started working part-time after school at a Sohio service station, pumping gas, changing oil, and fixing flat tires. (Sohio stood for Standard Oil of Ohio.) It was a job he kept into his college years, until the owner died. The salary, which started at 75 cents an hour, paid for his first car. An extreme vehicle. Extremely used. Ford Galaxy, dingy green. The first time he drove it, he didn't know how to work the manual choke. A kid on a bicycle passed him.
NEWS JOURNALISM AT KENT STATE UNIVERSITY
In college, Steve knocked out his general courses at the nearby University of Akron. Then he transferred to Kent State University, where he got a bachelor's degree in news journalism. For those wondering where he was in 1970 when the Ohio National Guard came to Kent State to quell the Vietnam War protests and ended up killing four students in the parking lot outside the School of Journalism, Steve was a senior in high school.
His mother enrolled at Kent State the same year he did. She got a degree in elementary education, launching her career as a public school teacher. Don't ask Steve who finished college with a higher grade-point average.
Steve commuted to college; he couldn't afford to live on campus. He drove the 45 minutes each day to Kent, Ohio. After the owner of the Sohio service station died, Steve found a full-time summer job working in a factory. He ran heated molds that pressed uncured rubber into auto parts. Then he dug out the parts with a brass pick. He sweat through his clothes in the first 10 minutes, and through his boots by 30. At shift's end, his crust of body salt sculpted him into Lot's wife's brother.
WORKING AT THE NEWSPAPER
When Steve landed a summer internship his senior year, working as a news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune in central Ohio, life was looking up. He lived in a rented trailer and listened to his mouse traps snapping at night. Which wasn't as tough as listening to the girl next door match her oscillating voice to a record player with an rpm that couldn't decide which r to pm. But Steve was out of the rubber factory. And into an air-conditioned office.
After graduation, he took a job as a news reporter with the Alliance Review. He worked there a year and a half, covering general news and editing the religion section and the business section. Small paper. Pleasant town.
It was during those months that he decided the Christian publishing world needed a little help from writers and editors who had taken journalism 101.
further info...
http://www.newreleasetuesday.com/auth...
Steve's parents grew up two miles apart in coal country near Tunnelton, West Virginia, a deer hunter's long walk south of Morgantown.
After Steve came along, Clyde went looking for a job that didn't involve dragging a pick into a dark hole. He moved the family to Akron, Ohio where he became a tool and die maker, crafting steel parts for machinery.
His tax withholding statement for 1963 shows a salary of $5,990.51. By that time, all five kids were on board, the youngest age three.
Virginia didn't work outside the home until all the kids were in school. Then she took a part-time job as a sales clerk at JC Penney--as much for the clothing discount as for the slight salary.
Steve, at age 15, started working part-time after school at a Sohio service station, pumping gas, changing oil, and fixing flat tires. (Sohio stood for Standard Oil of Ohio.) It was a job he kept into his college years, until the owner died. The salary, which started at 75 cents an hour, paid for his first car. An extreme vehicle. Extremely used. Ford Galaxy, dingy green. The first time he drove it, he didn't know how to work the manual choke. A kid on a bicycle passed him.
NEWS JOURNALISM AT KENT STATE UNIVERSITY
In college, Steve knocked out his general courses at the nearby University of Akron. Then he transferred to Kent State University, where he got a bachelor's degree in news journalism. For those wondering where he was in 1970 when the Ohio National Guard came to Kent State to quell the Vietnam War protests and ended up killing four students in the parking lot outside the School of Journalism, Steve was a senior in high school.
His mother enrolled at Kent State the same year he did. She got a degree in elementary education, launching her career as a public school teacher. Don't ask Steve who finished college with a higher grade-point average.
Steve commuted to college; he couldn't afford to live on campus. He drove the 45 minutes each day to Kent, Ohio. After the owner of the Sohio service station died, Steve found a full-time summer job working in a factory. He ran heated molds that pressed uncured rubber into auto parts. Then he dug out the parts with a brass pick. He sweat through his clothes in the first 10 minutes, and through his boots by 30. At shift's end, his crust of body salt sculpted him into Lot's wife's brother.
WORKING AT THE NEWSPAPER
When Steve landed a summer internship his senior year, working as a news reporter for the Coshocton Tribune in central Ohio, life was looking up. He lived in a rented trailer and listened to his mouse traps snapping at night. Which wasn't as tough as listening to the girl next door match her oscillating voice to a record player with an rpm that couldn't decide which r to pm. But Steve was out of the rubber factory. And into an air-conditioned office.
After graduation, he took a job as a news reporter with the Alliance Review. He worked there a year and a half, covering general news and editing the religion section and the business section. Small paper. Pleasant town.
It was during those months that he decided the Christian publishing world needed a little help from writers and editors who had taken journalism 101.
further info...
http://www.newreleasetuesday.com/auth...
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Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews
February 25, 2016
The inside has lots of useful AND corny pictures/maps and is a good read. I recommend it for non-Christians even. Its quite open minded and offers relevant historical tidbits (like myths from Mesopotamia, Roman authors of the period, etc).
Highly recommended.
Although I ended up putting post-it notes on the cover cuz I kept getting looks on the train.
Highly recommended.
Although I ended up putting post-it notes on the cover cuz I kept getting looks on the train.
July 23, 2013
I enjoyed the book. I learned so much! It is well worth the read and if you take the book a little at a time, like I did (to compliment Bible reading), I think you'll like it very much.
What I Liked:
1. The book stayed true to the Bible and teachings of Jesus!
2. There is so much information to be gleaned from this book! The variety keeps the reader's attention. From illustrations and photographs to facts and information from historical documents like the Dead Sea Scrolls, this book is packed!
What I Didn't Like: (Note: I liked this book, but there were a few things I'd like to comment on and these are the reason I took one star away from my rating.)
1. I didn't like painting of Jesus used on the front cover. It's dark and does not reflect the Jesus I know and love!
2. There was almost too much stuff to digest and it was sometimes overwhelming to think of getting through the whole book. What contributed to this problem was:
Layout - Pages often have extra boxes of information that interrupt the flow of reading. My brain had to constantly adjust.
No Chapter Breaks - I'd prefer to see some sort of breaks. I need white pages here and there so I can breathe and feel like I've accomplished something. This book has none. Each small section runs into the next.
3. Sometimes too many differing thoughts on a subject from multiple sources and scholars. I liked most of this, but occasionally it pulled me away from the main Biblical point.
What I Liked:
1. The book stayed true to the Bible and teachings of Jesus!
2. There is so much information to be gleaned from this book! The variety keeps the reader's attention. From illustrations and photographs to facts and information from historical documents like the Dead Sea Scrolls, this book is packed!
What I Didn't Like: (Note: I liked this book, but there were a few things I'd like to comment on and these are the reason I took one star away from my rating.)
1. I didn't like painting of Jesus used on the front cover. It's dark and does not reflect the Jesus I know and love!
2. There was almost too much stuff to digest and it was sometimes overwhelming to think of getting through the whole book. What contributed to this problem was:
Layout - Pages often have extra boxes of information that interrupt the flow of reading. My brain had to constantly adjust.
No Chapter Breaks - I'd prefer to see some sort of breaks. I need white pages here and there so I can breathe and feel like I've accomplished something. This book has none. Each small section runs into the next.
3. Sometimes too many differing thoughts on a subject from multiple sources and scholars. I liked most of this, but occasionally it pulled me away from the main Biblical point.
August 3, 2009
The author’s preface states that he wrote the book for some of his family and friends to tell them about the Jesus of the Bible, and that he did not want to make another boring book, especially about Jesus. He succeeded on both counts. The Jesus of the Bible is an informative and interesting book that is anything but boring. There is extensive information about Jesus, the land of His time, and the social practices of the day. The book is organized well and breaks up the general text with information in easy to read decorative text boxes.
The topics covered in the book were some I have never seen covered in any other book of Jesus. Some of the more unique aspects of the book are discussions on what Jesus may have looked like, and what traditional practices of the Jews explains why we do not know. Also, there is information on Jewish and Roman crimes and punishment of the times, and the recent release of the translation of Gabriel’s Revelation.
The book is a complete book of Jesus from preparation for his birth through his childhood, his ministry, death, resurrection, and preparation for His return.
This book is never a stuffy textbook, always informative and sometimes lighthearted. There are beautiful photographs and artwork throughout and, of course, the beautiful story of His amazing love and amazing grace.
The topics covered in the book were some I have never seen covered in any other book of Jesus. Some of the more unique aspects of the book are discussions on what Jesus may have looked like, and what traditional practices of the Jews explains why we do not know. Also, there is information on Jewish and Roman crimes and punishment of the times, and the recent release of the translation of Gabriel’s Revelation.
The book is a complete book of Jesus from preparation for his birth through his childhood, his ministry, death, resurrection, and preparation for His return.
This book is never a stuffy textbook, always informative and sometimes lighthearted. There are beautiful photographs and artwork throughout and, of course, the beautiful story of His amazing love and amazing grace.
October 14, 2015
The Historic Jesus is the Jesus of the Bible -- Amazing Book!, May 21, 2012
I have reviewed many books by Stephen M. Miller and what can I say? They are all great! This was the second book of his that I read, the first was "The Complete Guide to the Bible." This book is well researched and will give you an overview of the Life of Christ. Miller provides insights on Jewish history -- tracing all the background leading up to Jesus the Messiah, his family tree, and the homeland of Israel. He does a wonderful job going through all 4 gospels and explaining historically the Life of Christ. He even covers what the New Testament teaches about Jesus and the Second Coming of Christ. He has wonderful sidebars -- one that I found amusing was the "Jesus Seminar" where so-called Bible scholars "voted" on what they thought was "the real words of Jesus" -- they came to the conclusion that "Our Father" was the only legitimate words of Jesus. On the next page, Miller shows that the Jewish Kaddish is very similar to the Lord's Prayer -- and Jews were praying this at the same time of Jesus! Every Christian and Jew should own this book -- it provides so much insight into the Life and times of Jesus Christ.
I have reviewed many books by Stephen M. Miller and what can I say? They are all great! This was the second book of his that I read, the first was "The Complete Guide to the Bible." This book is well researched and will give you an overview of the Life of Christ. Miller provides insights on Jewish history -- tracing all the background leading up to Jesus the Messiah, his family tree, and the homeland of Israel. He does a wonderful job going through all 4 gospels and explaining historically the Life of Christ. He even covers what the New Testament teaches about Jesus and the Second Coming of Christ. He has wonderful sidebars -- one that I found amusing was the "Jesus Seminar" where so-called Bible scholars "voted" on what they thought was "the real words of Jesus" -- they came to the conclusion that "Our Father" was the only legitimate words of Jesus. On the next page, Miller shows that the Jewish Kaddish is very similar to the Lord's Prayer -- and Jews were praying this at the same time of Jesus! Every Christian and Jew should own this book -- it provides so much insight into the Life and times of Jesus Christ.
July 9, 2012
Currently Reading.
January 1, 2012
Lots of information. Great maps and very easy to read and understand!
Displaying 1 - 6 of 6 reviews