The story of the New Testament is best understood when it is set in its historical context, which is what F.F. Bruce does brilliantly in this book. He begins by explaining the political, social, intellectual, and religious aspects of the Jewish people after their return from exile. The life and ministry of Jesus is then set within that culture. After the crucifixion of Jesus, "none of the authorities . . . could have reckoned with the event that confounded all their calculations," says Bru...

This modern classic in New Testament studies offers a compelling defense of the reliability of the Christian Scriptures. Christianity Today named "The New Testament Documents" one of the top 50 books that have shaped Evangelicals. "Our object," says F.F. Bruce, "is to find out what historical research reveals about the origin of the New Testament canon." Concise chapters explore dates and origin of various New Testament books, the formation of the New Testament canon, and examines the Gosp...

The Books and the Parchments is a classic text on the history and origins of the Bible. It explains the languages in which the Bible was written, how the books of the Bible were chosen, and the Bible's transmission and translation – from the earliest translations to the most popular English versions. Included are sections on the "Lost Books of the Bible" and the Apocrypha and other early Christian books. Professor Bruce makes it clear that he was writing for "non-specialists . . . and . . ...

After His resurrection, Jesus met Cleopas and another disciple on the Road to Emmaus and explained to them everything the Old Testament said about Himself. To understand the Old Testament themes that were fulfilled in Jesus, we need to understand Old Testament thought. F.F. Bruce reveals the context of the New Testament writers' understanding of the Old Testament by focusing on five themes: * Jesus's proclamation that "the time is fulfilled and the kingdom of God is at hand" (Mark 1:15), *...

This outstanding commentary is easy to read, informative, and intended for the general reader interested in serious Bible study. The translation used is Bruce's own. He sets passages in their historical and cultural context, compares them with the other three Gospel accounts, and opens the meaning of the verses. The book has won such praises as "scholarly, concise, and practical"; "the best overall commentary on the Gospel of John"; and "clear-headed and consistently informative." Drawing ...

Christianity Today Awards: Readers' Choice—1st placeChristianity Today Awards: Critics' Choice—1st placeECPA Gold Medallion Award winnerHow did the books of the Bible come to be recognized as Holy Scripture?Who decided what shape the canon should take?What criteria influenced these decisions?After nearly nineteen centuries the canon of Scripture st...

F.F. Bruce’s account of finding the Dead Sea Scrolls and learning of their importance will make you feel as if you are making the discoveries yourself. Although first written fewer than ten years after the discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls, this third edition (1964) is an excellent, readable introduction to "the greatest manuscript discovery of modern times.” F.F. Bruce’s balanced and thoughtful book answers the questions readers still want to know about the story, the Qumran community, th...

In New Testament times there did not seem to be any doubt that Jesus said he was God. But nearly 300 years later a priest in Alexandria, Egypt, taught that although Jesus had divine attributes, He Himself was not God—a viewpoint that remains among some groups today. Recognizing that the doctrine of the deity of Christ was under attack, Dr. William J. Martin, lecturer at University of Liverpool, and Dr. F.F. Bruce, professor at the University of Manchester, wrote a little book stating the c...

". . . undertaken to provide earnest students of the New Testament with an exposition that is thorough and abreast of modern scholarship and at the same time loyal to the Scriptures as the infallible Word of God." This statement reflects the underlying purpose of The New International Commentary on the New Testament. Begun in the late 1940s by an international team of New Testament scholars, the NICNT series has become recognized by pastors, students, and scholars alike as a critical yet o...

Who was Jesus and what did he do? These questions are right on target for understanding Jesus as a figure of history. But Christians mean more than that when they ask these questions. They go on to ask, Where did he come from? What is he doing? What is he going to do? For Christians, Jesus is the preexistent Son who became incarnate. And as the resurrected and living Christ, he continues to act, and he will yet do great things in the future. In this book, F.F. Bruce, one of the eminent New...

In recounting Israel's story from the Exodus to the destruction of Jerusalem by the Romans, F.F. Bruce reveals the historical context of the nation of Israel in a way that reads more like a novel than an academic text. In doing so, he makes the Bible come alive. For instance, the book gives a context to Psalm 137 in which Edom rejoices over Jerusalem's fall to Babylon, and it gives context to John 4 where a woman says, "Jews have no dealings with Samaritans." The chief distinction of Israe...

This story of the early Christian church – from its infancy to the conversion of the English in about A.D. 800 – pictures a church that is an unquenchable spiritual force organized for tribulation. Its spiritual resources are never stronger than in times of seeming disaster. The book is divided into three sections: “The Dawn of Christianity” deals with the church from its infancy to the fall of Jerusalem in A.D. 70; “The Growing Day” continues to the accession of Constantine in A.D. 313; a...