exciting read, 12 Oct 2007
I thought that as Mark is the shortest gospel it would be sketchy and dull This book brought Mark to me as a vivid exciting read with a huge build up of tension in the story. I was as gripped as by any thriller. I thoroughly recommend it.

Comprehensive but very readable, 14 Sep 2007
Wright approaches the gospel of Mark, as with all the books in his 'For Everyone' series, in a gentle manner, covering the story bit by bit in no more than three pages. Excellent introductions in his own words, with a readable and concise commentary. By no means heavy, but accurate, and can be used for brief daily study. Highly recommended.

A brilliant read, 10 Sep 2007
Easy to read and understand, this book gave me not only the historical background to the gospel, but also a greater understanding of the deeper meaning behind every part of it. It is a book to which I shall keep returning.

Easy read, well explained well worth it, 02 Apr 2002
This book is a really great explanation of the gospel; it is written in plain english and explains the gospel, the context it is written in and the content is simple but informative. i got a lot from this book and i'm now collecting the other books in the series. Buy it, it's worth it

exciting read, 12 Oct 2007
I thought that as Mark is the shortest gospel it would be sketchy and dull This book brought Mark to me as a vivid exciting read with a huge build up of tension in the story. I was as gripped as by any thriller. I thoroughly recommend it.

Comprehensive but very readable, 14 Sep 2007
Wright approaches the gospel of Mark, as with all the books in his 'For Everyone' series, in a gentle manner, covering the story bit by bit in no more than three pages. Excellent introductions in his own words, with a readable and concise commentary. By no means heavy, but accurate, and can be used for brief daily study. Highly recommended.

A brilliant read, 10 Sep 2007
Easy to read and understand, this book gave me not only the historical background to the gospel, but also a greater understanding of the deeper meaning behind every part of it. It is a book to which I shall keep returning.

Easy read, well explained well worth it, 02 Apr 2002
This book is a really great explanation of the gospel; it is written in plain english and explains the gospel, the context it is written in and the content is simple but informative. i got a lot from this book and i'm now collecting the other books in the series. Buy it, it's worth it

A delight...highly recommended., 01 Aug 2008
From the first page through to the last, this book is a real delight. I honestly treasure it.

In the past I have found commentaries to be books I only use as resource material, too heavy for much general reading. Understanding the scriptures is important to me and I am very grateful that the author chose to pass on his knowledge in such a gentle, engaging style. It means I can come home after a long day at work, help the kids with their homework and then have enough energy left to delve into the bible.

This is a book I look forward to opening each evening. Its like sitting down with a wise, learned old friend to discuss the bible together. Tom Wright has turned me from being a tired student into an avid reader.

I am totally impressed and have bought the lot. The whole set so far.

I want to shake him by the hand.

Thank you Tom.

Neil Hardisty.






Makes up to date scholarship on Luke easily accessible, 07 Jun 2002
Tom Wright is to be congratulated on making up to date scholarship on Luke's gospel not only easily accessible, but a source of inspiration and worship.
Wright begins each section of the book with a fresh translation of a few verses followed by a detailed commentary, usually beginning with a helpful illustration.
Each section takes about ten minutes to read. The book therefore lends itself to daily devotional reading
Within our Church congregation the book is being enjoyed by someone who has two M.A. degrees in theology, as well as some who have become Christians within the last few months.
Recommended for everyone who wants to take a fresh look at Luke's gospel.

exciting read, 12 Oct 2007
I thought that as Mark is the shortest gospel it would be sketchy and dull This book brought Mark to me as a vivid exciting read with a huge build up of tension in the story. I was as gripped as by any thriller. I thoroughly recommend it.

Comprehensive but very readable, 14 Sep 2007
Wright approaches the gospel of Mark, as with all the books in his 'For Everyone' series, in a gentle manner, covering the story bit by bit in no more than three pages. Excellent introductions in his own words, with a readable and concise commentary. By no means heavy, but accurate, and can be used for brief daily study. Highly recommended.

A brilliant read, 10 Sep 2007
Easy to read and understand, this book gave me not only the historical background to the gospel, but also a greater understanding of the deeper meaning behind every part of it. It is a book to which I shall keep returning.

Easy read, well explained well worth it, 02 Apr 2002
This book is a really great explanation of the gospel; it is written in plain english and explains the gospel, the context it is written in and the content is simple but informative. i got a lot from this book and i'm now collecting the other books in the series. Buy it, it's worth it

A delight...highly recommended., 01 Aug 2008
From the first page through to the last, this book is a real delight. I honestly treasure it.

In the past I have found commentaries to be books I only use as resource material, too heavy for much general reading. Understanding the scriptures is important to me and I am very grateful that the author chose to pass on his knowledge in such a gentle, engaging style. It means I can come home after a long day at work, help the kids with their homework and then have enough energy left to delve into the bible.

This is a book I look forward to opening each evening. Its like sitting down with a wise, learned old friend to discuss the bible together. Tom Wright has turned me from being a tired student into an avid reader.

I am totally impressed and have bought the lot. The whole set so far.

I want to shake him by the hand.

Thank you Tom.

Neil Hardisty.






Makes up to date scholarship on Luke easily accessible, 07 Jun 2002
Tom Wright is to be congratulated on making up to date scholarship on Luke's gospel not only easily accessible, but a source of inspiration and worship.
Wright begins each section of the book with a fresh translation of a few verses followed by a detailed commentary, usually beginning with a helpful illustration.
Each section takes about ten minutes to read. The book therefore lends itself to daily devotional reading
Within our Church congregation the book is being enjoyed by someone who has two M.A. degrees in theology, as well as some who have become Christians within the last few months.
Recommended for everyone who wants to take a fresh look at Luke's gospel.

Profoundly disappointing!, 24 Jan 2008
This book will primarily be of interest to readers who are happy with the basic principles of the form critical approach. Bauckham's assumption that the dates of writing of the Gospels can be set around 50 years after the events they narrate has been robustly challenged by many scholars in recent years: if so, why no reference anywhere to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the destruction of the temple? Surely any "redactor" would be keen to introduce this? And as to "eyewitness testimony", what we have is a lengthy study of eyewitness tradition, but not linked to live examples - I would have thought it reasonable, considering Mark's Gospel, to see an analysis of the shift through Greek usage to underlying Hebrew/Aramaic language and culture in 6:39-40 (the "symposia symposia" and "prasiai prasiai" statements) - these were being explored in 1965 by Lord Elton of Queen's College Oxford, and in Cranfield's commentary on Mark (1959).

It is also hard to understand how a book on this subject, published in 2006, could contain only one reference to the work of Carsten Thiede (mis-spelled "Tiede"!!), and that to his discussion of the identity of the companion of Cleopas on the road to Emmaus. Shall we pretend the controversial issues he raised about the possible very early dates of writing of the Gospels don't exist? Shall we cling to the form critical assumptions with blind prejudice?

No, the title and publishers blurb promise a far more interesting narrative than Bauckham has written. Rarely have I felt so misled and money so ill-spent as with this book.

Fascinating but deserves to be treated with caution., 03 Sep 2007
This is an important, scholarly and absorbing book. It should be read by anyone involved in New Testament studies. Yet its central thesis deserves to be treated with caution. The thesis might be summed up in Bauckham's own words.
The "period between the `historical' Jesus and the Gospels was actually spanned, not by anonymous community transmission, but by the continuing presence [sic] and testimony of eyewitnesses, who remained the authoritative [sic] sources of their traditions until their deaths" .
As a historian I have many reservations about the way in which Bauckham deals with evidence especially eyewitness evidence which is traditionally treated by historians with caution especially when it is first recorded many years after the event. It is a sad fact that eyewitnesses seldom remember what historians want them to have remembered! His concept of `testimony' is also difficult to deal with as it seems to imply than the evidence of anyone who heard Jesus is somehow more reliable than eyewitness accounts of other events. Yet the emotional drama surrounding many of Jesus' reported activities, large crowds, open disputes, apparent miracles and the trauma of the crucifixion are precisely the kinds of events which do not get reported accurately. Participants are hardly likely to maintain the level headed approach needed for accurate reporting. One sees this everyday in the press!
Bauckham talks of the `continuing presence' of eyewitnesses. Excavations of burials at the Qumran community suggest that few men lived beyond forty in this period. Someone who was the same age as Jesus was more than likely to have been dead by AD 40, someone ten years younger by AD 50. The likelihood of any eyewitness surviving into the 70s, let alone the 80s and 90s, is certainly remote. Those close to Jesus appear to have suffered a high rate of martyrdom and others alive must have perished in the sack of Jerusalem in AD 70. Even if there had been a few survivors they would not necessarily have been the best eyewitnesses and their memories would have become distorted with time. Two useful books here: D. Draaisma, Why Life Speeds Up as You Get Older: How Memory Shapes the Past, 2006, David Patterson, Sun Turned to Darkness, Memory and Recovery in the Holocaust Memoir, Syracuse, 1998. (This last book is important in view of Bauckham's attempts to link Holocaust memories with those of the gospel eyewitnesses. Holocaust testimony is not as accurate as he would suggest.) There is a mass of evidence relating to the ways in which memory distorts with time. A lot of it comes from diaries which have not been read for many years. There is often an enormous discrepancy between how an event was recorded at the time and how it is remembered many years later. Rather too much of Bauckham's thesis appears to rest on the maintenance of accurate memories over long periods of time.
Other points 1) Bauckham assumes the gospel writers were more immersed in Greek culture, specifically that of history writing , than any evidence from their own writing suggests. Where can one find in Mark, Matthew and even Luke much evidence that they had read widely in Greek literature or know of any Greek historians? Read, for instance, Plutarch's Lives (early second century, a few years after the gospels) which show just how sophisticated a leading Greek scholar of the day was in dealing with his sources in comparison to the gospel writers. Readers should make their own comparison but if they do I think few would be convinced by the argument that the gospel writers compare favourably with the more highly educated Greek historians. Plutarch, and his predecessors, Herodotus, Thucydides, Polybius (The Rise of Rome), all reflect on their sources, point out their strengths and weaknesses, and then explain their own conclusions. The only example I know of a gospel writer doing this is to be found at John 19:35 where the writer vouches for the testimony of an eyewitness.The evidence suggests that the gospel writers were writing within the traditions of Greek-speaking Jews, not highly educated upperclass Greek speaking pagans. The Greco-Roman empire was culturally very diverse, different schools, followers of Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Epicurus , tended to develop their own traditions. I felt that Bauckham had rather too rigid a definition of Greek culture. It was also difficult for anyone without considerable resources to accumulate more than a few literary sources as each would have had to be copied out by hand. The vast majority of literate Greek speakers would have had no access to the long, and therefore very expensive classic texts,although they may have heard some of them recited at fesitvals if they attended them.
2) Papias' memories. Doesn't Bauckham assume too easily that the reminiscences that Papias attributes to a Mark recording the sayings of Peter are the same as the gospel that Irenaeus attributed to Mark (which is the gospel we know today as Mark) ? (Irenaeus' attribution is probably c. 185 and many scholars believe that the names he gave to the gospels were somewhat arbitrary.) Papias had heard from an elderly Christian informant that a Mark took down Peter's sayings but not in order: Peter `used to adapt his instructions to the needs of the moment but not with a view of making an orderly account of the Lord's sayings.' Papias goes on to suggest that his Mark's account is rather lengthy -'he made it his aim to omit nothing he had heard'. This is just what one might expect from Peter, a man of little education but brimming, of course, with powerful memories, contributing his reminiscences to a devoted scribe, which is why Papias might well be a reliable source. If he was, his Mark seems very different from Irenaeus' Mark's taut narrative. The 'Papias Mark is 'our' Mark' thesis also assumes that Peter spoke good Greek- Mark is not a translation from Aramaic. This view is sometimes sustained by the view that Bethsaida, Peter's home' was a Greek colony. Twenty years of excavation at the supposed site of Bethsaida by the University of Nebraska have found only fragmentary remains of building in this period, but much evidence of fishing activities. The real importance of the site was much earlier, in the Iron Age. In fact the archaeological evidence (as it exists so far) for this New Testament period seems to support the lonely place mentioned in Luke (9:13) as a fishing village (other gospel references) . So it is unlikely that Peter would have picked up Greek in Bethsaida or anywhere else. It stretches the imagination to believe that Peter spoke good enough Greek to provide eyewitness material which Mark could use in the relatively sophisticated way he does. On balance the identification of Papias' `Mark's gospel' with that of Irenaeus Mark's gospel ('our' St Mark's gospel) seems very unlikely- they appear to be two different documents. It is, however, a central thesis of Bauckham's book that they are the same. (The tragedy is ,of course, that we have lost Papias's document. Think how much our knowledge of the 'historical' Jesus would have been enriched if the reminiscences of Peter as Papias describes them had actually survived! We all (except, I assume, some fundamentalists) live in hope that early documents such as these will be found one day in a cave. ) The more I read the more I felt that Bauckham's thesis, although not impossible, rested on very shaky foundations . If Papias was an accurate recorder then 'his ' document does not seem to be what we call Mark's gospel, if he not an accurate reporter then why rely on him at all?

3) Bauckham's view that John the Elder was the eyewitness responsible for John's gospel is already subject to dispute in website discussion. There are too many other possible 'John" candidates even if it was a John who actually wrote the gospel ( was it simply another case of Irenaeus putting an authoritative name to an unnamed document?). Again the lateness of John's gospel, ?90 AD, perhaps ten years later, makes it very difficult to argue that a surviving eyewitness would have been able to contribute a direct oral record.

It always takes three or four years for a book of this importance to find its niche.There does seem a lot to argue about and the enthusiastic and perhaps rather uncritical reception this book has received in some quarters may prove premature when scholars have reflected on its claims. A historian testing the historical accuracy of the gospels would hope that as many eyewitness memories as possible were recorded as soon as possible after the events so that the recorder could have a hope of checking accuracy and resolving discrepancies while the eyewitesses were still alive. Then the results would need to be written down before they became distorted in the mind of the recorder. This is what the Greek historians hoped to do even if they did not always have access to the eyewitnesses they would have liked. If this is (contra to what Bauckham argues) had happened then one might be able to trust the historical accuracy of the gospels as Bauckham believes we should. Again as with the Papias thesis, Bauckham's view that these very later eyewitness testimonies ( if such they were) would lead to an accurate record, goes against the assumptions with which mainstream historians work.
One looks forward to seeing how the debate unfolds. I have simply set out here some obvious objections to the thesis of this book which need further discussion. It in no way reflects my admiration for the breadth of Bauckham's scholarship -it is just that I feel that his central thesis might all too easily crumble under pressure from other biblical scholars and readers should be warned of this. I am only giving a historian's response to his thesis.

Insightful Scholarship -- Intriguing Speculation, 03 Jul 2007
This book sets out to establish that the Gospels compare favorably with other historical and biographical literature from the Classical period, and it makes an admirable case for that proposition. The author recounts the methods of Classical historians and biographers and posits certain literary conventions they used to warrant the accuracy of their text. He then turns to the Gospels, finding that they not only conform to good Classical historiographic methodology, they also make use of the Classical literary conventions warranting accuracy.

Basically, he finds that Classical historians highly valued eyewitness testimony as a basis for their works, and that the Gospels showed the same care to base their accounts on eyewitness testimony. He also demonstrates how, through the use of Classical literary convention, the Gospels identify the eyewitnesses to the various events they recount.

Bauckham engages in a statistical study of the names of minor characters mentioned in the Gospels, and his findings should raise more than a few eyebrows. It is a complex study, but the bottom line is that the statistical distribution of names of minor characters validates the historical accuracy of the Gospels.

Bauckham also tackles the identity of the Beloved Disciple, drawing parallels between the Beloved Disciple's relationship to Jesus and Porphyry's relationship to Plotinus. Porphyry was a disciple of Plotinus who wrote a biography of that philosopher, and whose self-portrayal in that biography mirrors the portrayal of the Beloved Disciple in the Fourth Gospel. Bauckham identifies the Beloved Disciple as the author of the Fourth Gospel and the three letters of John, and names the Beloved Disciple as John the Elder of Ephesus, a young Jerusalem disciple of Jesus who was not a member of the Twelve.

Interesting reading, to say the least.

exciting read, 12 Oct 2007
I thought that as Mark is the shortest gospel it would be sketchy and dull This book brought Mark to me as a vivid exciting read with a huge build up of tension in the story. I was as gripped as by any thriller. I thoroughly recommend it.

Comprehensive but very readable, 14 Sep 2007
Wright approaches the gospel of Mark, as with all the books in his 'For Everyone' series, in a gentle manner, covering the story bit by bit in no more than three pages. Excellent introductions in his own words, with a readable and concise commentary. By no means heavy, but accurate, and can be used for brief daily study. Highly recommended.

A brilliant read, 10 Sep 2007
Easy to read and understand, this book gave me not only the historical background to the gospel, but also a greater understanding of the deeper meaning behind every part of it. It is a book to which I shall keep returning.

Easy read, well explained well worth it, 02 Apr 2002
This book is a really great explanation of the gospel; it is written in plain english and explains the gospel, the context it is written in and the content is simple but informative. i got a lot from this book and i'm now collecting the other books in the series. Buy it, it's worth it

A delight...highly recommended., 01 Aug 2008
From the first page through to the last, this book is a real delight. I honestly treasure it.

In the past I have found commentaries to be books I only use as resource material, too heavy for much general reading. Understanding the scriptures is important to me and I am very grateful that the author chose to pass on his knowledge in such a gentle, engaging style. It means I can come home after a long day at work, help the kids with their homework and then have enough energy left to delve into the bible.

This is a book I look forward to opening each evening. Its like sitting down with a wise, learned old friend to discuss the bible together. Tom Wright has turned me from being a tired student into an avid reader.

I am totally impressed and have bought the lot. The whole set so far.

I want to shake him by the hand.

Thank you Tom.

Neil Hardisty.






Makes up to date scholarship on Luke easily accessible, 07 Jun 2002
Tom Wright is to be congratulated on making up to date scholarship on Luke's gospel not only easily accessible, but a source of inspiration and worship.
Wright begins each section of the book with a fresh translation of a few verses followed by a detailed commentary, usually beginning with a helpful illustration.
Each section takes about ten minutes to read. The book therefore lends itself to daily devotional reading
Within our Church congregation the book is being enjoyed by someone who has two M.A. degrees in theology, as well as some who have become Christians within the last few months.
Recommended for everyone who wants to take a fresh look at Luke's gospel.

Profoundly disappointing!, 24 Jan 2008
This book will primarily be of interest to readers who are happy with the basic principles of the form critical approach. Bauckham's assumption that the dates of writing of the Gospels can be set around 50 years after the events they narrate has been robustly challenged by many scholars in recent years: if so, why no reference anywhere to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the destruction of the temple? Surely any "redactor" would be keen to introduce this? And as to "eyewitness testimony", what we have is a lengthy study of eyewitness tradition, but not linked to live examples - I would have thought it reasonable, considering Mark's Gospel, to see an analysis of the shift through Greek usage to underlying Hebrew/Aramaic language and culture in 6:39-40 (the "symposia symposia" and "prasiai prasiai" statements) - these were being explored in 1965 by Lord Elton of Queen's College Oxford, and in Cranfield's commentary on Mark (1959).

It is also hard to understand how a book on this subject, published in 2006, could contain only one reference to the work of Carsten Thiede (mis-spelled "Tiede"!!), and that to his discussion of the identity of the companion of Cleopas on the road to Emmaus. Shall we pretend the controversial issues he raised about the possible very early dates of writing of the Gospels don't exist? Shall we cling to the form critical assumptions with blind prejudice?

No, the title and publishers blurb promise a far more interesting narrative than Bauckham has written. Rarely have I felt so misled and money so ill-spent as with this book.

Fascinating but deserves to be treated with caution., 03 Sep 2007
This is an important, scholarly and absorbing book. It should be read by anyone involved in New Testament studies. Yet its central thesis deserves to be treated with caution. The thesis might be summed up in Bauckham's own words.
The "period between the `historical' Jesus and the Gospels was actually spanned, not by anonymous community transmission, but by the continuing presence [sic] and testimony of eyewitnesses, who remained the authoritative [sic] sources of their traditions until their deaths" .
As a historian I have many reservations about the way in which Bauckham deals with evidence especially eyewitness evidence which is traditionally treated by historians with caution especially when it is first recorded many years after the event. It is a sad fact that eyewitnesses seldom remember what historians want them to have remembered! His concept of `testimony' is also difficult to deal with as it seems to imply than the evidence of anyone who heard Jesus is somehow more reliable than eyewitness accounts of other events. Yet the emotional drama surrounding many of Jesus' reported activities, large crowds, open disputes, apparent miracles and the trauma of the crucifixion are precisely the kinds of events which do not get reported accurately. Participants are hardly likely to maintain the level headed approach needed for accurate reporting. One sees this everyday in the press!
Bauckham talks of the `continuing presence' of eyewitnesses. Excavations of burials at the Qumran community suggest that few men lived beyond forty in this period. Someone who was the same age as Jesus was more than likely to have been dead by AD 40, someone ten years younger by AD 50. The likelihood of any eyewitness surviving into the 70s, let alone the 80s and 90s, is certainly remote. Those close to Jesus appear to have suffered a high rate of martyrdom and others alive must have perished in the sack of Jerusalem in AD 70. Even if there had been a few survivors they would not necessarily have been the best eyewitnesses and their memories would have become distorted with time. Two useful books here: D. Draaisma, Why Life Speeds Up as You Get Older: How Memory Shapes the Past, 2006, David Patterson, Sun Turned to Darkness, Memory and Recovery in the Holocaust Memoir, Syracuse, 1998. (This last book is important in view of Bauckham's attempts to link Holocaust memories with those of the gospel eyewitnesses. Holocaust testimony is not as accurate as he would suggest.) There is a mass of evidence relating to the ways in which memory distorts with time. A lot of it comes from diaries which have not been read for many years. There is often an enormous discrepancy between how an event was recorded at the time and how it is remembered many years later. Rather too much of Bauckham's thesis appears to rest on the maintenance of accurate memories over long periods of time.
Other points 1) Bauckham assumes the gospel writers were more immersed in Greek culture, specifically that of history writing , than any evidence from their own writing suggests. Where can one find in Mark, Matthew and even Luke much evidence that they had read widely in Greek literature or know of any Greek historians? Read, for instance, Plutarch's Lives (early second century, a few years after the gospels) which show just how sophisticated a leading Greek scholar of the day was in dealing with his sources in comparison to the gospel writers. Readers should make their own comparison but if they do I think few would be convinced by the argument that the gospel writers compare favourably with the more highly educated Greek historians. Plutarch, and his predecessors, Herodotus, Thucydides, Polybius (The Rise of Rome), all reflect on their sources, point out their strengths and weaknesses, and then explain their own conclusions. The only example I know of a gospel writer doing this is to be found at John 19:35 where the writer vouches for the testimony of an eyewitness.The evidence suggests that the gospel writers were writing within the traditions of Greek-speaking Jews, not highly educated upperclass Greek speaking pagans. The Greco-Roman empire was culturally very diverse, different schools, followers of Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Epicurus , tended to develop their own traditions. I felt that Bauckham had rather too rigid a definition of Greek culture. It was also difficult for anyone without considerable resources to accumulate more than a few literary sources as each would have had to be copied out by hand. The vast majority of literate Greek speakers would have had no access to the long, and therefore very expensive classic texts,although they may have heard some of them recited at fesitvals if they attended them.
2) Papias' memories. Doesn't Bauckham assume too easily that the reminiscences that Papias attributes to a Mark recording the sayings of Peter are the same as the gospel that Irenaeus attributed to Mark (which is the gospel we know today as Mark) ? (Irenaeus' attribution is probably c. 185 and many scholars believe that the names he gave to the gospels were somewhat arbitrary.) Papias had heard from an elderly Christian informant that a Mark took down Peter's sayings but not in order: Peter `used to adapt his instructions to the needs of the moment but not with a view of making an orderly account of the Lord's sayings.' Papias goes on to suggest that his Mark's account is rather lengthy -'he made it his aim to omit nothing he had heard'. This is just what one might expect from Peter, a man of little education but brimming, of course, with powerful memories, contributing his reminiscences to a devoted scribe, which is why Papias might well be a reliable source. If he was, his Mark seems very different from Irenaeus' Mark's taut narrative. The 'Papias Mark is 'our' Mark' thesis also assumes that Peter spoke good Greek- Mark is not a translation from Aramaic. This view is sometimes sustained by the view that Bethsaida, Peter's home' was a Greek colony. Twenty years of excavation at the supposed site of Bethsaida by the University of Nebraska have found only fragmentary remains of building in this period, but much evidence of fishing activities. The real importance of the site was much earlier, in the Iron Age. In fact the archaeological evidence (as it exists so far) for this New Testament period seems to support the lonely place mentioned in Luke (9:13) as a fishing village (other gospel references) . So it is unlikely that Peter would have picked up Greek in Bethsaida or anywhere else. It stretches the imagination to believe that Peter spoke good enough Greek to provide eyewitness material which Mark could use in the relatively sophisticated way he does. On balance the identification of Papias' `Mark's gospel' with that of Irenaeus Mark's gospel ('our' St Mark's gospel) seems very unlikely- they appear to be two different documents. It is, however, a central thesis of Bauckham's book that they are the same. (The tragedy is ,of course, that we have lost Papias's document. Think how much our knowledge of the 'historical' Jesus would have been enriched if the reminiscences of Peter as Papias describes them had actually survived! We all (except, I assume, some fundamentalists) live in hope that early documents such as these will be found one day in a cave. ) The more I read the more I felt that Bauckham's thesis, although not impossible, rested on very shaky foundations . If Papias was an accurate recorder then 'his ' document does not seem to be what we call Mark's gospel, if he not an accurate reporter then why rely on him at all?

3) Bauckham's view that John the Elder was the eyewitness responsible for John's gospel is already subject to dispute in website discussion. There are too many other possible 'John" candidates even if it was a John who actually wrote the gospel ( was it simply another case of Irenaeus putting an authoritative name to an unnamed document?). Again the lateness of John's gospel, ?90 AD, perhaps ten years later, makes it very difficult to argue that a surviving eyewitness would have been able to contribute a direct oral record.

It always takes three or four years for a book of this importance to find its niche.There does seem a lot to argue about and the enthusiastic and perhaps rather uncritical reception this book has received in some quarters may prove premature when scholars have reflected on its claims. A historian testing the historical accuracy of the gospels would hope that as many eyewitness memories as possible were recorded as soon as possible after the events so that the recorder could have a hope of checking accuracy and resolving discrepancies while the eyewitesses were still alive. Then the results would need to be written down before they became distorted in the mind of the recorder. This is what the Greek historians hoped to do even if they did not always have access to the eyewitnesses they would have liked. If this is (contra to what Bauckham argues) had happened then one might be able to trust the historical accuracy of the gospels as Bauckham believes we should. Again as with the Papias thesis, Bauckham's view that these very later eyewitness testimonies ( if such they were) would lead to an accurate record, goes against the assumptions with which mainstream historians work.
One looks forward to seeing how the debate unfolds. I have simply set out here some obvious objections to the thesis of this book which need further discussion. It in no way reflects my admiration for the breadth of Bauckham's scholarship -it is just that I feel that his central thesis might all too easily crumble under pressure from other biblical scholars and readers should be warned of this. I am only giving a historian's response to his thesis.

Insightful Scholarship -- Intriguing Speculation, 03 Jul 2007
This book sets out to establish that the Gospels compare favorably with other historical and biographical literature from the Classical period, and it makes an admirable case for that proposition. The author recounts the methods of Classical historians and biographers and posits certain literary conventions they used to warrant the accuracy of their text. He then turns to the Gospels, finding that they not only conform to good Classical historiographic methodology, they also make use of the Classical literary conventions warranting accuracy.

Basically, he finds that Classical historians highly valued eyewitness testimony as a basis for their works, and that the Gospels showed the same care to base their accounts on eyewitness testimony. He also demonstrates how, through the use of Classical literary convention, the Gospels identify the eyewitnesses to the various events they recount.

Bauckham engages in a statistical study of the names of minor characters mentioned in the Gospels, and his findings should raise more than a few eyebrows. It is a complex study, but the bottom line is that the statistical distribution of names of minor characters validates the historical accuracy of the Gospels.

Bauckham also tackles the identity of the Beloved Disciple, drawing parallels between the Beloved Disciple's relationship to Jesus and Porphyry's relationship to Plotinus. Porphyry was a disciple of Plotinus who wrote a biography of that philosopher, and whose self-portrayal in that biography mirrors the portrayal of the Beloved Disciple in the Fourth Gospel. Bauckham identifies the Beloved Disciple as the author of the Fourth Gospel and the three letters of John, and names the Beloved Disciple as John the Elder of Ephesus, a young Jerusalem disciple of Jesus who was not a member of the Twelve.

Interesting reading, to say the least.


A good introduction for the study of Jesus, 23 Aug 2007
This is a good introduction for those interested in studying the historical figure of Jesus. Deceptively short as the text is quite small, Sanders provides a welcome antidote to the sensationalist pseudo-history such as Holy Blood Holy Grail and others.

Sanders is correct to state that the study of the historical Jesus is a perilous and frustrating task, not least due to the lack of sources. Sanders cleverly provides a setting for Jesus, putting him fully in his times of first century Galilee and Judaea. He places Jesus vis a vis Judaism and the political climate of Jesus' time. The strength of this book is that it is not encumbered with theology, but is an appraisal of Jesus the man, someone who had, or believed he had, an intimate relationship with God and who saw himself as the man to prepare the Jews for the coming of the kingdom. As Sanders correctly concludes, as a result Jesus was more of a teacher and a prophet than a preacher of repentance.

All in all a recommended book for both Christians and non-Christians wanting a good introduction to Jesus, without sensationalism, be it theological or pseudo-historical.




Infromative, 11 Feb 2006
This is an excellent and readable study of the historical figure of Jesus.

Certainly a Helpful Introduction, 29 Dec 2005
This work provides not just an Introduction to reconstructing the life of the historical Jesus, but also to the modes of biblical criticism. The chapter on the Method and Setting of Jesus' Ministry is particularly valuable, and rightly points out misconceptions about the amount of time Jesus would have spent in Judea as opposed to his native Galilee. The book is well written, and the information it provides set down clearly for comfortable reading. In places more detail might be useful, especially regarding the primary and secondary sources that he uses, although these discrepancies are totally rectified by his more in depth works, such as the celebrated 'Jesus and Judaism,' and his work on Paul.

As to his conclusions, they are both conservative and forward looking. This is not a contradiction, as Sanders really pioneers the view that much can be known about the historical Jesus, while at the same time not straying drastically outside generally accepted scholarly thought. His is a careful, but worthy, reconstruction of the life and times of arguably the most influential figure in history.

Authoritative review of Jesus' life, 01 Oct 2005
Whilst books like the Da Vinci Code continue to dominate people's thinking on religion, books like these based in fact provide a welcome read. This book in particular is probably the best historical book I have read.

Sanders has not only created a book that is authorative and intelletucual, but he does what other academics fail to do - he makes it readable. Sanders focuses only on what can be proved or dissproved and rarely goes into speculation. If he does he always tempers it with a 'we infer'. Sanders goes into some detail about the historical setting of Jerusalm and Jewdasim at Jesus' time to build his case.

What he doesn't do is go into great details about his birth or upbringing, because quite simply, he has no proof or knowledge of it.

Very much a recommended read for all those that interested in trying to understand the facts of Jesus' life as opposed to speculating on it.

Enjoyable, informative, authoritative, 17 Aug 2004
Professor Sanders must be one of those rare academics who can write well for the general public, neither over-simplifying the content nor boring the reader with excessive detail. The book has just the right balance of readability and credibility, and there are new insights on every page. Particularly interesting were the first few chapters, covering the historical and political background. We are all aware that Palestine was "occupied" by the Roman Empire at this period, but what was the nature of the occupation? Was it, for example, comparable to the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in the early 1940s? The answer apparently is no, and the situation in Galilee was very different from that in Jerusalem. The book paints a clear picture of what life was like for ordinary people living in that region around that time. In dealing with the events of Jesus's life, Sanders always makes clear the degree of certainty of any assertion. There is a scale, with "beyond all reasonable doubt" at one end and "as likely as not" at the other. People who want simple answers in black and white may be disappointed by this, but ancient history is not an exact science. This is surely the honest approach.

Professor Sanders has been studying this period since the 1960s and appears to be regarded as knowledgeable on Jesus (as well as on Paul). I am not in a position to judge, but certainly the book seems more authoritative than some similar titles written by journalists or by those with a proselytising agenda. Although raised in the Church of England, I read this book as a complete layman. I was aware that I had no idea how much of what I had been taught was true in a historical sense and how much was mere legend, tradition or the personal opinion of my teachers, and I was starting to ask questions like "who wrote the gospels, and when?" and "what did Jesus ACTUALLY say?". This book has taught me a great deal about the origins of this vast religion.

There is perhaps too much emphasis on dates. To the lay reader, the exact years of Jesus's birth and death are less interesting than what happened in between. And while I'm looking for faults, I could mention that there are a few things that are not well explained. For example, the Pharisees are referred to as a party, but what is meant by "party" in this context? Is it something equivalent to a modern political party? Obviously not, though just what kind of a group they were is still not clear to me. But there are few such omissions. All in all, this book gave me the information that I wanted in an enjoyable form, and I happily recommend it.

exciting read, 12 Oct 2007
I thought that as Mark is the shortest gospel it would be sketchy and dull This book brought Mark to me as a vivid exciting read with a huge build up of tension in the story. I was as gripped as by any thriller. I thoroughly recommend it.

Comprehensive but very readable, 14 Sep 2007
Wright approaches the gospel of Mark, as with all the books in his 'For Everyone' series, in a gentle manner, covering the story bit by bit in no more than three pages. Excellent introductions in his own words, with a readable and concise commentary. By no means heavy, but accurate, and can be used for brief daily study. Highly recommended.

A brilliant read, 10 Sep 2007
Easy to read and understand, this book gave me not only the historical background to the gospel, but also a greater understanding of the deeper meaning behind every part of it. It is a book to which I shall keep returning.

Easy read, well explained well worth it, 02 Apr 2002
This book is a really great explanation of the gospel; it is written in plain english and explains the gospel, the context it is written in and the content is simple but informative. i got a lot from this book and i'm now collecting the other books in the series. Buy it, it's worth it

A delight...highly recommended., 01 Aug 2008
From the first page through to the last, this book is a real delight. I honestly treasure it.

In the past I have found commentaries to be books I only use as resource material, too heavy for much general reading. Understanding the scriptures is important to me and I am very grateful that the author chose to pass on his knowledge in such a gentle, engaging style. It means I can come home after a long day at work, help the kids with their homework and then have enough energy left to delve into the bible.

This is a book I look forward to opening each evening. Its like sitting down with a wise, learned old friend to discuss the bible together. Tom Wright has turned me from being a tired student into an avid reader.

I am totally impressed and have bought the lot. The whole set so far.

I want to shake him by the hand.

Thank you Tom.

Neil Hardisty.






Makes up to date scholarship on Luke easily accessible, 07 Jun 2002
Tom Wright is to be congratulated on making up to date scholarship on Luke's gospel not only easily accessible, but a source of inspiration and worship.
Wright begins each section of the book with a fresh translation of a few verses followed by a detailed commentary, usually beginning with a helpful illustration.
Each section takes about ten minutes to read. The book therefore lends itself to daily devotional reading
Within our Church congregation the book is being enjoyed by someone who has two M.A. degrees in theology, as well as some who have become Christians within the last few months.
Recommended for everyone who wants to take a fresh look at Luke's gospel.

Profoundly disappointing!, 24 Jan 2008
This book will primarily be of interest to readers who are happy with the basic principles of the form critical approach. Bauckham's assumption that the dates of writing of the Gospels can be set around 50 years after the events they narrate has been robustly challenged by many scholars in recent years: if so, why no reference anywhere to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the destruction of the temple? Surely any "redactor" would be keen to introduce this? And as to "eyewitness testimony", what we have is a lengthy study of eyewitness tradition, but not linked to live examples - I would have thought it reasonable, considering Mark's Gospel, to see an analysis of the shift through Greek usage to underlying Hebrew/Aramaic language and culture in 6:39-40 (the "symposia symposia" and "prasiai prasiai" statements) - these were being explored in 1965 by Lord Elton of Queen's College Oxford, and in Cranfield's commentary on Mark (1959).

It is also hard to understand how a book on this subject, published in 2006, could contain only one reference to the work of Carsten Thiede (mis-spelled "Tiede"!!), and that to his discussion of the identity of the companion of Cleopas on the road to Emmaus. Shall we pretend the controversial issues he raised about the possible very early dates of writing of the Gospels don't exist? Shall we cling to the form critical assumptions with blind prejudice?

No, the title and publishers blurb promise a far more interesting narrative than Bauckham has written. Rarely have I felt so misled and money so ill-spent as with this book.

Fascinating but deserves to be treated with caution., 03 Sep 2007
This is an important, scholarly and absorbing book. It should be read by anyone involved in New Testament studies. Yet its central thesis deserves to be treated with caution. The thesis might be summed up in Bauckham's own words.
The "period between the `historical' Jesus and the Gospels was actually spanned, not by anonymous community transmission, but by the continuing presence [sic] and testimony of eyewitnesses, who remained the authoritative [sic] sources of their traditions until their deaths" .
As a historian I have many reservations about the way in which Bauckham deals with evidence especially eyewitness evidence which is traditionally treated by historians with caution especially when it is first recorded many years after the event. It is a sad fact that eyewitnesses seldom remember what historians want them to have remembered! His concept of `testimony' is also difficult to deal with as it seems to imply than the evidence of anyone who heard Jesus is somehow more reliable than eyewitness accounts of other events. Yet the emotional drama surrounding many of Jesus' reported activities, large crowds, open disputes, apparent miracles and the trauma of the crucifixion are precisely the kinds of events which do not get reported accurately. Participants are hardly likely to maintain the level headed approach needed for accurate reporting. One sees this everyday in the press!
Bauckham talks of the `continuing presence' of eyewitnesses. Excavations of burials at the Qumran community suggest that few men lived beyond forty in this period. Someone who was the same age as Jesus was more than likely to have been dead by AD 40, someone ten years younger by AD 50. The likelihood of any eyewitness surviving into the 70s, let alone the 80s and 90s, is certainly remote. Those close to Jesus appear to have suffered a high rate of martyrdom and others alive must have perished in the sack of Jerusalem in AD 70. Even if there had been a few survivors they would not necessarily have been the best eyewitnesses and their memories would have become distorted with time. Two useful books here: D. Draaisma, Why Life Speeds Up as You Get Older: How Memory Shapes the Past, 2006, David Patterson, Sun Turned to Darkness, Memory and Recovery in the Holocaust Memoir, Syracuse, 1998. (This last book is important in view of Bauckham's attempts to link Holocaust memories with those of the gospel eyewitnesses. Holocaust testimony is not as accurate as he would suggest.) There is a mass of evidence relating to the ways in which memory distorts with time. A lot of it comes from diaries which have not been read for many years. There is often an enormous discrepancy between how an event was recorded at the time and how it is remembered many years later. Rather too much of Bauckham's thesis appears to rest on the maintenance of accurate memories over long periods of time.
Other points 1) Bauckham assumes the gospel writers were more immersed in Greek culture, specifically that of history writing , than any evidence from their own writing suggests. Where can one find in Mark, Matthew and even Luke much evidence that they had read widely in Greek literature or know of any Greek historians? Read, for instance, Plutarch's Lives (early second century, a few years after the gospels) which show just how sophisticated a leading Greek scholar of the day was in dealing with his sources in comparison to the gospel writers. Readers should make their own comparison but if they do I think few would be convinced by the argument that the gospel writers compare favourably with the more highly educated Greek historians. Plutarch, and his predecessors, Herodotus, Thucydides, Polybius (The Rise of Rome), all reflect on their sources, point out their strengths and weaknesses, and then explain their own conclusions. The only example I know of a gospel writer doing this is to be found at John 19:35 where the writer vouches for the testimony of an eyewitness.The evidence suggests that the gospel writers were writing within the traditions of Greek-speaking Jews, not highly educated upperclass Greek speaking pagans. The Greco-Roman empire was culturally very diverse, different schools, followers of Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Epicurus , tended to develop their own traditions. I felt that Bauckham had rather too rigid a definition of Greek culture. It was also difficult for anyone without considerable resources to accumulate more than a few literary sources as each would have had to be copied out by hand. The vast majority of literate Greek speakers would have had no access to the long, and therefore very expensive classic texts,although they may have heard some of them recited at fesitvals if they attended them.
2) Papias' memories. Doesn't Bauckham assume too easily that the reminiscences that Papias attributes to a Mark recording the sayings of Peter are the same as the gospel that Irenaeus attributed to Mark (which is the gospel we know today as Mark) ? (Irenaeus' attribution is probably c. 185 and many scholars believe that the names he gave to the gospels were somewhat arbitrary.) Papias had heard from an elderly Christian informant that a Mark took down Peter's sayings but not in order: Peter `used to adapt his instructions to the needs of the moment but not with a view of making an orderly account of the Lord's sayings.' Papias goes on to suggest that his Mark's account is rather lengthy -'he made it his aim to omit nothing he had heard'. This is just what one might expect from Peter, a man of little education but brimming, of course, with powerful memories, contributing his reminiscences to a devoted scribe, which is why Papias might well be a reliable source. If he was, his Mark seems very different from Irenaeus' Mark's taut narrative. The 'Papias Mark is 'our' Mark' thesis also assumes that Peter spoke good Greek- Mark is not a translation from Aramaic. This view is sometimes sustained by the view that Bethsaida, Peter's home' was a Greek colony. Twenty years of excavation at the supposed site of Bethsaida by the University of Nebraska have found only fragmentary remains of building in this period, but much evidence of fishing activities. The real importance of the site was much earlier, in the Iron Age. In fact the archaeological evidence (as it exists so far) for this New Testament period seems to support the lonely place mentioned in Luke (9:13) as a fishing village (other gospel references) . So it is unlikely that Peter would have picked up Greek in Bethsaida or anywhere else. It stretches the imagination to believe that Peter spoke good enough Greek to provide eyewitness material which Mark could use in the relatively sophisticated way he does. On balance the identification of Papias' `Mark's gospel' with that of Irenaeus Mark's gospel ('our' St Mark's gospel) seems very unlikely- they appear to be two different documents. It is, however, a central thesis of Bauckham's book that they are the same. (The tragedy is ,of course, that we have lost Papias's document. Think how much our knowledge of the 'historical' Jesus would have been enriched if the reminiscences of Peter as Papias describes them had actually survived! We all (except, I assume, some fundamentalists) live in hope that early documents such as these will be found one day in a cave. ) The more I read the more I felt that Bauckham's thesis, although not impossible, rested on very shaky foundations . If Papias was an accurate recorder then 'his ' document does not seem to be what we call Mark's gospel, if he not an accurate reporter then why rely on him at all?

3) Bauckham's view that John the Elder was the eyewitness responsible for John's gospel is already subject to dispute in website discussion. There are too many other possible 'John" candidates even if it was a John who actually wrote the gospel ( was it simply another case of Irenaeus putting an authoritative name to an unnamed document?). Again the lateness of John's gospel, ?90 AD, perhaps ten years later, makes it very difficult to argue that a surviving eyewitness would have been able to contribute a direct oral record.

It always takes three or four years for a book of this importance to find its niche.There does seem a lot to argue about and the enthusiastic and perhaps rather uncritical reception this book has received in some quarters may prove premature when scholars have reflected on its claims. A historian testing the historical accuracy of the gospels would hope that as many eyewitness memories as possible were recorded as soon as possible after the events so that the recorder could have a hope of checking accuracy and resolving discrepancies while the eyewitesses were still alive. Then the results would need to be written down before they became distorted in the mind of the recorder. This is what the Greek historians hoped to do even if they did not always have access to the eyewitnesses they would have liked. If this is (contra to what Bauckham argues) had happened then one might be able to trust the historical accuracy of the gospels as Bauckham believes we should. Again as with the Papias thesis, Bauckham's view that these very later eyewitness testimonies ( if such they were) would lead to an accurate record, goes against the assumptions with which mainstream historians work.
One looks forward to seeing how the debate unfolds. I have simply set out here some obvious objections to the thesis of this book which need further discussion. It in no way reflects my admiration for the breadth of Bauckham's scholarship -it is just that I feel that his central thesis might all too easily crumble under pressure from other biblical scholars and readers should be warned of this. I am only giving a historian's response to his thesis.

Insightful Scholarship -- Intriguing Speculation, 03 Jul 2007
This book sets out to establish that the Gospels compare favorably with other historical and biographical literature from the Classical period, and it makes an admirable case for that proposition. The author recounts the methods of Classical historians and biographers and posits certain literary conventions they used to warrant the accuracy of their text. He then turns to the Gospels, finding that they not only conform to good Classical historiographic methodology, they also make use of the Classical literary conventions warranting accuracy.

Basically, he finds that Classical historians highly valued eyewitness testimony as a basis for their works, and that the Gospels showed the same care to base their accounts on eyewitness testimony. He also demonstrates how, through the use of Classical literary convention, the Gospels identify the eyewitnesses to the various events they recount.

Bauckham engages in a statistical study of the names of minor characters mentioned in the Gospels, and his findings should raise more than a few eyebrows. It is a complex study, but the bottom line is that the statistical distribution of names of minor characters validates the historical accuracy of the Gospels.

Bauckham also tackles the identity of the Beloved Disciple, drawing parallels between the Beloved Disciple's relationship to Jesus and Porphyry's relationship to Plotinus. Porphyry was a disciple of Plotinus who wrote a biography of that philosopher, and whose self-portrayal in that biography mirrors the portrayal of the Beloved Disciple in the Fourth Gospel. Bauckham identifies the Beloved Disciple as the author of the Fourth Gospel and the three letters of John, and names the Beloved Disciple as John the Elder of Ephesus, a young Jerusalem disciple of Jesus who was not a member of the Twelve.

Interesting reading, to say the least.


A good introduction for the study of Jesus, 23 Aug 2007
This is a good introduction for those interested in studying the historical figure of Jesus. Deceptively short as the text is quite small, Sanders provides a welcome antidote to the sensationalist pseudo-history such as Holy Blood Holy Grail and others.

Sanders is correct to state that the study of the historical Jesus is a perilous and frustrating task, not least due to the lack of sources. Sanders cleverly provides a setting for Jesus, putting him fully in his times of first century Galilee and Judaea. He places Jesus vis a vis Judaism and the political climate of Jesus' time. The strength of this book is that it is not encumbered with theology, but is an appraisal of Jesus the man, someone who had, or believed he had, an intimate relationship with God and who saw himself as the man to prepare the Jews for the coming of the kingdom. As Sanders correctly concludes, as a result Jesus was more of a teacher and a prophet than a preacher of repentance.

All in all a recommended book for both Christians and non-Christians wanting a good introduction to Jesus, without sensationalism, be it theological or pseudo-historical.




Infromative, 11 Feb 2006
This is an excellent and readable study of the historical figure of Jesus.

Certainly a Helpful Introduction, 29 Dec 2005
This work provides not just an Introduction to reconstructing the life of the historical Jesus, but also to the modes of biblical criticism. The chapter on the Method and Setting of Jesus' Ministry is particularly valuable, and rightly points out misconceptions about the amount of time Jesus would have spent in Judea as opposed to his native Galilee. The book is well written, and the information it provides set down clearly for comfortable reading. In places more detail might be useful, especially regarding the primary and secondary sources that he uses, although these discrepancies are totally rectified by his more in depth works, such as the celebrated 'Jesus and Judaism,' and his work on Paul.

As to his conclusions, they are both conservative and forward looking. This is not a contradiction, as Sanders really pioneers the view that much can be known about the historical Jesus, while at the same time not straying drastically outside generally accepted scholarly thought. His is a careful, but worthy, reconstruction of the life and times of arguably the most influential figure in history.

Authoritative review of Jesus' life, 01 Oct 2005
Whilst books like the Da Vinci Code continue to dominate people's thinking on religion, books like these based in fact provide a welcome read. This book in particular is probably the best historical book I have read.

Sanders has not only created a book that is authorative and intelletucual, but he does what other academics fail to do - he makes it readable. Sanders focuses only on what can be proved or dissproved and rarely goes into speculation. If he does he always tempers it with a 'we infer'. Sanders goes into some detail about the historical setting of Jerusalm and Jewdasim at Jesus' time to build his case.

What he doesn't do is go into great details about his birth or upbringing, because quite simply, he has no proof or knowledge of it.

Very much a recommended read for all those that interested in trying to understand the facts of Jesus' life as opposed to speculating on it.

Enjoyable, informative, authoritative, 17 Aug 2004
Professor Sanders must be one of those rare academics who can write well for the general public, neither over-simplifying the content nor boring the reader with excessive detail. The book has just the right balance of readability and credibility, and there are new insights on every page. Particularly interesting were the first few chapters, covering the historical and political background. We are all aware that Palestine was "occupied" by the Roman Empire at this period, but what was the nature of the occupation? Was it, for example, comparable to the Nazi occupation of the Netherlands in the early 1940s? The answer apparently is no, and the situation in Galilee was very different from that in Jerusalem. The book paints a clear picture of what life was like for ordinary people living in that region around that time. In dealing with the events of Jesus's life, Sanders always makes clear the degree of certainty of any assertion. There is a scale, with "beyond all reasonable doubt" at one end and "as likely as not" at the other. People who want simple answers in black and white may be disappointed by this, but ancient history is not an exact science. This is surely the honest approach.

Professor Sanders has been studying this period since the 1960s and appears to be regarded as knowledgeable on Jesus (as well as on Paul). I am not in a position to judge, but certainly the book seems more authoritative than some similar titles written by journalists or by those with a proselytising agenda. Although raised in the Church of England, I read this book as a complete layman. I was aware that I had no idea how much of what I had been taught was true in a historical sense and how much was mere legend, tradition or the personal opinion of my teachers, and I was starting to ask questions like "who wrote the gospels, and when?" and "what did Jesus ACTUALLY say?". This book has taught me a great deal about the origins of this vast religion.

There is perhaps too much emphasis on dates. To the lay reader, the exact years of Jesus's birth and death are less interesting than what happened in between. And while I'm looking for faults, I could mention that there are a few things that are not well explained. For example, the Pharisees are referred to as a party, but what is meant by "party" in this context? Is it something equivalent to a modern political party? Obviously not, though just what kind of a group they were is still not clear to me. But there are few such omissions. All in all, this book gave me the information that I wanted in an enjoyable form, and I happily recommend it.

Daily readings to enlighten, 18 Jul 2004
I wanted to go 'back to basics' with some of the gospels, and chose Tom Wright's versions because although he is clearly a committed Christian, he is not emotional or dogmatic. He is an eminent scholar, and understands Jewish history and the context of the world into which Jesus was born, and both in this book and others I have read by him beforehand, this has truly enlightened my view of the gospels and Jesus himself. My personal experience of reading the Bible has always been one of 'new layers of revelation' - one can read a story or passage at different times and extract new levels of meaning. And so Tom Wright is helping me to do this once again.

I have never been disciplined when it comes to reading my Bible daily - but I am finding it easy with this study:

- It includes the daily reading, so you only need to take this book with you when you're out and about

- It includes a write up setting the reading in context and points to make you think

- The write up is long enough to be thought provoking but not so long as to lose one's attention!

I will definitely be buying more books in this series!

exciting read, 12 Oct 2007
I thought that as Mark is the shortest gospel it would be sketchy and dull This book brought Mark to me as a vivid exciting read with a huge build up of tension in the story. I was as gripped as by any thriller. I thoroughly recommend it.

Comprehensive but very readable, 14 Sep 2007
Wright approaches the gospel of Mark, as with all the books in his 'For Everyone' series, in a gentle manner, covering the story bit by bit in no more than three pages. Excellent introductions in his own words, with a readable and concise commentary. By no means heavy, but accurate, and can be used for brief daily study. Highly recommended.

A brilliant read, 10 Sep 2007
Easy to read and understand, this book gave me not only the historical background to the gospel, but also a greater understanding of the deeper meaning behind every part of it. It is a book to which I shall keep returning.

Easy read, well explained well worth it, 02 Apr 2002
This book is a really great explanation of the gospel; it is written in plain english and explains the gospel, the context it is written in and the content is simple but informative. i got a lot from this book and i'm now collecting the other books in the series. Buy it, it's worth it

A delight...highly recommended., 01 Aug 2008
From the first page through to the last, this book is a real delight. I honestly treasure it.

In the past I have found commentaries to be books I only use as resource material, too heavy for much general reading. Understanding the scriptures is important to me and I am very grateful that the author chose to pass on his knowledge in such a gentle, engaging style. It means I can come home after a long day at work, help the kids with their homework and then have enough energy left to delve into the bible.

This is a book I look forward to opening each evening. Its like sitting down with a wise, learned old friend to discuss the bible together. Tom Wright has turned me from being a tired student into an avid reader.

I am totally impressed and have bought the lot. The whole set so far.

I want to shake him by the hand.

Thank you Tom.

Neil Hardisty.






Makes up to date scholarship on Luke easily accessible, 07 Jun 2002
Tom Wright is to be congratulated on making up to date scholarship on Luke's gospel not only easily accessible, but a source of inspiration and worship.
Wright begins each section of the book with a fresh translation of a few verses followed by a detailed commentary, usually beginning with a helpful illustration.
Each section takes about ten minutes to read. The book therefore lends itself to daily devotional reading
Within our Church congregation the book is being enjoyed by someone who has two M.A. degrees in theology, as well as some who have become Christians within the last few months.
Recommended for everyone who wants to take a fresh look at Luke's gospel.

Profoundly disappointing!, 24 Jan 2008
This book will primarily be of interest to readers who are happy with the basic principles of the form critical approach. Bauckham's assumption that the dates of writing of the Gospels can be set around 50 years after the events they narrate has been robustly challenged by many scholars in recent years: if so, why no reference anywhere to the fall of Jerusalem in AD 70 and the destruction of the temple? Surely any "redactor" would be keen to introduce this? And as to "eyewitness testimony", what we have is a lengthy study of eyewitness tradition, but not linked to live examples - I would have thought it reasonable, considering Mark's Gospel, to see an analysis of the shift through Greek usage to underlying Hebrew/Aramaic language and culture in 6:39-40 (the "symposia symposia" and "prasiai prasiai" statements) - these were being explored in 1965 by Lord Elton of Queen's College Oxford, and in Cranfield's commentary on Mark (1959).

It is also hard to understand how a book on this subject, published in 2006, could contain only one reference to the work of Carsten Thiede (mis-spelled "Tiede"!!), and that to his discussion of the identity of the companion of Cleopas on the road to Emmaus. Shall we pretend the controversial issues he raised about the possible very early dates of writing of the Gospels don't exist? Shall we cling to the form critical assumptions with blind prejudice?

No, the title and publishers blurb promise a far more interesting narrative than Bauckham has written. Rarely have I felt so misled and money so ill-spent as with this book.

Fascinating but deserves to be treated with caution., 03 Sep 2007
This is an important, scholarly and absorbing book. It should be read by anyone involved in New Testament studies. Yet its central thesis deserves to be treated with caution. The thesis might be summed up in Bauckham's own words.
The "period between the `historical' Jesus and the Gospels was actually spanned, not by anonymous community transmission, but by the continuing presence [sic] and testimony of eyewitnesses, who remained the authoritative [sic] sources of their traditions until their deaths" .
As a historian I have many reservations about the way in which Bauckham deals with evidence especially eyewitness evidence which is traditionally treated by historians with caution especially when it is first recorded many years after the event. It is a sad fact that eyewitnesses seldom remember what historians want them to have remembered! His concept of `testimony' is also difficult to deal with as it seems to imply than the evidence of anyone who heard Jesus is somehow more reliable than eyewitness accounts of other events. Yet the emotional drama surrounding many of Jesus' reported activities, large crowds, open disputes, apparent miracles and the trauma of the crucifixion are precisely the kinds of events which do not get reported accurately. Participants are hardly likely to maintain the level headed approach needed for accurate reporting. One sees this everyday in the press!
Bauckham talks of the `continuing presence' of eyewitnesses. Excavations of burials at the Qumran community suggest that few men lived beyond forty in this period. Someone who was the same age as Jesus was more than likely to have been dead by AD 40, someone ten years younger by AD 50. The likelihood of any eyewitness surviving into the 70s, let alone the 80s and 90s, is certainly remote. Those close to Jesus appear to have suffered a high rate of martyrdom and others alive must have perished in the sack of Jerusalem in AD 70. Even if there had been a few survivors they would not necessarily have been the best eyewitnesses and their memories would have become distorted with time. Two useful books here: D. Draaisma, Why Life Speeds Up as You Get Older: How Memory Shapes the Past, 2006, David Patterson, Sun Turned to Darkness, Memory and Recovery in the Holocaust Memoir, Syracuse, 1998. (This last book is important in view of Bauckham's attempts to link Holocaust memories with those of the gospel eyewitnesses. Holocaust testimony is not as accurate as he would suggest.) There is a mass of evidence relating to the ways in which memory distorts with time. A lot of it comes from diaries which have not been read for many years. There is often an enormous discrepancy between how an event was recorded at the time and how it is remembered many years later. Rather too much of Bauckham's thesis appears to rest on the maintenance of accurate memories over long periods of time.
Other points 1) Bauckham assumes the gospel writers were more immersed in Greek culture, specifically that of history writing , than any evidence from their own writing suggests. Where can one find in Mark, Matthew and even Luke much evidence that they had read widely in Greek literature or know of any Greek historians? Read, for instance, Plutarch's Lives (early second century, a few years after the gospels) which show just how sophisticated a leading Greek scholar of the day was in dealing with his sources in comparison to the gospel writers. Readers should make their own comparison but if they do I think few would be convinced by the argument that the gospel writers compare favourably with the more highly educated Greek historians. Plutarch, and his predecessors, Herodotus, Thucydides, Polybius (The Rise of Rome), all reflect on their sources, point out their strengths and weaknesses, and then explain their own conclusions. The only example I know of a gospel writer doing this is to be found at John 19:35 where the writer vouches for the testimony of an eyewitness.The evidence suggests that the gospel writers were writing within the traditions of Greek-speaking Jews, not highly educated upperclass Greek speaking pagans. The Greco-Roman empire was culturally very diverse, different schools, followers of Plato, Aristotle, the Stoics, Epicurus , tended to develop their own traditions. I felt that Bauckham had rather too rigid a definition of Greek culture. It was also difficult for anyone without considerable resources to accumulate more than a few literary sources as each would have had to be copied out by hand. The vast majority of literate Greek speakers would have had no access to the long, and therefore very expensive classic texts,although they may have heard some of them recited at fesitvals if they attended them.
2) Papias' memories. Doesn't Bauckham assume too easily that the reminiscences that Papias attributes to a Mark recording the sayings of Peter are the same as the gospel that Irenaeus attributed to Mark (which is the gospel we know today as Mark) ? (Irenaeus' attribution is probably c. 185 and many scholars believe that the names he gave to the gospels were somewhat arbitrary.) Papias had heard from an elderly Christian informant that a Mark took down Peter's sayings but not in order: Peter `used to adapt his instructions to the needs of the moment but not with a view of making an orderly account of the Lord's sayings.' Papias goes on to suggest that his Mark's account is rather lengthy -'he made it his aim to omit nothing he had heard'. This is just what one might expect from Peter, a man of little education but brimming, of course, with powerful memories, contributing his reminiscences to a devoted scribe, which is why Papias might well be a reliable source. If he was, his Mark seems very different from Irenaeus' Mark's taut narrative. The 'Papias Mark is 'our' Mark' thesis also assumes that Peter spoke good Greek- Mark is not a translation from Aramaic. This view is sometimes sustained by the view that Bethsaida, Peter's home' was a Greek colony. Twenty years of excavation at the supposed site of Bethsaida by the University of Nebraska have found only fragmentary remains of building in this period, but much evidence of fishing activities. The real importance of the site was much earlier, in the Iron Age. In fact the archaeological evidence (as it exists so far) for this New Testament period seems to support the lonely place mentioned in Luke (9:13) as a fishing village (other gospel references) . So it is unlikely that Peter would have picked up Greek in Bethsaida or anywhere else. It stretches the imagination to believe that Peter spoke good enough Greek to provide eyewitness material which Mark could use in the relatively sophisticated way he does. On balance the identification of Papias' `Mark's gospel' with that of Irenaeus Mark's gospel ('our' St Mark's gospel) seems very unlikely- they appear to be two different documents. It is, however, a central thesis of Bauckham's book that they are the same. (The tragedy is ,of course, that we have lost Papias's document. Think how much our knowledge of the 'historical' Jesus would have been enriched if the reminiscences of Peter as Papias describes them had actually survived! We all (except, I assume, some fundamentalists) live in hope that early documents such as these will be found one day in a cave. ) The more I read the more I felt that Bauckham's thesis, although not impossible, rested on very shaky foundations . If Papias was an accurate recorder then 'his ' document does not seem to be what we call Mark's gospel, if he not an accurate reporter then why rely on him at all?

3) Bauckham's view that John the Elder was the eyewitness responsible for John's gospel is already subject to dispute in website discussion. There are too many other possible 'John" candidates even if it was a John who actually wrote the gospel ( was it simply another case of Irenaeus putting an authoritative name to an unnamed document?). Again the lateness of John's gospel, ?90 AD, perhaps ten years later, makes it very difficult to argue that a surviving eyewitness would have been able to contribute a direct oral record.

It always takes three or four years for a book of this importance to find its niche.There does seem a lot to argue about and the enthusiastic and perhaps rather uncritical reception this book has received in some quarters may prove premature when scholars have reflected on its claims. A historian testing the historical accuracy of the gospels would hope that as many eyewitness memories as possible were recorded as soon as possible after the events so that the recorder could have a hope of checking accuracy and resolving discrepancies while the eyewitesses were still alive. Then the results would need to be written down before they became distorted in the mind of the recorder. This is what the Greek historians hoped to do even if they did not always have access to the eyewitnesses they would have liked. If this is (contra to what Bauckham argues) had happened then one might be able to trust the historical accuracy of the gospels as Bauckham believes we should. Again as with the Papias thesis, Bauckham's view that these very later eyewitness testimonies ( if such they were) would lead to an accurate record, goes against the assumptions with which mainstream historians work.
One looks forward to seeing how the debate unfolds. I have simply set out here some obvious objections to the thesis of this book which need further discussion. It in no way reflects my admiration for the breadth of Bauckham's scholarship -it is just that I feel that his central thesis might all too easily crumble under pressure from other biblical scholars and readers should be warned of this. I am only giving a historian's response to his thesis.

Insightful Scholarship -- Intriguing Speculation, 03 Jul 2007
This book sets out to establish that the Gospels compare favorably with other historical and biographical literature from the Classical period, and it makes an admirable case for that proposition. The author recounts the methods of Classical historians and biographers and posits certain literary conventions they used to warrant the accuracy of their text. He then turns to the Gospels, finding that they not only conform to good Classical historiographic methodology, they also make use of the Classical literary conventions warranting accuracy.

Basically, he finds that Classical historians highly valued eyewitness testimony as a basis for their works, and that the Gospels showed the same care to base their accounts on eyewitness testimony. He also demonstrates how, through the use of Classical literary convention, the Gospels identify the eyewitnesses to the various events they recount.

Bauckham engages in a statistical study of the names of minor characters mentioned in the Gospels, and his findings should raise more than a few eyebrows. It is a complex study, but the bottom line is that the statistical distribution of names of minor characters validates the historical accuracy of the Gospels.

Bauckham also tackles the identity of the Beloved Disciple, drawing parallels between the Beloved Disciple's relationship to Jesus and Porphyry's relationship to Plotinus. Porphyry was a disciple of Plotinus who wrote a biography of that philosopher, and whose self-portrayal in that biography mirrors the portrayal of the Beloved Disciple in the Fourth Gospel. Bauckham identifies the Beloved Disciple as the author of the Fourth Gospel and the three letters of John, and names the Beloved Disciple as John the Elder of Ephesus, a young Jerusalem disciple of Jesus who was not a member of the Twelve.

Interesting reading, to say the least.


A good introduction for the study of Jesus, 23 Aug 2007
This is a good introduction for those interested in studying the historical figure of Jesus. Deceptively short as the text is quite small, Sanders provides a welcome antidote to the sensationalist pseudo-history such as Holy Blood Holy Grail and others.

Sanders is correct to state that the study of the historical Jesus is a perilous and frustrating task, not least due to the lack of sources. Sanders cleverly provides a setting for Jesus, putting him fully in his times of first century Galilee and Judaea. He places Jesus vis a vis Judaism and the political climate of Jesus' time. The strength of this book is that it is not encumbered with theology, but is an appraisal of Jesus the man, someone who had, or believed he had, an intimate relationship with God and who saw himself as the man to prepare the Jews for the coming of the kingdom. As Sanders correctly concludes, as a result Jesus was more of a teacher and a prophet than a preacher of repentance.

All in all a recommended book for both Christians and non-Christians wanting a good introduction to Jesus, without sensationalism, be it theological or pseudo-historical.




Infromative, 11 Feb 2006
This is an excellent and readable study of the historical figure of Jesus.

Certainly a Helpful Introduction, 29 Dec 2005
This work provides not just an