Windows on Jesus: Methods in Gospel Exegesis

Harrisburg, PA: Trinity Press International, 1999. Pp. 300, Cloth, $24.00, ISBN 1563382822. Christopher McMahon Mount Saint Mary's College Emmitsburg, MD 21727 Wim (Wilhelmus J. C.) Weren is Professor of New Testament Exegesis in the Theological Faculty of the University of Tilburg, The Netherlands. Weren has produced a number of significant works including a study on intertextuality in the Bible (Intertextualiteit en Bijbel [Kampen, Netherlands: Kok, 1993]) and a commentary on Matthew (Matteüs [Hertogenbosch, Netherlands: Katholieke Bijbelstichting, 1994]) as well as many articles and reviews focusing on the study of the gospels. In Windows on Jesus Weren makes the fruits of his labors accessible both to students and educated lay people while not succumbing to the danger of 'dumbing down' the material. Weren divides the book into four sections. In each of these sections he offers a paradigm, or a window, for studying the Gospels: synchrony, diachrony, intertextuality, and history. The first two sections of the book are quite lengthy (86 pages and 80 pages respectively), and the sections on intertextuality and history are considerably shorter (55 pages and 24 pages respectively). While one should expect a certain unevenness given the fact that different topics require varying amounts of space, I must say that the final chapter/section on history and the historical Jesus demands more than twenty-four pages. This small matter notwithstanding, Weren's work addresses issues which will be of interest to all who teach the gospels, and especially Roman Catholic readers in light of The Pontifical Biblical Commission's (PBC) document The Interpretation of the Bible in the Church (the official text is in French and has been reprinted in Biblica 74 [1993]: 451-528). [Full Review]