Summary
In this tome on the Gospels, Bock hopes "to show that the very diversity in the Gospels underscores an inherent unity in their claims that adds depth to the account of Jesus in a way that simply overlapping accounts would not. Just as a three-dimensional portrait gives depth to an image in a way that two dimensions cannot, so these four Gospels reveal a many-sided Jesus whose fundamental claims still challenge us today. Thus, such a look at Jesus according to Scripture gives us a glimpse of how unique a figure Jesus was" (17). Bock tells us that the premise of his textbook is that "too few people, much less students of the Gospels, are familiar enough with the Gospel accounts as they stand" (17).
In four parts, Bock walks his readers through a comprehensive portrait of the Gospels, starting with an overview which emphasizes the uniqueness of each Gospel. Then, Bock spills the majority of his ink over the portrait of Jesus contained in the synoptics, weaving these accounts together emphasizing the Gospels' chronology alongside of their christology. Part three deals with Jesus according to John, and Bock's final chapter is a theological summary of his first three sections and the major theological themes which emerge from the Gospels. Bock wrote Jesus according to Scripture not as a technical study, but to be a painstaking presentation of the Gospel narratives. His lack of concision is in service to the presentation of this portrait of Jesus.
What's Good
This book is written incredibly well. Often books like this read woodenly or can be difficult to move through, but Bock's style is both clear and fast paced. This is most evident in chapter 11, The Passion Week, which reads more like a action novel than a theology textbook. Bock's mastery of the Gospels is made clear in this. Not once does Bock lose his voice, but narrates the Gospels with a consistent authority throughout. Bock is tireless in this truly thorough treatment of the full content of the Gospels.
Questions/Concerns/Critiques
JESUS according to Scripture is excellent as a reference work, but unfortunately it is too long to be anything else. In his attempt to break down the barriers to Jesus as he's found in the Gospels, Bock creates one more barrier with this thick volume. Perhaps a companion to the Gospels would be a more effective tool to get students to read them rather than this book. So, in his attempt to break down all other barriers, Bock potentially creates one more barrier to the text.
I expected Bock to interact with the liberal and conservative scholarship that he mentioned in his introduction (50). It would have been of benefit to the reader for Bock to articulate those positions on specific issues/passages and show how the Jesus of the Gospels emerges as the true Jesus.
One of the unstated presuppositions Bock brings to his study is that the Gospels can and should be harmonized. Bock finds himself bound to respond to both liberal and conservative scholarship and harmonize the Gospels in this way to prove his point: "the [Gospels] are telling us that anyone with ears to hear and eyes to see should use them to find forgiveness in Jesus and enter into his promise" (405).
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