The Gospel of John could well be titled “Jesus and the Jewish Festivals,” given the author’s focus on Jesus’ presence in Jerusalem during Passover, Tabernacles, and Hanukkah. Gary M. Burge has just written the latest in his “Ancient Context, Ancient Faith” series, looking at the Jewish background that informs Jesus’ bold claims in the Fourth Gospel. The book answers many questions
that the Christian with less knowledge of the Old Testament and the Jewish world will naturally have, including:
- How did Jesus exploit the central feature of Passover in feeding the 5,000?
- How did Jesus use shock and irony in his claims at the feast of Tabernacles?
- How did Jesus use Hanukkah to reveal his identity?
The 140-page book is loaded with great illustrations and should have a wide appeal to Christians of different backgrounds and educations. $10 at Amazon.
Jesus and the Jewish Festivals is the sixth volume in the series. Readers here may be interested in the other volumes as well:
- The Bible and the Land, by Gary M. Burge
- Bringing Jesus to the Desert, by Bradley Nassif
- Encounters with Jesus, by Gary M. Burge
- Finding the Lost Images of God, by Timothy S. Laniak
- Jesus, the Middle Eastern Storyteller, by Gary M. Burge
