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The Lion and the Lamb
A concise summary of "The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown," an acclaimed New Testament introduction, covering each NT bookOCOs key facts, historical setting, literary features, theological message, and more.
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906 pages, Kindle Edition
First published July 3, 2012
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
December 31, 2013
There really is no shortage of New Testament surveys on the market today, each efforting in their own way to present to the reader a brief overview of what the New Testament books are about to include varying degrees of engagement of more specific topics relevant to the overall conversation. I have a number of New Testament survey books in my personal library and have found them all to be at least somewhat helpful. So with this bevy of material already on the market, what more can really be added? The answer is there is still room for a text that addresses the number of important facets that need to be part of a quality New Testament survey. The Lion and the Lamb by Andreas Kostenberger, L. Scott Kellum, and Charles Quarles, is an abridged version of the excellent work The Cradle, the Cross, and the Crown by the same authors and provides the reader and student of the Word with an excellent overview of the New Testament.
Before engaging the books of the New Testament, the authors provide salient background on the issue of the canon and why the 27 books that comprise the New Testament corpus are considered part of the overall canon of Scripture. There is an excellent overview of just exactly what canon means to include the various facets that helped bring to fruition and completion the New Testament into what we know it to be today. This valuable background information provides the reader with the requisite knowledge to better understand not just issues of the canon, but more importantly, the broader issues of ancient manuscripts, translations, and how the New Testament fits into Scripture as a whole. These are all very foundational issues that need to be addressed prior to even beginning to talk about the individual New Testament books themselves and the authors do a marvelous job of presenting the subject matter in a thorough, yet very accessible manner.
Another important aspect for understanding Scripture is that of the historical background in which the events recorded in the New Testament took place. This is known as historical theology and the authors spend an entire chapter analyzing the events that transpired from the end of the Old Testament that lead to the New Testament era. There are a number of helpful charts and tables that provide the reader with an easy to read and understand outline of the major events such as the Second Temple Period and the Greek rule of the land, the Macabbean revolt and subsequent Jewish self-rule, followed by the conquering of the land by the Romans which is of course the environment that is found in the New Testament. Each period of history between the testaments greatly impacted Jewish thought and daily life to include their Messianic expectations. Understanding such issues is vitally important and it was refreshing to see such an important issue addressed in such detail in this book to include not just matters of historical importance, but also the religious implications such as paganism, Gnosticism, emperor worship, the various elements that comprised Judaism during this period, the religious calendar, Rabbinic schools, and the various Jewish sects that find their way into the New Testament books such as the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Zealots.
The real “meat and potatoes” of this book is found in its insightful and detailed engagement of the 27 books of the New Testament. Building on the foundation provided in the first two chapters which looked at the canon and matters of historical importance, the remainder of the book takes a look at the gospels, Paul’s letters, concluding with a discussion of the Johannine epistles, Hebrews, James, the Petrine Epistles, Jude, and Revelation. The section on the gospels is preceded with an excellent discussion of just what the Gospels are all about, specifically engaging matters of how the Gospels relate to one another, as well as extra-biblical references to Jesus that further establish the historicity of the Gospel accounts. Each subsequent chapter uses a similar pattern, noting key issues that must be understand about that particular book, key facts, how the book contributes to the overall canon, matters of history such as who wrote the book (if known), the date of writing, its provenance and intended audience, the purpose of the book, the type of genre, a general outline, followed by a unit-by-unit discussion of the book.
Throughout the chapters on the individual books of the New Testament, the reader will find a plethora of helpful tables and charts that quickly depict things like who the 12 disciples were and where they show up in the gospels as well as descriptions of their character and other interesting attributes, an overview of the various parables found in the Synoptic gospels, the fulfillment of OT prophecy by Jesus, allusions to Jesus found in the Pauline Epistles, and a chronology of Paul’s life and letters, just to name a few. Furthermore, each chapter concludes with very helpful questions for additional study, points of application, and recommendations for further study to include a variety of helpful resources such as books and journal articles the reader will find helpful should they choose to engage a particular New Testament book in more detail than was intended in this particular volume.
At the end of this book, the reader will find a very thorough and helpful glossary of terms which is quite important given the often lengthy list of theological terms that are often utilized in books of this nature. Also include is a name index, subject index, and scripture index should a specific issue need to be looked up, something that is always quite helpful. Finally, there are a number of maps that provide the reader with a useful perspective on where certain New Testament era towns and countries are situated.
Overall, I rank this New Testament survey as one of the best I have read. I highly recommend it not just for the Bible College/Seminary student or pastor, but also for the average layman as it is written in an academic yet highly accessible manner. I know I will find myself returning to this text again and again for its timely insights and helpful material.
I received this book for free from B&H Publishing Group for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
Before engaging the books of the New Testament, the authors provide salient background on the issue of the canon and why the 27 books that comprise the New Testament corpus are considered part of the overall canon of Scripture. There is an excellent overview of just exactly what canon means to include the various facets that helped bring to fruition and completion the New Testament into what we know it to be today. This valuable background information provides the reader with the requisite knowledge to better understand not just issues of the canon, but more importantly, the broader issues of ancient manuscripts, translations, and how the New Testament fits into Scripture as a whole. These are all very foundational issues that need to be addressed prior to even beginning to talk about the individual New Testament books themselves and the authors do a marvelous job of presenting the subject matter in a thorough, yet very accessible manner.
Another important aspect for understanding Scripture is that of the historical background in which the events recorded in the New Testament took place. This is known as historical theology and the authors spend an entire chapter analyzing the events that transpired from the end of the Old Testament that lead to the New Testament era. There are a number of helpful charts and tables that provide the reader with an easy to read and understand outline of the major events such as the Second Temple Period and the Greek rule of the land, the Macabbean revolt and subsequent Jewish self-rule, followed by the conquering of the land by the Romans which is of course the environment that is found in the New Testament. Each period of history between the testaments greatly impacted Jewish thought and daily life to include their Messianic expectations. Understanding such issues is vitally important and it was refreshing to see such an important issue addressed in such detail in this book to include not just matters of historical importance, but also the religious implications such as paganism, Gnosticism, emperor worship, the various elements that comprised Judaism during this period, the religious calendar, Rabbinic schools, and the various Jewish sects that find their way into the New Testament books such as the Pharisees, Sadducees, and Zealots.
The real “meat and potatoes” of this book is found in its insightful and detailed engagement of the 27 books of the New Testament. Building on the foundation provided in the first two chapters which looked at the canon and matters of historical importance, the remainder of the book takes a look at the gospels, Paul’s letters, concluding with a discussion of the Johannine epistles, Hebrews, James, the Petrine Epistles, Jude, and Revelation. The section on the gospels is preceded with an excellent discussion of just what the Gospels are all about, specifically engaging matters of how the Gospels relate to one another, as well as extra-biblical references to Jesus that further establish the historicity of the Gospel accounts. Each subsequent chapter uses a similar pattern, noting key issues that must be understand about that particular book, key facts, how the book contributes to the overall canon, matters of history such as who wrote the book (if known), the date of writing, its provenance and intended audience, the purpose of the book, the type of genre, a general outline, followed by a unit-by-unit discussion of the book.
Throughout the chapters on the individual books of the New Testament, the reader will find a plethora of helpful tables and charts that quickly depict things like who the 12 disciples were and where they show up in the gospels as well as descriptions of their character and other interesting attributes, an overview of the various parables found in the Synoptic gospels, the fulfillment of OT prophecy by Jesus, allusions to Jesus found in the Pauline Epistles, and a chronology of Paul’s life and letters, just to name a few. Furthermore, each chapter concludes with very helpful questions for additional study, points of application, and recommendations for further study to include a variety of helpful resources such as books and journal articles the reader will find helpful should they choose to engage a particular New Testament book in more detail than was intended in this particular volume.
At the end of this book, the reader will find a very thorough and helpful glossary of terms which is quite important given the often lengthy list of theological terms that are often utilized in books of this nature. Also include is a name index, subject index, and scripture index should a specific issue need to be looked up, something that is always quite helpful. Finally, there are a number of maps that provide the reader with a useful perspective on where certain New Testament era towns and countries are situated.
Overall, I rank this New Testament survey as one of the best I have read. I highly recommend it not just for the Bible College/Seminary student or pastor, but also for the average layman as it is written in an academic yet highly accessible manner. I know I will find myself returning to this text again and again for its timely insights and helpful material.
I received this book for free from B&H Publishing Group for this review. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255 : “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."
October 10, 2022
Es un libro de estudio. Para tomarse su tiempo y llevarlo despacio. Si lo medimos en su categoría es un buen libro.
Read
March 28, 2022«El Cordero y el León: Una introducción al Nuevo Testamento» (B&H Español, 2021) de Andreas J. Köstenberger, L. Scott Kellum y Charles L. Quarles. Es un libro de consulta que provee información sobre el contexto histórico, religioso, cultural y literario de cada libro del Nuevo Testamento. Además, contiene —entre otras cosas— datos importantes sobre la fecha estimada de redacción de cada libro bíblico, su teología particular, la paternidad literaria (el autor humano que lo escribió), los destinatarios, el propósito y un bosquejo de su estructura.
Lee la reseña completa en Coalición por el Evangelio.
Lee la reseña completa en Coalición por el Evangelio.
June 29, 2022
I had to read this for school and it does not make for clear or interesting reading at all. I was exited to read about the history of the Bible, but if you aren’t a Christian, this does not supply good evidence. Using “because God said” as evidence in a historical sense doesn’t work for others. I’d say it would be great for Christians but the way it was written was so dry. Maybe it’s just me?
January 2, 2019
This is an excellent intro to the new testament
I've learned a lot about authorship, textual criticism, theology, literary features, genre and themes from this book. The next time reread the Word I'll have these things in mind.
I've learned a lot about authorship, textual criticism, theology, literary features, genre and themes from this book. The next time reread the Word I'll have these things in mind.
July 24, 2025
Excelente panorama general de cada libro del nuevo testamento.
October 30, 2015
Really enjoyed this. I could see this being used as a text for a Bible institute level NT Introduction class. Very readable and understandable.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews