The Four Witnesses : The Rebel, the Rabbi, the Chronicler, and the Mystic -- Why the Gospels Present Strikingly Different Visions of Jesus

by Robin Griffith-Jones

The gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John are arguably the most important and influential books in Western history. Their accounts of Jesus do not simply add up to "The Greatest Story Ever Told, " but "The Four Greatest Stories Ever Told." Why do they present such strikingly different versions of the same events? As the great filmmaker Akira Kirosawa demonstrated in his epic movie "Rashomon, different witnesses can quite honestly remember the same event in very different ways. Now Oxford New Testament scholar Robin Griffith-Jones shows how the four gospels testify authentically yet very distinctly to Jesus' life, death, and message.Jesus himself asked, ?Who do you say I am?' If his question has ever intrigued you--if it has ever just caught your imagination--then this book has been written for you.

In "The Four Witnesses, Robin Griffith-Jones brings the stories of Jesus to life for the contemporary reader as he revives the original power and intent of the gospels of Mark, Matthew, Luke, and John as individual witnesses. He presents a lively discussion of how and why each of the four gospels was written, considering the substance and style of the testimony itself as well as the unique context of each story. Rather than entering into the current historical Jesus debates, he offers a fresh reading of the texts with new questions in mind, the same questions, often highly personal, that each Gospel writer sought to address in his own work. For them, as for us, Jesus presented a enigmatic, challenging figure. By seeking insight into the mystery of his life and work, they hoped to find a new way to see the world and to understand our relationship with God.

"Who do you say I am?" Each gospel offers its own answer to Jesus' question, influenced by the context of its writing and the personality of its writer. By examining the distinct light shed by each gospel writer on Jesus' life, work, and death, readers can discover which perspective speaks most clearly to their own needs, hopes, and fears, and decide how to respond to Jesus' challenge. Most importantly, they can encounter in all four gospels taken together what one alone could not provide: a remarkably full and compelling presentation of Jesus and his powerful message.

Genres: Religion, Christianity, Theology, Christian, New Testament, History, Unfinished

405 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2000

Reviews

[robin friedman · Rating 4 out of 5]

The Development of Early Christianity

I came across "The Four Witnesses" while browsing in the local library. The book looked intriguing, and I checked it out and read it. (In fact, the author says his book was written for, among others, such a happenstance, curious reader such as I was.) To be more specific, I am interested in religion and in the relationship between early Christianity and Judaism. I have heard something of what Judaism has to say about the relationship between the two religions. I haven't read much in depth about it and, even more unfortunately, haven't really listened to what Christian scholars might have to say on the subject.

Robin Griffith-Jones's book did have something of what I wanted. The book considers each of the New Testament Gospels, together with other books of the New Testament, chiefly Acts and Revelation. Interspersed with each discussion is a historical section which considers Roman, Jewish and Christian sources discussing the period and place which Griffith Jones associates with each Gospel.

The book offers a good discussion of the interplay between early Christianity and the synagogue. Griffith-Jones does a good job, I think, in describing the Second Temple and its practices, the calamity of its destruction by the Romans thirty years or so after the life of Jesus, and the difficulties faced by the early Christians. There is also good discussion of the dynamics between the church and synagogue, with some people in the synagogue opting to follow Jesus, others being ambivalent and uncertain, and others, and the synagogue as a whole, declining to do so. The book's treatment of these matters is interesting and valuable, and I would like to know more. The appeal of Christianity is, understandably enough, explained by the author. This is what I wanted to hear, but I also wanted to hear the Jewish perspective.

There is also a good discussion in "The Four Witnesses" of the decision the early Christians had to make about whether there message was primarily directed to Judaism or whether the message was world-encompassing with a mission and message for non-Jews as well. This is important and insightful, as far as both religions are concerned and Griffith-Jones discusses it well.

Although it is not the focus of the book, there is much in this study that Christians and Jews can share and discuss in an attempt to better understand each other. This is valuable and I learned something from hearing it from an informed and obviously deeply Christian voice.

The textual interpretations of the Gospels are interesting in themselves, if something too long and not well organized. As one would expect, they are more evangelical and religious in tone than the historical discussion. In some instances, I am not sure how the historical information the author presents informs or illuminates his reading of his Gospel. He doesn't always explain the connection well. By the time the author gets to the Gospel of John, the connection, at least for me, was almost entirely lost.

I found the discussions of the Gospel of Matthew and the Gospel of Luke more illuminating, as to their purpose and audience, that the author's discussions of Mark and John.

The book is long and challenging to read. Although written for laypersons, it is difficult and repetitive. The repetitions probably were intended to allow the reader to keep track of and to reinforce what is being said, but too often they get in the way. Stylistically the book is uneven.

This book will require effort to read. It did teach me something of what I wanted to know and helped me understand and appreciate the relationship between Judaism and Christianity. This is a subject that those in both traditions could well take to their hearts.

Robin Friedman

[Jen · Rating 4 out of 5]

I appreciate that Griffith-Jones has asked thoughtful questions, answered them by using the context the gospels were written in and their purpose, and acknowledged that not all questions have full answers.

[James Klagge · Rating 3 out of 5]

A great idea for a book. Christians tend to combine all the gospels to create one story line, while this author separates the gospels and explains their different perspectives and approaches. All that is good. In fact I thought this might be great for an adult Sunday school class. But alas it is far too dense for that. In fact, it was really too dense for me. I would say it is mainly written for Biblical scholars, but oddly there are no footnotes or endnotes, no bibliography, and no index. There is a 2-page "Acknowledgements" in the front that contains some of that stuff, but it is too general to be much use. So my criticism is that it is a sort of hybrid that doesn't really work. But if you want the full story on the different gospels, this is the place to look.

[Jeffrey Howard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Far too meandering. I was hoping to get more commentary on Jesus as these four different archetypes. Instead, it was a freewheeling history of the Near East in ancient times. The prose is engaging enough, but the more humanized (or humanistic?) Jesus is what I would've preferred.

[Carol · Rating 5 out of 5]

I couldn't get enough of this book when I read it some years ago, and I plan on reading it again. As the title suggested, it splits the portrait modern people have of Jesus, treating each Gospel as it's own separate narrative-&as well they should be. Each author sought to focus on a specific aspect of Jesus and his teachings. Studying each one separately as stand alones, rather than a compositie portrait makes for a more complete study of a very complicated man.

[Carl Williams · Rating 3 out of 5]

Griffin-Jones, explored the four gospels from the point of view of their intended audience. It's wonderful, and sometimes a bit disconcerting how such similar words can lead to such different visions--of a mystic, a teacher, a rebel and a story teller. Essential traditional points of view, but well worth the read.

[Kelly Pine · Rating 4 out of 5]

This work was deeply engaging, thought provoking, and very well researched. I loved that the author used all of his own translations, references which manuscripts contain which wording, and places all the different aspects of the Gospels in context. It is nuanced, academic, and informative. Well worth the time and effort to make it through.

[The_J · Rating 5 out of 5]

A moving analysis. Especially interesting is the author renaming the Gospels of the bible to provide a more distinctive perspective.

[David · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have been reading this book on airline flights over the last couple of years, and finally finished it. It is a very good book, which covers the gospel stories from the view of each of the authors, and their own points of view. It also brings everything to a good conclusion about who do you say that I am.

[Justin Nichols · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5-- Superb content as far as interpretation and information. Stylistically it was a bit strained and dense for my full liking. But I surely applaud Griffith-Jones for tackling this large of task and presenting ideas, vast themes, and detailed literary structures with tasteful, notable humility despite being obviously brilliant.

[Karina]

Oh, okay, I confused this book with another of a similar title. I only read a little bit of it, and it was kinda interesting, but I need to find some time.

[MikeFromQueens · Rating 4 out of 5]

I now have insight into each of the authors of the gospels. This book taught me the perspectives of the their sources, and the rationale behind why they are the definitive word on the life and times of Jesus.

[Rhett · Rating 1 out of 5]

I got through the first section. My biggest problem was that there are no cited resources other than the Bible. All of the historical information sounded interesting, but I can't be sure of it's authenticity.

[Tim Weakley · Rating 1 out of 5]

Worst book of the year so far. I was looking forward to reading a book about the authors of the four gospels, their times and places. What this very quickly became was a book of theology and opinion. I wanted history and got hearsay.

The author should be forced to rewrite his jacket notes.

[Cayenne]

This was over my head. I am really interested in knowing more about the authors of the four gospels, the settings and audiences they were intended for, but the language in this book was verbous and inaccessible to a newer scholar.

[Ron · Rating 4 out of 5]

Really enjoyed this read. Clearly articulated the perspectives of each of the authors of the Gospel.

[Greg Miller · Rating 3 out of 5]

Tought to get through but interesting. Good perspective on where the four gospels came from, and what their authors were trying to accomplish.