Jesus the Savior: The Meaning of Jesus Christ for Christian Faith

by William C. Placher

In contrast to the perspective taken in many popular books on the historical Jesus, the Christian tradition does not offer a boring, safe Jesus who can be studied from a distance and needs only to be placed in his historical context. Instead, William Placher argues that Jesus is one who radically challenges the way we understand the world and how we live our lives.

230 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2001

Reviews

[Dana S.G. Myers · Rating 4 out of 5]

Placher gives a strong overview of Jesus as Savior and Christ historical. Note that this is not a biography of the historical Jesus but rather a look at the roles that Christ plays both in Scripture and in church tradition. Some areas of the analysis are stronger than others, and I found a few places where I wished Placher had been a bit more exhaustive in his commentary on Christ's role, particularly in the areas of Redemption (Christ as Redeemer) and Salvation, but the foundational research is there to place Christ at the center of the story with this look into his roles and titles that were fulfilled by his bodily existence on earth. A good start for a story on the biblical Christ, I enjoyed the readability of the text and many of the ideas that I took away from Placher's work. I would recommend Jesus the Savior for any interested Christian looking to understand more about Jesus and his work on earth, but not for a curious non-religious person interested in learning more about why Christians value the Bible or the historic Jesus. Placher presents an academic, organized look at Christ as Savior and in the process sets a good foundation for further study.

[Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

It reads a bit disjointedly due to the short chapters. I have loved every other Placher book I’ve read, but this does not rise to the level of something like Unapologetic Theology.

[Joel Wentz · Rating 5 out of 5]

I originally read this book in college, and upon this 2nd reading I bumped it up to 5 stars. Many theologians tend to specialize in one area - linguistics, history, philosophy - but Placher truly had a wealth of knowledge in each of these fields, which makes his analysis of Jesus refreshing and exciting. His approach toward the historicity of the gospels may seem "liberal" to some, he has no qualms with assuming that many events in those books may not have historically taken place, but he has an immense reverence for the scriptural texts, and his thorough knowledge of the different gospel voices lends a credibility to this work.

The book is organized into 4 main sections: incarnation, ministry, cross, and resurrection, and each is tied to an appropriate ethical issue that is relevant to us today. I particularly LOVED his breakdown of the cross, and his systematic explanation of how Jesus achieved our salvation through this act. While not for everybody, I would HIGHLY recommend this book to anyone interested in an in-depth look at the Gospels of Jesus.

[Tommy Faris · Rating 4 out of 5]

Placher was a good writer, and a good teacher too, no doubt -- the book is overly Presbyterian for me, but is quite thoughtful and thorough -- good for religion scholars and for anyone who wants to think seriously about Jesus, his life, his ministry, his death, and his resurrection