Rafael Rodriguez

Jesus Darkly Rafael Rodriguez

New Testament students have not always been well served by study of the historical Jesus, which tends to segregate Jesus from his significance vis-à-vis Israel's scriptures and God's agenda as this is developed among the New Testament writers in the living context of a faith community's memory. The witness of scripture does in fact help us remember Jesus well. From beginning to end, the Bible tells the story of God putting God's family back together. Its plot develops in multiple, sometimes competing, ways. It exhibits the full range of human emotions and, perhaps surprisingly, it claims that these are also God's emotions. But on every page, we hear the call of a God whose family has chosen an early inheritance instead of an intimate relationship. That God - pictured as a parent, often a father - beckons God's children, inviting them to return and to sit at the table, clothed by mercy and affirmed as God's very family. "Jesus Darkly is profound for the way it sets up conversations about study of the historical Jesus, study of the New Testament Gospels, and study of New Testament Christology. It's also important for the way it situates Jesus's significance within the overarching drama of the Bible. Its importance, though, is matched by its accessibility, the way it welcomes readers to this journey of exploration. We are indebted to Rafael Rodríguez for this rare accomplishment. And we hope for the widest possible readership."--from the foreword to Jesus Darkly by Joel B. Green, Professor of New Testament Interpretation, Fuller Theological Seminary