Have you read this book anyone?

[MaryM]

Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen.

I have been studying this book and it is the best book I ever found. It joins up the dots, answers vital questions and is the most understanding and inspiring. It supplements my daily Bible study very well.
I wondered if anyone had heard of it?

 

[GWH]

Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen.

I have been studying this book and it is the best book I ever found. It joins up the dots, answers vital questions and is the most understanding and inspiring. It supplements my daily Bible study very well.
I wondered if anyone had heard of it?

I have heard of it, but would you mind sharing some dots that it connected and questions it answered?
Thanks.

 

[OMC]

Life of Christ by Fulton Sheen.

I have been studying this book and it is the best book I ever found. It joins up the dots, answers vital questions and is the most understanding and inspiring. It supplements my daily Bible study very well.
I wondered if anyone had heard of it?

Another study source I have found helpful, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, a massive, brilliant historical‑cultural commentary, but it is not Scripture, not inspired, and not infallible; Edersheim gives you priceless Jewish background, Second‑Temple customs, geography, rabbinic debates, and cultural texture, but he also imports later rabbinic material, Talmudic assumptions, and 19th‑century scholarly reconstruction into the first‑century world, which means his work is contextual gold but theological bronze — helpful, not authoritative. He never pretended his book was revelation; he was trying to illuminate the NT, not replace it, and when he’s right he’s extremely helpful, but when he stretches rabbinic sources backward in time, he’s doing what scholars do: filling gaps with educated guesses. That said it is always good practice to test against scripture any commentary. But as I said, when he is right, it is very helpful.

 

[GWH]

Another study source I have found helpful, Life and Times of Jesus the Messiah, a massive, brilliant historical‑cultural commentary, but it is not Scripture, not inspired, and not infallible; Edersheim gives you priceless Jewish background, Second‑Temple customs, geography, rabbinic debates, and cultural texture, but he also imports later rabbinic material, Talmudic assumptions, and 19th‑century scholarly reconstruction into the first‑century world, which means his work is contextual gold but theological bronze — helpful, not authoritative. He never pretended his book was revelation; he was trying to illuminate the NT, not replace it, and when he’s right he’s extremely helpful, but when he stretches rabbinic sources backward in time, he’s doing what scholars do: filling gaps with educated guesses. That said it is always good practice to test against scripture any commentary. But as I said, when he is right, it is very helpful.

While knowledge of Jewish culture may be interesting, how does it affect understanding of Scripture in significant ways?
Please share some examples of it being "very helpful".
Thanks.

 

[OMC]

While knowledge of Jewish culture may be interesting, how does it affect understanding of Scripture in significant ways?
Please share some examples of it being "very helpful".
Thanks.

You should read it but Jewish cultural knowledge matters only when the NT assumes you already know something, and the text becomes sharper once you see what the original audience saw; for example, understanding Pharisees as a lay‑scholarly purity movement explains why Jesus’ table‑fellowship with sinners was a theological scandal (Matt 9:11), not just a social faux pas; knowing Second‑Temple messianic expectations clarifies why the crowds expected a political liberator and why Jesus’ refusal to lead a revolt infuriated them (John 6:15); grasping the Temple economy shows why driving out the money‑changers was not “Jesus being angry” but a direct prophetic assault on a corrupt priestly system (Mark 11:15–18); knowing the purity laws behind leprosy reveals why Jesus touching a leper (Mark 1:41) was a category‑breaking act of divine authority; understanding rabbinic debate culture explains why Jesus answers questions with counter‑questions (Matt 21:23–27) — that’s how rabbis established interpretive dominance; knowing the Sabbath halakhic disputes shows why healing on the Sabbath wasn’t “breaking rules” but asserting lordship over the covenant sign (Mark 2:27–28). None of this replaces Scripture, but it removes modern fog and lets you see the text the way the first‑century hearers did — which is why Edersheim, when he’s right, is “very helpful.”

 

[GWH]

You should read it but Jewish cultural knowledge matters only when the NT assumes you already know something, and the text becomes sharper once you see what the original audience saw; for example, understanding Pharisees as a lay‑scholarly purity movement explains why Jesus’ table‑fellowship with sinners was a theological scandal (Matt 9:11), not just a social faux pas; knowing Second‑Temple messianic expectations clarifies why the crowds expected a political liberator and why Jesus’ refusal to lead a revolt infuriated them (John 6:15); grasping the Temple economy shows why driving out the money‑changers was not “Jesus being angry” but a direct prophetic assault on a corrupt priestly system (Mark 11:15–18); knowing the purity laws behind leprosy reveals why Jesus touching a leper (Mark 1:41) was a category‑breaking act of divine authority; understanding rabbinic debate culture explains why Jesus answers questions with counter‑questions (Matt 21:23–27) — that’s how rabbis established interpretive dominance; knowing the Sabbath halakhic disputes shows why healing on the Sabbath wasn’t “breaking rules” but asserting lordship over the covenant sign (Mark 2:27–28). None of this replaces Scripture, but it removes modern fog and lets you see the text the way the first‑century hearers did — which is why Edersheim, when he’s right, is “very helpful.”

Thanks, OMC. I think all of those examples are indicated in/inferred by Scripture, but I agree that books can help a little
or occasionally to understand something better.