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Portraits of Jesus Book Review

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Portraits of Jesus Book Review
Book Review for: _Portraits of Jesus: A Reading Guide_

Linnie Kelly

Saint Leo University

Rev. William Barnes

July 23, 2013

_Portraits of Jesus_ by Robert Imperato

_Portraits of Jesus: A Reading Guide_ was written by Robert Imperato and published by University Press of America in 2008. The main theme of this book is to explain the many different ways that Jesus is portrayed throughout the New Testament by the many different authors. This book gives priority to the life and times of Jesus Christ and how He should be the example of the way in which we live our lives. The authors of the New Testament are Matthew, Mark, Luke, John and the Apostle Paul. Each of these authors all has their own perspective of Jesus and as a result, there are many different portraits of Jesus

The author does a great job of explaining the different perspective of the different authors of the New Testament. They each see Jesus Christ differently. Mark sees Jesus as the hidden and suffering Son of God. He saw how Jesus was not given the proper recognition even though He was the Son of the Living God. Mark also speaks of the miracles that Jesus performed. The author, Roberto Imperato makes special mention of what a miracle is. He defines it as a special "act of God." It is something that no human can do. The Gospel of Mark, as the author explains is a long introduction to the death of Jesus Christ. In the Gospel of Matthew, he explains the fulfillment of the Jewish hope through Jesus Christ. He also teaches that Jesus is the Messiah, Son of God and the Teacher of New Righteousness. Many of the Pharisees believed that their ways and teachings were the fulfillment of Jewish life while Matthew believed that real fulfillment came through Jesus Christ. Luke views Jesus as a Martyr Prophet and merciful Savior. Luke believes that Jesus is a Martyr prophet because people may react in a negative way and cause harm to the messenger. Luke also sees Jesus as a merciful savior. John refers to Jesus

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