Few would deny that a person named Jesus lived and died during the first century of this era. Yet opinions differ widely as to the reliability of the New Testament record of his life. Is it possible to know what his life was like from the Gospel accounts? If so, how much can be known? These questions have dominated New Testament studies in the past century. Noted scholars have attempted to answer them, often to the dissatisfaction and confusion of the Christian community.
I. Howard Marshall outlines the problem in general terms, examining the questions that arise from a confession of belief in the historical Jesus. He offers an introduction to the methodology by which historians seek to bridge the gap between themselves and the events they wish to describe, and he notes that to a considerable extent the quest of the historical Jesus is amenable to these methods. At the same time. Marshall Examines the role that faith plays in a study of the life of Jesus.
A survey of the quest for the hisfeqcal Jesus from the nineteenth century to the present sets the stage for an examination of the methods used in extracting historical information from the Gospels. Marshall uses these methods in an introductory analysis of the New Testament evidence, examining the character of Jesus, his message in the teaching of the kingdom of God, and various aspects of his ministry related to the coming of the kingdom. The result of his study is a ringing affirmation of belief in the historical Jesus.