Whispers of Revolution
- Theology
- Biblical Studies & Commentaries
- Publisher: Baker Academic (Baker Publishing Group)
- Published: 2025
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Publisher's Description
In Whispers of Revolution, renowned biblical scholar Michael Bird forges a path through the tangle of conspiracy theories, older hypotheses, and scholarly debates to propose a compelling idea: The historical Jesus was driven by the conviction that through his words and work, his mission and message, God was unveiling his kingship in a way that would rescue Israel and eventually restore the whole world. This careful and concise scholarly work covers a wide range of topics related to the historical Jesus and his context. Bird studies Jesus in light of archaeology, Judean history, and apocalypticism. He scrutinizes sayings of Jesus and stories about Jesus, challenging many scholarly paradigms to offer a portrait of Jesus that avoids both sensationalism and pious simplification. The result is a story of Jesus that puts him firmly in the world of ancient Galilee and Judea and explains how this man, crucified by the Romans, became the catalyst for a movement that would defy and then consume the Roman Empire. This important contribution will appeal to scholars, students, and all readers looking for a fresh examination of the life of Jesus.
Endorsements (3)
“Michael Bird is one of the most versatile thinkers in New Testament studies today, able to straddle multiple disciplines and specialties effectively. Touching on key features of Jesus's ministry, Bird rightly finds a Jesus who fits his early Jewish setting and who sought the renewal of his people, whose commitment to his kingdom mission naturally aroused controversy with others who demurred. His reconstruction fits the best scholarship.”
“Written in a lively and accessible style, Bird's sympathetic portrayal sets Jesus firmly within a first-century Jewish messianic context. As the first step toward a fuller theological appraisal of Jesus's significance, the volume will appeal to readers in both the academy and the church.”
“A one-stop sketch of all things Jesus: his identity, his life, his teachings, his relation with contemporaries, his battles during the last week, his death, and his resurrection—all with citation and commentary on the best of recent scholarship. What others have done in a multivolume set or in multiauthored volumes Bird has done for us in the compass of a single, accessible, and splendid read. Bird cuts a clear path between the skeptical and the fideistic approaches to Jesus and, in doing so, has laid a foundation for further development of a New Testament theology.”
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