J. Dwight Pentecost - The Words and Works of Jesus Christ: A Study of the Life of Christ

It has been my inestimable privilege for some thirty years to teach a course on the life of Christ, first at Philadelphia College of Bible and now for a quarter of a century at Dallas Theological Seminary. This has been a life-transforming experience, for one cannot study the Gospels extensively without being changed by the Person they present. Those who give themselves to the words and works of Jesus Christ cannot help but be drawn to Him. This author is profoundly grateful for the privilege of such study and for the opportunity to present the fruits of that study to a multitude of students. The response to this presentation has encouraged the author to heed their insistence that the material be made available in written form.

In my earlier years of teaching, I followed the traditional geographical approach to the study of the life of Christ. It became evident that this procedure obliterated the essential theme of the Gospels. Jesus Christ came to the nation Israel to present Himself as the promised Messiah and to offer that nation the covenanted kingdom in which He would rule as Savior-Sovereign in peace and righteousness. A geographical division of His life did not develop this theme.

It becomes evident to one who approaches the inerrant Scriptures from a literal method of interpretation that Jesus Christ was introduced to the nation Israel as her Messiah. By His words and His works He authenticated this introduction and offered Israel her promised and covenanted kingdom. The nation considered the offer and, because of the opposition of the leaders, rejected it. Christ announced judgment on that nation and turned from a public ministry to that of preparing chosen men to continue His ministry following His death and resurrection. The rejection by the nation led to His death, by which salvation was provided for sinful men; but the genuineness of His offer was authenticated by the Resurrection. It is this theme that will be developed through this work. While there are many works available on the life of Christmore than one can study in a lifetimenone traces the development of this theme, and this gives warrant for another work in an area where there is already an abundance of material available.

As consideration is given to the gospel record, no attempt can be made to give a verse-by-verse exposition of each incident. Rather, an attempt will be made to trace the development and the presentation of the person and work of the Lord Jesus Christ and to show the contribution that each individual incident makes to the overall development.

Deep appreciation is expressed to Dallas Theological Seminary for the sabbatical leave granted to pursue this work, to the many students who gave encouragement to undertake this project, to Miss Nancy Miller for transcribing the tapes of the material, and to the staff of the Faculty Secretaries Office for their work in typing the manuscript. The author acknowledges the contributions of past scholars, many of whose insights he quotes. Unless indicated otherwise, all Scripture quotations are from the New International Version.

This book is provided for those who desire to study the words and works of Jesus Christ. It is presented with the prayer that the study may lead them into a deeper knowledge of Him of whom the Scriptures speak and into a closer walk with Him whose love is revealed in all His words and works.

J. Dwight Pentecost
Dallas, Texas