Читать книгу The Seven Sayings of Jesus on the Cross - Murray J. Harris - Страница 5

In preparation for the celebration of Easter, it has become traditional in many churches to provide a devotional treatment of the seven sayings of Jesus on the cross.

What is distinctive about the present approach is its more technical analysis of these sayings and its detailed discussion of the circumstances in which the words were spoken—some circumstances more remote (the arrest and trials of Jesus), and some more immediate (the crucifixion of Jesus and the causes of his death). These circumstances shed invaluable light on the meaning of the sayings and highlight the potency of these sayings as indicators of the heartbeat of Jesus.

The following analyses are offered in the prayerful desire that appreciation of the character of Jesus will be enriched and devotion to him deepened.

The translations of ancient documents, including biblical references, are my own, unless a particular English version is cited (see the Abbreviations).

Some material in the text and footnotes of this book is drawn from the author’s commentary The Gospel of John (Nashville, TN: Broadman and Holman, 2015) in the Exegetical Guide to the Greek New Testament (EGGNT) series, and is used with permission.

Warm gratitude is due to Dr. D. Christopher Spinks, one of the editors at Cascade Books, and the whole team there for their skill and efficiency in preparing this book for publication.

I am grateful to three friends—David Burt, Dr. Graham Smith, Glenys Brookbanks—who carefully read my manuscript and made helpful suggestions.

With pleasure I dedicate this book to my sister-in-law, Glenys E. Brookbanks, for whom the Cross of Christ is a constant theme in her speaking and writing.