GOSPEL (ON THE ROAD TO) EMMAUS

The first of a two-volume set intended to provide a comprehensive commentary on the Bible’s account of the life of Jesus.

Christians often argue that the distinctiveness of their religion derives from the fact that their savior Jesus descends from heaven to enter history. As the New Testament argues, when God breaks into the world in the figure of Christ, he also breaks into the personal life of the believer. In this book, Clemmer tries to capture these parallel breakthroughs by providing a gargantuan spiritual commentary on the Bible’s account of the life of Jesus. Equal parts historical analysis, textual interpretation and spiritual reflection, Clemmer’s project is both academic and deeply personal. He weaves objective commentary on the Gospel text with subjective accounts of the ways in which Jesus’ message affects the lives of the devout—and, indeed, his own life. The great strength of Clemmer’s project is its synthetic power. Out of four gospels—Matthew, Mark, Luke and John—he creates one. In the process, he delivers a single chronology, a unified, footnoted narrative of the life of Jesus that brings together the multiple strands of the biblical account into a four-part braid. The project’s first volume opens with scenes from Jesus’ youth and early ministry—his birth, his encounters with John the Baptist, his temptation by the Devil—and ushers readers forward through Christ’s preaching in Bethany. As such, the book focuses heavily on Jesus’ teaching message and on the parables he uses to get that message across. (A separate, second volume provides more analysis of his death and resurrection.) In analyzing Jesus’ teachings, Clemmer provides piles of footnotes that point the reader not only to relevant Gospel texts, but also to pertinent passages in the Old Testament and the Pauline letters. These references give helpful context that aids the reader in connecting Christ’s words to other Gospel quotes as well as pieces of an older spiritual tradition. Clemmer’s hugely ambitious project is capacious and thorough.