The Case for Jesus: The Biblical and Historical Evidence for Christ

Dr Brant Pitre is a Roman Catholic. I am a Baptist Protestant Christian and remain of the opinion that the Reformation was not a mistake or something to be repented of. I hope anyone reading my comments will take this into account when they read this review. This is a truly fabulous book. Like some of the other reviewers I could hardly wait to finish it and managed to complete within a week: a major achievement for me. What do I like about it? Firstly, the pace of the book: Brant Pitre keeps up brisk pace. The author pushes the reader forward with considerable energy. In nearly 200 pages I don't believe any of it could be removed; there is no padding here. The book is a challenge to sceptics such as Bart Ehrman. Brant seeks to establish that, even in the Gospels of Matthew, Mark and Luke, Jesus made it very clear that he knew exactly who he was and that he was drawing his people to faith in him as God made flesh. Brant starts with C.S. Lewis statement that Jesus claimed to be God, and thus Jesus was either a Liar, a Lunatic, or the Lord. To these three possibilities Brant points out that a growing fourth option over the last 50 years has been "Legend" - the Gospels, especially the first three Synoptic Gospels, were the result of a huge game of Telephone (USA or "Chinese Whispers" UK equivalent) and were written long after the events they to describe. The book is in two main sections: in the first section Brant answers the sceptics with arguments that the Synoptic Gospels were written much earlier than sceptics wish us to believe, and are reliable eyewitness accounts. Many arguments are presented and I believe this section is the more valuable section of the book. The second section seeks to answer the question Did Jesus really claim to be God or did this myth develop and grow over the years until the Gospel of John was written late first century or later? This section is also good, but I would have preferred it to be anything up to twice as long. It is a little disconcerting to read a few times throughout the book "as Pope (so and so) says in his book....". But, nevertheless, I strongly recommend this book. It is a fairly easy read and would make a good present for all sorts of people. I concur with another Amazon reviewer that in view of the fact that Jesus of Nazareth fulfils so much of the prophecies of the coming Messiah in the book of Daniel it is very surprising that Jews today are still so resistant to Jesus's claims.

A brilliant scholar and writer! This is a truly excellent book and should be read by all who have had doubts planted in them by the likes of Bart Ehrman.

To read this book leaves one with such an awesome feeling. It explains it all so well and succeeds in making the reader think about how real the story of Christ is. A faith that has through God given us hope in the sacrifice of His Son. Beautifully explained and written.

Incredible book. I purchased it after listening to Dr Brad on pints with aquinas, where he impressed me. This book does not disappoint, clear well structured chapters which are easy to read and understand. The whole book proves the links between Jesus’ ministry and the Old Testament as well as the authenticity of the Gospels.

I have read a few "Christian" books, and quite a few books on theology and from Christian apologetics, but still consider myself an amateur. This book however is different from anything else I have read. Written by an apologetic it goes to the very basics of the historical evidence for Jesus in a very scholarly way. He gives explanations of who and what Jesus was about based on a 1st century Judaic view in the context of the time. Rooted completely in Jewish tradition and scripture it explains with such clarity who Jesus was, who he thought he was, who he said he was, and why what happened to him happened to him. So much of what I read finally made sense of things that had bothered me all my life about the Jesus story. It is a brilliant book, a must read if you have any doubts as a Christian, and a "you really should read this book" if you are not.

A good and smooth read. Evidences are presented neatly and convincingly.

I have read many theological and commentary books aimed at the lay person, but I can honestly say this is one of the best. With his in-depth knowledge of the Old Testament, Pitre shows how Jesus saw Himself, the divine Messiah and Son of Man primarily spoken of in the book of Daniel. Whilst I knew this already Pitre's insight and clear writing made it come alive, and brings to light some aspects which most people, including myself, had never thought of, eg when Jesus walked on the water and he begins to 'pass by' the boat full of his disciples, it is reminiscent of the presence of God 'passing by' before Moses etc. This is just one of the many eye-opening in-sights which I did not appreciate before. As a former student of Bart Ehrman, he also takes his former professor to task on numerous points, including for example the supposed 'anonymity' of the original Gospels - there is in fact NO evidence that the original manuscripts did not have the names of Matthew, Mark, Luke or John on them, but instead ALL of the manuscripts we do have do indeed have their names on them! Supposed anonymity is one of the reasons the likes of Ehrman rejects the 4 Gospels as historically reliable, but Pitre blow this and his other views out of the water - I would recommend you read the 'notes' at the back of the book in this regard. It is clear that Ehrman has his own agenda in making assertions without any actual evidence! I suppose its one way of making a nice living. Having read this book, what surprises me is that more Jewish people still fail to realise their awaited Messiah came in the person of Jesus of Nazareth.

This book explains the gospel backed with historical evidence, explaining everything clearly and simply - a must reactor anyone who is serious about knowing more about Jesus Christ

This is a great book and a very useful study guide. It breaks down many common misconceptions about Jesus and presents the biblical and historical evidence in a clear, accessible way. It is helpful for anyone wanting to better understand who Jesus is and why the evidence for Christ matters.

Excelente libro, los católicos de a pie no tenemos acceso a mucha informacion historica, o por estar en las lenguas originales, estos recursos lo ponen al alcance de nuestra mano

A must read for whoever wishes to clarify the origins of our faith. Very clear written, I found it wonderful and helped me in my spiritual journey.

The autor makes powerful arguments about the consistency of the gospel and the Jesus’ claim of being God. For any Christian is a great way to grow in knowledge to support our faith

I Have to say, that this book really deals with the issue of the anonymity of gospels. Simple language, easy to read. Packed with both internal and external evidences. This book suggests that Bart Ehrman is fully not honest when it comes to showing all the evidences. Dr Pitre did an amazing job in putting all necessary information that a general reader needs to see for himself and conclude about the claims of Dr Ehrman about the gospels. 👍 Go for it.