John: The Gospel of Wisdom

by Michael Card

Published 14 July 2014
"When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all the truth." - John 16:13
"He who saw this has testified so that you also may believe. His testimony is true, and he knows he is telling the truth." - John 19:35
With time and experience comes wisdom. John, the longest-surviving of the apostles, recorded in his Gospel a portrait of Jesus that displays the depth of years of reflection on who Jesus is and what he means to the world. Writing in light of the philosophies of his day, John describes Jesus as the incarnate Word, the divine Logos, the embodiment of all truth and wisdom.
In this last volume of the Biblical Imagination Series, Michael Card completes his work on the four Gospels. He shows how John stands alongside the other Gospel writers to fill out the picture of Jesus' divine identity, with stories and sayings of Jesus not recorded by the others. This Jesus reorients our understanding of ourselves and the world around us, offering us nothing less than the way, the truth and the life. Like John before him, Card has written these words so that we may better believe that Jesus is the Messiah, the Son of God, and that by believing we have life in his name.

Luke: The Gospel of Amazement

by Michael Card

Published 3 January 2011
"His father and mother were amazed at what was being said about Him." Luke 2:33
"Everyone was amazed at all the things He was doing." Luke 9:43
"He went home, amazed at what had happened." Luke 24:12
From start to finish, the book of Luke is filled with amazement. Throughout the life and ministry of Jesus, those who met him were astonished by their encounter, from the shepherds at the nativity to the disciples at the empty tomb.
With careful attention to detail, Michael Card embarks on an imaginative journey through the Gospel of Luke. He introduces us to Luke the historian and imagines his life as a Gentile, a doctor and a slave. Card explores Luke?s compelling account of this dynamic rabbi who astounded his hearers with parables and paradoxes. What might Luke have experienced as he interviewed eyewitnesses of Jesus? What leads Luke to focus on the marginalized and the unlikely? Why does Luke include certain details that the other Gospel writers omit? Join Michael Card in the work of opening heart and mind to the "Gospel of Amazement."

John

by Michael Card

Published 20 July 2014

Mark: The Gospel of Passion

by Michael Card

Published 23 January 2012
"Follow Me," Jesus told them, "and I will make you into fishers of men!" Immediately they left their nets and followed Him. --Mark 1:17-18
The Gospel of Mark is a book of action and passion. Events happen one after another, with a vivid sense of immediacy and urgency. Jesus? emotions come through strongly--at times he is angry and distressed, other times filled with compassion.
In this volume, Michael Card provides a lively tour of the Gospel of Mark. As a friend and interpreter of Simon Peter, Mark gives firsthand glimpses of the life and ministry of Jesus in vibrant and energetic narration. The first Gospel to be written, Mark is a "pamphlet for hard times," encouraging Christians that all their sufferings were already endured by Jesus.
Accompany Mark on his journey with Jesus. The more clearly you see Jesus here, the greater your passion will be for him.

"You are the salt of the earth . . . You are the light of the world." Matthew 5:13-14
"I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build My church." Matthew 16:18
The world tries to define us in different ways. We try to define ourselves one way or another. But who are we really? How does God define us?
The Gospel of Matthew was written to a group of Christians who didn?t yet know who they were. They were faithful Jews in the synagogue community in Galilee who had found the Messiah. Jesus had changed everything. But how should they think of themselves now, as Jewish or Christian? What did it all mean?
Matthew writes his Gospel to help his readers define their new identity as followers of Jesus the Messiah. Michael Card unpacks how Matthew?s emphasis on fulfillment confirms their Jewish connection to the Torah, while his focus on the kingdom helps them understand their new identities in Christ. Matthew presents this process of redefinition as an exercise of the imagination, in which Jesus reshapes who we are in light of who he is.
Come alongside Matthew in this pilgrimage, and discover how your new identity in Christ fulfills all that you are meant to be.