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Rating: 
Summary: Some great exegesis; Some poor assumptions
Review: My ultimate opinion on this book is that it is neither extremely helpful nor extremely harmful. When the authors stick to the text, they do a great job of exposing the words of Jesus. However, I have seen that the work is fraught with redactionistic assumptions (deciding Jesus did or didn't say something based on "additions" or "subtractions" from the story based on our interpretations of the author's biases). An excellent example of this is found in their exposition of Matthew 22:1-14 and Luke 14:16-24 - The Parable of the Wedding Feast. Ultimately, rather than recognizing that Jesus could have told the same story differently on two occassions or that Luke could have left details out, the authors decide that since Matthew was written post-Jerusalem-destruction, the verses referring to the king sending troops to destroy and burn the city could not have been in Jesus' original words. So rather than actually dealing with the hard words of Jesus recorded in Matthew, they opt to talk solely about Luke.
I'm afraid that this sort of thing happens over and over again. So while I have found some helpful nuggets and some deep thinking to challenge my soul, I fear that liberal-leaning of their scholarship makes this text dangerous to use. Nevertheless, with this hermeneutic identified, I do feel that the book can be a useful addition to one's library when used with caution.
-Jacob Hantla
Rating: 
Summary: A Must-Read for Pastors!
Review: This is an excellent book for pastors! It is co-written by a father and son -- father James R. Carroll is a retired Presbyterian minister, and son John T. Carroll is a professor of New Testament at a Presbyterian seminary. They have teamed up to tackle some of the hardest sayings of Jesus. For each passage, professor John gives a 3- or 4-page exegesis (under the heading "An Interpretation"), and then pastor James spends 3-4 pages helping us move from the desk to the pulpit (under the heading "Text to Sermon"). They have divided the book up as follows: Chapter 1 -- The Scandel of Grace (Luke 10:30-35 The "Good Samaritan": Reimaging an Enemy; Luke 18:10-14a The Pharisee and the Tax Collector at Prayer: The Scandel of Grace for Sinners; Matt 20:1-15 All in a Day's (Or an Hour's?) Work: When Grace is Not Fair; Luke 15:11-32 On Being a Prodigal Father) ** Chapter 2 -- The Cost of Grace: Demands of Discipleship (Luke 14:26/Matt 10:37 For the Love of Family; Luke 16:18/Mark 10:11-12/Matt 5:31-32,19:9 On Divorce, Remarriage, and Adultery; Mark 9:42-48 Self-Abuse for the Sake of the Kingdom) ** Chapter 3 -- The Offense of Judgment (Mark 3:28-29 The Sin Not Forgiven; Matt 22:1-14/Luke 14:16-24 On Being Left Out at the Final Banquet; Matt 18:23-35 When Mercy Fails: The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant; Luke 16:19-31 Wealth: Barrier to Bliss? The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus) ** Chapter 4 -- A Jesus Hard to Understand: Two Elusive Parables (Luke 16:1-8a Honestly Now! In Praise of a Dishonest Manager?; Luke 11:5-8 Help at Midnight) ** Chapter 5 -- The Offense of Jesus' Humanity (Mark 9:1, 13:30 Jesus and the End of Time: Was He Mistaken?; Mark 14:36/Matt 26:39,42/Luke 22:42 Was Jesus Afraid to Die?; Mark 15:34 Were You There (God) When They Crudified My Lord?) ** I have used this book for the basis of my preaching several times, and the congregation has loved it. This book has given me a lot to think about -- it truly deals with the hardest sayings of Jesus, well-researched and well-written by this pastor-father and scholar-son.
Rating:
Summary: A Must-Read for Pastors!
Review: This is an excellent book for pastors! It is co-written by a father and son -- father James R. Carroll is a retired Presbyterian minister, and son John T. Carroll is a professor of New Testament at a Presbyterian seminary. They have teamed up to tackle some of the hardest sayings of Jesus. For each passage, professor John gives a 3- or 4-page exegesis (under the heading "An Interpretation"), and then pastor James spends 3-4 pages helping us move from the desk to the pulpit (under the heading "Text to Sermon"). They have divided the book up as follows: Chapter 1 -- The Scandel of Grace (Luke 10:30-35 The "Good Samaritan": Reimaging an Enemy; Luke 18:10-14a The Pharisee and the Tax Collector at Prayer: The Scandel of Grace for Sinners; Matt 20:1-15 All in a Day's (Or an Hour's?) Work: When Grace is Not Fair; Luke 15:11-32 On Being a Prodigal Father) ** Chapter 2 -- The Cost of Grace: Demands of Discipleship (Luke 14:26/Matt 10:37 For the Love of Family; Luke 16:18/Mark 10:11-12/Matt 5:31-32,19:9 On Divorce, Remarriage, and Adultery; Mark 9:42-48 Self-Abuse for the Sake of the Kingdom) ** Chapter 3 -- The Offense of Judgment (Mark 3:28-29 The Sin Not Forgiven; Matt 22:1-14/Luke 14:16-24 On Being Left Out at the Final Banquet; Matt 18:23-35 When Mercy Fails: The Parable of the Unforgiving Servant; Luke 16:19-31 Wealth: Barrier to Bliss? The Parable of the Rich Man and Lazarus) ** Chapter 4 -- A Jesus Hard to Understand: Two Elusive Parables (Luke 16:1-8a Honestly Now! In Praise of a Dishonest Manager?; Luke 11:5-8 Help at Midnight) ** Chapter 5 -- The Offense of Jesus' Humanity (Mark 9:1, 13:30 Jesus and the End of Time: Was He Mistaken?; Mark 14:36/Matt 26:39,42/Luke 22:42 Was Jesus Afraid to Die?; Mark 15:34 Were You There (God) When They Crudified My Lord?) ** I have used this book for the basis of my preaching several times, and the congregation has loved it. This book has given me a lot to think about -- it truly deals with the hardest sayings of Jesus, well-researched and well-written by this pastor-father and scholar-son.
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