Grace is everywhere

The Gospel According to Matthew

Matthew as Story (by Jack D. Kingsbury)

Kingbury reads Matthew in terms of literature (narrative function, character development, and motifs), providing a vivid analysis of the character of Jesus and the disciples and presenting a reason pro quo for Jesus' coming as well as for Matthew's writing.

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Matthew (by Daniel Harrington, Sacra Pagina, volume 1)

Harrington sees the gospel as an essential Jewish text (in context, rhetoric, assumptions, and theology) that should be read as a response to the destruction of the Temple in 70 CE. He presents the commentary as a literary analysis, examining its Jewish background and situating it within the context of the Matthean debate with other first century Jews. 

The Gospel according to Mark

Mark's Jesus (by Elizabeth Struthers Malbon)

"How does Mark characterize Jesus in the narrative arc of the Gospel?" Malbon answers this question by showing that Mark discloses Jesus as the central protagonist in this fundamentally God-centered narrative. Malbon takes a multifaceted and multidimensional approach in uncovering a highly sophisticated narrative.

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Mark as Story (by David Rhoads, Joanna Dewey, & Donald Michie)

Mark as Story introduces readers to the rhetoric and narrative of Mark's gospel - a narrative created in an oral culture for oral performance. Chapters discuss genre, narrator, settings, plot, character, and implied reader, as well as reflections on the ethics of reading and exercises in literary and narrative analysis. Mark as Story is ideal first time readers and for those looking for a rediscovery of Mark's story.

The Gospel according to Luke & the Acts of the Apostles

The Gospel of Luke/Acts of the Apostles (by Luke Timothy Johnson, Sacra Pagina, volume 3/5)

For Johnson, the main arc of Luke-Acts narrative is not salvation history itself; but, rather, it is defending God's faithfulness and presenting the relationship of prophet and people. The prophetic structure is found first in the words and deeds of Jesus and then in the apostles, Jesus' successors, who are richly gifted with the Spirit.

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Social World of Luke-Acts (edited by Jerome Neyrey)

A collection of articles that employ methods of interpretation  from cultural anthropology to unravel the culture of the biblical world. 

The Gospel of John

An Introduction to the Gospel of John (by Raymond Brown and Francis Maloney)

This volume is a magnificent survey of major issues in the study of the Gospel of John. Brown and Maloney have updated the original historical-critical approach as well as offered an insightful new literary-narrative reading. This volume is a classic introduction that should not be missed.

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The Gospel of John (by Francis Maloney, Sacra Pagina, volume 4)

Moloney’s commentary approaches the gospel from the perspective of literary criticism, attentive to its final form as a literary work. Moloney sees an essential unity in the narrative, maintaining that the author of the Gospel has a unique point of view which is both identifiable and approachable for the modern reader.

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Life Abounding. A Reading of John's Gospel (by Brendan Byrne)

The fourth gospel demonstrates that life is more than mere existence; rather, it is a full participation, with Jesus, in God's abounding life. For the the Gospel according John, the thirst for such a life lies at the depth of the human heart. In this work, Byrne facilitates a new/ancient reading of John that moves the reader from mere existence to a conscious sharing in life divine.

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Love in the Gospel of John (by Francis Maloney)

It is Jesus' task to "make love known" in the world. This book is no mere semantic or conceptual study of love. Rather, it is an all-out expedition into love as the heart of John's narrative, with emphasis on relational aspects and performative consequences. 

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Cristo, Pan de Vida (by Jose Caba, spanish)

The Four Gospels

general works on the Gospels

The Challenge of Jesus' Parables (by Richard N. Longenecker)

This is a compiled book of essays. The general purpose of the essays is to explore four challenges: 1) uncovering Jesus' original purpose in telling the parables, 2) grasping the gospel writer's intent in including the parable in his narrative, 3) learning the meaning of the parable in their context, and 4) wrestling with an appropriate contemporary response to the parable. 

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The Birth of the Messiah (by Raymond Brown)

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Resucito Cristo, Mi Esperanza (by Jose Caba, spanish)